Joe's Mix tape Part I

Pre-Assessment
Hey, here is my mix tape playlist. I hope you'll find some cool stuff here that interests you. Some of it is rare, some of isn't. I had no real plan in regard to what I wanted to put on here, most of it is pretty randomly selected. New stuff, old stuff, forgotten about stuff....It is funny how mix tapes take on a life all their own, patterns do emerge out of the chaos and lack of planning. I guess that is the coolest aspect of making a real mixtape.....it is an adventure.

So...I've had some issues with this site freezing up and not letting me post up images and text together and decided to break up my playlist into sections. Trust me it was just easier....

The Crucifucks- Democracy Spawns Bad Taste ( Self Titled)
My first selection for this playlist is this track by these maniacs from Lansing, Michigan. Nowadays it is easy to be punk and offensive because society has deemed this music to be fashionable and socially acceptable. When this came out, all the opposite was true.....these guys were pariahs in their community and had no intention of making friends or networking their way up to the top of the "alternative" music community. In short, the Crucifucks and their mentally unstable frontman Doc Dart set out to show the world the harsh reality lurking beneath the dark underbelly of daily life in Reagan's America. If it sounds harsh and extreme to your ears, then it has hit the mark....

Dirty Needles-Burned Out
These Wisconsin miscreants are an offshoot of the late, great band the Evolutions. If you fancy yourself a garage rock aficianado then you should track this single and the Evolutions stuff down. Alot passes for Garage rock these days that I think sucks, however this band is everything I like about music...Dangerous music played by the type of guys that drink too much, fight random assholes at the bar, and fuck your sister while your not looking! Oh yea, this single is pressed on piss splattered wax in an edition of 100 so get on it before it disappears.


Cat Power-Sea of Love
I'm not always the hugest fan of covers, but I really love what Chan Marshall (she is Cat Power) does with this song that was originally made somewhat famous by Robert Plant and the Honeydrippers in the 1980's. I think she has a real special way of engaging the listener in a private and confidential way that makes you think she is going to tell you a secret or something stupid like that...I'm a huge fan of all her recordings, but this one always makes me happy when I hear it, you?

Mudhoney- Touch me I'm Sick

This fuzzed out piece of trash is so fucking sleazy...it's perfect. Punk, Sabbath, drug abuse, Pacific Northwestern depression, and flannels....add together and mix well....and you have perfection. Fuck grunge, this is Mudhoney!



Chrome- Firebomb

This band was at its' creative best in the late seventies and early eighties and featured the paranoid rantings of Damon Edge and Helios Creed. These insane fucks created some of most disturbing alien landcape music ever recorded. This track has a weird otherworldy quality present in the vocals set over strange electronic beats that could almost be mistaken for danceable! Confused? Good. It is difficult to find their material due to it being out of print but, if you can find this single on Subterranean records or their Third From the Sun Lp you will be most happy..

Cream- I Feel Free
The sixties are an oft romanticized era where people get warm and fuzzy about free love, faux radical politics and weed....clearly annoying. I would rather extoll the virtues of the great music that was being created at the time. Cream were the quintessential power trio whose power lay not in Eric Clapton's noodling, but in Jack Bruce's distorted stun bass...He played like a monster along with Ginger Baker on drums and set the template for heavy music to come in the future. This track if melodic, but has a gritty sensibility that I really fucking dig. I've been listening to this record my whole life and still find cool things in it. Try the Disraeli Gears Lp as well, if you like this.

Jay Reatard- It's so Easy
No, not the Guns and Roses song stupid......Jay Reatard has been on the scene for some time and has made some killer hate punk with the Reatards and some cool darkwave punk with the Lost Sounds. This solo Lp obviously combines all those elements with an almost Buzzcocky type of vocal thing....I really like the aggressive poppiness of this shit. I hope he keeps making cool records like this.....Nan and I saw his last outfit the Angry Angles last year and are going to see him here in the Bean in a couple of weeks...should be fun. Enjoy, this record came a out a little while ago and should be easy to track down, it is on In the Red records.

Throbbing Gristle- United
TG came on the scene in the seventies and took the nihilistic attitude of punk and fucked it together with minimalistic electronic elements that formed what we would call industrial. This shit is simultaneously harsh,grating, creepy and always tongue in cheek. If you like stuff that is not by the numbers then hunt down more of their material. Oh yea, find the first Leather Nun ep that TG put out on their own Industrial Records label...

SLEEP-Dragonaut
This killer track is off of their Holy Mountain Lp from the early nineties. This band formed out of the ashes of Asbestos Death who were on the Bay Area thrash/punk/ movement fringes. They made some dense metal jams that are doomy and aggro at the same time! This band featured Matt Pike who many will recognize as the madman behind High On Fire (who nan and i will be banging our heads at in October!!!). Anyway, this band is awesome and I think you might like them.

Stereo Total- Partir Au Morir, Ringo, I love you
These two tracks are on here because Nan and I just got back from their awesome show at the Middle East a couple of days ago and I thought I might like to hear some tracks off of one of their earlier (and my favorite) releases called My Melody. Trashy, guitar and electronic music that features French and German vocals by Francois Cactus (who played in Garage punk band the Lolitas in the 80's). Their trashy, fun loving aesthetic is inspirational to me and all those who appreciate catchy music that is not afraid to not take itself too seriously. I challenge you to not get these tracks stuck in your head for a day or two.