The End Of An Era

well this blog has been dying over and over again. i keep thinking i'll come back. but this time it's really over. i've met some great people and bands. this blog got me through high school. i started it when i started high school and it died when i finished high school. it's like they say, all good things come to an end. i'll probably do something like this in the future, but a different blog, not re-hashing this one. this place is pretty much dead, i don't know what it is but i lost interest in all this and sadly many of my other favourite blogs have done the same. it's truly the end of an era. well...it's sad but that's my final post. i hope you all enjoyed your time here, cause i sure did. now i'm off to fade into oblivion...never to be seen again...ever.......ever..............

I'M BACK: FOREIGN FISH

Brutal Knights-Feast of Shame 12"

this was a very old post i found that i never finished. well i'm not gonna finish it, but here it is anyway.

yet another great Toronto band. they have that great fast but not too fast sound, not dissimilar to School Jerks. i actually find their Life Ain't Cool 7" the best but i'm saving that for a special post (i don't know why but). so this was released way back in 2007 on Deranged records. 14 songs in total on this one 12". the singer's always got his shirt off (just thought i'd add that). possibly the best vocalist in today's hardcore, yep. funny guys. i think i'll let the music speak for itself.

1. the perfect buffet

2. i do nothing

3. bikini diet

4. government is asshole

5. so weak

6. extreme lifestyles '07

7. information overload

8. U.B.B.C.

9. grow up throw up

10. you're fired, i quit

11. vehicle party

12. spoil yourself

13. don't tour

14. we have a website

Not Around

i can't believe this blog has spanned 4 years. it was great while it lasted. thanks everyone.

The Fans-Givin' Me That Look 7"

now for some killer powerpop. The Fans formed in 1978 in england. apparently they were pretty popular in the UK. i can see why. this is fantastic powerpop. great vocals matched with great fast instruments. the band only released two 7"s which both are great. this 7" was released in 1979 on Fried Egg records. the one i have is the re-issue by 1977 Records. they are a Japanese record label. they have released tons of classic 7"s however they are pretty expensive, for a 7" re-issue. but i got mine for cheaper elsewhere. most 1977 Records records are limited to 300 on black and 100 on some colour. so most of their earlier releases are impossible to find. so you have to buy them when you see them. so yeah, this is a very catchy record, get it.

a-side

1. Givin' Me That Look 5/5 (fantastic. love it all the way through.)

b-side

1. Stay The Night 5/5 (equally great.)

2. He'll Have To Go 3.5/5 (a little less good.)

overall: 8/10 strongly recommended

buy it if you find it, it won't be as easily available forever.

(((DOWNLOAD: MUSIC---SCANS)))

We Still Can't Help It If We're From Florida Compilation 7"

i really love compilations. you get introduced to some really great bands and wish you could hear more from them. then on the flip side there are really bad bands that you wish you never hear again. this 7" compilation however is actually pretty great all the way through. this was the second installment of the florida compilations and it was made in 1992 on Burrito records. tons were pressed because they said that they always wanted there records to be cheap and easy to buy. i really enjoy their thoughts and because of them you can pick this up for around $2.50. this release comes with a fantastic large insert. check it out in the scans.

now on this 7" there is a mix of old and newer bands, well new for the 90's. this comp starts with an EBS track and i honestly thought it was from the 80s. nope, it's a song off of their 1991 release, crazy. next is a song from No Fraud which is awesome. No Fraud's first 7" from 1986 is great. Slap of Reality were a new band as you can probably tell by the sounds of it. it's not bad actually but doesn't fit in with the other songs at all. then Backwash deliver my favourite track on here. the track is from a 3 song demo they did. it sounds very similar to Sin 34. Maggot Sandwich are next. their first two releases are what made them one of my favourite bands. however these two tracks are pretty bad and don't sound anything like the Maggot Sandwich i know. well a Florida punk comp wouldn't be complete without Roach Motel. the song they supply was an unreleased one given to the label by the guitarist on a cassette. then Chickenhead give a pretty great little track. they released only one 7" in the year of my birth 1993. and lastly an obscure song by Milk and Cookies. i doubt they were even a real band. just listen to the 1 second song.

a-side

1. E.B.S.-Police Pricks 5/5 (sounds old.)

2. No Fraud-Identity Crisis 5/5 (love the vocals.)

3. Slap Of Reality-Seemed So Simple 2/5 (weird.)

b-side

1. Backwash-Foundation On A Good Night 5/5 (love it.)

2. Maggot Sandwich-Fuck That Funk 0/5 (i love funk.)

3. Maggot Sandwich-Hambone Of The Gods 3/5 (originally called Led Zeppelin sucks.)

4. Roach Motel-You Make Me Sick 3.5/5 (good.)

5. Chickenhead-Smash And Grab! 5/5 (great.)

6. Milk And Cookies-Post-Apocalyptic Genocidal New World Horror In Surround-Sound (Where Available) 0/5 (awful.)

overall: 7/10 recommended

a pretty great comp overall. the only bad songs are all over in 5 seconds anyway. so yeah, check out the awesome insert in the scans.

(((DOWNLOAD: MUSIC---SCANS)))

This Is Funkin' Insane:::::The 4rd Installment

well now everyone hates me. from the response i'm getting now for putting down the download links is really disheartening. well here is something that will cheer me up and make you hate me even more. it's another installment of everyone's favourite, "this is funkin' insane." this time it is the probably well know man, Ray Parker Jr. yes the guy who did the Ghostbusters theme (which is a great song by the way). but before Ghostbusters, Ray had a band called Raydio. they released two great funk 12"s and are the best stuff he did. in 1980 they changed their name to Ray Parker Jr. and Raydio and released this 12" and one other. then he changed the band name again just to Ray Parker Jr. and everything from then on wasn't that good. but back to 1980. they released this album, "two places at the same time" and it was well-received. however you like funk and not soul (like me), this album is mostly garbage. that being said, the first song is a fantastic funk track. it's called "it's time to party now" and the intro to the song is so great. the bass is incredibly catchy matched with great vocals. Ray himself played the bass, guitar, keyboards and sang on this track. really talented man. now have a listen to this great funky song.

***It's Time To Party Now***

Circle One-Patterns Of Force 12"

well after a long absence i'm back. and i'm coming back with one of my favourite vocalists. everybody already knows all about his stories, like his death, so i won't talk about it. i just really love the way he sings. especially on "Gospel". just a fantastic song. anyway this was recorded and released in 1983 on Upstart Records. this was re-issued two years ago by two labels, Mass Media and Puke n Vomit Records. a great mix of long and short songs on this one. now i downloaded a version of this album a long time ago. the recording was very simple with no effects on the vocals or instruments. now when i bought this re-issue i found myself listening to an album with tons of effects on it. like the massive echoes on his voice, which wasn't on the downloaded version. what does the original 1983 release sound like? effects or no effect? oh well, who cares.

a-side

1. social climbing leeches 5/5 (great opener.)

2. beware 5/5 (nice.)

3. gospel 5/5 (great, favourite song.)

4. survive 3.5/5 (ok.)

5. fading 5/5 (fast and short.)

6. destroy exxon 5/5 (love vocals.)

b-side

1. patterns of force 5/5 (great chorus.)

2. plastic life 5/5 (short.)

3. rapture 5/5 (oooohhhh.)

4. vietnam vets 2.5/5 (meh.)

5. pride 5/5 (love it.)

6. our sword 4/5 (jesus christ.)

7. unity 5/5 (great ender.)

overall: 8.5/10 strongly recommended

great lp from a later stage in the punk rush. thrash without getting too fast on the back and fourth of the snare and hi-hat.

(((DOWNLOAD: MUSIC---SCANS)))

Back

hey sorry, i was gone. i'm back now.

This Is Funkin' Insane:::::The 3rd Installment

well i think it's time for some more funk. seeing that it's my birthday today i thought i'd post something that only i will like on here. and that of course is funk. i was gonna post some punk but my rips turned out to only be in one ear so i'll have to re-up them. anyway, now unlike funk i've posted in the past, these guys are actually new. Funk'n'stein are a fantastic funk band that sings in english but are from Israel. they have been around since 2006 and are still going strong. eight members in total. they have released a 2xcd, and two other separate cds. too bad they didn't release this stuff on vinyl. i'm sure more people would be buying those. but whatever format, the music still kicks. their first cd has about 40 songs with most of them being good. their other cds have great stuff too. so it's hard to narrow it down to a fee tracks, but i have. i have included three great funk tracks and i even threw in a great soul track. so check out the link of their site that i linked above. they even have a bunch of youtube videos, included live stuff and some great outtakes. check out the quick jam session here. i can't wait for their next releases. oh and by the way, the main singer looks like he is straight out of 1974, which is a good thing.

Funky Mission (jesus this is funky.)

Dog and Cat (the first 20 seconds are absolutely incredible!)

That's Funk (it sure is.)

Blue Lights (how about some soul, it's actually great!)

7 Seconds-Old School 12"

from one of my favourite new bands to one of my favourite old bands. 7 Seconds were/are a fantastic band formed in 1980 in Reno. i posted other releases by them which include their 2 first 7"s. everything they did up until 1984 is golden. there is a great LP going around that includes their three early tape releases, which have some great songs on it. the really early stuff is much slower but i've grown to like it, but it's still not close to the fast stuff they do. the last good thing they did was an LP called The Crew. that album is pretty good, but after hearing some of the much rawer versions of the songs in the demo session, i can't really like it as much as i should. everything after that LP is pretty much garbage, with the exception of a few tracks here and there. this 12" posted here was released in 1991 on Headhunter records, but the tracks are from a 1983 demo session. if they had released this in 1983 it would have killed. instead they chose to re-record and these tracks sat for almost ten years. but they did finally get the vinyl release they deserved. these tracks are all fantastic and the production on this is great, really dirty. fantastic vocals by Kevin, one of, if not my favourite vocalists.

a-side

1. you lose 5/5 (crazy.)

2. what if there's a war in america 5/5 (flows.)

3. here's your warning 5/5 (fast.)

4. heavy metal jocks 5/5 (BEST SONG by the band, ever.)

5. these boots are made for walking 5/5 (great cover.)

6. boss 5/5 (i don't know.)

7. young 'til i die 5/5 (love the sound of the drums.)

8. war in the head 5/5 (same as above.)

b-side

1. no class, no way! 5/5 (great!)

2. definite choice 5/5 (way better than the LP version.)

3. i have a dream 5/5 (yeah!)

4. wasted life (ain't no crime) 5/5 (fantastic song, great bass.)

5. #1 rule 5/5 (nice.)

6. out of touch 5/5 (here is a great slower song, love the wa-ohs.)

7. red and black 5/5 (spray-paint.)

8. diehard 5/5 (great singing on this track.)

9. clenched fists, black eyes 5/5 (sadly the last track, but i love the end of the song where everyone's singing.)

overall: 10/10 strongly recommended

one the best recordings of all time, get it from lots of places. i'm sure you are sick of my praising by now.

(((DOWNLOAD: MUSIC---SCANS)))

School Jerks-3rd EP 7"

since i posted the other School Jerks 7"s, i thought i'd post this then too. if you don't know already School Jerks are one of my favourite bands out there and the best out of the great city of Toronto. i'm wearing one of the shirts i got from them right now. just great punk music. this was recorded in 2010 and released this year by Cowabunga records. 100 on clear vinyl, which is the one scanned here, i've also got the black vinyl (i'd like to get this clear black swirl version which there was only like 8 that came out like that, from Nick's store). they are in the works on a 12" which you know is gonna be great after their demo, three 7"s and a split tape they have already released which were all great. nothing will ever beat their first 7" for me, but this 7" is right behind it. Ivan the drummer has a different band called Kremlin which are really quite good as well. you can read more about them and the School Jerks at the site linked here (their blog). nothing else to say, 6 great songs with only one song over a minute long, now listen and buy it.

a-side

1. screamer 5/5 (great opener.)

2. control 5/5 (flying by.)

3. ready to die 5/5 (yeah.)

b-side

1. ugly minds, ugly faces 4/5 (good song.)

2. moral addiction 5/5 (this is the winner. best song on here!)

3. 4-F 4/5 (longest song.)

overall: 9/10 strongly recommended

as you can see it's more great artwork by Tara Bursey. she has done the artwork for all the 7"s and stuff. wondering if she is working on the 12" design. on the inside of the 7" sleeve is the lyrics to Ugly Minds, Ugly Faces, but only that song. check it out in the scans.

(((DOWNLOAD: MUSIC---SCANS)))

This Is Funkin' Insane:::::The 2nd Installment

ok everyone on the planet whether you like them or not, knows Earth, Wind & Fire. and if you like funk, you definitely like them. the problem with them is, like most funk bands, they add in a few or lots of soul tracks on their LPs. for some reason people like all the soul stuff. not me. it's way too slow and dull, just awful. so anyway some how this is on Rolling Stones list of the best records of all time. i don't really see that. however, there is a track on here that does go down as one of the best funk tracks of all time, in my mind. this great song is tucked at more of the end of the album, crammed between some not so good tracks. the song is Africano and i think it was a single from this 1975 release, or at least the flip side of a single. originally i skipped this track on first go around. this was because i thought it was some soul song judging by the minute and a half flute intro. then i played it later on and found out that there was more to the song. so here you have it, Africano, with the flute intro cut out. right to the funk!

***Africano***

Strike-Radio Songs/Teenage Rebel EP 7"

well what we have here is a classic punk 7". this Belfast band released this 7" in 1980 by Shock Rock and was sadly their sole release. it was limited to 500 back then. too bad they never did anything else but this cause these two powerpop songs are some of the catchiest ever. the band did recreate once but with a female singer and they didn't go much original material. there is a great write up of the band on the Sing Sing blog. in fact this was re-issued by the label Sing Sing records in 2010. that whole label is just amazing. every release they do is a killer. however, this 7" is one of the few that is out of print from there site. just by looking at this cover you know it's gonna be great. i like the little symbol in the cover that they changed from Shock Rock to Sing Sing seamlessly. so if you haven't heard of this, get it now, it's a must. it's hard to chose which song is better, but i think i like the flip side the best.

a-side

1. radio songs 5/5 (so great! love the vocalist.)

b-side

1. teenage rebel 5/5 (sooooo catchy.)

overall: 10/10 strongly recommended

as i said before, it is out of print. so get it from Sorry State or something. and look i got the scans back up and running. check out the great artwork below. i am even going to add the artwork on the actual tracks ala Killed By Death Records (if you haven't noticed by now, this site is heavily influenced by that site).

(((DOWNLOAD: MUSIC---SCANS)))

Scanner

hey i got my scanner back up and running so i'll go back and fix the other two posts tomorrow. i got some great posts coming up.

Retainers-Teenage Regrets 7"

now for some more of the Retainers. before i praised them with their Waste of Time 7" (which by the way does have one of my favourite tracks of all time on it). and like that 7", this record was released on Fashionable Idiots out of Minnesota. this one being 3 years previous to the other in 2006. the Retainers play really distorted garage punk stuff. this 7" is really distorted opposed to there others, (i feel). this has been pressed twice and i have the second press. they have released a few 7"s and a 12". if anyone knows where to get that 12", let me know, cause it's sold out everywhere i look. the first track is a real good one. the last track has a real surf vibe to me, must be the guitar.

a-side

1. teenage regrets 5/5 (yell! catchy.)

2. zombie caliente 2.5/5 (not my favourite.)

b-side

1. kill my boss 3/5 (pretty good.)

2. blue jean attack 5/5 (surf!)

overall: 6/10 recommended

i get these guys and the Sinks mixed up so much. anyway you can buy from the link above. the cover actually is more of a reddish colour but came out pink for some reason.

(((DOWNLOAD: MUSIC---SCANS)))