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(Mr Phreek circa 1998/1999 - Photo by Ackronomicon)
It's oh-so-apt that I'm posting this after winning a five day battle with the swine flu of computer viruses...
Anyway, I'm really big into cyberpunk. Max Headroom, Shadow Run, Blade Runner, Tron, THX-1138, Akira, Philip K. Dick, Alfred Bester, Cordwainer Smith and, of course, the novels of William Gibson all rank highly on my entertainment scale.
On a cyberpunk kick in 2005, I decided to create music that was truly "cyberpunk." I figured a good way to do this would be to record a digital instrument through an analog recorder, so I overdubbed my digital Korg Prophecy on my cassette-based Fostex XR-7 multitracker. I kept William Gibson's first novel, Neuromancer, in mind as I assembled the tracks to create this bit of lo-fi electronica.
If you're familiar with Neuromancer, the song titles should speak for themselves, so a track-by-track analysis is unnecessary. However, if you're unfamiliar...hell, download this album and listen to it while you go to the bookstore to buy it. Or, in true cyberpunk fashion, shop online for an ebook.
And, no, you can't dance to it.
Simstim Technologies
Neuromance CDR
(MPAE)
2005
Sample tracks:
Television Sky
Sleeping Coffin
To make a long story short, I met Dan through a total toolbag who went by the name of Atom (when he called, he'd say, "Hey, it's A-T-O-M!") and we all played together in a short-lived band called A Funeral in the Fall. Dan and I eventually got sick of said toolbag and quit, but that's another story.
Anyway, Dan had this thrash band that he had just started called Optimus Prime, but they couldn't hold down a guitarist. I volunteered, saying I couldn't practice with them, as they got together Monday afternoons and I had to work, but I'd kinda learn the songs and improvise the rest. As a big Melt Banana fan, Dan liked the idea and I joined as noise guitarist.
One day in February 2005, we went into Dan Keely's studio in Southold and recorded this gem.
We played a total of 12 shows from May 2004 to July 2005, when Joe, the singer, quit and we gave up. It was fun while it lasted.
Dan wrote everything. I think Joe wrote the lyrics for "Who the Hell Knows?" though. Lou played drums like a cracked-out Animal.
Optimus PrimeAnd Now...Optimus Prime Time! CDR(MPAE)2005
Sample tracks:
Better Days
Skin Deep
Get Off Yer Ass and Practice What You Preach
(Mr Phreek circa early 2001 - Photo by Ackronomicon)
December is my birth month (I was born on the seventh) so all my posts this month will be from my own musical projects.
When I recorded this album, I had been NY for a year and a half and I was completely frustrated. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't connect with anyone musically - open-mindedness isn't exactly prevalent on the east end of Long Island. I really wanted a punk band, but I was surrounded by strict metalheads and people whose ideas about punk rock came from MTV.
So, in DIY fashion, I did it on my own. It's a really good document of what was going on in my head at the time (late 2002). I also pulled out some of my favorite songs from the original MPAE tape and finally gave them a proper recording, despite the ultra-crappy production.
Goes well with a 12-pack of cheap beer.
(Mr Phreek circa early 2001 - Photo by Ackronomicon)
(note: songs that are linked can be downloaded as samples)
01. Something More - This song came from nights where I'd just aimlessly drive around the North Fork because I didn't have any friends and I didn't know what to do with myself.
02. Q&A Session - Musically, this was one of the first songs I ever wrote back when I was 16, but I never really did anything with it. I decided to resurrect it here and write lyrics that are kind of like a punk rock Samuel Beckett. It's too bad I mixed this so poorly, as I really spent time on the drums.
03. Climbing Up the Walls - I had kicked junk a little less than two years before this was recorded, but I still had really bad cravings, which only got worse with my frustration.
04. I Wanna Die - This Dwarves-inspired ditty can be interpreted as either a celebration of hedonistic nihilism or a sarcastic mockery of it. Personally, I go back and forth, depending on what mood I'm in. Lots of people tell me this is their favorite song on here.
05. Deaf Mute - Remember that part in The Catcher in the Rye where Holden Caulfield says he wants to move to some podunk town and work in a gas station and pretend to be a deaf mute so he wouldn't have to deal with people? I horrified my freshman high school literature teacher when I told her I thought it was a good idea.
06. Pissed Off/A Sellout Like You - The first part is very Black Flag-ish hardcore, but the second part really came from Crass. Again, the drums were mixed way too low.
07. Bithing Again - A song about how all my songs were complaining about something or other. Even in my darkest moments, I retained a sense of humor. I've always really liked this one.
08. I Really Hate You - One of the songs from Anokist Antiquity that got a proper recording here.
09. Kill Your TV - Another Anokist Antiquity track that finally got the balls it deserved.
10. Sick of Porn - Ack had sent me this horrible porn tape, The World's Luckiest Man starring Jon Dough (who has since killed himself), and, without internet access or the slightest success in the female department, it was all I had to get off. It got old really quickly.
11. Burn Down Your School - My favorite Anokist Antiquity track. Burn, baby, burn.
12. I Don't Care - A much better version of a song from Mixdown 2 with better lyrics.
13. That's Me - This was also originally on Mixdown 2. This version is dirtier in that Fang way.
14. Pretty Bad Girl - A Flipper-type track about a girl I worked with based on stories she told me. It seemed like a good way to end the album.
FPOSFuck You, We're Fucking Piece of Shit CDR(MPAE)2002
Before The Jack Saints, Mike and Nick were in Solarfeast, a desert rock band that blended stoner rock, spacerock and noise rock into a heavy, psychedelic, unified whole.
"We recorded it and mixed it in 2 days and our singer hadn't finished writing lyrics... We did some cool shows though, played a lot on acid and in front of 16mm projections of space and Egypt educational films (I was on my Hawkwind kick obviously!).
'Rats' and 'Puppy Has Ludes' were my songs (not the lyrics), and 'Exode' was Nick's song. My favorite song though is the C.O.C. cover/hidden track," Mike told me in an email.
I found my copy of the CD in the dollar bin at Aron's Records in Hollywood!
The music and images were uploaded with Mike Desert's full consent. Thank you, Mike!
SolarfeastGossamer CD(El Camino)1995
Sample tracks:
My Cradle, My Grave
Helping Hands
Well, it's Thanksgiving time again, and I don't know about you, but I'm really struggling. There hasn't been a whole lot of work and things look pretty bleak from where I'm sitting. I keep telling myself to get through the end of the year and maybe things will look up come January, but I'm finding it harder and harder to listen to myself.
And so, I present my first mixzip, a compilation I assembled of songs dealing with the struggles I'm living every day. I actually made this back around May/June, but it's even more pertinent to my daily life now than it was then.
I recommend turning this up with some cheap beer for company and rocking to blues away.
A detailed track list with explanations for my song choices can be found here. The whole thing will fit on a CD if you want to burn it.
None of the songs were cleared for use here, but I hope you discover some new bands and rediscover some old favorites. Make sure you buy stuff from the artists you like (provided you can afford it, that is...).
MPAE presents...Hard Times MZ(MPAE)2009
And here is what I believe to be the second ILLB release. Here, Holly Prindle's tortured/angelic vocals come to the forefront, delivering dreamy, psychedelic lyrics over Marc Mozga's trippy electronic dub. As to be expected, it's highly original and genuinely unique, and an interesting step forward from their previous tape, Mysteries of Magnetism.
Play loud and turn up the bass!
The images and music were uploaded with Marc Mozga's consent. Thank you, Marc!
I Luv Luv BirdsI Know Why the Caged Bird Gun Slings CDR(ILLB)2006
Sample tracks:
One Watt
Icicles (Of Gasoline)
Before World War IX, Justin Melkmann swung his left-handed axe in his first band, Jerk Alert.
In his excellent punk rock comic book, Slap in the Face: My Obsession with GG Allin, Justin wrote:
"A comment from a friend of mine, who I was trying to turn on to [The Donnas' debut, Rock and Roll Machine] kinda turned me on my head. He said that the music was good, but nothing special. And if I liked this simple stuff so much, then why don't I just start my own group. I couldn't wrap my mind around this ludicrous concept, but I knew he was right."
He continued:
"About a year later, I was at my friend Julie's karaoke birthday party and it hit me, hard. I'd had no idea she possessed such a great voice--very Joan Jett. She sang Madonna's 'Like a Virgin,' but it sounded nice and rough."
"I knew how to play a handful of chords on the guitar and it was then and there that I got the wacky idea to go ahead and try to start my very own band! Alcohol and karaoke can make for an inspiring combination indeed."
Though much less "hardcore" than WWIX, the songs on this CD stand out for their catchy, almost early '60s pop, melodies (that Frankie Valli influence perhaps?) and strong female vocals.
In various emails, Justin told me, "It's sooooooo innocent...I like it, but man is it...uh....old. sounds really muddy, and we didn't bother to record a second guitar. And that's not good. We were on a Jabbers only tribute cd outta sweden though, and that was freaking great...We were in such a bubble at the time. We didn't know hardly any other bands. Music seemed dead. Now? Christ, there's a great band playing every night of the week."
Hey, it's punk rock!
The images and music were uploaded with Justin Melkmann's consent. Thank you, Justin!
Jerk AlertJerk Alert CD(Jerk Alert)2000
Sample Tracks:
What I Want
Bag Boy
(Mr Phreek circa 1998/1999 - Photo by Ackronomicon)
Simstim Technologies
