Sunshine and Grease

Don't Leave Me On The Speaker

2009-04-20T18:15:00.000-07:00

One last go. This shit is either dead or capable of supporting itself.

Sorry to everyone we stole from, misrepresented, or annoyed.

Thanks to everyone who used us on their myspace page or website, who sent us free records, who bought records or went to shows because of what we wrote, who encouraged us, who read us.

Thanks to Psychedelic Horseshit, Times New Viking, Tyvek, Little Claw, Pink Reason, Adam Stonehouse, Blank Dogs, Sic Alps, DJ Rick, Tom Lax and Siltbreeze, Troy Malish, Columbus Discount, Florida's Dying, Scott Soriano and S-S, Z-Gun, Terminal Boredom, Hozac, Sweet Rot, In The Red, Goner, Doug Mosurock and Dusted, Siltblog, and all the other bands, labels, websites, blogs, zines and people who I forgot. Thanks to Eat Skull, especially Rob and Scott.

It's summer again, but this is kind of a sad one.

01. Eat Skull - Don't Leave Me On The Speaker
02. Little Claw - Race To The Bottom
03. Hole Class - Silent Mind
04. Times New Viking - A Lot Of Pai
05. Tyvek - Blessed
06. Mike Rep - Ballad Of Jim Croce
07. Intelligence - Pony People
08. Psychedelic Horseshit - Tropical Vision Edit

Pretty much everyone here has or is on a new record, go buy it.

People are insane

2008-09-14T21:33:00.000-07:00

Clerical matters.

I said in an older post that the new Hospitals record might have a contribution from Eat Skull's drummer, and that was totally wrong. What I should've said is that the new Hospitals record features Eat Skull's Rob Enbom and Rod Meyer along with Hunches guitarist Chris Gunn. Chris moved west to San Fran after The Hunches finally called it quits, though their third and final album is due out later this year. Hospitals cofounder Adam Stonehouse was also an original member of Sic Alps, and his absence is most notable on this year's US EZ LP (still a great record though). Hairdryer Peace has been called everything from psychedelic's new "ground zero" to "the new benchmark for aural insanity", and personally I can't endorse it enough.

But this post isn't really about those guys. After losing The Hunches, Portland gained a promising new alt-pop act in The Whines. They recall the blown out punk of the best New Zealand bands with the basement recording aesthetic of early GBV material, and I have to mention that their guitarist plays through a Sovtek that sounds a lot like what you might expect when a building falls over. Their first 7'' is in the works and should be released in the not too distant future.

The Whines - Insane Ok (demo)
The Hospitals - Rock and Roll is Killing my Life (from the first album)
The Hunches - Lost Time Frequency (from an old 7'')

Bad Days

2008-08-19T18:14:00.000-07:00

eric & THE HAPPY THOUGHTS music does just that, it makes me think of the best feelings and memories my tiny brain can muster up. I am in love with this band. Indiana based three peice that has members of the Romance Novels. It's things like this that make me fall in love with America and all it has to offer.

Two song self-released cassette is already sold out, but look forward to some vinyl on Bubbledum Records shortly.

eric & THE HAPPY THOUGHTS - Bad Days

Look at you now

2008-07-19T23:01:00.001-07:00

Zola Jesus - The Way
Die Stasi does it again. More kitchen sink synth stuff, this time from a lovely lady out of Wisconsin. Would make a nice counterpart to that Mattress 7'' from last year, or an early Pink Reason - not 'By A Thread', the other one. Suicide comparisons are inevitable. I guess they're calling this stuff Crimson Wave, and I think it's exclusive to girls from the mid-east. Said label is compiling a bunch of it for an upcoming 12''. Zola is a little less folky than those gals, and a lot more pop oriented. Between this, Vivian Girls, and my one true love, I'll never need to hear a guy sing again. 'Poor Sons' is a top five release this year.

We go out to the movies

2008-05-26T21:04:00.001-07:00

Headache City - Hey Ugly
Hozac returned with a trio of singles recently and my personal pick is Chicago's Headachecity. There's a bit of Brit to their sound, like if Pulp were a garage band or something. That's stupid, but this record isn't.

I believe in nothing

2008-05-12T19:46:00.000-07:00

Vivian Girls - All the Time
Female trio out of Brooklyn. Indelible pop hooks with a lighthearted late '70s post-punk sentiment. Debut 7'' available from their myspace page with a self-titled LP on the way. Recently signed to the ever expanding In The Red Records. Long live the girls of summer.

Slow start

2008-05-08T19:05:00.000-07:00

We've been busy with school and trips and such. Summer is here, hopefully there's gonna be more to come. Here's a preview of this past month's bigger releases.

The Hospitals - This Walls (Self-released)
Former Sic Alps member Adam Stonehouse and possibly the drummer from Eat Skull. Less DIY garage and more psych than those bands; everyone from DJ Rick to Tom Lax (I guess that isn't much of a gap) are losing their shit over this one.

Pink Reason - Borrowed Time (Fashionable Idiots)
Latest and greatest from our friend Kevin. I don't think he likes us uploading his stuff but this has been on myspace for ages and I'll gladly take it down on a request. From what I gather on youtube on message boards this is more indicative of his live set, but I have to agree with the boys over at Dusted on the notion that this only really makes sense when taken with his other releases. A definite must-have and somehow still available at bistro distro.

Eat Skull - No Intelligence (Skulltones)
B-side from the now impossible to purchase 7'' on Skulltones. As close to a sing-along as this band has come. LP out soon on Siltbreeze. If you're in Edmonton and want one I might have an extra copy.

Jay Reatard - See-Saw (Matador)
Please don't spend a lot of money on this. I'm not really sure where it started, but it was rumoured this thing was mega-limited and that certainly isn't the case. Plenty of these at local shops. Solid, but basically what you'd expect from said artist/label.

Let's go daddy-o

2008-04-03T00:58:00.000-07:00

A lot of people have been describing Electric Bunnies in a lot of different ways (Sludge-pop, bubblegum punk, the Florida-based Pink Reason), but to my surprise no one is sighting the Kiwi influence on their smash "Chewing Gum" single. The record came out this year on Florida's Dying and sounds like it could probably go on a Verlaines album or a Flying Nun comp or something. Maybe I'm crazy; feel free to tell me. Copies just arrived at bistro distro.

Chewing Gum

She'll break your heart and beg for more

2008-03-24T00:32:00.000-07:00

The Pizzas are a garage punk outfit out of Sacramento writing songs about girls who dress bad and being popular. No one should have to qualify music more than that. Their 7'' came out recently on Daggerman Records.

Hideous Fashion

X-RAY MY BRIAN

2008-03-16T22:02:00.000-07:00

The Wax Museums are total brats, I can tell. They're the kind of kids that would be working at a hamburger joint and spit in your food. They take pleasure in holding you above the toilet and dipping your head in. This is the group of kids that show up to a party and tear it to pieces only after drinking everyone else's beer. And guess what, they also make totally idiotic punk music.

Short, simple,catchy punk anthems akin to some KBD stuff. Wouldn't be wrong to throw out a Urinals comparison either. But basically their songs boil down to obnoxious fun.

Wax Museums - Jackoff Rat (From their Claw You Like a Cat 7")

A slew of 7"'s out already on various labels, most already out of print. Look forward to a LP on Douche Master in the future.

You're a real woman

2008-03-14T19:27:00.000-07:00

Cheveu - Lola Langusta
We've done a Cheveu post so I won't say much, but this record makes me want to chase girls, smoke cigarettes, and be a man. Order it now from Bistro Distro or pick one up at Listen.

I have nothing interesting to say

2008-03-13T22:35:00.000-07:00

Do not google meth teeth.

Meth Teeth are a trio hailing out of (surprise surprise) Portland Oregon, and their debut 7'' on Vancouver's Sweet Rot Records is something of a gem. The heart of the record is really the b-side, where the music rests comfortably between twangy folk and early Link Wray, and the vocals take the forefront, resulting in what's probably the best chorus of the year on "To My Good Friend". Copies still available from Bistro Distro.

To My Good Friend

Psychopathic Breathing

2008-03-06T19:49:00.000-08:00

Eat Skull have my vote for best band going these days. There really isn't much more i can want in a band: irresistibly catchy songs, amazing lyrics, energetic vocals and instrumentation, and a recording quality that allows for all of these things to truly shine. Not unlike Times New Viking or Psychedelic Horseshit, Eat Skull seem capable of fusing pop songs with a surprising amount of listenable racket that makes for one of the most enjoyable sounds ever to grace these ears.

Two songs from their split cassette release with Wrecks. (Sound quality is what you would expect from a cassette rip)

Punk Trips
Survivable Spaces

All previous Eat Skull releases are out of print sadly. On the bright side, brand new 7" on Skulltones is just out and a LP for Siltbreeze is in the works.

2008 prediction: Eat Skull will make people happy.

It's not your speakers

2008-03-04T22:07:00.000-08:00

"Here to make an unheard noise, cobbled together from parts unearthed, snippets torn from unconscious minds and given life."

I will admit that i am terrible at writing about music, but that seems like a silly reason to not share the stuff i like.
For when it comes to a band like the Nothing People, i think the only way to fall under their trance is by listening to their music. They got me hooked with their 2006 debut 7" "Twinkie Defense" on S-S that is what protopunk sounds like when made in the 2000's. Since then i've been torn on their output. Releasing one of my favorite songs of the past couple years with their contribution to the Almost Ready split compilation "The Worlds Lousy with Ideas vol.1", while at the same time managing to turn me off of their sound with the "In Your City" 7" on S-S that had them playing up the glam a bit to much for myself. And now, another 7", this one on Hozac, that redeems the band completely in my eyes with the song "Army of Ideal". Taking their futuristic protopunk to a whole new level that has them residing in a world of optimistic twilight where all our dark troubles, for some reason, seem to make us happy.

Nothing People - Army of Ideal

Full Length soon!

Double Negatives

2008-03-03T15:18:00.000-08:00

The Goslings make a special kind of exhilarating noise/drone that falls somewhere between an older Boris album and a smash Slowdive single. I don't consider myself particularly knowledgeable about the Not Not Fun camp, but I rarely hear fuzz as meticulously constructed and gorgeous as this. Grandeur of Hair is one of my favourite records of the past few years, and hopefully Occasion will prove just as rewarding. You can order the new album here.

The Goslings - Brohm Bramin

We understand that some people don't appreciate the sentiment of our blog. If any label or artist wants their music taken down, feel free to drop us an email and let us know. The endorsements of a few of the people we like to talk about here has kept us going, and we wouldn't do it if we didn't think we were helping out. Apologies to anyone who has suffered as the result of our posts.

Here Comes The Summer

2008-02-24T10:28:00.000-08:00

So Cow makes some frantic pop music. I think if these songs could somehow be deciphered and put into a mannerly fashion then he might have a chance on making large money. Luckily though, thats not the case. Recalling a time when indie pop was much more exciting and could go under the banner of twee/jangle/kiwi pop. So Cow offers the possibility to have some contemporary pop music to accompany the upcoming summer nights.

Come May, he will be making his way over to North America and going down the west coast (Vancouver!).

There was a 7" out on Almost Ready records but thats sold out. Besides that it looks like you can download his full length on itunes. Best way to hear the sounds of So Cow are to go to their myspace and listen to "Casablanca" and "Moon Geun Young" over and over again.

Why does everyone need more then friends?

2008-02-07T17:23:00.001-08:00

This seems like a good return to the blog. Hopefully 2008 holds more music, pizza parties and pretty girls.

One of the better years for music in my opinion.

lps:

Pink Reason - Cleaning The Mirror
Psychedelic Horseshit - Magic Flowers Drone
Hue Blanc's Joyless Ones - Arriere Garde
Little Claw - Spit and Squalor Swallow the Snow
Carbonas - Self Titled
Goodnight Loving - Crooked Lake
Times New Viking - Present the Paisley Reich
Los Llamarada - The Exploding Now

7"

Pink Reason "By A Thread
Cheveu "My Answer is Yes
Tyvek "Summer Burns"
Eat Skull "Meds II"
Blank Dogs "Yellow Mice Sleep"
The Ski Instructors "Kids On The Street"
Jay Reatard "I Know A Place"
Thomas Function "Relentless Machines"
Knaughty Knights "Tommy Of The River"
Times New Viking "My Head"
Home Blitz/Boys Club/Nothing People "The Worlds Lousy With Ideas

Now 2008.

holy shit i'm so glad

2008-02-03T00:01:00.000-08:00

Sic Alps.
Get dirty, have fun.

Stories
Strawberry Guillotine

Rather dull

2008-01-07T00:23:00.000-08:00

These are my 25 favourite albums(?) of the year. I'll be back soon with a real post. Happy Christmas and New Years and such.

1. Psychedelic Horseshit - Magic Flowers Droned
2. Blank Dogs - Diana (The Herald) EP
3. Pink Reason - Cleaning the Mirror
4. Mattress - Have You Heard EP
5. Religious Knives - Remains
6. Group Inerane - Guitars from Agadez: Music of Niger
7. Burial - Untrue
8. Cheater Slicks - Walk into the Sea
9. Supersilent - 8
10. Times New Viking - Present the Paisley Reich
11. Factums - Alien Native
12. Group Doueh - Guitar Music from the Western Sahara
13. Jack Rose - Jack Rose (the one on Tequila Sunrise if it came out this year)
14. Enkidu - Live in Kyoto
15. Blues Control - Puff
16. Tyvek - Fast Metabolism
17. Climax Golden Twins - Five Cents a Piece
18. Hue Blanc's Joyless Ones - Arriere Garde
19. Carbonas - Carbonas
20. Wooden Shjips - Wooden Shjips
21. Arve Henriksen - Strjon
22. Ex-Cocaine - Esta Guerra
23. Sir Richard Bishop - While My Guitar Gently Bleeds
24. Stars of the Lid - And Their Refinement of the Decline
25. White Rainbow - Prism of Eternal Now

Keep your distance

2007-12-03T19:48:00.000-08:00

The Stapler are pushing more of the Ohio based indie/shit-pop that throws back to the glory days of '90s Guided By Voices, Pavement, Superchunk and the likes. Album recorded and mixed (through a wall?) by Times New Viking guitarist Jared Phillips. Released in 2006 on Columbus Discount, edition of 500, copies still available.

Metaphysical Haircut
To The Trees

Weird Pizza

2007-11-21T22:14:00.001-08:00

Here are a couple of songs.

Hey!

1. The Nothing People - Twinkie Defense
2. Michael Yonkers and the Blind Shake - Carbohydrates Hydrocarbon
3. Unnatural Helpers - Heavy Sugar
4. Hey Buddy and the Pals - Cryout
5. Psychedelic Horseshit - Portals
6. Home Blitz - Hey!
7. Carbonas -September Girls
8. GG Allin and the Jabbers - You Hate Me and I Hate You
9. Raxola - 84s Man
10. Final Solutions - Pink Violince
11. Country Teasers - Golden Apples
12. Mattress - Eldorado
13. Pink Reason - Going Home
14. The Cheater Slicks - Walk Into the Sea

Enjoy.

rip it off

2007-11-15T21:14:00.000-08:00

Don't really need to say much about this one.

Two tracks from the new album (actual recordings and everything).

Volatile Chemicals

2007-11-11T11:39:00.000-08:00

Almost good enough to take away the pain of not seeing Psychedelic Horseshit this week, were seeing two Vancouver groups. The Defektors and the B-Lines. Neither of them have any releases so i only have one song of each.
I really think that the Defektors are going to make a name for themselves in this new punk scene, and rightfully so. While the B-lines aren't really doing anything too groundbreaking, they can definitely wright a fast catchy punk song with a nice touch of intensity. Seems like that city is doing something right.

Defektors - Burning Light
B-Lines - Burnt Cds

I know you hate me

2007-11-08T19:20:00.000-08:00

The Romance Novels are the latest Indiana band recalling the playfulness of late '70s west-coast punk/'80s DIY and they continue to knock out the unpretentious, hip-shakin' grooves. Totally innocent bubblegum that's near impossible to dislike. Their latest 7'' is available via Hozac.

Another Summer
Quarter to Four

It's a long walk home

2007-11-05T00:32:00.000-08:00

The Bummers (bombers, bums) make me happier than most bands could ever dream.

You Set the Fire
Everything's Different with Orange Juice

Funeral Magic

2007-10-29T09:04:00.000-07:00

Columbus is alright in my opinion, Same with the label Columbus discount. I'm not exactly sure what goes on down there but they sure know how to turn out some truly classic records.

El Jesus Del Magico are a fine example of the Columbus charm. As with basically all of my favorite music, they serve up a nice mix of catchy tunes that are eerie enough to not make you feel too good about yourself. Enjoy and sleep.

El Jesus Del Magico - Funeral Home 7" (Columbus Discount, 2007)

LGNO
X-mas at Wounded Knee
Indian Giver

Mish-Mash

2007-10-26T14:59:00.000-07:00

I'm buried right now so I'm not really going to say a whole lot, but there's definitely no shortage of things to talk about.

If you haven't already, please pick up a copy of Z-Gun. Fantastic new zine with a huge (and amazing) interview with Pink Reason, articles on SF art-punk, the Brainbombs, Not Not Fun, and much more. Dirt cheap and available through S-S.

I hate repeating myself (not really) but that Psychedelic Horseshit LP is one of the most exciting things I've heard all year. It makes me want to write about music again, I just don't remember how yet. Maybe I'll do that sometime. Thanks to everyone in town who bought one already; we know who you are! If you haven't picked one up and all the shops are sold out, it's still available through Siltbreeze.

Here's a bunch of songs I don't want to describe. Factums have a great LP on Siltbreeze. Thomas Function have a bunch of stuff on a bunch of labels, you'll have to decide what you want for yourself. TV Ghost have a 7'' out on die Stasi.

Factums - Factum Tan
Thomas Function - I Kept You in a Pill Bottle
TV Ghost - Atomic Rain

If you're from Edmonton and you like that TV Ghost stuff check out The Wicked Awesomes. They're going places... at least where it counts.

They Sound Like Trains

2007-10-20T11:55:00.000-07:00

It’s taken me a long time to get into Los Llamarada, but now that I have I count them among the most important sounds in music right now. The four piece from Monterrey Mexico have been cooking up some untamed punk music that has roots firmly in the no wave scene. I don’t think music can get more murky then this monster of a band here. Simultaneously working in minimal song structures and then adding so many random sounds and seriously demented vocals make for an interesting listen.

There’s a brand new 7” out on SS, who also released their debut album earlier this year. Here is a link to a free album they put out on a Mexican internet label. Check out their Myspace page for more songs and info about picking up their records.

The Very Next Moment
I'm Sorry

My Answer is Yes

2007-10-09T20:41:00.000-07:00

Cheveu are a French punk trio that have been destroying the world with there intoxicating take on music. So far just a couple of 7" and compilation appearances, but already have garnered a large following both in Europe and America. Expect more greatness in the future..

The a side of this 7" is the best song I have heard them make yet. A perfect mix of steady drum machine/keyboard and bass with some haunted sounding distorted guitar. Add to this vocal that make my hairs stand up and you have one of the most intense songs released this year. The b side is great as well with a totally different feel. Listen and then download as this 7" seems to be gone already. Sad story.

My Answer is Yes
Lola Langusta

Turn out those lights

2007-10-05T15:18:00.000-07:00

They're probably tired of hearing it, but Psychedelic Horseshit pick up where The Paisley Reich left off, only with a lot more pot and maybe some Neil Young records in tow. Four-track recordings put down in a living room. Their first full length comes out on Siltbreeze later this month. Try not to like it.

Psychedelic Horseshit - Portals
Psychedelic Horseshit - Both Sides Now

I just wanna be your man

2007-10-02T15:37:00.000-07:00

Boston Chinks make the kind of jangly garage punk that isn't believable unless it comes out of the American South. Their 7'' is available on the Memphis based Goner Records. You'll like it if you like the Reatards. Here's a video of them performing the song I posted. That's all for today.

Boston Chinks - Coltrane

You only hope to survive

2007-09-23T23:30:00.000-07:00

If Nick Cave had a bad dream with Suicide on the soundtrack. Over modest electronic backing Mattress reminds us that we can still sing without sounding garish or insincere. The sort of thing that’s eerily romantic and irresistibly weird. Almost warrants use of the word ‘important’. Right now it looks like his only release is available via Malt Duck Records.

Mattress - Have You Heard?
Mattress - Church That Shit

Summer Burns

2007-09-18T12:50:00.000-07:00

I love Tyvek. A little bit of The Buzzcocks, some Stooges, and a dash of the Electric Eels end up creating some of the best songs I've heard all year.

This is a double 7" put out by What's Your Rupture and has 4 songs clocking in under 9 minutes.

Tyvek-Summer Burns 2007

"Air Conditioner" is my pick for song of the year.

Do nothing else

2007-09-10T21:37:00.000-07:00

A-Frames - Modula
A-Frames - Traction

'Modula' appears on the album 2 and 'Traction' shows up on the 'Police 1000' 7''. I think they're both available on S-S but I'm not gonna check. Super slick robo rock.

Crazy Rhythms

2007-09-06T00:00:00.000-07:00

It seems real silly to me that this album by The Feelies isn't readily available. Full of proto punk vocals, amazing guitar playing and tones, as well as completely genius drumming. They managed to create a sound, although routed in the Velvet Underground and Television, that was totally unique and unexpected.

Very essential.

Crazy Rhythms 1980

It was easy, it was cheap, go and do it

2007-09-04T23:18:00.000-07:00

The Desperate Bicycles were at the forefront of the British DIY scene back in the 70s and there music still holds up today. Totally great sloppy pop punk that beats the pants off of most other bands. They released a handful of singles and one Lp from 77 till 1980. All worth hearing, but sadly long gone and impossible to find. Luckily there is a website that has all there songs available to download Messthetics is really the only place you need to look. A ton of great reissues and compilation discs of all the bands of this movement.

These recordings are in "slightly stereo"

I'm always losing ground

2007-09-03T18:38:00.001-07:00

This seven-inch thing is happening (no homo) and I can barely download the stuff fast enough.

I love that these bands all have amazing myspace pages where in place of the usual bullshit friend choices like nineteen fifties business moguls they just put a bunch of other incredible groups. Blank Dogs - possibly my favourite thing in the world right now - link to The Urinals, Desperate Bicycles, Moondog and The A Frames. They're suspiciously tagged as a noise-pop outfit but I've just finished previewing a track from their new album and it has this great eighties post-punk thing going on. Like if someone did something interesting with a Joy Division influence for once. These tracks appear on singles they put out on Hozac and Sweet Rot and are the ideal way to end the entirely too short summer months.

Blank Dogs - Outside Alarmer
Blank Dogs - Yellow Mice Sleep

Choose to Lose

2007-09-01T12:14:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of posts on my part. I'm back home now and have a pile of stuff to listen to and put up on the blog.

I'll start with the Green Bay based Pink Reason who seem to be fairly efficient in turning out some classic synth drenched outsider punk. A couple 7" so far and one full lengh came out on Siltbreeze earlier this year. I can't see him slowing down anytime soon and i recommend tracking down these releases as they all seem to be selling out fast.

Here's the new 7" on Trick Knee Productions. By A Thread 2007

SS records has all this stuff and basically any other good DIY punk release coming out these day.
And if you live in Edmonton just head on down to Listen Records.

Expect more 7" this week and another mix in the next little while. I hope everyone is taking care of themselves.

Better known as Crooklyn

2007-08-28T22:22:00.000-07:00

Things you could bring up when talking about rap in the '90s:

- MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice

- The coasts

- Tupac and Biggie

- Hardcore rap, DJ Premier, lyrics, and the Eastern dynasty

- Rap as a cultural phenomenon

- The Southern takeover

East-coast rap singles of the 1990's part II

You was in church with your moms

2007-07-19T23:02:00.000-07:00

East-coast rap singles of the 1990's part I.

We're gonna win this thing!

2007-06-13T19:39:00.000-07:00

Journey: for the record, I liked it.

Drew is in Europe. He may post, he probably won't. Wish him the best. Gross punk 7''s in his honour.

Brainbombs - Stinking Memory

Clockcleaner - Early Man

Der TPK - Thy Depth!

Made In America

2007-06-07T19:18:00.000-07:00

At 10:01 PM on Sunday night, David Chase will close the curtain on one of television's best dramas since the medium's birth some seventy odd years ago. Thinking back on all the things the show has done well over the past six and a half seasons, I realized that there probably wasn't another series that has harnassed pop music as well as this one has. Its engineers took full advantage of the link uniting gangster life and modern songwriting, buried deep in their audience's subconscious since (at least) the time of Scorsese's Goodfellas. Chase personally sits in on every minute of editing, and has helped write sequences around preselected pieces of music. He's been quoted as saying that he could have scored every epsiode with only Dylan, Costello, and The Rolling Stones - a desire I'm more than glad he decided to ignore. Many of the songs the show has used aren't that interesting on their own, but still perfect in context, most notably at the end of an episode. What will play during the final minutes of Sunday's airing is anyone's guess, but I'm sure we'll all agree that it suits the moment, no matter how things turn out for our beloved mobsters.

Bruce Springsteen - State Trooper
From episode #13, "I Dream of Jeannie Cusamano".

R.L. Burnside - Shuck Dub
From episode #31, "Another Toothpick".

The Kinks - Living on a Thin Line
From episode #32, "University".

Tindersticks - Running Wild
From episode #85, "The Blue Comet".

I Wanna be a Dead Boy

2007-05-21T11:22:00.001-07:00

This is my summer punk mix. 19 songs.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/4ddm1q

Have Fun.

Track List:

1. The Dream Syndicate - I Wanna be Clean
2. Dead Boys - All This and More
3. Desperate Bicycles - Dont't Bck the Front
4. Johnny Thunder and the Heartrbreakrs - I Wanna Be Loved
5. Supercharger - You Irritate Me
6. Times New Viking - We Got Rocket
7. The Fall - Rebellious Jukebox
8. The Homoesexuals - Kiss With Venom
9. Electric Eels - You Crummy Fags
10. Monoshock - Hawkind Show
11. The Buzzcocks - I Can't Control Myself
12. The Ramones - Let's Dance
13. Young Marble Giants - Wurlitzer Jukebox
14. The Wipers - Mystery
15. The Flesh Eaters - Pony Dress
16. The Gun Club - The Breaking Hands
17. Pere Ubu - Humor Me
18. Mission of Burma - Progress
19. Wire - Dot Dash

I spit on the ground

2007-04-15T00:13:00.000-07:00

To pigeon-hole Gordons as Flying Nun’s “loud band” is to do the Christchurch trio a massive injustice. Assembling the snarling guitar riffs of a peaking Wire with the repugnant demeanor of a Mark E. Smith, the group quickly became one of New Zealand’s great nihilist acts of the early ‘80s.

Alister Parker’s love of loud, punishing chords make the band's early material an easy reference point for the future lawlessness of Sonic Youth, but his regularly overlooked musicianship and technical proficiency put him side by side with the likes of revered forward-thinking guitarists Greg Sage and J Mascis. The guillotine of noise he brought to each performance mirrored perfectly the self-glorification, sarcasm, and paranoia of his lyrics. Hints of pop songwriting were buried beneath the earth-crumbling volume Parker reared from his instrument, leaving the often frail, sometimes invisible song structure in the hands of bassist John Halvorsen.

The trio would eventually reemerge in the late ‘80s as a less inspired, albeit much louder Bailter Space, but the apex of their work remains in the band’s classic first album and decidedly punk Future Shock EP.

Gordons - Spik and Span
Gordons - Laughing Now
Gordons - Adults and Children

You Turn Me On

2007-03-18T22:06:00.000-07:00

This is basically the best that youth has to offer.

Beat Happening made the world of pop music exciting again. Crashing through the years of 82 – 92 and beyond, they created some of the simplest and catchy songs of that time. 5 LPs of pure innocent fun that forever changed the shape of underground pop music.

A lot can be said for the DIY aspect of punk music, but it’s really Beat Happening who took this ideal and made it approachable to the kids of American indie rock. Playing any show they could get as long as it was all ages, recording on 4 track cassette, writing songs about hot chocolate and playing house, creating a label to release their own music as well as records by their friends. Beat Happening helped create a community that made it acceptable for anyone to start a band and have fun.

"Indian Summer" http://www.sendspace.com/file/hngthp
"Youth" http://www.sendspace.com/file/4twyyt
"Godsend" http://www.sendspace.com/file/siwnq7

Siltbreeze Records

2007-03-03T21:22:00.000-08:00

Throughout the '90s Philadelphia based Siltbreeze put out a number of notable releases from groups The Dead C, Charalambides, Harry Pussy and Guided by Voices. The label boasted an impressive roster that featured sounds ranging from psych to post-rock to noise-rock to improvisational scrawl. Though its most prolific period has probably past -, with the majority of its best releases dating back more than ten years -, the recent signing of Columbus based Times New Viking has once again brought life to the briefly dormant label.

TMV kneads the unpolished guitar bedlam of The Dead C with the sharp pop sensibilities of The Clean; topping their rough mix with the drooly teenage jest of their alternating vocalists. Their modern take at punk comes with an abundance of charm and a refreshing slightness of pretense. Clocking in at less than thirty minutes, the group's second Siltbreeze album Present The Paisley Reich is an instantly endearing and already essential '07 release.

Times New Viking - New Times, New Hope
Times New Viking - Teenage Lust!

Charalambides - Denver Harbor
The Dead C - Sky
1929 - Happy Electronics

Don't Do What Donny Don't Does

2007-02-24T21:52:00.000-08:00

Sunshine and Grease is not one hundred percent ready.

Sunshine and Grease is run by two nineteen-year-old geeks.

Sunshine and Grease is not a rap blog. Sunshine and Grease is not an indie-rock blog.

Sunshine and Grease are good words to use when describing a hamburger - or maybe even a hamburger and milkshake.

Sunshine and Grease are not the nicknames of the guys who run Sunshine and Grease; if they were, I'd probably be Grease.

Sunshine and Grease deals mostly with music, but it may incorporate the odd post regarding any of the following: film, bowling, dice, haircuts, crêpes, pretty girls, video-game hockey, shoes, cardboard boxes.

Sunshine and Grease is the name of a Royal Trux song.

Royal Trux - Sunshine and Grease