The Books - Music For A French Elevator (2006)

I told you all about The Books last week, or the week before. Or at least, I told everyone who didn't know The Books about The Books. Because I don't want to sound pretentious, as there are enough people who come here who knew The Books already, who knew them for a long time, and some who even knew them before me. So that doesn't make me pretentious anymore, so I can now go on and tell everyone how much I love this little, tiny EP they made in 2006.

This EP is just a collection of 'found sounds', funny fragments of coincidentally stumbled upon songs, phrases, and other sounds. Great work by The Books, because they always work with very cool samples and their music is practically based upon them, but on this EP they take it a step further: they let the sample be the song. Check, it, out!

you'll never be alone
VBR

U.S. Maple - Talker (1999)

A concept album about high-school by U.S. Maple, is there anything that could ever top this? This is the band's definitive statement: they made a great debut record, a solid follow-up and one good and one mediocre album after Talker, but Talker defines them as a band. This could be so incredibly dull and pretentious, but because of the individual qualities of this band, they completely pull it off.

Maybe this is my favourite release by this band, but it definitely is their defining moment. High school as seen through U.S. Maple's scope.

breeze, it's your high school
320kbps

U.S. Maple - Long Hair In Three Stages (1995)

U.S. Maple has always impressed the hell out of me. This band is so scary, it really is incredible that these guys decided to make music instead of working in a slaughterhouse. U.S. Maple is not only about the deconstruction of songs, but the total destruction of songs as well. Every seems starts promising, but stays right there. It never lets go of its nervous surroundings.

A truly amazing band, one of my favourite, in fact. They made another four albums after this one, of which Talker is the best. I will post that one later on today, it's U.S. Maple-Day! Give them a chance!

letter to zz top
192kbps

The Jesus Lizard - Goat (1991)

Not very often do I post albums that are in my absolute favourite epic albums ever list, but today I do. Goat by The Jesus Lizard is in that Top 100, that I made a while ago, and I'm still not sure whether to post it or not. Anyway: this record is the absolute top of the bill when we're talking about pigfuck/noise rock.

I used to like their album Liar over this for a while, but lately Goat has come to grow on me a lot. I guess, that if I ever get kidnapped by a serial killer, this is the music he's playing in his car. That's probably the best description I could give of this music. Angry, scary, serial killer freaks playing rock music.

nub
192kbps

Flux Of Pink Indians - Strive to Survive Causing Least Suffering Possible (1982)

If I had to choose, I would pick American hardcore over British hardcore everytime I had to choose a favourite. Flux Of Pink Indians however, are a fantastic British hardcore band from Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, England. A little shithole is where these fuckers lived, so they became anarchopunks, which seems perfectly logical.

This record has some of the best riffs present in British punk, and at the same time they remain very uncompromising, a fact they would also prove on The Fucking Cunts Treat Us Like Pricks, their second album. Enjoy this record!

the fun is over
192kbps

Cows - Cunning Stunts (1992)

At the end of the eighties and the start of the nineties, there was a crazy little scene, mainly based in America, called Pigfuck. Pigfuck is a genre close to noise rock, a term coined by Robert Christgau. It refers to the rough attitude of the pigfuck bands, often spotted in stetson hats and lumberjack outfits.

This record, Cunning Stunts by the great Cows, was one of the later masterpieces to come out of the scene. Cows had been part of the scene from the start and they were known for their raucous performances, akin to The Jesus Lizard.

The front cover says it all: a trumpet player with a cowboy hat, takes out his false teeth and starts playing the trumpet. Yeehaw.

yeehaw
VBR

Prince - Dirty Mind (1980)

I'd like to post an album by one of the greatest artists of all time (Prince himself will say that he actually is the greatest artist of all time, but I'd like to disagree about him actually being the very best), Prince. Prince was born as Prince Rogers Nelson in 1958 and he made this album when he was 21/22. Almost all the instruments on these eight songs are played by Prince himself. He was a very gifted multi-instrumentalist, often forgotten by many.

A great provocateur, but I'd like to see him more as a creator of great music, I don't care so much for the sexual provocation side of his work. But that's just my opinion, because his status is probably 'the male Madonna'. Enjoy this music, that's what I care more about.

when you were mine
192kbps

T.S.O.L. - Dance With Me (1981)

Great hardcore punk classic from T.S.O.L. (True Sounds of Liberty) out of Long Beach, California. Led by the Iggy Pop of hardcore punk: Jack Grisham, who was one of the most notorious figures in hardcore punk. Known for his on stage and off stage behavior as a complete enfant terrible. This album is just a collection of one of the strongest set of hardcore punk songs, made in 1981, probably the best year for hardcore punk ever.

In 1981, everything came together, and bands like T.S.O.L., MDC and D.O.A. were able to lift upon the success of great acts like Black Flag and Bad Brains. Hardcore punk at its peek, there isn't anything better than that.

dance with me
192kbps

Mekons - Fear And Whiskey (1985)

This album is often called alt-country, but it really has nothing to do with what people call alt-country nowadays. This more appropriately sounds like The Pogues mixed with post-punk, without all the stupid bagpipe-stuff in The Pogues. You know, I really, really dislike The Pogues, but I love the Mekons. So there you can see the difference. On this record everything comes together. They made an enormous bunch of albums, but this album is the one that is the most coherent.

Side B especially is absolutely flawless and there are some amazing songs on it. Very unpretentious, fun cowpunk from Britain, so get it while it's hot.

darkness and doubt
VBR

Melvins - Bullhead (1991)

It is always to have another Melvins album and to know it by heart. Melvins are one of the most original bands in the alternative metal field and I love them to bits. This album is a wee more droney than the album I posted a long while ago. The opening song on this album 'Boris' even inspired the band with the same name to name their band Boris. Only that fact makes this album worthwhile enough for every metal fan across the world I guess.

Sludgy as always, Melvins keep hitting hard. I'll keep posting these Melvins albums every once in a while, because I saw Houdini got downloaded quite a few times.

anaconda
192kbps