Monday, August 16, 2010

Thorazine - Merry Stupid Fucking Christmas - Red and green split colored vinyl 7 inch on Hell Yeah Records



Extremely RARE red and green split colored vinyl seven inch!

Thorazine - Merry Stupid Fucking Christmas - Red and green split colored vinyl 7 inch on Hell Yeah Records

Tar Babies - Honey Bubble - Cassette tape on SST Records



The last album from the Tar Babies is their funkiest and in many ways their most successful, though the vocals are still a bit weak and lacking in personality. Indeed, the two best cuts are the ones with guest vocalists -- of a sort. "Spaight and Ashbury" is really an instrumental that happens to be overlaid with recordings of rambling, surreal answering-machine messages. Oddly, the mix works perfectly, with the strange stream-of-consciousness monologue a mad counterpoint to the sizzling funk rumbling beneath it. "Bimbos and Idiots" is a non-politically correct rant that features a female guest vocal, and it comes off livelier than most of the other cuts. Elsewhere, the vocals on "Honey Bubble" are lacking in character -- not bad, but not memorable. This is unfortunate because most of the music here is first-rate, mixing punk, funk, and experimentalism to great effect. Funky slap bass and strident, discordant guitars mix much better than might be expected, and though the horn section never really cuts loose, there are some moments when they add a soulful or jazzy tone to a punkish riff. This band had some very good ideas and weren't afraid to experiment, and even if they didn't always pull everything off, their albums still sizzle.

Tar Babies - Honey Bubble - Cassette tape on SST Records

Corduroy - Jan Michael Vincent - Featuring members of 50 Million, Redemption 87 and Hi-Fives on Broken Rekids Records



Corduroy was an indie-rock trio from the San Francisco Bay area, in existence from 1991 to 1995. Each member had connections to other bands: singer/guitarist Wade Driver to 50 Million, bassist Mike Weisburg to the Foster Brooks, and drummer Gary Gutfeld to the Hi-Fives and Redemption '87. Although the group recorded often, much of their material went unreleased during the band's existence, their only full-length LP being 1994's Lisp

Corduroy - Jan Michael Vincent - Featuring members of 50 Million, Redemption 87 and Hi-Fives on Broken Rekids Records