We FINALLY acquired the latest Obits album, this orange vinyl version of the Sub Pop released, 2013 album, Bed & Bugs. Nothing beats their first effort, 2009’s I Blame You (as far as I’m concerned), but it’s certainly satisfying to finish this garage rock band’s discography. Straight up, classic, dedicated rock n’ roll music here, kids, and let’s face it, from one of the guys that brought us Pitchfork, Drive Like Jehu, and Hot Snakes, I’m game for anything Mr. Froberg involves himself with, and you should to. (Looks to camera.) Call and order now!
Category Archives: 2013
Pines
Question: What would a soundtrack to a dramatic thriller composed by master vocal manipulator and genre-bending pioneer sound like? Answer: Well, if you’re talking about the potent Mike Patton, it would sound exactly like The Place Beyond the Pines (Music from the Motion Picture). Ominous, foreboding, dismal, with a hint of underlining grim, this 2013 soundtrack makes it eerily clear that any place beyond the tree line is about as uneasy and unsettling as anything imaginable. Now, I just hope the film holds up to this record.
Event 2 x2
Though not as prolific or, let’s say, monumental as their debut album, Deltron 3030’s 2nd offering, 2013’s Event 2 carries with it substantial clout and unparalleled brilliance, both in original and instrumental form. As a pair, this 4x LP set provides stellar DTA (Dan the Automator) production, and a with or without “optional” Del the Funky Homosapien vocals (read: vagrant poems). Event 2 is essential, for even the laziest hip hop connoisseur.
The Surplus
Though I’m not blown away by the first spin of Surplus 1980’s 2013 mini album Arterial End Here, I will say that I’m willing to put in the overtime to properly ingest its contents. Maybe I was having a bad day, or maybe this collection of 7 songs seem half-baked, but there’s something unsettling about how unsettling this (mini) album is. Give it time… my new mantra.
Event 2
The possibility of a Dr. Octagon show next month has gotten me 1) a little excited and 2) in the mood for Dan the Automator. Presented here is The Instrumentals version of Deltron 3030’s 2013 sophomore effort, Event 2, but, you know, like I said, the instrumental version of it. Be it Wanna Buy a Monkey?, his work on the video game 2K7, Lovage, or Handsome Boy Modeling School, one can very seldom (read: never) go wrong with a little Dan the Automator.
Aloha, Suit Up
Rumored to have been recorded for only $600, At the Drive-In’s first album, Acrobatic Tenement harnesses the bombastic, melodic shrieks of Drive Like Jehu into a steel-solid collection of instantly-classic, post-hardcore ditties. Originally released by Flipside Records solely on compact disc in 1996, the album didn’t debut on vinyl until this 2013 reissue from Twenty-First Chapter Records, the band’s own label. If you have the stomach for aggressive adventures in and out of post-hardcore shadows, Acrobatic Tenement is certainly not one to miss.
Zero, Hero, Not No Small Fee
Event 2 checked through interplanetary security some 13 years, a decade (+) some would say, after the initial ignition of innovative insanity spawned the red-eyed cloud of sophisticated satisfaction. Muddy your mind, and tap your toes, ’cause Deltron Zero and Captain Aptos have been serviced, and are accessible for all of your control-alt-deleted needs.
I’m Down with the Boys Beastie
What’s not to love about a bootleg of the Beastie Boys covering their version of a Beatles song?! This unofficial 7″ from 2013 is as hilarious as it is historical. From the bird on the cover (here) to the Licensed to Ill-era schoolboy lyrics, the Beasties’ version of I’m Down has the classic Def Jam hip hop power guitar you’d expect, and I’m not even joking, their reworked lyrics are gut-bustingly priceless. The quote on the back of the sleeve, however, takes the cake.
“After a long pause, Michael Diamond responds to a question about Michael Jackson, who as owner of the publishing rights to the Beatles’ songs, refused the Beasties permission to put their own customized version of the Fab Four’s ‘I’m Down’ on their album. ‘What would I do if I met him?’ Mike D says. ‘I’d unplug his oxygen tent, rip off his surgical mask and spit in his face.'”
– Los Angeles Times, February 1, 1987
Classic D. This Chinese release is limited to 249 copies on explicative pink vinyl, was a holiday gift from some well-knowing family members, and comes highly recommended.
RIP MCA.
No More Faith in Amazon
Beware when purchasing records off Amazon, kids. There may well be a time when you read the description for a 2013 marble red vinyl reissue of Faith No More’s 1994 masterpiece, King for a Day Fool for a Lifetime, and you order and receive its black vinyl brother instead… then again, upon contacting Amazon describing the issue, they send out a replacement that’s… identical. Needless to say, they’re both going back. Buyer beware, kids
The Prudent Groove 