Presented here is a brief representation of last night’s spins. You can see how the evening progressed into an outright cacophony of carnal violence with the first Revolting Cocks release (1985’s No Devotion, as good of a nightcap as there ever was), but what isn’t instantly apparent is the decision making that tied these releases together. James Booker’s The Lost Paramount Tapes followed by Thee Midniters’ debut self-titled, then finally the grandfathers of Wax Trax! Records, RevCo. I can’t for the life of me remember the motivation, not that it matters, so I guess this telling was little more than a mundane tail of unrelated entertainment, if that is in fact how what we’re calling it.
Tag Archives: Wax Trax! Records
New from 1988!
What I find most interesting about this insert, apart from the all-star line-up of yesteryear, is that wax-047 is referred to as The Ballad of Pailhead. It would never be released as such, and wax-047 would be pressed and forever known as Trait, a 12″ EP compiling Pailhead’s last two 7″ singles.
Double the Gods?
Not exactly sure why we need to own The Young Gods’ 1986 EP, Envoy! multiple times, but this is our reality. Is it good, yup. Wax Trax! Records #21 (wax021), but double copies?! Somebody dropped the ball (me).
Idiot
Minimalist industrial (the best kind), in all its Wax Trax! Records glory (though, it did not need said label’s social nuances to successfully flourish). 1988’s three-track EP, Idiot is an adventurous (and repetitive) introduction into Paul Barker’s debut (Ministry / Blackouts) side project, Lead into Gold. Only releasing one LP (1990’s Age of Reason), Lead into Gold was a short-lived, heavily weighted shadow, worthy of your next vacation from the scowling reality that is 2017 “America.” I’d suggest you listen with caution, but such a warning would fall upon deaf and ignorant ears.
Dog Star Man (ifesto)
Play it Again Sam Records, now [PIAS] Recordings, the Belgian-based experimental / alt-rock label released Dog Star Man, a 12″ single from England’s Meat Beat Manifesto. It was the distribution by Wax Trax! Records that caught my eye (along with the industrial-friendly cover art), and although she’s a quick 4-track 12″, she does wet the electro-industrial-experimental whistle and leave the adventurous listener wanting much, much more. 1990 was a great year for industrial music… arguably the genre’s most prolific.
Solid Gold
In all my Wax Trax! Records collecting days, I’ve never seen a gold version of the iconic logo. Not sure why it’s taken me so long to secure WAX005, A Popular History of Songs’ 1984 effort, Ladder Jack, but neatly affixed to the back cover of said EP is this glittering gem. I’m a sucker for logos, if you haven’t figured that out, and beside the Grand Royal Records logo, this one may take the cake.
1987
In 1987, I was 8. Also in 1987, Revolting Cocks released their heart-stopping live album, the double-trouble LP, You Goddamned Son of a Bitch. This album was recorded some 170 miles south of the rural, tumbleweed-rolling town I rode my GT Vertigo BMX around. Now, some 29 years later, this video documentation holds court within our humble library . Historical brilliance needs preserving, and this release was done up right.
Spectre
You know, I really wasn’t sure what to expect from a new Laibach album, having not heard anything by them since their 1988 masterpiece Let it Be (now 26 years old). I’d been a casual fan, to put it mildly (also the owner of their 1987 Wax Trax! Records release, Opus Dei), so when Spectre found its way into my eye while on a weekend getaway up in Ventura Country, I couldn’t help but snatch it up thinking, why the hell not? I’ll be honest and say I’d (wrongfully) thought of Laibach as a long, running joke, what with their over-the-top fascist military uniforms and “totalitarian-style aesthetics.” What I found, thus far, from the six or so tracks I’ve consumed, is a collective sticking to their guns, or marching to their own beat, or waving their own flag (I’m tapped out of military references), while still maintaining their classic, oppressive, industrial sound. Like with any Laibach track, the beauty is found within repeated listens, and Spectre is no exception. Certain hilarious lyrics stand out that cue certain track repeats, but not one time, thus far, have I regretted my purchase, if only for feeding my overflowing curiosity.
I Will Refuse
In 1987, industrial-metal pioneers, the illustrious Ministry, teamed up with straight-edge mogul, Ian MacKaye (of Minor Threat and Fugazi), for an ambitious, yet magnificently executed collection of hardcore punk-industrial hybrids. Calling themselves Pailhead, the short-lived supergroup released six tracks over three releases and a comp. Featured here is their first record, well, the 12″ version of it, titled I Will Refuse. It’s not surprising that the record received both a 12″ and 7″ release, catering towards both the industrial (12″) and punk crowds (7″) respectively. Swap out MacKaye for Jello Biafra, add a few years (1989), and you’ve got LARD, another, more long-lasting venture into the punk-industrial genre that these Pailhead fools almost single-handedly established. It’s not perfect, but it’s pretty damn close. Check ’em out.
Is a Thousand Enough?
When 1000 heterosexual DJs won’t cut it, consider 1000 homosexual ones to finish the job. 1990’s Supernaut, a two-track 12” featuring an uncredited Trent Reznor on an early 70’s Black Sabbath cover, is both 25 years old, and essential Chicago industrial music material. Happy hump day.
Lead Into Vinyl
Lead Into Gold, wait for it… on gold vinyl! Finally, an official vinyl release of Lead Into Gold’s (Paul Barker) Low and Slow 12″! Previously only existing as a test pressing (roughly only five copies), this gold vinyl release of the now 24 year old record is limited to 500 copies and is sold directly through the label, Wax Trax! Records. Sure, $16 is a bit much to pay for four tracks, but new Lead Into Gold certainly warrants excessive spending.
Stamp of Industrial Approval
Props to the newly restored Wax Trax! Records for staying true to their roots, and for (finally) releasing Lead into Gold’s Low & Slow. Happy, this Satur of days.
Post no. 950: Alchemy
I was elated when I finally found my copy of Lead into Gold’s only full length, 1990’s Age of Reason. Like a child on Christmas unwrapping musical bliss, or something like that. I scored a sealed copy for super cheap online some, wow, 10+ years back. There is a bridge… there is water… and there has been a lot of that water… anyway, one needs to be in a very specific, sharp-minded and angry mood to fully enjoy this industrial masterwork. Today, I was that one. Enjoy with caution.
Life is Life
Laibach brings such a cynical smile to my face, I border on fits of maniacal laughter. Life is Life is a classic, and comical oppressionist Industrial hymn, and is the perfect relief for the Friday afternoon doldrums. To be completely honest, I’m not 100% sure that Laibach’s brand of persecution theme music is to be taken sincerely. By themselves, Laibach songs can raise the weary eyebrow of the unsuspecting ear, but when coupled with a blatant, over the top video (such as Life is Life, or the Beatles cover, Across the Universe), one can’t help but break out in a rash of uncontrollable snickers.
If you can get past the repetitious hammering and deep-throated persecution, Laibach is comedy gold, with a brainwashing beat. This, and all Laibach comes HIGHLY recommended by the PG.
Seal of Quality, One Discovers
When one witnesses this 1992 seal of quality from the 1992 KMFDM album, Money, one knows one is witnessing one’s best possible selection one can possibly make. One need not continue looking once one discovers ol’ Moonface logo guy, here. One looks, one sees, and one gets that deep down warm and industrial fuzzy feeling one tends to get, when one knows, and respects, that Wax Trax! Records sound.
There can be only one, and this is it.
Min Com
Israeli dark wavers Minimal Compact blend a compelling combination of Middle Eastern influences, a Westernized, early 80’s love for the sax, looming, almost destructive industrial loops and effects, propulsive bass, appropriate hints of what sounds like an antique squeezebox, and a flavor I can’t quite place that conjures up images of David Cronenberg’s Naked Lunch on this, Minimal Compact’s 1984 effort, Next One is Real. I’ve owned this EP for several years, it being a Wax Trax! Records release and all, but I’m now listening to it with what seems like virgin ears. I’m on my third, consecutive spin.
The snarling chants bellowing from the opener, Next One is Real, reminds me of a spry Douglas McCarthy from Nitzer Ebb and, although I’m an enormous fan of the Ebb, the progressive, rhythmic flow of Disc O’Dell’s remixed work on Next One is Real and Not Knowing eclipse even the greatest in Nitzer Ebb’s stunning catalogue. And just like that, Minimal Compact has swiftly become my newly acquired audio fixation.
Chicks & Speed: Carmen
Victorious, self-promoted back-patting often follows a discovery of unrelated mediums. My fandom of all things Wax Trax!, (X-Ministry member) Paul Barker, and kickass covers first drove me, at nauseating high speeds, to the Lead into Gold (aka Paul Parker) three-track EP, Chicks & Speed: Futurism. Thinking little-to-nothing of the embossed “chick with speed” cover upon its immediate acquisition, set up a cloud parting, heaven’s light-shining, all-aware, and never forgotten moment of connection and instant recognizable correlation some several (possibly three) years later.
I’d heard Georges Bizet’s legendary opera, Carmen, several times prior, although I couldn’t necessarily pinpoint when and where, but this ear-ingesting fact is unimportant. What’s profoundly relevant is the striking similarity, i.e. blatant ripping off (homage?) of the 1955 Columbia Records (CL 735) discharge by André Kostelanetz and His Orchestra to the 1990 Wax Trax! Records release. Nowhere during the opera’s IV acts does the swelling drama invoke even a hint of the Chicago based American industrial offered by Lead into Gold, and nowhere throughout the 19 minutes of Chick & Speed: Futurism is a hint of Carmen revealed.
The struggles to continue the lifelong search of the ever-illusive relation between these two albums marches on, and perhaps always will, but the journey’s soundtrack, as well as its alluring cover art, certainly is provocative.
The Blackouts During a Blackout
When the first one hit, I found myself amongst a cloud of darkness, and a kitchen full of dirty dishes. When the second one hit, I (literally) ran to the office for my portable, and this 1985 release (Wax Trax! Records cat. no. WAX006), Lost Soul’s Club by the Blackouts. I’ve lived in Southern California for over 10 years and have never experienced a blackout, so, quick on my feet, I wasn’t about to miss an opportunity (however brief), to enjoy the Blackouts during an actual blackout. Lucky for me (less so for my SO), this one lasted three hours.
I’m still working on an actual, respect-given write-up about my portable turntable setup (battery operated Numark PT-01 and iBN24 iHome rechargeable speaker, gifted by my thoughtful, music-loving parents), but I will say this: the ability to listen to records literally anywhere and at literally any time is a luxury I’m rapidly becoming accustomed to.
(Let’s Talk) Physical
The obnoxiously soothing b-side to the Olivia Newton John cover of (Let’s Get) Physical by the Revolting Cocks is a marathon listen. Clocking in at 10:08, this monster of a patience builder is little more than an irate, mechanical loop set off to offend everyone, up to and including the most devoted RevCo fans… at a seemingly endless coil of 10, nauseating, industrial minutes…
I’m in love with this song. It offers somewhat of a calming experience, not unlike the way Philip Glass’ Einstein on the Beach provides its monotonous, brilliant beauty. I’ve included the track for you (to struggle through) to enjoy, so you can get a sense of what Chicago’s industrial scene was like in 1989.
Not unlike drinking straight vinegar, or putting hot sauce on your morning toast, (Let’s Talk) Physical, and the Revolting Cocks as a whole, are certainly acquired tastes. This isn’t a song I’d spin as often as let’s say, The Kinks’ Animal Farm, but its function of knocking me out of any given dry, laborious day, at 10-minute intervals, is a rare and welcoming treat.
It’s a RevCo World
There is a distinct level of sophistication found throughout the three tracks on Revolting Cocks’ debut 12” No Devotion that is only hinted at on Ministry releases from the same label (Wax Trax! Records) in the same year (1985). There is something much more nefarious and menacing here than say, Everyday (Is Halloween), or even Over the Shoulder (both Ministry releases, and both released in 1985). The Nature of Love (again, Ministry… you can see where my head has been lately) comes close, but is lacking that fiendish push into classic industrial / EBM territory. Perhaps No Devotion, with its three tracks clocking in at 22 minutes, benefits largely due to the fact that RevCo, at this time, was a bit of a Wax Trax! Records supergroup. Consisting of Front 242 head, Richard 23 and Luc Van Acker (surprisingly, Alain Jourgensen is isolated as Producer and not an official Cock), this preliminary incarnation of the ever-evolving band would only release one other record as a three piece, their first full length, 1986’s Big Sexy Land. After that, Richard 23 left, and Ministry mainstays Bill Rieflin, Paul Barker and Chris Connelly became official Cocks. The band would change again in 1993, then yet again in 2006, but that’s a topic for another time.
Every once in a blue moon I’ll get trapped amongst the early Wax Trax! Records releases, which usually leaves me with a raging headache and the smell of whiskey on my breath, but every time I’m more than happy to welcome the comfort of anger and disgust that inevitably comes along with some of the pinnacle releases of the industrial movement.
The Prudent Groove 