A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the 2LP reissue of He’s the DJ, I’m the Rapper by DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince. It’s funny but, looking back at it now, it’s unbelievable how quickly everything came together for DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince. Before April 1987, no one (well, no one outside of Philadelphia) had any idea who the duo was but, suddenly, Rock The House dropped, as did the smash single “Girls Ain’t...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the “SEED” LP by Looming. It’s only upon starting to listen to “Seed” that one realizes a female singer fronting an emo band is such a rarity. Why is that? In many ways, it could be argued that the music is tailor-made for a female sensibility (women are in better touch with their emotions and can definitely articulate them better – comparatively, men are more than a little inept). Regardless, the whys...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Black Friday-released Run, Stop & Drop (The Needle) EP by the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. It’s not common for a jazz album which was made in a recording studio to really reach out and grab a listener’s attention. Let’s be honest here; jazz was originally music which was born onstage and developed there with the help of gifted players who spent hours crafting it, grooming it, refining it and making it...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into Pocket FishRmen’s The Greatest Story Ever Told LP/CD set. In the grand tradition of bands including The Big Boys, Butthole Surfers, Scratch Acid and Daddy Longhead, Austin’s Pocket FishRmen were an archetype Texas punk band in that their artistic vision was a little skewed. They always seemed a little frazzled and they always – always – did things their own way. Even this compilation release is a testament to that “their own...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Tales From The Megaplex LP by Count Vaseline. It might seem difficult to understand for those who have never heard his music before, but Stefan “Count Vaseline” Murphy is the definition of “timeless, ageless hipster cool” and he proves it on his third album, Tales From The Megaplex. Throughout the album’s eight cuts (seven originals and one Ween cover), Murphy deadpans and comically monotones his way along against a backdrop of...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Locust Abortion Technician EP by the Butthole Surfers. At first glance, it’s hard not to smirk a little at the design, intention and construct of the Locust Abortion Technician EP. It’s a very unmistakably “Surfers” release; the group has chosen to break their decade-long silence with a celebration of the thirtieth anniversary of their Locust Abortion Technician album and, to mark the occasion, they’ve reissued (roughly) thirty percent of the album...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Five Minutes To Live 12” EP by JoeCephus and the George Jonestown Massacre. It might not sound like it makes sense on the surface, but a convincing case could be made for the most genuine tribute albums being those which rely on deep cuts from the celebrated artist’s catalogue. How else would the songs get collected together that way if not because the artists involved weren’t undying fans themselves? Such an...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the “Wake Up” 7” single by The Complicators. Now that punk rock has gone around the block a few times and collected little generic influences like a lint brush, it’s understandable how some fans may be hard-pressed to recognize it anymore. That’s why a release like The Complicators’ “Wake Up” 7” is so refreshing though; it grunts, it grinds and it stomps but, most importantly, it sticks to the core tenets that...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Monstervision LP by Round Eye. Since first appearing as the “band on the other side of a split album with Libyan Hit Squad” a couple of years ago , Round Eye has always been upfront regarding its’ affinity for vinyl releases, but...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into Harrington Saints’ “Red State” 7” single. It’s not uncommon for punk bands to tackle political subject matter, but it is unusual to hear the language of Republican politics appear in a punk song. That’s what makes the title track from Harrington Saints’ newest 7”, “Red State,” so compelling; while the song itself is not actually “red,”it utilizes the language as a discussion point in order to uncover the politics and psychology of...