Opération S

The so-called "Punk Wave" project of Cécilia Meneau. "S" is for suicide. "Opération" is for "O".

Archive content :
Opération S : self-titled (2004)
Paranoia mafia / Je suis une illusion / Je ne veux pas grandir / Jeunesse éternelle (with Daniel Darc) / Délinquante / Vince, mon amour / Rien de Spécial / Sang sans sens / Ne me touche pas / Nouvelle génération / Existence imposée / Art dégénéré / Programmation prévisible / Opération suicide
B-sides & more : Cauchemar / Je cherche (Lutins' cover) / Pogo in Togo / Rien de spécial (Live au Subsonic)

Download it here.

Anteenagers M.C.

When briefly living in Paris, my saturday ritual was the record shops tour. Taking the metro line heading to "Le Silence De La Rue" ("the silence of the street", 8 rue de la Fontaine du But, 18th arrondissement, Montmartre) was a delight. Behind the cash desk, future members of the No-Talents, unintentional founders of the soon to become "Happy Family" (whom last born are Cecilia Und Die Sauerkrauts or The Cavaliers... among others).
Laurent Bigot (read this interview, courtesy of psychotic reaction blog) played in many of these bands. Anteenagers M.C. are noteworthy as their sole album is made of AMC songs (side A) and AMC songs covered by Happy Family members (side B).

Archive content :
Anteenagers M.C. (7"-2003)
(The) future ('s coming tomorrow) / Down in Amsterdam
Anteenagers M.C. : Let's not have a party (EP-2005)
Let's not have a party / Blue steel / Les conformistes / Cars
Anteenagers M.C. & friends : self-produced (2003)
Krispy kream / What's wrong with you? / Where is Billy Idol now? / Red eye express / Lies is a 4 letter word / You are in my vision / Dark white (+ instru jam) // Down in Amsterdam (Wangs) / (Demain viendra) le futur (Opération S) / 99ème étage (Blutt) / Teens (Frustration) / Misty water (Real Gone Daddies) / Cailloux (Les Dragueurs) / Larry (Les Terribles) / Paradise (Men in the Moon)

Download it here.

The Walkabouts : New west motel

I needed a magnifying glass to point this out. A microscopic anomaly in the discography of a prolific band. "New West Motel" was released as a double LP in 1993 by Sub Pop's german headquarter. The fourth side includes 3 cover songs (Tom Waits' "Yesterday is here", Neil Young's "Like a hurricane" and "Prisoner of Texas", a traditionnal song). 2 out of 3 appears on "Death Valley Days, lost songs and rarities" compilation. The studio version of "Like a hurricane" is vinyl only. So here it is.

The Walkabouts : New West Motel (2xLP-1993)
Jack Candy / Sundowner / Grand Theft Auto / Break it Down Gently / Your Hope Shines / Murdering Stone / Sweet Revenge / Glad Nation's Death Song / Long Time Here / Wondertown (Part One) / Drag this River / Snake Mountain Blues / Findlay's Motel / Unholy Dreams // Yesterday is Here / Like a Hurricane / Prisoner of Texas

Download it here.

Thalia Zedek : The nature of drones

Laugh if you can. The first times I heard the band Come on records, I was unable to say if the singer was male or female. And when I saw Come live, I was still doubtful. Thalia Zedek is not the androgynous type. Masculine, yeah.
Come was an awesome band. Starting a solo career near 2001, Zedek refined her art musically. But that voice...
"The nature of drones" is quite a rare record (only sold during an australian tour).

Thalia Zedek : The nature of drones (MCD-2005)
Searchlight / Wind / Evil Hand (acoustic) / Too Much Shadow / JJ85 / House of the Rising Sun / Eastern Hue

Download it here.

Black Supersuckers : Sub Pop demos

Someone asked for the Black Supersuckers album. With all due respect to a human being (Eric Martin to name the guilty one), Eddie Spaghetti inherating the lead vocals is the best thing that could happen to this not fully grown-up band. And it happened. Save your cash for the Supersuckers' real thing.

Black Supersuckers : Sub Pop demos (1989)
Dance on it / Dirt / Black Supersucker Rock (extended version) / Four Stroke / Blow you Away / Girl I Know / Uncle Jim / Junk / Mudhead / Wake Me When It's Over / Girl I Know (acoustic version) / Monkey / Black Supersucker Rock (reprise)

Download it here.

The Grave Diggers : Move it!

Tim Warren may be a megalomaniac narrow-minded loudmouth but what he and Crypt Records did from the mid-80's to nowadays is no doubt an unquantifiable contribution to music History in general and garage-punk'n'roll in particular. Be it inborn or calculated, Tim Warren understood one thing : if you discover something good, it ain't enough to softly whisper that it is good and worth listening to it but, at some point, you have to shout out loud that there is nothing better around and that you and your lousy neighbours have to buy it dig it and pass the word you bunch of fuckheads. Ah. Those liner notes, those flyers, written by Tim's fine feather. Touching. If garage-punk held the sword all these years, Tim Warren had sharpened the blade.
Here is a one hit wonder from a "live fast/die young" californian band.
The Grave Diggers : Move it! (LP-1989)
Rumblin' Ubangi Stomp / The Witch / The Wild Kind / Black Cadillac / Love Me (Redux) / Thunder & Lightening / Hey Girl, Come See Me / Wild Mind / Move it! / Slippin' in / Insane / Say Goodbye Libby / Love's in Season / Get Off my Back / Cool Ghoul

Download it here.

Blag Dahlia

Listening to the Candy Now! album, a stupid thought crossed my mind : if Blag Dahlia was the Mike Patton of the lower class. Pretty stupid, I know. The crooner thing, I guess. Patton is such a pretentious "Art School Confidential" type (as mocked by Dan Clowes) while Blag Dahlia is a bumpkin. A smart gifted bumpkin. Smart enough to access bookstores (with the compelling spoken words record that goes with it). Let's get back to the main thing : the Dwarves are one of the best punk band of all time. Violent, shocking, decadent, inconsequent and messy only by reputation. If there was ever an autodestruction drive with them, it has been muzzled, measured and controlled all the way through. I mean : Blag Dahlia is still here to write it.
Here are two short plays (Blag's first escapes from the Dwarves) and one of the countless post "must die" unofficial bootleg.

Archive content :
Blag Dahlia : Let's Take a Ride / Lord of the Road (7"-1994)
Blag Dahlia : Venus in arms (MCD-1995)
Let's Take a Ride / The Wicked / Haunt Me / The Crucifixion is Now / Theme From the Vicelords (Everywhere That We Go)
The Dwarves : unofficial (2005)
Salt Lake City (censored version) / Over you / We Must Have Blood / Salt Lake City (x-rated version) / Salt Lake City (Live at Donnington 2005) / Live on Halloween at the Great American San Francisco 2002 / Live at the Troubadour Los Angeles 2002 / Drugstore (Live acoustic UK 2005) / Bitch I Love you (Live acoustic UK 2005) / How It's Done

Download it here.

Even bloggers get the blues

In my native language people referred to blues as "la musique des 12 mesures", which can be translated in "twelve bar music" or (word to word) in "twelve steps music", both semantically relating to my alcohol problem.
Erm... I guess I was supposed to write something important here.
My little home dramas should not interfer with what I'm doing here. I like the blues. I do not like my blues. Period.

Bob & Lisa : Crossfire Blues

Wylde Ratttz

What about some glam-rock now? Well, if the movie "Velvet Goldmine" was the alibi behind the Wylde Ratttz project, they are as far from glam rock as I am from planet Uranus. Two men (Mike Watt & Ron Asheton) pulled the strings and the puppet shifted as a super group (with the motivated participation of Mark Arm, Thurston Moore, Steve Shelley, Don Fleming, Sean Lennon). An album was in the starting-block but, due to bankrupt, buying back and lawyer stuff, it is still unreleased. The Wylde Ratttz 1998's recording sessions was the first step to Ron Asheton's mediatic come back (the Stooges without Iggy live shows, the Stooges with Iggy live shows, the 2007's Stooges record - Ron had really a Stooges campaign thing at that time). Rest In Peace Ron.

Wylde Ratttz "album" (1998)
Walk of the Wylde Ratttz / World of Hurt / Hollow / Pull the Pipe / Rosalyn / Be my Unclean / I'm Not Screwin' Around / She's Like Poison to Me / March of the Wylde Ratttz / Hot Shot / Nut / L.S.D. / Fun House
Bonus (compilation released tracks & instrumental sessions)
T.V. Eye (Ewan MacGregor vocals) / Judy's Blues / Smoke / T.V. Eye (Mark Arm vocals)

Download it here.

Haunted George

Haunted George was knowned under his christian name (Steve Pallow) as a member of The Beguiled, Satan's Cheerleaders and The Necessary Evils. Near the new century he retired from society to the Mojave Desert (which sounds quite ironic since he's never been so prolific and chatty since).
The following songs come from his home-made label Dimension Zero (hand to hand given cds) and fed further "official" records such as "Panther Howl" and "Bone Hauler" (both released in 2006). Folky-blues rugged rock for the most part, the man shows also (under different nicknames) an experimental side (electronic, gothic, no-wave, abstract stuff). Take what follows as a "try before you buy" thing.

Haunted George : self-produced CD-R (2005)
Depraved / The Chopper / The Embalmer / The Devil's Canyon / Graves in the Desert / Rototiller / Knife in my Hart Blues / Voices From Beyond Blues / Shotgun in my Mouth / Fear : One Step Beyond / Road Ghoul / Night of the Vampire / The Aliases of "haunted" George / Cat Man / What Kind of Tracks Are Those / Electro-Raga-Death-Machine / The Gypsey's Dire Warning / Skin and Bones Nightmare / Voices From the Stars

Download it here.