Tuesday 5 August 2014

Messthetics #101 Review - Various Artists

As this excellent album is still available at a bargain 11$ don't go looking for the download of the whole album, although there is one sample track, which "Chuck" from "Hyped to Death" has authorised for 30 days only. So listen "now or never" (or just go out and buy your own copy). Link removed after 30 days.

If you like DIY punk then this album is for you. There are some real gems here and its been stuck in my car CD player ever since I bought it. It's one of a number of CD's that are split geographically, so #101 and #102 (review for 102 coming later) are all bands from the London area.

On #101 you get 22 tracks + 5 free mp3's (see below for listing) and a booklet packed with info on each of the bands. I hadn't heard of any of these tracks as they are mainly obscure rarities which would rarely come on the radar.

The sample track is from the excellent Hounslow (two miles from the main runways at Heathrow) based band "Scissor Fits" and their "I Don't want To Work at British Airways" which got to the top of the charts for one week in a local record shop (most probably as it was opposite a hostel for young British Airways workers). This reminds me exactly what punk was about, protesting about not working on factories and starting up a band to tell everyone about it. I love the story of how "Scissor Fits" got their name, they took it from the "Mad Magazine" and a cartoon from the famous "Don Martin" which had a woman with a long cigarette holder accidentally her cigarette out in a mans eye, with the resulting sound effect "Siza Fitz" (see the actual picture this came from).

Although the whole album is excellent, a couple more of my personal favorites are the brilliant slow and stripped down (plus updated lyrics) version of "Part Time Punks" by "The Door and Window", and the excellent witty lyrics of "Other People" by "Grinder":

"I know this might sound silly" "But its really quite a fact" "Some people like to name drop" "It was the Queen who told me that"

So if you like the sample track (see comment for link) then go and visit Hyped to Deaths excellent site or buy Messthetics #101 here.

Album: Messthetics #101 D.I.Y. 77-81 LONDON 1
Year: 2006
Label: Hyped To Death
Tracks:
1. I Don't want To Work For British Airways - Scissor Fits
2. Machine Gun - Rich and Famous
3. This Week - Different I's
4. Distance - Acid Drops
5. Stir Crazy - The Rejects
6. Two Wasted Years - Jimmy Nipper Five
7. Compulsive Eater - Funboy Five
8. Technique Street (Rough Mix) - The Homosexuals
9. Distance - Exhibit A
10. Gun Point - Blue Screaming
11. Armchairs - Take It
12. Evercare - Twelve Cubic Feet
13. Know Better - Tiny Town
14. I'm Glad - Existence
15. Beach Coma - Collective Horizontal
16. Drive Your Car To The Middle Of Your Brain - Different I's
17. Ghosts- Karel Fialka
18. Truth/Hey - George Harassment
19. Back To The Bow - Tiny Town
20. - What Did You Do With The Body? - Milkshake Melon
21. - Other People - Grinder
22. - Part Time Punks - The Door and the Window
+5 free mp3's
23. - We're Better Than - TOATW
24. - Haircut Bob Dylan 66 - Funboy Five
25. - Politics - Grinder
26. - Have You Seen A Whale - Milkshake Melon
27. - Did I Pick It Up - Outrageous Flesh

8 comments:

Rupert Cook said...

Good to see the excellent Messthetics comps featuring. I discovered them about three years ago before they were officially released and they encouraged me to pay horrid prices for records on ebay. Everyone who revels in punk and post punk should own these.

Thanks for putting Turntable Revolution on your links list.

Anonymous said...

I hate comps like this. The stuff is often great and impossible to find and leaves you desperately searching for the other tracks from the records that you'll NEVER come across. So damn frustrating!!!

Anonymous said...

I disagree. I love comps like this and a big thanks to Gary for the heads up AND LINK to where we can BUY this great stuff (at a bargain price too) Not frustrating at all!



Longy

Anonymous said...

Oh no!!!! I cant believe it!!! another slice of dream, thanx again Gary and Bruce, tell me if you want the White Boy´s history on Forced Exposure scans...
and about Vinchucas, do you know what Latin American punk and post punk, are a hidden treasure,very original sounds and cassette dimentia? (too much poors for vinyl), I love these dark gems like Corrosivos, Alerta Roja, first Sumo -great vocalist and with Stephanie (ex Manicured Noise!!!!) on drums, Harry, Los Pillos, from Argentina; Dada, Pinochet Boys, Jorobados from Chile; Leuzemia, G3 from Peru, Invasores, Los Tontos, Chicos Electricos from Uruguay uffff (descentralize the punk!!!)
Thanx again, and Gray eeeerrr.. I love you...

Anonymous said...

"30 days only"? What BS. I'll eat my shorts if these bands are being paid any royalties from hyped to death
so I'll do my part to fight fascism by continuing to share freely.

Anonymous said...

As far as I know, all bands are contacted and involved (where possible) by Hyped to Death as the whole enterprise seems to be a "labour of love" rather than a byusiness proposition...whereas your own form of 'fascism', anonymous, is to steal other people's music so there is NO CHANCE WHATSOEVER of them getting paid for their creativity...
Shame about the Internet - for all the good things it brings, it keeps reminding you just how many self-justifying idiots there are in the world...

Punkzer0 said...

To the above anonymous. Here, here I couldn't have said it better.

Thanks

Punkzer0 said...

To everyone else, I missed all of these comment somehow. So thanks Bruce, Longy and Marcello they are all much appreciated.