The Local Anesthetic - Various Artists

This story for me demonstrates what the music industry should be doing about blogs, and I hope you feel the same as me, and go out and buy this album, the music warrants it, and the labels approach also does. So have a read and see what ASFM thinks, and then listen to it yourself. As usual leave some comments and say what you think of the labels approach, as well as what you think of the music.

The Story
I got an email from a guy called Andy Silva (from New York) who works for a record label as New Media Promotion.

He sent me some sample mp3's (you can get the link to these in the comments) and also a link to listen to the new album they are promoting (the link for you to listen is further down in this posting). A little info on new album in their own words below:

In 1981 Wax Trax Records co-owner Duane Davies formed the in-store label called Local Anesthetic and released the debut single by Denver band Gluons featuring Allen Ginsberg on vocals. Local Anesthetic went on as the only continuous independent label in Colorado, staunchly documenting the underground music scene of the early 80s. Now, Smooch Records’ The Local Anesthetic compiles all of the 7-inch singles, along with a few other gems. Although the singles all fall under the punk umbrella, they're a diverse collection of hardcore, new wave, artsy fartsy, goth, and experimental recordings from 1977-83.

The Music
So I had a listen to this album and boy there are some real gems (all of which I have never heard). I've ordered my copy today and hopefully when you have listened to this album you will do the same.

I started by listening to the free downloads first and was very impressed with a couple of the tracks, so I then turned to listen to the whole album, and these were my favorites (the order is based upon the album and not my personal preference) and the reason that led to me ordering the album:

Frantix - My Dad's A F*cking Alcoholic, a slowish, heavy sound that is brilliant, obviously not one to play around your mum, but this will have you singing along to the chorus.

Your Funeral's, 'I Wanna Be You' is such a stand-out track , whilst it was playing I was working on an ASFM post, and I had to stop, the track is so brilliant, that it made me look up and stop typing, and I have been playing it continuously ever since. not to be let down, and guess what? the b-side 'The Abyss' is equally brilliant. You will love this band I promise.

The next pick for me was the 'Young Weasels' and their single 'Twist and Burn' a slow burner this one (excuse the pun), I can't put my finger on who they sound like (anyone out there know?) but I like it. The b-side 'Happy Feathers' is another one that grows on you.

Next pick is the Gluons, 'Bird Brain', I dare you not to love this song. It is beyond classification, but one of those songs that just makes you smile as you sing along to the catchy chorus "Bridbrain". The b-side is more classic punk and does not disappoint, great guitar riffs, great chorus, play it.

Both the tracks from Jerri Rossi are very different again, it reminds me a little of early Lydia Lunch, she screams out the lyrics against a back bass guitar and noise. I don't know why, but I love it. The more I play it the more it grows on me.

Next up for me, Defex, this is a real little gem and rarity. 'Psycho Surfer' sounds like classic 1977 punk, its got the riffs, the vocals and the speed, I'm singing along now, whilst witting this "Psycho Sur fer fer fer fer fer Psycho Surfer. The b-sides not quite as good as the a-side, but it's still brilliant, which makes you realize how good, Psycho Surfer is. Only 100 copies of this were released and it has fetched up to $400 on ebay.

The Nails, 'Cops Are Punks' starts of with the old fashioned police siren and then goes into another classic 1977 punk sound, it is so catchy, you will not be able to stop jumping around and singing along to this. This track is so cool, you gotta get it. The b-side 'Big star is again good, but it could never surpass 'Cops Are Punks'. The final track 'Another Lesson' is much slower and melodic but still excellent.

So summing it up for me, 14 brilliant tracks out of 33 ain't bad. If you like hardcore punk then there's even more for you. In fact there's something for everyone on this compilation. If you don't believe me then follow then follow this link for the full album stream and listen yourself:
E-CARD W/ FULL ALBUM STREAM: HERE

By the way you can also purchase this great compilation through the same link above.

So either listen to the whole album or download these four tracks and sample:

1. Your Funeral - I Wanna Be You
2. Jerri Rossi - I Left My Heart I Don't Know Where
3. White Trash - wake Up
4. Bum Kon - The Draft

Ripped using some smart recording technology (the four sample mp3's):
See comment for the link - If you can't find the comment, go to http://asfm.blogspot.com/

The full album track listing is below, but if you want to know more about these bands and see some hi resolution pictures then go here:

BIO & HI-RES ARTIST IMAGES: HERE

and if you want some more info about the labels, etc then go here:

LABEL WEBSITES: SMOOCH RECORDS | SMOOCH RECORDS MYSPACE

FULL TRACK LISTING
1. Frantix - My Dad's A F*cking Alcoholic
2. Frantix - Car
3. Frantix - Your Ill
4. Frantix - My Dad's Dead
5. Your Funeral - I Wanna Be You
6. Your Funeral - The Abyss
7. White Trash - Wake Up
8. White Trash - Nazi's In My Neighborhood
9. White Trash - Ballard Of Ronnie Raygun
10. White Trash - I Hate Toes
11. White Trash - Daddy Warbucks
12. Young Weasels - Twist and Burn
13. Young Weasels - Happy Feathers
14. Bum Kon - Bum Kon
15. Bum Kon - Forced Away
16. Bum Kon - Drunken Sex Sucks
17. Bum Kon - The Draft
18. Bum Kon - Slow Death
19. Gluons - Bird Brain
20. Gluons - Sue Your Parents
21. Frantix - Face Reality
22. Frantix - Cat Mouse
23. Frantix - Sharin' Sharon
24. Frantix - New Questions
25. Jerri Rossi - I Left My Heart I Don't Know Where
26. Jerri Rossi - It's A Man's Man's Man's World
27. Rok Tots - Suicide Weekend
28. Rok Tots - Situation Kid
29. Defex - Psycho Surfer
30. Defex - Machine Gun Love
31. Nails - Cops Are Punks
32. Nails - Big Star
33. Nails - Another Lesson

So if you like this then go and buy it here:
E-CARD W/ FULL ALBUM STREAM: HERE

Khartomb - Swahili Lullaby

Another one from the Bruce Rhodes collection. Released in 1983 on Dan Treacy's (Television Personalities) label Whaam!, and in Bruce's own words "its a nice mix of the Passions, Raincoats and Slits". You will see what he means when you listen to them. Both songs have a reggae/dub feel, for me the a-side "Swahili Lullaby' is a little too commercial/poppy, the b-side 'Teekon Warriors' is the best track. But as usual ASFM would like to hear what you think, so leave a comment.

They also apparently did a John Peel session, which if any of you have a copy, please leave a comment.

The band consisted of Paula Crolla, Caroline Clayton, Ali Barnes and Ian Christie, apart from that we have no more information on whether they recorded anything else or what happened to them. So again if you know anything as usual leave a comment.

Band: Khartomb
Label: Whaam
Year: 1983
Tracks:
1. Swahili Lullaby
2. Teekon Warriors

Ripped from Bruce's glorious scratched vinyl:

Bank Robbers - Jenny

This is 'Bank Robbers' from Belfast second single. Released on 7" and 12". This posting is the 7" version released on EMI in 1983. As was usual in the late seventies and early eighties, there's a play on words with 'Bank Robers'' and this single 'Knab 1'

The a-side 'Jenny' is a good example of a real 'power pop' single. too polished to be 'Punk' or 'New Wave'. The b-side is just a filler in my opinion, but you try it and see what you think.

On the a-side is the etching "We'll Mix Again" which shows some foresight as their third single was another version (live) of 'Jenny' produced especially for their performance on the TV program 'The Tube'.

The name Jenny appears to be a popular name used on a number of songs: the classic 'Jenny' by the Lurkers, the brilliant JJJJeny by the Wasps (I'm playing this one now, if you haven't got the Wasps album go and get it now), the garage sound of 'Jenny Jenny' by the Sonics, and the Stereolab's 'Jenny Ondioline'.

Does anyone know any others? Leave a comment.

Band: Bank Robbers
Label: EMI
Year: 1983
Tracks:
1. Jenny
2. Please Come Back

Ripped from glorious scratched vinyl:


Bank Robbers had two other singles, of which neither appear to be commercially available. If anyone knows otherwise, please leave a comment and I will add the link.

The Orson Family - Presents 3 Epics

Sometimes this blogging stuff is really spooky, I was ripping todays post, and in between that and scanning the cover, I decided to do a quick tour of my favourite blogs, my first stop was The Twilight Zone, and guess what I found an Orson Family posting.

One reason why this is great news is that I don;t have to write anything about them as it's all over at the Twilight Zone, so follow this link (Check out Sunday 11th May) to find out all about the Orson Family and to hear another song by them.

Three great tracks here (or epics as per the cover), 'Heartbeat' is like a brilliant track with Buddy Holly like vocals. 'You Shake My Soul' is the stand out track (but only just) this sounds more like the Cramps and I love it. '(Be My) Ball and Chain' is a different sound, most probably the weakest but still great. So leave a comment and tell ASFM which one you prefer.

Nice little etching on the b-side "Somewhere Gene is smiling". I assume they mean Vincent, does anyone know.

Band: The Orson Family
Label: Orson Enterprises
Year: 1983
Tracks:
1. Heartbeat
2. You Shake My Soul
3. (Be My) Ball and Chain

Ripped from glorious scratched vinyl:

White Boy - Poker Chips

Another White Boy song from the Bruce Rhodes collection. This time it's their fifth single "Poker Chips". Another catchy song, with some good guitar riffs and the usual strange lyrics and vocals, that somehow work for me. If you follow this link and scroll down you will see a review where they have called this song "a turd", I have to say I do not agree with them at all. The b-side "How safe are you" is Bruce's fave, but for me, I prefer the strange "Poker Chips".

So have a listen and leave a comment to thank Bruce and tell ASFM what you think of White Boy.

Band: White Boy
Label: Doodley Squat
Year: 1983
Tracks:
1. Poker Chips
2. How Safe Are You

Ripped from Bruce's glorious scratched vinyl: See comment for link.

If you like this you can try out some of "White Boys" new stuff on iTunes.

Spear Of Destiny - The Wheel

'The Wheel' has already been posted over at the excellent Punk Friction, however this version is the gate fold two x 7" singles which has two excellent live 'Spear Of destiny' tracks which only recently have been made available on the 'Grapes Of Wrath' CD reissue., and I know Longy was keen to hear them so, here they are.

So I think everyone knows 'The Wheel' and the b-side which is a rerecording of an earlier 'Theater Of Hate' single 'The Hop' (this one is very similar to the original but different enough to be worth having). The second 7" has two live tracks from the Venue in Aberdeen, the first is 'Grapes of Wrath' which is a classic track from their debut album of the same name. But for me the final track is the stand out of the four, another live reworking of an album track 'The Preacher', which has always been one of my favourite SOD tracks. If you like SOD you will love this.

So leave a comment and tell us what you think of these four gems.

Band: Spear Of Destiny
Label: Burning Rome Records
Year: 1983
Tracks:
1. The Wheel
2. The Hop
3. Grapes Of wrath (Live at The Venue, Aberdeen)
4. The Preacher (Live at The Venue, Aberdeen)

Ripped from glorious scratched vinyl

If you like this then there are still plenty of Spear Of Destiny albums out there. For me the two best (even though all of them are worth having) are 'Grapes Of Wrath' which on the reissue (linked below) has the original album plus all of these tracks (however one word of warning, read the comments, there are a few complaints about the quality of the mastering, I will stick with my vinyl copies).

Grapes of Wrath
next one is 'One Eyed Jacks (but again same warning as above)

One Eyed Jacks

The Men They Couldn't Hang - Gold Rush 12"

This was their 4th single released on Mercury records, and is in response to a request in the comments from Radomir in Croatia in a previous TMTCH posting.

The comment said the b-side 'Ghosts Of Cable Street' is a different version to the album, and as so often with singles I found all three tracks on this single are. So here they are for you to try.

First up is the a-side 'Gold Rush' which is one minute longer than the album version, made up mainly of an instrumental (for me I prefer the shorter album version). The b-side 'Ghosts of Cable Street' is a political number (as many of TMTCH tracks were) concerning The Battle of Cable Street in 1936 (Check out the link for the history, if your interested). This is the pick of the tracks in my opinion (it's a little faster and 30 seconds longer than the album) and has a little more punch than the album version. Last up is a live favorite from their first album, but again a different version, you have to love any version of this one.

So leave a comment and tell us what you think of these three and if you know the originals, are these an improvement or not.

Band: The Men They Couldn't Hang
Label: Mercury
Year: 1983
Tracks:
1. Gold Rush
2. The Ghosts Of Cable Street
3. Walkin' Talkin'

Ripped from glorious scratched vinyl

If you like this post, it looks like their second classic album, ' How Green Is My Valley' which also includes the alternate version of 'Gold Rush' and 'Ghosts Of Cable Street' is no longer available, so your have to settle for their best album, their debut 'Night Of A Thousand Candles', buy it here:

Night of a Thousand Candles

White Boy - Kissing At Midnight 12" EP

This one is 'White Boys' fourth release again donated by Bruce Rhodes, (only one more to go, Bruce is still trying to obtain their third release) if you have checked out the other 'White Boy' posts (check out the labels side bar) you would know this is a strange band, and this is clearly not one of their best, and its not just me saying that, check out the review below:

"Damn, this is awful. Really awful. Living in Shadows is a terrible eighties rock song that's about twenty minutes long and doesn't even have a fucking ending. Be the First One is a dreadful new wave dance song. Kissing at Midnight is an awful dance song with fake drums, synth, doubled vocals and jerk off funk guitar. Coming Back Home is only 30 seconds long, but it has the most retarded harmonica part ever. Summary: Awful, awful, terrible, dreadful, awful, retarded"

Source plus all of the other White Boy single reviews here: 30underdc.com

Personally I think its a bit harsh and tracks two and three are not too bad, there just not great. But as usual Bruce and ASFM are keen to see what you think of these, so give them a try and leave a comment and tell us if you agree with 30underdc.com.

Band: White Boy
Label: Doodley Squat
Year: 1983
Tracks:
1. Kissing At Midnight
2. Coming Back Home
3. Living In The Shadows
4. Be The First

Ripped from Bruce's glorious scratched vinyl

If you like White Boy then your just going to have to try and track all those Doodley Squat records the hard way.

A.D.1984 - 1984 / Mushroom Magic 7"

Now everyone knows about the first three brilliant singles from "A.D.1984" (you can still hear them here), and I've seen lots of discussion whether their final two singles listed in catalogues were ever actually released:

Time Through Everybody's Eyes / ? (Grand Prix GP-012, 1983) 1984 / Mushroom Music (Grand Prix GP-014, 1983)
Well thanks to Philippe and an excellent purchase of only 99p on ebay, we can confirm that their final single was released and now you can hear it.

I'll let Philippe's own words finish this post:

"I always though that these titles were just legends , I never found the records or just a further entry about them. But in May 2009 I was lucky and found the Mushroom Magic 7" accidentally after quite some time searching".

"It seems if it was never really released as my version is a "demonstration record only" As the record seems to be so rare I think I won't be doing anybody an idealistic or financial harm by uploading it".

"Does anyone have any further information about this band? or do you know anyone in the band? I would be very pleased if I got more information, photos, or whatever as I would like to reissue their records through a friends label and need the contact of the band. I think its a pity they don't get the attention they deserve".

"You can email me at clockwork.generation@googlemail.com"

"Now as I've got you attention I would also like to give a little plug for another band I like, they do some kind of progressive punk with organ and you can check them out on myspace here".


So please try to help Philippe and leave a comment. In my opinion this double a-side single is the weakest single (of the four we've heard), but it does grow on you, So we just need to find that final elusive fourth single "Time Through Everybody's Eyes", so anyone out there got it?

Ripped from Philippe's glorious scratched vinyl

Band: A.D.1984
Label: Grand Prix
Year: 1983
Tracks:
1. 1984
2. Mushroom Magic