Great Shots of DC's Punk Underground

Lucian Perkins is a world renowned photographer these days, having documented some of the most important events of the last few decades, but he got his start taking photographs of the up-and-coming punk scene in Washington DC in the 1980s. Mother Jones has a selection of those photographs that will be published in a book.

Best Band Ever?

You bet. Fugazi - The Instrument

Kisses - The Hardest Part

The first Kisses records was one of my favorite releases a few years back, and I am eagerly waiting for their new full length that is expected to drop later this year. Here is a track from said release, capturing the disco drums and shimmering synths the band is known for.

All Them Witches....take my headache away

Got sick this weekend, and have been nursing myself back to health with the power of rock and roll. The sludgy, blues psychedelic jams of All Them Witches absolutely helps my aching head. They are surely not the only band around with this sound, and while some of their stuff recalls much larger groups, the band has got the sound down tight. Well worth your time.

Yosa Buson - Prajñāpāramitā Hridaya Sūtra

My label has just released the new digital EP from California's Yosa Buson. Check it out, and download it for free.

坂本九 has the best song I have heard this year

Kyu Sakamoto died three years after I was born. I don't know where his soul went, but his music has filled me with such love that I can not speak of it. I did not hear his music until 2012, when my beautiful girlfriend's father gave me a lot of 7 inch records he acquired. You see, he has two exquisite jukebox machines in his home and an extensive collection of records from Mexico. He did not have a place for Japanese and German records, and handed me a wealth of beautiful songs that I had never heard prior. One of them was from Kyu Sakamoto.

Both may parents worked on the horse race track for years, and thanks to their profession, heard this song often. Apparently, it was a popular tune with Japanese race aficionados, and my mother and father were subjected to it frequently. They may not have appreciated it, but I see the gold in this track. It reminds me how easily new generations throw the old to the dustbins of history without appreciating the greatness of what came before them. 坂本九, you are a musical hero in my book.

 It is free to hear and download below.
The song live... The video with translation... Yet another great live version

San Kazakgascar rock the entire Free World

This was already reviewed by a compatriot at another music site I write for, but I thought it was so good that it required me own review here. San Kazakagascar come from the greater Sacramento area but their musical influences surely do not stop at the borders of this little cow time. Someone in this band picked up a Sun City Girls record at some point, or is well studied the releases from Sublime Frequencies. Or maybe they have never heard of both, and it will be a surprise to them that they were compared to such novel acts.

This is a great release from a group that mixes rocking psychedelic music with riffs and rhythms from around the globe. I had to pick it up on CD once I heard it, and I only wish they had some analogue version of this music available (tapes and vinyl would be great guys).