late onset summer disorder: 1

i know how much you've missed my activity here. . . but times have been busy and crazy beyond all summertime expectations, not to mention that (Dear Livejournal...) i've been working out like a million life kinks this summer. hey, better me, better you, right?

anyway, as a gift to all the (approximately 6) people who read this, as an apology for my pitiful absence from the "blogosphere" (ewwwww i actually wrote that), as a special kinda-summer-almost-fall TREAT, i have a 2-part "mixtape" for you to download. Part Two will come in a day or five. the catch is that i wrote a bit about each band and you will have to read it. actually there is no catch because you totally don't have to read it (duuuh) but if you want more information about a particular band, consider this a handy reference guide.

these are songs that i've been rocking out to all summer and that have been holding me above water and all that cheesy stuff. new and old. loud and quiet (usually loud). there's a lot of stuff i couldn't include because i don't have mp3s for them, so make sure you check out the new Buzzer 7" on Tic-Tac-Totally and anything by the Coconut Coolouts and the Sweet Cobra "Bottom Feeder" 12", etc.

since my page on the Laurie's site links to this, i gotta say that everything on this mix can be purchased and/or ordered at Laurie's Planet of Sound. OR, could have been purchased at Laurie's Planet of Sound but you snoozed and now it's out of print.

DISCLAIMER: sound quality on some of these = not so great. if you are one of those annoying audiophile sound-quality nerd types, then. . . RELAX (your anal pickiness is holding you back). also this is really long and i don't know how to make an expandable post, sorry.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD "LATE ONSET SUMMER DISORDER: PART 1"

1. Harvey Milk- Lay My Head Down: gah. Harvey Milk are the masters of southern-fried sludgey stoney psyched-out hard rock. they've been reunited for a few years, but this is an older song from the "Pleaser" album; an 8-minute bluesy "hard times be bringin' me down" jam. ZZ Top meets Melvins, and brilliant. finally saw these guys a short time ago and it was one of the best live shows i have ever witnessed EVER (and they played this song and i died).

2. Pisces- Motley Mary Ann: if you don't buy this Numero reissue (on CD or LP) than you are a dummy 2k9. the album is "A Lovely Sight" and these Rockford IL psych weirdos were never even able to get this LP issued (until now).

3. Jeffrey Novak- What a Surprise: this is the main dude from one of my favorite garage-pop bands, Cheap Time. he does all this crazy solo stuff that's VERY Syd Barrett. VERY. he has a couple LPs and a few singles and all have gone out-of-print almost immediately upon release. actually, someone called me at Laurie's once begging me to let him paypal money for us to ship him the last LP, and i was like "no way, nerd." anyway, now Cheap Time is starting to sound like Novak's solo output which is actually slightly disappointing.

4. Surf City- Dickshaker's Union: bonus points for excellent song title. Surf City are from New Zealand and are very lo-fi/psychedelic and i wish they would tour the states because they rule.

5. Mayfair Set- Desert Fun: this song is totally old news but it's so summery-feel-good and i still can't stop listening to it.

6. Liechtenstein- Postcard: Liechtenstein are my new favorite band. 3 girls from Sweden remaking 90s indie twee pop in the best way imaginable. they have a CD/10" out on Slumberland and every song is as great as this.

7. Breeders- Fate to Fatal: controversial opinion: The Breeders have not written a song this good since 1990. this is the title track of the very very limited and now out-of-print 12" that came out a few months back. superb, old-school Breeders sound.

8. Television Personalities- Silly Girl: anyone who thinks this whole lo-fi trend is new needs to listen to the first couple Television Personalities records, which have recently been reissued on vinyl (!!!) and are pretty much essential for any decent record collection. these are the grandfathers of lo-fi/postpunk/pop weirdness.

9. Personal & the Pizzas- I Don't Feel So Happy Now No More: my love for this band has already been expounded upon. here's another song. they look like Lenny & Squiggy btw.

10. Box Elders- Hole In My Head: an adorable 3-piece in which the drummer plays drums while simultaneously playing a keyboard. bratty garagey poppy punk very much in the Nodzzz territory of simplicity.

11. King Tuff- Just Strut: the main King Tuff dude also plays in Witch with J Mascis and also plays in that band Feathers. King Tuff is his fun, Nuggets-esque garage alter ego, which i believe to be his best alter-ego.

12. Sir Lord Von Raven- The Glass Castle: if you like Nobunny, you will like Sir Lord Von Raven. garage r'n'r with a big time 50s influence and a lot of bubblegum. one of my favorite records of 2009, no doubt.

13. Let's Wrestle- I Won't Lie To You: thanks to Marsh for this. unfortunately this record has no US distribution (hello, Revolver?) and/or has not had a release by a US label (hello, In The Red/Goner?). anyway, this song kills me and the very first line is, like "YUP. I HEAR YA, DUDE."

14. DC Snipers- Evil: Mike Sniper's (Blank Dogs) OG project. seething r'n'r, plain and simple.

15. Double Dagger- Camouflage: still can't get over the fact that Thrill Jockey put their record out because a lot of what TJ puts out is kinda boring and this is not boring at all. but hey, good for them. up the Baltimore art punx.

16. Pissed Jeans- Lip Ring: their new album, "King of Jeans," may very well take the #1 slot in my "Best of 2009." FUCK i love this band. so fucking weird and loud and...weird. the whole damn record is the perfect three-way circle jerk between Jesus Lizard, Birthday Party, and late-period Black Flag with a glorious mess as the result. also: they are funny. i mean, "I've got a thing for your lip ring" is how this jam starts. funny, no? there's also a song on this album that i'm pretty sure is about going bald. here's a picture of them:



stay tuned for part 2....