Regoc - Just So

A child's drawing of the band's namesake, a gentle giant from a children's tale.

I was surprised to find out that this excellent (and, sadly, sole) LP from Rijeka's noise-rock purveyors Regoc was not available for download in the "blogosphere". The only links I was able to find were dead for a long time, but the record's cult status actually surpasses its scarcity; tons of 100 € records are readily available for download in multiple locations, so one should expect a 10 € record which does enjoy some notoriety to pop up everywhere. Anyway, I'm glad to be able to make this music available again, as it is no less interesting than most of its celebrated contemporaries in the Touch & Go/AmRep circles. This post adds the only other officially released song by the band, whose members later featured in the long-running Very Expensive Porno Movie (the bonus song being "Blimp" from the "Best of Indie Rock - Made in Croatia" compilation). I hope you like it and rush to Discogs to grab yourself a copy!

The LP sleeve is great, too.

Track listing:

1. Toyota (2:54)
2. Super Song (3:20)
3. Fogy Frost (2:49)
4. Water Rat (2:03)
5. Dear Brenda (2:25)
6. Scorbut (5:16)
7. Goofy (3:24)
8. Maestro Violante (3:33)
9. Tirip Tap (3:57)
10. Blimp (4:50)

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FNC Diverzant vs. 5 Minutes to Steve - Split Tape

Cult tape from the '90s Croatian punk underground, featuring two bands that have also appeared together on the "Tribute to Our Parents" compilation (available elsewhere on this blog). Nice melodic punk typical for its time, complete with an unfortunate ska part right in the first song on side one. The FNCD side has been available in multiple places on the Internet, but the 5MTS side has been elusive for a long time; here's the whole thing your enjoyment.

Track listing:

1. FNC Diverzant - Toga dana (3:57)
2. FNC Diverzant - Ostao sam sam (3:02)
3. FNC Diverzant - Stranac (2:19)
4. FNC Diverzant - RNR stvar (3:12)
5. FNC Diverzant - Punk Rock Song (2:57)
6. FNC Diverzant - Put za bolje vrijeme (3:18)
7. FNC Diverzant - Zaplesi sa mnom (1:53)
8. 5 Minutes to Steve - Go! (2:00)
9. 5 Minutes to Steve - Happiness (3:37)
10. 5 Minutes to Steve - Sun (2:32)
11. 5 Minutes to Steve - So Alone (2:41)
12. 5 Minutes to Steve - Now I Know (2:02)
13. 5 Minutes to Steve - Dead (3:09)

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Fecal Feedback - Live OKS 1996

 

Here's another long lost recording from the 90's Osijek scene: the sole recorded trace of a band called Fecal Feedback, with Struga from the later semi-notorious band Bud Spencer on guitar and vocals. It's noise-rock in the vein of "ekstreme guitar noise" by local heroes Why stakla and Cog (both found elsewhere on this blog), well liked during the time the band was active, however it was lost to the digital age up until now - everyone I know who used to have a copy of the tape had lost it (at least five people, myself included), so I was overjoyed when I finally located a copy in a friend's possession. It is a soundboard recording and the sound quality is pretty good, however this was never meant to be an official representation of the band, and it shows in the constant problems with the equipment, the offhand jokes and so on. Still, for want of a real studio demo, it's a good listen and a thing of importance - at least for a microscopic segment of the worldwide listening population!

Track listing:

1. Intro (1:25)
2. Isto (3:39)
3. Alright (2:24)
4. Mrak (2:55)
5. Zasto places oce (3:47)
6. Screwdriver (2:45)
7. Klekni pred mene (3:00)

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Uncle Monk - Live at Beachland Ballroom and Tavern, Cleveland, OH

Photo stolen from cleveland.com.

Yesterday was Tommy Ramone's 65th birthday, so I'm a day late to dedicate this post to him, but never mind. For those of you who haven't been following him for the last few years this might come as a pretty big surprise: he is now one half of the bluegrass-folk outfit Uncle Monk (the other half being Claudia Tiernan), they've got one wonderful CD out (make sure to support the band and buy the disc on their website), and there are lots of good quality YouTube videos of them playing so you can quickly check out what they're all about. What I'm sharing here today is a recording of their full set from a Cleveland show in 2008, featuring a mixture of album tracks, officially unreleased ones ("Long Journey Home" being my favorite tune of theirs) and covers. The sound is good enough and the show is great; enjoy and don't hesitate to fill me in with the gaps in the set list, should you recognize any of the missing song titles.

Track listing:

1. Long Journey Home (3:35)
2. Name of the Game (3:24)
3. Mean to Me (2:38)
4. Home Sweet Reality (2:57)
5. Round the Bend (3:19)
6. (unknown) (2:09)
7. Mr. Endicott (3:42)
8. (unknown) (3:32)
9. Working on a Building (3:40)
10. (unknown) (3:19)
11. Walking Bandit (2:38)
12. Sunshine (2:50)
13. Heaven (3:19)
14. (unknown) (1:22)
15. Walls of Time (4:50)
16. Long Gone (3:08)
17. Don't Get Weary (3:49)
18. Happy Tune (2:58)

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Los Crudos - Two Cassettes

Los Crudos were a brilliant hardcore punk band from Chicago, representing the U.S. Latin punk community for most of the '90s and releasing tons of great music during that time. Their singer later fronted the gay hardcore sensation Limp Wrist - talk about being a minority within a minority! Here for your pleasure are two tapes containing a bunch of demos, radio sessions, live recordings and so on - some songs will repeat in different versions, some in same versions, but I couldn't be bothered with sorting through what's what, and after all, why destroy the original feel of the releases? You can probably deduct which stuff came from where from the scans of the booklets, if you wish.

"1492-1992 Anos de violacion y asesinatos"

1. 500 anos (1:55)
2. Las madres lloran (demo) (0:44)
3. Identidad perdida (demo) (1:24)
4. Vendedores de dolor (demo) (1:10)
5. Desde afuera (demo) (1:30)
6. Poema (demo) (0:28)
7. Tiempos de miseria (demo) (1:04)
8. Peleamos (demo) (1:19)
9. Crudo soy! (demo) (1:45)
10. Intro (radio) (0:48)
11. Las madres lloran (radio) (0:56)
12. Identidad perdida (radio) (1:44)
13. Eliminacion (radio) (0:39)
14. Vendedores de dolor (radio) (1:37)
15. Asesinos (radio) (1:49)
16. Poema (radio) (0:27)
17. Tiempos de miseria (radio) (1:52)
18. Sin caras (radio) (1:58)
19. Desde afuera (radio) (1:59)
20. Illegal y que! (radio) (1:43)
21. Peleamos (radio) (2:55)
22. Crudo soy! (radio) (2:39)

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"Los Crudos"

1. Las madres lloran (live) (2:17)
2. Se ve en tu cara (live) (0:43)
3. Cipayos, traidores y vendidos (live) (2:09)
4. Sin caras (live) (0:38)
5. No estoy convencido (live) (1:07)
6. Desde afuera (live) (2:18)
7. Escaleras (live) (0:41)
8. Llegan empujando (live) (1:12)
9. Peleamos (live) (1:06)
10. Nada cambia (live) (1:25)
11. Que paso con la paz (live) (1:21)
12. Asesinos (live) (1:00)
13. 500 anos (live) (1:43)
14. Lucha para que te escuchen (live) (0:43)
15. Crudo soy! (live) (1:33)
16. Curiosidad (live) (0:45)
17. Lengua armada (live) (0:46)
18. Tiempos de miseria (live) (1:03)
19. 500 anos (1:54)
20. Tiempos de miseria (1:26)
21. Me robaron! (0:46)
22. Crudo soy! (1:36)
23. Las madres lloran (0:41)
24. Eliminacion (0:32)
25. Desde afuera (1:19)
26. Asesinos (1:02)
27. Se ve en tu cara (0:50)
28. Cipayos, traidores y vendidos (0:34)
29. Sin caras (0:33)
30. No estoy convencido (0:59)
31. Curiosidad (0:50)
32. Porque (1:09)
33. Tu lo ensenastes (0:56)
34. Lucha para que te escuchen (0:28)
35. Corrido jodido (1:41)
36. Lengua armada (0:49)
37. Escaleras (0:33)
38. Llegan empujando (1:24)
39. Nada cambia (1:10)

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The Shins - Live at Paradiso, Amsterdam 05.04.2007.

Photo of James Mercer from this show stolen from flickr.

I've been trying to find a bootleg of the Shins show I've attended for years, but to no avail (it's the show held at the Hammersmith Apollo in London, in November 2007); finally I got the idea to try and find another show from the same tour or year, and relive that experience at least a little. The songs they've been writing for the first three albums (all represented here) represent some of the most transcendentally beautiful music I have ever heard; the sheer beauty of some of them practically has me in tears each time I hear them (and I'm a tough punk rock guy (no I'm not)). Shows like this one are unfortunately seeming more and more like the last truly great "new" music I'll hear from them - since those days leading guy James Mercer has let go all of the other band members, started hanging out with that cartoon mouse who makes electronic music, and finally released a new Shins album which provides me with none of the magic they used to have, no matter how hard I try to find it - it just sounds like soulless adult confection pop every time. Well, there's this at least: an amazingly-sounding (I actually can't tell if it's a soundboard recording - the crowd's too loud for that - or an audience recording, which I just can't believe can sound this great), excellently-played show which for the most part adheres to what I can recall from my night with the Shins; although I'm pretty sure they have also performed "Pink Bullets" that time, which is a song that should not be left out of any Shins setlist anytime, ever. This show has a fun cover of the Modern Lovers though, with Mercer sounding so amazingly similar to Jonathan Richman that I wouldn't believe it was him, if not for a video on YouTube showing him singing it; great slowed-down ("Caring Is Creepy") or sped-up ("Know Your Onion!") versions of other great songs, a Pink Floyd cover, and what have ya. Listen to this and if you're in the mood for spending some money on great Shins music you haven't heard before, go get the Shins Bluegrass Tribute by Iron Horse. I'm not joking. It's so lovingly arranged, played and sung that any and all "bluegrassploitation" prejudices are immediately dismissed. Check it out.

Track listing:

1. Sleeping Lessons (6:23)
2. Australia (3:50)
3. Pam Berry (0:45)
4. Phantom Limb (4:53)
5. Kissing the Lipless (4:49)
6. Mine's Not a High Horse (3:39)
7. Girl Inform Me (2:29)
8. New Slang (5:04)
9. Saint Simon (5:17)
10. Girl Sailor (4:00)
11. Turn a Square (2:48)
12. Gone for Good (3:33)
13. A Comet Appears (4:25)
14. Turn on Me (3:45)
15. Know Your Onion! (2:29)
16. Breathe (Pink Floyd Cover) (5:37)
17. Caring Is Creepy (5:23)
18. Someone I Care About (Modern Lovers Cover) (3:56)
19. So Says I (4:19)

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Various - "Pogonsko gorivo" po prvi put zajedno

Osijek, my hometown, has in certain circles a reputation of something of a "rock city", and its supposedly great tradition of rock bands is often (somewhat annoyingly) shoved down your throat if you're in the company of people nostalgic for their '70s or '80s youth. Since I am too young to remember those times, I have only the vinyl legacy of Osijek bands to judge by, and I must say I'm not, and have never been, impressed. Off the top of my head, I can remember several national stars who've started out, but not remained, in Osijek (Kico Slabinac, who was once a rock'n'roller, some decades ago), some shoddy Yugo-folk types bafflingly associated with rock (Zlatko Pejakovic), and only a handful of releases by true Osijek bands. The only one I know of who managed to score an LP in Yugoslavia is a band called Valter, and apart from their (two?) LP's, the Osijek vinyl legacy ends with this compilation. To my ears, it's all generic Yugoslav pop-rock confection (except for Roderick, who explored a little more alternative waters, but not in a way I'd find very enjoyable), and not even repeated hearing of some of these songs on local radio stations throughout my childhood made me like them any more. In my opinion, the true quality music from Osijek began with the '80s underground bands and remained in the underground, only occasionally managing to be documented on (mostly limited-run) LP's, CD's or tapes. That's the stuff I usually try to document here, but as I've come across a copy of this LP, which is unavailable elsewhere on the 'net, I decided to put it up here for posterity. Enjoy, if you feel so inclined.

Track listing:

1. OK Band - Vrata Zapada (Kadilak) (3:33)
2. Nove igre - Rodjeni u prvoj liniji (3:59)
3. Don Marcel - Uvijek kada nisi tu (5:16)
4. Bangkok - Veceras su zvijezde (4:23)
5. Roderick - Lovac (4:41)
6. Bangkok - Ljubav je sve (3:12)
7. Don Marcel - Za suncani dan (4:14)
8. Nove igre - Za tebe andjele (4:41)
9. OK Band - Tebi priznam sve (3:29)
10. Roderick - Letzte Dance (5:07)

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