Schlong - Tumours 7"

Oh man. What this is, is a hardcore-punk version of the whole "Rumours" record by Fleetwood Mac, done by Gilman St. scene band Schlong, and played fast enough that the whole thing fit on a 7" single. It's completely retarded, it's falling apart in every song, and there is banjo on it. It's wonderful! Precisely the irreverent, careless ridiculing of everything that is supposed to be good and respectable, that I associate with punk rock at its best. "Stevie Licks" indeed!

Track listing:

1. Second Hand News (1:02)
2. Dreams (1:17)
3. Never Go Back Again (0:54)
4. Don't Stop (0:45)
5. Go Your Own Way (1:34)
6. Songbird (0:36)
7. The Chain (1:42)
8. You Make Loving Fun (1:21)
9. I Don't Want to Know (0:38)
10. Oh Daddy (0:26)
11. Gold Dust Woman (1:46)

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Die Hausers - Live

This is Die Hausers' other official release, a live tape recorded somewhere in/around the Osijek Student Centre in the early (or mid-?) Nineties. Sound quality isn't great, but the music is. Enjoy!

Track listing:

1. Nininananananunu (2:27)
2. Mozak (2:54)
3. Ubiti (2:18)
4. Normalan (3:27)
5. Ruke (3:06)
6. Ljudi (2:26)
7. Kontroliram se (3:04)
8. Svatko mora biti svoj (4:18)
9. Zasto posvuda lete samo ti crni crvi (3:43)

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Noise Slawonische Kunst - Noise Slawonische Kunst + Live OKS

This record is a cult document from the 1990's war in Croatia, or more precisely its Slavonija region and my hometown Osijek. The musicians who comprised this ad-hoc band came from several different Osijek bands of the time, some of which I have shared or will share on this blog (Die Hausers, No Passaran, Glad, Nahson Booz); the conditions in which these recordings were made are hard to understand to me, since I was a 10-year old kid while this was happening, but I did spend those ugly war years in the midst of it all so I can at least imagine. I don't feel really competent to retell this story, which can be found on the Internet (only in Croatian, though: here and here), so I will just throw in a few facts - the LP was recorded in November 1991 in the "Pauk" hall in Zagreb, while the live recording is from Osijek, probably around the same time in 1991, from - again, probably - the OKS club. The vinyl rip is not the greatest you could imagine, but it's good enough, and the live show sounds amazing. The extra track, a cover of "Lily Marlene", is of unknown origin (to me at least). Recently, a documentary movie was made about these recordings; it was directed by the singer, File, so I believe it is as truthful an account as possible - but unfortunately I haven't had a chance to see it yet.

I have actually owned a copy of this VERY rare record, but was foolish enough to exchange it for the triple LP "Sandinista!" by the Clash - now, after hearing it again after some years, I'm really sad I haven't kept it, because it is an important - perhaps THE most important - artifact of my city's alternative music scene. The music varies from dark synth-pop to angry noise-rock, but to my ears it comes closest to what Die Hausers were doing - unsurprisingly, as the vocalist, guitar and bass players came from that band, and many of these songs were later (perhaps previously, too?) performed and recorded by them. The lyrics, even with all the dark imagery, are actually quite life-affirming, considering the bleak times they were written in - see picture below.

I'm not quite sure, but I do believe this photo was taken right in front of the place where the live show was recorded, and in the same year. It's my (broader) neighbourhood, too.

"Noise Slawonische Kunst"

Track listing:

1. Krecemo na vas (2:42)
2. Shoot Me Down (2:50)
3. Throughout Darkness (4:29)
4. Ti si tu (4:13)
5. Pusti me (3:11)
6. Krecemo na vas (3:02)
7. Svatko mora biti svoj (4:10)
8. Zasto posvuda lete samo ti crni crvi (3:40)
9. Imam rijec (4:13)
10. Mogu poci u smrt, to upamti (1:22)
11. Gljiva (1:58)
12. Lily Marlene (bonus) (2:49)

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"Live OKS"

Track listing:

1. Lesinari (2:06)
2. Gljiva (2:05)
3. Krecemo na vas (2:38)
4. Kao u izlogu (1:53)
5. Shoot Me Down (2:59)
6. Pusti me (2:59)
7. Throughout Darkness (4:15)
8. Ti si tu (3:58)
9. Heroin (4:02)
10. Imam rijec (4:30)
11. Krecemo na vas (3:08)
12. Mogu poci u smrt, to upamti (1:43)
13. Svatko mora biti svoj (4:02)
14. Zasto posvuda lete samo ti crni crvi (3:22)
15. Krecemo na vas (3:56)
16. Ti si tu (4:27)
17. Shoot Me Down (2:48)
18. Krecemo na vas (nije cijela) (1:17)

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Bajaga i instruktori - Live in Osijek 14.07.1985.

Momcilo Bajagic wearing a Ramones shirt at a recent show. If only he'd LISTENED to them more...

This here bootleg is not something I'll enjoy listening to very often - Momcilo Bajagic "Bajaga" is a (then) Yugoslavian, (now) Serbian mainstream pop-rock musician whose songs, although quite popular round these parts, don't really do anything for me; and this recording, although coming from the soundboard, suffers due to a faulty connection somewhere between the mix and the tape recorder (or between the tape and the computer used for ripping), resulting in varying sound levels and loud clicks and pops. HOWEVER, this show does hold tremendous historical significance for me personally, because it was THE FIRST SHOW I EVER WENT TO. I was four years old and have no recollection of this happening at all, but my Dad (who is a fan) told me about taking me there, so I have no reason not to believe him. (I returned the favour some 25-odd years later when I took him to see Eddie and the Hot Rods; with the wrong singer and all, but that's what seeing a band 30 years after their prime will do to you). As far as I can remember my Dad telling me (and I don't want to ask him again because he has by now probably forgotten all about this and would therefore make me question the fact that I WAS THERE), the show took place in the field in front of the Osijek Student Centre (where I later saw much better bands, such as Overflow or Why stakla), it was free, and perhaps even happened during the daytime - I kind of remember that it was supposed to be a Sunday afternoon? (A quick check in the Windows calendar says that July 14th, 1985 really WAS a Sunday!) So anyway, I'm very happy to have it here, and if anyone wants to download it and have a listen to my first exposure to music with guitars, please do!

Track listing:

1. Sa druge strane jastuka (3:17)
2. Tekila gerila (3:42)
3. Nemoj da se zezas sa mnom (2:06)
4. Marlena (3:54)
5. Nemoj da budes nja nja (3:55)
6. Dobro jutro, dzezeri (3:09)
7. Poljubi me (3:35)
8. Dvadeseti vek (3:54)
9. Francuska ljubavna revolucija (3:06)
10. Sarene pilule za li-lu-le (2:48)
11. Limene trube (2:43)
12. Zazmuri (4:37)
13. Tamara (4:01)
14. Vidi, sta sam ti uradio od pesme, mama (3:02)

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Hladno pivo - Live in Split 25.03.1994.

 

This is, judging by the stage banter, the first show Hladno pivo ever played in Croatian second largest city, Split. It's a rather good sounding soundboard recording, although a bit marred by the years (decades?) it must have spent on a cassette. It's also sadly incomplete, and the break comes right after a great introduction story (if you speak Croatian, of course) whose ending we will probably never hear. Still, there's almost 45 minutes of music here, and it's a great document of early '90s Croatian punk scene, when even the guys in Hladno pivo thought they'd always play harsh punk and would never need "people who like ballads" at their shows... Enjoy!

Track listing:

1. Sedma noc (2:36)
2. Marijuana (1:21)
3. Narcisoidni psi (1:55)
4. Dobro vece (3:08)
5. Pjevajte nesto ljubavno (2:37)
6. Celicne zavjese (1:07)
7. Diznilend (2:06)
8. Trening za umiranje (2:42)
9. Marija (1:13)
10. Heroin (1:33)
11. Marginalci (1:38)
12. Sarma (3:29)
13. Princeza (1:17)
14. Bubasvabe (2:47)
15. Buntovnik (2:12)
16. Niemals (1:28)
17. Odjava programa (4:13)
18. Für immer Punk (2:25)
19. A, sto dalje... (pt. 1) (1:07)
20. (intermezzo) (0:45)
21. A, sto dalje... (pt. 2) (1:22)
22. Zakaj se tak oblacis (intro) (0:40)

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Samson - Telephone/Mr. Rock'n'Roll

Clive Burr, the drummer on the first three Iron Maiden albums, has passed away today after a long battle with multiple sclerosis. In every picture, interview or live video I saw of him he had the most infectious smile in all of metal (yes, more than even Barney Greenaway's!); I've obviously never met him but he seemed like such a nice guy that I can't help feeling sadness for his sad and premature ending. He was also probably the most rockin' drummer Maiden ever had, not to take anything away from Nicko of course. Here are the first two singles by his first band, Samson (the same Samson Bruce Dickinson later also deserted for Maiden), which are his first published recordings. This is before Bruce's era in Samson, so the vocals are handled by guitarist Paul Samson himself, and the general vibe of the recordings is somewhere between (very) early NWOBHM and regular 70's rock, with maybe even a little pub rock thrown in (the first track, "Telephone", reminds me of Dr. Feelgood in a few places). Rest in peace mate, and thanks for the smiles.

 

 

Track listing:

1. Telephone (3:02)
2. Leavin' You (3:15)
3. Mr. Rock'n'Roll (3:51)
4. Driving Music (3:39)

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Various - No Approval Needed

Yep, it really is my yearbook photo.

When  I was 16, I went on a one-semester student exchange program in the US (upstate New York, to be more precise). This was basically the best thing that had happened in my life up to that point; the only way it could have been better was if I had chosen to stay for the whole year (which I could have, but didn't, because I was a pussy). I went to an American high school and sat at the nerds-punks-and-freaks table at lunch; I had punk rock friends who had purple hair and cars with which they took me to great underground punk shows and cool parents who let us stay up all night and watch "Clerks" and "Chasing Amy" on the VCR and discuss important life topics because by that point we had it all figured out. I was living in an American teen movie and man, it was the COOLEST time I ever had. This compilation of 23 then-promising, now-obscure bands is one of the tapes that was the soundtrack to this time - well, it was originally a CD, but I had it on tape that my friend Kimb made me ("short for Kimberly, but spelled like DUMB"), and this is a rip of that very 15-year old tape. OK, two of the bands did escape obscurity - Bigwig and Straight Faced both signed for Fat and made it relatively "big", if I'm not mistaken - but I don't think I have ever heard of any of the other bands again. And like all the stuff that I listened to too much because of outside factors (getting a tape stuck in a friend's car's radio made Avail's "4AM Friday" one of my favourite punk albums for driving), I love this tape way more than it probably deserves. Except for a few oddities (the brilliantly-named Squid Vicious with their fun surf-influenced instrumental; Last Day Excuse with their rather embarrassing hip-hop/funky/RHCP-wannabe track), most of it is your standard '90s melodic-but-snotty punk rock of the Epitaph/Fat variety, with some songs being quite nice, and some really great, like Bigwig's track from their debut CD, or the wonderful Screeching Weasel-y "Indie Rock Girl" by the mysterious Pushovers (a Google search for the band + song name yields nothing but the track listing for this CD), or Torture Kitty, Bickley, the wonderfully stupid "Adam Eating" by Kung Fu Grip... Ah, it's a great CD, there's no other way around it! I've actually seen Bigwig around that time somewhere in NY and it was a great, small but packed show; I also remember going to see Reach the Sky and Blood for Blood at a 2 PM matinee for under-21's, promoted with black and white A4 posters made in MS Word... Too bad I don't care much for those bands so I can't really brag about it in a "during the war..." manner - except now, I guess. But anyway, enough rambling, here's the tape:

Track listing:

1. Whitekaps - More Punk (1:43)
2. Bickley - Communication (1:57)
3. Dinosaur Salad - Lifestyles (3:31)
4. Latch Key Kids - Last Ride (3:24)
5. 30footFALL - Boogers for Brains (2:05)
6. Torture Kitty - Problem with Me (2:07)
7. Easy Way Out - My Day (0:36)
8. Splat - Sidewalks (2:30)
9. Sad Pygmy - Dumb as Nails (1:54)
10. Bigwig - Best of Me (2:23)
11. Jimmy Dong & The Human Blockheads - Individual (1:43)
12. Straight Faced - Lit (2:38)
13. River Fenix - GBOH (3:16)
14. The Pushovers - Indie Rock Girl (2:58)
15. Clutch Cargo - 40 oz. (2:08)
16. Mr. Yuck - Their Narrow Minds (3:55)
17. Kung Fu Grip - Adam Eating (2:31)
18. Vitamin - Personality (3:00)
19. UTI - Change Your Minds (2:31)
20. Moobar - Good Food (2:40)
21. Squid Vicious - Deep Eddy (live) (2:59)
22. Yellow 5 - Depression (3:13)
23. Last Day Excuse - What Should I Do (2:22)

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