Various Artists-Killed by Death Volume 3

Various Artists

Killed by Death Volume 3

http://www.mediafire.com/?y14uvyijitx

This series falls off around volume five, but this is the last one to qualify as essential. The rest are very worth your while if you have a passing interest in punk since there are amazing tracks on all volumes. Most of this volume is great, but enjoy it while you can since each installment decreases in quality from here.

Raymond and Peter-Shut Up Little Man!

Raymond and Peter

Shut Up Little Man!

http://www.divshare.com/download/4935777-bb8

Ever had the urge to listen to two of the most ornery, drunken and misanthropic senior citizens argue with each other on a daily basis. Ever wonder what a pure distillation of misanthropy sounds like? To hell with crank call cds, these are the sounds of two men who despise one another and do so in such colorful ways. If you think it is cruel that two men surreptitiously recorded every insult and threat, take a listen and you will become sympathetic. Now, we all have annoying neighbors, but Raymond and Peter are quite different. They may possess the most colorful, profane and ridiculous vocabulary these tender ears have ever heard.

Here is the situation. Two gentlemen moved into a San Francisco apartment and were shocked by the violent tirades of their elderly neighbors. After a period of time, they decided that their conversations were sickly fascinating and began taping their quarrels and flights of fancy. The cast consists of Raymond Huffman and Peter Haskett as well as Peter’s gay lover Tony, an ex-member of the military with a love of the weed. Tony causes some homoerotic friction between the two on many occasions.

These diatribes include disputes over missing vodka, missed rent payments, disappointing dinners and Raymond’s homophobic statements. Their neighbors eventually build up the courage to begin crank calling them to continue their payback for many sleepless nights. Raymond is awoken and declares that he “was a mean mother fucker in his time and that Tony is one too” and eventually agrees to a duel outside of a seedy pub that is rightly called O’Looney’s. It is a depressing, but hilarious peek at two hateful souls who absolutely deserve each other. Raymond and Peter are such unlikable souls that you almost wish they would put each other out of their misery. It will make you have less respect for humanity.

Guy Clark-Old No. 1

Guy Clark

Old No. 1 (RCA 1975)

http://www.mediafire.com/?5tzrzerdqmy

There are certain eras and places which are forever associated with the heyday or a particular genre. From the 60s British Invasion to the NYC and British punk scenes of 77-82, there are certain times in which there was an electricity and excitement that a new day was coming. In my opinion, country music has seen a few heydays from the Appalachian folk of the Carter Family to the heartbreaking schmaltz of the 60s, country assimilated Americana and cast itself in a new image. Sadly, Americana ain’t what it used to be and we are stuck with country’s assimilation of Bon Jovi and American Idol. Things ain’t what they used to be.

However, my favorite era of country is the outlaw mystique of the 70s where country artists soaked up all of the weed, LSD, psychedelia and rebellious attitudes of the 60s and spat it back out. You can hear the echoes of the Grateful Dead, Haight-Ashbury and psychedelic soul of the era and married to the past and it resulted in a period which I hold dear. Just off the top of my head I can name David Allen Coe, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Michael Hurley, Jerry jeff Walker, Emmylou Harris, Joe Ely, Guy Clark, Townes Van Zandt and Gene Clark as individuals who pushed the enveloped of country music.

Guy Clark wrote “L.A. Freeway” for Jerry Jeff Walker and it was a hit that led to RCA signing him up to the label for his debut Old No. 1. He assembled a band that included Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle, Rodney Crowell and David Briggs. They provide a gorgeous canvas for Guy Clark to paint tales of leaving town for good, honkytonk hoochie mamas, intrepid hitchhikers and the perils of nostalgia. The album has little to do with outlaw imagery. This album is almost pathologically obsessed with loss and new beginnings. What makes it so sad is that he puts up this front that these new directions will be positive, but you get the inkling that he knows it will end in failure again. There is even one track “Old Time Feeling” that reminds me of Cat Stevens tacking a country tune for the Harold and Maude soundtrack. There is a fear of the future which permeates the album and it echoes a desire for things to remain the same. Lost opportunities and bad luck abound in Guy Clark’s lyrical world and it bums me out to no end. However, it is so damn gorgeous that it always ends in a draw.

Killed By Death Volume 2

Various Artists

Killed by Death #2

http://www.mediafire.com/?zpcmmxb3lip

I won’t ramble too long since my first post sums up my love for the series. However, this one is special because it is my favorite in the entire series. In fact, it may be my favorite collection of punk songs. The lyrics on a few songs are a bit too dude-centric and misogynistic for my blood, but I guess the world was due for punk anthems about STDs, analingus and brief interludes where just a blowjob will do. Tributes to serial killers also play a role here as the David Berkowitz and John Wayne Gacy get their inevitable punk tributes here. The Chain Gang’s tribute to Berkowitz “Son of Sam” is one of my favorites since it suggests what may happen if The Monks were hatched in the punk era. This is meathead music and I mean that as a compliment. I used to listen to this while taking the train to work to get myself prepared for a day of teaching high school in the inner city. I don’t know what that says about me. Maybe I am headed for my own personal version of Falling Down. Anyway, it’s a brilliant example of rock at its most raw, primal and catchy.

I will continue to post volumes 3-15 at my leisure.

Tarnation link is fixed, Nikki Sudden is still in the works

Come to butthead. Posting more tonight.