I knew I kept this blog around for a reason, dust 'er off for my..........

HIGH-CLASS PICKS OF 2011




My favorite piece of music released in 2011 was the self-titled 7" from OBN III's. (I am cheating right off the bat because this is only supposed to be full-lengths, however, Tic Tac Totally calls this a desert island record. I agree.)

I played the shit out of these four songs.

Got lucky enough to catch this band twice during SXSW and these local jerks, previously unknown to me, made the whole trip to Texas worth it within 30 seconds of taking the stage at the Spiderhouse. They're a 5-piece, stripped down and all swagger. You know Orville from Bad Sports already, but if you don't know about what happens when he passes on the James Williamson to free himself up for a shot at playing Iggy, then you're missing out big time.

(also of note, their "that's no way to rock n roll" 7" out on super secret records and their full-length of completely different material "the one and only" on tic tac totally.)




it's silly trying to rank so many good records that all have different charms and merits.
i love ye all:

1. obn III's s/t 7" (tic tac totally)

2. jeff the brotherhood - we are the champions (infinity cat)

3. useless eaters - daily commute & the singles (tic tac totally)

4. ty segall - singles 2007 - 2010 (goner) & goodbye bread (drag city)

5. natural child - 1971 (infinity cat)

6. mikal cronin - s/t (trouble in mind)

7. mind spiders - s/t (dirtnap)

8. bad sports - kings of the weekend (dirtnap)

9. peach kelli pop - s/t (cheatin' with this one and i don't currrrrrr.) (infinity cat)

10. all the pujol 7"s collectively (infinity cat)

11. hunx & his punx - too young to be in love (hardly art)

12. veronica falls - s/t (slumberland)

13. heavy times - jacker (hozac)

14. the babies - s/t (shrimper)

15. pure x - pleasure (acéphale)

16. cum stain - hurry up and kill yourself... (burger records)

17. thee oh sees - carrion crawler/the dream (in the red)

18. shannon & the clams - sleep talk (1-2-3-4 go!)

19. night beats - s/t (trouble in mind)

20. kurt vile - smoke ring for my halo (matador)

21. wooden shjips - west (thrill jockey)

22. davila 666 - tan bajo (in the red)

23. spits - v (in the red)

24. liquor store - yeah buddy (almost ready)

25. white faces - s/t (windian)

26. thee goochi boiz - oops! (burger)

27. bare wires - cheap perfume (southpaw)

28. mickey - rock 'n' roll dreamer (hozac)

29. dum dum girls - only in dreams (sub pop)

30. the reatards - teenage hate (a re-issue, of course, or it'd be in the top 3) (goner)

if only HEAVY CREAM, MEAN JEANS, NOBUNNY, GENTLEMAN JESSE & HIS MEN, and THE TOUGH SHITS had put out full-lengths this year, then this list would really feel complete. New stuff in the works for all of them, though. I'm sure they'll be together filling out the top 5 next year.



NOTABLE SNACK-SIZED RECORDS:

COUSIN BRIAN.
http://cousinbrian.bandcamp.com/album/first

THE EERIES.
http://theeeries.bandcamp.com/releases

The Eeries (on Evil Weevil) are Philly's answer to "The Onders" from That Thing You Do (if the Wonders got shitty and covered The Mummies on Halloween); which would make Bill, the label's prez, Tom Hanks*. Just check out the wax he peddles for Big Eyes, Pujol, Dry Feet, and Diarrhea Planet and you will see what a worthy comparison that is.

* Unless you wanna be Frankie Sharp, Bill (just tweet your preference).

Alright, now that it's 4:40am, I'll leave this shit show. Hopefully not to wake up in a night-sweat around 7 realizing I forgot something crucial. if I did- IT COULDN'T HAVE BEEN THAT GOOD, SUCKERS.

All photos by me taken at SXSW 2011. Copyright Leigh Metzler 2011
http://www.leighmetzler.com / See more here.

So, I'm flying to Texas tomorrow (because it was cheaper than driving) and I hope it's more or less just like this when I get there.

My itinerary is basically to see how many times I can see Thee Oh Sees and JEFF The Brotherhood in one week. Plus a few modifications here and there. Burger, Dirtnap, Play Pinball, HoZac, Oops Baby Records and Panache Booking are all really makin' it really hard on a gal to figure out where to be.

( Wah, my cool trip hurts. )

I'll be back with more cool complaints and maybe even a good scab to show off.

(photo by bobo02)

I made a crazy unabridged Jay Reatard mix. It has been one year since his death, today ( I'm not any happier about it and I don't listen to his music any less).

So, If you'd like to download 46 songs from his insane 70+ releases discography (say what you will about Jimmy Lee Lindsay, Jr. but he dropped out of school at 15 to start making records and didn't look back until he was opening for the Pixies) you can find it in 3 parts here:

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

I kinda started with 50 songs and started removing tracks because that's ridiculous, but by the time I got to the third disc I was adding new ones. So, there that is. lol. It ranges from super-raw totally great garage punk stuff he made when he was 15 - 18 years old to the acoustic kiwi-pop influenced material he recorded last. Lots of good synth-punk and dark new-wavey pop jams inbetween for you to pick and choose from. Would've been a lot easier to just go chronologically but I didn't because I like to make things hard on myself for no reason.

Anyway, the mix looks like this: 0100010010101010001101010101

Just kidding, it has very bad graphic design and looks like this:



Hope you enjoy.
I will probably blab about this more tomorrow.



P.S. "Trapped Here" is an great song and isn't on there.
Have fun downloading and letting me know how I blew it big time by leaving off Bad Times' "Streets of Iron" or whatevea. It will be like an audio-based Where's Waldo except not like that at all, whatsoever.

Dave over at An Uncontrollable Urge has put up pt. I of my misadventures at Scion Garage Fest 2010 in Lawrence, Kansas. Here.

hey dracula boots,

i've had a livejournal since i was 15. turns out i still like writing about filthy bubble-gum music. so, maybe i'll start spreading the news here where more people might get to enjoy it.

"kill kill kill /

die die die

woooooooo"

xo

z