MINDGRINDER - Projecting an Image of Success!

So things were all sunny and right in the world of MINDGRINDER last week...til we actually got the station Tuesday night. Oblivious to our knowledge, until right before we went on, the "Auxiliary" cable, which allows us to use our fancy (and busted ass) iPods during our show was out of commission, or in better description, was only playing sound through the left channel. Our immediate plan was, of course, to follow through with the show anyway and just dub it 'MONOGRINDER' to give it some sort of legitimacy (and novelty, albeit a very small one). However, when coupled with a couple friends who either just happened to be at the station, or came by to sit in for the show, an entirely different type of show was spawned.

2 Hours of Eldis (Pussyhawk Live) talking about his cardigan, Pope John Paul II, GG Allin, and an excellent bout of improv from a kind sport in CR2 (WMUC2 internet stream), mixed with interludes from a ton of 80s bands I've never heard of/never want to hear again. Needless to say, we had fun, but judging from our list of online listeners (which was consistently zero, apart from the 'stream-ripper'), I'm guessing we didn't really appeal to our listeners all that much with our showing.

ANYWAYYY, I'm writing all of this bullshit just to say that the problem with our soundboard has been...treated, and we should be able to move ahead as planned tomorrow night, and play the music we intended to play last week before the station decided to be a piece of shit and break. LISTEN, for fucks sake--us being on the air is pointless if we don't have anyone tuning in:

Tuesdays 10pm-12am (eastern time)
streaming over the internet at wmucradio.com
stream link: http://wmucradio.com/wmuc-high.m3u

Preview of things to come: NOOTHGRUSH, Grief, dISEMBOWELMENT, Dystopia, Grey, PENTAGRAM....

--fred

Dystopia - Self Titled

This is Dystopia's final album, released mid last year in 2008. This album represents a different time in the band, as opposed to '98's "Aftermath" and '94's "Human = Garbage". Some might believe that something was lost in the the creation of this album, whether it be the angst, hatred, anger, energy, or even the level of creativity--but I am one to believe that all of these things just manifested a bit differently on this record.

The band has matured over the past 10 years since we've last seen them, with this album having a different but still overt relationship with their previous albums. Dino's (drums, vox) vocals are worn from years of screeching, and Parillo (guitars, vox) has slipped into an exasperated throaty death call that contrasts his more youthful growls from 'Human'. The songs are generally slower and burgeoning, excluding 'Illusion to Love', which harkens back to their blastbeat days of yore. All the hatred and misanthropy of years past still exists here, muddled in between deep guitar tones and a strong, yet lassitudinous, Dino preaching testaments of our world gone to shit, hopeless human beings wandering aimlessly, and the lies and broken promises we all realize in our later lifetimes. Nothing at all has been lost, just matured and fermented. This is not a record of 'loose ends' from the conclusion of their career, but rather a final grim reflection on our world, finally scribing the final chapter on Dystopia.

I can't envision a greater way of going out:

Dystopia - Self Titled

--fred

Beehoover - The Sun Behind the Dustbin (2007)

You can find the excellent Heavy Zooo all over the internets, so I thought I'd share Beehoover's first (see: under appreciated) LP. In my opinion, Heavy Zooo panders a bit to the Stoners and sacrifices some of the poignant melancholy of this first record.

So I don't know too much about Beehoover to pass on to you. I know they're the rhythm section of mediocre doom band Voodooshock. I also know that they rule, and that's about it.

So yeah yeah stoner rock whatever. Or is it? You might be surprised if you listen long enough. For instance, "Yellow Mile" is serviceable first track, but it pales in comparison to the brooding (yet catchy!) "A Foul Smelling Wheel Called Downhill." "Paraffin Oiler" is a sad and powerful extended jam that really stuck with me after listening to the album the first time. "Nice Romantic Evening" is a creepy little acoustic piece with dash of slap guitar about fucking your mom (I don't know man, they're German it's whatever). "Damn You, Charlie Brown," other than having an absurd name, is epic.

Actually, since we're on the topic of absurd song titles, it's safe to say that quite a bit gets lost in translation for these guys. The lyrics rarely make sense and they don't really connect with each other in a meaningful way. That's not to say the lyrics are ill-composed, because that would be far from the truth. The flow is unbelievably flawless and these guys really have a great synthesis between the bass, drums, and vocals. Ingmar really captures the emotion of each song even if he doesn't make any goddamned sense.

OK, so you're not in to that "faggot" emotional song-writing. That's fine, there's plenty else to enjoy about this band. If there's one thing Beehoover does exceptionally well it's write some catchy-ass-riffs. More often than not, you will have these bass lines stuck in your head for days. I found myself *dying* to get back to my house to tickle my itch for certain songs (I'm looking at you Charlie Brown).

These guys really know how to play, and the interplay between guitar and drums is powerful to say the least. It's obvious these two have played together for awhile, and they have such a unique and solidified sound. One of the best bands to ever grace the so-called "Stoner Rock" scene is at your fingertips gents, I suggest you get to it.

Beehoover - The Sun Behind the Dustbin

NoMeansNo - Why Do They Call Me Mr. Happy? (1993)

By the time I got to the last song in Why Do They Call Me Mr. Happy, "Cats, Sex and Nazis" I was already about to declare NoMeansNo the best band I should have heard years ago. Alas, my music tastes have never until this point taken me towards music like this. And it's a damn shame, because NoMeansNo makes bands like Black Flag look like a bunch of amateurs.

The answer to the question posed in the title is indeed eventually found by the listener. Actually, it's answered several (all contradictory) times by the end of the record. Hell, what's a better way to describe this demented band?

I couldn't put my finger on what their lead singer reminded me of. So I settled on an amalgamation of Gerald Casale, David Yow and the Moviefone guy.

The opening three tracks are all post-punk with their loopy, winding bass lines, interspersed keyboards and textural guitar work. Not textural like Isis, think more squeaks and squawks every now and then. The third track, "Machine," slowly builds from this post-punk tempo to an uproarious and dark rock track.

Then comes "Madness and Death," and there goes your face.

The centrifugal force caused by my spinning head was enough to kill a squirrel happily chewing nuts on the bench next to me.

Part Jazz, Punk, Stoner Rock (Hey, Kyuss was doing it in 91!), and New Wave make up this track and the following "Kill Everyone Now." Suddenly the snaky bass and keyboards bow out to some crazy finger-tapping guitar and fierce vocals. Yes, Finger-fucking-tapping.

"Cats, Sex and Nazis" is definitely the deal-closer. If you had any doubts as to how awesome this band is by this point, they will melt away. Sandwiched between a homage to Faith No More's "We Care A Lot" and Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water" is, in my opinion, the best track on the album. The tongue-in-cheek humor is on full-blast, the weirdo jazz-punk is also so finely churned out you'll think of Amish butter.

Most bands would kill to have such an awesome repertoire of songs that they could afford to put such a great song at the very end of the album. De-loused in the Comatorium comes to mind (Yeah, the Mars Volta is a good band deal with it).

Anyway, I'm not good at closing out so listen to this already and impress your friends with knowledge!

NoMeansNo - Why Do They Call Me Mr. Happy?

Totimoshi - Monolí

I'm uploading this for Trey, even though he's a flight-of-stairs distance away from me, I thought it wouldn't hurt to have a new post on the blog. That, and I'm lazy.

Totimoshi is old guy sludge. You know, like the Melvins. But HEAVIER. The music has this sort of menacing quality to it...the guitarist squeezes words from his throat in a frugal manner, kind of holding onto each note 'til meaning is lost, while on other tracks, words are spewed like napalm. Guitar styles range from noodly off-kilter riffs that hold the track together to sand-papery 111-444-55-44 palm muted riffs that lurk their way through most of the record. Download this, you won't hate me for it.

Totimoshi - Monoli