Metal Machine Music, remix

now here's something i've been meaning to do for a very long time.

i've been a HUGE fan of this record ever since i first heard it around tenth grade (it may well be my favorite record, if there is such a thing, and of course it inspired the name of this blog), but i always felt like it would be really interesting to slow it down until you could (maybe? hopefully?) identify it as guitar feedback rather than the crazy squalling chipmunk death screeches of glory that it is. recently i read that by slowing it down to 16rpm and listening to either the right channel or left channel independent of the other you could start to make out what's going on, so that's what i did: readjusted the pitch and tempo to roughly 48% of the original and split the tracks into mono files of each channel. unfortunately, that sounded way too slow to me (tho' if you do it without changing th' pitch - just slow the tempo - it does sound pretty great) so i started experimenting with different values, beginning with 75% (seemed appropriate). judging by just kind of an innate sense of how the knocking delay sounds in the left channel of side one "should" sound, i felt like this was too fast so i then tried 70% (still a bit too fast), and then 65% (sounded fucking incredible but something said 'split the difference'), so here ya have it, 67% of the lp tempo. of course keep in mind that i have no idea how much lou sped his multitrack tapes up, if indeed that's what he did - and heck, he could've been messing with the pitch control on the deck the whole time he was recording (…and mixing…and mastering…); this is just something i wanted to hear and i think it sounds fantastic at the same time that it offers insight (well, at least a little) into what the origins of the signals are. this now gives you over three hours of MMM, and taking into account the sad fact that even thurston moore admitted he's never listened to it all the way thru - blasphemy - you can pride yrself on being one of the chosen when you reach the end of this journey!

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THE STORY OF CREATION (VHS, 1992)

hey folks, here's a FIRST fer th' blog, a real, honest-t'-gosh VIDEO TAPE. this silly thing is a remnant of sire's short-lived fascination with the creation label and their (in)ability to make great sacks of loot for 'em over here across th' pond. ya get a few choice vids each from primal scream (at least it has "higher than the sun" on it), my bloody valentine (nothing before "soon", sorry) and ride (criminally missing "like a daydream") and some heartwarming/ridiculous/banal interviews. apart from th' low-level drawbacks listed above, this thing 's a keeper. i mean, i've kept it for 19 years (jeez). lost th' cover tho' (thus th' crummy scan from someazon else).

info

dead link, sorry

Girls Galore 'Weightless'

along with merchandise, girls galore are my favorite band of the past coupla years. i actually broke down and ordered a compact disc (I KNOW) in order to hear their second lp (turns out it's fucking great, and their label sent me a buncha free shit!). anyhow, they've been working on a third record and took a break to remaster their first release, add an extra track, and make it available for free. knock yrselves out!

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Dancing Hoods

before mark linkous was mark he was freddy and before there was sparklehorse there was dancing hoods. he was just th' guitar player in this band tho' and their music bears no resemblance to his later stuff - which is fortunate since after this ep somehow the dancing hoods decided (alongside many of their peers, i must add) to become the del fuegos (or pontiac brothers, or whatever) - but this ep is damned fine, along the lines of what you'd hope for from four dudes trying to make it in the early '80s on the mean streets of nyc, growing up in the midst of luminaries like the feelies and the bush tetras: squeeze-y pop leanings/minimalist beat dance not unlike mid-period fingerprintz/americana closer to let's active than bruce springsteen/&c. "not the only one" even hints at heights bands like the cavedogs (watch these skies!) and odd numbers (ditto!) would commit commercial suicide from in less than a decade's time. my only wish is that these tunes encompassed the flip of an equally great b-side.

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King Louie and the Loose Diamonds

in which king louie musically explains the history and future of all boozy southern rock'n'roll slime-pop in about 40 minutes flat. my favorite record any of these guys have been a part of and that includes those unfuckwithable oblivians lps so you know it's on the stellar side. most of this band is back together with th' addition of one mr. jeff dutton (of action family and barbed wire dolls) as THE FUZZ. includes louie's supreme take on th' lost exploding hearts classic he cowrote, "gypsy switch" (aka "shattered").

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Mark Sultan Mixtapes

some of you may be aware if yr "friends" with him on the internets but from time to time m. bbq sees fit to post a mixtape or two's worth of youtube videos on his page and since they're about 50% shit i love and 50% shit i've never heard before that's very worth hearing of course and since sitting in front of the computer is probably the place i'm least-apt to (wanna) be while listening to music in anything but short bursts i figured i'd dub his "mixes" onto the old ipod. and since he was back at it today i thought i'd post the one from two or so months ago as well as this the new batch here just in case you like me are quite enamored with the tunes he picks. thanks mark!

download the one from march 3rd
download the one from today (june 28)

TILTS

ok so this isn't normally my style. i'm not one fer posting stuff YOU SHOULD TOTALLY BE PAYING for. but th' whole world needs to hear this fucking band by any means necessary. that said, here's th' deal: after starting a new band a few years ago and being a few weeks into it and pretty damned jazzed about what we were doing fucking gene plays this disc by this band SHAME CLUB (coming soon to this blog area) and i suddenly couldn't really give a crap about what we were doing 'cause all the bands on the planet ever just got fucking devastated by this one song "windbag" (no hyperbole). years go by and everyone's brains are so utterly smashed by the simple existence of the shame club that they don't even bother to make those dudes famous and the dudes go their seperate ways. (but stay in town.) (st. lou.) later i learn via some photos posted by their ex-bass player that their (second) drummer and SHIT-HOT LEAD guitarman are in this new act. I FUCKING DOWNLOADED THE SHIT OFF iTUNES. FOR SERIOUS. that's how good these dudes are. and holy asschaps if TILTS aren't even kinda better than shame club in a way. SO MUCH BOOGIE BADASSERY. so well dude who's writing the songs and playing dual leads goes and joins torche (meh.) & moves to hotlanta (rite) but stays in tilts (alls i hafta say is he better) and actually this phenomenon gives way to me actually getting to see tilts since they go on tour with torche so hey alls good that is. anyhow like i said you GOTTA hear this shiz so here's all three o' their eps all junked together by yrs trooly plus whacked-out xmas bonus track and wicked practice space instro demo. PLEASE FIND A WAY TO SEND THEM MONEY OK!!

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