Tom’s Ten June 2009
MITCH RYDER & THE DETROIT WHEELS – Rev Up: The Best Of Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels (Rhino, 1989)
-Raucous R&B from the great Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels. Every one of these songs is a classic and you probably know all of them. My favorites include Jenny Take A Ride, Little Latin Lupe Lu, and I’d Rather Go To Jail. This record just sounds like a party.
DEAD CAN DANCE – Within The Realm Of A Dying Sun (4AD, 1987)
-The cover of this album is one of my all time favorites. It looks like a Joy Division cover. This is the third Dead Can Dance record and the only one that I love from top to bottom. If you don’t know Dead Can Dance, they are a sort of world-goth mutation that shouldn’t work, but does. Haunting. Some of my favorites on this one are Anywhere Out Of The World, Xavier, and In The Wake Of Adversity.
MISFITS – Misfits (Plan 9, 1986)
-The self titled Misfits compilation is one of the most important records in my world. I first heard this when I was 14 and its been a near constant ever since. Pretty much every Misfits track is solid, some of my favorites are She, London Dungeon, Hollywood Babylon, Horror Business, and Skulls. This is the perfect place for Misfits neophytes to start.
NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS – Your Funeral, My Trial (Mute, 1986)
-This was the Bad Seeds fourth record. By this point, Nick had discovered his crooner voice, but still had plenty of the bile and bite that he would lose over the years. The Carny is the standout on this album. Hard On For Love and Long Time Man are great too. The first 4 Bad Seeds records are utter classics.
BLANK DOGS – Over And Over (In The Red, 2009)
-Under And Under is the second full length album from Blank Dogs in as many years. Dude keeps cranking ‘em out without losing any of the quality. I’ve been calling their sounds “bedroom goth”. The more adventurous fans of the Cure and Bauhaus should like this. Check out Setting Fire To Your House No Compass, and Tin Birds.
BLACK RANDY & THE METROSQUAD – Pass The Dust, I Think I’m Bowie (VCF, 2009)
-Black Randy was a bit of a provocateur in the early days of L.A. punk and his band, the Metrosquad, was made up of L.A. punk vets. The recent vinyl reissue of this classic album has an extra LP with tracks from the singles, some live stuff, and a prank phone call. I’m not really sure how to describe this. If you love early L.A. punk a la the Germs, X, Screamers, Bags, etc, you need to hunt this down. Trouble At The Cup is one of my all time favorites.
SONIC YOUTH – The Eternal (Matador, 2009)
-Sonic Youth are one of my favorite bands and one of the reasons I play guitar. The early stuff is my favorite, but they still manage to release vital and important records almost 30 years after their inception. Check out Anti-Orgasm, Leaky Lifeboat, and Thunderclap For Bobby Pyn.
THE MOB – Let The Tribe Increase (Broken Rekids, 1997)
-The Mob were an anarcho punk group that existed in the early 80s. The released a couple of singles on the Crass records label. This collects the band’s lone LP with some of the early singles. They sound like a really depressed Crass. Highlights include Witch Hunt, Another Day Another Death, and a live version of the classic No Doves Fly Here.
13TH CHIME – The Singles: 1981-1983 (Sacred Bones, 2009)
-13th Chime were an obscure post-punk / death rock group from the UK. This is excellent early goth. Creepy without being corny. Sacred Bones is one of my favorite labels right now because of things like this collection. As I understand, the release of a lost LP is in the works. Check out “Cursed” and “Dug Up”.
DINOSAUR JR – Farm (Jagjaguwar, 2009)
-Farm is the new album from the recently reconstituted Dinosaur Jr and is proof that their incredible reunion album Beyond wasn’t a fluke. Dinosaur are on fire here. Check out “I Want You To Know”, “Over It”, and “Pieces”.