The Measure [SA] - Lauren's Gonna Hate This 7"

So I recently got a USB turntable, which is pretty bitchin'. Thus, I have been engaged in the slow, yet rewarding process of ripping my 7"s that I don't have digital copies of, and I eventually will work my way to the LPs. This benefits you, my thousands upon thousands of readers (i.e. random people stumbling upon this searching for mediafire links in google), as I will be posting some of these right here! O M G. The process has been fun to say the least, as I get to spend more time with my records, which is increasingly difficult these days, and I get to re-listen to a bunch of stuff I haven't touched in forever ("oh shit! I totally forgot I had this Dwarves record!").


The Measure [SA] are a band that means a lot to me (as I have detailed in earlier posts), and the news that they were disbanding was a bit of a blow to me. At least I had the pleasure of finally seeing them at The Fest 9 last year, and hopefully I will be able to see them in Gainesville again this year for their final show. This one-sided 7" (the b-side has a really awesome screenprinted artwork on the back) was originally included as a bonus with the initial pressing of One Chapter In the Book (their singles collection), and as a result is out of print and somewhat rare, although I'm sure you could acquire a physical copy pretty easily (I think I have 4-5, being the color nerd I am). The title song is one of the last recorded (or at least the last released) with Mike Regrets, and it is a vocally swaggering, musically hard hitting song, featuring choice lines such as "I'm beginning to think my friend is just another drink." It is followed up by their excellent cover of J Church's "Fascist Radio," whose deceased frontman Lance Hahn (RIP) graces the record sleeve. The 3rd track, "Pure Gold," is an audio documentation of several missed takes of the intro to "Portland," and is more or a less an entertaining throwaway.

On a related note (oh god pun fully unintended but hilarious to me), you should all pick up The Measure's newest LP Notes, released last fall. Its all sorts of awesome. It's got like, harmonicas and shit. The Pre-order pressing also came with an awesome bonus 7", and I'll probably post that sometime in the next couple weeks.

Enjoy

"Do You Know That New York Guy?": Jawbreaker - Live 8/31/92 at ABC No Rio, NYC

This a pretty fun bootleg I came across early last year. The band is in the midst of a tour supporting Bivouac, but are playing a fair amount of songs that would eventually appear on 24 Hour Revenge Therapy, as well as covering Bad Religion's "Chasing the Wild Goose" (from their maligned experimental Into the Unknown album). The sound quality is ok, its a little muffled and has some weird noise effects going on, most likely from recording transfers, being 20 years old and all. For the most part its tolerable, but "Chesterfield King" is pretty gnarly. I mostly chose this one because of the Bad Religion cover and the early versions of 24 Hour songs, and all the other bootlegs I have from 1992 are from 924 Gilman, and I didn't want to post another of those. (I think I have 6 or 7 924 Gilman Jawbreaker bootlegs, half of which are from 1992, haha)

The banter is pretty worthwhile here, Blake and some members of the audience seem to be bouncing off of each other. Blake gets frustrated by heckling while trying to explain "Boat," as well at some other points, but not terribly so. The funniest is when they start calling him the guy from Anthrax, and Blake responds "I'm the guy from Anthrax, that's correct. That was a funny joke an hour ago, and now, not so funny! Hey, do you know that New York guy?"

yar.

Tracklist:

1. The Boat Dreams from the Hill
2. West Bay Invitational
3. Donatello
4. Face Down
5. Chesterfield King
6. Indictment
7. Parabola
8. In Sadding Around
9. Fine Day
10. Want
11. Tour Song
12. Chasing the Wild Goose

"Somebody say something snide please!": Jawbreaker - Live 8/11/90 at 924 Gilman St.

JaThis is a great early bootleg from the Unfun era, which as it turns out is the source of the "Live at Gilman" bootleg 7" that a few people I know have. The band blazes through this set at a hardcore-esque level of energy (especially on "You're Right"), including the two Bivouac songs that appear on this. The tracks fade in and out, which somewhat detracts from the momentum of the recording. According to loosecharm.org, a great deal of banter, a cover of Freebird, and a jam played by Adam and Chris while Blake fixes a broken string are cut from this version. One day I will find a full version of this bootleg, and all will be alright in the world. Most of the time stage banter isn't very interesting, but I enjoy it being on a recording. I guess it makes it seem more authentic, and is part of the reason why I download so many live bootlegs. Nevertheless, enjoy this at maximum volume!

Tracklist:
1) Welcome to Our Band
2) Gutless
3) Down
4) You're Right
5) Softcore
6) Lawn
7) Big
8) Want
9) Seethruskin
10) Driven
11) Fine Day
11) Equalized
13) Shield Your Eyes
14) Eye-5

Download

Also: surprise! new layout!

New Year, (Give Me) More Beer

In case you haven't heard, its the new year, which is cool, I suppose. 2010 was without a doubt one of the strangest years I've ever experienced. It was basically like the world's shittiest roller-coaster ride. Allow me elaborate:

Starting, oh, at about the beginning of 2009, it was nothing but going up that giant hill all slow and steady, for what seemed like forever, straight through 2010, and it was fantastic. The peak of this hill would be the end of July, when I suddenly dropped down without warning. What had been a wonderfully promising year turned into utter utter shit faster than I could believe. Now, I think I've gotten to the bottom of the drop, but now the car is stuck, and I have to wait for maintenance to come fix it. The worst part of the wait is having to sit there and stare at all the fun parts of the ride that I won't get to go through ("It's not fair, I came so goddamn close!") Its hard to believe its been five months, but I'm glad it flew by so fast. These past few months have been ungodly rough on me, but I made it through for two reasons: my friends and my music.

Why my friends saved me should be self-explanatory. They've been here for me this entire shitty saga, being nothing but supporting and awesome. From day one when I was left heartbroken, jobless, and potentially homeless, to now, when I'm bitter and drunk, but hopeful, they stuck by me, arm around my shoulder, and making me smile even when I didn't really want to be. Music has been my life since I was 13, which is when I discovered Jawbreaker. They were the band that changed my life, and they're still picking me up to this day. Without their songs, I might not have escaped these past few months fully intact. Numerous other bands/albums/songs helped me trudge through the shit, but none more the Jawbreaker.

So for the new year and for the band that will forever mean more to me than any two-faced harpy, starting today, I will be posting some Jawbreaker bootlegs all week. So here's to another lousy millennium!

Up first are the band's first two demos, recorded in 1989. Parts of the first demo appear on Etc, but there are several songs left off, including "World of Shit," which is the sole song that Chris Bauermeister sings.

Demo #1

Demo #2

Joe Strummer - Generations I + II

8 years ago, we lost, in my opinion, one of the most profound and important musicians of rock and roll. I was only just getting into punk rock in 2002, so Joe Strummer's death did not have an immediate impact on me. However, words can barely express how much The Clash and the rest of Strummer's music means to me. They were one of the first bands I latched on to in my adolescence, and even though I was very much in a "punker-than-thou" mentality, The eclectic jukebox that defined the Clash's catalog, especially on albums like Sandinista!, never seemed to phase me in the slightest. I think I got London Calling and their first album around the same time, and being blown away, thinking "there's no way this is the same band." While Mick Jones was the pop genius heart of the songs, Strummer was the gruff, uncompromising soul. There are very few people I respect in this world, and Joe is one of them, even in death.

Watching the documentary "The Future is Unwritten," (which I highly recommend) gave me further appreciation of the man, especially of his resurgence towards the end of his life. His three albums with the Mescaleros, while not on the same level as The Clash, are fantastic albums in their own right. While Joe's projects between the Clash and the Mescaleros are few, there is enough material to justify the Generations collections that I am posting. I don't know who is responsible for putting these together originally, but whoever they are, they are awesome. These roughly 70 songs are a hefty upload, but it is worth it. They span an even larger range of sounds than Sandinista!, from his brief time with The Pogues to his South Park: Chef Aid contribution. There are also some great covers, Ramones, Bob Marley (with Johnny Cash), Jimmy Ciff, The Specials, The Stooges even a couple live Clash songs!

We miss you Joe!

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

(password is folkingthesystem)

If ya'll are lucky, I may post the Live at Action Town Hall bootleg later.

Dillinger Four, Live at the Marquis Theater, Denver 6/12/09

I have unfortunately yet to see the mighty D4 (who are one of my favorite bands) play live, and this bootleg, as great as it is, constantly reminds me of that fact. I really should have been at this show, but I happened to be in Nebraska digging up several thousand year old bison bones. Fortunately for myself, and for all of you, my great friend Josh recorded it for all posterity. So all credit for this should really go to him.

Japanther and the Brokedowns opened this show, but I don't know enough of their song titles, so their tracks are mostly unnamed. OH WELL.

The D4 set is really great, including the "encore" of two oldies (Holy Shit and Smells Like OK Soda). The between song banter of course is choice, and i've split up some of the longer stuff into their own tracks.

The three sets each have their own separate download link below! Also, i'm gonna start password protecting my uploads, because, ya know. Password is folkingthesystem. Enjoy!

D4:
1. Intro
2. Our Science is Tight
3. A Jingle for the Product
4. Superpowers Enable Me to Blend In With Machinery
5. Folk Song.
6. Gainesville
7. A Floater Left With Pleasure In the Executive Washroom
8. "Get Rich, Suck Dicks"
9. parishiltonisametaphor
10. Noble Stabbings!!
11. Q. How Many Punks Does It Take to Change A Lightbulb
12. Maximum Piss and Vinegar
13. Let Them Eat Thomas Paine
14. Mosh for Jesus
15. "Paddy's Sick"
16. clown cars on cinder blocks
17. Doublewhiskeycokenoice
18. "New Brains for Everyone"
19. OKFMDOA
20. D4 = Putting the "F" Back in Art
21. Holy Shit
22. Smells Like OK Soda

Brokedowns

Japanther

Phil Ochs - There and Now: Live in Vancouver 1968

"It [Los Angeles] intrigues me like a beautiful sensual morgue"

Another great live offering from Mr. Ochs! I think this CD was released, oh 20 or so years ago. Phil remarks in a short intro that this gig was his first appearance in Vancouver, surprisingly.It has a pretty varied set list, featuring the standards like "The Bells," and "I Ain't Marching Anymore," as well as a good helping of songs from Pleasures and Rehearsals in stripped down form, much like the Montreal recording. Hooray for Canada? Its humorous to hear him forget a few of the lines of "Outside A Small Circle..." improvising with "da dada da da." This performance wasn't long after the infamous 1968 DNC, and Phil says some words on the matter in between "Where Were You in Chicago?" and "William Butler Yeats...". The audience laughs at some of his remarks, but Ochs' depression about the matter is subtly clear, especially when he bluntly states that America died in Chicago. That illuminating track alone is worth the entire album. Oh, and Allen Ginsberg playing the bells on...well, you should be able to figure that out.This wouldn't be Phil's last appearance in Vancouver, as two short years later he would play with Joni Mitchell and James Taylor for Greenpeace, as documented on the Amchitka live album.

I think I'm gonna take a break from posting Phil Ochs for a while (briefly I swear!) to post some punkier stuff, because The Fest 9 was utterly amazing, and I'm still riding that high two weeks later. I think I've got some cool stuff in my laptop vault. In the meantime, go check out BesidesAsides!

Download

Phil Ochs - Live 10/22/66, Salle Claude Champagne, Montreal

Here's a pretty great long bootleg of Ochs in Montreal, 1966. It's a great mix of songs from his first three albums, and the soon to be released Pleasures of the Harbor. It also notably features songs from Tape from California and Rehearsals ("Joe Hill," "Doesn't Lenny..."), as well as "Song of My Returning," which wouldn't be officially released until 80's on A Toast... Of course what makes Ochs' live recordings, both official and bootleg, worthwhile is his between song banter, as well as hearing the songs with expanded arrangements stripped down, this being no exception. Enjoy!

1. Cross My Heart
2. Song of My Returning
3. The Bells
4. Flower Lady
5. Miranda
6. Joe Hill
7. I'm Gonna Say It Now
8. Pleasures of the Harbor
9. I Ain't Marching Anymore
10. Outside of A Small Circle
11. I've Had Her
12. There But For Fortune
13. Cops of the World
14. Crucifixion
15. Is There Anybody Here
16. Changes
17. The Party
18. Doesn't Lenny Live Here Anymore
19. The Power and the Glory

Download

Phil Ochs - On My Way: 1963 Demo Session

This is a newly released gem, and I highly recommend you go out and purchase it if you enjoy it as much as I do. Although many of these demo session cds aren't really essential to a casual Phil Ochs listener's discography, they often contain songs that aren't available elsewhere. Such is the case with On My Way. Of particular note on this collection is "Bobby Dylan Record," which on the surface appears to be another satirical jab at Phil's favorite non political target, but is actually a narrative about the aftermath of a break-up, in which the protagonist pleads for his ex to "take my Bobby Dylan record off your wall" and not play it for another. Other songs that appear to be "new" are "Once I lived the Life of a Commissar," "First Snow" and several others. "Bullets of Mexico" also appears here in an early form as "The Ballad of Ruben Jaramillo."

The recording quality is about what you would expect from a demo session, although you can tell its been cleaned up. Phil offers explanations for many of the songs, as well as what chords to play, which is pretty cool. So...enjoy!

Download

Phil Ochs - Live at Newport

Oh hello there, I didn't see you come in! I don't know if this CD is out of print, but if its not, it's certainly in low circulation. As great as this album is, I wish it was solely an entire Newport set, rather than selections from Phil's three appearances (1963, 1964, and 1966 (he was inexplicably snubbed in 1965, but he managed to sneak in and watch Dylan's electro-extravaganza, as the liner notes explain)) Maybe these are the whole sets, and they were just short, I don't know how the festival worked. Anyways, Phil live is a wonderous thing to listen to, if he is as nervous as he supposedly was, it doesn't show. What a Charmer, that Ochs is.

Golly gee.