In the early 90s, following Nirvana 's rise to fame, the Sub Pop label had enjoyed some notoriety as Seattle's premium Alt-farm for the record industry majors, many of whom were clamoring for the next flannel adorned malcontent with a shitty guitar and an impassioned yell.  Having essentially birthed Seattle's rock scene via Green River , (whose members would later form other seminal acts such as Mudhoney , Mother Love Bone , and Pearl Jam ), Sub Pop was also the label that offered Nirvana and Soundgarden their earliest opportunities as recording artists, a move that eventually led both bands to worldwide acclaim.  As regional devotees, Sub Pop curated and, consequently, informed what would be called the "Seattle Sound." With that said, TAD , whose muddy distorto-rumblings were certainly demonstrative of the scene's penchant for aural grit, I feel gets overlooked.  Started by guitarist/vocalist Tad Doyle in the late 80s, TAD was among the earliest of S...

Something for us old heads nostalgic for an era when music was still an experience people shared... Info courtesy of KEXP.   KEXP Celebrates 25th Anniversary of Nirvana’s Nevermind Listeners Invited To Share Stories at (412) 4-GRUNGE Week of Special Programming Begins Monday, September 19 Seattle – September 19, 2016 In 1988, Kurt Cobain drove to KCMU (now KEXP) to drop off Nirvana’s first single, “Love Buzz”. Anxious to hear it, Kurt tuned in to his car radio all day, finally pulling off to a pay phone to request it himself. He then listened as Nirvana was played on air for the first time. Less than a year later 90.3 was also the first station to play Nirvana’s debut album, Bleach. Three years later, Kurt and Nirvana returned to the station in person to premier the band’s second album, Nevermind . As this classic observes its silver anniversary this month, KEXP celebrates with a week of special programming—and we invite everyone to participate. Beginning Monday, Se...

If reading or hearing the name Conrad Schnitzler garners sudden and inescapable interest, it's likely that you'll want to check out the Con-Struct series.  Schnitzler was a founding member of Kluster , (before they were renamed Cluster ), co-owner of the Zodiak Free Arts Lab, (which was a haven for the artistic and experimentally minded people of Berlin in the late 60s), and an early member of Tangerine Dream .  The man was directly responsible for the facilitation of a very prolific and creatively rich period of musical exploration, a period that he himself contributed to in various functions as either collaborator or composer. With all that said, the Con-Struct series was conceived by Jens Strüver , half of the electronic group, Borngräber & Strüver .  After gaining access to an extensive sound archive that Schnitzler had built, Strüver proposed that new music be developed utilizing this archive and that musicians of a similar ilk helm each installment in the s...

Faith No More We Care A Lot (Deluxe Band Edition) Koolarrow Records Released: 8.19.16 Originally released: 1985 via Mordam Records * This is probably very true. Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

Bangladeafy Narcopaloma Nefarious Industries Released: 8.26.16 No Ripcord review Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

For today, I have an avant/ambient treat directly from Constellation Records . In anticipation of three new debut releases from Jason Sharpe , Off World , and Automatisme , the good people at Constellation saw fit to compile and share two tracks from each release.  I gave the tracks a listen earlier today and very much enjoyed the lengthy, dystopian chill of Automatisme's "Simultanéité 1," and the infestation of plucked strings that carry Jason Sharpe's "A Boat Upon Its Blood (Part 1)."  I was also taken by the very loose "Wonder Farm" from Off World, its frontier-ist twang strange against the seesaw tumble of artificial swats of percussion.   You can sample the tracks below: Release information and links were provided by Rarely Unable.  If you like what you hear, please head over to Constellation and spend a couple bucks. CONSTELLATION SHARE NEW MUSIC FROM THREE DEBUT ALBUMS; INCLUDING NEW RELEASES FROM OFF WORLD, AUTOMATISME & JASO...

Happy Labor Day, everyone. With this being an election season, expect that much of today's best wishes and recognition to working people is going to be delivered alongside campaign slogans and false promises.  So, while politicians patronize and attempt to relate to those who go out everyday and help make this big machine called America "go," maybe listen to this selection of tunes instead.     R.E.M. : "Driver 8" Subhumans : "Work-Rest-Play-Die" John Handy : "Hard Work" Frank Zappa : "Wind Up Workin' in a Gas Station" Tom Waits : "I Can't Wait to Get Off Work" Howlin' Wolf : "Work For Your Money" Minutemen : "Working Men Are Pissed" Replacements : "God Damn Job" Talking Heads : "Found a Job" Primus : "Those Damned Blue Collar Tweekers" Black Flag : "Clocked In" Saccharine Trust : "Mad at the Co." ...