Back in February, I posted a nod to Nirvana 's Nevermind , being that 2011 makes its twentieth year as a very significant release in rock n' roll history and my own personal development as a music fan.  No Ripcord was in need of an article to mark the occasion, so a reedited version of the article has been submitted as a feature. As a title, I appropriated the "it was twenty years ago today" line from The Beatles ' Sgt. Pepper Lonely Hearts Club Band .  I agree that it was probably the least original idea I could come up with and maybe even arrogant to take the standard of importance The Beatles still hold over popular music and apply them to a band like Nirvana.  But, in truth, for many of us, Nevermind was our Sgt. Pepper and our moment of triumph.  If generations continue to be recognized by their contributions to art, or represented by its celebrities or figureheads, then Nevermind will forever maintain a level of importance and a true summation of the w...

Going with Interstellar Space today to mark the occasion. Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

Fans of Giant Squid 's 2009 release, The Ichthyologist , will be happy to know that the band is putting out a 5-song EP dubbed, Cenotes , in late October via Translation Loss Records . Revolver Magazine premiered Giant Squid's first single, "Figura Serpentinata," about a week ago.  The EP itself won't disappoint. Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

I was very excited to finally score an opportunity to see 1991: The Year Punk Broke, which is now reissued on DVD in a 20th anniversary package.  This concert film featuring Sonic Youth and a still obscure Nirvana had been out of print for a long time.   Check out issue #11 of Kicking Against The Pricks. 1991: The Year Punk Broke (20th Anniversary Edition) Dave Markey We Got Power Films Originally Released: 1992 Reissued: 2011   Kicking Against The Pricks review Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

I just got a press release from Earsplit PR that details all of Southern Lord's recent and remaining output for the year.  Most notable on the list is Sunn O))) 's ØØ Void reissue, which has been out of print for almost a decade.  See below for details. Southern Lord: Upcoming 2011 Releases In their continued reign of bringing some of the most talented, underground bands on the heaviest end of the musical spectrum to the public, Southern Lord have just unveiled their upcoming schedule for the remainder of the year, including releases from NOOTHGRUSH , DEAD IN THE DIRT , WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM , BLACK COBRA , CRAFT , HEARTLESS and SUNN 0))) .  This coming Tuesday, September 27th, prepare for a crushing live release from one of the sludge metal scene’s most underrated, unsung, and recently reformed acts; NOOTHGRUSH. Southern Lord will drop the notorious Bay Area act’s Live for Nothing CD, bearing an hour and 20 minutes of some of the most lo...

Warpaint 's The Fool is going Deluxe next week , so the band recorded Rough Trade Sessions to mark the occasion.  The videos are worth your attention, especially "Composure." Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

Thirty-one years is a good stretch for any band.  And while R.E.M. has had their slip-ups, their contribution to the underground, college and indie rock circuits are essential.  The band announced on their website today that R.E.M. is no more.  " To our Fans and Friends: As R.E.M., and as lifelong friends and co-conspirators, we have decided to call it a day as a band. We walk away with a great sense of gratitude, of finality, and of astonishment at all we have accomplished. To anyone who ever felt touched by our music, our deepest thanks for listening. " — R.E.M.   Reviews: R.E.M. — Fables of the Reconstruction (25th Anniversary Edition) R.E.M. — Lifes Rich Pageant (25th Anniversary Edition) Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

Luis Vasquez's The Soft Moon is releasing a four-song EP titled, Total Decay .  The title track is streaming via Pitchfork and it's as spacy and ghostly as anyone familiar with their self-titled debut would expect.  The Soft Moon is easily one of my favorite discoveries of the year. All info comes courtesy of Life Or Death PR. THE SOFT MOON PREMIERES "TOTAL DECAY" VIA PITCHFORK TOTAL DECAY EP DUE HALLOWEEN ON CAPTURED TRACKS FALL TOUR DATES WITH MOGWAI, JOHN MAUS AND MORE Coming up on a year since their debut self-titled LP release, The Soft Moon presents Total Decay . Luis Vasquez continues to conjure a sound fueled tempest that intoxicates with its own post-apocalyptic dust in this new EP, which will be released on Halloween, fittingly. What began as a side-project has quickly gathered a cult following that has culled a spotlight in its own right, no longer in a cloaked corner. After two stirring 7 inches and a full album, it was apparent that Vasquez i...

It's worth mentioning again that Dinosaur Jr. 's Dinosaur , You're Living All Over Me and Bug will be getting reissued by Jagjaguwar in early October. News of their west coast Bug dates and links come courtesy of the good people at Jagjaguwar. Dinosaur Jr.'s Vinyl Reissues Now Up for Pre-Order Announcing West Coast Bug Tour Dinosaur Jr. by Bob Bayne Over the last 25+ years, Dinosaur Jr. has influenced a countless number of bands, both peers and protégés, by wailing their classic union of melodic bass, seething drums, virtuosic guitar shredding and listless vocal delivery through the iconic Marshall stacks. Jagjaguwar is honored to reissue the band's first three albums on  vinyl ,  Dinosaur,  You’re Living All Over  Me and  Bug, on  October 4th, 2011 . Originally released on the venerable Homestead and SST labels in the 1980’s, the reissues stay true to form and include the cardinal track lists. ...

Back in March, Philadelphia-based electronica duo, RYAT , released Avant Gold .  I liked the album and meant to write about it, but was unfortunately overwhelmed by countless other albums/demands/deadlines and the album consequently fell too far from relevance to cover. I was pleasantly surprised to see that RYAT, the combined energies of Christina Ryat and Tim Conley , have a Daytrotter session available.  "Not For This Lifetime" is marked as unreleased, though it appears in Avant Gold .  This version is notably different, however.  The other unreleased track, "Nose Art," is thick with reverb, sampling and deep low end. Avant Gold is a worthy listen if you get the opportunity to hear it.  There's a good amount of live instrumentation incorporated into the more electronic aspects of the band's sound, which is adventuresome and deeper than what I've come to expect from most trance, techno or electronic music. 9.14.11: RYAT's Daytrotter set ...

I'd actually heard of AIDS Wolf before, knowing the Canadian No Wave-based, artcore troupe as students of Get In The Van and D.I.Y. ideology; as the creative force behind the art crew, Seripop and as the band that had their promotional photographs taken while they were naked.  (Can't find those, by the way.  Sorry). Their fourth album, a double-LP titled Ma vie banale avant-garde , is being release October 4th by Lovepump United and will likely bleed more than a few sets of ears. Don't believe me?  Check out this single, "Please Hold The Line."   Aids Wolf "Please hold the line" by terroreyestv Tour dates and links courtesy of the press release. ALBUM LAUNCH: 10/7/11 - Montréal, ON @ Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal facebook rsvp 10/20/11 - Brooklyn, NY @ Death By Audio 10/21/11 - Cleveland, OH @ Now That’s Class facebook rsvp 10/22/11 - Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle 10/23/11 - Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry last....

Good ol’ screaming-yelling variety, skate-laced hardcore! With the notable exception of OFF! and some of the various metal offshoots that Southern Lord’s been cranking out, there haven’t been many “punk” or “hardcore” bands I would grant a moment of attention. Trash Talk , though? An intense groove, a solid riff and an attitude you can take seriously.  Check out the video for "Awake."  Their EP of the same name is coming out October 11th. All info below is courtesy of Life or Death PR & Management. The video is courtesy of the always in-tune Terroreyes TV . TRASH TALK ANNOUNCES NEW 7" EP, AWAKE, DUE 10/11 ON TRUE PANTHER WATCH THE MUSIC VIDEO FOR "AWAKE" VIA PITCHFORK PRE-ORDER AWAKE NOW Trash Talk photo courtesy of Brick Stowell Forwards ever, backwards never. In a perfect world, those four words would tell you everything you need to know about Sacramento thrash-punk juggernaut Trash Talk. But in a perfect world, these four furious...

Last year, Björk and Dirty Projectors released a collaborative digital-only EP dubbed, Mount Wittenberg Orca , which is now being physically issued in late October. I happened upon “On and Ever Onward” through Terroeyes TV and enjoyed the track enough I figured it would be worth posting. Domino is issuing the album and it’s available for preorder.    Dirty Projectors + Björk - On and Ever Onward by DominoRecordCo Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

It's late: a school night for some; work night for others.  A little wired tonight despite zero caffeine since this morning, so I decided I'd spend some time locked in my record room making a mix tape.  It's been CD-Rs lately, so I'm going analog tonight, manual pauses and audio playback, winding tape by hand for cuts, the works.  No real concept, though.  Just stuff I want to hear.  Some of the songs I've chosen have been in mixes before, so maybe I'm not venturing far enough, but...  It's just what I'm in the mood to hear.  Right now, I'm playing through the 9+ minutes of "Footprints" by Miles Davis , feeling relaxed for the time being.  I don't get to do this nearly as much as I probably should, allotting myself a minute or two to sit down, uninvolved in anything pressing, nary a deadline or obligation in hand.  For a few minutes, I can just breathe deeply and listen.   How many of us get to do this now?  How many of you r...

Momentarily putting aside the politics that have since torn us all apart on EVERY issue, Americans are all mourning the events of September 11th, events that have left an indelible impression in our hearts and minds no matter our race, class, religious affiliation or political position.  This has all been said before and it's been readdressed over and over again the type of citizens we were on September 12th, as in "unified." I spent that day at work, hearing news updates as they happened, but trying to keep my mind off of it.  The second plane hit maybe two minutes after I began watching the news and the burst of flame that shot across the New York skyline from the south Tower's side has stayed with me.  I kept myself occupied until well after 5PM that day, driving home in a daze and then meeting up with a few friends at the neighborhood bar so we could sort of ponder what had happened and really consider the weight of America's attack.  I'd be lying if I ...

Dave Markey 's long out-of-print concert documentary, 1991: The Year Punk Broke , is being reissued on DVD.  Sort of a grunge-era Woodstock , 1991: The Year Punk Broke features Sonic Youth , Nirvana , Dinosaur Jr. , Babes In Toyland , Gumball and The Ramones during a two-week festival run just before alternative music peaked and breached the confines of the underground. A trailer for the documentary was recently made available. A review will (hopefully) be featured at Kicking Against The Pricks. Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

  Gloss Drop by Battles has been achieving a respectable level of press following the acclaim that 2007’s Mirrored received. My opinion being humble as ever, Gloss Drop is good, not great.  Saying that, “My Machines,” featuring Gary Numan , is one of my favorite tracks on the album and not just for its use of Numan to carry it out.  There’s a good amount of droning energy that I enjoy, the campy electro-keys that amplify the song’s persistence and, of course, John Stanier , himself as automatic and precise as any machine. The video’s kind of stupid, (seriously, how difficult is it to walk on an escalator), but here it is. Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

So, if you thought there was the slightest tinge of Pixies to Yuck ’s self-titled LP, “Cousin Corona” is pure emulation. “Cousin Corona” is a B-side of the upcoming “deluxe edition” of Yuck’s recent release, which expands the album from twelve to sixteen tracks. You can hear “Cousin Corona” below.   Cousin Corona by Yuck Yuck’s album was reviewed by No Ripcord. You can find the review here . All info comes courtesy of Force Field PR. Yuck announces deluxe edition of debut LP with six bonus tracks, hear new track "Cousin Corona" now STREAM: "Cousin Corona" - http://soundcloud.com/yuck/cousin-corona/ Dear Barack Obama , When we were writing the songs that would become the Yuck album we were just writing songs rather than an album. We put the tracklisting together on a whim, and even on the day of mastering we were adding tracks and changing things around. Sometimes it's felt strange that songs like "Milkshake" and ...

Experimental tormenters, The Body , toured earlier this year with drone band, Braveyoung .  A clip of their collaborative performance of "Song One," now the obviously titled opener to their upcoming new album, Nothing Passes , was sent along with information regarding the album and tour dates by Earsplit PR. Nothing Passes will be released via At A Loss Recordings . THE BODY & BRAVEYOUNG: At A Loss Recordings Confirms Collaborative Album And Tour At A Loss Recordings have confirmed an collaborative full-length release between Rhode Island's apocalyptic noise/doom duo THE BODY and North Carolina's orchestral/drone rock harbingers BRAVEYOUNG. With both bands having already performed live together multiple times, including a mini-tour earlier this year where the members of both THE BODY and BRAVEYOUNG performed collaborative material live in several cities of the tour, the time came for the bands to unite their sonic crafts together...

So, Daniel Martin-McCormick ( Mi Ami ) and Darren Keen ( The Show Is The Rainbow ), both of whom I've interviewed, are wrapped up in circuits, wires and plugs, generating electro-based side projects. Martin-McCormick, even before he converted Mi Ami from avant-garde noise rock to an electronic translation, worked in this medium as Sex Worker , so Ital shouldn't be that much of a stretch, though Ital seems to be a more enhanced and involved project.  Martin-McCormick released a three-song Ital album earlier this year via his own Lovers Rock label, Culture Clubs . Altered Zones recently posted a live set, which isn't a bad listen, and a video of the track, "Only for Tonight (Dubout/Saviour's Love Megamix)."    Ital - Live @ Shea Stadium by LiveatSheaStadium ITAL - ONLY FOR TONIGHT (Dubout/Saviour's Love Megamix) from 100% Silk on Vimeo . Reviews : 1). Mi Ami — Watersports 2). Mi Ami — Steal Your Face 3). Mi Ami — Dolph...

Empty Space Orchestra s/t Empty Space Music Released: 5.10.11 Dark Matters EP Empty Space Music Released: 8.23.11 Buzzwords and preconceived notions abound when it comes to lazily coined “prog” rock, though Oregon raised rock quintet, Empty Space Orchestra , is falling under the “post” designation. One such buzzword is “pretension.” Another might be “snobbery.” Easy enough considering the genre’s rep, its head having historically run so far up its own ass that it ultimately led to the breakdown of a creative and accomplished musical height, rock & roll’s only chance at survival the regeneration of its balls, eyes and teeth. Bare essentials became en vogue. Thank you, Ramones . It was both necessary and unfortunate that PROG -gressive music failed to connect with later generations intent on being either alienating or angry, but the musical ideas of King Crimson , Rush , Yes and even ( Aja ’s a great fucking album, so eat me!) Steely Dan to some extent began to seep...

Amorphia Apparel: Monsters of Grok : These t-shirts treat scientists like rock stars and some of the treatments are pretty inspired. Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead