Easy Action Dinosaur Jr. Union Transfer Philadelphia, PA 9.29.17 Photo by Josh Pelta-Heller Phawker  live show coverage Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

"You  had  to be there." It's this phrase that's put out there following an ill-spent attempt at conveying the impact of an experience, the event's resonating effects still mapped throughout your grey matter yet impossible to express verbally to anyone unable to comprehend the time and space of the where and when. I talk about the 90s quite a bit, aware that my era of self-discovery means nothing in the here and now, JUST the where and when, and that articulating these feelings may often yield little or no reaction. Because you had to be there. And, I admit to sometimes missing that decade. I've done my damnedest to look ahead, to never be indoctrinated into that insufferable collection of unmovable mid-lifers content to reside in a state of permanent reminiscence. I try and focus on relevant, i.e. "now," music. But, as this point in time was where I began to understand how I identify musically and where my passions lie, there's a feel...

“Light a Roman candle… And, hold it in your hand.” This line always stood out to me, its bold and sung utterance built atop the gritty stroll of “4th of July,” a song from Soundgarden ’s much acclaimed Superunknown , an album whose existence warped my being with every listen, my adolescent brain smitten with every melodic stanza, every metallic lick. I fed this album into many blank cassettes in the summer of 1994, almost using the task as an excuse to necessitate an uninterrupted hour-plus of listening: “Gotta cut the track right. Gotta press PAUSE just before I run out of tape on side-A.” So essential that album remains to my chronology that I rarely listen to Superunknown as it puts me at a time and place I'd rather not be. It remains an affecting work from Soundgarden, whose primal scream, Chris Cornell , is dead from an apparent suicide. He was 52. Needless to say, since this news was announced, Superunknown has been on rotation, the dust wiped off the jewel case, a Wa...

Big Walnuts Yonder : "Sponge Bath" (via Us-Them Group/Sargent House/ Sterogum /Soundcloud) Chuck Berry : "Big Boys" (via Big Mouth Publicity/YouTube) HOTT MT : "At Night in China Town" (via Tell All Your Friends PR/YouTube) Jaimie Branch : "Theme 002" (via Clandestine Media/ International Anthem Recording Co. /YouTube) Kikagaku Moyo : "In A Coil" (via Tell All Your Friends PR/ Wonderland. /Soundcloud) Ghost Bath : "Ambrosial" (via Earsplit PR/ Nuclear Blast /YouTube) Laetitia Sadier Source Ensemble : "Galactic Emergence" (via mutante/Drag City/YouTube) Obituary : "Ten Thousand Ways to Die" (via Relapse Records /YouTube) Benjamin Muñoz : "Melle" (via XLR8R / Push & Run /Soundcloud) Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

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...

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

An expanded edition of Faith No More 's 1986 debut LP, We Care A Lot , will be out August 19th via Koolarrow Records.  In the interest of promoting the reissue, a video of the group performing "The Jungle" at San Francisco's The i-Beam has surfaced online.  This footage will be included in the reissue, along with demos and other live recordings. Information on the reissue is provided below along with pre-order links, all of which were provided by Speakeasy PR.   WATCH FAITH NO MORE PERFORM 'THE JUNGLE' LIVE AT THE I-BEAM FROM 1986 FAITH NO MORE REISSUE LANDMARK DEBUT ALBUM, WE CARE A LOT, ON AUG. 19 VIA KOOLARROW RECORDS LONG OUT OF PRINT RELEASE GETS DELUXE TREATMENT WITH NEW MIXES, DEMOS AND LIVE RECORDINGS; PRE-ORDERS AVAILABLE NOW SAN FRANCISCO, July 27, 2016 – As part of the build up to the release of Faith No More's We Care A Lot reissue (Aug. 19, Koolarrow Records), watch new, rare footage (audio and video by Chris Husband ) of Faith No ...

Just received news of a Kickstarter campaign aiming to fund a Melvins documentary.  Sound cool?  I think so.  The trailer, links and info were lovingly provided by the wonderful people over at Speakeasy PR & Marketing, so check it out.  MELVINS’ DOCUMENTARY, THE COLOSSUS OF DESTINY – A MELVINS TALE , LAUNCHES KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN RELEASE NEW TRAILER SAN FRANCISCO, March 9, 2015 – The filmmakers of the forthcoming Melvins’ documentary, The Colossus of Destiny – A Melvins Tale , have launched a Kickstarter campaign featuring artwork donated by Haze XXL , Brian Walsby , Arik Roper , Skinner and Mackie Osborne ( https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/26674096/the-colossus-of-destiny-a-melvins-tale ).   The film, which is currently under production with an anticipated early 2016 release, is the creation of Bob Hannam and Ryan Sutherby . The pair, who met through a mutual affection for the Melvins, began work on the officially authorized documentary in...

mr. Gnome The Heart of a Dark Star El Marko Released: 11.18.14 The Heart of a Dark Star , the title of the newest release from Cleveland-based fantasy rock duo, mr. Gnome , apparently owes its title to Neil Gaiman . The phrase was pulled by singer/guitarist Nicole Barille from the book, The Ocean at the End of the Lane , as a metaphor for the type of journey this album details, that is in her words, “the ultimate journey into the unknown.” Within seconds of the band’s intro track, “Melted Rainbow,” its whirring and delicate propulsion spinning through its cycle as keystrokes dance upon its construct, Barille sings, “Because I can’t explain just where we are right now,” summarizing the album’s starry eyes and excited uncertainty without much by way of fear or caution, a sound as free-floating and willing to discorporate as most children when enraptured by tales of wonder. The work of singer/guitarist Barille and drummer/pianist Sam Meister , mr. Gnome’s visual aesthetic ...

Purling Hiss Weirdon Drag City Released: 9.23.14 No Ripcord review Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

Shellac Dude Incredible Touch and Go Records Released: 9.16.14 No Ripcord review Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

Yesterday, I took a drive over to Siren Records to investigate the stock and maybe pick up an album or two.  Of my list, only one new release that I wanted was available (which I'll discuss later in one my of "Bought of 2014" articles), though I was contemplating picking up the new Merchandise LP.  They had a couple copies and I keep hearing that it's great, so I may try and sample a track or two and pick it up during a return trip.  I was also looking for the new Blonde Redhead album, but had apparently come a little early.  Vinyl editions are supposed to be out this week according to one of the clerks and the CD wasn't in stock.  I also searched for the Freddie Gibbs/Madlib album, Piñata , which I've been wanting to pick up for a while now.  I may have to just buy that one directly from Stones Throw.  Some beautiful editions of Mastodon 's Remission reissue were available, though no Once More 'Round The Sun on vinyl or CD, which was also disap...

Sunflower Bean : "Tame Impala" (via Dark Matter Media/ Interview Magazine /Soundcloud) Itasca : "Nature's Gift" (via Force Field PR/ Vogue /Soundcloud) Trans Am : "Insufficiently Breathless" (via Thrill Jockey Records/Vimeo) Trans Am - Insufficiently Breathless from Thrill Jockey Records on Vimeo . Run The Jewels : "Blockbuster Night Part 1" (via Stereogum /Soundcloud) Mega Bog : "Cologne in the Night" (via Couple Skate/Soundcloud) Deaf Wish : "St. Vincent's" (via Sub Pop/Soundcloud) Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

Here are a couple more 2014 records I've purchased.  Start a conversation by commenting if you're not hip to my take on things.  I'm normally up for a lively debate.  Swans To Be Kind Young God Records/Mute Released: 5.12.14 In 2012, I wrote the following about Swans ' then-new release, The Seer : "Listening to The Seer, it does sound dangerously absolute, its surrealistic intensity, abstruse composition and overt theatricality securing for the band a creative peak, one considerable enough to leave little left for any subsequent releases. How does one carry on when the mountain’s been scaled, when the view’s been absorbed and considered? There seems to be so much more distance left to tackle, but how do you reach the sky?" When NPR featured the band's newest release for its "First Listen" series, I jumped on the opportunity to hear it.  And though I'd sampled a couple tracks from the album before then as they were happily diss...

Nick Oliveri's Uncontrollable : "Human Cannonball Explodes" (via Howlin' Wuelf Media / Schnitzel Records /Soundcloud) Alma Construct : "On The Edge, Surrounded With The Shores of Assudrey" (Force Field PR/ R&S Records /Soundcloud) Literature : "New Jacket" (via Force Field PR/ A.V. Club /Soundcloud) Medicine : "Turning" (via Captured Tracks/YouTube) Oscillator Bug : "Giimmi Goe" (via Us-Them Group/ Tiny Mix Tapes /Soundcloud Bowl Ethereal : "The Last Minute" (via Earsplit PR/ Noisey /YouTube)   Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead