Freedom Or Sort Of: Northwestern - Can't Get Into It

Posted: Monday, April 23, 2012 by Fashion Munx in Labels: ,
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Ohio has had cranking some really sweet bands lately, though they probably always have been and I just didn't notice. Northwestern is one of those bands. They meld traditional 90s midwest noodly emo sounds with the kind of early 2000s pop punk that got mistaken for emo like the Get Up Kids. Go check out their EP they put out late last year at their bancamp and you can pick it up at a PWYC price (including free). Really neat stuff. Enjoy!


















http://northwestern.bandcamp.com/

OOP Corner: Big Syke - Be Yo' Self (+ Bonus Tracks)

Posted: Sunday, April 22, 2012 by Fashion Munx in Labels: , , ,
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Big Syke isn't exactly the most recognizable name in hip-hop but he played a central role in the career of one of its key figures of 1990s, 2Pac. Big Syke started out in the group Evil Minded Gangstas who released a tape in 1992 and then met 2Pac in 1993, eventually going on to join his group Thug Life. If you listen to the Evil Minded Gangstas tape you can see its sound heavily influenced the Thug Life album along with New York's Live Squad. Big Syke also introduced 2Pac to produced Johnny "J" Jackson who produced much of the E.M.G. record and would go on to be one of the main producers for 2Pac while he was on Death Row Records.

Big Syke joined 2Pac over at Death Row and appeared on All Eyez On Me and started working on an album with 2Pac for his new group, the Outlaw Immortalz, as well as a solo album. Yet, these things weren't meant to be as Syke decided to sign his own record deal and 2Pac severed ties with him. This is why Big Syke doesn't appear on 2Pac's Makaveli album or any of the subsequent Outlawz albums as more than a guest. He ended up recording Be Yo' Self without input from 2Pac and the Outlawz and released it in October 1996. Syke is a more than capable rapper with a distinct voice and flow but perhaps the best part of the album is that most of it is produced by Johnny "J" in his prime. There are elements of several songs that are the same as unreleased versions of 2Pac songs that Big Syke appeared on as well. There is also a few great features by Above The Law and former Thug Life/Outlawz member Mopreme Shakur. This album went out of print and when Syke signed to southern hip-hop institution Rap-A-Lot in the early 2000s some of the album was included with a different mix/master on the new album Big Syke Daddy. This is a shame because the whole album is really a superb piece of mid-90s west coast hip-hop. Big Syke has that great balance where he spins hardcore rhymes but also reflects on the consequences of a violent lifestyle and takes time out to just relax and have a good time on the record. There is memorable lines and catchy hooks, what more could you ask for?

Anyways, I've seen this album go for anywhere from $40 to $90 (for a CD!!!!) used on Amazon, discogs and ebay so I hope some people enjoy this rip from my collection. I've also included "Forever Ballin'" from The Fan soundtrack as a bonus. It is produced by Johnny "J" and came out in 1996 so I assume it was from the same recording sessions as the rest of the album. As a final bonus I've included the song "Hittin' Cornaz" from the non-album single of the same name from 1998, as far as I know this is the only thing he released between Be Yo' Self and Big Syke Daddy which is a shame because it is one of his best songs.


















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Bootleg: Greg MacPherson & John K. Samson - Live at W.C. Miller Collegiate 10/27/2001

Posted: Monday, April 16, 2012 by Fashion Munx in Labels: , , , ,
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In October 2001, singer-songwriter Greg MacPherson and Weakerthans frontman John K. Samson did a shared solo set in Altona, Manitoba as a benefit for Amnesty International at W.C. Miller Collegiate. This is between Weakerthans 2nd and 3rd LPs, so conceivably "One Great City" and "Reconstruction Site" were brand new. Another nifty gem is a cover of the Clash's "Bank Robber" that features Greg and John playing and sharing vocal duties. If you've never heard Greg MacPherson before you are in for a treat as he has an awesome voice and vivid lyrics and this serves as as good an introduction as any.

The sound of the recording is great and I've had it for awhile waiting for the right time to post it but it seems like I was scooped last fall as someone posted a torrent of it BUT it seems like people weren't looking for it and it isn't exactly seeded and healthy so I decided I'd upload it myself for the blog. Also the torrent doesn't have the exact recording date which I do. As always enjoy!














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Get In Where You Fit In: The Replacements - Inconcerated Live

Posted: by Fashion Munx in Labels: , ,
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I'm a bit of an odd Replacements fan in that my favourite release isn't Let It Be or Tim but Pleased To Meet Me and I don't completely shit on their final two LPs. While promoting Don't Tell A Soul (one of those LPs that often gets shit on by fans) their record company ended up sending out this EP, Inconcerated Live, to radio stations. The set was recorded at the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, it is a nice selection of their career and the band isn't too drunk or sloppy but has a perfectly measured energy. The best part of it for me is the version of "Talent Show" which highlights how Don't Tell A Soul could have been a lot better if it felt a little looser and spontaneous. It also contains an extra little portion of the song "Portland" which was scrapped and became "Talent Show". This is a great, somewhat obscure, piece of the band's career and although this was up on other blogs before, none of the links seem to be active and this is a high quality rip from my own collection. Enjoy!


















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Freedom Or Sort Of: Kitty Little

Posted: Sunday, April 15, 2012 by Fashion Munx in Labels: ,
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Kitty Little are (were?) a band from Albany that play a distorted power pop/indie/punk with guy/girl vocals that definitely has influence from the 90s but nothing I can pick out off the top of my head as a main influence, perhaps some early Superchunk? Either way, they have most of their releases up on their bandcamp for PWYC/free download but I think the best place to start would be their full-length record, Know No Shame. Check it out and throw 'em a few dollars if you like what you hear.


















http://kittylittle.bandcamp.com/


OOP Corner: Krupted Peasant Farmerz - Everything Seems Okay '90 - '93

Posted: Thursday, April 12, 2012 by Fashion Munx in Labels: ,
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Krupted Peasant Farmerz were a San Jose punk band, that for me, really bridged the gap between 80s hardcore punk and the poppier punk that dominated the 90s. Yet, they didn't really sound like the SoCal bands of the Epifat dynasty. They were largely a political band but had a good sense of humour about what they did. This is a collection of their out of print early material - that is also out of print. There are a few rips of this out there on other blogs but this is a high quality CD rip. Enjoy!


















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Bootleg: DJ Quik & 2nd II None - '94 Death Row Charity Show

Posted: by Fashion Munx in Labels: , ,
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During the mid-90s Compton's DJ Quik was closely involved with Death Row Records, he appeared on their Murder Was The Case soundtrack, Suge Knight executive produced his album Safe + Sound, and Quik produced and mixed most of 2Pac's All Eyez On Me. Apparently, Suge Knight wanted to sign him and his frequent collaborators 2nd II None to Death Row proper but 2nd II None thought the deal was too rich for it to be legit and refused to sign although both artists were managed by Knight. It makes sense as DJ Quik was one of the early innovators of G Funk music as well as bringing gang culture to hip-hop music. Anywho, what I have for you today is a concert that DJ Quik, 2nd II None and DJ Rogers performed for a Death Row Records benefit at what I'm guessing was either the House of Blues in L.A. or Death Row's Club 662 in Las Vegas. The set list contains a few of DJ Quik's hits of the time like "Tonite" and "Loc'd Out Hood" but the most interesting pieces are probably the 2nd II None tracks which were all meant for their DJ Quik produced sophomore effort, The Shit, that was never released. The sound quality is rather good and really translates the energy of the show to the listener. There was copies of this posted on other blogs and forums prior to the recent filehost issues but none seemed to be a very good birate whereas mine is a 320 kbps rip. Enjoy!














Tracklist:

1. Givin' Up The Funk (Intro) - DJ Quik

2. Street Level Entrance - DJ Quik
3. Getcha Clown On - 2nd II None
4. Mo Pussy (Intro) - DJ Quik
5. Mo Pussy - DJ Quik
6. More Than A Player - DJ Quik
7. Sweet Black Pussy - DJ Quik
8. The Dog In Me - 2nd II None
9. Loc'd Out Hood [G-Funk Remix] - DJ Quik
11. Didn't Mean To Turn You On - 2nd II None
12. Doggie Style - DJ Rogers

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Update For 11/4/2012

Posted: Wednesday, April 11, 2012 by Fashion Munx in Labels: ,
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Stemming The Tide

It is getting more difficult these days to be a blogger with file hosts cracking down on filesharing. There have been many blogs like mine that peddle in the obscure, podcasts that don't share any music at all, and bands/labels that use file hosts to 100% legally share their own material that have suffered from overzealous watchdogs. In theory stopping copyright infringement is a good thing, in practice it has shown to be not so much. But don't get it twisted, sharing property you don't have the legal right to is wrong. Infringing on another entity's copyright is illegal but with the recent shutdown of megaupload the notion of illegal and criminal are getting conflated with respect to copyright infringement in an effort by Corporate America to control the way we share information. What I post on here is largely things that aren't financially benefiting anyone but people on ebay and bootleggers. I can't take money away from artists and labels because they aren't selling the things I post. However, there is sometimes songs I put on my b-side collections for completest sake that are commercially available so as of right now I won't be posting anymore collections like that because those 99 cents on iTunes can make a difference over time. I'm going to stick strictly to out of print albums, live bootlegs, radio sets, unreleased albums and the like. If any of that stuff does see a retail release rest assured I will promptly remove it. I like to think I work in a necessary gray area, and until that necessity is no longer there the music fan out there deserves to be provided that space to thrive.

I was recently contacted by Big Ugly Fish Recordings about my Leatherface collection and I offered to remove it. The majority of the songs on it are long out of print but a few were still commercially available. They expressed a desire to possibly release another discography collection in the future and I completely understand that. It sucks that in the meantime people won't get to hear those other out of print tunes unless they go through ebay (which I don't need to remind you the band and label won't benefit from at all and people will be less likely to purchase a collection of songs they have already paid an inflated sum for over time). Still, go out and purchase the band's releases that you can. Either way they went about it the right way and I responded in kind by taking the post down. What is going about it the wrong way? Contacting my filehost and getting my account suspended or contacting blogger and getting the blog pulled offline.

I will continue to try and operate under the radar and provide you readers with content you will enjoy. To those bloggers out there that wholesale post bands' discographies that are still in print or leaks of records: STOP. You are ruining things for the rest of us. As for the long dick of the law: A knife can be used to slice a loaf of bread or stab someone in the chest, so don't go banning knives because of a few psychos out there. It is short sighted and stifling.

Get In Where You Fit In: The Subhumans - 2005 Demo EP

Posted: Monday, April 9, 2012 by Fashion Munx in Labels: , , ,
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Most of the stuff I post in the Get In Where You Fit In feature has never been released but I decided that albums that received limited release such as tour only records, promotional albums or limited online releases would also sort of fall under this feature. That is where the (Canadian) Subhumans' 2005 Demo EP comes in. It was released as a tour only CD when the band reunited in 2005 and I got a digital copy of it a number of years ago through a trade. I feel like these guys are one of the better old acts that has come back together in recent years and I think it partially has to do with the band still containing many of their original members. While not quite as strong as their classic material this is still some darn good stuff. Enjoy!














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