Anyone who is down with "Machine Gun Etiquette" by The Damned knows that the killer bass intro on ‘Love Song’ comes courtesy of Mr. Alasdair ‘Algy’ Ward. Not long after that classic album was released, Algy went on to form the more metal leaning band Tank. Consisting of Ward (b,v) plus brothers Mark (g) and Peter Brabbs (d), their blistering live performances put the power trio on the map. Immediately drawing the interest of Motorhead’s Lemmy Kilmister, Tank began to play higher profile gigs and festivals and in 1982, released their debut, "Filth Hounds Of Hades". Produced by Fast Eddie Clarke (also a Motorhead member at the time), the playing is tight and the hooks are catchy. Some thought of the band as a mere Motorhead rip-off, but repeated listenings proved them wrong. Definitely a notable album of the era. First pressings of the LP came with a free single featuring ‘The Snake/Don’t Walk Away (live)’.

(Download - "Struck by Lightning")

(Download - "Turn Your Head Around")

Buddyhead #18 is a split EP/DVD between Mean Reds & Wires On Fire and it’s hot off the presses! You can now pick up a copy at Amoeba in Hollywood, at Fuck Yeah Fest July 2nd (which both bands are playing with Beehive & The Barracudas, Giant Drag, Dillinger Four,
Darker My Love, Your Enemies Friends and others) or from our online store in the next week or so.  It features two new songs from each band, one cover and one original. Mean Reds tackle Minor Threat’s "Minor Threat" and Wires On Fire do Alice Cooper’s "I’m Eighteen". You can hear each band’s original song from this split by streaming them here. The split is also a dvd of an entire live show that took place in downtown Los Angeles back in late 2004 with a set from both bands and plenty of genitalia flapping around during the show as well. Oh, and the artwork is by Raymond Pettibone too. Yeeebrah!

(Stream the songs here)

This is the second EP from LA’s art punk’s, Year Future. The first one is good as well, so pick that up too. But for the record, I think this one is an improvement. Both EPs are out on the singer’s own label, GSL. Which if you aren’t already hip to, puts out some of the best independent releases around. Sonny (the singer) was also in a few bands before this one that you might have heard of called Angel Hair and The VSS (so was this website’s own David Clifford). If you haven’t yet, check em out dude. I like this band because they remind me of Joy Division and Dead Kennedy’s at the same time, plus the guitar player kills it with all those weird cool noises he makes. These guys are one of the most interesting "punk bands" around these day, get into em.  There’s only three songs on here so it’d be lame if I gave away more than one song… just go buy this record. Also, check their website for show dates.

(Download - "Nature Unveiled")

Looks like the only show they have lined up is:
July 21 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Smell w/ Federation X, Business Lady, The Pope

The chaos of the internet has created some great things… pushing the limits of intellectual property and creating an amazing culture of large scale collobarations that can be heard by a myriad of peoples. Phenomena such as the "mash up", in particular, the Grey Album that Dangermouse created with the use of Beatles and Jay-Z tracks exemplify this. Anyhow - this phenomenon continues and it is beautiful to see that the lines of the sacred can be moved and adjusted much like the artist Banksy putting up his own subversive works in the Tate gallery.  This lass that sang with The ‘Stones has also done other collaborations as well. I think I may have to play slide guitar on this ’stones track later. Hmmm, anyhow, without further ado… listen up.

(Download - "Angie" Alt. Mix)

I’ve always been a fan of Ministry (I don’t like their last few releases) and their various side projects like Lard and The Revolting Cocks, but one of my favorite things Al Jourgensen has done is the Pailhead stuff with Ian MacKaye.  Kind of sounds like a weird pairing but it works.  They released the "No Bunny/I Will Refuse" single, the "Trait" EP and that was that.  If you buy the CD now it has all six songs on it.  I believe the Pailhead stuff was released around the time Ministry released "The Land Of Rape And Honey" and that’s pretty much what it sounds like.  Imagine Ian MacKaye singing "Deity" and you get the picture.  These are my two favorite tracks from the "Trait" CD.

(Download - "I Will Refuse")

(Download - "Man Should Surrender")

This is the sexy side of Black Mountain. The pink side. I think this is a side project or maybe it’s just another band all together. Who knows seeing as how these dudes are Canadians. We interviewed these guys a while ago and they kind of explain it all if you read it. Click  here. Take off, eh? Man-o-man, I dig the tunes these dudes are cranking out. It’s refreshing. Plus they’re really good people too, which makes me like em even more. Matt (from Black Mountain) gave me the coolest Appetite era Guns N’ Roses t shirt about 5-6 years ago when we rolled through Vancouver, BC on tour. In return I think we fucked up his neighbors car pretty bad with our van and also broke a mirror in Matt’s apartment. Fuck, that explains all the bad luck! Oh well, if my math is correct that’s only a year or so left. If your girlfriend is making you take her to see Coldplay (how much do they wish they were U2 by the way?) this year, make sure you get there early so at least you can see the opening band… Black Fuckin’ Mountain!  Chalk up a point for Team Earthdog! Yeeeeeeeebrah!  These three songs that I picked out are my favorites on the record cuz they’re just great stonsey summer time songs. When I first got these records I was leaning towards Black Mountain as my favorite but now I think this record is winning the popularity contest with me. The whole record is great, go buy this.

(Download - "Rock N’ Roll Fantasy")

(Download - "Sweet 69")

(Download - "Tourist In Your Town")

NEW BUDDYHEAD SHIRTS FOR SALE

We just put up three new T Shirt designs in our online store. They are: "Ban Hippies (And New Yorkers)", The "Coffin" shirt and the token "Skull" shirt. We’ve also "slashed" a bunch prices on some of the old shit we wanna move outta there. So if you enjoy this website and you want us to eat, buy a freakin shirt man. Thanks.
http://www.merchlackey.com/buddyhead/

We have yet another new writer for this blog. Please give a warm Buddyhead welcome to Tony Bevilacqua. Tony was in The Distillers and is in The Drips as well as a bunch of other shit. Yeeeeeeeeeeeebrah!

My roommate in college played me Brainiac and I fucking flipped out.  They were one of those bands that you wished you had been listening to all along.  I immediately rushed out and bought every release I could find by them.  They were everything I liked about music.  Pop structured tunes with very unpoppy sounding music, great dynamics and a heavy amount of noise.  Timmy Taylor’s vocals ranged from whispers to screams or a crazy falsetto and John Schmersal is one of the most unique guitar players I’ve ever heard.  He writes great riffs and uses the strangest dissonant chord voicings you’ve ever heard.

These two tracks are from their third lp, "Hissing Prigs In Static Couture".  You can still buy their Touch And Go release but the early stuff came out on Grass Records and is unfortunately out of print.  A few weeks after the release of and ep entitled "Electro-Shock For President", Timmy Taylor died in a car accident.  I got to see them play once and I was floored.  Timmy was one of the best vocalists i’ve ever seen perform. 

Since the end of brainiac, John has gone on to form Enon.  Check out their second release, "High Society".

(Download - "Vincent Come On Down")

(Download - "Nothing Ever Changes")

Munly takes to Flannery O’Connor like GG Allin took to Iggy Pop… he dirtiest it up to the point of nearly surreal, ugly realism. That is to say, similar to the dark musings of the Country Teasers, Munly and his string section band of lovely young ladies, the Lee Lewis Harlots play a form of Americana music that parallels Sixteen Horsepower, Nick Cave, the Gun Club, etc. in its lush romanticism of arcane lore. However, Munly’s songs have a very uniquely ugly and eerie transgressive tone amid beautiful compositions that sets his work apart. It reveals a dark, scary and yet playfully perverse vision of life that reminds me of the aesthetics of both Tim Burton and David Lynch.

Munly is best known as the darker side to Denver’s odd-country group Slim Cessna’s Auto Club, although he has also released several of his own albums over the past decade. Described by Munly himself as "Gothic Folk" music, his songs should appeal to fans of all varieties of outlaw music.

"Another Song About Jesus, A Wedding Sheet, and A Bowie Knife" highlights Munly’s songwriting talents, with pizzicato strings, banjo strums and lightly brushed drums, it is a sinister lament and murder ballad wrapped up in one. "Of Silas Fauntleroy’s Willingness to Influence the Panel" is a brisk paced shit-kicker with cool backing vocals, excellent string work and furthermore nasty subject matter. "My Darling Sambo" comes from Munly’s previous album and dives headlong into button-pushing taboos.

Munly & The Lee Lewis Harlots — a split release between Alternative Tentacles/Smooch Records in early 2005 — is an epic album featuring a DVD audio disc that features the entire album mixed in different formats, including DTS and 5.1 surround sound.  The disc also includes a visual "booklet" featuring 90 images, hidden audio bonus tracks, and best of all, Munly reading the lyrics to all of the songs on the album unaccompanied. The album was recorded and mixed by Bob Ferbrache, who has lent his skills to recent albums by Sixteen Horsepower, Woven Hand, Slim Cessna’s Auto Club, et al.

Check out the Smooch Records site for more MP3s, photos, reviews, etc.

(Download - "Another Song About Jesus, A Wedding Sheet and A Bowie Knife")

(Download - "Of Silas Fauntleroy’s Willingness ro Influence the Panel")

(Download - "My Darling Sambo")

I’ve been asked a shitload of times what I think punk rock is and I’ve realized that I have no fucking clue.  I’m a fan of a bunch of old punk bands, but all of these new bands that are dubbed punk are merely bubblegum bullshit.  One of the few bands that has breathed life back into good punk rock is the Bronx.  They’re four guys being themselves that write high energy tunes about what they know and see living in Los Angeles.  Their self- titled LP is a great record from start to finish.  There’s no fake ass political agenda, there’s no look, there’s no Hot Topic… you get the point.    If you’re a kid getting into punk rock and you’ve already had your history lesson and you’re looking for something new, skip what labels like Warner Bros and the Warped Tour is telling you is punk rock and get this shit.  I’ve had the pleasure of seeing them play live quite a bit and I haven’t been so psyched on a punk band since the Nerve Agents.
The Bronx are busy right now doing the follow up to their self-titled lp.  Also, if you can find the Bats! EP. They do a great cover of the Saints tune “ Private Affair”.

(Download - "False Alarm")

(Download - "I Got Chills")

Question: What’s cooler than The Jesus And Mary Chain? Answer: The Jesus And Mary Chain covering "New Kind Of Kick" by The Cramps, "Alphabet Street" by Prince and "Ghost Of A Smile" by The Pogues.

I dig this band’s covers. Actually, I dig every single one of this band’s songs. It’s an addiction. These guys have perfected the art of covering someone else’s song in my eyes. They pick great songs, they turn up the cool with their "I don’t give a fuck about anything" vocal delivery and then they always throw just the right amount of feedback on top. You can’t beat that formula as far as I’m concerned. These are from the "Come On" single with the blue cover (the orange one has shit that ended up on "Hate Rock N’ Roll"), which even though it’s outta print you can probably still find it in a used bin somewhere for a few bucks. I’m not sure why this hasn’t ended up on some b-sides record yet because all these tracks are slammin’. Although, if I had to pick one I’d go with The Cramps cover as my favorite. If you dig these, check out the songs I posted from "Stoned And Dethroned" (which is the album the single "Come On" is from) and "Barbed Wire Kisses" too.

(Download - "Come On")

(Download - "New Kind Of Kick")

(Download - "Alphabet Street" )

(Download - "Ghost Of A Smile")

On a side and kind of related note, did anyone else see that interview with Jim Reid in Filter Magazine?
It was a good idea and defiantly a noble effort but the guy they got to do the
interview didn’t know dick about The Jesus And Mary Chain! They shoulda
got me to interview Jim, I woulda brought homeboy a joint and got him to talk about how rad he is! I’m pretty sure that’s his favorite topic. And why not interview William too? He now
lives in LA and he wrote most of the songs anyways. Either way, check
out the interview cuz when it comes down to it, it’s still Jim Reid.
Another thing to check out from Filter was their surprisingly well done
Spacemen 3 interview with both J. Spacemen and Sonic Boom. Jason fucks
up Sonic Boom so hard in it. Good work Filter, that almost makes up for
your weenie sucking best of 2004 lists dudes. If someone could please introduce me to some people who actually listen to The Arcade Fire, new Morrissey,Franz Ferdinand,Bloc Party, Muse, Razorlight, Bright Eyes and Modest Mouse and I’ll introduce you to some huge fuckin’ geeks!

Also, in case you haven’t noticed, we have a new head writing for Medication now. Please give Pat Hoed a nice warm and fluffy Buddyhead welcome. His rock resume includes playing bass in Nip Drivers, Left Insane and Down By Law. He was a DJ (Adam Bomb) on KXLU from ‘84 - ‘90 and hosted the punk/hc show ‘The Final Countdown’ for 5 years. And in 1990 he and a dude from his high school started a band called Brujeria. Yeah he’s cooler than you. So far he’s posted about The Stains, Riot & Venom. Which makes me look like a total pussy when I post JAMC songs right after that, but fuck it!

OK, you want weird, but oddly cool and unique vocals? Personality Crisis was a short-lived band from Winnipeg, Manitoba — hey, that’s Canada! — who won the dubious honor of helping to introduce metallic guitar riffs, focused musicianship and (ack!) solos to hardcore punk in 1983. Their singer had a distinctive, deep voice that sounds like he’s got a mouthful of Canadian bacon and ought to weigh about 400 lbs (or, roughly 200 kg… those Canucks use the metric system, bra.) But, in actuality he was a svelte lumberjack at the time of this recording.
   Of course, several other bands really ran with the metalcore thing, and Personality Crisis weren’t really "metal" in many senses of the word, but at the time its guitar sound was far beefier than most hardcore groups, the songs were slower, weirder and tighter. Hell, there’s even a cool little drum/bass breakdown with a nasty little vocal soliloquy in the middle of "Piss On You" that’s equal parts hard rock pomp, Vegas showtune swing and punk vitriol. The drumming is powerful and precise, thanks to future DOA and SNFU pugilist Jon Card. The guitar riffs are meaty and expressive. But, again, my favorite part of this band is the utterly perverse character of the vocals. Listen to his oddly placed squeals and yelps on "Case History" and the forceful delivery and sleazy slurring on "Piss On You."

"Case History" comes from the great and sadly long out-of-print Rat Music For Rat People Vol. 2 compilation released by CD presents. A "best of" disc was issued a while back, but it’s equally difficult to locate.

"Piss On You" comes from the BYO compilation Something To Believe In. The vinyl version is still available from BYO, as well as a CD compilation adding on the Someone Got their Head Kicked In collection.

For a thorough band history, and great overview of the Canadian punk scene, visit CanadianPunkHistory.com

(Download - "Piss On You")

(Download - "Case History")

Back in 1980, the East L.A. punk scene was constantly being overshadowed by the already established strongholds in Hollywood and the South Bay. Recognizing the need for a place to call their own, a couple of members of Los Illegals created The Vex. Located on the second floor of an arts center at the corner of Brooklyn and Gage, The Vex became the home to several bands, including Los Illegals, The Brat, The Odd Squad, Thee Undertakers and The Stains. Black Flag’s Greg Ginn took a liking to The Stains and decided to release their full length debut on SST Records. Released in 1983, "The Stains" (SST 010) is one of the true undiscovered gems of the SST catalog. Recorded at Media Access Studios by Spot, this record spits forth a venom that is impossible to ignore. Vocalist Rudy Navarro possesses the nastiest sneer that any current mallpunk frontman would kill for while axeman Robert Becerra delivers one of the most crushing guitar tones in hardcore. 30 seconds of listening to this album was all it took to know that these vatos meant business. Track this one down by all means necessary. ¡Simón ese!

(Download - "Young Nazis")

(Download - "Sick And Crazy")

Hailing from the rough, grimy streets of Newcastle,
Venom were every parent’s worse nightmare. Influenced by the locomotive known
as Motorhead as well as NWOBHM - Cronos, Abaddon and Mantas combined their
brutal din with over the top satanic references, single-handedly creating what
is now known as Death/Black Metal. At first, many critics sat back and laughed.
On their first LP, 1980’s "Welcome To Hell", the drums sound like
cardboard and the band teeters on the edge of falling apart more than once, but
there was an appeal about the whole package that kept you coming back. The two
mp3s below are taken from "The Singles 80 - 86". For the novice
looking to dive in to the Venom quagmire, I recommend checking out the
aforementioned "Welcome To Hell" and "Black Metal" first.
However, the "Singles" CD does contain what I consider to be Venom’s
finest hour - the ‘Bloodlust/In Nomine Satanas’ 7".

(Download - "Bloodlust")

(Download - "Live Like An Angel")

I first heard Riot’s third album, "Fire Down Under", on the Boardwalk in Santa Cruz, CA. ‘Don’t Look Back’ was blasting from a cassette player that was duct-taped to the handlebars of a stoner kid’s bike. After years of struggling, Riot unleashed their masterpiece. In 1981, this record was New York’s answer to the hair metal virus that was slowly infecting the LA rock scene. Many consider this a straight metal record but a bunch of the songs also possess a tough rock ‘n’ roll edge that brings to mind Bloodbrothers-era Dictators. Guy Speranza handles the vocals well without busting out any of those lame operatics that were so common at that time. Great production too - the Les Pauls absolutely scream on tracks like ‘Run For Your Life’, ‘Don’t Bring Me Down’ and ‘Fire Down Under’ (check the mp3s bruddah!). Criminally out of print until Metal Blade reissued the thing in 1999, here is your chance to sample some of the action.

(Download - "Run For Your Life")

(Download - "Don’t Bring Me Down")

(Download - "Fire Down Under")

If you dig on The Birthday Party then you just might wanna check out the first My Bloody Valentine record because it’s in that same vein. Kevin Shields doesn’t even sing on this record (except for a few back ups), this is the oringal singer of the band and "This Is Your Bloody Valentine" sounds nothing like their later work ("Isn’t Anything", "Loveless"  or any of their other releases) that they are known for. These songs remind me a little bit of Nick Cave, a little bit of Ian Curtis and maybe even a bit of The Cramps. These dudes were punk. This record is rad.

(Download - "Don’t Cramp My Style")
(Download - "Tiger In My tank")

I wrote about my car breaking down a few days ago. Well here’s an update even if you don’t care: I took it to my friend (who’s a mechanic) and he told me… my car is fucked. So now I have to find a new engine cuz the one I got is broke. Finding an engine for a 1973 Mercedes 220D isn’t all that easy I’m finding out. If you’ve got one that I can have, email me. That’d be sweet. But until I come across a new engine I’m riding my bike around Los Angeles. Which can totally suck at times but it’s also giving me an entirely different perspective on the city. Which is good. Now in honor of not having a car and being broke and all that cry baby white boy boo hoo crap that life is full of… here’s some really good punk. This is the first Red Cross EP from Jeff and Steven McDonald. One of the brothers was like 13 or 14 when this was recorded I heard! What were you doing at 13? Nothing this cool that’s for sure. Chavo from Black Flag plays drums on this and Greg Hetson from Circle Jerks/Bad Religion is on guitar. Those dudes quit soon after this and the band became Redd Kross. Who continued to kick ass. I think this is a bootleg version of The Red Cross EP with a slightly different tracklisting. And from what I heard they didn’t have covers. I’m pretty sure this is outta print, so I posted the entire thing. I’ll try not to whine about having a Mercedes from now on. Sorry.

Download:
Cover Band
Annette’s Got the Hits
I Hate My School
…reprise
Clorox Girls
S&M Party
Standing In Front of Poseur

Redd Blood Cells
Stephen also did a little thing called Redd Blood Cells. Here’s what his website says about it:
In the summer of 2002, Steven came up with the idea to do an art experiment by adding bass tracks to 2 White Stripes songs and sharing them with Redd Kross fans via the internet. The overwhelmingly positive response inspired him to cover the entire "White Blood Cells" record. Word spread quickly over the internet and soon press such as Entertainment Weekly, Pitchfork Media, the NY Times, BB Gun to name but a few ran articles about "Redd Blood Cells." Check out the animated explaination of the project, and at Creative Commons.

THANK YOU TO THE WHITE STRIPES
FOR SUPPORTING THIS PROJECT. 

(Download - "Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground")

I’ve already posted about The Duke Spirit twice (here and here) because they’re one of the only interesting new bands I’ve heard in a long time. And they rip too. So here’s another couple songs from their b-sides disc that comes for free with their album "Cuts Across The Land" in Europe called "Souvenirs - A Bonus Album". It’s a bunch of cool stripped down demos and some live radio sessions, some that are "unplugged". If you like this band you’ll dig this shit too. If you don’t dig this band, it must suck to be you.

(Download - "Lion Rip" Virgin Razorcuts session")

(Download - "Wooden Heart demo")

(Download - "Win Your Love" Virgin Razorcuts session)

(Download - "Hello To The Floor" Lemacq session)

Yeah, I changed my mind and moved the "Music 101" stuff to it’s own section, you can find it at http://www.buddyhead.com/music101/ from now on. I just figured that they’d get lost on here and in the long run it’ll be easier to organize it all this way. Whatever. It’s there now. Bye I’m going to see fucking Batman.

My fucking car broke down yesterday. Not only did it break down, but it broke down on the opposite side of Los Angeles from where I live. And it was a Saturday night which means no mechanics were open. AND it ended up costing me over $100 bucks to get my car back to my side of town. Yeah it sucked big donkey dicks. I won’t bore you with anymore details, but I’ve been listening to The Birthday Party’s "Mutiny / Bad Seeds E.P." all day waiting to hear if I gotta buy a new engine I can’t afford or not. HANDS UP WHO WANTS TO DIE?!?! That’s fucking right Nick… Yeah this is Nick Cave’s first band. This is my favorite cd by The Birthday Party. Junkyard is good too and their DVD is a must own. The live footage of them on the BBC where the gay cowboy bass player dude stops playing altogether and falls to his back humping the air is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Get into this band now!

(Download - "Sunnys Burning")

This new Turbonegro album, "Party Animals", was recorded here in Los Angeles with Steve McDonald from Redd Kross (which reminds me I gotta post a song from the first Red Cross EP soon) and it’s way better than the last one they put out. Right after they mixed this record back in Febuary, Steve actually brought Turbonegro by the Dj night Aaron & I were doing at the time called Divebomb to play the record and DJ. We found out that not too many chicks are into Turbonegro, the whole place was dudes in Turbojugend jackets. So Happy Tom, Chris Summers & Euroboy played songs off their record as well as other shit and Happy Tom called everyone faggots in Norwegian a few times over the PA. I really don’t know where I’m going with this or what the point of telling you all this is… Maybe I’m bragging. So yeah, this record is good, Euroboy is soloing pretty much the entire time and he’s killing it! My favorite tracks are "Blow Me Like The Wind" and "Wasted Again".

(Download - "Wasted Again")

(Download - "Blow Me Like The Wind")