Berlin by Night...AGAIN.

I've found a few new neat oddities to share with you all, but that will come in good time. Until then, enjoy my ever-popular comp of Weimar Cabaret Music, as well as a few of the new features of clandestine666. Like my Playlist. Like it or lump it, bitches.

http://www.zshare.net/download/58513509dc89d3c9/

The Radiohead Effect

Well, I am very sorry for the absence, all. It has been an interesting year for me, and bit by bit, all the sordid details will be revealed. I'm a bit older, not much wiser, and a little more beaten up, but I am still here, ready to fulfill the musical needs of people like me who are tired of hearing the same ol' shit by people like Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears:
http://supermasterpiece.com/music/oops/Oops%20I%20Did%20It%20Again!.mp3

But, I'll make my return in a very humble fashion, and attempt to explain the concept I've termed "the Radiohead Effect":

Some bands manage to produce a shitty debut album that manages to succeed commercially, either through the strength of a hit single or by riding the crest of a current musical trend. Nada Surf, for instance, attained their initial popularity with one of the all-time worst songs ever recorded, "Popular". Ten years later, however, they produced one of the greatest pop-rock albums ever recorded, "The Weight is a Gift", and continue to make amazing records that defy the shittiness of their debut. A more famous example is Radiohead. After they'd apparently fallen off the face of the earth once "Creep" faded off the charts, I'd written them off as the next Soul Asylum. But, ten years later, they were the most innovative, interesting musical outfit since Can.

Now, the Australian band Silverchair was the LAST band I would've expected to benefit from The Radiohead Effect. Most everyone remembers them for their (admittedly) decent single, "Tomorrow", in which the singer croons in his best Jim Morrison over Nirvana-esque soft-LOUD-soft-LOUDER-soft arrangements. (as an aside, my most vivid memory of this album was nearly blowing out my roommate's shitty Pioneer speakers with the bass-tastic intro to "Israel's Son". I would defy L'Trimm, Fannypack, or 2 Live Crew to reproduce such frequencies). I haven't been able to GIVE my copy of "Frogstomp" away for the past ten years, so I had written off Silverchair, along with The Toadies, as relics that would eventually find themselves on a "Grunge-Mania!!!" comp CD.

But, it turns out Silverchair has been making amazing pop albums for the past ten years. I have to admit, they are very good at making Matthew Sweet/Cheap Trick-style power-pop, and are virtually unrecognizable from the dull grunge of "Frogstomp".

Turns out Australia is good for something besides 'roos, Road Warrior, and Yahoo Serious:
http://www.zshare.net/download/50002593a52fb10a/

Berlin By Night Comp

Sorry for the delay...I know I promised this two months ago. Anyway, here it is, probably the single greatest CD in my collection, a comp of German cabaret songs from the 1930s:
http://www.zshare.net/download/502557569c6d9a/

Enjoy!

The Ciccone Youth- The Whitey Album

A Madonna-obsessed side project from members of Sonic Youth and Mike Watt. A lot of weird noisy tracks, but the covers are stellar.

http://www.zshare.net/download/30622587a57fee/

SNFU- Better Than A Stick In The Eye

Fast, moderately-humorous punk rock. I got it for the song "Time to Buy A Futon", in honor of my six-month, post-marital stint on a futon. There's also an out-of-place cover of "Wild World".

http://www.zshare.net/download/3014808f1addf0/

Comic-Con 2007

I managed to get a little vacation from Sudan for a while, and travelled over to San Diego for Comic-Con. I figured I'd treat my loyal readers to some cell-phone snapshots of my adventures!

From the top:

1. The obligatory obese "Comic Book Guy". He was indeed puffing away on a cigarette as I snapped this shot.

2. There's me and a Spartan, both showing off our ripped abs.

3. Me & the only Asian chick at Comic-Con who DIDN'T look like she was 15 years old. I was apprehensive about asking all those Sailor Moon jap chicks for a photo; the last thing clandestine666 needs is "Solicitation of a Minor with Lewd Intent" on his record!

4.This Viking broad TOTALLY wanted me.

5. Me and a cute li'l Bettie Page bikini chick. Nice girl.

6. Me and a bloodsoaked zombie chick. I got a very disturbing boner standing next to her in this shot.

Here's a little supplemental reading:

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/28254

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/30564

The Hong Kong- Rock The Faces

Damn, another band that totally should have been the next big thing, yet somehow wasn't. Picture Deborah Harry fronting The Cars, add a dash of The Sounds and The Strokes, and you get The Hong Kong. These guys had an amazing sound and unbelievable songwriting ability, yet somehow were still lost, probably due to the RIAA's self-immolating efforts to redefine itself in the wake of file-sharing and plummeting record sales.

Your dream life is such a bore:

http://www.zshare.net/download/2797424fb2172f/

Electrostatic

Electrostatic...a band that, by all rights, should've been the "next big thing". Slick production, a seemingly intuitive mastery over every manner of computer-produced sound, and an amazing Japanese singer who could out-Manson Shirley Manson with both ankles tied behind her back. Although it's not the "Awake Alone" album proper, this .rar file does contain most of the tracks from said album. Every track is outstanding, so it's difficult to recommend favorites, but check out "Replica", "Eliminate Me", and "Sand".

My ties with this band go a bit deeper than mere musical appreciation. Two of the founding members were from my original hometown of Portland, ME, and moved out to L.A. to further their music careers. While Electrostatic sadly did not go anywhere, I have no doubt that those guys are making a decent living somewhere in the film industry.

If only you could see what I've seen through YOUR eyes:

http://www.zshare.net/download/2707893a47e46f/

deathgirl.com

Arising from the ashes of darkwave staple Caelum Bliss, Detroit's deathgirl.com were one of the most accessible bands of the post-Garbage girl-band revolution. While essentially a four-piece rock & roll outfit, they peppered their recordings with plenty of crazy, NIN-inspired electronic noises. Songs like "Shake Me Down", "Daddy", and the amazing "Lucky Star" cover show the potential of this band-- there are more hooks on this one album than in Gwen Stephanie's entire discography! This is quite possibly the greatest album you'll ever hear. Download at your own risk.

As an aside, I encourage all women to follow the red-streaked hair example that lead singer Melissa Emily posits. Such a flamboyant, attention-seeking act sends forth the message that you are desperate for any sort of approval. And believe you me, I'll be right there to buy you a drink, baby.

Feels so real now, cut and feel now:

http://www.zshare.net/download/270755454615f7/

Re-Up: Picking Up Girls Made Easy!

Here it is again on zShare for my Mac-using friends. I won't go into detail as to the irony that this humble Windows user is accommodating a Mac user. C'mon, you Mac users are all young, attractive, resourceful hipsters, right? Have the Apple commercials been lying to me? If you'll excuse me, this Windows user needs to go starch his collar and prepare the cover sheets for those TPS Reports.

http://www.zshare.net/download/270670630c5755/

The Southern Death Cult

A very weird album I found from the early incarnation of Astbury/Duffy-era Cult, The Southern Death Cult. As even the liner notes declare, "Southern Death Cult disbanded before their first album...", which left this collection of demos. While it can't be rightfully classified as anything more than post-Joy Division goth-rock, it does support a fossil record of The Cult's gradual ascention from lesser Goth-Rockers to their climax as one of the greatest of all Bob Rock-produced hair metal bands (the fantastic Sonic Temple album).

One can excuse Astbury & Duffy's collaboration with former Doors' keyboardist Ray Manzarek a few years back for the ill-conceived "Doors of the 21st Century". After all, Astbury & Duffy collaborated on their first project a scant seven years after The Doors officially disbanded. In modern terms, it would be like you or I being asked by Tom Araya or Paul Bailoff to join him in his next project.

http://www.zshare.net/download/2683224e352b21/

Girlschool- Play Dirty

Hola, bros! Sorry I haven't rapped at ya in a while, but C-Dog-666 has been keeping the home fires burning, so to speak. I finally moved out of my loser "room-over-the-garage" pad into a sweet, dumpy Bukowski/Lebowski one-bedroom apartment. The peace & privacy is, expectably, delectable. Whether I want to spend an evening quietly reading Dostoyevsky, or noisily banging my Filipina secretary, I can do so without fear of reprisal or annoyance. Sweet.

But, back to business. Here's a rip of the "Play Dirty" album from the band Girlschool. Girlschool were actually a fairly prominent NWOBHM band, spending their early years duking it out riff-for-riff with such testicular contemporaries as Iron Maiden and Angelwitch. Unfortunately, they were apparently unable to maintain the energy of such early tracks as "Demolition Boys", and eventually fell by the wayside with Vixen, The Runaways, and every other girl-metal group since 1980.

This album is largely forgettable, but it does have a stellar, sax-heavy cover of T. Rex's "20th Century Boy". Believe it or not, this version actually maintains the crushing sloppiness of the original. For everyone who has had wet dreams of Joan Jett covering this song, this should be a welcomed substitute:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=IDSBO7JK

Hot Cartoon Characters

I'm oddly attracted to Agent Erin Esurance, the animated avatar of esurance.com. I KNOW it's wrong, but, just how wrong is it? Personally, I don't know anyone who can deny jerking off over Jessica Rabbit at least once. Heck, I've had dry spells in which Jem & The Holograms started to look good. This alone might be a good reason to attend this year's ComicCon; somewhere, someone in that pack of attention-starved losers will think to dye her hair pink and squeeze into a vinyl jumpsuit. While she'll doubtlessly lack the, um, accentuated proportions of the iconic Agent Erin, she will be a welcomed respite from the bevy of chubby bachelors in full Tron-regalia.

Henri Duparc

There's more great pop music on the way, but for now, I'm taking a little break and giving you, gentle reader, another offering of crazy classical music.

In this case, it is a collection of highly-accessible lieder from Henri Duparc. While Monseur Duparc suffered from a highly advanced case of Frenchiness, he had an uncanny, Schubert-esque ability to concentrate the drama that opera blokes like Mozart and Rossini purveyed down from three-hour epics into the 2-minute equivalent of a tapas bar.

Unfortunately, in spite of his genius, Duparc (in true French form) surrendered to his advancing blindness and never composed anything beyond this amazing collection of songs. Part of my dismissal of French culture is due to the fact that French contributions were virtually absent from 1450-1870, quite possibly the most fascinating stretch of years in the development of Western Music.

Granted, Frenchy was busy conquering Europe, supporting terrorist groups in The Americas, and force-feeding geese, but I think they could've taken the time to carve out a moment to promote the more sonorous qualities of their culture. Too bad, since the Germans and Italians seem to have hijacked this particular niche. It's funny how a loser like Schubert is the undisputed Master of the three-minute lieder, and guys like Duparc are relegated to websites specializing in obscure music. It's fuckin' hilarious:

http://www.zshare.net/download/24083838585b2b/

Ted Auletta- Exotica

Something I've been meaning to post for a while. A decent album full of exotica covers from '50s Vegas hanger-on Ted Auletta. Personally, I think the only thing separating Auletta from the likes of Buddy "Aces" Israel and Senator Pat Geary is 4-6 decades of pop culture references. Nonetheless, this album serves as a good introduction to Exotica. Light up the tiki torches and mix up some pina coladas!

http://www.zshare.net/download/2214051ae2b292/

Syd Straw- War and Peace

The second solo album from Syd Straw, who you may remember as the singer from the first two Golden Palominos albums. For my money, Straw was the best thing about the Palominos' early lineup, so I snatched this out of the used CD bin faster than you can say "Buenos Aires".

The material on this album is not far removed from the country/folk/garage rock of "Blast of Silence". Her backing band on this record, The Skeletons, are renowned for their raucous, loud performances, giving this CD a very raw feel that compliments Straw's energetic vocals.

This is one of those CDs that takes a few listens to fully absorb. Be patient with it. You'll be glad you did.

http://www.zshare.net/download/22089994387601/

Picking Up Girls Made Easy!

I have to break one of my cardinal rules about blogging: never post something somebody else has. However, this album is so damn funny, it really needs to be heard. I honestly can't remember the blog I first got it from, or I'd give the link. Seems like the number of blogs has exploded lately, so I doubt I could ever find it again.

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But anyway, now that I'm single again, the techniques on this album are helping me to score every night with beautiful women! Yeah right. In the real world, trying to pick up a girl at a women's clothing store would result in anything from being escorted out by security, to getting maced. Also, it's not advisable to tell a girl you just met you're into watersports. Yes, it can be taken several different ways, but you're better off leaving this word out of your first-date vocabulary. However, if, like the girl in "The Single's Bar" track, your date confesses that she "love(s) watersports...especially ones that can be played in a bubble bath", you're in for a far wilder date than you anticipated.

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All the techniques on this album range from silly to downright creepy, and the whole concept was obviously put together to bilk teens & horny losers out of their money (a task handled far more efficiently these days by the penis-enlargement industry). But, it's good for a laugh nonetheless.

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If you want to date a beautiful girl, and you're not lucky enough to have a six-figure income, a 14" dick, or a nice car, just tell her you'll eat her ass. Chicks can't resist getting their asses eaten.

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Remember: You CAN build up a tolerance to Mace & pepper spray. It's, like, a scientific fact.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=9QN6TODS

Gruntruck- Push

Gruntruck's second album. It featured much of the same metal/grunge transitionary material as the first album, but at a more extreme level...

The first track, "Tribe", has an uber-metallic, tight riff, and a chorus that could be right at home on Metallica's "Black" album. Also, "Crazy Love" and "Machine Action" have some of the most out-of-control riffs ever recorded. If only Metallica could've come up with material this brilliant, post-'91!

As far as I know, this was Gruntruck's last release. Too bad, as they apparently came up with their grunge/metal hybrid sound independant of anyone else. and have taken it to since-unexplored places. I'd like to have seen what this band was capable of in the future.

I just wanna fly my freak-flag:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=J1LLF2PC

The Royal Trux- Thank You

An album by the post-experimental/grunge band, The Royal Trux. I know next to nothing about this band, so here's the Wikipedia write-up:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Trux

That should interest a few of you, anyway. Really, from what I've heard of this album, it's very good, but I ripped it at the same time as about twenty other albums, and I've just never gotten around to giving it a good listen. My loss, right?

Granny Grunt:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=FV1VL645

Gruntruck- Inside Yours

Remember 1991? We were all exhausted from doing the Unskinny Bop, Axl Rose was getting downright weird, and a little band called Nirvana was destroying the music scene from the top down.

Few survived this holocaust. Bands like Skid Row, Overkill, and Winger tried to assimilate, releasing albums full of grunged-up riffs and "angsty" vocals. But, it was all in vain: these gen-X kids had somehow acquired top-notch bullshit detectors, and each and every one of these bands was soon downgraded to club tours in Kansas, and arena shows opening for Hasselhoff in Brazil.

Somehow, though, a few bands survived the transition. Most famously, The Stone Temple Pilots made a pre-signing metamorphosis from cock-rock to grunge, and Gruntruck also managed to offer up a few legacy-securing albums in this period.

Gruntruck's debut album came in 1991, on the uber-metal label, RoadRacer. The metallic elements are obvious, with the extended guitar solos and tightly-controlled riffs. However, the wailing vocals and big, cruddy guitar sound put one foot firmly in the grunge camp.

While the few remaining grunge fanatics who aren't too busy monitoring their 401k's may not remember such grunge/metal bands as Gruntruck, The Almighty, or Prong, it is well worth reviewing those formative years of 1990-1993. It is only by learning our history that we may not be doomed to repeat it.

Boy, I still fucking hate hate Pearl Jam...

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=S87BEI96