ZED SOUNDS

X AVANT new music festival

Queen West Art Crawl

Billy Idol - Cyberpunk

Originally Released: 1995
Label: Chyrisalis

This album is the audio equivalent of being on cheap drugs while reading William Gibson in a smalltown S&M bar. All of the songs are forgettable except, the beyond horrible cover of Heroin by the Velvet underground. What makes this memorable, is the in between song banter which are bad snipits of riots, explosions, Billy pleading for someone to hold him including his father then in utter desperation God. Before the Herion cover is a sample of someone saying "inject" and what sounds like some kind of machine injects Billy, where after he groans, and so do you for having to hear this album.

AC - 40 More Reasons to Hate Us

Originally Released: 1996
Label: Earache

A friend of mine found this for two dollars at a Cash Converters. The full name of the band is Anal Cunt. How could one refuse? The real highlight on this is the cover of the Three's Company theme. For some reason the Grindcore scene has a real love for Alan Thicke, who co-worte the song. Napalm Death also features a drawing of Alan Thicke on one of there early album covers. I guess, they were all watching a lot of television while living in Mom's basement. Well, basically they growl, scream, and vomit vocals over songs which barely clock over a minute, with titles such as Big Pants, Bigger Loser. and one maned simply "Tom Arnold".

Deep, profound and moving.

Snagga Puss - Reggae Funky

Originally Released: 1995
Label: VP

Awww, yeah. Ever wanted to hear that pink cartoon character Snaggle Puss lisp his way though some really awful casio driven riddims? Well, you can't, but the next best thing is Snagga Puss. Snagga urges you to be "healty" and not wear extensions, as sung in "No False Hair" every song sounds the same, and he keeps talking about health. I think perhaps,, this was a vanity project for Snagga, who is likly a Personal Fitness instructor for Shabba Ranks and a nutritionist for Red Rat.

Black Oak Arkansas- X-Rated

Originally Released: 1975
Label: MCA

Getting away from the 90's for a second, we have Black Oak Arkansas. I found this cassette on a picnic table outside an Allman Brothers concert, no shit. Not ever having heard this I had to wait until after the concert to hear this album. Real Dirty South. Titles like "Fightin' Cock" and "Too rough to be Gentle" The back cover of the album shows the slut on the cover lying in hay while the singer,, who sounds like a cross of Capt. Beefheart and Axl Rose doing up his pants as his band mates wait for their turn. Dirty.

Allman and Woman - Two the hard Way

Originally Released: 1986,
Label: Warner Bros.

Brother Gregg Allman and Cher, his new and soon to ex-wife sing some classic blues. I wonder what Cher's currennt audience thinks of Brother Gregg? probably secrectly lust after him or want to be him, back in the early seventies, of course.

Nasty Joe - Hit 'Em with your Thing

Originally Released: 1990
Label: Les Disques Star Records

Hit 'em with what? this looked so Quebec. I had to buy it, a dude in a leather vest, white t-shirt tucked into skintight baby blue jeans with no belt. Awesome. the music sounds like he's doing kareoke over old Paula Abdul songs. So closeted it's great.

Biscuit - Biscuit's Back

Originally Released: ??
Label: AVC

The music is not a big deal here, it sound like some demo's Sir-Mix-a-Lot left in his rubbish. Biscuit's claim to fame is he was the New Kids on the Block's bodyguard. I don't even know if this is true or not. This fascinating tidbit of info was provided by a stoned teenager wearing excessive blue eyeshadow.

The Great Kat - William Tell Overture

Originally Released: 2000
Label: TPR

Clocking in at a total time of just over six minutes, this thrash queen rips through tasteful classics such as "Sodomize' and " Castration" she loves men, loves them, that and shredding... on the guitar of course. (check this for more on her: http://www.geocities.com/guitarlords/kat.html)

Bobby Mcferrin - Simple Pleasures

Originally Released: 1988
Label: EMI

Everyone knows "Don't Worry Be Happy" from this. But have you heard Bobby throat Drive My Car or Sunshine of your Love? Well, I had a friend who worked in a record shop in a shopping mall who I convinced should play this album at full volume. Very quicky, the security came and warned us to turn it down. "No excuse for that shit bein' played that loud." Amazing.

Artist Unknown - Iron Maiden Covers

Originally Released: ??
Label: none

This is one of the best things I have ever found. Someone had a box of tapes sitting at the curb. This one had a bunch of guys playing Iron Maiden songs badly, arguing with each other and boating that "anyone who doesn't think this is hard, well, fuck you" Brilliant, gritty, real.

Drums And Guns

by Low

Released : March 2007
Label : Sub Pop
myspace : www.chairkickers.com


Well, I generally always like a new Low album, but to put to words what's wrong with this one. Something's lacking, there are no stand out tracks that you can o.d. on (track 7 is kinda close). Maybe its Zak Sally's absence (Matt Livingston is in his place). Maybe its the synthetic drums and keyboard prominence where guitar-drums-bass always worked before. The whole album seems to lack something i can't quite pinpoint...

Thats not to say I don't like it, it's good and I do - I just don't like it as much as other stuff they have, and probably the last thing I need is yet another Low album - but i'll take it anyway.

The Adventures of Ghosthorse and Stillborn

by CocoRosie

Released : April 2007
Label : Touch and Go
myspace : myspace.com/cocorosie


This is the third album from Brooklyn-based CocoRosie. Their unique blend folk, indie and lo-fi electronica is quirky yet accessible. The two sisters have contrasting styles, Bianca being a classically trained opera singer and Sierra with her free spirited child-like warbling. Together they create a fairy tale world of dreamy fuzzed out beats, with ethereal melodies punctuated by the tinkling of bike bells and music boxes. Imagine two grown elves getting drunk in a rich kids romper room. There are some hip-hop elements - especially in the first two songs - but overall the album is too minimal and down tempo to be called that. If you like Joanna Newsom or Sparklehorse than I think you'll like CocoRosie.

Oar by Skip Spence

Originally Released: 1969
Category: Acid-drenched

This is from amazon.com :

The only solo album by the former member of Jefferson Airplane, Quicksilver Messenger Service and Moby Grape, "Oar" has achieved legendary status not only for it's stark, quiet ramblings, but also for the story surrounding its acid-drenched creation. After a six-month incarceration in Bellevue Hospital, Spence cut Oar's wispy folk in a mere two weeks. The results flopped commercially, but over time have garnered admirers the likes of Tom Waits, Robert Plant and Beck. An utterly unique and compelling record.

Ol' Yellow Eyes Is Back by Brent Spiner

Originally Released: 1988
Category: Celebrity

Everyone knows that William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy have put out some campy albums - but Data? Apparently its all 40's style crooning and Data can barely hold a note. It even has back up vocals by some of his co-stars including Patrick Stewart.

Hermann Nitsch's Orgies Mysteries Theater - (Musik Der 80. Aktion)

Category: Avant-Art

According to B: It goes from being Ooom-pah-pah to drone. This is "noise ecstasy" music involving bull sacrifice, crucifixions and is not for the faint of heart. We're talking 6 day orgiastic ritual that takes place in the composer's castle in Prinzendorf, Austria. The events are recorded and put out on Cortical Foundation - which also puts out stuff by Terry Riley, The Poetics, Nihilist Spasm Band, John Cage, Derek Bailey. Nitsch is well respected as an artist and composer so if you are serious about your orgy music this is your man.

Links:
More pics.
Offizielle Homepage (in german).

Jim Jones - Audio Recordings

Category: Cult

This is one of those sad moments in history that happens to be well documented. There are thousands of audio tapes in addition to some recordings of the reverend himself. This blog does a nice job of summarizing and providing mp3s.

The Shaggs' - Philosophy of the World

Originally Released: 1969
Category: Outsider Music

The original all girl group. The girls were put together by their father, Austin Wiggin, Jr. In the mid-1960s he withdrew his daughters from school, bought them instruments, and arranged for them to receive music lessons. The next year, the girls went into the studio and recorded their album, Philosophy of the World. The album was lost ignored at the time. In 1999 it was released on CD and became a cult classic especially among those who love outsider music (Daniel Johnston, Caroliner).
Source: Wikipedia

Ya Ho Wa 13 - The Lovers and the Chariot

Originally Released: 1974
Category: Cult

Founded in 1969 in the Los Angeles area, Ya Ho Wa 13, otherwise known Yahowha 13, is now regarded as one of the best American psychedelic bands. Fronted by Father Yod, spiritual leader of the religious cult/commune, The Source Family, the band recorded 9 LPs and demonstrated their extreme psychedelic sound with tribal drums and distorted guitars, all completely unrehearsed and unedited.
Source: Wikipedia

Links:
More trippy album covers and details.
Visit Father Yod at yahowha.org/.

Uri Geller (Self-titled)

Uri Geller is best known for using his mind to bend spoons. He even has a Cadillac adorned with bent cutlery given to him by various celebrities. Released on the label Forkbender(UK) this album is so bad its good.

Links: www.uri-geller.com