New Items

The full list is down a few posts, but here are the highlights of the new stuff this week.

I took a few Havoc LPs in on trade, tangentially related to my regular Japanese focus.  You can't underestimate the worldwide impact of Discharge, and it's nice to see these 12"s back in the hands of a diehard punk label rather than the usual.  Classic reproduced precisely, only exception being the Havoc logo on the back instead of Clay.  From Ashes Rise had a bit of the Japanese influence filtering through their sound by the end, particularly the anthem Reaction with it's massive rolling intro.  Severed Head of State did as well, though with more of a raucous Motorhead charge to their harsh punk on the "Power Hazard" 12".  9 Shocks Terror need no introduction, they were some of the key figures responsible for the popularity of Japanese HC in the US in the last decade.  And Skitsystem, well, I just like this record. Compiles all their earliest and rawest output before they got heavier.

The second Nightbringer 7" is out on Deer Healer Records, "31st and Michigan" b/w "A Better Tomorrow".  The first song is a speedy ripper with a personal take on the urban decay in Detroit, and the second one is a Hawkwind and MC5 via Motorhead semi-instrumental featuring guest guitar from ex-Nightbringer Matt.  The download hasn't been turned on yet, but it also includes 2.5 new songs intended for a Michigan/Ontario comp that failed to come together.  The 'half' song is an alternate mix of one of the other songs with noise guitar substituted.  Also still available is the first 7", though copies of the first press of that may be dwindling, and the "Fight Like Hell" shirt in medium and lots of colors.  Speaking of, the "Fight Like Hell" single will be coming out in a couple months as a preview of the LP and will have some Detroit area covers on the B side.

Last but certainly not least, restocked the Kriegshog CD and got the Forward/Warhead US tour DVD and the Elekidz 7".  The DVD has songs from all over the tour and is a neat capsule of that time.  Elekidz is quirky punk, friendly with the Slowmotions but sounds more like a girl punk cartoon show soundtrack or something.  I like it and so does our little boy.  Got a few copies of the Paintbox DVD but they were all reserved, so I'm going to have to reorder that yet again.  If you're interested in one, please email me so I make sure to get enough copies this time.  It's selling much better than any other DVD, so it caught me by surprise.

Elekidz "エレキッズの電気的占星術" 7"  $9

Forward / Warhead "Live In USA" DVD  $29

Kriegshog CD  $16

Origin of M 12"  $5.50 w/other stuff plus postage, $9.50 ppd by itself

Discharge "Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing" 12"  $8

Discharge "Why" 12"  $8

From Ashes Rise "Nightmares" 12"  $8

From Ashes Rise / Victims 12"  $8

Nightbringer "31st and Michigan" 7"  $3

9 Shocks Terror "Zen And the Art of Beating Your Ass" 12"  $8

Severed Head of State "Power Hazard" 12"  $8

Skitsystem "Allt E Skit" 12"  $8

Wurzel ex Motorhead, RIP

Motorhead are pretty much the standard by which I measure all music, and one of the big appeals of Japanese hardcore, and particularly the Tokyo Burning Spirits scene, is the degree of shared sound with Motorhead.  I don't know if it has been reliably confirmed yet, but the rumor is going around that Wurzel passed away a few days.  While he had been out of the band for sometime now, even Lemmy remarked in the past that in the mid '80s Wurzel may have been more Motorhead in spirit than even Lemmy was.  The band lost a lot when he left, he was a great counterpoint to Phil Campbell and he took his busy stylized riffs with him.  I don't take much interest in celebrity death or put much value in internet memorializing, but when someone's whose music changed the way I hear all other music dies, it does get to me.  I felt similarly when Chelsea and Pig Champion passed away, definitely felt some serious denial at first.  Anyway, after Motorhead, Wurzel played on the second Disgust CD and released an ambient record that I didn't even know existed until today.  He also had a solo ep from 1987 that's worth a listen.

Forward and Turtle Island outdoors, Gauze response to tsunami

Here are a couple recent videos that have been making the rounds.  First up, Forward and Turtle Island playing outdoors in Ueno at the Punks Were Made Before Sounds gig.  There's also footage on YouTube from the same show of Jabara, Piledriver, Spike Shoes, Hat Trickers, Pinprick Punishment, and Melt Banana.

And here is a recent video of Gauze.  Before they play, bassist Shin addresses the audience, as translated in the comments, "He talking about Ex SVS member is school teacher at Tohoku, and his school is using as shelter of Earthquake victims....1,000-yen/each T-shirts donate. And they are singing "We would like to cry, but we can't cry, because don't have a time to" and "Japan is Never Die!!"  The response of punks in Japan to the tsunami disaster has been quite moving, with people like Ko from Slang organizing relief work and punk flea markets popping up at shows as benefits.