OBNIII's Vs The Walking Dead

The 21st century has really turned up the heat in TV land. I don;t watch TV per se - my television has been sitting in the back of my car for the past five weeks - but I DO watch TV series. Breaking Bad, Boardwalk Empire, Parks And Recreation, Community - these (and quite a few more) are my go to's, to the point where I lose large chunks of time and a film or book rarely suffices (the book mainly because I'm lazy, and the last book I attempted to read A Pretty Good Read, an unofficial "biography" of Modest Mouse - was the biggest piece of shit Ive ever attempted. Seriously, Alan Golsher should have disappeared up Isaac Brock's arsehole in the first five pages. There's a good story in there, if you could past all the blatant cock-sucking...). Currently, my poison of choice is The Walking Dead. I'm just finishing season 2 and beginning season 3. A lot of people had complaints about the elongated farm sequence of season 2, but to me there was something 'real' about that - the stalling and scrabbling for normalcy in a apocalyptic wasteland, the core human emotions still struggling for a place in such a dire landscape... But yeah, the prison can't come quick enough.

ANYway, so this week Ive been watching that, and listening predominantly to last year's self-titled record from Austin TX reprobates OBNIIIs. I actually chose to pull this one out again solely because of its tenuous connection - what with the black spectres in front of a blood-red background on the cover. But the straight up, balls to the wall rock and roll that tumbles out of the speakers is primal, vintage stuff - if the world turned to pot, with everything degenerating to the basest of terms where survival is key, this would be the perfect soundtrack. There are elements of Death right through to Fu Manchu in these rollicking tracks, with some blues and psych mingling at the edges. But the attitude that pervades this record - confidence to burn - is infectious and ridiculously true to form. Many bands attempt this - very few nail it in such a pure fashion. If the shit went down tomorrow, this would be in my sweaty palm as I fled for high ground. Get OBNIIIs through Tic Tac Totally here. Trust me, it's worth it - even if it is saved for a zombie infestation.

OBNIIIs - You Wanna Bitch 
OBNIIIs - Stick and Move
OBNIIIs - People Are Afraid

Death For All The Senses

We were one of millions who were blown away by the "found" recordings of Detroit late 60s-early 70s proto punk band Death, commonly known as For All The World To See. Sure, they were waaaaay ahead of their time, without influence from others, et cetera et cetera. What it all comes down to is, Death fucking rocked. Who knows what would have happened if fate didn't fuck with the formula, but at least we still have these remnants. And it's like discovering an influential band all for yourself - soemthing that doesn't happen half as much as it used to nowadays...

Spiritual, Mental, Physical (out via Drag City) is an odds and sods collection of demos by the band circa 1974-1976. The material presented here was transferred from old reel-to-reel tapes and the primitive sound enhances what could be the findings from an architectural dig. There are traces of what would become For The Whole World To See, but this collection oftentimes finds the band noodling around in much of the later content - true four track material then. Therefore Spiritual, Mental, Physical finds the band trading in jagged punk, 'Views' amongst Beatles inflected rock and roll on 'The Mask.' I love the Beatles angle, seeing as history dictates that it was watching the Fab Four on TV that made the Hackney brothers want to play music in the first place - even if their stylings would take them down a decidedly different route, such as the jangly 'World of Tomorrow' which is a brief glimpse of the straightforward style of rock that the Hackney Brothers were capable of.

It won't all work for casual listeners - 'Can You Give Me A Thrill' goes forever as far as punk rock songs go (although that's why I think it's brilliant) and the last three tracks are effectivly noodling solos. But its just another chapter in what is a curious part of rock history - and one that is not dry, but lays the rock sauce on thick.

Death - Views

The Glove Fits #6 - Death

Sometimes you hear stories from the history music that just seem unreal. Lost chances and opportunities that seem so wrong, so improbable and such travesties of music justice that they beggar belief. One such story is that of the Detroit punk band Death.

Now I’m sure you’re familiar with the story of Death by now and they’re oh so long awaited mini album ...For the Whole World to See that was dropped by Drag City early last year. For me it was one of the albums of 2010 or was it one of the albums of 1975? I'm just not sure. When i first heard ...For the Whole World to See it felt like a long lost part of my punk and rock up bring had been found. Jack White, in a comment to New York Times summed it up best: “The first time the stereo played Politicians in My Eyes,’ I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. When I was told the history of the band and what year they recorded this music, it just didn’t make sense. Ahead of punk, and ahead of their time.” But to truly understand how good this album is or was, then a bit of history is required.

Death - Freaking out