The Grim – S/T LP (1984)
Yeah, long time no posts. Whatever. I’ve been having technical difficulties. Aside from that, I’ve been making some killer vinyl scores in recent months, but as far as un-blogged and little-known Punk Rock goes, it’s been the dregs—even I’m embarrassed by it! So, with that in mind, I’m going to do what has been requested of me a few times and post a couple Mystic records, despite the fact that I’m pretty sure all the other stuff I own is available on the web or back in print. And besides, after subjecting you guys to Dr. Sadistic and The Silverking Crybabies, I feel like I’m almost obliged to put up something halfway decent!
So here we have one of those “used bin regulars” that I used to talk about when I first started the blog and, undoubtedly, if you were flipping through the used bin back in the 80’s and 90’s, you found yourself staring the old orange GRIM jack-o-lantern in the face. In fact, I just now got around to peeling the sticker price off my copy to scan it. How much did I pay? $0.99! Not no more, kiddies! That aside, I see nothing at all wrong with this record, as it is prime juvenile Mystic slop of the most righteous order, recorded with that fine Mystic studio sound and graced with that classy X-Acto knife artwork we all love and enjoy. And this thing is inching towards 30 years old now! Geeze.
REAR COVER
SAMPLE TRACKS:
Download (Sendspace) HERE
Mystic Sampler #1 – LP (1984)
Ah, memories. I bought this not too long after it came out and, while I didn’t exactly regard it as one of my favorite records at the time, I played it quite a bit during my mid to late teens and, suffice to say, it made something of an impression on me, despite myself. Lots of fun stuff on here, including about the only thing by The Minutemen I’ve ever been able to tolerate and a killer track by Kommunity FK, which is permanently etched on my brain until the day I die. Strangely enough, I never picked up any other Kommunity FK stuff from that era, so I need to ask if anyone is familiar with their discography and knows where I can give their early stuff a listen. The only other thing I have by them is the “Close One Sad Eye” LP. This LP also features an early version of “I Saw Your Mommy” by Suicidal Tendencies that blows away the one on their first LP. Actually, I never liked that song as it was popular with the fence-sitt…….. …..er…..um…..skater punks, never mind that the lyrics sound like they were written by a six year-old. Too bad he didn’t do “Possessed” or “I Want More” instead, but it’s still decent. Supposedly, it also got put out on a comp called “Slamulation”, but I’ve never come across it. Maybe it never came out?
REAR COVER
SAMPLE TRACKS:
Minutemen – Party With Me Punker
Download HERE
Download (Sendspace) HERE
Battalion Of Saints – “Second Coming” 7″ (1983)
One more quick Mystic slab here and another journey down memory lane for yours truly. I bought this when I was like 15 and I thought this record was the shit. And it still is! Short, fast, hard, catchy, howling and blasphemous! This baby had it all. Not sure if this one got reissued or not but, if not, it should be.
REAR COVER
THE TRACKS:
Download HERE
Razor – 7″ (1980)
OK, I need to post at least one stinker here. We have certain standards to uphold, you know. Yes, I do realize this record sucks but, like The Tinglers, it has some strange hold on me that I can’t shake. Maybe it’s the retarded keyboards or maybe it’s because I associate this style of rock with a very enjoyable and innocent period of my life, giving it an unintentional haunting quality that only I understand. Who knows? Well, I guess I should. Sorry for the surface noise. I’ve found several copies of this and this one is the only playable copy I could scratch up—I guess it’s just that good!
THE TRACKS:
Download HERE
J.C. Mahoney – “Has Anybody Seen America” 7″ (1976)
Well it’s that time of year again, isn’t it? Yep, this blog has been around for three years, which is about two and a half years longer than I intended and also let me tell you, things were a fuckin’ hell of a lot better for me three years ago! Nothin’ beats the feeling of sliding around on a slippery slope and the sinking feeling that things are only going to get worse and by “things” I mean the state of this country—not Mr. Poopy. Mr. Poopy always comes out on top in the end. At least so far I have. We’ll just have to see, now won’t we? So anyway, ‘tis the season for patriotism, so I will now subject you so some glorious Americana. We’ll make it quick and it won’t hurt a bit. I promise.
So we’ll start the ball rolling with this piece of 70’s cheese that comes off like a cross between Don McLean and the criminally under-downloaded Johnny Flag. This song uses the somewhat odd analogy of comparing the loss of America with some woman abandoning her family and it sort of works. At any rate, it might interest Mr. Mahoney to know that she’s back now and she’s filed the papers and is taking the house, the car and alimony payments look like they’re going to be a bitch. Only one song on this thing and it’s on both sides.
THE TRACK:
J.C. Mahoney – Has Anybody Seen America
Download HERE
Charlie Stewart – “G.I. Joe / Kangaroo Court” 7″ (196?)
Oh, hell, yeah. If I could find a slab like this every day for the rest of my life, I’d die a happy man. Some scorching old school country and western here and both sides are great and, unbelievably, this disc appears to be pretty much unknown. Yes, Mr. Stewart isn’t shy about telling you that he has shrapnel in both legs and God help you if you are a draft-card burning commie! Flip it over and you have an anti-corruption tirade directed at a judge on the take. Good stuff and perhaps I’ll subject you to more of this guy’s works in the future—he had a few others.
THE TRACKS:
Download HERE
John Steinbacher – “1973″ 7″ EP (196?, 197?)
It’s no big secret that I have a ton of records like this and from to time I’ll play one of them and marvel at how much of the predictions came true. Well this record isn’t one of them! Basically, this fruitcake is asserting that the Blacks and Commies will be taking over America in 1973 and details how it is going to happen. Mr. Steinbacher spouts the same old line that these many of those guys preached and it might hold a little bit of water if he hadn’t tied an exact date to it. Never give an exact date!!! Strangely, the Jews got left out of the conspiracy, but maybe that was supposed to happen in 1974.
SAMPLE:
Download HERE
Bob Hafner And The Homesteaders – “The Day George Wallace Was Shot / Brave Men Walk Alone” (1972)
Yet another George Wallace record. Apparently, there were a ton of these things and clearly Mr. Hafner was a fan of early Buck Owens. Well, clear to me, at least. The rest of you clowns need to buy a Buck Owens record. Actually, the flip is the winner on this one, although both sides have that cheesy, amateurish charm that makes this stuff fun. Oh, and I love how some clown decided to give a history lesson on the label of side 2. Thanks, buddy. You increased the collectors value of this thing a thousand fold, jerkwad.
Side 2 / History Lesson
THE TRACKS:
The Day George Wallace Was Shot
Download HERE
Son Of Mississippi – “Flight NAACP 105 / The Voice Of Alabama” (196?)
And we’ll finish off this series with another record from the notorious Reb Rebel label. I’ve found a few copies of this one, with a variety of covers and different flipsides. I’ve also heard a different version of “Flight NAACP 105”, but I only have a bootleg copy of it. Anyway, as I have been lead to believe, this was a fairly popular comedy recording down South back in the day and many of these records were pressed. As I realize most of you mouse-clickers have no attention spans to speak of, I’ll detail what the skit is about. What we have is a couple drunk Amos and Andy rejects trying to fly a plane, one of whom sharing the last name of a certain activist who was causing a fuss at the time. The plane is getting low on gas, so they call the control tower to find a place to land, where some redneck dude steers them into the side of a mountain. Now, I believe I’ve stated elsewhere that some comedy doesn’t stand the test of time, right? And who was Amos and Andy you ask? Just forget it. The flip is another political statement like the Happy Fats stuff I posted last year.
THE TRACKS:
Download HERE
Poopy Endorsement: The Mau Maus “Scorched Earth Policies” LP/CD (2012)
Shit, I almost forgot to endorse this thing. I’ll make it quick: BUY THIS! Haven’t heard any decent Punk in a while? Buy this. Haven’t heard any old shit that hasn’t been mercilessly beaten into the ground or should have been tossed in the trash and forgotten? Buy this. Period. As you should already know, The Mau Maus were one of the original LA Punk bands from the very beginning and beyond but, for whatever reasons, couldn’t get their act together to put out a studio LP. Now they have and I don’t mind saying this has been glued to my turntable and CD player since I picked it up. Absolutely flaming old-school Punk the way it was meant to be presented, with the type of righteous, pissed-off sarcasm, bite and disgust that is so very sorely missing from today’s music. The songs “Laughtrack” and “Dead Or Alive” are worth the price of admission alone. The first six tracks were recorded in 1983 with killer production and the last eight are recent recordings of old tunes that sound exactly like the old stuff. VERY highly recommended to fans of old school Punk Rock and as a tutorial to those who would like to learn how to do it PROPERLY.