Evanescence - Scorn

UK POST-ROCK TOP 14: PART 1

Someone once niftily described Evanescence as Metal Box meets Bernard Hermann. That's way too neat a summation of the panoply of sonic experiences contained within this cd though. Evanescence was an incredible solitary sonic document of what musicians were attempting within these musical spheres at the time. Sure there is deep dub bass and spooky horror motifs but a whole lot more was going on here. While other UK Post-Rock groops like Stereolab, Pram and Laika were influenced by the great fluid Krautrock beats of Neu and Can, Scorn's beats were informed by hip hop. Along with darker ambient vibes they had traces of metal (Mick Harris & Nick Bullen were ex-members of the ferocious and funny metal band Napalm Death), goth, post punk, industrial, techno and drone-ology. The grooves are infectious and even sometimes mellifluous. Getting lost amongst these deep and heavy riddims is all part of the attraction of Evanescence. I recall being rather confounded upon first hearing this LP due to its musical juxtapositions and I guess, what I saw as contradictions, but that didn't last long as I kept coming back for more. The occasional vestige of a riff even drifts in now and then. Dread was a major part of original 70s dub reggae and on this recording Scorn certainly captured a unique British gloom. A doomed feel permeates the entire record. Unlike other ambient dub acts of the time this was not good time E-head chill out music. It had mysterious lulls into nightmarish worlds containing all the colours of the dark. Scorn at this stage were like a lethargic cousin to UK's darkside hardcore scene and a precursor to future genres like dub-step and hauntology. On Dreamspace Scorn even give us a bit of bass drum girth gabba/gloomcore style, which is fucking wicked. Exodus, one of the stand out tracks, was like a forlorn My Bloody Valentine with an ominous didgeridoo instead of an ecstatic flute. The lost generation of original UK post-rock were trying to push things forward and this LP stands as a testament to that vision to this day. It was quite an achievement and I kinda can't understand why a hundred groups didn't take up this as a blueprint but I guess the future was still up for grabs at the time and bands were forging their own identities, not wanting to be mere Scorn acolytes. The copyists and clones were gathering together over near or in the charts under the banner of New Wave of New Wave and Brit-Pop, nowhere near these outer regions.

Scorn's Evanescence is magic from the margins.

Come With Me 2 Hell - DJ Paul & Lord Infamous (1994)

HIP HOP I IGNORED PART 3

Come With Me To Hell wasn't hard to ignore. This was a self released tape from rappers DJ Paul and Lord Infamous (who is also The Scarecrow, I think) with production by DJ Paul and Juicy J. It was released in 1994 with no cover apparently. I found it a few years ago in MP3 form from one of those great sharity blogs like Mutant Sounds (RIP). I was unaware of its Three 6 Mafia connection until I played the first track. Triple 6 mafia get mentioned in several of the songs but I don't think they used that moniker as an artist name until the following year. In 1995 Three 6 Mafia released their now cult classic Mystic Stylez album which I didn't hear until 10 years later. I had been led to believe underground rap was shite. How wrong I was. Rap was like supposed to be the opposite to rock, you know mainstream rock (Hair Metal, Stone Temple Pilots, Nickleback) bad! But underground rock good! (The Fall, The Clean, The Smiths, Slint, Royal Trux etc.). The theory was that the good rap rises to the top and you get to hear it. Another case of don't believe the rock crit consensus. Sure some of the people involved on this recording ended up winning an Academy Award but that was after spending a long time in the rap underground.

Come With Me to Hell begins with Intro. It's psychedelic as hell with kids singing a haunting lullaby reverbed to the hilt with great horror synth and pounding drums. While the rappers tell you to "Come with me to hell." and "Triple 6 Mafia may we burn forever." This should be used as a horror film theme. 1000 Blunts puts us in typical hip hop territory. They're bragging about how much pot they've smoked ie "I think I smoked a thousand blunts." This ain't no slick Dre style production. It's very lo-fi with a little toy organ loop keeping the vibe spooky. Long & Hard is their pornographic tale of fellatio. A great crackling trumpet sample echoes throughout while a languid guitar line flows in and out of the mix. It's minimal and repetitive. Drop It Off Ya Ass dives into the criminal underbelly of hip hop. It's all Glocks, Infra red and dead cops. "Come with me to hell you little bitch and see how we live in the land of the 666." The backing track's got keyboard sounds that could be straight out of a horror flick, John Carpenter Stylee. Lick My Nuts is a reprise of Long and Hard. The title says it all really. Pass The Junt sounds so 2014 it could be DJ Mustard on the beat. It's another ode to one of hip hop's favourite pastimes smoking drugs with classic blunted horn samples that could have come from a 70s dub track.

Side 2 starts off brilliantly with some of the grimiest and most dense sampling I've ever heard. You Ain't Mad Is Ya is truly psychedelic hip hop and wouldn't sound out of place on a New Kingdom LP. "We're gonna take you deeper than 6 feet." All Dirty Hoes lays on a kind of sleazy slow jam vibe but the lyrics are no where near as romantic as the sweet sounds. 187 Invitation is a homicidal poem set to some of the coolest horror soundtrack samples you're ever likely to hear. Some of these sounds remind me of Ghostbox groups like The Focus Group and The Belbury Poly.  It's unique, no one sounded like this, that I knew of, in 94. Its Cummin is another ode to the joys of fellatio. It's quite a catchy tune but you probably don't wanna be singin this one around your mum and dad. "Try on some real nigga lip gloss." Its Cummin keeps the minimal haunted keyboard loops coming, along with scratching and the world's most raw brittle drum machine. Back Against The Wall is like an ultra violent gangster film. All hell breaks loose sonically and lyrically. In between there is almost respite with more ominous synth lines. There's a sample from Ice T's Colours which may have been a sample from a slasher movie, I'm not sure. Back Against The wall is truly terrifying and demented. Shout Outs is just that. They shout out to all their mates in Memphis while unashamedly plugging upcoming tape releases. Takin No Shorts ends the tape and it's like a whole other band with a beautiful backing track that could be off Sesame St. "Layin some pimp ass shit" 70s style. They're still rapping about motherf*%#ing guns but then they start hanging shit on rappers trying to be like Menace II Society (the 93 hood film), possibly even being a little self deprecating. This is entertainment after all.

Come With Me To Hell is an awesome journey into the early 90s Memphis tape/mixtape underground. This isn't some slick state of the art expensive studio shit. It was probably recorded in their mom's bathroom. Not many of these tracks would get you out on the dancefloor. Instead of being funky these tunes creep like a stoned stalker. DJ, Lord and Juicy don't really use overexposed breaks or cliched samples. They tore up the hip hop rule book and made a truly original masterpiece and didn't even bother with a cover! This tape sounds totally relevant and influential today. Lord Infamous died last year of a heart attack, finally in hell.

Remastered cd reissue.

Sex Drugs & Ratchet

DJ Mustard's still on the beat round these parts. Reynolds mentions a few more here This one I can't deny. I love that minimal spooky fade out at the end but Mustard makes spooky a 'subdued mood of depressive hedonism.'* That's the best description I've heard so far of this sub genre of a sub genre.

Mustard has turned me around on other things. I couldn't get into this at all when it came out. I knew the sonic production was v cool. I thought it was depressing though but now I get that downer euphoric vibe. Like painkillaz and alcohol. I'm not even sure what other drugs this relates to weed, ice? A heroin-y E maybe? Anyway it's a hell of a vibe. Only took me 2 years to get it. Jesus what next Drake?

Actually It was probably this tune that got me to go back and listen to Kendrick Lamar's Good Kid... cd. How is Mustard not on this beat?

I hated Gas Pedal when I first heard it, then hated it again when I gave it another go. I think it was Reynolds who said (and I agreed) it was just a rip off of Snoop & Pharell's Drop It like Hot but then he had it in his singles of the year. So I gave it another go, still hated it. 5 months later now I'm fully into it. The druggy vibe can't be too wasted because they still be horny dudes. The vibe of this song encompasses a panopoly of drugs and alcohol while being on the prowl for some tush (kids, that means booty).

Then there's magic! (I know this is a bit off topic but it kinda fits.) I get chills every time I hear this. I mean it's pop, it's got hooks and it's so fucking anthemic I can't believe it. And I hate that whole New York cultural tyranny thing, makes me never wanna go there. But this song is so good it doesn't matter what it's about. It could be about my dog doing a poo and I'd still get chills every time I heard it. Z does mention E's, well MDMA during this track so that gives you an idea of where the euphoria in this lies. I mean apart from the songwriting and musical arrangement which is enough. A bit like MBV's best tunes it's so euphoric it feels like your on drugs anyway. This is the sonic equivalent of Champagne and an E chased with a few lines of coke.

Also I think this maybe the best pop tune in history.

*That's me paraphrasing a Simon Reynolds quote.

Grip It! On That Other Level - Ghetto Boys (1989)

HIP HOP I IGNORED PART 2

Now this is some hip hop I can really get behind. Once I put on this cd I instantly started liking it. Ghetto Boys sound is not unlike their peers Public Enemy, NWA and Ice T, so I guess it had an immediate familiarity. Grip It! On That Other Level has that classic late 80s old school sound, so damn funky and full of great stories that are masterfully delivered. So this album is quickly heading up my hip hop classics list, with the bullet. Now, I remember reading about Ghetto Boys in the NME and Melody Maker in the late 80s. They were described as the most morally bankrupt bunch of thugs in hip hop. That statement should have had me running to my local record shop in Grafton to order a copy of this album ASAP (gee I was a sensitive lil' youngster). Still it wasn't hard to avoid them with no national JJJ radio at the time and I don't recall them getting played on Rage or The Factory which was the home of all things rap back then. The press led me to believe they were arseholes of the highest order. Some of the themes included rape, murder and even cannibalism. I do recall some journos being conflicted though because their beats were so damn good, they're songs were undeniable. A couple of years later living in Melbourne I remember talking to a friend and she asked me 'Should I keep going out with this guy? All he listens to is Geto Boys and it's all bitches and hoes.' I don't recall what my response was though. Anyway this was the first time I'd sat down to listen to a Ghetto Boys LP and I wasn't sure if I'd heard any of the tunes or not.

Grip It! On That Other level was their second album and it was issued in 1989. This album is usually considered their best. They were from Texas which was pretty different from the usual New York and LA. I guess they put southern rap on the map. In many ways they helped pioneer gangsta rap and horrorcore. Some of the samples here had already been around the block a few times such as Curtis Mayfield, Incredible Bongo Band and Dennis Coffey. They also sampled stalwarts Parliament and James Brown. Surprisingly they also sampled such white rock as Pink Floyd and The Steve Miller Band. Not forgetting a smattering of dialogue samples from the movie Scarface. I don't think Grip It! was particularly successful upon its initial release but became a sleeper hit, eventually selling hundreds of thousands of copies. In retrospect it has become a canonical album appearing on many lists of classic rap records. It was also repackaged with some trax remixed and released under the title of Geto Boys, put out by Def Jam the following year. This also must have coincided with the spelling change from Ghetto Boys to Geto Boys

It starts off in classy stylee with Do It Like G.O. The beats are gold with samples of Superfly, Apache and Scorpio (all staple breaks from the original NY street parties). Niggas, KK, bitches, guns, politics, mo-fos, racism and black history are all mentioned in this opening tune so they pretty much lay it all on the line from the beginning. Gangster Of Love is next and its a filthy tune that's perhaps a little misogynist. It comes with a pro condom message though with much bragging of how many chicks he can do in one night. There might event be a little romance amongst the nastiness. The sample of Steve Miller Band's 'Gangster Of Love' line from The Joker, as well as the guitar part, is genius and makes this pornographic tale so damn catchy. Gangster Of Love has got to be one of the greatest hip hop tracks ever recorded. Talkin Loud Ain't Sayin Nothin is a bleak ghetto tale. Its rapped with great aggressive gusto about having integrity and hating bullshit artists and pretty much everyone and everything. It also contains a choice James Brown sample. Read These Nikes is pretty self explanatory. Its a violent thug anthem  'Remorse what the f*%# is that? I'll beat your your mamas ass then go and get a six pack!' Size Ain't Shit is a brag about being scrawny but having a big dick, a big gun, a jail history etc. with a brilliant keyboard line that wouldn't be out of place on an an acid house or bleep and bass tune. Seek and destroy has the funkiest of beats with fabulous def rhymes like something from a rap battle. As stated several times during the track this is a dope jam and they even mention peace a couple of times?!

So that's halfway but I don't even think this was ever released on vinyl. Anyway the second half starts with a defence of Public Enemy. No Sell Out is a conspiracy theory about black music being kept down by the industry. I recall at some stage in this era Public Enemy's Prof Griff being accused of antisemitism. I can't recall if this claim was true or not. They even sample their hero's Fight The Power. Let A Ho Be A Ho could be a feminist manifesto or most probably misogyny of the worst kind. Scarface is like an ultra violent 80s movie in rap form. This is rap story telling in excellis with great minimal beats courtesy of James Brown I think. Life In The Fast Lane has a sweet Parliament sample. Harmonica really suits this funky disco jam.  There should be more harmonica in rap it really works well. This tune is a real old school 'day in the life of the ghettto' jam, reminding me a little of Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five and it's absolutely brilliant. Trigga Happy Nigga is a party jam complete with exciting band intro and Al Pacino Scarface samples galore. Its funny how offended people were by this kind of thing when these kind of of stories were all over the tv, movies and the news. I always looked at rap as similar to movies like Westerns, Gangster films, Horror flix, blue movies etc. but for some reason people thought this was real (some of it was I guess), I assume because it's usually sung in the first person. People were quite willing to watch something like Rambo but were frightened by hip hop tunes with similar themes. People are strange. Mind of A Lunatic is like an aural video nasty. This track with its themes of insanity, mass murder, rape, attempted suicide and asylums is dark and horrific but it's set to a beautiful funk track. This was probably The Geto Boys at their most controversial. When you compare it though to some of the mid 90s underground Memphis rap is almost seems quaint now.

In the end they're nowhere near as morally bereft as I was led to believe. There's Black Power, advocacy for contraception, integrity and even mentions of peace. Geto Boys are also hilarious and compared to some of today's rappers they are nowhere near as amoral or wasted. There was militaristic aggression about them. Not forgetting these are some of the dopest hip hop jams ever committed to tape. I gotta say this is a bloody classic album, one of the best hip hop has to offer. I'm glad I had this idea for this series just to hear this gem.