TRIO PAREJHARA

I've thought for a few years now that I want to get old(er) in Paraguay. That's where I want to retire. I've never been to Paraguay, and I don't know anyone there....it just seems like it would be chill. A quick current news search tells me that the country's head of the National Institute For The Indigenous was just fired by President Cartes for kicking an indigenous woman at a protest...obviously this is not awesome, but think about two things: 1) The country ACTUALLY HAS and Institute For The Indigenous, 2) the President fired the prick saying, "Whoever represents the indigenous and kicks them, I don't want to discuss it, they have to go." 3) This is the only news story I could find. No police murders. No bombings. No insane people running for political office...just an asshole who did an assholish thing and got his asshole ass fired. Seems chill. I mean, further down there was some ugly shit about the country's poor being used for drug mules, which also and obviously sucks....but still, it ain't carpet bombing. I've looked at pictures, the joint is fukkn gorgeous, and when was the last time you heard someone hate on Paraguay? Right? It's damn near the last spot that will get blown to smithereens when the world comes crashing down....and it's far enough from metropolises like São Paulo and Buenos Aires that when shit does go down, you'll still have time to trek into the forests of Bolivia to really hunker down. And besides, spending my elder years drinking a Polar and listening to TRIO PAREJHARA seems like a very achievable goal, and I bet these boys party.

PARAGUAY CANTA A LATINOAMERICA

NO MORIR SI!

In short, this is a killer compilation of South American punk and hardcore, nothing short of essential. A lengthier description would include meeting a member of FRACASO in Vancouver a few weeks back and having a great time hanging out and talking about punk and politics and life and then he gave me this tape he made for a friend. That bit of background isn't really all that much longer, but you should be spending your day listening to this tape, not reading my words.

NO MORIR SI!

LAST CALL FOR LOST SCENES

Released in '98 by our friends at Tian An Men '89, this is the second volume in a series of comps featuring bands the far corners of the punk universe. Malta's VALDALS open the tape with a blistering  metallic thrash punk assault, sharing the first side with Paraguay's KAOS offer up mid tempo lurching Latin American punk that could have come from 1983. INFLATE hail from Moldova and come off somewhere between accidental goth punk and snotty garage weirdness - I can definitely hear him say "Fukkn fukkr, I'm fukkn drunk" and "Punk Punk Punk Punk Punk Punk Punk Punk Punk Punk, red wine," though most of the lyrics are a little tough to work out. Accidentally eerie garage sounds from Bruneis' PINK DAEMON (might be the best on the tape after repeat listens - such a weird vibe on this track), and and a Spanish language scorcher from EL BOSQUE representing Costa Rica. I know many folks who tend to write off TAM89 releases, chalking them up as a novelty label more concerned with geography and quality, but I think Luc is more concerned with community than anything else, and even though sometimes his releases don't melt faces, they are almost always far more relevant than whatever flavor of the month the kids are listening to. This time, the quality is as over the top as the achievement.

LAST CALL FOR LOST SCENES vol. 2

LATINOCORE

I've toured a lot. I've played shows in places that many people might consider weird or off the beaten path, and I consider myself very lucky to have done so. But FUKK do I want to do an extensive tour in South America, and this tape comp only makes it worse. Well over an hour of raw and uncompromising sounds from Peru (SABOTAJE, AUTONOMIA, DISPAREUNIA, DISLEXIA), Ecuador (INNFELICES, LA DEMENCIA EXTREMA), Colombia (POLIKARPA Y SUS VICIOSAS, EX-KOMBRO, OPOZICIÓN - love the fukkn horns!), Chile (SIN APOYO), Uruguay (BASQUADE INCHALA), Paraguay (200 MUERTOS), Argentina (DISVASTACION, MIGRA VIOLENTA), Venuzuela (APATIA NO, KOLUMPIO BANKITO) and Mexico, Puerto Rico, Chile, Brasil, Bolivia (I am racking my brain trying to remember is PSICOSIS SOCIAL was the band we went to see in La Paz in 2002, but I swear that band played DEEP PURPLE covers and not raw metallic hardcore)....fukk man, this shit is beyond comprehensive. The emphasis is on hardcore punk, and the level of quality is outstanding. 49 songs from 31 bands, fans of international hardcore and the world of underground DIY would be remiss to pass this one up.

LATINOCORE I

LATINOCORE II

In a rare diversion from the cassette-only format, today you also get the CDr comp Latinocore II. More of the same, 48 tracks from 36 bands. Several worthy repeats and some excellent new additions: EX-KUPIDOS (Peru), JUSTICA FINAL (Chile), INSOLENTES (Mexico), SIN PATRIA (Colombia), ATAQUE FRONTAL (Peru), RAMIROS (Panama) and a shitload more. What's even more awesome, all this shit was released by a dude from Slovakia.