ever nearing joy

these are the records and songs I listened to the most in 2012



Brian Eno: taking tiger mountain LP


following on from which was Ultravox's first two LPs pre Midge Ure ruining their sound/band


I listened to the Coffin Pricks mp3s Jeff sent me a lot. Chris Thomson has the best voice.
Also PAgan Icons by Saccharine Trust, I hate the culture of endless trend that is inherent in punk rock scenes, "we are really crazy mutants! check out our crazy antics!" that shit makes me wanna go home, or rather not leave my home. I would rather listen to Pagan Icons, or Crucifucks than watch "crazy" "zany" hardcore reenactment troupes. some of my teenage pals (when I too was a teenager) were in a graffitti crew, and one of them used to tag be rather than seem. be rather than seem. "become who you are" a boring idea free grunt being "wild" no thanks. I don;t know.  "genuine" "authentic" "scare quotes" "wild" "tame" "real" "pastiche" "blah"
DOC DART
DOC DART vs "Your Band Is Boring"
A REPORT

I listened to the four star comp on a shitty tape I made from graham booth which also featured grupo 415 synth damaged classic "My Walkman Loves Me" of which I can find no record online to play you, but it is SO GOOD, as good as the anemic boyfriends and I got a copy of the 7"  a couple weeks ago.
 and of course THE PACK!!

BEST FUCKING GUITAR SOUND! seriously. only good kirk brandon band really, but SO GOOD

also listened to Lori and the chameleons alot, another dollar bin find:


and this white magic song:


I listened to the D Vassalotti LP and latest Merchandise LP on REPEAT, mostly the first one as it fitted a weirdly isolated year.
also LOVE CHILD, i wrote them off as a twee pop nothing so never paid attention, but please this 7" is SO GOOD, he's so sensitive sounds like a blondie outtake but with no new wave at all, and sitting on the sofa, witness! best song about sofas and sitting since the kinks?


and the textones. I didn't know kathy valentine was in a ore go gos band that actually worte a few songs the go gos used, and were on stiff records

I also listened to this Spraypaint Love song which is on the wonderful treat tape which I think came out for the international pop underground in 91? you can listen to it here:
also this song by the go team that someone uploaded to youtube



OK youtube DJ jukebox situations. I am not really talking about stuff that came out in 2012 so much? I guess not. well you can buy the next MRR and get the scoop on that to some extent, but I missed out on putting the daylight robbery LP which was a total mistake, as I love that band and record. I got sort of bored of "urgent post observers sort of wipersy bands" it felt like a deluge, but this record sort of fits in with that feeling but has something about it that makes it amazing. I love the John Doe/Exene styled interplay, but the lyrics and songs are really sincere and not really X-like at all beyond the way the vocals interact. anyway, it rules and I love this banda nd wish they would come to california.

my favorite live bands I think were merchandise and spider and the webs? tho I am sure I am missing thigns out but those are the only two that spring to mind. my record tragedy of the year was my gene clark LP being totally warped and unplayable due to a complex situation I don;t feel like talking about, but it involved gentrification and estate sale divas. i got another 7" I have wanted for along time, a comp that features the take's classic "summer":



I listened to household a lot still, and autoclave and slant 6.



and for obvious reasons I listened to BIKINI KILL a lot (obvious meaning I wrote the liner notes for the reissue)

and to huggy bear also. OK that is the end of my musical report. I am sure I forgot something. Oh wait girl on the run by honey bane and FUCKING COMET GAIN who I totally listened to obsessively all year as always, and sonic youth sister, I have an old SST tape which I listen to on the way to work most days, and um emmylou harris 13 LP. and guy clark dublin blues, patty griffin long ride home, and I got obsessed with JUDY CLAY and listened to OV Wright a lot too.
and can I want more

I just wanna have something to do

dee dee ramone sleeping

I haven't written a column in MRR for the last two months. I broke my hand in a bike accident and descended into an unproductive state of disinterest and disdain. My record player was too high for me to reach and my shitty broken right hand prevented me from existing in my usual manner, all of these things amongst others conspired against me and created an atmosphere of negativity and frustration. Since I am a punk this should have fueled my existence and given my work meaning, but instead I just read the internet and got on the shitty train to work and nothing came out of it, like one of those 80s anarcho / class war drawings of a mobius loop worker drone, bed/work/home/death. Like Greg Sage singing "no solution" over and over again until it's clear the revolution is not gonna come and I am just gonna sit there and rot into the couch...

Anyway I half heartedly worked on my year end top ten for MRR, which will be in the next issue (the one that comes out in February 2013 but is called March 2013 for some confusing reason you will never understand). And I picked some records I listened to a lot, but I am sure I missed things as my enthusiasm was low... so anyway, this thing is a list of records I am LOOKING FORWARD TO LISTENING TO IN 2013, This is a blog post about THE FUTURE.

Spider and the Webs have a record coming out this year, I actually don't know this for a fact but I know Tobi, James, Bongo Randy and Chris were in a recording studio and when I saw them play live they played some sick new jams that are gonna rewrite our bad times. Here is Tobi singing a song by the post-Young Marble Giants band Weekend... Nostalgia.


The most important record of the year will come out on La Vida es un Mus records, and is THE VIXENS!!!! this demo was my top ten of 2011 so I trust the record will make 2013 a livable year.

The next most anticipated item would be a new CRAZY BAND LP/7"/FLEXI
PS someone send me the tape. 
AFTER THAT WOULD BE A NEW CASUAL DOTS LP WHICH I HAVE HEARD IS HAPPENING!!!! Kathi Wilcox, Christina Billotte, Steve Dore; a force to be reckoned with!

One type of music I have been enjoying this year is girl bands that are in the Bomp!/Dictators/Runaways sphere, sort of highways and dirty streets and back alley music that isn't shitty bar rock... I love the Splits

who are from Finland, and I also have been listening to MP3s of the Bleached LP which comes out soon

It's total LA girls weighed down with broken hearts and bad attitudes, armed with Blondie and Ronettes  7"s, and making a record in the tradition of the Runaways, very much summing up the feeling of Los Angeles in a certain and distinctive way...I also have been enjoying the Veronica Falls LP MP3s, although they are so English it's almost unreal, the cut glass BBC accents not heard since Sarah records was a viable entity! Nothing they do will ever top the majesty of their first two 7"s, but the new record is a cool listen, parts of it totally reminded me of listening to the Sundays when I was a skateboarding 13 year old, but I am not sure that is what they were going for! I think they write  great songs, but they have yet to write a consistently great LP. But they are fantastic to watch play, and the good songs are like Comet Gain playing the Flatmates while the TVPs nod off in the background.

I am looking forward to the Milk Music LP though the just released version of this song below is more rock than I usually dig, but who knows...


Also Potty Mouth recorded a new LP, not sure who is putting it out but cool...


And Bona Drag who I freaked out about a few months back  are getting reissued by Captured Tracks, which is great as their music was only available on scratchy transferred from cassette youtubes!

C.R.A.S.H are putting out a new 7", the only format. As someone who is totally bored with metallic tinged HC (I could go into more detail about what I mean by this, but I don't want to be mean.) their sound is totally refreshing, like apple pie and pcp.

Someone should do a record of all the Coffin Pricks songs; I know they recorded more than just that 7"!

I am looking forward to records from Olympia bands (not sure if these bands actually have records coming out...) Gag, Spiritual Warriors, Grimace, Vex, Crude Thought; I am sure there are more I am forgetting. Joaquin and Rachel's band?! And all Weird TV members need to do new bands. I wanna see all the new Perennial releases. Also a glass tipped to new Candice and Osa jams, speaking of which NOLA is having a form a new band or perish fest this summer, details here: nomorefiction.tumblr.com

I am looking forward to hearing about new bands from members of Livid, Displeasure and Opt Out all of whom broke up this year, Bay Area scene report. I think Index are recording again? They are great, sham 69 meets kleenex. And members of Needles, Brilliant Colors and Balance of Terror have formed Flesh World who I have yet to see... And Brilliant Colors have a flexi coming out I think for a tour?! Prank records is putting out replica and I think permanent ruin!? girls have pretty much taken over bay area HC, which is cool... Tony and Michael from the Ovens are each in fifty bands too, speaking of which Caged Animal have a record out soon I think!? Oh and Peach Kelli Pop moved to Oakland, so we can all do the eggroll much more frequently... and Burger records are putting her new LP out, which I hope is as fresh as the first one. I hope Cyclops put out a triple LP as all their 7"s have been absolutely essential, a Portland/Bay Area force... This is an incomplete scene report as I live out at the Pacific ocean nowadays and can hardly get myself to go to shows. Hopefully this will change?! I have seen some amazing shows this year, but recently I have been in bedroom boredom mode. Anyway hopefully more bands will form, bands I like will play and I will enjoy it and stop feeling like I am watching a trend being digested and regurgitated over and over... I wanna see Hoax play. and Creem. and Goosebumps, wait there are so many bands I hear about but am forgetting the names of. Justin talked about some youth attack HC tape that made his top ten that sounded amazing?!
OH SHIT WAIT NY SCENE REPORT, I guess you have to ask bidi: amipunkyet.tumblr.com IN SCHOOL gotta make a record, that's all I know. It seems like there are fifty million bands, so many cool girl bands, a new landscape is forming. Also shout out to Anna Nasty and MJ holding down AZ girl sound eternal. Oh and someone send me the last Dark Times 7"! I can't figure out how to order it without spending 30 fuckin euros from some insane german distro! Anyway. I am gonna leave you with Good Throb. Does irreparables have a record out yet?!!Also I am gonna assume all the women of Trash Kit are in fifty amazing new bands already that I wanna hear.