Few of punk rock's founding fathers could have anticipated the extreme to which Half Japanese took the music's do-it-yourself ethos. Founded by brothers Jad and David Fair, Half Japanese was quite probably the most amateurish rock band to make a record since the Shaggs, all but ignoring musical basics like chords, rhythms, and melody. However, the brothers made that approach into a guiding aesthetic, steadfastly refusing to progress in their primitive musicianship over a career that lasted decades. David Fair's article "How to Play Guitar" outlined the Half Japanese philosophy: … » Read more
| 1 | Rex – | Leak Through | | |
| 2 | Velma – | 55'201 | | |
| 3 | Matmos – | Sun On 280 To The 1 | | |
| 4 | Dots Will Echo – | Help! General Cosloy Is Chasing Me With An Axe! | | |
| 5 | HiM – | Eugene Trees | | |
| 6 | Mice Parade – | Galileo | | |
| 7 | Rex – | Pour Down | | |
| 8 | Kristen Mccord – | Baby We're Really In Love | | |
| 9 | Adam Pierce – | Amends(The Rock Epic) | | |
| 10 | Clutch Mountain Boys – | The Farmer's Girl |
| 1 | Lift | 3:43 |
| 2 | Mother Nature | 2:31 |
| 3 | Seems | 3:57 |
| 4 | Dreamer | 5:02 |
| 5 | So Gone Down | 4:05 |
| 6 | Same Words | 4:04 |
| 7 | Bee | 2:43 |
| 8 | Zoom | 3:15 |
| 9 | Water | 4:33 |
| 10 | Drag | 3:50 |
| 11 | Shower | 3:22 |
| 12 | Grow | 6:02 |
San Francisco indie-rockers Actionslacks assembled singer/guitarist Tim Scanlin, bassist Mark Wijsen and drummer Martin Kelly. Formed in 1995, the trio recorded the entirety of their first demo in a breakneck 11-hour session, soon signing with the Minneapolis-based indie label Skene! to release their 1996 debut LP Too Bright, Just Right, Goodnight. For 1998's One Word, Actionslacks signed with Arena Rock, subsequently touring with labelmates Harvey Danger. The new millennium was a growing period for the band -- bassist Ross Murray and guitarist/vocalist Doug Modie joined Actionslacks and the long-awaited third album The Scene's Out of Sight was issued in early 2001.
