The Bags - L. Frank Baum

Local legends. I got into these guys in the late 80's, by the mid 90's they had fizzled out. Which is too bad, had they been from Seattle or something, they might have made it big. I've heard that their career has been resuscitated by Guitar Hero, which is pretty cool, and they have released a few new albums in last four years or so.

This single isn't exactly their usual fare, which is sludgy rock stuff. This is some sort of send-up of metal acts at the time, turning The Wizard of Oz into a heavy metal rock-opera. It's genius.

"Max Roach" is an instrumental that's bit more in their style. It's not like it's a long drum solo or something you might expect from the title. My guess is that it was a play on Mission of Burma's instrumental B-side "Max Ernst" but who knows.

I managed to track down a copy of their Swamp Oaf album, and have ripped it, but haven't cut up the tracks. I'll get that up here sooner or later. It's worth a listen.

A: L. Frank Baum
B: Max Roach

Enjoy!

Rodney & The Tube Tops - I Hate The 90's

By Request! Sorry it took so long.

It has the makings of something truly great. Thurston Moore, Eric Erlandson (Hole's guitarist) and KROQ's punk/Indie-friendly L.A. DJ Rodney Bingenheimer all conspiring to put out some sort of cool album. (Rodney is the guy in between Moore and Erlandson, looking like a really nice and polite version of Iggy Pop)

Eh. Not quite what I was hoping for. Sometimes we wish too hard. While it does make fun of the 90's, which deserved it, (and yes, I got tattooed during that time...) it could have been better. Rodney's delivery kinda brings it down. I guess that's why he became a radio DJ instead of a singer, just as my jumbled fingers on my SG's fretboard have me (poorly) typing this now instead of playing in some club tonight.

A: I Hate The 90's
B: Tube Tops Forever/Cell Phone Madness
Enjoy!

Big Black - He's A Whore

Big Black's last single features an unlikely mix of covers. The A-side is an early, obscure Cheap Trick song, the B-side is a Kraftwerk song. As you'd expect, they nail them both in their own way. I prefer these versions to the originals. "He's A Whore" is a fairly obscure Cheap Trick song. It's fantastic. Cheap Trick really had a sense of humor, and I think the obscurity and nasty bit of comedy of this song made it a perfect cover for these guys.

As always, it's impeccably recorded, (it ripped incredibly well) and the album art can't be beat, with Big Black miming the covers from the original bands' albums. They really nail Cheap Trick's (and Kraftwerk's on the B-side) look.

A: He's A Whore
B: The Model
Enjoy!