Mookie's Mix

I made my friend Mookie a mix cd for his birthday. I haven't given it to him yet but I thought I'd write a mini-review. The tracks are:
1. Unsane - Scrape
Remember this band? Maybe not, but this single used to be on MTV in the late 90's. The video is comprised entirely of dudes wiping out and totally harshing all the buzz everywhere. This song is good.
2. Melvins - Hog Leg
From the Eggnog EP- Which is their second best in my opinion. I've been listening to this band every day for months. I have started a cover band with John Navarre and Alex Moss and we've been practicing. We're trying to set up a show soon!
3. Neurosis - Through Silver in Blood
Darkness descends. I got really into this album back in October.
4. Black Elk - Toggle
A band I discovered this year while looking at Jesus Lizard Reunion fliers. They were one of their openers. This song is from their s/t LP on Crucial Blast.
5. Bruce McCulloch - Heroin Pig
You may recognize this Kid in the Hall as Cabbage Head or Cancer Boy but this is from a solo venture. I'm happy those dudes have a new show that sounds dark and awesome. Too bad we don't live in Canada.
6. Geronimo - Facepeeler
This is one side of a series of splits that the band Young Widows did. I do not know who Geronimo is, but it sounds like David Yow fucking up a drum machine. I haven't been able to find any more information about this band, but this song is a doozy. If you like feeling scared and weird, you'll like this.
7. Shellac & David Yow - Bodies
These guys got together a while back and played a show as the Sex Pistols. I wish I could have been there.
8. Henry Rollins - Twas The Night Before Christmas
King of the Weenies, Henry Garfield re-imagines this holiday classic with a bit of a macabre twist. Unfortunately, as with most things Rollins, when he wants to make something good he completely falls short. His idea of 'edgy' is adding a lazy jazz bass line with police sirens mixed behind his spoken work track. I put this on here for Mookie because he'll like it, but I really don't think anyone else should listen to it.
9. Kowloon Walled City - Diabetic Feet
This is the best Sludge/Metal band I heard about in '09. Alex told me about them and all I can say it it's just plain good. They have one of the most interesting names I've seen in a while, they've got a sense of humor ('More Like the Shit Factory') and the tones are packed to the brim with doom, just the way I like 'em. They have two albums out on Wordclock records.
10. Tom Waits - Tom Tales
You've heard it before, but this man is a genius. This is from his new live record and it's 30 minutes of stage banter. Waits drops several eggs of knowledge about varying things such as vultures, Oklahoma and their crazy laws ("you can't eat some place that is also on fire"), graveyard shifts and drinking ("The piano is only on beer and wine now"). These facts are drooled out by Waits while screwing around on piano giving me the image of an old drunk man spouting wisdom in a dark living room to no one while a black cat dances across the keys. It's Tom Waits. He's a genius. "I read this today: One out of every ten men is important. Then I went back because I read it wrong. It said One out of every ten men is impotent. So what are ya, important or impotent? I guess that's all there is."

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