It seemed like I had been hearing of the Micronotz (formally the Mortal Micronotz) for decades before actually encountering any of their records. That changed a few months ago when a used copy of 40 Fingers materialized at a price I couldn't refuse. By the time this Lawrence, KS tribe got around to recording the album in question, original mouthpiece Dean Lubensky was out of the picture, and in his stead arrived one Jay Hauptli whose gruff and tumble vocal aplomb takes some getting used to (if at all). 40 Fingers is steeped in period Midwest punk and hardcore, searing and vigorous at best and a bit routine at worst. The Micronotz were regulars at Husker Du's Zen Arcade, dropping more than a few tokens into tuneful, riveting slots like "Black and White" and "Fall Down." Elsewhere the quartet veers in the vicinity of Naked Raygun, Rifle Sport, and to a lesser extent White Flag. Several records preceded 40 Fingers, and in 1995 two posthumous digital collections preserved the bands work, though I'll be damned if I can find them. This rip was taken from my humble vinyl copy.01. Pay Your Bill
02. Mannequin Head
03. Scarborough Fair
04. Exit 301
05. Psychedeli
06. Push It Out
07. Fall Down
08. Black and White
09. 40 Fingers
10. Breakdown
11. I Want Your Soul
12. Carnival Freak Show
13. Summer of Hate
Hear
5 comments:
i have part 2 of the micronotz cd collection if you're interested. in has this album and all the 2nd singer stuff. i grabbed it when i was in lawrence for work one time. wish i would have grabbed part 1 instead since i've never really come around to the singer on their later stuff.
i probably also overlooked the kill creek rarities cd that i didn't know existed at the time, "old skool dropouts."
I have the self-titled LP from 1982 and the Smash EP if you guys want to hear them (or buy them). The first LP sounds more like the Embarrassment's "blister pop" than Husker Du or Naked Raygun. They started toughening up their sound on Smash. But the early Micronotz weren't as good as their big brother band in Lawrence (the Embos). They did a song called "Old Lady Sloan" with lyrics from William S. Burroughs, who was also living in Lawrence KS at that time.
Thanks for this! I was cleaning out my basement, and came across this record in an old box. These guys rock! I grew up in Boston, and heard these guys on WHRB or WMBR. 40 Fingers is one of those totally forgotten great records.
A re-up at some point would be awesomely appreciated, if possible.
Do anyone here know a micronotz song that has lyrics : "we will run we wont be ran"
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