Sunday, August 5, 2018

V/A - Self Mutilation: One, Two, Three and More - A compilatiopn of compilations

Welcome to the soundtrack to my early college years (he emits a *sigh* in the most reluctant manner possible), for better or worse.  My reticence towards this one is less exaggerated than I'm letting on.  But before delving any further, as the title might imply, this one is a consolidation of three shorter form Self Mutilation compilations, specifically 7" eps, issued by the Aussie Hippy Knight label between 1991-93.  If it's "power pop" or anything on a remotely genteel tip you're seeking, best advised you move along.

The Mutilation series was bejeweled with a cabal of the era's most effective and grating noisenik punksters and grunge-amok hopefuls, with virtually none of it's participants breaching into the mainstream.  But as an international scene snapshot, this disc exposes the gritty, subterranean muck that even labels like Amphetamine Reptile weren't wiling to approach, or at the very least make a monetary investment in.  The likes of Atomic 61, Sandy Duncan's Eye and Meanies may ring a little raucous to some ears, but there's also thecomparatively less high strung Seaweed, You Am I and Superchunk, the latter of whom turn in a casual, 4-track acoustic version of "Cool," worth the price of admission alone.   As a parting recommendation, check out Green Magnet School's deliciously raw, but slyly tuneful "Blind In My Mouth," sounding something like a long-lost Dramarama demo.

01. Coffin Break - Cry    
02. You Am I - Snake Tide    
03. God And Texas - 1066    
04. Jonestown - El Segundo    
05. Green Magnet School - Blind In My Mouth    
06. Free Moving Curtis - Fire    
07. Poppin' Mommas - Now I Love Her    
08. Sandy Duncan's Eye - Polsen Petroleum    
09. Mother's Day - Birdy    
10. Superchunk - Cool    
11. Erectus Monotones - Tweeter And Quibble    
12. Screamfeeder - Snail Trail    
13. Vertigo - Shallow Water    
14. Nunbait - Shit For Brains    
15. Alien Boys - Timothy    
16. The Stump Wizards -    Fire    
17. Seaweed - Selfish    
18. Atomic 61 - Pussy Juice    
19. Seaweed Goorillas - Incest    
20. The Meanies - People Like Me

Hear

8 comments:

Whimpers and Bangs said...

By like 92-93, grunge was basically dead to me. i think it was when Screaming Trees went south with the "Sweet Oblivion" album (and the track from that record which ended up in the utterly horrid "Singles" movie) that i finally hopped off the bandwagon. Of course, i still loved Nirvana and Mudhoney, but most of the big name bands from the time had never appealed to me in the first place. Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, L7, et al, all just seemed like repackaged hair-metal bands. Besides that, all the lesser known tag-alongs (like most of those featured here) although a bit-less MTVish, still lacked the SONGS to bolster their baggy-flannel-unwashed-hair aesthetic. A few were good bands in their own right (Superchunk, obviously - and Seaweed), but they tended to be the ones that leaned in a more straight-up-punk, indie-pop or post-hardcore direction, away from all the sloppy-slacker-metal tropes and trappings. Alas, for that reason, i just can't say i enjoyed the stuff in this post as much as i had hoped i might. Oh well, whatever, nevermind.

Slovenlyeric said...

I still have at least one of the singles. I appreciate your posting this so I can hear the ones I missed.

johnnybgoode said...

and its got the STUMP WIZARDS! Great Band from PA on Get Hip Records

spavid said...

Thanks for commenting. I'm pretty much with you Whimpers. By the early '90s I had moved on myself, and even though at the time this compilations struck me as the epitome of cool, a lot of the "tag along" bands just didn't hold up post-Y2K.

Unknown said...

Does anyone know the story of the Green Magnet School track?

Anonymous said...

Reup please mate !! Thanks !!

Mike said...

Please could you reupload ? Thanks !

auxjoel said...

re-up please?