Noise Kills Punk Dead

A more appropriate title might be 'Noise Kills Anything Dead'. The 67 tracks on this CD range from - well - noise (and pretty harsh noise at that) to noise with a regular beat in the background to noise which dares to have some sort of structure (though don't go looking for your typical Verse Chorus Verse here 'cos you ain't gonna find it). I was a bit wary of this to begin with, but I have to say that it is nowhere near as bad as I was expecting - indeed some of the tracks are actually quite interesting in an arty sort of way. And I have to laugh at 'Stairway to Royalty Payments' by 'The Evolution Control Committee' which takes a big swipe at Led Zeppelin. Overall this is difficult to recommend unless you are looking for something completely (and I do mean completely) different.

Talk about variety. This compilation contains 67 tracks by almost as many bands, crammed into 73 minutes of CD space. Brent C the compiler has told me that he accepted all submissions until the comp was full, without deleting anything. This lack of quality control would be a problem on a comp that had regular 4-7 minute tracks, but on this comp it works ok. Even the most annoying sounds (Which there are alot of here) can't be that annoying when they only last for a minute. Admittedly there are a few songs I really could live without, but usually by the time I muster up the will power to hit the skip button the song is over anyway.

I think this compilation should be touted as the current manifesto of scum. The variety and originality of this comp is simply incredible. Just about every scummy, crappy, noisey, strange, weird, unthinkable sound you have ever not thought of before is on this compilation. I'm finding it difficult to give any sort of all-encompassing review because not only does every track on this CD sound nothing like any other track, but at least 3/4 of them also sound nothing like anything else out there.

Regardless I will just give a few descriptions of tracks, as a full track-by-track is a bit beyond my motivation right now. Daimyo Gyoretsu song "Destroyed Robot" is a japanese woman saying some phrase in japanese repeatedly with some clinking and clanking in the background. Diamond Shamrock's track "Noyz Inda Hood" is a couple distorted hiphop samples that are off-timing and diverge and then reconnect, pretty cool. Inkpot Monkey's "Fooj" is a couple guys making funny mouth noises and laughing. Cyborg's "AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJKKFFCC" is an extended sample of an outtake from the making of a KFC commercial.

Joshua Bourke's "The Light" sounds like trippy chaotic techno w/ skinny puppy-esque vocals. Ude Wir's "P.L. $1,000,222.00$" is total feedback noise. B.C. Whitehead's "I Owe 25" is burping, grunting, sink sounds, tapping on a metal tin or something, and vocal cut-ups. The Evolution Control Committee's "Stairway to Royalty Payments" is a collage of samples from guess where. The End of Time's "Six Dimensional Space" is super lo-fi electro industrial. Histatic Charge's "Zero to Sixty" has a baby crying and distorted fucked-up synth playing.

You might get the idea by now, but if you don't, try to get this compilation when it comes out anyway. I don't know what Brent C's guidelines where for submission to this comp but I'd like to know because he managed to gather together some pretty ecclectic and strange stuff which may not fit all that gracefully on one CD together, but sure as hell would fit a lot worse into any other already-existing genre or scene. Viva Scum.

Noise Kills Punk Dead is a collection of short sound pieces. It is an opportunity to stuff a wide variety of sounds into your ears in a short period of time. Are you in a hurry? What else do you have to do? It must be pretty fucking important.

This CD takes sounds from around the world, grinds them into a pile of shavings, and fires them out at you though your stereo speakers. It's like all the sounds of the planet compressed into 72 minutes and 42 seconds of chaos. Do you have a really short attention span? Do you forget what you are saying in mid-sentence? Try Noise Kills Punk Dead.

1. International Urban Jungle Series: Chickens 
   Digital fowl in the '90s.
2. Diamond Shamrock: Noyz Inda Nood 
   Noyz in Da Nood is noise hip hop in mad circles. Call it a revolution. Stomp yourself dizzy to this one.
3. Pyroclastix: Cultural Hegemony 
   These are probably the last sounds the astronauts on the Challenger heard before they hit the earth. Did someone get their hands on the black box or what?
4. Our Glassie Azoth: Sephiroth 
   I hope you are in the mood for electronic throbbing and pulsing.
5. NOISIA: Frame by Frame 
   Frame by Frame sounds like various members of the Salvation Army Brass Band trying to drown each other out. Give until it hurts.
6. Fallopian Tube Steaks with Beer: I Might as Well Be Jamming with Elvis 
   This is what happens when you are raised on sugary cereal and Saturday morning cartoons.
7. Daimyo Gyoretsu: Destroyed Robot 
   This piece is like the Japanese "Revolution 9". It will only be a matter of time before Yoko Ono ruins Daimyo Gyoretsu too.
8. Diamond Shamrock: Instant Satori 
   Listening to this piece will start visions of stadium rock and video games dancing through your headphones.
9. The void organization: no corpse = no crime 
   Lo-Fi armageddon.
10. Inkpot Monkey: Fooj 
    These are the kids who used to get sent to the office for making funny noises in class.
11. 1-45: Choices 
    This piece is very cool Nordic-sounding rap-oid music with a looped Butthole Surfers thing.
12. Wart Wansteker: Sunday Borning Marmeque 
    Sunday Borning Marmeque is like a room full of electronic voice box mumblings. Another cigarette anyone?
13. Ude Wir: P.L. $1,000,222.00$ 
    Listening to Ude Wir is like cleaning your ears with a cattle prod.
14. Joshua Bourke: The Light 
    Hyper-active sci-fi dance music.
15. International Urban Jungle Series: Osaka Traffic 
    Listening to the traffic noise of Osaka kind of helps to explain the CDs Merzbow keeps releasing, doesn't it? If you put quieter road materials down he would probably start doing easy listening music.
16. Cortex Bomb: Paul Schaffer Auto Erotic Vacuum Cleaner Exit Wound 
    This is an amazing, blenderized commentary on modern music.
17. Antimatter: X-tract 
    This piece is like a mouth full of rumbling, sizzling planetary ash. Science class comes alive here... and then bursts into flames.
18. Ultra Psycho toast: Furthering Retroro Joke 
    It's time for another sonic beating of sonic sidewalk mash and grime. UPt will make your teeth bleed.
19. Mitsugi, Yuji, and Sawano: Koshigaya MACS "B" Studio 
    This is what lounge jazz would sound like if it was played by mass murderers.
20. Arthur Loves Plastic: Words to Live By 
    You just can't get enough of that Germanic Catwalk music, can you?
21. B.C. Whitehead: I Owe 25 
    Electronic bodily functions.
22. Platzangast: And Live I Will 
    Here you have an assortment of Beeps, thumps, and cut-ups with a life-affirming message. Go Figure.
23. Radio: Emitter: Bi: Polar: (Radio Slave / Collector baseemitter) 
    These two contributors will set your two ears at war against each other.
24. 1-45: Candaygitfunkee 
    Rap is truly dead, but don't let it hurt your feelings.
25. The M.E.M.O.R.Y. Lab (The Modern Expressing Machines of Revolutionary Youth Laboratories): To Go All the Way 
    Listening to this piece is like galloping through a crowd, tossing bombs into the air.
26. Idle Hands: Rokus 
    This group supplies a wealth of Metalic pounding for your head. Just be glad they aren't your room mates.
27. Kokugo Piano: Romance Guerilla 
    A splash of Art rock and Japanese talking.
28. Leon B.: John's Denver 
    This piece is a Lo-Fi rape of an old John Denver chestnut.
29. Magmax: Magma Death 
    Listening to this piece is like grinding metal and gargling the shards.
30. Eckankore: For Trikuti 
    A ballad of feedback and rumbling.
31. Kodoku Baka shibai: Black Snot 
    This is what civil unrest would sound like in the hands of a couple dozen buffoons.
32. Gaga: Cute-Cuddly-Smooshes Things FLAT 
    This piece is like an angry version of the "Ina Gadda Davida" drum solo.
33. Cyborg: Queen Bee's BBQ 
    This piece explains how A.M. radio ruined our country.
34. The Evolution Control Committee: Stairway to Royalty Payments 
    E.E.C. gets off on vandalizing the icons. A beautiful ruin.
35. Cyborg: Tom's Jones 
    Cyborg sells out Tom Jones like a five dollar whore. This is much scarier than hard noise.
36. Brutum Fulmen: Quartet for Plastic Toy Horns 
    Can you imagine what it would be like to travel in a car across country with this guy? This piece brings back memories of long, traumatic vacations with my family. I'll talk to my therapist about it.
37. Radio Slave: Your Bullshit Story 
    Here you have a cool spoken word assemblage over scratchy noise and ominous pounding.
38. Unsound: Establishing Shot 
    Power chords and big amps are ruining our society. Keep up the good work.
39. Prajekt Slim: The Ides of Mars 
    March of the B movie theme songs.
40. Dienstag: tete-a-tete, radio edit 
    Here you have a love song played on cats, chipmunks, and an anvil.
41. CPI (Coling Pascal Industries): Obsequious Pathways 
    Have a blast of bassy, underground rumbling. Sonic erosion for modern society.
42. Government Alpha: Terminal Care 
    This is the sound of Government Alpha throbbing and scraping their way across your ear canal.
43. Con: Munk 
    This one sounds like satanic opera singers broadcasted over a ham radio.
44. The End of Time: Six Dimensional Space 
    Attack of the cheap audio equipment.
45. s.f.w.d.: 00.01.00 
    It's time for a barrage of pulsating bass and echoing voices.
46. LLXTA: Beast 
    LLXTA brings a noise war to your stereo.
47. Radio Terrain: Bank Your Healing 
    This piece sounds like radio preachers in a rinse cycle.
48. Entropical Utopia: An Angel Has No Memory (part II) 
    This is a nice piece made up of Chimey synths and cries of devotion.
49. All Mouth No Trousers: One More Minute 
    Have a little speedy, angst-ridden punk with your breakfast; A snack-sized bite of angry feminism. Snap, Crackle, and pop.
50. Pointless Orchestra: Mae 
    This one is mine. I just wanted to include my friend Heather in another part of my life.
51. Spinetic: K-otic 
    Nihilistic drum machines and distorted vocals seem like ironic elements for a love song. How much sex do you think this guy gets? I'm guessing he either gets a lot or none at all.
52. Eckankore: For Agam Purusha 
    This would be good music for an eviction party. You could get an entire building shaking with these vibrations.
53. Histatic Charge: Zero to Sixty 
    This piece is like the theme music for an evil children's program.
54. Ethiopian Hunger: Bifurcation 
    Here you have the string section of the Apocalypse.
55. Collectorbaseemitter: Laugh and the World Laughs at You 
    This piece is a strange collection of broken tape recorders, guitar, and a couple of people with way too much time on their hands.
56. Rhythm Boobs: Coup de Grace 
    Have a steaming helping of aggressive sampling terrorism.
57. Shiver U.K.: Bring Me Your Delusioned (Live) 
    A blast of happy stomping music.
58. Liviing: Opening 
    This piece is a slow-motion mass of wobbly guitar and electronic music.
59. MSBR: Body Snatcher 
    The soothing sounds of things being ground to pieces.
60. Crut: Honi 
    Here is a little Kitchy rap.
61. CPI (Coniine Production Influx): National Anthem (Version) 
    This piece is a nice combination of innocence and industrial waste.
62. ST-37: Remains Kickbit 
    Gritty noise-rock improv.
63. Hartmut Geerken: Sun Harp 
    This piece is a short string-pounding exploration into noise. Sun Ra is still alive in everyone he influenced.
64. Hypnochrist: Apotheosis 
    A one-man crowd of samples.
65. Permanent Voltage: Robo Killer 
    This is a corroded surf guitar anthem.
66. Cyborg: AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJKKFFCC 
    An alzheimer's tribute to radio commercialism.
67. Cyborg: Colonial Saunders Death March 
    Beating a dead horse.