The Plagiarist Trio - Appearance

Label : Wafer Face - WAFER 4

Year : 1992

Country : US

Format : LP

Here's a strange whiplash of a record, from the fine friends of Wafer Face. As expected from the small press, this is a surreal and dadaistic piece of work. Also expected is the reliance of collages from different mediums from tape to vinyl record.

That's not all to it, really. It's hard to get into as every track in this wreckord sorta fades into the next yet clashes all the same. While it is mostly comprised of scattershot samples over a textural electro-acoustic kinda underbelly, some parts are more song-based than what one could anticipate. I haven't heard the groups other project under the alias Absinthe Radio Trio, but I have to imagine it's in the same ballpark in terms of musical surrealism.

[sic]

here

Various - Le Train Fântome (Ghost Train)

Label : Éditions Suicide Commercial

Country : France

Year : 1999

Format : CD

Look upon this ghastly apparition, and despair--the first internet collaboration, apparently. While I do doubt that claim, it seems a natural successor to the old mailing list carousel days of yore, where guys exchanged tapes from all over the world and overdubbed their own freakish imperations. A lotta obscure actors in this, and about 10 different variations of Lt. Caramel, guy never gets lonely. A brief
glimpse of blog favorite itoken, too.

Concerning the packaging: I'm not sure what it has to do with a spectral automotive, but it certainly is translucent. The CD I ordered didn't come with the cardboard sleeve it was purported to have contained the spirits, so it's all out here.

Here

Guy Clerbois - La Dernière Tentation Du Disque

Label : Ayaa - PSOCDA 1

Country : France

Year : 1993

Format : CD

Ripped by Scramoutcha

Oh, hello. Here is another rip from my fine friend from across that big old body of water--an old rip at that. A sideproject of the frontman (as if there was much of a backing) of the monumental synth-spazz project Vitor Hublot. Somewhat a departure here, maybe more. Here is essentially, at the time, the previous 20 or so years in recorded music history given the John Oswald treatment. Er, if Oswald hadn't already done that at the same time frame. Maybe a bit more obscure in choice here, though I do recognize many a phrase here, and I have a terrible memory! Particularly the first the track-from the getgo I can recognize that song, see if you can. I can't even remember which song it was.

A familiar cast of characters. I wonder if this was an artistic choice or one borne out of the need to credit the musicians themselves. I'll go with both.

Here

Blender Blender 2x4 - The Clownward Spiral

Never to be expected, a smattering of DIY ethics coming your way!

Now, Blender Blender 2x4 (or BB2x4, or BB2X4, etc.) is was/not/was a project by Poughkeepsie native K.D. Schmitz. It is a project I've heard about for quite awhile and I finally got my hands on a rip through the kind hands of Tony Coulter, who on every fortweek hosts the great show called "Tape Hiss" on WFMU. Basically, he plays obscure tapestries from various eras and of sometimes dubious origin all the way through. As consequence, the shows are not archived unfortunately to those who can't always make the grade at midday to listen in. But, Tony was gracious enough to send this particular rip over. Gotta luvvvvv it.

The tape consists of what I always assumed this particular mutations sound would pertain to: collages and intermittent noize, sometimes combined. A little uva twist here, some radioplay and the spoken word has entered the pregnable soundform. Gives it a little spice, I'd say. Something to do with clowns.

Here

Note that the album cover isn't so much of a scan as it is a cropped photograph blown up by waifu2x, so it looks a bit wonky. Also, the files are not split, but tracklisting can be found here.

DJ Ordeal (partial discog)

Everso enigmatic, he is. DJ Ordeal is/what/was an English plunderphonics and collage musician who may or may not also be a disk-jockey. His stuff is usually cut from the cloth of Stock, Hausen, and Walkman and, to a lesser extent, Tipsy. That is, he relies on EZ-listening and Lounge and Light Muzak for his musical voyages. Vocal samples also play somewhat of a prominent role, depending on the wreckord inflicted upon you.

The musics found below this line of breakage was provided to me by the great sonofanastronaut, check him out.

Slaw - Snakes & Ladders

Label : The Doubtful Palace

Year : 2002

Country : US

Format : CD

Here's yet another CD(r) that I've yet to put on here... My review on rate your music dot com pretty much sums up my thoughts, so let's cop out:

Some ungodly and aleatoric form of children's schoolyard standards. The concept here is that you have a Chutes and Ladders board in the form of the CD booklet (also comes with dice inside the case itself) and you are supposed to somehow program your CD player to play one of the 99 tracks that corresponds with your roll. For one, I have no idea that would work on a conventional CD player and another thing, I have no idea what kind of person/group would play this thing. I probably listened to this wrong by going all the way through, I definitely enjoy the aesthetic and atmosphere of a lot of the tracks presented. It's just a bit too haphazard for an album. I give it props for using the killer7/NMH/Lain text-to-speech voice for the classic folksong corruption "Ms. Susie".

Best listened with shuffle on.

Here

(Comes with the 100th track straight from their webzone, too bad it's only 128kbps)

John Rifle - Fracas Nurture

Label : Rabbit Surgeon Musics

Year : 2002

Country : US

Format : CD

Here's another thing I never got around to posting. I got this back in 2013 after reading a so-so review of it in the backissues of the monumental Blastitude webzine. It piqued my interest due to it being plunderphonics and also its strange packaging.

In essence, this goes the Negativland route by criticizing and portraying social issues via samples and such. Here it tackles such issues as violence and media, bringing up the then recent Columbine massacre. That's all fine and dandy, but I don't personally care for this release at all. Heavy handed messages and cheesy keyboards drag this one down, and for the most part a lack of humor, an essential element in my enjoyment of the genre.

Of course, you can (and probably should) take my criticisms for naught, as it's been awhile since I cracked this can open. Aside from listening to a few samples here and there, I don't feel that motivated to, either. Maybe I'm just not giving this its due. You decide, captain.

This guy loves his bunnies, eh?

John Oswald - Recycled Music

Label : RRR Records / Statutory Tape

Country : US

Year : n/a

Format : C45

Here

Eugene Chadbourne - Wombat On The Way

Label : n/a

Country : US

Year : 1985

Format : C60

Here

Ecomcon - Analog

Label : Povertech Industries - POV 011 / X-Units XUN 001

Country : US

Year : 1994

Format : 7 inch record

Contains 100% pure recycled audio.