I can't sleep without music playing, and I'll get up several times to dig through my cds for just the right one. I lie in bed and sometimes listen to two or three songs from four different albums before I find the album I can drift off listening to, whether it's the voice of Guru (Gang Starr), the production of Farley 'Jackmaster' Funk (house pioneer), or the volcanic screams of Tottsuan (former vocalist of Japan's S.O.B., rest in peace). The tracks here aren't in specific order, but they represent my beloved -- lately. You might wonder how a person could fall asleep listening to the anger of Ron Martinez or Ice Cube, but it's often the familiar that does it for me, not the approach.

CARDIACS -- Goodbye Grace
(from Heaven Born and Ever Bright, Alphabet Business Concern, 1995)
http://www.cardiacs.com

The Cardiacs getting banned from ever appearing in the pages of NME is a good starting point for why you haven't heard of them, even though they've been kicking around since '77. Why this happened is beyond me, but it might have something to do with their flat out weirdery. "Goodbye Grace" is a fabulous sample of their speedy, algebraic rhythms, and perfect pop vocals where The Small Faces meet King Crimson, XTC and Blur. It's a great starting point for people into fracture rock and roll. Think the Shaggs were strange? Imagine if they could actually play. "Goodbye Grace" is an excellent breakup song, and the breathless track builds to a crescendo where Tim Smith holds the final anxious note for nearly twenty seconds.

FINAL CONFLICT -- Crucifixion
(from Ashes to Ashes, Relapse Records, reissued 1994)
http://www.amazon.com

A group that few outside "the know" know about now. Brilliantly underestimated, and superb live, Final Conflict will forever be one of my top ten bands. "Crucifixion"'s a blatant anti-cop song, calling them "terrorists in uniform," and emphasizing a gross abuse of power. Regardless of the band's beliefs, this track stuck in my head, and when I rehearsed with the band years ago it was the first one I wanted to play, but I have nothing against the po-leece. In fact, years ago a Long Beach (Calif.) patrol saved my life. Still, Ron Martinez could make the "don't you wish they could be crucified" chorus catchy whether he was discussing law enforcement or telemarketers.

KID 606 -- Straight Outta Compton
(from Attitude (Various Artists), 2000)
http://www.reckankomplex.com/discogd2000.html

This laptop boy wonder, who slices and dices tracks on his dozen or so albums, tweaks one of NWA's better known tracks for a cd by fellow Tigerbeat label-mates in homage to "Straight Outta Compton." Digital editing allows Kid to elongate verses and stretch a single word like a piece of bubblegum. Other lyrics get the vocoder/alien voice treatment, and in the end it winds up being the best remix I've ever heard; second only to the one DMX, Missy Elliot, and others share on MP3 Killed The Video Star (also by Kid 606).

LITTLE GIANT DRUG -- Trip To Green
(from Prismcast, Org Records, 2000)
http://www.amazon.com

"Trip To Green"'s a melodic, mechanized attack, and far from the day jobs of half of the band. Doses of Quicksand mixed with Leviathan or King's X spring to mind quickly. Simon #1 plays drums, Simon #2 a twelve-string guitar, and Mitch Harris and Shane Emury take guitar and bass. The latter two make up part of The End of Music As We Know It (Napalm Death), and while LGD is similar to Blood From The Soul (a project with Embury doing almost everything), it's only a comparison based on rhythms. The vocals hit the "proper" singing mark too often to confuse a person whether they've got this superb cd, or ND's "Enemy of The Music Business" (same year) in the stereo. The group backing vocals on some choruses could be sea chanty material, only there's no humor, wind, or waves, and it sets them far, far apart from Interpol, Radiohead, Coldplay, and anyone else with melodic rock leanings. "Trip to Green" might be my favorite track right now, but "This Place Can Never Be Found," "At All," "We Are," or "Well Born" could take over next month. I find myself playing the very beginning of "Trip to Green" over and over.

PENTAGRAM -- Sign of The Wolf
(from Peaceville Volume 4, Peaceville Records, 1992)
http://www.peaceville.com

The early seventies passed right over this band, one of the originators of the "doom" genre (along with Black Sabbath). They were originally called Space Meat in 1970, and their songs wouldn't see the light of day for years after they had been recorded. This single's on a compilation of thrash and doomy metal put out by Peaceville Records years ago. I'm still looking for the accompanying Pentegram single, and curious if it has the sound of needle hitting vinyl at the beginning like this one. "Sign of The Wolf" had the feel early on of Mixmaster Mike fiddling with the mix, and doing some doubling, but that could just be wishful thinking. Pentagram deserves a spot alongside Black Sabbath for invention and inspiration. Cathedral, the gods of doom metal, did cover "All Your Sins," and their legacy continues, though they're not to be confused with another Pentagram from Chile.

RAW POWER -- Politicians
(from Burning The Factory, Grand Theft Audio, reissued 1996)
http://www.amazon.com

Raw Power were Italy's best known hardcore group, and one of the only there to ever reach Amerikan shores. This live version of "Politicians" (originally on debut You Are The Victim, from 1983) is the only one I've been able to get my hands on until recently when the album was reissued. Silvio Stephanini (bass) had a unique, erm, backing vocal style, not seen anywhere until a few years ago, when everyone started screaming. His voice fades in and he gets close to the mic on stage, and is experiencing a feeling poorly copied today. Purgation. The power of punk has been weakened like water in my morning tea, but this song still moves me. Guitarist Giuseppe Codeluppi died recently of a heart attack while playing soccer with his friends in Parama, Italy. He was 45 years old.

EARTH CRISIS - Agress
(from Slither, 2000)
http://www.amazon.com

The bridges between hardcore and punk widen more than ever for Earth Crisis and their Slither album. Punk happened, while hardcore still makes sense. "Agress" combines strep throat singing with split personality tune-consciousness, possibly using a flanger or other depth-controlling studio device to make the two as different as possible, without subtitles. Captions reveal Karl Buechner talking about the last word, and the taste in his mouth it leaves: "Too much speed to stop the momentum now. When I succeed it is not just my victory." A shame these guys brought out only one more album Last of The Sane(italics) in 2001 before calling it, as their earlier songs were anonymous with the newer metalcore set, but Slither has the earmarks of pleasant malevolence.

808 STATE -- Colony
(from Gorgeous, Tommy Boy Records, 1992)
http://www.amazon.com

Gorgeous doesn't get the credit it deserves, and has been called a "run-of-the-mill" acid house album. The criticism is leveled at their supposedly forgettable guest singers (Ian McColluch, UB40, and Caroline Seaman) and boring instrumental tracks, but Gorgeous grabbed me, and the critics can fuck off. As for" Colony," I would have included it on their Best of 808:88:98 along with their smart inclusion of "Plan 9." "Colony" is mesmerizing enough to get in my travel CD-R, which has it running continually for half an hour. Standing in line at the post office was never entertaining before.

MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING -- Greatest Hits
(from Hoag Hospital, Newport Beach, 2002)
http://www.hoag.org

If you've never had an MRI, think of season one of The Sopranos (1999). Tony Soprano's having fainting spells, and they gave him an MRI to see what the problem is. A dry medical definition: "a computerized method of scanning, and creating images of your brain using magnetic field and radio waves. The hydrogen atoms in a patient's body react to the magnetic field and emit signals, which are analyzed by a computer to produce images. The images obtained help in detecting various abnormalities in the tissues scanned." They strap you down, and you're wheeled into a long tunnel, not unlike going into the exhaust pipe of a UFO. Before sending you in a pair of squishy earplugs are yours as a souvenir, but they do nothing to brace your eardrums against the sonic onslaught of the procedure. Imagine lying in a coffin made of speakers with Merzbow (a Japanese noise architect) on eleven. You're in the MRI tube for twenty minutes or so, before they pull you out, give you an injection with some kind of ink in it to better read your brainwaves, and then you're back in for another twenty-five minutes. Why am I including this? When they wheeled me out I was snoring.

(C) 2003 - Jason Thornberry