Since it's probably the best rock record that's going to come out this year: Death (detroit proto punk not metal band) - "...For The Whole World To See" Thread

Just got this, I guess Drag City already sold out their second pressing but some might still be in stores....The Brothers Hackney see the Stooges, abandon soul for super tight and moving pre-punk punk...seriously it's not often these "great lost" records live up to the hype but this thing has just been inspiring me right now. So much live in this record.

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2009/03/15/arts/15rubi_600.jpg

Forgotten except by the most fervent punk rock record collectors — the band’s self-released 1976 single recently traded hands for the equivalent of $800 — Death would likely have remained lost in obscurity if not for the discovery last year of a 1974 demo tape in Bobby Sr.’s attic. Released last month by Drag City Records as “... For the Whole World to See,” Death’s newly unearthed recordings reveal a remarkable missing link between the high-energy hard rock of Detroit bands like the Stooges and MC5 from the late 1960s and early ’70s and the high-velocity assault of punk from its breakthrough years of 1976 and ’77. Death’s songs “Politicians in My Eyes,” “Keep On Knocking” and “Freakin Out” are scorching blasts of feral ur-punk, making the brothers unwitting artistic kin to their punk-pioneer contemporaries the Ramones, in New York; Rocket From the Tombs, in Cleveland; and the Saints, in Brisbane, Australia. They also preceded Bad Brains, the most celebrated African-American punk band, by almost five years.

You should definitely read the very fascinating backstory to the Death saga...great article in the NYTimes:

http://www.nytimes.com/glogin?URI=http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/15/arts/music/15rubi.html&OQ=_rQ3D2Q26pagewantedQ3D1Q26em&OP=74954067Q2FL-Q5C!LBIQ26r0IInVLVQ3EQ3EcLQ3EiLQ23CLf0nrLYdrjQ26LQ23C0d!jeZnYQ24

apologies if this thread exists...obv searching "death" on ILX is a tough one.

but moreover seriously if you like rock music at all you NEED this.

dusted mag review + MP3 of "politicians in my eyes"

http://www.dustedmagazine.com/reviews/4789

http://ventvox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/51013isky7l_ss500_1.jpg

heard about this on fresh air, lawl! sounded really good

I already want this badly!

Def. good stuff. The only thing I will say is that I'm not totally sold on the connection here to punk. To me it sounds like very good 70s rock. Sometimes it seems like people use "punk" as an adjective to indicate "This is actually good rock music!" Like if it weren't somehow connected to punk, pre or proto or post, it would suck. The band may well have had some kind of punk connection, but I don't hear it so much in the music. "Keep on Knockin'" sounds kind of like the closing theme to WKRP in Cincinnati, which is a big compliment.

man I dunno parts like the "I'm freeeekinn out - FREEKIN OUT" starts and stops sound like 80s hardcore moves to me...

but yeah I hear some Thin Lizzy in there too IMO

but I mean all proto-punk stuff sounds like 70s rock because it was 70s rock...a lot of punk-punk sounds like 70s rock...

but I mean the dudes were inspired to do it by the Stooges, which is sort of what punk IS to me, in a lot of ways...dudes that did something because of the stooges.

buuuuuuuuuut........this record is great and we should talk about it not get bogged down in a "what is punk" debate : )

Yeah, that may just be a stray idea not nec. germane to this discussion.

I liked the two tracks from the 7" when I listened a while back but it was accompanied by a bunch of people saying "wow this is like Bad Brains!" which came off as suspect for fairly obv reasons

yeah bad brains i don't hear at all. sometimes his voice does remind me of hendrix a little but he's a way better singer.

the drummer is so tight! it's nice to cuz usually (for the lack of a better term) proto-punk stuff is inherently a little on the sloppy side but these dudes are nailed down, really awesome

the fast singing on "politicians in my eyes" reminds me a little of early HR, but the "OMG BAD BRAINS TOTALLY PROBABLY LISTEND TO DEATH" thing is silly. i really like this record, just wish it was longer.

still can't believe they turned into the 4th movement (jesus rock!).

Also I guess the Lambsbread they turned into are the same ones that one runs into when one googles for the noize dudes?

have to get this -- thought i was getting a promo, but alas.

I sort of like that stoned, spacey beginning to "let the world turn"...totes reminds me of shuggie otis

I actually hear more Love (circa "7 and 7 Is") in their sound (esp. in "You're A Prisoner") than the Stooges (or Thin Lizzy.) Definitely hear some MC5 residue though. And I do think it's real good. Weird (and kinda cool, in a way) that the two most rocking songs are saved for the very end. (Also, buyers should be aware that the "album" is really more like an EP -- seven songs, less than 25 minutes. Though in my book that probably just makes it better.)

ok, stooges/mc5 + love + shuggie def. sells it better than the Bad Brains comparisons for me. i like bad brains, but ...

the "OMG BAD BRAINS TOTALLY PROBABLY LISTEND TO DEATH" thing is silly

Especially because Bad Brains were listening to Budgie and Angel and jazz fusion in the '70s, and nobody ever calls that stuff punk, I don't think.

yeah, right? could be wrong, but didn't Bad Brains kind of turn to hardcore as a lark, and then it turned out they were better at it than anyone else?

xp That said, I do think Death feel emotionally and sonically punk rock in ways Budgie and Angel and jazz fusion usually didn't. (But then, Love's "Seven And Seven Is" and lots of MC5 songs feel punk to me, too. So it's not like Death were any more "ahead of their time" than lots of other bands were; they were behind their time -- as in, post-'60s-garage -- just as much. And probably part of what makes them more punk than Budgie or Angel is just that Budgie and Angel were better musicians.)

so, this sounds kinda like Bad Brains...?

yeah, right? could be wrong, but didn't Bad Brains kind of turn to hardcore as a lark, and then it turned out they were better at it than anyone else?

I doubt it, there was no hardcore (apart from Middle Class) at the time! Unless you mean punk I guess, then possibly although I don't think so.

...

I think Death sounds like Sonic's Rendezvous Band. It is a really great record!

xhuxk, i dunno, i GUESS budgie is better musicians but mostly it's probably cuz their ploddy tempos were easier to play....I don't hear a lot of amateurism in Death at all! I was commenting up thread how tight they are compared to a lot of stuff like this.

angel just kind of sucks IMO

If by hardcore you mean 'playing really really fast' that has an element of truth I think xxxp

so, this sounds kinda like Bad Brains...?

no imo.

It does sound bitching.

(tho xpost to myself: maybe budgie just sounds ploddy to me -- and i DO like budgie -- because i heard the metallica versions of crash course and breadfan first)

that's kinda good enough I suppose.

actually, i said they didn't sound like Bad Brains too quickly. Freakin' out sounds a little bit Bad Brainsy vocally. But probably not the most obvious reference.

If by hardcore you mean 'playing really really fast' that has an element of truth I think xxxp
yeah that's basically what i mean

wasn't hardcore just playing punk really fast?

It sounds like I definitely need this.

i would be real surprised if you didn't like it bill

It sounds like it-I read the NYT article when it came out, and I was intrigued-but this thread is sealing the deal.

drag city reissues department is on a ROLL

Red Hash....Bill Fay...those are two i've gotten fairly recently what else?

Nimrod Workman if that counts as a reissue

Yahowa13 Magnificence in the Memory - June 23, 2009

also that JT IV thing from last year is worth hunting down

this is pretty nice. like the guitar stabs on "politicians". never heard of these guys before.

i mostly meant the JTIV, death, royal trux reissues, and the upcoming george-edwards group LP

too bad their catalog isnt bigger. Someone could start a Death v. Death poll. These guys would have to be really good to win that.

i dont understand...this band was from the 70s, but they're releasing their first album now? are they dead?

oh d'oh maybe i should read that times piece

whoa this is good

wow...this is great.

I hear some judas preist in rock n roll victim, mostly in the guitar. Politicians in my eyes sounds kind of post-punk to me.

wow...this is great.

hell yes. i love this record. sounds plenty punky to me, or proto-punky, whatever. it rocks. really wish there was more to be unearthed somewhere.

yeah it's a bit like that crushed butler EP, you want more (but this is way better than crushed butler)

Politicians in my eyes sounds kind of post-punk to me.

yeah, that's what I thought when somebody leonardo'd the single last year. if I closed my eyes and ignored the chorus I'd say it was a ruts outtake.

Woo, sounds intriguing!

"Since it's probably the best rock record that's going to come out this year"

sad, cause it's a 70's record,but probably true.
will rock music ever be GREAT again?

a: yes
b: this is admittedly ten kinds of k-awesome

will rock music ever be GREAT again?

great rock music is still around, it's just hard to find

kind of like death was in the 70s

can't stop listening to this. the outro to 'politicians' is insanely good. the way it just keeps on going, but they incrementally amp it way up into the red, rallizes/mainliner-style...? amazing.

and so is the intro.

and the rest.

yeah dude rock music has been really good lately!

i don't really have anything to say about this album except that i bought it and it's great

and the fresh air thing is probably worth listening to

beside the obvious influences (stooges, heavy metal...), am i the only one who feels the WIPERS vibe here?

the whole album is beyond great, but the last track is beyond-beyond great.
jaw dropping stuff

is this available on vinyl??

was wondering that myself. seems like not too many copies were pressed. forced exposure has it on their site but I'll bet that's just out-of-date.

is this available on vinyl??

― i like to fart and i am crazy (gbx), Friday, April 10, 2009 5:18 PM (9 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

gbx i got mine at fetus...last copy...i don't think they have any new stock coming in..

treehouse is out i know, so is eclipse

i would try: cheapos (fridley can be a good hookup)...maybe call roadrunner

This is great, got it on iTunes last night, the $6.93 price seemed to good to pass up.

not on emusic :(

ooh good to know it's on itunes for that price -- i think i've got a gift certificate for jsut about that amount. and yeah, it does break my heart that drag city is not on emusic -- i'd be able to easily plug a bunch of gaps in my collection if it were the case ...

oh bummer. i'll check the cheapo down the street, but doubt i'll be out in fridley anytime soon

This album is clearly more "whoa three black dudes from Detroit playing rock music that hasn't seen the light of day in 30 years - let me jump on the bandwagon" than "whoa this album just blew me away".

they couldn't fool you!

POWER MEET TRUTH

ENJOY THE SAMEOCRACY, SHEEPLE!

im so deflated that i've been found out :(

don't worry, we'll always have sir lord baltimore

haha, any reissue of obscurity thread wouldn't be complete without a "dude, it was forgotten for a reason!" post.

love is real not fade away

yeah it's a bit like that crushed butler EP, you want more (but this is way better than crushed butler)

uh, no and no. i mean, they're both EPs so that's true, but CB were more on a heavy UK post-blues/pre-glam/proto-metal thing. the second no is obv a matter of personal taste, but CB pretty much hit on every song, death is a little spotty.

just to clear things up:
this album is actually a collection of their singles.

the drummer is awesome.their secret weapon, thats for sure.

"Politicians" does anticipate the Wipers a touch, were the Youth-of-America era Wipers to wank their way through an arena-rock cover (I mean this as a compliment, too) The sound is getting there, but the fluidity and economy isn't, which is a roundabout way of saying that Greg Sage wrote tighter songs when he was seventeen, and then even when he stretched them to the ten-minute mark. And the short ones never waste a note. Death's got some power, but you can't really compare the results to "Telepathic Love," "Tragedy," "Over the Edge," "Can this Be," and so on. It's amazing they existed when and where they did, but that's just musicology, also known as the downfall of many a missing link pre-punk outfit....

"dude, it was forgotten for a reason!"

Which may have had nothing to do with the music. I'm a little surprised that someone from Creem wasn't jizzing over these guys though, since they did occasionally cover local Detroit stuff. If this had come out I think it would have been hailed as a minor classic. It's that good.

Arguing over whether Death are metal, hard rock, or pre-punk (whatever that means)is kind of pointless since those genres either didn't exist or were more amorphous in the early seventies.

i hear pre-forever changes love, sort of like xhuxk says, especially in "where do we go from here???"

not on emusic :(

― 鬼の手 (Edward III), Friday, April 10, 2009 1:39 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Really tight, <25 minutes and love the cover, I can get behind it. Anyone going to weigh in on how consistent this is?

yeah it's a bit like that crushed butler EP, you want more (but this is way better than crushed butler)

uh, no and no. i mean, they're both EPs so that's true, but CB were more on a heavy UK post-blues/pre-glam/proto-metal thing. the second no is obv a matter of personal taste, but CB pretty much hit on every song, death is a little spotty.

― cut-off jeans, skinnydipping, and "getting weird" (GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ), Saturday, April 11, 2009 2:17 AM (21 hours ago) Bookmark

nah i didn't mean they sounded alike just that i wish both were like twice as long! and i disagree, i think every song on both CB an death are good songs

nabbed this from itunes last night -- hopefully will be able to crank while I paint tomorrow.

"i hear prepost-forever changes love" -Out Here/Four sail

Kinda shocked that my dad was so far ahead of ILM on this one.

Also aren't the Bad Brains refs more a case of OMG! Black dudes playing punk!

nah i didn't mean they sounded alike just that i wish both were like twice as long! and i disagree, i think every song on both CB an death are good songs

ooh ok, got ya (and agree). i don't think any of the death songs are truly bad, i just don't think they're all great.

xp, having actually listened to this, yes.

They do sound a little like Black Flag in tiny snatches though.

also, holy shit the drumming on everything but special mention Let the World Turn

also the songwriting is really really hooky, every song is really instantly hummable, I have a premonition of a T Mobile ad.

chorus to "Where Do We Go From Here" is totally Bloc Party.

but yes, we can keep coming up with associations but on its own this is a pretty awesome record. the ending of Politicians, as mentioned upthread, is amazing. esp. on headphones with the fucked up eq-ing and panning it never fails goosebumpwise.

list of all acts that comes into my mind while listening to this record:
stooges,mc5,saints,alice cooper,dammned,ramones,new bomb turks,love,wipers,new york dolls.

Glad to hear its on Itunes, coulndt find it this weekend in any store.

This album is clearly more "whoa three black dudes from Detroit playing rock music that hasn't seen the light of day in 30 years - let me jump on the bandwagon" than "whoa this album just blew me away".
Yeah, that was my initial impression too. I'll have to give it another listen.

fwiw i actually didn't know the whole backstory when a friend had sent me politicians in my eyes, or what race they were.

The comments on the iTunes page for this from the Chuck Schuldiner death-metal band fans bitching about how they shouldn't be allowed to have this name crack me up.

want to add my voice to the praise here -- record kicks serious ass. believe the hype!

yeah, I downloaded this. Pretty fucking awesome. and i concur with the post above about the hilarity of the Itunes comments.

I really dig this album.

yeah i kinda love this and if it's totally not to be so special can somebody point me to non-stooges shit that sounds like this so i can keep this vibe happening

you heard sonic's rendezvous? pretty sweet motor city rock from the 70s ...

i'll take a peek. thx!

not exactly like Death, really, but the Death record kinda put me in the mood to listen to them ...

list of all acts that comes into my mind while listening to this record:
stooges,mc5,saints,alice cooper,dammned,ramones,new bomb turks,love,wipers,new york dolls,love
― Zeno, Sunday, 12 April 2009 11:37 (1 month ago) Permalink

xpost

Yeah Wipers was what I was gonna say right there.

This whole record is fucking great, been playing it a lot in the last month or so. That one song with the slow quiet creepy intro reminded me of 'Becoming A Man' by the Meatmen when I threw it on first... which I only mention cos it got me thinking that I'm sort of surprised I've never heard a dude like Tesco Vee mention this band... like in terms of age, location, tastes and collector obsessiveness he would have been in exactly the right place to be down with these guys at the time. I guess I'm just astonished the 7" slipped through the cracks as much as it did, maybe the obsessive KBD collector types have known about it for a while but...

yeah "keep on knocking" was comped on a KBDish LP called "staring down the barrel," but that didn't even come out until 2005. rad record, though.

This album is clearly more "whoa three black dudes from Detroit playing rock music that hasn't seen the light of day in 30 years - let me jump on the bandwagon" than "whoa this album just blew me away".

― Reatards Unite, Friday, April 10, 2009 6:23 PM (1 month ago) Bookmark

this is straight up bullshit btw

haha, true.
i'm going to try to get my band to cover "keep on knocking" -- that is a superclassic jam. they should be playing it on classic rock radio! it'd be huge.

not that the backstory here isn't interesting/unique, but if the record sucked, i don't think people would be raving about it.

and honestly, i was a little skeptical before hearing the record BECAUSE of the backstory, since I've bought supposed "lost classics" before and been kinda disappointed

yeah, this one kind of stands on its own, even if it was three white dudes from Gross Point

it's not the second coming of fun house or anything, but I'd put it up against a good MC5 or wipers album.

haven't been able to find this on vinyl :(

but i guess i haven't been lookin hard

someone do a poll of lost classic albums

Let The World Turn def has a bit of Love-y feel to it

that's the first thing I thought of when I heard that track

my fav track on the album

holy shit this whole thing is fucking awesome

like just rocked out in my living room to politicians in my eyes

think i'm gonna go drive around with this playin realllllllllllll loud

yeah, I love that song a little bit I think

the prog vibe in "politicians" also remind me of the great 70's dutch bands:earth & fire and shocking blue

There's no way this holds up to "a good Wipers album" (which I'll take to mean any of the first three). It's an impressive, even amazing artifact for its time, but the songwriting isn't to the level of the early Wipers. Find me something by Death that's as fiercely articulate as "Telepathic Love" or "Tragedy" and then we'll talk.

Let The World Turn def has a bit of Love-y feel to it

Yeah it's totally something off Forever Changes but punked up a lot. There's an element of 'turn everything up loud, throw a load of shit against the wall and see what sticks' about this album, and that it's appeal. Like a band trying to work out the rules of punk and metal before either existed, and the bits that are outside those rules are some of the most enjoyable.

I guess it depends how you feel about the wipers... it's not better than a great wipers album like youth of america but I definitely enjoy the death album more than is this real? (feel free to insert whatever wipers album you don't think represents their pinnacle)

oh man there isn't much I can imagine liking in this vein more than Is This Real but then again that record took a beating in the Wipers poll. I think the fact that you would prefer it says a lot about the strength of the record. I've only heard the single, need to hear the whole thing.

Holy fuck I just listened to Politicians In My Eyes three times in a row on that blog link way upthread. I need this.

I totally second the Sonics Rendezvous Band recommendation.

Also recommended....
SUCK - The Whip

Radio Birdman, in a more direct and straight down the barrel sorta way?

The bassist and drummer are now the leaders of a reggae band called Lambsbread
anyone heard?

or The 4th Movement?

definitely hear a lot of Arthur Lee in the vocal delivery/lyrics here -- going to go ahead and assume Death were/are fans ...

haven't been able to find this on vinyl :(

I found it in the meantime, but I did notice that keith fullerton whitman's store seems to have the lp in stock:
http://www.mimaroglumusicsales.com/artists/death.html

oh i found it on saturday lol

hahaha.

haven't been able to find this on vinyl :(

I found it in the meantime, but I did notice that keith fullerton whitman's store seems to have the lp in stock:
http://www.mimaroglumusicsales.com/artists/death.html

you can also try www.tictactotally.com

or The 4th Movement?

http://heavenly-grooves.blogspot.com/2007/03/4th-movement-4th-movement-1980.html

hell jah thx dude!

really diggin this 4th movement shit

it's so....religious!

just got asked to turn this down :-/

I turned it a level higher and returned the devil's fire

iirc

i don't love this record--i find myself skipping to the last two tracks pretty frequently-- but i'm pretty impressed with it overall.

a couple months ago I went to the cinema by myself and i listened to this on my headphones walking there. That was the beginning of the summer as far as I was concerned.

so yeah, it's been a minute since i listened to the 4th movement stuff (several years probably), but the heavier songs could definitely be what Death would've done had they lasted into the 80s. i like when they just cut loose like they forgot about jesus...

bought this on vinyl today after downloading it

playin some concerts! - http://www.catbirdseat.org/archives/1425.php

sweet, but until they book NYC, im out of luck

that is so cool! good luck Detroit dudes.

woah that's exciting

exciting, though i'm kinda skeptical about the awesomeness possibility considering their age, the time that passed, the fact that they didny play much music all that time and the music that they did played is mediocre at best.
still, who knows, it might be great after all

mediocre at best.
GTFO

I was gonna say

Why are you excited if you don't think they're very good?

or is this the 'sarcasm' as used by today's teens

he's talking about the music they've been involved with since the demise of Death i think.

ah yes I see. Not that I've heard Lambsbread (the noise band or the reggae band)

true.i like Death. talking bout 4th movement and the reggae band that followed
xpost

"today's teens"
lol

Apols for telling you to GTFO :)

it must be weird for these guys to play this kind of music again! like up until a little while ago they probably considered it juvenilia -- but who knows, maybe they can get their energy up and rock the hell out of it.

like The Stooges did?

haha, yes

now thats a sarcasm :)

so what's 4th movement like

rockin w/jesus

more jesus than rockind id say,sadly

I'm an agnostic lapsed jew, will it offend my sensibilities?

im a jew as well, and i didnt wanna become christian after listening to the record

haha

they've failed :(

Hold Steady have more chance in my case..

Al Green for me

Spanish Inquisition

"today's teens"
lol

― Zeno, Friday, June 26, 2009 4:05 PM (47 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

I was channeling Kelly from The Onion but I misread you as well and hear ya loud and clear in fact - I'd like to think that ppl would take these factors on board but who knows

documentary comin up

http://www.wheredowegofromheredoc.com/

Dennis Hackney has a weird moustache

Death on WGN

what happened to the guitar sound?

did i mention that i found an original copy of their one and only 45 last weekend? sounds great. definitely worth the dollar i paid for it.

Nice!

that live song on tv is rubbish. sounds like clean generic 70s rock. "politicians in my eyes" from 1975 though is absolutely phantastic. tight drumming, an expressive voice and a great riff which is shred to pieces by the distorted guitars at the end. wow!

Congrats Scott! This band rules.

so mos def is involved in that doc somehow?

definitely hear a lot of Arthur Lee in the vocal delivery/lyrics here -- going to go ahead and assume Death were/are fans ...

― tylerw

yeah, esp after listening to this after hearing the recent Love Lost thing that sundazed put out

The only problem with this album is it's just not long enough. Discovered this recently after the ILX album countdown and, seriously, what an amazing record. Punk-rock all the way through but I can also hear little hints of the Moody Blues, Television, Love, Earth Wind & Fire, Sabbath, Parliament and loads of others. Probably the best thign I've heard so far this year.

The only other problem is that, because they're an African-American punk band, I feel like I should feel guilty about immediately being able to hear Arthur Lee, Phil Lynott, Jimi Hendrix etc... in their music. I wonder if I'd make those connections if I'd thought they were white, or if these influences really are so obvious.

BASEMENT OF WHAT WAS ONCE KNOWN AS GROOVESVILLE STUDIOS - DETROIT, MI - May 7th, 2010
"After searching for almost eight hours, I removed a box with a Master in it and vaguely saw some big red letters on the box below it. I shinned the light on this box to clearly see the writing in big red letters DEATH. I screamed with excitement DEATH!!, DEATH!!, DEATH!! Everyone in the building starting to scream and wildly cheer and applause. Upon seeing those tapes, it brought it all back, David had written those big red letters on the tape. Engineer Jim Vitti had jokingly drew a skull and crossbones on the box after the name to which David did not like telling him “We are not that kind of Death”. I was full of emotion, I cried. We were all elated, Jacque was elated, I called up Dannis who was in Vermont and he began to joyfully celebrate. I thought about David. If David were here with us all that has happened to Death up to this point would pale in comparison to what we found today. The tapes were right where Brian said they were sitting there awaiting us for 34 years." - Bobby Hackney

Spiritual, Mental, Physical is the new Death CD/LP and it will be released 01/25/11.

wow

so ... what is this? different songs than what was on the Drag City record? if so, awesome. was just listening to for the whole world to see.

these guys fucking rocked my shit when i saw them live btw

better than every other punk band i saw that weekend

really wish there was more to be unearthed somewhere.

― paper plans (tipsy mothra), Wednesday, April 8, 2009 1:08 PM (1 year ago) Bookmark

tipsy to thread!

holy shit

yeah, and there's a song on this that twists up (of all things) the Beatles' melody into something white-hot.

WHOOOOOAHHHH SHIIIIIiITTTTTTTTT so excited!!!!!

otm

Sweet!

WOWWAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

FUCK YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nice.

i would like to point out that my thread title has been otm in this thread

why does black people wants to rock

so just curious... would anyone like this band without the dramatic story that is attached to it? i haven't heard it, but i have to say that i'm pretty skeptical about all the hype.

i would like this band even if i knew nothing about them

yeah I could give a fuck about the dramatic backstory

is the backstory even all that dramatic?

other than like, cool band no one ever heard about in the 70s is cool

black guys made a record, lost it

they're just a good band. if ...for all the world to see had come out way back when, people would still be listening to it and talking about it.

...for the whole world to see, or like that

black guys made a record, lost it

yeah, boring in its boiled-down state, but I think many elements of the story tie rather comfortably into our society's increasingly unquenchable thirst for some kind of authentic, uncommodified expression. which is why I asked.

i mean, the context of it makes it a "story", sure ... but no one would care if the record really sucked. there are lots of bands from back in the day that made records that don't really deserve to be rediscovered.

but most aren't *black* *punk* bands (before punk existed) who mysteriously disappeared off the face of the planet. honestly, I think this would have played very differently in the media if it were some young white guys.

I don't care how it played in the media - the music is great. Context isn't everything.

if you want authentic uncommodified expression you listen to tonetta, death just made a good rock n roll record

honestly, I think this would have played very differently in the media if it were some young white guys.
sure it might not have gotten as much attention -- it's a unique story. but the music is good. it rocks, you should check it out. whether it was made by black dudes, white dudes, whatever dudes. i

I heard the song "Politicians" a few minutes ago. It sounded pretty much what I thought it would sound like. It was fine, but not really my bag; I wouldn't have given it much thought without the story. The most notable thing to me was the bizarre drum/guitar interplay at the beginning, which seemed to me to be a little forced and awkward. I'm also not really a fan of most of the bands that people are using as reference points to describe Death, so I guess it doesn't surprise me that I wouldn't choose to listen to this (at least based on that song).

man i dunno i think the same vinyl collector scum like meself would be going bonkers about this no matter what, forgotten awesome lost 70s hard rock records are virtually a cottage industry at this point

drag city puts out a lot of stuff in the vein, like gary higgins red hash got a lot of attention (different genre but same great lost album thing) and he's a ginger hippie

m also not really a fan of most of the bands that people are using as reference points to describe Death, so I guess it doesn't surprise me that I wouldn't choose to listen to this (at least based on that song).

okay? i'm not really sure what ax yr trying to grind here, then

I think this would have played very differently in the media if it were some young white guys.

― Lazarus Niles-Burnham (res), Thursday, October 14, 2010 12:19 PM (11 minutes ago) Bookmark

true of everything, therefore meaningless. what if prince had been white? what if bruce springsteen had been chinese? i'm sure things would have played very differently...

relax guys. deep breath. you are not your music.

no shit

breathing deep, relaxing.

not pissed, just mystified.

plus yeah, if you don't worship the MC5/stooges/love/etc., then the odds that you're gonna freak out about the death record are pretty slim.

relax guys, he just dropped in to opine on some music in a style he doesn't like that he thinks you're being manipulated by the media into liking, no biggie

The riffing at the end of the song Politicians in My Eyes is absolutely killer.

let's not get our panties in a bunch, Edward.

also, i never mentioned media manipulation. I suggested a cultural proclivity-- the same one that suddenly turned the lowest brow food in the world, bacon, into some shit that people go around bragging about.

no, it's cool, I like to engage in irritating behavior and then respond with condescension when ppl get irritated, too

yes, it totally sucks when people all get together in a conspiracy of liking things

FUCK BACON U FOOLS

i remember when i was tricked into liking bacon. never again.

I'm also not really a fan of most of the food that people are using as reference points to describe bacon, so I guess it doesn't surprise me that I wouldn't choose to eat this (at least based on that little bit of gristle I ate off the floor).

― Lazarus Niles-Burnham (res)

bacon be not proud

o bacon where is thy sting

"what if bruce springsteen had been chinese?"

It is true that I haven't seen much love for Cui Jian "the bruce springsteen of china" on this board:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/e8/CuiJian_blindfold.JPG/220px-CuiJian_blindfold.JPG

thread delivers

this guy was supposed to be the bruce springsteen of the soviet union

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdWEWXTbL9M

i wonder if there is bruce springsteen of every country???

Canada has Bryan Adams.

I would have voted for J. Bieber

every country gets the bruce springsteen it deserves

actual lolz

the usa gets the real brooce because we're the bessssst

Ruben Blades was the bruce springsteen of panama

every country gets the bruce springsteen it deserves

lol

Even East Germany:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean_Reed

Iacocca, whose self-titled 1983 autobiography promoted a vision of the business executive as folk hero, had been called "the Bruce Springsteen of business" by Rolling Stone...

WrestlingKidHasMarkParent: well... who can you think of that really tells it like it is in regard to your life experience? Who is the Bruce Springsteen of the black community?
CantLiftASingleton: we have lil wayne
WrestlingKidHasMarkParent: does he sing a lot about getting out of small towns no matter what his father says?
CantLiftASingleton: he sing about makin girls lick on his thang like its a lollipop
CantLiftASingleton: i think that speak to the heart of all kines a folks
WrestlingKidHasMarkParent: huh.

On our way back, we stopped by Vicente Fernandez (& family)’s house/ranch/arena/farm outside of Guadalajara. Fortunately, we were able to hire a tour guide to take us to and from Tequila. Coincidentally, his name was also Vicente and he knew everything there was to the area and its inhabitants. Therefore, I learned a lot more than I really wanted to about Vicente Fernandez and his family. If you don’t know who Vicente Fernandez is, take a step into this country and dare to ask any native who he is. He’s kinda like the Bruce Springsteen of Mexico.

http://yle.fi/emmagaala/2007/ci/artistit/J.Karjalainen.jpg

Jukka Karjalainen, whom Savolainen described as "the Bruce Springsteen of Finland"

http://www.sabra.net/theisraelhour/david_pic.jpg

Critics have labeled Broza as a post-modern Leonard Cohen, the Bruce Springsteen of Israel

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nagabuchi_Tsuyoshi -- bruce springsteen of japan

this is one of the best thread derails ever

wrt Das Boot:

In the commentary track Petersen takes great care to note the many additional scenes included on the DVD, especially those that portray the boredom of living on a submarine and the rugged life of 48 men sharing a single bathroom. Sprinkled into the informative commentary are little gems of trivia: "Das Boot's" submarine model did double duty for Steven Spielberg's "Raiders of the Lost Ark"; Grönemeyer, the war correspondent, went on to become the Bruce Springsteen of Germany.

are you serious, the submarine in das boot is the same as the one in raiders?! this changes everything.

Every WWII movie gets the submarine it deserves.

Yeah the submarine details were talked about in the Raiders DVD documentary. And Gronmeyer eventually ended up causing the legit rerelease of the Neu! albums so, you know, hero. Literally.

A piping-hot platter of floured-and-fried chicken is the Bruce Springsteen of foods.

Reagan Ray is the Bruce Springsteen of design, consistently producing genuine, face-meltingly good work day in and day out.

Waffles are Little Steven.

I am assuming that Mr. Moussaoui regards himself as the Bruce Springsteen of terror.

http://events.liveguide.com.au/581154_thumbnail_280_Jimmy_Barnes_Jimmy_Barnes_Out_In_The_Blue_National_Tour_2008.jpg

Songwriting faculty member Mark Simos started by cowriting a single song with Jimmy Barnes, the Bruce Springsteen of Australia

since there isn't a thread for it and it got mentioned upthread and the thread is already derailed i just wanna say how much i love gary higgins 'red hash'

yeah that album is magickal

it's a great record, but i think it would have played very differently in the media if it were some young white guys

i wonder if there is bruce springsteen of every country???

Not just one. Norway has two:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBDVA3gVmO4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LF9-wLmmlpk

And Sweden has two as well:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuOUev9EgI8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9w1lCmXblKQ

At least one of those has to be John Mellencamp. Can't have two Springsteens or space-time would collapse.

Maybe that. Or Bob Seger. Or John Cafferty.

Left wing rocker Mikael Wiehe is the Swedish Little Steven, so that one is already occupied.

Canada has Bryan Adams.

American TV Anchor: But, Mr. Minister, it isn't like this film is the first troublesome thing to come out of Canada. Let us not forget Bryan Adams.
Canadian Film Minister: Now, now, the Canadian Government has apologized for Bryan Adams on several occasions!

White Guys On Bacon (EZ Snappin)

oh man, good one

You can have it. I'm not really a nickname kinda dude.

so i listened to most of this. should i say anything or do you all want to be surprised?

spill it seward

I like that the first Norwegian Springsteen Geir linked to looks like Lewis Grizzard

well i think if you dig the other stuff then you will want this. but just so you know its not like this is a finished album that never saw the light of day. there is a fair amount of unfinished-sounding/studio jam material. sounds like they had time to hash out some material for a day or two in a studio. the sound is pretty rough. but there are some definite gem-like moments. its skeletal though. i don't know the chronology of this stuff. guessing it was recorded before the politicians stuff? (and there really isn't anything on this as great as politicians or rock & roll victim or whatever.) still, it's fun to hear these guys play. (and if you are a devotee of great rock "1-2-3-4!" count off intros, death are right up there with the greats.)

sounds sweet, I'm a guy who digs listening to demos and boots so

I also eat bacon while I shape my unibrow

Edward minus bacon:

http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kx8732NuRY1qzp1zzo1_500.jpg

bacon out of frame obv

not that this thread has much to do with death or their record anymore, but i'm a bit surprised by the blanket rejection of bad brains comparisons. not like dude's a dead ringer or anything, but bobby hackney sounds a lot like HR to me, song after song. and "freakin out" on the whole, hell yeah.

I was a little bummed when I found out the whole story and realized that wasn't an album cover designed in the 70s. Still a great album cover though.

I repeat: ridiculously overrated band / record.

so wrong. listened to it five times this afternoon. ridiculously great band / record, like every song on it is fucking classic. side 2 especially.

i like this album and tbh i'm kinda having a kneejerk reaction to someone calling it overrated. not because it's above reproach or anything but it's been just setting around for years not being heard by anyone. i don't wanna be the one to rain on their parade

i do wonder what sort of reception this album would've received if it would've had a proper release way back when.

It's probably somewhere between "ridiculously overrated" and "every song on it is a fucking classic" (most records are).

yeah, okay, fair enough. i really like it though, my kinda thing in every respect. wouldn't hold it up as an avatar of the divine, like say funhouse, but it's at least as good as simply saucer's cyborgs revisited: high praise so far as i'm concerned.

heard the new one -- some very cool stuff, and some serious barrel scraping. still, if you like the first one, you want this.

It's pretty marginal -- Outtakes and demos, mainly. And a drum solo masquerading as a song. Not anywhere near as must-own as the first one. But yeah, there are some okay tracks on the album's first half: Including one that sounds an awful lot like "Got To Get You Into My Life" by the Beatles.

Also one that could almost be Bad Brains, a decade early.

yeah, no way that beatles thing is an accident. and the drum/bass solos are kind of a waste.

xp Or half a decade, three quarters, whatever. (Nothing on the first one made me think Bad Brains, fwiw -- talked about that upthread, I think. And obviously I'm still not saying this means Bad Brains actually heard them back then, or anything.)

Don't the liner notes say something about that one song being their tribute to the Beatles, actually? (Don't have the CD booklet in front of me.)

Playing California in February:

Friday, February 25, 2011 - San Francisco, CA @ Slim's w/ Zolar X
Saturday, February 26, 2011 - Los Angeles, CA @ Echoplex w/ RTX

"Politicians In My Eyes" features on a very very good compilation of proto-punk from Kris Needs.

Hmm. Picked this up on a whim today based on how much I loved last year's, hadn't read this thread revive first. Still, hoping theres some good stuff on here.

http://www.daytrotter.com/dt/death-concert/20054728-3738356.html

DRAFTHOUSE FILMS TO RELEASE "A BAND CALLED DEATH"
OFFICIAL SELECTION FOR SXSW 2013 DOCUMENTARY FILM
HEAR AN UNRELEASED DEMO OF "POLITICIANS IN MY EYES"
ROUGH FRANCIS SET TO PLAY SXSW

http://gallery.mailchimp.com/18a1282ff4cd99bdf27d6022f/images/15rubi_600.jpg

Drafthouse Films, the film distribution arm of the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, announced today the acquisition of North American rights to Jeff Howlett and Mark Covino’s riveting rockumentary A Band Called Death, which is set to screen at this year’s SXSW Film Festival in the “24 Beats Per Second” film category. The film chronicles rebirth and rise to cult stardom of early-’70s African-American “proto-punk” trio Death, following a new generation’s discovery of a virtually unheard demo tape more than 30 years later. A theatrical and VOD release for A Band Called Death is scheduled for this summer.

About A Band Called Death

Before Bad Brains, the Sex Pistols and the Ramones, there was Death. Formed in 1971 by three teenage brothers in Detroit, Michigan, the African-American group is widely acknowledged as being one of the first punk bands. After years of struggling with canceled contracts, increasing debts, inner family tragedy, and a controversial name that barred them from future success, Death sold off their instruments and disbanded with their recordings laying dormant in an attic for decades. After years of silence, Death’s moment finally arrived following unexpected demand from rabid internet fans and record collectors which ushered renowned appreciation and a swarm of national media attention that has now secured their place in the annals of rock history. Detroit-born Jack White of The White Stripes said in the New York Times : “the first time the stereo played (Death) I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. When I was told the history of the band and what year they recorded this music, it just didn’t make sense. Ahead of punk, and ahead of their time.”

http://vimeo.com/61023981

i just listened to this again for the first time in a while and was like damn

saw the doc last night. was good, but the moving photo thing was bugging the fuck outta me.

i hate the way they make documentaries now

yeah that is a pretty irritating effect, about as over-used as the ken burns slow photo pan.

i take it there's no actual footage of the band from the 70s?

there's a bit

was thinking of driving down to boston to see it tomorrow night (presented by its director), but got equally indifferent word from a friend who's a fan both of the band and of fringe music docs. so maybe i'll just watch it on compuder.

Anybody heard anything from Death III yet? (beyond "North Street")

http://pitchfork.com/news/53844-death-to-release-archival-collection-death-iii-share-north-street/

On one hand, watching the documentary a few weeks ago has me excited to hear more, but there was already a sense of scraping the barrel a little with the last one, so my hopes aren't exactly super high.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klCL0krHKqc

Superiority of the third collection to the second collection is inarguable & inexplicable.

Really? That's great to hear, maybe I will pick this up after all!

huh I spun "Free" on the radio yesterday just to check it out a bit, I look forward to playing other songs off this in the coming weeks.

it did not sound like I expected it to, very Hendrix vibe

Death and the Collector: The Blinkered Music Geekery in ‘A Band Called Death’

Can someone help me understand what this piece is trying to say? Something bad about white collector geeks, but what exactly?

it is saying that record collectors are white geeks in glasses (the horror), and that their enthusiasms are contemptible

Heya, so new album from the current lineup out soon annnnnd...I interviewed 'em.

http://www.factmag.com/2015/03/15/detroit-proto-punk-band-death-on-n-e-w-album/