Bandcamp Friday

Watching the "Selling Right Now" stream on the Bandcamp homepage on Bandcamp Friday is a little headspinning. After all this time, people still like to buy music. Good for everybody. Except for people who hate the intersection of art and commerce, I guess.

I'll be on KPISS.FM tomorrow at 5PM Eastern, playing some of the stuff I'm going to pick up on Bandcamp tonight, so do tune in and just listen to KPISS.FM in general. When there's not a DJ I'll use Radio Garden to find a cool station broadcasting out there, and I humbly suggest you do the same. The streaming services have their place -- I'm a big Pandora user, myself. But live radio is where it's at.

Here's some stuff to check out and maybe purchase on Bandcamp Friday or just whenever you have some coin:

The Bordellos' The Sunday Experience was originally released as a one sided 10" vinyl EP on Benevolent Antenna Records, I'm not sure the original release date, but now it's available as a pay what thou wilt download and it's 8:47 of good old fashioned Bordellos bliss:

Memphis three-piece The Wirms have a new full length, Wirms III. Great garage punk:

New punk duo, also from Memphis, Little Baby Tendencies have a full length available that came out late last month called "Bad Things." Sounds right to me, heavy y noisy:

Italy's K. Board & The Skreens (also a duo?) are back with Metal Postcard release Microdoze, and it's a doozey:

Also from Metal Postcard, the epic New No York comp has finally landed. I've been waiting on this for a while, and it does not disappoint -- hit after hit, from tip to tail, from Neon Kittens, Salem Trials, Lucy & The Drillholes, and The Clickbaiters:

I'm a big fan of Shit Present's 2016 EP Misery + Disaster, and after 6 years, they're back with a new single, and it absolutely rips:

Dykeritz submitted this with just the Bandcamp link, no EPK, no hello would love if you listened...I respect the audacity of the simplicity of the submission. The song is a bright, electro-pop single, apparently a remaster from a 2019 release from the New Jersey artist:

UK indie artist Marek Kubala has a new 4 song release called Satellite/Ramjam on Shore Dive Records. The EP is composed of dreamy "Satellite" and the more rocking "Ramjam," plus two extended mixes of "Ramjam." I like it:

DAFAKE is a minimalist, experimental electro-acoustic composer from Paris. Their newest album, Quiet Geometry, will be released on Discreet Archive on March 4. In the meantime, check out dsrpt -- two 16 minute improvisations, based on feedback loops and manipulated electromagnetic field recordings, recorded live in June 2022:

Finally, Tuscon's Class has a new 6 song album out you can order on cassette, called But Who's Reading Me?. I enjoyed their self-titled release from last year, and this sounds equally as good so far:

Neon Kittens; Salem Trials; Occult Character; Cindytalk; Draudiga; Soup Activists; Abi Ooze; CML; The Wirms; The Legendary Ten Seconds; Fir Cone Children; Night Shop

New real deal, killer diller stuff (of course) from Metal Postcard Records -- new EPs from Neon Kittens and Salem Trials, plus a new full length from Occult Character:

Glasgow's Cindytalk has a new four song CD release you can pre-order on Bandcamp, Subterminal, coming out late this year on label False Walls. The available single, "Where Everything Sparkles and Shines," is 7 and a half minutes of that shit I do like. Atmospheric, eerie instrumental, and happens to be perfect for this time of year, but every day is Halloween for me, so:

Portland, Maine's Draudiga has a new 11 song release out on Bandcamp called Persephone. They call it "Americana Noir" and I dig it:

Great new stuff from Lumpy-related St. Louis acts:

From Memphis, The Wirms are a three piece punk act with a new live release, Live at Lamplighter Lounge, via What's For Breakfast Records. Very up my alley:

The Legendary Ten Seconds, who recently released that killer single "The Torqauy Sandyman," have a new folk rock album release with Jules Jones, here's the single, "They Kept on Marching." Love it:

Fir Cone Children is the project of Alexander Leonard Donat, and the new album, Today There's No Tomorrow, out on Berlin-based label Blackjack Illuminist Records, is a ripper, front to back. Fuzzy noisey psychy dreamy weirdo-pop that vocally, sonically, and spiritually reminds me of Andy Anderson's work in Proto Idiot/Freak Genes, which is high praise indeed because I think Anderson hangs the moon when it comes to who's doing what, rock'n'roll-wise. Here's "Quite Okay with Mondays":

And finally, my man Night Shop has a new track out called "Universal City." As far as I'm concerned, this guy Justin Sullivan can do no wrong. He continues to prove me correct with "Universal City":

Multiple Releases from Metal Postcard Records: The Legless Crabs, Salem Trials, Legless Trials; The Bordellos, Super Hit; plus Occult Character, Bigflower; Dave Wallfraf, UFO Över Lappland, and Japmn

June 3, 2012 was my first CNQ post. Not quite the apocalypse the Mayans didn't really predict, just a hobby I've kept up with for a decade now. Pat myself on the back. I had plans earlier in the year to keep up with the blog better, which is always a first of the year goal anyway, but this time I meant it.

But it turns out I didn't. I've been posting occasionally as the mood strikes me and that's fine, it's a hobby and what has kept me doing it for a decade.

I also thought I'd do a nice hour or so of a Mixcloud show for the CNQ ten year anniversary, and maybe that'll happen, I dunno. If I feel like it. I've been doggin' Shadowrun: Dragonfall (The Director's Cut) on Steam the past two days. Killer top-down RPG from 2014. I've never played it before, but I played Shadowrun Returns a while ago. There's Hong Kong as well, but I can't remember if I played that, so I don't think I did.

I finished Shadowrun Returns (I always wanna say I "beat" a game, but this is more a completed, fun task than something I won by being good at it). Anyway, both games have been well written, but Dragonfall especially so. The text is immersive and presented in a way it feels like you're listening to your Game Master. The mechanics are a blast, building your little character to spec is well done, and Dragonfall has just been a hoot since the opening scene. Few games scratch that table-top itch like these Shadowrun games by Harebrained Schemes do. I looked up to see if there's going to be another one, and didn't see any news of a new game, but the trilogy is porting to Switch in 2022. I also read that the IP is owned by Topps. Go figure.

To kick things off, how about a little shameless self-promotion. I'm working on a dumb little video to go with this dumb little song, which is also my best work to date, in my IMO. You can check out the whole Legless Crabs album, "Always Your Boy," over on Metal Postcard's Bandcamp page. It is overall a solid noise-slop effort, in my humble IMHO.

Also from me, a couple of new Occult Character tracks. Electro-slop, as I do. These are all Pay What Thou Wilt, so shell out some cash, wouldya? How else am I gonna afford the payola to get this crud on the radio?

And if that wasn't enough from me, how about this new Legless Trials, also from Metal Postcard. Son of El Borko from The Legless Crabs and Salem Goz from Salem Trials team up again for two new tracks, "X-Tyrant," and "Has An X Feel." I dunno why we're on about X but we are, for sure. That's ol' Salem himself on vox on "X-Tyrant," and Son of El Borko barking "Has An X Feel." Salem does all the music and pixie dust, hence why these sound, ya know, good:

Speaking of Salem Trials, the unstoppable UK duo have a lot of new stuff out -- they're one of the few bands I know more prolific than me, and their stuff is actually listenable, so I don't know how they do it. From just a couple of days ago, here's two new rockers, "Dynamite Truck Parts 2 & 3" and "FEAR is All I Can Do":

And, from Metal Postcard, a new nine song, 30+ minute digtial release, Vegaland. I haven't listened to Vegaland yet, but Andy and Russ don't do anything shitty:

I have listened to another Metal Postcard recent release, The Bordellos' I Hate Pink Floyd Without Syd Barrett, a compilation of previously released Bordellos tunes that further prove they're the band that matters most:

The Bordellos have also recently released Onion King Tapes vol. 8, another batch from back when the band was called Onion King. I'm not sure the time period that woulda been -- sometime in the last twenty years, Dan Shea of the band isn't that old, and was a teenager when he started singing in it -- and I'm not sure he was a part of Onion King. At any rate, great stuff, the Bordellos rule:

Metal Postcard has a bunch of other new releases, putting cool stuff out at a frenetic pace, go check it out. One of those recent releases is Super Hit, the solo project of Kyle Handley, who I think is up Portland way? He wrote a 6 song EP where each song is a song he sang to his departed pup, Baby Jean. I made up songs to sing to my cats when they were alive (I haven't re-upped on a pet since they passed a few years ago), so I can relate. Catchy, sweet, Baby Jean forever!

From the UK, CNQ fave bigflower has a new single released yesterday, "The Pill." Mellow psych:

And from last month, an uptempo track from Ivor, "Harder." Psych goodness as always:

Noise artist Dave Wallraf, from Hamburg, Germany, has a new piece out called Cutting Up Men, I listened to it today, it's like listening to whalesongs in space. Super cool and at times panic-inducing, but I had it up really loud in my earbuds to drown out chatter at work. Loved all 40+ minutes of it. There's a limited edition CD you can order as well. Noise enthusiasts should definitely check out Wallraf:

The new UFO Över Lappland, Spökraketer is killer-diller, real deal psychy krautrock from Sweden. Gotta get the vinyl (or CD, or cassette), put out by Philly's Burnt Toast Vinyl:

I have a ton of chrome tabs open on my phone, stuff to share on here. I'll try and whittle that down with each post. Here's japmn, friend of a friend in Portland. Cool stuff from August 2021:

And the soundtrack to a short film, from December, 2021:

I'm gonna play some Shadowrun: Dragonfall.

J. Lynch (UK); Slomo Sapiens (Philidelphia); If So Why (Melbourne); BIB (Omaha); Chastity Belt (Seattle); Acrobat Shonen (Japan); Starflyer 59 (California); Into The Buzzing (Germany)

Moving through August submissions backlog. A lot of music came out last month. I mean, a lot of music comes out every month. It's overwhelming and disappointing I can't seem to get around to listening to more than a tiny percentage of it. That's not because there's too much, or because I don't have the time to listen to more. It's because I'm not dedicated enough. I listen to music as much as the next music nerd -- but I'm certainly guilty of listening to the same stuff over and over as much as any normal classic rock fan stuck in whatever year she graduated high school, or any casual radio listener. I gotta try harder. But, as I've often said, as soon as keeping up with this blog starts to feel like a chore, or a job, I immediately lose interest and it takes me a while to get my blogging momentum up and going again. But y'all don't wanna hear me, y'all just wanna dance:

Holy heck, BIB has a new free download single, "The Healing Room," that I totally missed. I'm a big fan of this band out of Omaha -- noise, psych, hardcore, thrash, all meld into the sonic psychotic breakdown that is every BIB track I've experienced so far. "The Healing Room" continues their streak - truly boss. It's going to be featured on an upcoming Triple B Records release called America's Hardcore Volume 5, a 2 disc set that's already sold out on pre-order.

California's Starflyer 59 has released 'Sunrise,' their 3rd single from the upcoming full length album Vanity, to be released on Velvet Blue Music on 10/15. Great single -- quality alt-rock that any fan of Echo and the Bunnymen ought to be floored by, if you're not hep already:

This 6 track demo from German producer Into The Buzzing is what I'm talking about. Noisy electro, buzzy bass, experimental beats, heck yeh. I haven't heard a Mouse on Mars album in 25 years, but this reminded me of it:

Difficult Art and Music is a new experimental music label based in the UK. Per its press release, the label is "specializing in research-orientated music and art releases...in lavishly designed, limited edition packaging."

Sounds pretty interesting to me. They have three releases out now, here's the latest -- The Tender Appropriation, by J. Lynch. A noise experiment using the cut-up method and recordings of his late grandfather. You can pre-order the cassette on Difficult Art and Music's Bandcamp page. Fascinating:

If So Why have released their debut EP, World Eater, you can buy the cassette on their Bandcamp page. The single, "Indifference is Futile," is a nice blast of noisy, sufficiently aggressive alt-rock. If So Why is from Melbourne:

Philidelphia psych-rockers Slomo Sapiens' new single, "We Could Be Gone," is good stuff. I'm not sure where one goes to purchase this, but you can listen here, and it's streaming too:

SLOMO SAPIENS · We Could Be Gone

Acrobat Shonen is pop punk from Nagoya, Japan. Fun song and video, my critique is it goes on about a minute longer than it should, but that's probably related to my hang-ups about pop-punk. The genre is not my favorite thing in the world, and pop-punk stuff often makes me cringe upon listening. This is a good effort though, from people clearly enjoying themselves -- which matters more than my shitty opinion:

Chastity Belt are out of their "Cool Slut" tees and hoodies already, but they still have a "Cool Slut" beanie for sale, neat merch. I haven't heard a Chasity Belt song in a while. Here's the last thing they released on Bandcamp, from May, 2020:

More to come from August submissions soon.

Little Beards, Mirrorboxx, and Nervous Curtains (Dallas)

I got to listen to the new Little Beards full length, The Legend of Spectacular Living, and it's great -- the married duo from Dallas exploring dark, apocalyptic synth-pop. It's due out mid-September and you can pre-order the digital album on their Bandcamp page. I think they're doing a single release soon so I'll be sure to share that once it's released.

Sean Kirkpatrick, one half of Little Beards, is also in the equally rad dark synth outfit Nervous Curtains, and his solo instrumental synth project, Mirrorboxx, has a recent release from June, Vision Quest of the Technocrat, available on Bandcamp. Sean's a smart guy and his music reflects that. A lot of ruminating on our current (and probably forseeable future) sorry police state of post-capitalist society, and the detrimental effects thereof on people living within it. It's heavy stuff, but that doesn't make for a dry listen.

To wit, released just last week, a new single called "Human Futures Trader (Steve More Remix)." I'm certain in 20 years Little Beards, Nervous Curtains, and Mirrorboxx will be on lists of the best underground synth, electro, and darkwave of the early 21st century. If we survive that long!

But, like the man sez, "hey you, don't watch that -- watch this!"

The 2018 Mirrorboxx EP, Minimal Compliance, still remains in rotation on my turntable. I see there's still vinyl of it available, you should order it, it's boss:

Soma Crew (York), The Poppermost (Glasgow), Uhylak (Wroclaw, Poland), Bethan (Dallas), The False Positives (Rochester, NY), and Pink Milk (Gotland)

Soma Crew is based out of York and has a new "twin" vinyl release, Out of Darkness/Into Light courtesy Vinyl Eddie Records. The 12 songs are all around 5 minutes, give or take. I haven't listened to the whole thing, but the four or five tracks I listened to are rad. Psych in a Brian Jonestown Massacre vein.

Here's a video for their single, "Mighty Forces:"

Uchylak is from Wroclaw, Poland. Going back to 2019, he has eight albums and eight EPs on Bandcamp, and I love an artist who is so prolific that his friends tell him "I can't keep up with your output." I can relate.

Super-cool instrumental electronic music, the artist says it's "a mix of techno-industrial, ambient, drone and lo fi." This song has a Ministry vibe I love:

The Poppermost is a one-man band from Glasgow with a new album due out on the 30th called Hits To Spare, which will be made available on vinyl and CD in the US courtesy Think Like A Key Music. A Beatles/Bands Influenced By The Beatles-influenced project, "Up Against It" is the B-Side of the first single:

Velvet Blue Music is a label out of Huntington Beach, California, I'm interested in digging into their catalog a little more. There's a number of bands on their Bandcamp page from the DFW and Texas. I love this track from Dallas artist Bethan, whom I've never heard of. An eerie jazz vocal:

I look forward to listening to more of the Velvet Blue Music catalog soon.

Here in the Year of our Lorb 2021, there are so many people making so much music. What a time to be alive. And you'll never listen to it all. It's a wild scene, man.

The False Positives are out of Rochester, NY, and I have been there twice. They've got a really cool record store called The Record Archive that has a bar in it.

This is The False Positive's eighth digital single release since December 2018. Fun lo-fi power pop:

Swedish duo Pink Milk have got to be going places. Gothy shoegaze, reverb to the max -- and what a fun video:

That's half a month's worth of quality submissions right there. I'll try for the other half of July submissions here soon.

Roland Bruno (Argentina); Palberta and Sunk Heaven (New York); The Ducks and Salem Trials (UK); Call In Dead and 2Amature (Florida); The Shifters (Australia); Franck Racket (France); and Adam Holtz (Alabama)

Back in 2016, Buenos Aires based Roland Bruno released a 7" single called "Cumbia Reaction." Apparently Switzerland's Voodoo Rhythm will have a new release from Bruno soon. Absolutely rad Latin garage psych:

Is "rhythm" the weirdest word in the English language or what? I find it impossible to correctly spell it the first or second time. It never looks right.

On May 7, at 7PM Central, Palberta is doing a livestream on Bandcamp where they'll play their new album Palberta5000 in its entirety. Ten bucks, and an electro-noise artist called Sunk Heaven will also be playing. I've got my ticket, and got an e-mail from Warf Cat Records today letting me know my Palberta5000 record has shipped. They still have vinyl for sale on Bandcamp:

On May 19, 7PM GMT, Brighton two-piece The Ducks and something called Super Nothing TV will present "The Ducks Will Fxck You," "a live stream set from The Hope & Ruin in Brighton, a collection of sketches and music videos." I'm intrigued:

Also from the UK, prolific CNQ faves Salem Trials have a rad new track on Soundcloud:

SalemTunes · In the Future lies the Past

Released today, DCxPC Live Volume 1 Presents: Call in Dead and 2AMature Live at the Danger Room in Orlando, FL, is the first 45" put out by new punk label DCxPC. Limited to 200 copies, you can get one for $10. The Call in Dead side is a mishmash of hc and pop punk, crust/screamo, metal, and unfortuntely, a little bit of ska ("Summer Camp"), but despite the skanin' in "Summer Camp," it's quality r'n'r. The 2Amature side leans towards pop/surf but has an edge, and the whole live split is a success at capturing the sound and energy of a kinetic punk show. Recommended:

It's quaint to say I miss going to live shows, but I do. I know some folks have already started going back to live events, but I'm not ready for it.

The Shifters - Live In Gaul was recorded live (on an iPhone!) back in 2019, and put out on cassette this year by French label Arvo Disques. The cassette has already sold out, but a repress is on the way. Meanwhile you can listen to the full thing on Bandcamp. Fun, jangly, lo-fi rock'n'roll, and it's nice to hear a crowd having fun:

Also from France, Franck Racket is a grungy two-piece and their 5 song release Dark Ages is available digitally or on CD. I've been on a '90s hard rock kick lately and this release from back in February hits in that spot:

Finally, longtime CNQ fave Adam Holtz has a new song and video he made called "You." Always a pleasure to hear a new song from Adam:

Martin Månsson Sjöstrand (Sweden); Palberta (New York); Sunk Heaven (New York); Sophia Chablau e Uma Enorme Perda de Tempo (Brazil); Rick Treffers (Netherlands)

The "Followers" widget I've got over on the right side of the desktop view of the blog is going away. The 7 of you who follow CNQ may need to bookmark and check back at your convenience, if I'm not readily supplied with a replacement widget that does the same thing.

CNQ favorite Martin Månsson Sjöstrand put a 16:47 digital release out on March 31 called Arkivkollage 1 for pay what thou will. It's a whirlwind of a collage through snippets of lo-fi alt-rock, psych, and surf sounds, I assume, based on the name, from Martin's archive of unreleased tracks. My frame of reference for this is that GBV collage of song snippets towards the end of either Propeller or Vampire on Titus, I forget which. At any rate, this is awesome, and you should pay money for it. Sjöstrand is a supreme rock'n'roll talent.

NY three piece Palberta is going to be on Bandcamp Live on May 7, and to tell you the truth I didn't even know Bandcamp Live was a thing. But very cool that it is. Palberta will be playing every song from their new album, Palberta5000, and a guy called Sunk Heaven will be playing too.

Tickets for that event are available here. Meanwhile, you can listen to and get the new album on digital, CD, or vinyl.

Highly recommended, here's the first track off of Palberta5000:

Sunk Heaven is electro-noise from Brooklyn:

This 9 song, self-titled digital release from Brazil's Sophia Chablau e Uma Enorme Perda de Tempo is so, so good. You owe it to yourself to sit back and enjoy the whole album:

Dutch singer/songwriter Rick Treffers has a great new single, "Time Is Really Running Out":

Music Videos New & Old

I've missed watching videos for a long time and feel silly I'm only just realizing I've been able to watch them on Youtube on my TV this whole time. Or at least since we've had Roku, or before that, Chromecast, which has been for a hot minute now. Here's a few music videos I've enjoyed over the past couple of days. Also, for Christ's sake, just vote Biden. What kind of uncaring monster/ignoramus are you otherwise.

CNQ 30 Minute Mixcloud Show

I was inspired to do a quick show on Mixcloud tonight so here's the playlist and the show: 

1

Saints

The Breeders

2

Sura Sura

The Muslims

3

Type A Girl

Dogatech (feat. Bunny Mayhem)

4

Let's Not Go Back To Normal

Santa Sprees

5

Gimme Mine Feat. 80's Babies

Tall Black Guy Productions

6

Perfect Time To Die

The Bordellos

7

Zoomorphic Kingdom

Damien Youth

8

Light Rose

4:44

9

Public Enemy Number One

The Sid Presley Experience

Youtube stuff

From 2015:

Look like an AI nightmare:

CNQ's "THE WEIRD BUMMER COMPILATION" now on Mixcloud!

In the Beforetimes, we called a compilation like this a mixtape, which ya know is a collection of songs you made on a dual cassette deck and gave to a friend or a girl you liked. Nowadays a mixtape is a collection of songs with unlicensed samples, so in keeping with the times I've called this a compilation as if it's something official put out by a label. But between you and me, it's what us kids in the 80s and 90s called a mixtape. 22 tracks, an hour and thirty minutes, of previously unreleased and released tracks from the world's finest temporary shut-ins!

Thanks to all of the artists who contributed. I should be able to do a second one of these...shoot me an email at matt at clean nice quiet dot com if you want a song on the next Weird Bummer comp.

1. Highway Robbery: “Bucktown Special” (Dec. 2019 Demos, 2019)

2. GAR GAR: “Amoeba” (unreleased, from forthcoming album GAR GAR!)

3. Thin Skin: “Pork Fat (A Take On the American Experience Through Robert Lapage) (I Stole This Off The Internet, 2018)

4. Haq: “Dustboy Horrorshow” (Evaporator, 2019)

5. Andrew Anderson: “Day IV: Crooked Mile” (Music Album Idea, 2020)

6. Threat. Meet. Protocol.: “!​@​%​#?” (Mindless Consumption, 2017)

7. Hench: “Fine” (The End is OK, 2019)

8. The Bordellos with Dee Claw: “Melancholia” (unreleased track, 2017 and 2020)

9. Espuelérico: “¡Que Difícil!” (digital single, 2020)

10. Fantasy Creeps: “Crisis Tour” (digital single, 2017)

11. Circus WorlD: “The Black Earth” (unreleased, 20__)

12. This Heel: “Fly Me Back To Suspended Animation” (digital single, 2020)

13. Mirror Box: “Destabilizing Agent” (Minimal Compliance, 2018)

14. Harold Nono: “Let The Light In (Prince of Darkness)” (We’re Almost Home, 2020)

15. Damien Youth: “Mr. Serendipity (A Monster’s Theme)” (The Citizen, 2011)

16. Postcode: “Broken” (Zebratronic, 2014)

17. Nanaki: “As We Fade” (Epilogue, 2018):

18. Chained Bliss: “Mirrors” (Stained Red Promo CS, 2019)

19. The Morning Brains: “Clowns On Speed” (unreleased track, 2003)

20. Drewid + Chadtastic: “Sick” (unreleased track, 2013)

21. Occult Character: “Social Distances” (digital single, 2020)

22. The Legless Crabs: “Shutdown” (digital single, 2020)

CNQ Profile On: Sean Hocking / Metal Postcard Records

If you don't know about the amazing, eclectic, and effervescent Metal Postcard Records, now's your time to get hep. Here's an interview via e-mail I did with Metal Postcard's founder and main mane, Sean Hocking. This was a lot of fun to do. Thanks Sean!

CNQ: What is the origin of Metal Postcard Records? Can you talk about where you were location and life wise when you first started MP?

SH: I started a art project label with a friend in 2000. 12 Apostles. And released the first piece of vinyl by the likes of Girl Talk, cult London band ROC and Sydney mash up artist DSICO. With still the best Nirvana cover ever on the “punk as pussy” 12”

The label was run by myself in Sydney and my partner in crime Ben in London. After this project drew to a close I decided I’d like to run my own Lakeland on moving to NYC in 2004 I started Metal Postcard records with the following release as a 7” vinyl:

Make Sure you listen to both sides!

CNQ: You've lived all over -- you're in Sydney now, correct? Didn't you live in Hong Kong too, or am I making that up? Did you grow up in London?

SH: Today I’m 55 and when you get to this age you work out life is quite a complicated thing ! So here’s the potted

Was born in Adelaide Australia 1964

From age 3-8 lived in the West Indies ( Island of Tortola). First music memories Carnival, Steel Bands and what was called at the time Jump Up music - never wore shoes, school what was that !

So aged 8 went to a dark and grey England ( 1972 in the UK was a different world). And off to boarding school where the highlight of the week was Sunday evening being allowed to listen to the radio to hear the top 20 chart singles of that week.. that’s what really got me into music.. there’s lots to say about that place .. essentially for your generation imagine Hogwarts with peadophiles and sad men who survived the 2nd world war but took the sadness of their damaged lives out on small children with physical cruelty.

CNQ: I'm 43! I do feel like I have a lot in common with millennials but Potter-mania definitely not one of them. That's ok tho, it's good I present younger than I am, I think.

SH: There you go I imagined you were 10 years younger - although to be honest I didn’t have you as a potter reader I just thought the analogy might make sense

For secondary school I went to a place called Charterhouse - google it - famous musicians from there included Genesis ( who we all hated). And a Cocteau Twin was a couple of years above me in my house( boarding again) This is where music really kicked in - started aged 14 in 1978. So we’d sneak out of school and go and see the likes of the Ramones, Banshees, Damned, Undertones, Cramps,Killing Joke - the list goes on forever and all those really bad punk bands like Anti Nowhere League, Expolited, Cockney rejects , sham 69 etc etc

After school it was university at Sussex Uni - which in those days was proper Marxist ( not what people think Marxism is today) I studied American Literature with Marx & Engels critique .. my teachers were poets, real feminists.. they didn’t believe in exams so I only ever had to do finals and hand in a few essays.. so the rest of the time was spent what you should do at uni, reading, taking as many drugs as possible within our lean budget ( acid was very unhip in the mid 80’s so it cost nothing and along with cheap Lebanese hash was how we’d operate) as for music I’ll go into that later

After uni spent 2 years on the road - Australia, SE Asia and India

Then back to the UK at the height of Acid House - living in London

Then ran out of money - went back to Aus and settled there for 10 + years with the odd couple of years back in Europe

On 9/11 was in Battery Park City 2 blocks away from WTC and was a part of all that - mention it because it made a big effect on the music I released - told you about Wax Audio

But not DJ Foundation. From Mosul Iraq - I think you’ll like it

Mid 2000’s lived in NYC for a few years Brooklyn - sort of getting gentrified but not quite there so it was a fun time to be there

Then after that to Hong Kong as you correctly say - was there for 10 years and then to Portland OR from 2015 - 2018

And now back in Sydney while my son from one of my marriages finishes high school - he needs a bit of male guidance so we don’t have too many disasters

When he finishes - who know where next - but nowhere is forever. We live on a big beautiful planet and as far as I’m aware we are only here one so might as well make as much of it as I can

It’s all as clear as mud now !

CNQ: You stopped putting out hard copies (vinyl, I assume you also did cassettes and CDs?) with MP a while back, and now focus on digital releases. What do you think are the plusses and minues for musicians and labels putting out physical media vs digital releases only? Any advice for people who may be thinking of starting a label, or for bands who may want to submit to MP? And do you think you'll ever return to physical media with MP?

SH: Yes - when I ran out of money .. most physical never made its money back except for a few, I have released all three formats and as a collector who has just sold a 10k records and 5K cd collection I’m loathe not to sell physical. I will do so again when there is money !

If you want to be on MP - it’s simple write me a nice email and I’ll do my best to help you with your release. Just a word of warning , if money is the first thing on your mind I’m probably not the best label to talk to .. all the budgets spent on music pr, radio promo etc was a waste of time and I’m doing it no longer. So I’m interested in you weirdoes out there who want to build your catalog with a small label and I’ll do my utmost to make independent, radio, blogs, online pay attention and see if my licensing and sync buds will push out to their clients.

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Cool interview, right? I forgot to ask Sean about Dandelion Radio but def check it out, and you should also get on the e-mail subscription list for Bottom of the Pops immediately.

And finally, if Mr. Hocking wasn't busy enough, he was kind enough to make a Spotify Metal Postcard playlist specifically to accompany this post. Let's rock:

Rock'n'Roll

I've been playing the fudge outta Conan Exiles on Steam the past several days. That's a great game.

Soon enough I'm going to put some of my cruddy paintings up on Etsy. Here's the most recent one I did, "Terrorist."

Tonight we listened to all but one side of Todd Rundgren's Something/Anything? and it's as awesome as ever. The side we didn't listen to was the first side of the second disc. It's got a lot of excellent songs on it:

I got my Chronic Anxiety cassette in the mail the other day. 11 lo-fi lady-fronted noise punk tracks. A must have:

I think it's great Bandcamp is helping people register to vote. Voting is super-important. The system is rigged, but a large portion of that rig is only to make you not vote. If you can get past that rigged part and get your vote in, you may be able to help shit not be so fucked up. If you're able to vote but don't, you're only enabling the fucked-up shit that is going on.

I'm 42 years old, and while I'm a dummy in more than few regards, I'm not a complete moron. So that's fucking wisdom. Get registered. Fucking vote in the mid-terms. If you're young, there's a lot of you, and you can make a difference if you're interested in freedom, equality, and the opposite of future dystopia.

Register To Vote.

I'm keeping my hopes grounded for a blue wave. At best we may end up with a stalemate between progressives and regressives. At worst, elections are suspended and The Purge is approved by the Supreme Court.

Good four song garage EP from Spain:

From Orlando, weirdo electro-punk, absolutely:

Three New Songs From Bandcamp

When I do a New on Bandcamp post, I'm guilty of going to recent releases on the Bandcamp page and not checking up on the e-mail updates I get of the bands I have followed. So let's check out some new releases of the bands I've clicked "Follow" on.

Heck yeh. From Salford, UK, which is in North West England, this was released back in March 2017, but vinyl and CD copies of the 5 song album are still available:

DuPage County Hardcore "was created to preserve and make available the wealth of punk-, metal- and hip-hop related music released in suburban Chicago in the '80s, '90s and early '00s." You can get the entire discography for $20, which is a ton of music for on the cheap. Here's a cool track:

Interesting electro-prog from Chris King of This Will Destroy You (whom I've heard of) and Sam Chown (who I have not heard of).

As far as Christian allegory goes, Jesus and Lucifer are the best, but keep it in mind it's only allegory. That shit ain't real.

CNQ33: INDEPENDENCE DAY 2017 80s DANCE-POP SPECIAL!

An hour and a half of 1980s dance-pop for your Fourth of July listening pleasure.

Jody Watley: “Looking For A New Love” (Jody Watley, MCA Records, 1987)

Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam: “Head to Toe” (Spanish Fly, Columbia, 1987)

Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam: “Lost In Emotion” (Spanish Fly, Columbia, 1987)

Debbie Deb: “Lookout Weekend” (Lookout Weekend 7”, Jam Packed, 1984)

The Jets: “Crush On You” (The Jets, MCA Records, 1985)

Pebbles: “Girlfriend” ( (Pebbles, MCA Records, 1987)

Pebbles: “Mercedes Boy” (Pebbles, MCA Records, 1987)

Exposé: “Come Go With Me” ((Exposure, Arista, 1987)

Exposé: “Let Me Be The One” (Exposure, Arista, 1987)

Pretty Poison: “Catch Me (I’m Falling)” (Catch Me I’m Falling, Curb/Virgin, 1988)

Neneh Cherry: “Buffalo Stance” (Raw Like Sushi, Virgin, 1988)

Al B. Sure!: “Nite and Day” (In Effect Mode, Uptown Records/Warner Brothers, 1988)

Oran “Juice” Jones: “The Rain” (Juice, Def Jam Recordings, 1986)

Mary Jane Girls: “In My House” (Only Four You, Gordy, 1985)

Ready for the World: “Oh Sheila” (Ready for the World, MCA Records, 1985)

Timex Social Club: “Rumours” (Vicious Rumours, Danya Records, 1986)

Stacey Q: “Two of Hearts” (Two of Hearts 12”, On The Spot, 1986)

Technotronic: “Pump Up the Jam” (Pump Up The Jam - The Album, SBK Records, 1989)