Kale Ogle and the Light (Arkansas); Armstrong (Wales)

Clean Nice Quiet is going on it's tenth year. Ain't that somethin'. I can't imagine too many readers see the webpage version of the blog anymore, but if you do, you may notice I did some tidying up on the sidebars. Specifically the submissions guidelines, the Noisy Neighbors blogroll, and the Other Cool Sites sidebar. I split the Other Cool Sites up into 3 smaller lists: radio shows, labels and distros, and then misc. cool stuff.

I used to be stupidly proud of the enormous blog roll I had created on the Noisy Neighbors blogroll. I daydreamed it was the biggest collection of amateur music blogs on the web, and hell, maybe at some point it was. And I wanted to use it for my own ends, to keep up with other blogs, comment on them, and maybe build a sense of community with these other folks doing both similar and different versions of what I'm doing here. Doing that was actually how I started CNQ; I enjoyed a number of music blogs at the time and wanted in on the fun. Over the last decade blogs have come and gone, of course. And I've trimmed Noisy Neighbors down previously, removing links to blogs that stopped posting or simply ceased to be. This time I went a step further and took out blogs that either I wasn't very intersted in, or were just sharing download links without context, a few that rudely didn't have CNQ in their own blogrolls (out of spite), etc. So it's still an unwieldy thing but it's trimmed down enough now that I've told myself once again I should use it for my own purposes -- to read other people's blogs, listen and engage more. We'll see.

I did leave a few up in memorium (Crud Crud, The Sunday Experience); and a couple in hopes they come back one day (Movie Ink, Killed By Death Records).

For the Other Cool Sites sidebar, mostly those were sites that didn't have an RSS feed for the blogroll when I first linked to them. A lot of them do have RSS feeds now and are active, so I moved them over to Noisy Neighbors. The radio shows in the new Radio, Radio sidebar are all aces, so you should check them out, and same goes for the labels under Record Labels and Distros.

So yeh, ten years. First post was Sunday June 3, 2012. Nothing special planned for the anniversary, just hope to keep chugging along and doing what I do here. Occassionally I do think about getting back into sharing obscure vinyl on here, but it's not something I'd say you should expect any time soon.

And of course I left up the ever present Doctor Nod Top Tips cassette listen and purchase link. I still have a few of those cassettes left, so go ahead and order one. That album rules and you're missing out if you haven't heard it yet.

Here's a couple of things I found while doing all this housecleaning today. Somehow I completely missed Kale Ogle (of the aforementioned Doctor Nod fame, and whose website can be found over in the also aforementioned Other Cool Sites sidebar) released this 9 song digital album in November 2019, with a backing band. Kale Ogle & The Light:

Armstrong is the solo project of Welsh musician Julian Pitt. His latest 20 track album, Under Blue Skies also came out in 2019, and is available on CD from The Beautiful Music in US and Canada and Country Mile Records in the UK. Pretty, pretty, pretty indie power pop:

CNQ Top 20 Sunday Countdown

20. Proto Idiot: “Difficult Questions” (Fub, Rigmarole Records, 2020) 19. Shanique Marie: “Freak” (2020) 18. Máscaras: “Braidwaves” (El Morán, 2017) 17. This Heel: “Cave Crickets” (Cave Crickets, 2020) 16. Salem Trials: “Head On Rong” (Metal Postcard Records, 2020) 15. Tall Black Guy Productions: “Gimme Mine feat. 80s Babies” (Restless As We Are, 2020) 14. Harmonica Lewinski: “Poison Pill” (Human BBQ, 2020) 13. Coffin Club: “Rain” (Nowhere Nowhere, 2020) 12. You Will Flood The River: “Evil Frank Is Dead” (Metal Postcard Records, 2020) 11. Damu the Fudgemunk, Archie Shepp and Raw Poetic: “Learning To Breathe (Album Version)” (Ocean Bridges, Redefinition Records, 2020) 10. Sparkle Division: “Oh Henry!” (To Feel Embraced, Temporary Residence Ltd., 2020) 09. Science Man: “That Shadow” (Match Game, Swimming Faith Records, 2020) 08. Liiek: “Waterfall” (s/t, Adagio830, 2020) 07. Big $ilky: “Baby Shower” (Big $ilky Vol. 1, 2020) 06. The Men: “Cool Water” (Mercy, Sacred Bones Records, 2020) 05. Yuvees: “Yr Not Invited” (Human Dance, 2020) 04. Santa Sprees: “Getting Married All The Time” (Sum Total of Insolent Blank, 2020) 03. Brian Bordello: “So Sad” (King of No-Fi, Metal Postcard Records, 2020) 02. Brandy: “(Wish You Was) Madball Baby” (The Gift of Repetition, Total Punk Records, 2020) 01. Night Shop: “Waiting” (The Fountain, Salinas Records, 2020)

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

Weird Bummer Compilation #2

About two weeks later than I meant, but you know, been busy pulling nose hairs for undisclosed regions. This rockin' comp is about an hour and 15 minutes. Below are artist and song titles, with links to the albums or tracks. I couldn't bring myself to type out all the album names, as I have to get back to pulling nose hairs for my art installation projects. Thanks to all the bands and artists who participated, and thanks to you for listening. After you listen, go throw money at all these great bands and artists, because they're all broke, as they all sank their fortunes into my doomed nose hair art venture(s).

Racoo: "How Did We Get Here" (2019)

Proto Idiot: "Mountain" (2020)

USA Nails: "I Am The Things I Buy" (2020)

Talacactus: "Rosa Lux" (2019)

Nervous Curtains: "Mask" (2019)

Phil Reynolds and the Dearly Departed: "Quickstep" (2018)

Lucy Morris: "Five Days" (2018)

Skyline Advantage: "A Safe Haven" (2020)

The Slow Hours: "Union City Blue" (unreleased)

Dot Dash: "Gray Blue Green" (2018)

Pisspoor: "Sob (Exaltedamongnations)" (2020)

Windham / Herbeck / DeMolay: "Console Cowboys / Chiba City Comsat (POP MIX)" (2018)

Sauveterre: "Cliches"

Sidewalk Furniture: "Jadzia" (2020)

Idiot Blur Fanboy: "Special Brew Can Man" (2020)

The Mood Taeg: "2MR" (2016)

Adam Holtz: "Way Up High" (2019)

Mythical Motors: "Liquid Measuring Cups" (2020)

Nanaki: "Setsuna" (2018)

Veto: "A Song About Trees" (2013)

Sailing Neptune: "Black Haired Woman" (2019)

Shanghai Treason: "Can't Even Hang A Man Right" (2020)

Proto Idiot, Andrew Anderson, Sauveterre, and Fuzzsucker

A full month in sequesterin' myself off. The missus and I are doing fine and we hope the same for you and yours. Hoppy Easter.

New from Manchester's Proto Idiot, featuring Andrew Anderson of Freak Genes and just ya know l'Monde de Cool:

Back in July of last year, Proto Idiot released a full length that I totally slept on. Here's a video from the song "I Like To Think." I dunno why these guys aren't making millions doing stadium shows, so fuckin' cool:

Meanwhile Anderson continues to fill out his quarantine album "Music Album Idea," now at 11 songs after almost a month since he first posted it to Bandcamp. Here's the most recent track. Again, how am I the only person to have purchased this album on Bandcamp? You fools are sleeping on Anderson:

A new discovery for me, courtesy Hex Windham, is New Orleans' Sauveterre, a French ex-pat doing absolutely gorgeous folk pop. Here's a couple of his recent tracks:

And to wrap things up, a collaboration between Melbourne's Fuzzsucker, and someone named Dirty Juice Boy. Nutty stuff. They set the price for this at $666, and like sure that's funny, but I would drop $10 on this. Maybe they don't need my $10. Here's a great track from it:

New Punk from Ontario, Indie from New Jersey, Alt-Pop from Melbourne and Denton, TX, Hip-Hop from Brooklyn, Experimental from Buenos Aires, and Folk from Portland.

Gearing up for an April podcast, I thought instead of just browsing the punk new arrivals on bandcamp, I'd branch out and look at other genres -- at least the first page of each genre's new arrivals.

But let's start with this wild stuff from Hamilton, Ontario. 6 songs, the band's first and only release on bandcamp near as I can tell, so noisey and off-the-wall. I wish I were making a racket like this. My wife listened to the first song and called it "unpleasant" and "impenetrable" and that may be the high praise this team is going for. Also she's a Drew Thomson freak and notes that Thomson is also from Hamilton.

I didn't find anything I liked on the electronic new arrivals first page.

On the first page of the rock genre new arrivals, I found this melodic 10 song album from a 5 piece operating out of a basement in suburban New Jersey. Highly enjoyable. I assume they're influenced by post-Pavement Malkmus and late 90s/early oughts emo and indie. If I'm correct that these guys were just been being born around that time, I guess it's like somebody being born in 1976 doing an album that sounds like Silk Degrees in 1994 (If that band/album actually exists, please let me know -- would listen). Anyway, this is good stuff, my wife heard a few songs and was into it as well. You can get it for pay what thou wilt:

Nothing on the first page of the metal new arrivals particularly grabbed me.

From the first page of the alternative new arrivals, I found this truly hip alt-pop from a two-to-three piece Melbourne band. 10 songs, with 2 currently available for listening. You can pre-order the dl for $9 and the album will be on vinyl as well. Check out that sax on "Mirror Freak."

From the first page of the hip-hop new arrivals, here's a great single from Jason Minnis, AKA ClassicBeatz, a Brooklyn producer, pianist, and songwriter. An anti-gentrification song, my reference points for this are Black Star, and Madlib, but I'm not as versed in hip-hop as I should be. It's a cool track and currently the only song available on the album, Spaces In Noir. It's a 10 song album that you can pre-order for $9, and ClassicBeatz' entire discography is available for just $20:

From the first page of the experimental new arrivals, this is a weird, interesting track from Buenos Aries, the first song off of a 7 song pay what thou wilt digital album:

From the first page of the folk new arrivals comes this champion 13 song folk album from Portland's Waldo Przekop, AKA Cigarettes and Milk. Some personal stuff, I'm into it. Pay what thou wilt:

On the first page of the pop new arrivals, I found this weird shit, from Denton, Texas. Recorded and mixed by Rick Eye, based on that I think maybe this two-piece is part Ashley from Thin Skin, but I could be wrong. Anyway, 11 awesome weirdo tracks, absolutely and entirely not pop, and because they tagged it only as "pop" and "Denton," I never woulda found if I hadn't decided to branch out tonight.

Which proves what I've always said about limiting yourself to one type of music: doing so makes you an asshole.

There's other genres that I didn't get to but it's 10:30PM and I gotta eat and go to bed.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

The Tom Waits song Cold Water has been a holiday fave of mine for a few years now. Weirdly, I couldn't find a live version of it on Youtube:

A great new Christmas song:

Blastin'

I've been away for a couple of weeks, so this post is some catching up with some new stuff from the U.S. and abroad, courtesy CNQ's fave labels and bands on bandcamp.

Robert Belfour was a Mississippi bluesman who died at age 74 this past February 24. I have been sadly ignorant of Belfour and his work until tonight. R.I.P., Robert Belfour:

Pretty little garage rocker by the Lemons. They're from Chicago:

This Brooklyn band has a Paper Chase thing going on:

This was put out two years ago but it's new to me, and I like it:

Birthday Suits are from Minneapolis/St. Paul and the label, Recess Records, is outta LA:

Here's an L.A. band, also from Recess:

These are both courtesy France's Frantic City Records:

CNQ fave avant-folkie Clara Engel has teamed up with an experimental minimalist from the UK on this track:

From Wales' Small Bear Records and Sweden's "jazz-tinged indie" band Club K, this is so hep:

Speaking of the Swedes and their rich traditions of modern popular music, here's some Swedish punk:

New awesomeness from Poland's first DIY label, Nikt Nic Nie Wie:

I'm into this punk 7" from German label Terrortubbies Tonträger. Love that organ:

More hc from another German label, Sabotage Records:

Ska's not really my thing but these UK punks have a cool thing going on:

Oh, you wanted to hear some Peruvian wandering folk beatniks? Well, turn it up:

More "skramz," man, from Indiana and Middle Man Records, this is 30 seconds of rad:

Raleigh North Carolina's Sorry State Records just brings it and brings it:

You can pre-order the new Dirty Fences through the Slovenly Records bandcamp page:

This is interesting breakbeat that uses samples from Abbey Road. Cassette orders are sold out:

Rounding out this long set with three new hip-hop tracks from the LNS Crew, which is Denver-based artist Cory Kendrix, and Austinites Kydd Jones and Tank Washington:

Buck Biloxi, Liquid Skuills, Clutch: The Boy Wonder, and a Smithsonian Folkways Track from Ivan Kozlovsky/Alexander Ivanov-Kramskoy

Today at work I listened to first-of-the-year episodes of Best Table In Hell and Dynamite Hemorrhage. Both of 'em are great podcasts.

DH's Jay Hinman did a good interview with Tim Scott from Noisey Australia. At the end of it, Scott asks Hinman, "What music trends would you like to see disappear in 2015?" And Hinman sez he'd like to see "all-male bands who fashion themselves as “aggro” and “brutal” to mellow the fuck out."

I'm not an angry young man anymore, but I was once, for sure, and there's a lot of stuff to be angry about in the world. I think I have brushed my teeth with enough fluoride that I've been rendered docile. But if anger is the feeling someone wants to express, I'll break it down from there. I won't post someone who's angry at Puerto Ricans or Transhumanists, you know that. Bands who propagate racism and intolerance should be ashamed of themselves. But if you are mad at establishment culture, or the government, or the guys who kicked you out of Shadowrun, then fr sure, I totally grok.

I listened to a lot of Buck Biloxi and the Fucks today also. During my lunch break I read the Hinman/Scott interview mentioned above, and also a 2013 Terminal Boredom interview with Biloxi by Chuck Barrels. In the interview, Biloxi makes a distinction between what he terms "real punk" and "hardcore," and I made the connection between Hilman's and Biloxi's comment.

I post a lot of bands on CNQ that I think fit the description of "aggro," "brutal," and what Biloxi means by "hardcore." My wife calls it "music that is not fun" - what the kids call screamo (and, apparently, skramz?), and crust/powerviolence, and the grindcore I was familiar with growing up. But I've always labeled all of that on CNQ as "punk," just as I would a Buck Biloxi tune, or a Burger Records garage-rock band. They're all just variations on a theme, IMO.

Anyway, that's what I thought about today at work as I performed tasks.

Check out my main man Jimmy Spice's sweet nu-gazin' Liquid Skulls track:

This new hip-hop from Harlem is strangely powerful:

Smithsonian Folkways is wonderful, gang. Just wonderful. Ivan Kozlovsky was a famous Russian tenor and Alexander Ivanov-Kramskoy was a famous classical guitarist. Check out their collab, I'm not sure what year this is from. The 50s or 60s, I guess:

New Music From Bandcamp

Nanaki is Postcode's guitarist Mikie Daugherty, as well as CNQ's favorite instrumental guitar post-art-rock sound from the Isle of Man. Mikie has released his first full-length as Nanaki since 2003:

Also from Small Bear Records and the Isle of Man, the rad Bordellos and another Manx band called Schizo Fun Addict have released, per the Small Bear press release, "a transatlantic collaboration between (these two) cult mentalists." It'll be a split cassette release with all proceeds going to Save the Children. The first song, Schizo Fun Addict's AM Story, is great. Their other song, "Endorphin Portal," is a Rebirth thing I'm not into. The two Bordellos songs are boss. Small Bear Records is giving these tunes away gratis, but encourages y'all to make a small donation to the charity of your choice:

Charity is important. Today I gave a fiver to a woman holding a sign on the side of the feeder road. She told me it would be put to good use. Lady, you can put it to whatever use you want. We wished each other Happy New Year. As Tom Waits sed, "beggin' on the freeway/about as hard as it gets."

Chicago's the Lemons has a new couple of cool surfy, trip-poppy songs out:

Valid until 11:59PM on January 1st, CNQ's favorite Canadian songstress Clara Engel has a code word, "uneasyspirit,", which gets you 15% off any of Clara's albums on bandcamp.

I heart powerviolence it turns out. This from Edinburgh, UK, has some vinyl you can order:

California's Bad Daddies is some swank 5th wave riot grrrl action and they have a split out with a band called Hard Left:

HC from Berlin:

Happy New Year. Hello, 2015!

Blues, Folk, & Field Recordings

I've been listening to a lot of blues, folk, and field recordings on Google Play. Here's a little Youtube mix, some stuff I've never heard before mixed in with some of my favorites. If I wanted to make this an interesting post I'd do a little bio or some tidbits for each artist. Tonight, however, other than the meager links presented below, I humbly request you google what you're curious about for further information.

Here's the lyrics to Early In The Mornin', there's a couple of raunchy verses:

Here's some backstory on Long John.

Spotify Mixtape

A Spotify mixtape by yours truly.