Slimy Garage-Rock, Cornholio Grind, Anime Noise
The room was already dark, with someone hunched over portable cassette players, effects pedals and a tangle of patch cords.
I handed the door person $10 and shuffled into place. With eyes closed, the cracking, whirring sounds soundtracked an experimental film of the mind — maybe moving hand-painted images à la Stan Brakhage or that darkly surrealist Felix the Cat movie from 1988. In that moment, I could be anonymous, deeply engaged with the noise on my own terms.
In Washington, D.C., there’s a significant Ethiopian population with restaurants, churches and bars throughout the city. For a time, DIY promoters booked noise and punk shows in these spaces — well, maybe not the churches — with the staff looking on with bemusement as bands played loud and weird music, but were very happy to sell us beer and somosas. I mention this because after the set from the noise artist whose name I can’t remember, I made my way to the back of the room where a beautiful Ethiopian woman was tending bar and starting some coals for hookah.
“Do you mind if I share this hookah with you?”
For the rest of the night, we smoked shisha, drank beer and talked between sets. She was surprised a white dude could pull that much smoke out of a hookah. “I was taught by the best,” as I told her about my old housemate Abed and the epic cook-outs we’d host with 20 of his friends of various Middle Eastern origins, everyone puffing on their own hookahs they brought from home. Back at the gig, our clouds of smoke mixed with the fog machine, as neon orbs gave shape to the narrow room. We listened to lulling noise and drone together until the show ended, I left a big tip and said goodnight.
This is what I miss most about live music while in quarantine: an open and fluid communion of sound and companionship. The performers, of course, are crucial to this experience, and sometimes the performance itself sends the audience into a collective ecstasy. But when the atmosphere’s right, concerts can forge friendships, reinforce old ones or give the beautiful gift of a one-night conversation over beers and weird-ass music. — Lars Gotrich
The Playlist
26 tracks. There’s a brief tribute to the late Florian Schneider via one of my favorite Kraftwerk samples (Molemen’s “Put Your Quarter Up,” featuring the ascending synth from “The Hall of Mirrors”). Russia’s Arida Vortex makes Iron Maiden-worshiping, over-the-top power-metal that makes me grin ear to ear. Charli XCX’s “i finally understand” is immediately followed by her reality-show proteges Nasty Cherry, a pop band that seems to pick up where Sucker left off. Bad Bunny’s “Bad Con Lucky” into “Else” by TALsounds sparks joy.
Stream the playlist via Spotify. Did you miss a previous playlist? Get thee to the archives.
Six Pack: Stupid Decisions Records
I’m currently obsessed with the Stupid Decisions label based out of Mexico. Noise, shoegaze, emo, garage-rock, punk, psych, weirdo hip-hop… total Viking’s Choice bait. So here’s a brief scan through its 209 (!) releases currently on Bandcamp. They also have a ton of comps, including one dedicated to emo and screamo scenes from Mexico and abroad.
FILI, Meat: Occult-obsessed, bedroom-made garage-rock splattered in slimy neon green and bubblegum gothic purple. Somewhere, the zombie of Jay Reatard grins.
Goeychivo, Malora: Why don’t more goregrind bands sample Cornholio? Better yet: why don’t more goregrind vocalists scream like Cornholio?!
Spray Canela, Milagro Adolescente: Scratches an itch left by Psychic Paramount with cinematic psych-rock grooves of blasted and motorik varietals. There’s a touch of Catherine Wheel dreaminess, too, but definitely leans into a gritty, overblown punk chaos.
Lazos Peligrosos, Amistades Peligrosas: Boom-bap horror dug out from Hellraiser VHS tapes and bong hits. Really primitive stuff with growled raps over kitschy samples and funk bass, but grimly silly, too.
Primavera, Primavera: Raw, fast and feminist punk with a touch of powerviolence noise. This is the kind of punk that inspires someone to pick up a guitar and beat the hell out of it.
Esclerodermia, “Mega Kill (Worst One)”: This four-minute scorcher is tagged “anime noise wall” with a cratering distortion matched only by its demon-cratering illustration.
RIYL sexy vampires & political intrigue
What: Castlevania (cartoon)
Why: Depending on your taste for gratuitous, animated violence, this may not be for everyone. But, man, how satisfying to see a pompous, power-hungry political or religious jerkwad get ripped in half by a demon forged from hell? Blood thirst and sexy vampires aside, Netflix’s take on the Nintendo video game (which I played in the ’90s) has taken some eyebrow-raising turns for the third season, including a plot for world-wide domination concocted by vampire sisters that, technically, passes the Bechtel test. There’s also an episode dedicated to one long conversation between a sea captain and a vengeful warrior (formerly of Dracula’s court) about ethics in an unethical world that made me excited for the latter’s character arc.