A horrible guide to reasonable noise.
I don't even know where to begin when discussing the rise and possible fall of the greatest compilation/bootleg series ever. These slimy discs have haunted my sleep many a night with dreams of holding source vinyls in my sweaty hands since the day of my introduction. The times I have gained another piece have been cause for rejoice of an almost religious fervor. Slapping down THE MENTALLY ILL's "Gacy's Place" or THE NUNS self titled ep were moments of true bliss. Of course, my idea of true bliss is slapping 'em onto the turn table and slurping back beers in triumph, letting go unholy belches in approval lest you think I was standing around my turntable with an altar boy's outfit on.
My introduction is pretty much like everyone else's. Only the locations and volume numbers have changed. There I was, like so many times before, sweatin' to the oldies in a moldy record store looking for SOMETHING to feed my fix. The time was the mid 1990's. My choices were slim, people! The reissue market wasn't nearly as flooded as it is today and your run of the mill record store didn't stock much of anything worth writing home to mom about when it came to the raw, nasty, cheap sounds I adore. I held three records in my hands. "Killed By Death ..2", "Bloodstains Across California", and some crummy record that I can't recall (doesn't that say it all?)... The choice was made after deliberating over the track lists, How do you pass up scummy tunes like "(I'm Gonna) Punch You In The Face" by THE CHILD MOLESTERS or the previously mentioned "Gacy's Place"?, and the abusive/semi nonsensical liner notes.
Hell, I even recognized a track or two from a mix tape an older punker had made me a few years back that I loved to death which is more than I can say for the Operation Ivy tracks and lame-o industrial stuff he put on there.Here was my chance to enjoy some obscure-o tunes from the 77-84 glory years from bands that no sane person knew of. Just as maddening as "Back From The Grave" but twice as raunchy! To top it off, Rhino Records had nothing to do with this! That meant no spending full album price for one or two unearthed classics among a mountain of stuff I already had or heard and passed on the first time. 100% total unknowns! What more could I ask for as a music starved punker? Remember what I said about pre internet! This was long before the days where you could locate a hip blog and hear all the greats within the two minutes it took to download the whole ep.
I beamed with pride when the counter guy (a local avante garage sphincter who had supposed taste but was usually found listening to garbage he seemed to only like for it's obscurity or for it's kitsch) cringed at my choice. I knew I was on to something. Once home I started off with KBD 2. From the moment the crunching raunch of FREESTONE's "Bummer Bitch" hit my ears and the teen sleaze angst of the lyrics hit me ("You give me ZITS!) I was hooked! I went on to find the other three out of the original four and then it got confusing...
You see, the first four were all made by the same guy. A certain foreigner with great taste in all sortsa music who is famed the world over for trashing turntables and abusing rarities. After the first four, as he is famed to do, he went on to greener pastures. The only problem? Everyone got in on the game. This, of course, led to a fluctuation in quality. For my money, numbers five thru twelve are classics that follow the original four's promise of at least 70% stone killers and maybe a handful of spotty tracks. Thereafter the quality lessens for a long time only to pick up on various spots. There's been fake volumes, volumes that don't follow the formula, and just out and out clunkers.
Of course, there are other excellent series to extoll upon. "Bloodstains" was great for a long while when it kept it's focus, but, when you start getting into regions (each one focused on a part of the US or another country) where your choices are less and less the quality goes down. Back To Front was great as were the Hyped2Death's pre the legal intervention of a certain band member who didn't take kindly to the notice that he'd been bootlegged and decided to put his current profession as a lawyer to work... Later on, you had "Killed By Hardcore" which focused on the early 80's most brilliant, yet obscure, hardcore punk acts from the world over. Only 3 were made and I don't know of any more coming.
From there you have your one off's like "Deep In The Throat Of Texas", "Brainkiller", "Staring Down The Barrel" etc. Most of these are pretty stellar. Regardless, keeping track of the comps can be almost as nerve racking as searching for the source vinyls. The only real difference is you won't be spending this month's rent/mortgage payment for the comps unlike the original vinyls. You probably won't have to deal with as many creeps, weirdos, and drug casualties to get them either. The stories I could tell about my endless quests for rare records would make your head spin.
The first rounds of KBD comps are fairly easy to find if you look hard enough and well worth it. If you can, look for the first four, particularly number two. To me, that is probably the closest to flawless as any of them could be. Every track is great and your only reason for skipping over one or the other would be mood based rather than lack of quality. Hell, just look at the track list. A veritable collectors wet dream!
Flawless! Is it any shock I was hooked? Anyways, don't expect to find them in your local mega store. You're going to have to scour your local mom and pop for these puppies. Some are on cd which will make it easier for you to track them down. Sure, the shitty scans of the records are smaller and the liner notes (one of the best parts of the series) strain the eyes more, but, you'll at least have a chance to hear these trashy tunes.
In closing, I tip my hat to you for making it this far and hope that you'll start your digging as soon as you finish this up. The least you could do is go download the first four. Don't worry, if you get a call from Hell, Norway demanding a cease and desist it's just the specter of Kugelberg razzing you for being "Too Late For The Trend".
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