REVIEW - Toiling Midgets: Little Ricky

Formed in 1979 from the ashes of the legendary San Francisco Punk band Negative Trend after the departure of their then-singer, Rik L Rik, the sometimes instrumental/always intriguing Toiling Midgets have been sporadically releasing consistently great music ever since. With founding member/guitarist Craig Gray and long-serving six-stringer Paul Hood leading the charge, the group's ever-fluctuating lineup has seen Joe Goldring (Swans/American Music Club), Erich Werner (The Blackouts), Annie Ungar (Gun Club), Tim Mooney (Negative Trend/The Sleepers/American Music Club), Aaron Gregory (Maggots), Joanna Hood (Loma Mar Quartet /Paul McCartney), Mark Eitzel (American Music Club) and many others flow in and out over the course of nearly 40 years. Without question, one of the group’s most memorable contributors was the shadowy figure known as Ricky Williams (1956-1992).

Boasting an incomparable style somewhere between Mick Jagger and Scott Walker (and driven by more than a few pharmaceuticals amidst rumors of mental hospital stays), Williams owned a truly odd voice that often clashed with the bands he fronted - to the point where the songs often sounded like disparate worlds colliding. Also known for his work with fellow San Francisco cult heroes The Sleepers (and a stint drumming for Crime under the name Ricky Tractor), Williams left an indelible mark on the Midgets’ history when he took the mic for 1982’s arresting Sea Of Unrest. Featuring fellow Sleeper Tim Mooney on drums, the record remains the strongest release in the Toiling Midgets catalog and something that every serious music fan should hear at least once. (Start with “Destiny,” “Microage” and “All The Girls Cry.” Remarkable.) 

Gray offers some thoughts on Williams’ impact on Toiling Midgets on the band’s official website:

Ricky would show up at our early gigs, usually at the Sound of Music, begging to sing. We would relent and then watch as he slid down the mic stand and crumpled to the floor in slow motion over two or three songs. By the time the set ended, Ricky would be lying on the stage or floor moaning, growling and muttering.

Paul asked him to come in and sing when we were recording demos in '81 that would become Sea Of Unrest. He came with his demons, who must have been dancing around while he was in the room recording; he was pointing and talking to someone. They served him well and brought him down.

He once stayed at my house for a week. He stripped my baby pot plants of all their leaves and tried to smoke them. One night, he and my 16-year-old brother went out. My brother showed up alone two days later with four deep scratches around half his neck. Ricky had done them. I never found out what happened – except bikers were involved.

Most of the time, Ricky had a nurse or keeper. Most of the time when he was with the Midgets, he had a ‘girlfriend.’ It was when he didn't that he was most at risk. He would go anywhere with anybody and take anything. In the end, this killed him.

At the time Ricky died, we were working on a new record. We had played our first gig with him since 1983, and there was more to come. Ricky was rediscovering his voice. What we could have done together I'll never know; sycophants made sure of that. We lost a lot when we lost Ricky.

Over the past few years, Gray has been painstakingly preserving and reinvigorating the band’s legacy through an ongoing series of digital and/or vinyl releases that mine a deep well of classic and previously unreleased material. From demos to live recordings, the band’s ever-growing Bandcamp page offers hours of Toiling Midgets history and showcases everything that made them an adventurous – and overlooked – sonic machine. 

The most recent Toiling Midgets release, Little Ricky, is an eight-song collection of songs recorded with Williams in 1990 upon his return to the band after nearly a decade away. The band’s lineup at the time of the sessions was comprised of Gray on guitar and piano, Williams on vocals and “beer can percussion,” Hood on guitar, Goldring on bass and 12-string guitar and Tom Mallon on drums. The recording also features viola courtesy of Mary Redfield (of the excellent San Francisco bade Wade) and Joanna Hood.

Gray explains the recording’s genesis on the band’s site: 

Tim was on tour with AMC, supposedly on loan. We had a gig on Halloween. Tom, Joe and I came up with the idea of getting Ricky and Mary from Wade involved. We rehearsed at Mallon’s studio set up in the control room so it was easy to record the tracks. The songs themselves were a mix of old and new; we didn’t really have time to write a set. At the gig, we did 'Trauma Girl,' 'Hide Your Love Away' and 'Sea of Unrest' (with Paul doing the other vocal) as well. The music was all done live except 'The DJ Is Wrong.' Ricky came in later to do the main vocals and, as usual, he was singing to something – this time, the little refrigerator Tom had at the studio.

Although Williams would live another two years after these sessions were completed, the entire release eerily feels like the bittersweet curtain call it ultimately became for him. “Opus” beings with mournful guitar and strings before the singer’s trademark soulful moan comes in and reiterates the tone of the proceedings. An even darker mood permeates “Pumice” (which grows in morose intensity over two and half minutes), while the vibe gets even lower on the feedback-drenched “The DJ Is Wrong.” On a brighter note, “Train Song” could have been a college radio hit – a rare moment that finds the Midgets approaching genuine Alt-Pop territory. Truly gorgeous strings take center stage on “Big Surprise” and “The Vampire Is Wrong,” while Williams’ guttural snarl on “Why” fuels perhaps the song on Little Ricky that would fit most comfortably within The Sleepers’ criminally small catalog. Mallon, whose many talents behind a drum kit remain an underrated treasure, adds a sterling sense of tension and drama to “Splendid Penguin.” The playing on Little Ricky is pristine throughout, giving Williams the musical anchor needed to unleash his mind and voice in the usual fascinating ways.

While there will always be a sense of loss and unachieved success surrounding Toiling Midgets (especially with Williams, Mallon, Gregory, Mooney and Unger no longer with us), they will forever stand as one of America’s most perfect and challenging outfits – and Little Ricky is a fitting and long-overdue epitaph for an irreplaceable character and artist who continues to spellbind a quarter-century after his death.

Official Toiling Midgets Website

Toiling Midgets at Bandcamp

More on Toiling Midgets

More on Ricky Williams 

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Interview with CRAIG GRAY (LAZY GIANTS/TOILING MIDGETS/NEGATIVE TREND)

Author/journalist Joel Gausten talks with still-active original Punk-era guitarist Craig Gray about his history in the bands Lazy Giants, Toiling Midgets, and Negative Trend and his work with legendary singers Ricky Williams and Rik L Rik. 

Lazy Giants

Toiling Midgets

Negative Trend

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Awake with The Sleepers

Even in the anything-goes world of early California Punk, The Sleepers were aliens in a sea of misfits.

Perpetually stuck between the cerebral and the incendiary, The Sleepers (1977-1981) were fueled by the crooner-on-codeine charm of singer Ricky Williams, whose musical exploits included a stint as drummer for West Coast Punk legends Crime. Boasting an incomparable style somewhere between Mick Jagger and Scott Walker (and driven by more than a few pharmaceuticals amidst rumors of mental hospital stays), Williams (who launched the earliest version of the band with bassist and fellow Mountain View resident Paul Draper) owned a truly odd voice that often clashed with the band’s music to the point where most of their songs sounded like disparate worlds colliding. At Williams’ side stood guitarist Michael Belfer, one of the most wildly inventive players of his era. Aided by a consistently revolving door of musicians, the duo worked together long enough to unleash an EP, a single and a full-length album that still sound as otherworldly today as they did more than three decades ago. 

With Williams’ slurred “Two-three-faw!” The Sleepers kick off 1978’s Seventh World EP with a title track that immediately makes it clear that this crew has no interest in convention. The vocals sound like they are for a completely different song, while the music’s tempo changes three times before even reaching the one-minute mark. The song eventually concludes with an epic finale that leaves the experiencer (listener is such a trite term in this context) to wonder what just happened. The next track, “No Time,” is a bit closer to planet Earth, pounding forward with a steady beat as Williams rambles on about “a chick with a problem” before collapsing with a scream and an ugh! Track three, “Flying,” is the first true showcase of Belfer’s trademark distorted and disturbed guitar work, ably supported on this track by Draper’s sterling bass playing.   

The next number, “She’s Fun,” features one of Belfer’s most blistering riffs at 0:45, while the song succeeds in spotlighting Williams’ penchant for lyrical misogyny (“Sometimes she’s fun to fuck/That’s all she’s meant for”) before descending into utter chaos at the 2:09 mark.

The EP closes with perhaps the band’s finest composition, “Linda.” Showcasing a (mostly) subdued Williams, “Linda” offered a relatively mellow feel highlighted by a mesmerizing guitar solo by Belfer at 2:41. As sinister as it is soothing, Belfer’s performance on this number sets the foundation for the sort of lowbrow elegance that made The Birthday Party or These Immortal Souls so captivating in the decade to come. While Belfer casually raises the bar for the entire San Francisco Punk scene in the span of a 38-second solo, Draper and drummer Tim Mooney display their own brand of impressive, Jazz-tinged interplay in the background. It’s difficult to name another band from this scene/era that displayed such sophisticated musicianship.

Sonically, the entire EP sounds like it was recorded in a cavernous basement club full of the type of black-clad people you only see through clouds of cigarette smoke at 1am – just as your drugs kick in. It is impossible to not feel the darkness and instability in the grooves. A flawless record.

Like several bands from the era, this early incarnation of The Sleepers celebrated their grand entrance into the world of vinyl by promptly disbanding. Williams soon found himself as the short-lived frontman of the original Flipper, while Belfer brought his sonic arsenal to an early incarnation of the esoteric and exhilarating Tuxedomoon. Mooney joined up with fellow San Francisco nihilists Negative Trend (who had recently added former F-World! singer Rik L Rik to their ranks) to drum on a handful of tracks that later appeared on the legendary Tooth And Nail and Beach Blvd. compilation albums. 

Thankfully, Belfer and Williams eventually began working together again. Utilizing a drum machine, Tuxedomoon saxophonist Steven Brown and Pink Section bassist Stephen Wymore, The Sleepers’ 1980 single “Mirror”/”Theory” couldn’t be any less like its predecessor. Driven by echoing vocals and colorful guitar work that painted pictures rather than struck chords, the single offered brilliant mood music that would have easily felt right at home in the Factory Records stable. “Theory” is especially impressive, with Wymore’s urgent bass joining forces with Williams’ ever-warped voice and Belfer’s peerless guitar to create something that could be described as Joy Division underwater.

Naturally, the next Sleepers release was another leap in a new direction. By the time of 1981’s Painless Nights LP, the band’s lineup had grown to include second guitarist Mike White, bassist Ron MacLeod and drummer Brian MacLeod. Anchored by an absolutely stellar rhythm section, Painless Nights adds a Gothic twist to The Sleepers’ repertoire. Again singing from an entirely different world from the rest of his bandmates, Williams launches the LP with “When Can I Fly?,” which details a “backstreet junkie” who (naturally) is “a little girl.” The track is followed by the stiff, almost robotic feel of “Walk Away,” which features the BPeople rhythm section of Alex Gibson and Tom Recchion and recalls Bauhaus’ more playful moments. “The Mind” (again with Gibson on bass) flows into (somewhat) more conservative territory, presenting a Boomtown Ratsy number and the closest the band ever came to anything resembling a Pop tune. But just when you think you have the song figured out, in comes an entirely new section at 2:22 driven by rolling drums and a bulletproof guitar riff straight out of Peter Gunn. The hypnotic noise of “Intro” reminds one of the then-active original incarnation of Throbbing Gristle, while the sly lounge band groove of “Forever” offers a map for future Bad Seeds and Bunnymen as the track builds in intensity before quieting down with a shimmering farewell.

Composed by guitarist Mike White, “Zenith” is four minutes of Marquee Moon-quality guitar work that offers a dreamlike, almost cinematic feel akin to driving down a desolate strip of highway in the middle of the night. The track bleeds into a remarkable full-band rendition of “Theory.” Taken in as one piece, the 10-minute “Zenith/Theory” showcases just how much the band evolved in the three short years that followed the release of their first EP. Perhaps the most intriguing thing about the dirgy “B-Side” is how many other bands sound like it. There’s definitely some Sisters of Mercy, trio-era Cure and post-Wobble PiL in there. That’s not to say that these groups pilfered The Sleepers; it’s just that the Sleepers were already there by 1981. (Imagine taking a huge fan of Metal Box and making him or her listen to early Can or ’77-era Hawkwind for the first time. That’s what it’s like listening to Painless Nights after years of The Sisters’ First And Last And Always or The Cure’s Pornography.) The album’s concluding cut, “Los Gatos,” is the band’s most undeniably Death Rock moment, right down to the spooky sounds effects and bass-driven song structure that the early Christian Death was hard at work developing at the same time a few hundred miles south in Los Angeles. 

Painless Nights is disturbed, desperate, suave, shambolic, sophisticated and utterly perfect. Just like the combination of personalities that created it. It would also prove to be band’s final proper release as a living entity. 

The Sleepers ended their run in April 1981 following a disastrous show in New York City. Video of that evening (easily found on YouTube) clearly demonstrate the band’s impossible-to-ignore eternal dilemma: Belfer and the rest of the band pound out their unconventional songs with precision as a completely fried Williams moans and stammers with incoherent abandon. The damn thing sounds like a band chugging away at 45rpm with a singer stuck at 33 1/3. Sadly, this would be the last time The Sleepers would ever grace the stage.

Mooney and Williams would later play together again in the brilliant post-Negative Trend band Toiling Midgets, most notably on 1982’s arresting Sea Of Unrest LP. Last September, Ektro Records in Finland issued the bulletproof Toiling Midgets: Live at the Old Waldorf, July 21, 1982 LP featuring the Williams/Mooney lineup. Last month, the LP was made available in the US in a limited edition of only 25 copies. (Act now, kids). Additionally, some pretty amazing live recordings of Williams and Mooney with Toiling Midgets can be found HERE.

A 1996 Sleepers compilation called The Less An Object collects the band’s complete discography and is relatively easy to purchase online. The CD features two Painless Nights-era bonus tracks: “Step Back” (which sounds like “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” on 78 speed) and “Let Me Free.”

The Less An Object also includes “Holding Back,” a 1981 recording not released until 1994, when it was paired with “B-Side” for a posthumous single. Williams’ obvious straining during “Holding Back”’s chorus adds to the track’s urgency and emotion, making it (at least in this writer’s opinion) the man’s greatest recorded vocal performance.

After years of self abuse, Williams died in 1992 at the age of 36. Belfer’s later career included a stint with Black Lab, while Mooney found a fair amount of success as a member of the critically acclaimed American Music Club. Sadly, the timekeeper died of a heart attack in June 2012 at the age of 53.

The Sleepers left an indelible impact on those fortunate enough to see them live during the band’s short career.

“I remember when The Sleepers came down to LA for the ‘Mabuhay Night’ at the Whisky in 1978,” recalls David Murphy, guitarist for The Vidiots and the late Rik L Rik. “Negative Trend, The Offs and The Nuns were also on the bill. The Sleepers were amazing, just an ecstatic blur. They were doing their cover of The Chambers Brothers’ ‘Time Has Come Today,’ and Ricky kept yelling to the sound guy, ‘More echo, more echo!’”                                       

Murphy and L Rik later recorded a version of “She’s Fun” (released on the 1991 Rik L Rik anthology The Lost Album) and performed a cover of “Linda” live. 

“There was a certain hypnotic vibe that The Sleepers had - just lurching, swirling, deliberate,” Murphy says. “Those songs were fun to play. Rik really liked paring songs back to their essential elements, using single-string riffs. I think there were these minimalist influences that he got from The Sleepers and Negative Trend in those early days that he always carried with him.”

  

Earlier this year, the amazing San Francisco-based label Superior Viaduct reissued Seventh World and Painless Nights on vinyl. These deserve a place in any serious music collection. (In related news, Superior Viaduct reissued Negative Trend’s classic 1978 EP on November 26 and is set to release vinyl reissues of two 12-inch EPs by Tuxedomoon on December 10. Bless them.)

If you’re looking for a band to explore on a rainy night when the bottles are empty and the ashtray is full, go HERE for more information on the Sleepers vinyl reissues.

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The Best of 2014

Just like last year, coming up with a “best of” list for 2014 was an excruciating task. After weeks of agonizing consideration, I finally whittled my list down to 30 albums (with special attention given here to the first 10). After that, I added a slew of special categories for other releases that I thought were worthy of inclusion. Although I’m sure I’ll be kicking myself on January 1 for missing an artist or two, I'm pretty satisfied with the list below. Here goes...

1. ALBUM OF THE YEAR- James Williamson: Re-Licked

Legendary Stooges guitarist James Williamson developed Re-Licked as way to finally record a number of post-Raw Power tracks that he wrote with Iggy Pop in 1973-74. Although these numbers have existed for years on a number of bootleg releases of varying audio quality, Re-Licked represents the first time these songs were given a chance to grow in a legitimate studio setting. Guests include Jello Biafra (Dead Kennedys/Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine), Lisa Kekaula (The BellRays), Gary Floyd (The Dicks), JG Thirlwell (Foetus), Carolyn Wonderland, Bobby Gillespie and Simone Marie Butler (Primal Scream), Mark Lanegan (Screaming Trees/ Queens of the Stone Age), Joe Cardamone (The Icarus Line), Petra Haden, Ariel Pink, Ron Young (Little Caesar), Mike Watt (Stooges/Minutemen), Alison Mosshart (The Kills), Gregg Foreman (Cat Power), Steve Mackay (Stooges), Toby Dammit (Stooges/Iggy Pop/Swans), Mario Cuomo (The Orwells), Nicke Andersson (The Hellacopters/Entombed), The Richmond Sluts and Michael Urbano (Cracker/Smash Mouth). How could this album not be amazing? (Read my full review here.)

2. Dum Dum Girls: Too True

Charting singer/multi-instrumentalist Dee Dee Penny’s evolution over the past near-decade has been an intriguing study of how an Indie queen can be a Pop star at heart. Formerly the drummer/singer in San Diego band Grand Ole Party (and previously known as Kristin Gundred), Dee Dee launched The Dum Dum Girls as a bedroom recording project in 2008. The first Dum Dum Girls album, 2010’s I Will Be, was a delightfully echoed-out, lo-fi affair that sounded like first Pretenders album recorded on a boombox. The production was smoothed over on 2011’s stellar Only In Dreams, which showcased Dee Dee’s ability to create an unstoppable earworm. (Take a listen to “Bedroom Eyes” and enjoy the song being stuck in your head for the next week.) As hinted on 2012’s dramatically evolved End of Daze EP, Dee Dee has finally gone larger than life with The Dum Dum Girls, fully embracing a big song/big production approach on Too True in an impossible-to-deny shot at the Big Leagues. Remember the last time an act on Sub Pop decided to go to the top? While Too True surely isn’t destined to have the same cultural impact as that other band, it’s still a wondrous sonic experience and one of the best albums Sub Pop - or any label, for that matter - has ever released. (Read my full review here.)

3. Pink Floyd: The Endless River

While The Endless River is not the greatest Pink Floyd album ever released, it is certainly the most cohesive and adventurous collection of music they've produced since The Wall. Far from a mere collection of Division Bell castaways, the album offers an array of moments that meet or even far exceed the quality of that release. Inspired by an absent friend, The Endless River takes us on one final trip through the creative minds of a unique combination of players and songwriters that left an indelible mark on the world of music. If this is indeed the end, this album is an extraordinary way for Pink Floyd's light to go out. (Read my full review here.)

4. Gong: I See You

Still going strong at 76, Gong leader/Psychedelic Rock legend Daevid Allen recently gifted the world with I See You, a fascinating collection characterized by esoteric lyricism and some absolutely draw-dropping musicianship. (Just listen to son Orlando Allen's hi-hat work on the title track!) Despite facing serious health issues in recent times, Daevid remains a deeply creative force still producing music as powerful as he did more than four decades ago.  

5. Arch Enemy: War Eternal

Demonstrating Arch Enemy's typical ability to balance aggression and melody, the extremely well-produced War Eternal showcases an absolutely bulletproof band. Beyond the impressive presence of new vocalist Alissa White-Gluz, War Eternal boasts plenty of stellar guitar playing (especially at the 2:19 mark in “On And On,” during the first half-minute of “No More Regrets” and basically in all 323 seconds of “Time Is Black”). Three cheers to founding member Michael Amott and new six-stringer Nick Cordle for delivering performances that offer plenty of dramatics without once hinting at pretentiousness. Best of all, the songs on War Eternal (especially the hook-heavy “As The Pages Burn” and the epic “You Will Know My Name”) instantly get in your head and stay there for days. Nearly 20 years after their formation, Arch Enemy have once again raised the bar for groups creating melodic, song-oriented Metal that still retains plenty of power. There's not a single note on War Eternal that doesn't shine. The best Metal album of 2014. (Read my full review here.)

6. The Pretty Reckless: Going To Hell

The cover of Going To Hell - Gossip Girl actress Taylor Momsen's second album with her band The Pretty Reckless - shows her wearing nothing but black paint. (She shows off even more skin on the vinyl edition). Although some of the more conservative and/or cynical members of the public might be unimpressed by such blatant “sex sells” exploitation, the fact remains that anyone unwilling to look beyond a bare ass on the cover and simply listen to the actual music will miss out on experiencing one of the finest albums released this year. (Read my full review here.)

7. Brownout: Brownout Presents Brown Sabbath

This Austin-based Latin Funk ensemble take on seven of the most beloved songs from the original Black Sabbath with amazing results. Although every second of the mostly instrumental Brownout Presents Brown Sabbath is magnificent, “The Wizard” and “Planet Caravan” are especially sublime. (Have a listen here.)

8. Mike Hudson & The Pagans: Hollywood High

When you get right down to it, legendary writer/Pagans frontman Mike Hudson didn't need to do a goddamn thing after releasing the “Street Where Nobody Lives / What's This Shit Called Love?” single with The Pagans in 1978. As perfect as anything off Raw Power, this two-sided gem easily secured Hudson's place in history, making everything (records, books, articles, etc.) he has blessed us with in the ensuing decades icing on the cake. Not only is Hudson still creating, but Hollywood High proves that hasn't lost the spark that made his early work so incendiary. Backed by a supergroup including members of Detroit/Los Angeles veterans The Dogs (whose Loren Molinare produced the album), Keith Christopher of The Georgia Satellites and even former Dio/Rainbow bassist Jimmy Bain, Hudson and his raspy, world-worn voice deliver an eight-song, 33-minute blast of energy that reminds listeners of what the real deal sounds like. This ain't Mall Punk, kids - this is real, filthy-barroom-at-1am-with-a-full-ashtray kinda shit. If The Dead Boys had kept their act together long enough to do a third album, it would have sounded like Hollywood High. (Read my full review here.)

9. Sonny Vincent & Spite: Spiteful

First off, let's have a look at the cast of characters on this thing. Of course, there's Sonny Vincent, New York Punk veteran and legendary Testors frontman, on vocals and guitar. On bass, we have Glen Matlock from The Sex Pistols. The drumming is handled by none other than the great Rat Scabies of The Damned. And then things go way over the top...On saxophone, Steve Mackay from the mighty Stooges. Let that sink in...We have a singer/guitarist who's been at this game for a good 35 years, the guy who wrote “Pretty Vacant” on bass, the original drummer from one of history's greatest bands and a guy who played on Fun House. This is some serious, serious business – enough to make one reluctant to actually play the record out of fear of having his or her incredibly high hopes dashed. Thankfully, Spiteful will go down in history as one of the very few occasions when something like this absolutely worked. (Read my full review here.)

10. Jade Starling: Captive 

Jade Starling, the voice of one of the world's most revered Dance tracks (Pretty Poison's “Catch Me [I'm Falling]”) returned in 2014 with Captive (Subpoena/Universal), her amazing EDM-driven solo debut. Created with longtime musical partner/Pretty Poison bandmate Whey Cooler, Captive found Starling working with some of the world's greatest DJs and remixers, including Lee Dagger of the hugely successful English remix team Bimbo Jones (Lady Gaga/Rihanna/Kylie Minogue), Laszlo (Selena Gomez/Kelly Clarkson/Justin Bieber/Nicki Minaj) and Franck Dona (Universal France). A true labor of love and easily the best Dance album of 2014, Captive took close to two years to complete. (Read my interview with Jade here.)

Here are 20 more albums that made 2014 a great year for music:

Taylor Swift: 1989

Haunted Hearts: Initiation

Cœur de pirate: Trauma

Ian Anderson: Homo Erraticus

Obituary: Inked In Blood

Bob Mould: Beauty & Ruin

Shellac: Dude Incredible

Tuxedomoon: Pink Narcissus

Renaissance: Symphony Of Light (Read my feature here.)

John Batiste/Chad Smith/Bill Laswell: The Process (Read my review here.)

Bernie Worrell: Phantom Sound Clash Cut-Up Method: Two (Read my review here.)

Ani Cordero: Recordar

Hollis Brown: Gets Loaded

Anna Phoebe: Between The Shadow And The Soul

Paul Roessler: Volume One

Sanctuary: The Year The Sun Died

Mike LePond's Silent Assassins: S/T (Read my review here.)

Negativland: It's All In Your Head

Various Artists: Axels & Sockets: The Jeffrey Lee Pierce Sessions Project
Wilko Johnson/Roger Daltrey: Going Back Home

Song of the Year – Hawkwind featuring Brian Blessed: “Sonic Attack”

Prince Vultan of the Hawkmen fronting Hawkwind? How amazing is that?! (Read my feature on the song here.)

Best EP- Shmu: Chroma Key

There is a big difference between acting weird and being weird. It’s simple to spot by asking yourself this question: “Is the strange person in front of me working hard to appear fucked up, or is this person projecting ‘odd’ by merely existing?” Compare Dot Wiggin to Marilyn Manson, and you should hopefully see my point. A lot of trust fund smart-asses hit the musical conveyer belt on my desk these days, with each cheeky bastard trying harder than the last to shock or befuddle. (They usually bore or mildly annoy.) While I’ve never met the man who calls himself “Shmu,” his genuinely weird music leads me to believe that this cat’s creating stuff as inventive as the Chroma Key EP because that’s what’s in his head naturally and not because he wants to appear “out there.” (Read my full review here.)

Best Split Release – Electric Frankenstein/The Cheats: Rockamania #1

Bolstered by the return of original bassist Dan Canzonieri, Electric Frankenstein storm out of the gate on Rockamania #1 with their strongest tunes in a decade. (Check out “I Feel So Lonely” if you don't believe me.) The Cheats from Pittsburgh keep the party going with their melodic Antiseen-meets-Hellacopters charm.  

Best Box Set – Black Sabbath: The Complete Albums 1970-1978

Featuring the same remastering as the out-of-print Black Box from 2004, this budget collection gathers all eight of the original lineup's albums. Nearly 40 years after Osbourne, Iommi, Butler and Ward last recorded together, this music remains the absolute high point of Heavy Metal.  

Best Live Album – Pere Ubu: Visions Of The Moon

There is no other band quite like Pere Ubu. The kind of musical group that forces scribes to beg the heavens for the right adjectives (I'll go with “brilliant”), Pere Ubu has been offering exciting and perplexing sounds for the past 40 years. Recorded in Dublin in November 2013, the digital-only Visions Of The Moon finds the band at their experimental best. Closer to the out-there spirit of albums like 1978's Dub Housing and 1982's Song Of The Bailing Man than the more conventional vibe of, say, 1991's Worlds In Collision, Visions... is an exhilarating (if at times uneasy) journey.  

Best Single – Front 242: “Take One” / “Im Rhythmus Bleiben”

The return of Wax Trax! Records was the best music news of 2014. In addition to a 12-inch EP by Cocksure (featuring Chris Connelly), the label marked its second coming with this very limited edition single by Wax Trax! legends Front 242. Side A features a 1984 live recording of “Take One” from the group's first US appearance at Medusa's in Chicago, while Side B presents a live recording of “Im Rhythmus Bleiben” from the Wax Trax! Restrospectacle event in 2011. A glorious reminder of just how magical Wax Trax! was – and is. 

Best Compilation – Soulside: Trigger + Bass•103

Twenty-five years after playing their last gig, the final lineup of legendary D.C. Post-Hardcore band Soulside – singer Bobby Sullivan, guitarist Scott McCloud, bassist Johnny Temple and drummer Alexis Fleisig – reconvened this month for a series of east coast reunion shows. Fans were able to prep for the gigs by checking out a 12-inch release on Dischord Records that combined Soulside's 1988 Trigger EP with the three-song 1989 single, Bass/103. Released in August on yellow vinyl, the LP served as a stellar primer for listeners who are just now discovering the band thanks to the considerable buzz surrounding the December events. This stuff still sounds great after all these years. (Read my feature on the band here.)

Best CD Reissue – Slint: Spiderland

Although Nirvana's Nevermind is often cited as the most important Rock album of 1991, there were plenty of “Alternative” titles put out in the months leading up to that record's release that – at least in my never-humble opinion – far exceeded it. (Dinosaur Jr.'s Green Mind and Material Issue's International Pop Overthrow instantly come to mind.) With Louisville, Kentucky's Slint already disbanded by the time Spiderland was quietly released by Touch and Go in early 1991, this extraordinary album never really stood a chance the first time around. It would take more than two decades – and a steady cult following that grew with each passing year – before Spiderland saw the reissue treatment (and international attention) it deserved. Offering a compact alternative to the massive, sold-out-before-you-even-knew-about-it box set version, the two-disc edition of the Spiderland reissue features the album, a DVD of Lance Bangs' documentary film Breadcrumb Trail and a download card for 14 bonus tracks. One of the greatest listening experiences you'll ever have.  

Best Vinyl Reissue – Rollins Band: Life Time

Although the Rollins Band would gain mainstream recognition years later with albums like 1992's The End Of Silence and 1994's Weight (and leader Henry Rollins would later find considerable success as a TV show host, actor and 30-plus-year spoken word performer), 1987's Life Time remains perhaps the band's strongest and most incendiary studio release. Released November 18 on Rollins' 2.13.61 label in association with Dischord Records, this revamped vinyl edition of Life Time was remastered for vinyl by TJ Lipple and includes updated artwork by Jason Farrell. (Read my interview with Rollins here.)

Best Digital Reissue – Toiling Midgets: Sea Of Unrest

An album everyone should hear at least once, Sea of Unrest was the 1982 debut full-length by the brilliant post-Negative Trend band Toiling Midgets. Featuring former Sleepers members Ricky Williams (vocals) and Tim Mooney (drums), the record finally saw a digital release earlier this year. Those unfamiliar with Toiling Midgets are encouraged to give “Destiny,” “Microage” and “All The Girls Cry” a listen. Remarkable. 

Best Unearthed Recording – Fugazi: First Demo

In addition to consistently adding new releases by current bands to their always-intriguing discography, D.C.’s Dischord Records has devoted considerable time in recent years to reaching as far into the dusty crevices of their recorded archives as possible to uncover previously unheard (or at least widely uncirculated) early demos from some of their most popular artists. This ongoing project includes the 2003 release of Minor Threat’s 1981 demo as a 7-inch EP, the 2012 CD/10-inch release of the extraordinary 1984 demo by Rites of Spring and - earlier this year - the 7-inch, eight-song 1980 demo recording by State Of Alert (S.O.A.). The label wrapped up 2014 with the release of the self-explanatory First Demo by Fugazi, a collection bursting with unbridled energy and some of the finest bass/drums interplay ever committed to vinyl. Bonus: Features the previously unheard “Turn Off Your Guns.” An essential purchase, even if you already own and know the proper studio versions of these tunes by heart.  

Best Video – OFF!: “Hypnotized” 

The best video of Jack Grisham peeing on David Yow you'll see this year.

Best Music Documentary – Riot on the Dance Floor: The Story of Randy Now & City Gardens  

Seeing a show at City Gardens in Trenton, NJ was like visiting the Thunderdome. The violent, sweaty crowds inside matched the danger and decay that greeted showgoers outside. Thankfully, it was worth it to see some of the most incredible music to come from the underground in the early '80s through the mid '90s. Have a favorite band from left of the dial? Yeah, they played City Gardens. Riot on the Dance Floor chronicles the man responsible for it all: Randy “Now” Ellis, a super-enthusiastic, larger-than-life music fan who spent his days as a mailman while doing his part to keep the American Alternative music scene alive at night. Randy paid his dues; Riot pays him the respect he deserves.

Best Music-Related Book – Book by The Jesus Lizard

Published by the Brooklyn-based Akashic Books, BOOK charts the Chicago band’s intense history: From their beginnings as a drum machine-fueled recording project to their rise in the American underground scene to the band’s highly controversial (yet financially beneficial) jump from indie label Touch and Go to Capitol to their eventual breakup in 1999 (and reunion 10 years later), it’s all there. With a slew of photos illustrating the tale, the band – as well as multitude of friends, supporters and fellow musicians – offer insight into the band’s caustic life and legacy. Even if you’re unfamiliar or disinterested with the band’s music, BOOK makes for an intriguing exploration of the alternative music scene of the ’90s – a short burst in time when a band as gloriously odd as The Jesus Lizard could do whatever they wanted to do and get a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. (Read my feature on the book here.)

So there you have it. I wish you all a happy, healthy and successful 2015!

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