Doper's Classic?

I was watching LBL 09 on the trainer and it got me thinking. Even after the EPO fueled Gewiss team put their supercharged stamp on the Ardennes classics, Liege Bastogne Liege remains a race you may not want to win if you don't want to get busted down the line
Year Winner Busted
1999 VDB RIP Which time?
2000 Bettini No
2001 Oscar Camerzind Multiple from Festina on. Now a Postman
2002 Bettini No
2003 Hamilton Twice
2004 Rebellin Doomed
2005 Vino He's back
2006 Valverde He's hanging on
2007 DiLuca Gone baby Gone
2008 Valverde Busted, but racing
2009 Andy Schelck -maybe there's a reason the Italian cops
were searching your dad?

So out of ten years there are 3 years and 2 riders that have not been sanctioned
for doping. Not a good winning percentage for clean riders.....
This also highlights the winning tradition of late 20s/early 30s thinning hair'd euro pros Bettini/Valverde/Rebellin. If he hadn't got caught, Schumacher was a shoe in for the podium!
La Doyenne or La Dopage?

Unsane First Three Singles

Don't know why I broke these out, but I am glad I did.
I remember seeing them at Hampshire college and they were one of the loudest bands I had ever seen. They had this goofy little A frame thing practically falling apart. Since I was a straightedge goodie two-shoes, I imagined these guys to be as crazy and fucked up as the graphics. They had that total NY vibe. Totally disgusted and disgusting.

This Town b/w Urge to Kill. Treehouse Records 1989. So right off the bat you've got the Zodiac Killer artwork. Brutal. Feedback, Wah-Wah, buried vocals. A winner.

Concrete Bed b/w El Mundo. This is the one that really stands out to me. Glitterhouse 1990. Concrete Bed is a total ripper with a Big Black kind of vibe.
Maybe the hit single of the bunch.

Sub-Pop was the home for 1990's epic Vandal-X b/w Streetsweeper. All the elements of the first 2 singles are pushed to the limit. Harsh, trebly, buried vocals. Pummelling assault. Nevermind the graphics which were some over the top sickness.

Jungle Music came out in 91 too, but it didn't grab me as much as the first three.
The first album was pretty rad too, but they kind of started to live off the hype. Maybe there was just too much competition for the hateful noise crown as you had Drunktank (naptime!),Red Bliss,Whorl, Zeni Geva, Hammerhead... I getting giddy just thinking about it.
I guess there is a singles collection of these on Matador, but it appears to be OOP and going for dumb money on amazon. I would guess those without the records are savvy enough to track it down and poach it on the web.

Boris 7's 1+2. Call off Pavlov's dogs

Is it just hype? or is it their uncanny ability to keep putting out records in ways that make you want to jump through hoops to get them? Japanese Heavy Rock Hits? Mailorder all three singles and get a free one sided single? Call me a dork, herb, whatever, but sign me up. These three have figured out how to push all the buttons on record collectors. They might even have one upped the Melvins with their ability to make people buy almost anything with there name on it.

#1 shows up. Graphics are too goofy for words. A-Side has me thinking it's a Swirlies record at first. B-Side "Hey Everyone" would be a cool track if it came up at the right time on shuffle.
#2. Nice underpants. "H.M.A". Heavy Metal Addict. Just like the Melvins-they got me wondering, are they laughing with me or at me? For a track called Heavy Metal Addict, I was expecting a little more shredding. B-Side starts off with a drum machine and maybe a nod to all those Blank Dog type bands with kind off a english/english disco vibe. Might be the best track of the 4 as I wasn't really expecting it.
Southernlord is the place to get it.
Probably will get more spins than Solomon Overlooked, but not by much. I will dig through a lot of trash to find a classic and Boris come through enough to make it worth it. Even if it it hasn't happened yet with these 7"S

2 slices of awesome

Take One. The Amps. "the opening number for the next year or so"????



Where do you start with this version? White Suit? Pilgrim Hat? Psych Effects? Granted the vocals are a little haggard but sick none the less.


I have really been regressing into 68-71 classic rock troll mode.

2010 Giro

The offical route presentaion isn't til th 24th, but the rumours include Plan de Coronoes TT, Monte Zoncolan, Motirolo, and a stage over the "strada bianca". They are putting together all the necessary elements for a great race. Even more TTs than the TDF!
A lot to look forward to.

how is this acceptable

art rock, outsider music, whatever the tag, I usually can't hang. I'd rather deal with BOC than Tortoise most days. How much art can I take? Not much. That's why I like metal, but now metal (especially hyphened metal black-, etc) are getting in the art game.
Got a copy of this Elegi Sistereis CD and expected some black metal or maybe some Isis/Neurosis type shit. Not at all what is in store
Opens with the sound of piano, drone, and the sound of someone walking on a creaky wood floor. the ocean, chains, and fog horns are other things you will hear. Sounded more like audio from a movie than anything else. I guess if you read Signal to Noise all the time, this kind of shit is trad-fair, but I caught me by surprise and is pretty fucking good-especially with Halloween coming up. It would be the perfect soundtrack to reading a Kurt Wallander mystery.(nice artsy literary reference.... are mysteries considered literature?). The whole vibe is "going down to the ocean to die". How can that not appeal to a Cape Cod'er?
I guess the more on the ball scribes have already labeled this as "acoustic doom". Ouch. If I knew that I never would have picked it up. So I guess labels do suck, and it's nice not to have a unique record ruined by the internet. Surprises are hard to come by.
mishmash is the label.
Sisteries is the word for a ship's last trip before it sinks so if you want to get all brainy with your nautical pals, there you go.

Maynard Fergussun explosion

Even a broken clock is right twice a day, and given the right songs even a goof ball like Maynard can sound hip. MF brings production and arrangements to the table. Covers are always good for a laugh if nothing else, but S/T MF record on Columbia exceeds expectations. Janis, James Taylor, George Harrison and on. 10 tracks of covers. The faux-head sitar action on Aquarius is unreal-especially as it rolls into some "riders on the storm" meets big band take on the Hair classic.
Side 2 opens with an upbeat "my sweet lord" that is worth the price of admission.
The MF Slaughter continues onto MF Horns 3. Rarely has such a dork, been so funky. I guess Nice N'Juicy is a trademark. Could lived without the 'Round Midnight cover-what's next? Take the A Train?


Considering you can find all his shit at the thrift store, it is well worth acquiring.


not on these albums but classic footage


the prison outfits on this band are too good