Bort's Compilation Collection

[SuburbanArgyle]

No Alternative was such a good comp....I seem to remember it being one of my first CD's actually, but I could be wrong. I know that I definitely got it for the unlisted Nirvana track at the time.

[bort]

Not The Same Old Blues Crap
(Fat Possum, 1998)

Like electric blues from a Mississippi juke-joint, all raw and real and relaxed.  Some of the stuff is so loose and improvisational is teeters off the edge of my wheelhouse, but for the most part the soul is there - nothing faux or hipster about this stuff.  Neckbones, 20 Miles, and T-Model Ford supply the more vicious tunes, breaking a foot off in your ass (literally with "I'm Insane") and your ear.  RL Burnside and Junior Kimbraugh provide the old-man blues, but it just flows out naturally, as opposed to the more by-the-numbers traditional blues.  Jelly Roll Kings offer a little variety in the form of a Wurlitzer (I think), and the comp closes out with a mellow track from Hasil Adkins.  Apparently there are 2 more volumes after this one, neither of which I've heard.  At some point I'd like to though.
BA: 5 for 11 (.454)

[bort]

np: ourselves
(sbaetz, 2002)

Hey!  I made this compilation.  Back when I was young and motivated, I had a zine called Sit Back And Enjoy The Zinery.  I also posted on the CMJ Bulletin Board, back when the magazine was still active and people still were excited about music.  Anyway, I decided to do a joint project, where I'd collect tracks from CMJ-bands (akin to what we consider "bored bands" and also interview the bands for the corresponding zine.  Again, think of the Grivet/Moon Shut Up And Do It project mixed with the Insub Zine.  I did it there first!  I don't remember all the details, but I do remember it being a pain in the ass.  But the comp is great.  Indie Americana stuff from Belleville, Riviera, and That Which, IDM from Blotter and DJ Clam Knuckles, good old indie rock from the Bon Savants and Come Down, punk rock from Rise of Marakara, surf rock from the Dirt Surfers, and straight-up catchy pop/rock hits from German Art Students, Hop On Pop, Paper Airplane Pilots, and Phillip Ajjarapu.  A few more that are buried in their own niche (like my lo-fi acoustic bedroom pop Orange Crate Mark) or defy categorization.  I highly doubt these bands would cause a blip on your radar, but nonetheless it's a great collection from some talented people, all of whom happened to be connected thanks to the wonderful world wide web.
BA: 15 for 18 (.833)

Belleville - The Crying Shame

Bon Savants - Post Rock Defends the Nation (Pill comp)

"Hear It" Live! by The German Art Students

[bort]

The #1 Punk Album
(Universal, 1996)

One of my more solid purchases back in the day.  I think I got this import for 5 bucks when one of those Record Town stores went out of business.  The comp is no joke, if I played this  during lastfm baseball I could've pitched a no hitter.   Here's what's on the stronger disc 1:

1-1    Sex Pistols – God Save The Queen       
1-2    Jam, The – Going Underground       
1-3    Buzzcocks – Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn't Have)       
1-4    Damned, The –    New Rose       
1-5    Ruts, The – Babylon's Burning       
1-6    Stranglers, The – Hanging Around       
1-7    Undertones, The – Teenage Kicks       
1-8    XTC – Making Plans For Nigel       
1-9    Eddie And The Hot Rods – Do Anything You Wanna Do       
1-10    Psychedelic Furs, The – Pretty In Pink       
1-11    Jags, The – Back Of My Hand       
1-12    Shane MacGowan – My Way       
1-13    Skids, The – Into The Valley       
1-14    Only Ones, The – Another Girl Another Planet       
1-15    Elvis Costello And The Attractions – Oliver's Army       
1-16    Blondie – Picture This       
1-17    Vapors, The – Turning Japanese       
1-18    Adverts, The – Gary Gilmore's Eyes       
1-19    Sham 69 – If The Kids Are United       
1-20    Members, The – The Sound Of The Suburbs       
1-21    Tenpole Tudor –    Swords Of A Thousand Men       
1-22    Richard Hell & The Voidoids – Blank Generation       
1-23    Rezillos – Top Of The Pops       
1-24    Stiff Little Fingers – At The Edge       
1-25    New York Dolls – Courageous Cat Theme       

Pretty unfuckwithable lineup.  Disc 2 gives us Siouxsie & The Banshees, Magazine, Bow Wow Wow, Adam & The Ants, X-ray Spex, Squeeze, PiL, Flamin' Groovies, Television, Generation X, and much more.  Went you get right down to it, there's no rare material, the presentation itself is very cheesy and very typical "Let's cash in on the 90s punk boom" but you just can't mess with having all these awesome songs in one place.  Other than getting a double dose of the Sex Pistols, the Jam, and the Stranglers, this is a pretty varied comp, filled with everything that fit under the punk umbrella at the time - snotty stuff, street punk, pop punk, new wave, post-punk etc.  It's hard to judge the hits here, because most of these songs are great, so even an ok song by the Skids or the Boomtown Rats doesn't strike as hot.  Oh well.
BA: 40 for 47 (.851)

[bort]

Nu Jazz Sessions Vol. 2
(Groove Gravy, 2004)

I believe I acquired this back when I was doing my Moog Power radio show.  I actually like this kinda stuff, but this is the music that I hear at work all the time so I'm kinda burnt out on it.  Some of it is straight up new school electro-jazz, other stuff is "remixes"/covers of older jazz standards.  The Jazzelicious remix of Carmen McRae's "Straighten Up And Fly Right" is great, both accentuating and honoring the groove of the original.  All of it is zippity zoop beepity bop (and with Rithma you get it in both scat and drum machine form!) so if you're into that type of thing this does indeed hit the spot.  Unless I'm looking for a verrry specific sound, or in a certain mood I don't single any of these songs out as hits, though some of these tracks are either more fun or more authentic (aka not elevator muzak) than others.  Pretty good stuff though for a sunny winter Saturday morning in the house.
BA: 6 for 14 (.428)

[bort]

One Last Kiss
(SpinArt, 1992)

An early, scene document-type of comp from one of my favorite labels of the 90s.  Back at this time, there was a ton of indie pop happening around the US, but almost all of it was little pockets of bands and tiny labels and small pressings.  SpinArt here collects the best of the bunch - Swirlies, Velocity Girl, Magnetic Fields, Courtney Love (again, the band, not the bitch) and a bunch more that probably wouldn't see the light of day otherwise - Whorl, Jane Pow, and Small Factory to name a few.  Crayon and the Lilys was good foresight as well.  There's some stuff that drifts into boring shoegazer, and some that is basically "C-86-but-not-as-good," but for the most part a decent collection of what was happening at the time.
BA: 10 for 19 (.526)

The Magnetic Fields - 100,000 Fireflies

Velocity Girl - My Forgotten Favorite

[bort]

One: It's All Good Man
(Crank!, 2001)

What an odd collection this is.  It somewhat reflects the times as by '01 "alternative" had completely stretched out beyond any point of boundaries.  Also, if I'm remembering correctly, the comp was created so that each band could pick a charity and proceeds would be portioned out respectively.  In essence the bands were brought together in some form of fundraisering, rather than from a common scene.  So we get good hip-hop from Ugly Duckling, weird hip-hop from The Blood of Abraham, weird electro-hop stuff from DJ Spooky, cool electronic pop from Milemarker, and then some good ol' punk/pop/emo stuff from Hey Mercedes, Elliott, Engine Down, and Spark Lights The Friction.  Also participating are Electro-clashers the Faint, alt-rockers Dandy Warhols, garage punkers Murder City Devils, as well as the nearly unlistenable Bright Eyes and Blood Brothers.   Definitely some gems here, but overall a strange juxtaposition of bands and genres.
BA: 9 for 16 (.562)

[bort]

Organs In Orbit (Ultra-Lounge Vol. 11)
(Capitol, 1996)

Back during my Ultra-Lounge and/or Hammond organ phase. All space-age bachelor pad stuff here, nothing but music to lounge/drink to.  But, when I'm in the mood to have something light and fluffy on, it fits the bill.  Martin Denny, Ernie Freeman, and a few more "knowns" are on this (this label/series generally did a great job getting all the significant artists and then some), but the real stars are Denny McLain (60s pitching star for the Detroit Tigers) who does an aces "Girl From Impenema," Sir Julian's "Movin' At Midnight," and my personal favorite, John Buzon Trio's "Mr. Ghost Goes To Town."
12 for 18 (.666)

The John Buzon Trio - Mr. Ghost Goes To Town

[doctoracula]

One: It's All Good Man
(Crank!, 2001)

What an odd collection this is.  It somewhat reflects the times as by '01 "alternative" had completely stretched out beyond any point of boundaries.  Also, if I'm remembering correctly, the comp was created so that each band could pick a charity and proceeds would be portioned out respectively.  In essence the bands were brought together in some form of fundraisering, rather than from a common scene.  So we get good hip-hop from Ugly Duckling, weird hip-hop from The Blood of Abraham, weird electro-hop stuff from DJ Spooky, cool electronic pop from Milemarker, and then some good ol' punk/pop/emo stuff from Hey Mercedes, Elliott, Engine Down, and Spark Lights The Friction.  Also participating are Electro-clashers the Faint, alt-rockers Dandy Warhols, garage punkers Murder City Devils, as well as the nearly unlistenable Bright Eyes and Blood Brothers.   Definitely some gems here, but overall a strange juxtaposition of bands and genres.
BA: 9 for 16 (.562)

what an odd comp for crank to release.  i totally forgot about ugly duckling.  i had one record of theirs and loved it

[bort]

yeah just one of those weird things from a weird time.  reminds of the circa '01 Warped Tour, where I watched Jurassic 5 and MxPx back to back.

[bort]

Out Of Bounds
(Warner, 1999)

When people talk about "alternative" having no real meaning, and the genre name being a marketing scheme, this is the type of release they are referring to.  Although to be fair, the comp does follow the title with a more apt/safer tagline of "a journey through modern rock."  Plus, this shit ain't bad for a dollar bin find.  The disc starts off with Warner trying to sell two of it's new singings - Red Telephone (not bad Buffalo Tom/Dino Jr. rip) and Orgy (not good NIN rip).  After that the disc spreads out in several directions - the world folk/soft goth of Dead Can Dance, the UK synth-rock of Inspiral Carpets, the club track from Erasure, the pleasant pop of the Lemonheads, the sad pop of the Smiths (and later, Morrissey), the femme-fronted alt. rock of Belly and Letters To Cleo, and a bunch of other bands which I always think of as 80s bands, even though they had releases beyond that decade - B-52s, the Call, Oingo Boingo, and INXS.  Sounds like an eclectic collection, eh?  Well how about a song from Ministry for the cherry on top?
BA: 8 for 16 (.500)

[doctoracula]

good ministry or bad ministry?

[bort]

"Just One Fix" off of Psalm 69, arguably their last good album before they went to shit.

[doctoracula]

yea, i like that one.  i got filth pig when it came out, but only liked a handful of songs. 

[mclz]

the only ministry song i've heard is their song on the rock against bush comp which is pretty good.

[bort]

Overboard
(Yo Yo, 1997)

Another Yo Yo comp, full of bands that only existed in some small little corner of the world (presumably the North West).  But once you were in that corner, it was like funnest most exciting gathering of friends and family and good music.  Girl-fronted indie pop from Little Red Car Wreck, Kitty Spit'n Fire (is there some cardinal rule that every indie scene has to have a girl-fronted band with Kitty in the name?), and Tummy Ache are highlights, as is the track from Some Velvet Sidewalk - arguably the biggest name here if that gives you any indication of how obscure these acts are.  I also really like the Lookers, though I'm a big Sarah Dougher fan, and also enjoy the Cannanes.  The Loud Machine 0.5 is great too, though I have no idea what they are singing about.  Also I believe this comp introduced my to Jason Traeger, who has a quaint album (on K Records, IIRC) that I listen to when I'm in the wishy-gushy mood.  There's some junk here too - just can't enjoy Nikki McClure on any musical level, and the Skirts kinds follow her aesthetic as well.  Bleh.  Still, a nice little capsule of weird bands doing pleasant things and sometimes pleasant bands doing weird things.
BA: 8 for 17 (.470)

[bort]

Peel Out In The States (Programs 15 & 16)
(In Press, 1993)

Ok, so not really a compilation, just a cd release of Peel's radio shows.  More like a podcast, actually!  This series collects his radio shows that he did in the U.S. back in the early 90s.  I love listening to John Peel.  He's unapologetic about his hype, and his quips are fast and furious and segue between songs wonderfully.  Some favs are "Speaking of Australia, they are killing us in crickit right now, of course you people don't know anything about crickit" and "If your ears aren't bleeding when this track is over, you're playing it wrong!"  Anyway, Peel decided to spin Bratmobile, The Fall (of course), Magic Dirt, Bang Bang Machine (covering T Rex), the Boo Radleys, the Harvest Ministers, and my favorite find from this show, Shaba Kahamba Et Les Esprits Saints.  There's also a few tracks of hardcore trance that haven't aged well.  Still, a nice little slice of the BBC here in on our home turf. 
BA: 8 for 15 (.533)

Bratmobile- I Love You, You Little Crocodile

The Boo Radleys - Leaves and Sand

[bradleyadita]

Love this thread, love the dedication, commitment!

(click to show/hide)

Bort, wanna review TTTALL for PPDC when it comes out?

[bort]

Love this thread, love the dedication, commitment!

(click to show/hide)

Bort, wanna review TTTALL for PPDC when it comes out?

If it comes out after I get through the "T" section of this project, sure.

[bort]

Periscope
(Yo Yo, 1998)

Possibly the best Yo Yo collection.  We get some scorching punk, metal, and rock from the Mukilteo Faries, Copass Grinderz, and Bloodthirsty Butchers respectively.  Tracks from the very underrated Fitz Of Depression, and perhaps some of the best bands from the riot grrl era - Team Dresch and Excuse 17.  I love the slidey guitar sound of Love As Laughter.  I like the lo-fi indie pop of Tattle Tale (though Jen would later go on to make an even better solo album).  I love the tracks from Go Sailor and Cub, which you can hear on other releases, and I LOVE the tracks from Neutral Milk Hotel and Beck, which you can't hear anywhere else.  Crabs, Tummy Ache, Raggedy Ann, and Long Hind Legs round out the comp.  So freaking solid!
BA: 16 for 17 (.941)

Go Sailor - Last Year

Beck - The World May Loose It's Motion

The Crabs - Chubbette

[bort]

The Perfect Beats Vol. 1
(Tommy Boy, 1998)

The subtitle explains it fairly well: New York Electro Hip-Hop and Underground Dance Classics 1980-1985.  On the plus side, the beat really is perfect - That wonderful mix of urban groove and European motorik.  On the downside, it gets used fairly often on this comp, and in the early 80s as a whole.  The comp gives us classics like "Planet Rock" from Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force, the creators of the original sample Kraftwerk (a nice double-shot even), and also electro-pop from Yaz and the Peech Boys.  Also of note is a deep cut from Yello, the Swiss synthmeisters who gave us "Oh Yeah," which many old people remember from Ferris Bueller's Day Off, and many young douchebags know from a Super Bowl Commercial.
BA: 7 for 14 (.500)

[bort]

Pet Sounds
(Vital Cog, 1999)

A charity comp that helps cute little puppies.  Seems like a good idea for a great cause, though I often wonder how successful these things are.  For some reason I always thought of this comp as forgettable, though on this most recent listen I recognize how many highlights there are to discuss.  I'm a Lisa Germano fan, so starting off with a track from her is always good.  The disc also provides a rare Magnapop track, good stuff from the Photon Band (one of the reasons I bought the comp), good stuff from the Diane Linkletter Experience (whom I've never heard of before or since) and the best (though not exclusive) songs from Cinerama (aka David Gedge from the Wedding Present) and Heatmiser (aka Elliott Smith's pre-solo band).  Sorry About Dresden, Silkworm, and a bunch more C-list alt/indie/pop/rock bands make an appearance.  Most of it pleasant, but "just there"-type songs.  Although I like this the more now than I did in the past, so perhaps many of these tracks are growers.
BA: 9 for 15 (.600)

[bort]

Physical Fatness
(Fat Wreck, 1997)

This was a quick and easy listen.  Old, new, rare tracks from the then-current Fat roster.  NOFX does an old jazz standard, Snuff does their epic "Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads," Screeching Weasel provide their practically-a-hit "Cool Kids," and the Dickies prove (if only briefly) they could still make a pop punk gem 20 years after they first pioneered the sound.  All the usual suspects provide good songs - Bracket, Tilt, Propagandhi, Lagwagon, et al, though I wish they'd chosen a better track from Hi-Standard off the second album, and the No Use For A Name song is sooooooo much better when Tony Sly did the acoustic version many years later.  Overall a good comp and solid evidence that Fat was at their peak here.  A slow decline is about to burden them for at least 6 or 7 years.
BA: 10 for 18 (.555)

[bradleyadita]

If it comes out after I get through the "T" section of this project, sure.

cool. i'd be still willing to publish or republish your review either way

[doctoracula]

that fat comp has my favorite good riddance song.  and the strung out song is pretty great too