MP3 Download Dinner Bell for March

Amon Düde "Untitled" (MP3)
Arttu Partinen is the mountainous grizzly-fellow from Finland's Avarus, a free-freak collective that completely ruled last year live on WFMU's airwaves, armed only with cheap plastic toys they bought for $5 on their way through the Holland Tunnel and a bunch of loose brains. Avarus has always been about weird-n-woodsy sounds, deep listening, miniature noises and deep improvised soundscapes, but Arttu's solo act is one sick, throat-throttling pup as exemplified by this MP3. Ridiculously close-mic'd (or plugged right into the board) multi-track jabbering cartoon noise, seemingly influenced in equal parts by Looney Tunes as much as Japanese noise freaks of the 90's, clearly documenting a fellow who's time spent in dark months is having a profound effect on his psyche and is passing it your way now. I don't know if Arttu's playing this stuff live, but I can imagine it being somewhat like a Costes performance, though the room most likely smells a lot better after it's over. (Photo: Dylan Nyoukis).

For some reason, a slew of oddball religious recordings have popped up this week, strangely coinciding with me discovering the fact that the Antichrist has revealed himself. He is from Puerto Rico. (You Tube) And speaking of video, Bryce also expected me to sit through an hour of this dude, but I honestly had to avert my eyes by the 12 minute mark. See how you fare. When it really comes down to it, I think Bryce is going to be the one to save civilization in the end. But I digress. Mutant Sounds, as Lukas has mentioned, has been unleashing every record in the history of the world that I wanted to hear. Among the debris of these posts I found the great AD Conspiracy record from the UK circa 1979, an odd and nervous slab of minimal synth/sideways skronk that would easily fit in with something like Ned Sublette's "I Ain't Afraid of Girls" from the Downtown comp Antarctica. While they weren't a religious band per se (one of the guys went on to form trip-hop/jazz outfit Spaceways), "Heaven" (MP3) captures the jittery white-guy gospel vibe pretty accurately while teetering at the edge of a nervous breakdown. Jumping ahead to the early 1990's, the Totem Pole of Losers 7" "Jesus I Am Loving You" (MP3) basically is a nervous breakdown, another in a long line of Gregg Turkington/Brandan Kearney related bits of music that disturbingly pays homage to a Good Life-era style of music. You can honestly believe this is a real old-time scratchy bit of nostalgia, a booming female voice chipring along to a church organ, that is until the song keeps taking a manic corner-turn and she starts babbling about how she loves thinking about Jesus while eating ham sandwiches and how her husband doesn't bathe. Whoa. Isabel Baker's I Like God's Style LP seems to be the real deal, though. And the Chimney Spoke posted this incredible artifact in its entirety, which purports to be a private press deal from the wilds of Missouri. "I Have Peace" (MP3), "I Like God's Style" (MP3) and "When I Walk in the Valley" (MP3) are all total winners.  The crown jewel though has gotta be these gems from Crud Crud, where Floyd Robinson presents Charlie the Hamster circa 1975, clearly riding on the Lord's side against Lucifer (who is most likely Alvin the Chipmunk). "Battle Hymn of the Republic" (MP3), "Oh How I Love Jesus" (MP3), "Since Jesus Came Into My Heart" (MP3), "Jesus Loves the Little Children" (MP3). And a reminder if you want Jesus seared into your soul, we're talking hot branding iron here, check out this slab of MP3s culled from Kevin Nutt's contribution to our Aircheck show this past summer.

Below is a wrap-up of MP3-happy posts culled from the past month on Beware of the Blog (hoarded and stashed by Liz Berg):

- Catch yourself up on the 365 Days Project! Otis Fodder is curating another festival of found sounds, incorrectness, and oddball one-off singles to go along with each day of 2007. Click here to get your hands on music for roommates, tunes from a ski resort's house band, swinging remakes of classical pieces, songs in praise of silicone, and more.

- In honor of our upcoming annual fundraiser, Debbie Daughtry has kindly offered some MP3s of tunes from WFMU DJ premiums of the past.

- Mike Lupica shares an old souvenir 78 from the Empire State Building, in which a little girl discusses her trip to the building's 86th floor observatory.

- Who better to produce a radio play of Dante's Divine Comedy than Einstürzende Neubauten and John Peel? Thanks to Ken, for bringing this Radio Inferno down upon us all.

- In case you missed out, WFMU was involved in an innocent prank that pissed off an editor at the New York Times. Read up on the whole convoluted story here, and recoil with disgust as you listen to Seven Second Delay's interview with said editor.

- More station IDs from the mysterious W-F-M-U Guy, brought to you by Chris T.

- Brian Turner presents the ultimate Valentine's day tune.

- Ed Shepp tosses in a Valentine's day contribution, as well, bringing new meaning to the word "chlamydia." Trust us, here...

- Take a filthy v-day MP3 from smut peddler, Miss Amanda!

- Ergo Phizmiz has released another MP3 album's worth of remix magic taken from his Phuj Phactory show, download it here.

- Rare synth-pop singles for the taking! Spastic, weird, paranoid.

- Lukas gives us MP3s of a record that Peter and Caspar Brötzmann recorded together, along with  other great rarities.

- Find out why the Parents Television Council is anti-melon. Then download a seedy melon song.

- Brian Turner delves out a heaping serving of early metal gems. You've got to respect a band named Egor.

- More gems from the BT vault: some great Jonathan Halper tunes from the Kenneth Anger movie, Puce Moment.

- Download the whole friggin' original cast album of the naughty musical, Let My People Come. Brought to you by Agent Amanda.

Comments

[lee]

yeah, mutant-sounds is a dream come true. try the malfatti/wittwer thing. also the SPERM LPs !!!!!!!!!!!! bobby brown pretty cool as well. yippeeee!!!

[Skin]

Is it me, or does the photo on the album cover for Isabel Baker's "I Like God's Style" look just like the character Johnny Tamborine from Adult Swim's "Saul of the Mole Men"?

[Rufus]

That's "King" Johnny Tamborine, Skin. And - yes.

[Stu]

Isabel Baker is great. Her sincerity, her realness, is the best part; you can't fake that.