Some Album Recommendations

We've been doing a lot of music downloading lately at Beat It, Nerd -- all legal, of course -- and as with all things in life, some of it was good and some of it sucked. As a result, I have some fresh album recommendations for you. And though I didn't originally mean "fresh" in the old-school rap kind of way, I just now decided that it's exactly what I mean. So here we go:


• Alice Donut: Bucketfulls of Sickness and Horror in an Otherwise Meaningless Life (1989): The sophomore release from this punk-influenced NYC band known for its noisily harmonic music and love-him-or-hate-him lead singer. Though "known" probably isn't the right word, 'cause they're not a particularly well-known band. Regardless, this album saw the Donut evolve from a novelty song-type band into a bona fide artistic force. If you like Sonic Youth, Pussy Galore, maybe even the Butthole Surfers, you'll probably enjoy this... if you can get past Thomas Antona's voice. I can, but then again I think Johnny Rotten is the greatest rock singer ever. Really. 4 out of 5 thumbs up.


• Gogol Bordello: Gypsy Punks - Underdog World Strike (2005): If you're not familiar with Gogol Bordello, they offer a fusion of traditional eastern European music, rock, dance and dub. And their lead singer/mastermind Eugene Hutz sports a ridiculously bushy mustache. That said, this isn't some kind of goofy front on the band's part; it's primarily comprised of eastern European immigrants. If you're looking for something decidedly different, you can't go wrong here. Fun album! 4 out of 5 thumbs up.



• Peter Tosh: Equal Rights (1977): Another sophomore release! I was never really into reggae -- where I come from, it's goddamn hippie music -- but have been playing around with it of late. Some of it, especially the political stuff, ain't bad. And few come more political than Tosh. He's got some crazy sounds going on with the bass and presumably synthesizers here, especially on "Stepping Razor" and his take on "Get Up, Stand Up," which rules all over the Wailers' version. We'll call it even at 4 out of 5 thumbs up.

• AC/DC: Kicked in the Teeth Again (1977) & Rarities VIII (1978): Yes, I saved the best for last. These bootleg releases -- which again, I obtained in a completely legal manner -- document live Bon Scott-era recordings in San Francisco, CA on 9/2/77 and Columbus, OH on 9/10/78, respectively. Both capture what became, for a time, the World's Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Band, before they became that band, rocking hard enough to tear a hole in the space-time continuum. Unfortunately, Kicked suffers from bad sound quality, and Rarities appears to have been pieced together from multiple sources (including radio broadcasts), but that won't stop me from giving both of 'em 5 out of 5 thumbs up!

That's it for now. Oh, and a big "Sa-lute!" to the good people at The Far North End for a hot tip about one of these, the identity of which will remain hidden to protect the innocent. Ciao, babies.