October 7, 2003
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God Made Me Hardcore - This is Hardcore
various artists label:: God Made Me Hardcore
This Is Hardcore is a label sampler for the God Made Me Hardcore label out of the UK. The label was started by veterans of the music scene Richard Norris (Psychic TV/The Grid) and Andy Chatterley (also Psychic TV, as well as Yum Yum and Sperm Records) in a hope to capture the electro moment in all of its glory and features bands/singers like The Droyds, Siobhan Fahey, Riviera, Mugatu, Moon Unit, Sensyon, Ivana F., Bunnymad 69 and Sleaze (with Anna Mercedes).
Like most label samplers, This Is Hardcore has its up and downs, but there are some worthy up moments on this disc which make it worth checking out. Luckily, the up moments tend to also be the most fun moments, in songs which seem like they were recorded in an afternoon quickie session.
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Hot Women
various artists label:: Kein & Aber Records
All it takes is to listen. R. Crumb knows that, and in his ever curious search, it's in the "hunt, the thrill of discovery" of a music untainted by commercial entities which best exemplifies self-expression in his, a collector's, "adventure into the unknown, a mysterious, vanished world, an alternate reality." Hot Women: Women Singers From the Torrid Regions is culled from 78 RPM records all recorded prior to the mid-1930s that R. Crumb himself has collected over the years.
This hunt has been turned into a digital trip around the globe, with 24 songs of just such a mysterious and lost beauty. Also included are R. Crumb's personal and well researched notes, from what he could find (who are these women? he asks) on these obscure lost sounds from a long gone age.
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Sofa Surfers
title:: Encounters label:: Klein
The fourth full length by Austrian band Sofa Surfers. Despite having a name that implies they are a chill out band, Sofa Surfers are no more 'chill out' than The Pop Group were pop.
In fact, Sofa Surfers share many qualities with bands like The Pop Group or Amsterdam's The Ex, though admittedly Sofa Surfers sound is more languid than the others. In fact, the vocalist of The Pop Group (Mark Stewart) even sings one of the songs on this record.
