Orgasmic Toothpicks - Demo (Self-released, 1993)

Friends of the Club, hooray! We're back in business. And we are back with god shit for you, guys and gals! We are pretty honored to present you the Orgasmic Toothpicks' demo, released in 1993 on cassette tape in the Basque Country (Spain). The Toothpicks were the hell of a band. If you remember the nineties, they were not just grunge, but the explosion for alternative rock. Experimentation and crossover were the every day's news. In Spain they were a lot of bands who enthusiastically joined this crossover trend: Negu Gorriak, Psilicon Flesh, Os Resentidos Def Con Dos and, of course, Orgasmic Thootpicks. Rock, funk-metal, rap, hardcore, folklore... any kind of music was good to be mixed and blended with the rock standards. Pish, Faith No More, Fishbone, Mano Negra made really amazing crossover music. And so did the Orgasmic Toothpicks. This is the first time this recording is digitalized and released to the public. But this is not on me. I'm merely a "distributor". The guys behind this are Iñaki and Ernesto, who digitalized and sent to me, respectively, the tape. So thank them. And now, stop suckin' our dicks. After the demo was released, the band put eight songs in two compilation albums: four in the cult-classic Underribi (1994) and  another four in a compilation released by Psylocibe. I don't know really much about the band. The only think I can tell to you is that then... they disappear, like Keyser Söze. But as him, they weren't forgotten. They vividly remained on the memories of the ones who listened to them in their glorious days, back in the nineties. And they still remain.

El Aviador Dro y sus Obreros Especializados - La Chica de Plexiglás / La Visión (Movieplay, 1983) (Munster Records reissue, 2005)

Servando Carballar, the man behind El Aviador Dro y sus Obreros Especializados (a.k.a. Aviador Dro), was a clever clairvoyant. He was one of the Spanish synth-pop ground-makers: in 1979, when the punk was barely grounded in Spain, he founded Aviador Dro—a Devo/Kraftwerk-influenced band—having a notorious success in the punk/new wave Spanish scene—known as La Movida. Their debut 7" was "La chica de plexiglás" ("Plexiglas Girl") b/w "Láser" (1980), a masterpiece which have become a classic of the incipient Spanish independent records. One year later appeared "La visión" ("The View") b/w "HAL 9000" (1981), another visionary two-song 7". After that, they founded their own record label—D.R.O., or Discos Radiactivos Organizados, "Organized Radioactive Records"—releasing their third 7", Nuclear, sí ("Nuclear, yes", 1982). Moviplay, their former label, released in 1983 the two first 7" in one 12" including two extra songs ("Vano temporal" and "Gestalt"). And 22 years after that, Munster Records reissued the 12" in a double 7" format, in blue vinyl. Enjoy!

Various - The Munster Dance Hall Favorites Vol. 1 (Teenagers from Outer Space / Rocco, 1987)

Today I'm really proud of postin' for y'all this record: The Munster Dance Hall Favorites Vol. 1 (1987), a legendary one. A 7" which is a fuckin milestone of the Spanish underground rock; released by Teenages from Outer Space Records (the embryo of Munster Records) and compiled by the Munster Brothers—Íñigo and Gorka. The vinyl contains four songs with enough magnitude to be worth for entire Back from the Grave volumes: Surfin' Lungs ("The Munster Theme" in garage-surf style), the terrific Spacement 3 ("Take Me to the Other Side"), Sex Museum in their garage time ("You"), and the legendary los Enemigos ("Chicken All over"). Four bands that shook the underground scenes of Britain and Spain. They will rock you, that's guaranteed. Another magnificent record that Tony DevilDog brings to us. Thanks, bro!

Sin City Six - Tonight Tonight b/w Tell It (Screaming Apple, 2000)

The last formation of Pleasure Fuckers—without lead singer Kike Turmix—and Lee Robinson—singer of the Fortunate Sons and former of the A-10—formed the Sin City Six in the last years of the past century. This terrific line-up released three singles and one LP, a killer record I never get tired of listen to—and which I posted in Down and Roll. After the LP Lee Robinson passed away and the Sin City Six released another good record—Home of the Brave (2003)—, but not as good as the first one. "Tonight Tonight" b/w "Tell It" (2000) was their third 7", which contains two songs included in their first LP, but different versions, recorded by Mikel Biffs (from Safety Pins). This record is the first contribution of our new member and collaborator Tony DevilDog. Thanks for the record, mate!

Larsen - ¡No! (a.k.a. Frontera francesa) (1983) (Radikal 1977 Records reissue, 2006)

From the myriad of bands influenced by Dead Kennedys that crowded Spain during the early eighties, Larsen are, no doubt about it, one of my favorites. ¡No!, also known as Frontera francesa (1983) was their debut, a four-song 12" EP. "Frontera francesa" ("French Border") is about an old incident —which still happens, from time to time— between Spanish and French farmers. The Spanish fruit trucks were burnt and tore down by some French farmers at the border, because of cheaper Spanish fruit would ruin them, they though. The Spanish media treated that like a national scandal and an unforgettable offense, so everybody was really pissed off with our neighbors. You know, that sort of nationalist shit. So, you can see, this record was about giving the finger to the Frenchies. But, hey, French brothers, if you understood the Spanish lyrics, you'd really realize that this is just a stupid lyric among other three stupid lyrics ("Throwing up Blood", "Born from a Punk's Puke", and "Fight against Techno"), just punk junk made by punk teenager shitheads, so no hard feelings!

Tokyo Sex Destruction - Black Noise Is the New Sound! (BCore, 2004)

Between the MC5 and the (International) Noise Conspiracy they are the Barcelona-based band Tokyo Sex Destruction. I mean, they were when Black Noise Is the New Sound! (2004), their second LP,  was released, because since then their music is under a continuous evolving, going far, far away from its first influences. In his subsequent albums, 5th Avenue South (2005) and The Neighborhood (2009), the psychedelic and soul components have grown, resulting in more complex and polyhedral songs. But we are in the past now, when Tokyo Sex Destruction were a highly-politicized garage-punk-soul machine. You can feel it in these eleven blasts the band shot restless. The CD includes stereo and mono mixes, the last ones just for you purist sixties lover! By the way, "ソウル・ミュージック・パーティ" seems to mean "Soul Music Party".

 

Cerebros Exprimidos (as Squeezed Brains) - Another Day (Sympathy for the Record Industry, 1990)

Sqeezed Brains was the war name of our beloved Cerebros Exprimidos beyond the Spanish borders. Another Day was a three-song EP released by Sympathy for the Record Industry (nicknamed as "Simpatía por la Industria Discográfica", in Spanish) in 1990, the very year the band from Mallorca started their relationship with Munster Records releasing Más suicidios. The side A is for "Another Day", a punk rock blast with the band's name stamped on it, is sang in English, which only happened in their overseas releases —like Kill the Pope was going to be, but finally wouldn't. The side B is quite cinematographic, with "Gritos en la noche", the Spanish tittle of the first Jess Franco's movie, and the instro "Heater O'Rourke's Nightmare", dedicated to Poltergeist's child actress. And it's curious that the O'Rourke's sister Tammy acted in Pennies from Heaven, and the F.U.'s had a song of the same title which Squeezed Brains covered in Bonzomanía (1991). The loose ends close themselves!

Desechables - Buen ser-vicio (1985) (Munster Records reissue, 2002)

They were called the Spanish Cramps, but they did succeed first nor in Spain, but on the other side of the border: in France, after they played at Rock de Lyon in 1983. Definitively, the Barcelona-based band Desechables wasn't the typical Spanish band. After their first 7", the guitar player Miguel died trying to hold up a jewelry store carrying a fake gun. Bad luck; the owner had a real one. Desechables disbanded, but the success of Golpe tras Golpe (1984) —a kind of posthumous LP made of live recordings— encouraged the band mates to look for a new axeman. The good feelings with, nor just one, but two new guitar players led the band to record their second album in concert, again, during a show at Rock-Ola —a mythical concert place located in Madrid. Buen ser-vicio (1985) was born, with a killer cover, by the way: a photo of Tere Desechable herself, who by then was eighteen years old, in a lustful pose serving us her own tits on a plate. The sound of the record is not the best in the world (hey, this is Spain in the early eighties), but we don't want a clearly, vivid sound. This is Cramps-like shit, and what we want is dirty and raw sound.

Siniestro Total - Sexo chungo b/w Me pica un huevo (1983) (Munster Records reissue, 2004)

Julián Hernández and Miguel Costas, members of the Spanish punk band Siniestro Total, composed "Me pica un huevo" ("My ball itches") and "Sexo chungo" ("Bizarre Genitals") after TVE —the Spanish public TV— had invited the band to perform at the music program Caja de ritmos two new and unreleased songs. But the fate was quite different. After the band could appear at the program, it was canceled due to the performing of Vulpess' "Me guta ser una zorra" ("I like being a bitch"). That was a national scandal, and Manolo Tena, the show's director, resigned. So the band never played at the show but fortunately they recorded the new songs and "Sexo chungo" b/w "Me pica un huevo" was released as a 7" in 1983. It was also the last record with German Coppini on vocals. No doubt, this is one of the most jocund 7" in the history of Spanish punk: the lyrics, the parody of London Calling's cover, the "Double B side" printed on the cover... hilarious. Originally released by D.R.O., the single was reissued in white vinyl by Munster Records as a facsimile: gatefold sleeve and a complementary poster.