#I.R.S.

[taxshelter]

Proof Mike Rotunda was not completely stone faced in every single school photo taken of him.

[rabid-dog-steve-horn]

Remy: Spiderwebs (No Doubt IRS Parody)

[littletroubledgrrrl]

[mymelodic-chapel]

Suburban Lawns- Suburban Lawns (Post-Punk, New Wave, Art Punk) Released: September 22, 1981 [I.R.S. Records] Producer(s): EJ Emmons, Troy Mathisen

[musicmags]

[gwydionmisha]

If you can't safely contact them in person, here are some other options for contacting your Senators:

Five Calls to your critters: https://5calls.org/

Here is one that will send your reps a fax: https://resist.bot/

[myvinylplaylist]

Oingo Boingo: Nothing To Fear (1982)

I.R.S Records

[kdo-three]

Wall of Voodoo - Mexican Radio (1982) Stan Ridgway / Charles T. Gray / Marc Moreland / Oliver Nanini from: “Call of the West” (LP) "Mexican Radio" / "Call of the West" (Single)

New Wave | Alternative | Darkwave | Post-Punk

FLAC File @Archive (left click = play) (25.3MB} (859kbps)

JukeHostUK (left click = play) (320kbps)

Tumblr (left click = play) (160kbps)

Personnel: Stan Ridgway: Vocals / Keyboards Chas Gray: Synthesizers / Bass Marc Moreland: Guitar Joe Nanini: Drums / Percussion

Produced by Richard Mazda

Recorded: @ Hit City West in Los Angeles, California USA June, 1982

Album Released: September, 1982 I.R.S. Records

Single Released: December, 1982 I.R.S. Records

Feliz Cinco de Mayo

[micks-music-blog]

R.E.M. - It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) [Document, 1987]

[bestfrozentreats2]

via Diary Of An Adman

The Cramps - Psychedelic Jungle 1981 Full Album

[odk-2]

The Cramps - Garbageman (1980) Lux Interior / Poison Ivy Rorschach from: “Garbageman” / “Drug Train” (US single) “Fever” / “Garbageman” (UK single) “Garbageman” / “TV Set” (France single) “Songs the Lord Taught Us” (LP)

Psychobilly | Garage-Punk

FLAC File @Archive (left click = play) (826kbps) (Size: 21.4MB)

Personnel: Lux Interior: Lead Vocals Poison Ivy: Guitar Bryan Gregory: Guitar Nick Knox: Drums

Produced by Alex Chilton

Album Recorded: @ Phillips Recording (Sam C. Phillips Recording Studio) in Memphis, Tennessee USA 1979 - 1980

Album Released: in 1980 Illegal Records I.R.S. Records

[mrmousetolliver]

Beauty and the Beat (1981) The Go Go's.

[littletroubledgrrrl]

[mymelodic-chapel]

Go-Go's- Beauty and the Beat (New Wave, Power Pop, Pop Rock) Released: July 14, 1981 [I.R.S. Records] Producer(s): Richard Gottehrer, Rob Freeman

[weneverlearn]

Congrats to R.E.M. for Making the Songwriters Hall of Fame Last Night!

Last night, R.E.M. reunited for the first time in 17 years for one song at the Songwriters Hall of Fame induction ceremony in NYC; plus this week is Fables of the Reconstruction's 39th Birthday! So here goes an expanded version of a facebook post I made about the expanded edition CD box set of Fables...

Good rockin' little demo that never made it onto an album, though much of the lyrics appeared in the song "I Believe" on their next album, Life's Rich Pageant.

-------------------------------------------

R.E.M. - Fables of the Reconstruction - 25th Anniversary Edition (I.R.S., 2010)

If ya gotta do an expanded reissue CD box set, this is how you do it. Pictured is the rough sketch art sleeve for “The Athens Demos” CD (all previously unreleased and with some songs that never surfaced otherwise), recorded before they jetted off to record their third album way over in the UK, about on their way to wider horizons…

Neat little set also includes booklet w/ liner notes and pix, postcards of each member, and a big fold-out poster kinda based on the store promo poster of yore…

Love this 1985 album that was met with some iffy feelings from the already-big fanbase; not to mention that the band seemed weird discussing the reportedly tough recording sessions, but that I believe Michael Stipe has since said is his favorite or something; and Peter Buck says in these liner notes is “a personal favorite.”

I was amazed at its bigger sound palette that was somehow even more musty Southern gothic than before. (And this record offered up their best 7” B-sides, which would’ve really sent this set way over the top, but are easy enough to find elsewhere.)

R.E.M. was always good at coming up with album titles that kind of seep in, and a lightbulb goes off like the eighth time you sat down with the album (except New Adventures in Hi-Fi; I always thought that title was a little behind the 1960s "bachelor pad" trend LP references of that time period.)

On first glimpse, that the switcheroo of this LP title from front/back cover could also read "Reconstruction of the Fables" seemed gimmicky. But right about that moment in time (1985), the band -- specifically Michael Stipe, I suppose -- was drip-dripping into more political stances, lyrics, etc. Their budding stardom was making them (rightly or wrong) some kind of spokesmen for a generation. This album kind of did have them working as new Southern storytellers, trying to fashion a different characterization of small town Southerners than the usual stereotypes left over from post-Reconstruction/Jim Crow eras (which, when you think about it, started with that Reckoning title)... Whether they succeeded -- and no one demanded they do -- is another question for another day...

Posting this breaks my personal rule of not hyping a band on this page that doesn’t really need it, especially on the day the band is getting inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. But what the hell, they deserve it.

One of my personal gateway bands to more music discovery, and still a top 10 fave album of their's.

[metalsongoftheday]

Friday, March 29: Black Sabbath, "Guilty as Hell"

R.I.P. Colin "Cozy" Powell (1947-1998)

Almost everyone agreed that Forbidden was a low point in Black Sabbath’s history, if not the absolute lowest: it wasn’t just that virtually nobody bought the thing and this lineup ended up playing barely half-full small theaters, but a good portion of the band’s members were vocal about the general pointlessness of it all.  But a fresh listen almost 30 years later reveals that Forbidden has at least some qualities- to be sure, the writing was largely uninspired, Ernie C.’s production was flat, and Tony “the Cat” Martin’s attempts at ‘90s angst and “relevant”, “streetwise” wordsmithing were made more embarrassing by his overemoting.  But even in this incredibly compromised state, Tony Iommi could still cook up the occasional lethal riff, and “Guilty as Hell” was a worthwhile listen largely because of one monster chord progression.  Martin’s lyrics were total nonsense, and his cursing in the middle was far more hapless than tough, but Iommi’s guitar sounded dark as ever and Cozy Powell’s thunderous drumming remained powerful even while back in the mix.  This was the sort of tune that Ronnie James Dio would’ve knocked out of the park 15 or so years earlier, but unfortunately such were the times and circumstances that an otherwise killer piece of music was saddled with a hilariously melodramatic singer, a small label on its way to bankruptcy and an apathetic public.