You either loved them or loathed them (some did both), but it was difficult to ignore the bawling, intentionally crude, anti-musicianship coughed up by Pussy Galore. A bunch of scuzzy-looking juveniles from Washington, D.C. -- their name coming from Honor Blackman's character in the James Bond film Goldfinger -- and led by a young punk rockin'... [+] Read More

You either loved them or loathed them (some did both), but it was difficult to ignore the bawling, intentionally crude, anti-musicianship coughed up by Pussy Galore. A bunch of scuzzy-looking juveniles from Washington, D.C. -- their name coming from Honor Blackman's character in the James Bond film Goldfinger -- and led by a young punk rockin' bohemian hipster wannabe named Jon Spencer, Pussy Galore created an unholy metallic ruckus that was part serious avant-garde noise wail, part nonsense pose. Considering their limited skills, narcissistic tendencies, and drug-cult mythologizing, there is a sizable body of work from this band. The problem is that it's mostly hit-and-miss, which is a polite way of saying a little Pussy Galore goes a long way.

A serious discussion of Pussy Galore's musical attributes must thoroughly ignore technical ability; they have none. Spencer and guitarists (no bass) Julia Cafritz and Neil Hagerty locked horns in a badly played riff-fest with ex-Sonic Youth drummer Bob Bert, sounding as if he's dropping pots and pans on the floor. Surprisingly, with all of their hip attitude and condescending, arty indifference, Pussy Galore was capable of creating some great trash rock. However, these moments were accidental, the byproduct of doing something long enough and eventually getting it right.

Really the only difference between good Pussy Galore music and bad is that the latter is boring and the former is not -- that is unless you have an extremely high tolerance for low-rent nihilism. At their noisiest and most frantic (e.g., the two fine EPs, Groovy Hate Fuck and Sugarshit Sharp) there is a messy ebullience to this muck that undercuts their normal snotty, calculatedly offensive shtick. And they did have a sense of humor as they proved on their 1986 cassette-only release, a track-by-track cover of the Rolling Stones' classic Exile on Main Street. This release is not recommended to Stones fans. Still, for a band that no one predicted would have a long life, Pussy Galore turned out many interesting side projects and bands since their demise in 1990. Spencer went on to form Boss Hog, and later the much-better Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, while also adding his distinctively smartass touch to recordings by the Gibson Bros.; while Neil Hagerty joined forces with Jennifer Herrema and formed Royal Trux. ~ John Dougan, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Arguably the most infamously named band in the annals of popular music -- for years, radio found their moniker unspeakable, and the press deemed it unprintable -- Butthole Surfers long reigned among the most twisted and depraved acts ever to bubble up from the American underground. Masters of calculated outrage, the group fused the sicko antics... [+] Read More

Arguably the most infamously named band in the annals of popular music -- for years, radio found their moniker unspeakable, and the press deemed it unprintable -- Butthole Surfers long reigned among the most twisted and depraved acts ever to bubble up from the American underground. Masters of calculated outrage, the group fused the sicko antics of shock rock with a distinct and chaotic mishmash of avant-garde, hardcore, and Texas psychedelia; sleazy, confrontational, and spiteful, songs like "The Revenge of Anus Presley," "Bar-B-Q Pope," and "The Shah Sleeps in Lee Harvey Oswald's Grave" seemed destined to guarantee the Buttholes little more than a lifetime of cultdom. Yet, by the mid-'90s, they were left-field Top 40 hitmakers, success perhaps their ultimate subversion of mainstream ideals.

The seeds of their formation dated back to 1977, when future frontman Gibby Haynes, the son of the Dallas-based children's TV host known as "Mr. Peppermint," met guitarist Paul Leary while attending college in San Antonio. Four years later, Haynes -- then completing his graduate work in accounting -- and Leary formed the Ashtray Baby Heads, later dubbed Nine Foot Worm Makes Home Food; they became Butthole Surfers only after a radio announcer mistakenly took the title of an early song to be the group's name. In 1981, they signed to Dead Kennedys frontman Jello Biafra's label Alternative Tentacles, and two years later issued their hallucinatory eponymous debut, also issued on colored vinyl under the name Brown Reason to Live.

After a number of bassists and drummers, the Surfers' lineup fell into place in 1983 with the addition of drummers King Coffey (formerly of the Hugh Beaumont Experience) and Theresa Nervosa; at the same time, their bizarre live gigs -- a traveling freak show combining nude dancers, film clips of sex-change operations, and Haynes' pyromaniacal behavior -- began to win a devout cult following, and in 1984 they issued the concert set Live PCPPEP. A move to the Chicago-based indie Touch & Go precipitated a turn toward even greater thematic offensiveness, as evidenced by tracks like "Concubine" and "Lady Sniff" from 1985's Psychic...Powerless...Another Man's Sac.

After the EP Cream Corn From the Socket of Davis, the Buttholes resurfaced in 1986 with Rembrandt Pussyhorse, a twisted trip into neo-psychedelia featuring a brutal deconstruction of the Guess Who's "American Woman," as well as new bassist Jeff "Tooter" Pinkus. The introduction of Haynes' "Gibbytronix" vocal effects unit increased the level of dementia for 1987's Locust Abortion Technician, an extremist fusion of punk, metal, art rock, and worldbeat rhythms. Following 1988's faux-Zeppelin rant Hairway to Steven, the group issued Double Live, a mock bootleg released through their own Latino Bugger Veil imprint; after a pair of EPs, 1989's Widowermaker! and 1990's The Hurdy Gurdy Man, they remained uncharacteristically silent until 1991's uneven Pioughd, recorded for the Rough Trade label.

For many observers, the biggest shock in a career built on outrageous behavior arrived in 1992, when the Buttholes signed with major label Capitol, which promptly reissued Pioughd following the demise of Rough Trade. After entering the studio with producer and former Led Zep bassist John Paul Jones, they emerged in 1993 with the LP Independent Worm Saloon; the first single and video, "Who Was in My Room Last Night?," both garnered a surprising amount of airplay, much to the chagrin of the many media outlets which begrudgingly referred to the group as "BH Surfers." Following a series of side projects -- most notoriously Haynes' group P, which also featured movie star Johnny Depp -- the band (now a trio consisting of Haynes, Leary, and Coffey) returned in 1996 with Electriclarryland, scoring a major chart hit with the trip-hop-flavored "Pepper." In 1998, they recorded a follow-up, After the Astronaut, but disputes between the Surfers and Capitol prevented the album from being released, though advance copies were sent to reviewers. Three years later, Butthole Surfers emerged with their first for Hollywood/Surfdog Records, Weird Revolution, which recycled some of the songs from After the Astronaut, but in new recordings. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Crawling out of the same noisy, arty New York underground that sired Sonic Youth and Lydia Lunch, Swans created a dark, abrasive, murky, slowed-down noise rock that served as a starting point for their ruminations about alienation, depression, depravity, and the disturbing side of human nature. Singers Michael Gira and Jarboe have been the... [+] Read More

Crawling out of the same noisy, arty New York underground that sired Sonic Youth and Lydia Lunch, Swans created a dark, abrasive, murky, slowed-down noise rock that served as a starting point for their ruminations about alienation, depression, depravity, and the disturbing side of human nature. Singers Michael Gira and Jarboe have been the group's only constants over the years; Gira has taken the group from its early confrontational shock tactics to a more varied, mature attack. The band first appeared on record in 1982 with a self-titled EP, and these early releases document their search for the musical vocabulary to express their ideas effectively. Female singer Jarboe joined the group for 1986's Holy Money and brought a gentler, more relaxed dimension to Swans' sound. The band entered its creative peak with 1987's Children of God and the follow-up, Feel Good Now, and secured a deal with MCA through a cover of Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart," which became an indie hit in the U.K. In between releases, Gira and Jarboe recorded with their side project, Skin, an outlet for their quieter, more reflective side. Their first MCA album, The Burning World, came the closest to mainstream rock of anything they had done up to that point, and 1991's White Light From the Mouth of Infinity continued that trend. In 1995, Gira published a book, The Consumer and Other Stories, through Henry Rollins' publishing house; the book's release coincided with that of the album The Great Annihilator. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Of all the artists in Japan's thriving noise-music community, the Boredoms undoubtedly had the most fun. Although their maniacally extreme cacophony was by no means accessible listening, it was underpinned by a gleeful sense of humor that helped them find a limited (but still surprisingly wide) audience among alternative rockers. A typical... [+] Read More

Of all the artists in Japan's thriving noise-music community, the Boredoms undoubtedly had the most fun. Although their maniacally extreme cacophony was by no means accessible listening, it was underpinned by a gleeful sense of humor that helped them find a limited (but still surprisingly wide) audience among alternative rockers. A typical Boredoms track might feature massively distorted guitars, squealing synths, any number of odd found-object noisemakers, or studio-manipulation effects; conventional song structures are thrown out the window in favor of abrupt, whiplash-inducing changes of direction. With Sonic Youth and Nirvana counting themselves among the Boredoms' fans, the group actually signed major-label deals during the early '90s, both in Japan and the U.S., and played the Lollapalooza main stage. Although the Boredoms' American deal eventually fell through, they continued to record steadily in Japan, progressing into a sort of trance-inducing, psychedelia-tinged experimental rock indebted to the '70s Krautrock movement.

The Boredoms were formed in early 1986 in Osaka, Japan, by vocalist Yamatsuka Eye (who later went by Yamantaka Eye, then Yamataka Eye, and sometimes just eYe). Eye had been a member of the noise-rock band the Hanatarash, as had drummer Taketani; the rest of the original lineup featured guitarist Tabata Mara and bassist Hosoi. It quickly disintegrated; first, Taketani was let go in favor of Yoshikawa Toyohito, then Hosoi was replaced by Hira (sometimes Hilah), and finally Mara -- who quit to join Zeni Geva -- was replaced by Yamamoto Seiichi (aka Yama-Motor). Thus constituted, the Boredoms recorded their debut three-song EP, Anal by Anal, in 1986; their first full-length, Osozeran No Stooges Kyo ("The Stooges Craze in Osozeran"), followed in 1988, with both records later collected on Onanie Bomb Meets the Sex Pistols. Yoshimi Yokota (aka Yoshimi P-WE) became the band's new drummer and first female member in 1988; Yoshikawa switched to percussion and quit the following year, replaced first by Hasegawa Chu and then by ATR. Following Eye's work with John Zorn's avant-garde Naked City ensemble, the Boredoms' second album, Soul Discharge, was issued in the U.S. by Shimmy Disc in 1990; though some found them pointlessly abrasive, overall the record's crazed attack made them a hip name to drop in underground circles. The buzz surrounding the Boredoms culminated in major-label deals with Warner Japan and Reprise in the U.S., the first fruits of which were 1993's Pop Tatari, for which Yoshikawa returned as co-lead vocalist and synthesizer player. The follow-up Chocolate Synthesizer was released in the U.S. in 1995 (a year later than Japan), and the band supported it by playing a string of main stage dates on that year's Lollapalooza tour.

Lollapalooza marked the peak of the Boredoms' visibility in America, which began to cool down afterwards. Yoshikawa left again, and the band took some time to release a new LP, instead busying themselves with numerous side projects and issuing a series of EPs, dubbed Super Roots, that often appeared only in Japan. Reprise wound up dropping them, at which point the small Birdman label began to pick up some of their releases for domestic distribution. Fortified with a third drummer/percussionist in EDA, 1998 brought the EP Super Go!!!!! and the full-length Super Ae, which heralded the group's increasing psychedelic/Krautrock influence. The same year, the band recorded a split single with 77 -- the "performing" alias of their manager's infant son. 2000 saw the beginning of a series of remix albums titled Rebore; individual volumes featured U.N.K.L.E., Ken Ishii, DJ Krush, and Eye himself. Eye's increasing interest in electronica was reflected on the band's next official full-length album, the trippy Vision Creation Newsun, released in the U.S. on Birdman in 2001. Things were quiet for some time after the release of Vision Creation Newsun and rumors began circulating that the Boredoms had broken up. A smaller version of the group reconvened and played some shows as the Voordoms in 2003, giving further fire to the break up hearsay. In 2005, however, the Boredoms returned with the U.S. release of Seadrum/House of Sun. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide [-] Hide

The Austin, TX, post-hardcore noise group Scratch Acid laid the groundwork for much of the distorted, grinding alternative punk rockers of the '90s. Formed in 1982, the band originally featured Steve Anderson (vocals), David Wm. Sims (guitar), Brett Bradford (guitar), David Yow (bass), and Rey Washam (drums). Anderson was soon kicked out of the... [+] Read More

The Austin, TX, post-hardcore noise group Scratch Acid laid the groundwork for much of the distorted, grinding alternative punk rockers of the '90s. Formed in 1982, the band originally featured Steve Anderson (vocals), David Wm. Sims (guitar), Brett Bradford (guitar), David Yow (bass), and Rey Washam (drums). Anderson was soon kicked out of the group and the band performed as an instrumental outfit for a short while. Yow moved to vocals, Sims switched to bass, and the band released a self-titled EP in 1984. Two years later, they released the full-length Just Keep Eating and the scathing Berserker EP. Following a long tour that took them through America and Europe, Scratch Acid split in May of 1987. Sims and Washam joined with Steve Albini to form the consciously caustic Rapeman. After Rapeman split, Sims reunited with David Yow to form the Jesus Lizard in 1989, which picked up where Scratch Acid left off. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Ever notice how rock bands tend to keep things interesting for themselves by pointlessly dragging out their songs and introducing awkward conceptual threads? Also, how many bands veil their subject matter in euphemisms to avoid being taken literally, to stay safe, or -- better yet -- to be "mysterious?" Big Black's final LP does the diametric... [+] Read More

Ever notice how rock bands tend to keep things interesting for themselves by pointlessly dragging out their songs and introducing awkward conceptual threads? Also, how many bands veil their subject matter in euphemisms to avoid being taken literally, to stay safe, or -- better yet -- to be "mysterious?" Big Black's final LP does the diametric opposite of both. Not only do the 14 songs here whip by with only one exceeding the three-minute mark, but each one is incisive enough to render a razor as effective as a butter knife. And, how could a title be more direct? The only band that had courage enough to be this direct was Spinal Tap, and that was for a song, not an album title. (Clue: it was a ballad in the saddest of keys).

Songs About Fucking brought about a definite sharpening of the band's sound. Steve Albini's mangled screaming is at its most bileful, his and Santiago Durango's guitars don't meander, and the rhythm section of Dave Riley and Roland is more taut than prior. Ugly characters line up in the songs like early arrivals at a monster truck rally. Most significantly, there's the murderer in "Fish Fry." Who else but Steve Albini could paint the picture of a man hosing out his truck after chucking a dead body from it into a nearby pond? His use of the first person can be misleading, but it's a necessary perspective for effect. Big Black left with more of a kling klang than a bang, bowing out with a reverent cover of Kraftwerk's "The Model." To sum up: yowl, ching, thump-thump-screech. [The CD version adds the B-side of "The Model," a swell cover of Cheap Trick's "He's a Whore."] ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide [-] Hide

While it was regarded as something of a disappointment when it was first released in 1994, in retrospect, Down stands as the last really vital album from the Jesus Lizard. It lacks the same degree of bone-crushing force and sweaty psychosis that made Goat and Liar instant classics (the band seems to be aiming for a slightly more subtle approach... [+] Read More

While it was regarded as something of a disappointment when it was first released in 1994, in retrospect, Down stands as the last really vital album from the Jesus Lizard. It lacks the same degree of bone-crushing force and sweaty psychosis that made Goat and Liar instant classics (the band seems to be aiming for a slightly more subtle approach this time out), and most of the songs take a bit longer to sink in. But bassist David Sims and drummer Mac McNeilly were still capable of connecting like Mike Tyson against a speed bag on the heavy tunes, Duane Denison's sheets of chrome-plated guitar are as gloriously fragmented as ever, and there's never been a rock vocalist before or since quite like David Yow. It was also the last Jesus Lizard album to benefit from Steve Albini's spare, dry recording; if ever there was a band that didn't take to a more "hands-on," "user-friendly" production, it was the Jesus Lizard, and between Albini's decision not to work with the group again after they signed to Capitol Records and the departure of drummer McNeilly, this group was never the same in the studio again. Liar was the greatest recorded moment for the Jesus Lizard, but Down captured one of the most powerful American bands of the 1990s in their last gasp of twisted glory. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Though not quite the equal of 1995's Freedom Bondage, the Albini-helmed Desire for Agony is nonetheless an exercise in guitar brutality and avant-extreme noise execution. However, it is not as directional in its attack; that is to say, Desire for Agony is a bit more oblique, jazzy even, at least in notational structure. Either way, there is no... [+] Read More

Though not quite the equal of 1995's Freedom Bondage, the Albini-helmed Desire for Agony is nonetheless an exercise in guitar brutality and avant-extreme noise execution. However, it is not as directional in its attack; that is to say, Desire for Agony is a bit more oblique, jazzy even, at least in notational structure. Either way, there is no suppressing or sublimating KK Null's devastating guitar work -- not to mention his Samurai war vocals. Having developed his morbid fascination many years before, what with early album titles like Autofuck, How to Kill, and Skullfuck Live, Null certainly keeps the spirit -- Mishima-like -- alive with tracks like the titular "Desire for Agony" and "Autopsy Love," the latter of which steamrolls like Motorhead meets King Crimson. Even if not the band's finest hour in the sun, Desire for Agony, as with any Zeni Geva release, is about as intense as humanly possible. ~ Patrick Kennedy, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Taking their punk heritage from the Buzzcocks, Unwound write grinding, but tuneful songs. Most tracks rumble with a wandering bass while guitar fuzz coats the works. The vocals are intense, usually screamed. One atypical touch is the closer, a hypnotic quasi-ambient organ piece. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide

Taking their punk heritage from the Buzzcocks, Unwound write grinding, but tuneful songs. Most tracks rumble with a wandering bass while guitar fuzz coats the works. The vocals are intense, usually screamed. One atypical touch is the closer, a hypnotic quasi-ambient organ piece. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Appearing in America after an initial Japanese release, and with a revamped track listing and song titles to boot ("Bocabola" is called that here only because somebody somewhere was worried about what a certain soft drink company might think of the original title), Pop Tatari definitely holds the crown as being one of the strangest things to... [+] Read More

Appearing in America after an initial Japanese release, and with a revamped track listing and song titles to boot ("Bocabola" is called that here only because somebody somewhere was worried about what a certain soft drink company might think of the original title), Pop Tatari definitely holds the crown as being one of the strangest things to surface under a major label's auspices. Even the Butthole Surfers' major label debut that year looked straightforward in comparison. Starting off with "Noise Ramones," which consists solely of various high-pitched tones like those of the Emergency Broadcast System, Tatari contains some nearly conventional bits. Yet even the semi-lounge smoothness of "Nice B-O-R-E Guy Boyoyo Touch" collapses just enough, while elsewhere the screaming lunacy of fullthrottle Boremania rampages unchecked. Songs shudder to stops, launch into roaring mania and deathstomp rattle, and crunch more quickly and unexpectedly than those of just about anybody else -- no real change there, then! Add dashes of heavy funk mania ("Bo Go" would do early Funkadelic proud) along with whatever logic operates inside the band members' skulls, and the result is more cockeyed genius. Yamatsuka Eye rants above the whole mess like a man possessed, trading off with other band members in ways that practically redefine call and response. Singling out all the highlights would take forever, but "Bore Now Bore" feels like a mid-'60s frug played by berserk aliens, with some random electronics to boot, while a cover of the old Peggy Lee standard "Fever," retitled "Heeba," keeps the central riff but abandons just about everything else; the lyrics sound like they're slurred through cotton and various thrashy instrumental breaks. Concluding with the multigenre purée of "Cory & the Mandara Suicide Pyramid Action or Gas Satori," Tatari kicks out the jams eight different ways at once. ~ Ned Raggett, All Music Guide [-] Hide