Uncle Phil

Phil Collins - No Jacket Required

This is my favourite solo Phil album. All The rad jams are here: Sussudio, One More Night, Don't Lose My Number and Take Me Home. I bet there were at least a couple children conceived while One More Night played in the background, that is one smooth jam. This dude really had no business being a pop star in the 80's: He is four feet tall with a mullet, I mean the dude could have played Bilbo Baggins in LOTR and they wouldn't have needed any CGI, but God damn can he sing. Homeboy also played at both Live Aid concerts, rocking the shit out of Wembley Stadium in England before taking the concorde jet to play JFK Stadium in Philly (where he also drummed for Led Zeppelin). Throw this on the next time you want to get a chick pregnant.

Cool Cavern

CC - CTLY

This is by far the best thing that I've heard all year. I've really got to hand it to Wes Eisold and crew as they've really knocked it out of the park on this one. Wes has almost single handedly created the album of the year, although he did have a hand on this one from members of Chavez, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Glassjaw. Every song on here is ready for the big time, nine serious bangers that you need in your life right now. From dancey numbers that remind me of New Order to dark synth that could make David Gahan and Martin Gore jealous. The songwriting on this is so good that I bet Wes could write circles around most bands with one hand tied behind his back.

Forming

Forming - S/T

I don't know fuck all about this band except that they're young and they play totally rad throwback 90's punk rock. If you dig Samiam, Jawbreaker and Seaweed you're gonna love what these dudes are doing.

Lecherous Gaze - Audio Testament

Lecherous Gaze - Audio Testament

Lecherous Gaze are essentially Annihilation Time with a new singer. If you dig Thin Lizzy, Black Flag, Bullet LaVolta and Captain Beyond then you'll be totally stoked on these dudes. Some totally rad guitar parts are all over this thing, and on top of that the singer sounds like Glen Danzig (this dude has some serious pipes). This has just been re-released by Tee Pee Records as a self-titled EP, so go out and grab a copy you dummy. My neck hurts from head-banging and I suddenly want to consume large quantities of beer and smoke copious amounts of weed. I think it may be related to having this EP dime'd on the stereo. Party time.

I Guess You Eat A Lot Of Canned Food, Huh Dave....

GG Allin - Hated In The Nation

GG Allin - Hated In The Nation

Everyones favourite shit-smeared-nihilist-micropenis flashing-punk rocker. GG (born Jesus Christ Allin) was one wild dude who obeyed no laws, not even those of basic human hygiene. Serial killer John Wayne Gacy remarked after meeting GG that he "loved that guy, but God damned if he didn't smell like the worst pissy-assed wino I'd ever met". This is outcast music made by the most famous outcast in rock and roll. J. Mascis plays lead guitar on three of these tracks (as part of The New York Superscum), he was originally going to record a whole live set but in typical GG fashion the plug was pulled on the show after only three songs (GG shit all over the stage, rolled around in it and began attacking the audience). BITE IT YOU SCUM.

Huey Lewis And The News - Sports

Huey Lewis And The News - Sports

I have some very fond memories of listening to this album as a child. My dad was seriously all about this cassette and he kept it in his regular rotation in the car stereo for a good ten years after it's release. Even though there are only nine songs on this album four of them charted as singles (Heart Of Rock And Roll, Heart And Soul, If This Is It and I Want A New Drug). This album was huge in 1983/84. Yeah of lot of this album is cheesy, but a lot of it is also fucking rad.

Pedals

RS - Pedals

Walter Schreifels and co. return with a fucking stellar album of alt-rock gems that totally slays. There are some real bangers on here, right now I'm all about the tracks "69 Guns" and "Choose Your Adventure" but the whole thing is really great. As a whole this album is a lot more even than United By Fate, but not necessarily better. I thought that this band was toast a long time ago, so I am beyond stoked by anything that they release.

Jay Mass Kiss

J. M. - SSOW

Basically just J. and his trusted Martin acoustic guitar (there are no drums on this thing and very little electrified guitar). I've been waiting months to get this and it does not disappoint. Tender jams from one of my favourite songwriters. There are a butt-load of guests on this thing too, namely Kurt Vile, Kevin Drew and Ben Bridwell. I always knew J.'s guitar playing could melt faces, now I know it can also melt hearts.

Stan Bush & Barrage

Stan Bush & Barrage - S/T

If anyone out there was all fired up after listening to those Blood Bros mixes and wants more rad and inspiring jams from the 80's then look no further. Before you go and put this on make sure you've got an extra pair of socks and pants handy because Stan Bush's music will rock your socks off while simultaneously making you cream your jeans (this dude can sing like Sammy Hagar and shred like Eddie Van Halen). Even the slow-jams are rad (and I hate slow-jams). This contains "The Touch" and "Dare" from the Transformers movie soundtrack (the 80's animated one) as well as three tracks from the Kickboxer soundtrack. Try and be angry while listening to this, it can't be done, I'm grinning from ear to ear just writing about how fucking cool this album is.

SNFU

SNFU - ...And No One Else Wanted To Play

SNFU - If You Swear, You'll Catch No Fish

SNFU - Better Than A Stick In The Eye

SNFU - The Last Of The Big Time Suspenders

SNFU - Something Green And Leafy This Way Comes

SNFU - The One Voted Most Likely To Succeed

SNFU - Fuck You Up Like A Bad Accident

SNFU - Let's Get It Right The First Time

SNFU - Ping Pong EP

SNFU - In The Meantime And In Between Time

SNFU (Society's No Fucking Use) are not just one of Canada's best punk bands, they are one of the best punk bands of all time. They have done time on BYO Records, Cargo Records, Epitaph Records and currently are releasing shit on their own label (Rake Records). For the bulk of their history the three constants have been lead singer Mr. Chi Pig (A total madman who is a punk rock legend) and the Belke brothers, Marc and Brent, whose guitar work ranks among the best of 1980's and 90's punk rock. All their albums totally slay and you'd be a fool to not grab at least one of these, seriously don't fuck around here (you really can't go wrong with any era of this band, I'm particularly fond of their 90's Epitaph output). Mr. Chi Pig is a total meth head now (a shell of the man he used to be) who is toothless and suffers from schizophrenia. He was homeless for a while, but seems to be doing better now and can still put on one hell of a show.

Blood Bros

Blood Bros - First Blood: Train! Fight! Win!

Blood Bros - Heaven2Hell: Train! Fight! Die?!

The Blood Bros are DJ/Producers Derek Allen (DJA) and Dirty South Joe (DSJ). Under this moniker they have compiled only the most radical and inspirational songs from 1980's action movies (and a couple real choice recent ditties). Here is their write up for first blood:

Put this mix on when you are training on the beach, hitting the bag, chopping wood, running up/down a mountain, or generally doing anything which requires/involves fierce determination and focus to win. BLOOD BROS!

I have never read a more appropriate description in my life. The sequel may even be better than the original (It contains One Track Lover from Garth Marenghi's Dark Place). Seriously this shit has got me all jacked-up. Volume one dropped in September, and the sequel was only just unleashed in January but the Bros are already promising a third edition this year, so keep your fingers crossed for that. Don't sleep on these mixtapes as they will totally own your life, big time.