1997 - 70 Minutes Of Happy: Bulb In Bulbophonic
Yes, I literally found it on the ground. Right in the middle of the street near NE Sandy, close to a nice little townhouse apartment I used to live in with my friend Keira.
It was summer and I had had a crap day at work and it was about a millions degrees outside. I rode my skateboard all the way from the record store I worked at on NE Sandy and 20th to our apartment, which was on like 54th or something. If you are familiar with that patch of Sandy Blvd circa 2000 - 2001, you know that it IS NOT skateboard friendly. 100% uphill and riddled with vicious potholes, shitty, smashed up sidewalks and weird intersections.
Anyway, I had turned up Sacramento to the kind of back approach to the apartment complex, and stopped to sit on the sidewalk and rest before I crawled up the last couple blocks. And there it was. Sitting right in the middle of the street. I picked it up and looked at it. A cdr with a printed disc in a little plastic sleeve with what looked like a photocopied piece of bright pink paper for a cover.
(the scan above I found on the internet. It sucks I know, but I can't find the cd right now...)
I assumed it was for some local band but saw that it was on a label called Bulb, out of Osaka, Japan. I fucking LOVE Osaka! Favorite place ever! I recognized something else as well. A name. Incapacitants. I had never heard these "Incapacitants" but I had heard of them. Infamous japanese godfathers of the Osaka noise scene, and older contemporaries of Hanatarash. This I was excited to hear. I decided to just go ahead and listen to the whole thing from the beginning and I had a discman with me. In it goes. It sounded a little like...
"SSSSSSSSSSSKKKKRR
RRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEE
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
E!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Auh-
GUHH-g-g-g-g-g--g-g-G-G
-g-gkschkreeeeeeeegk... gk...
gk gkgkgk!!!! DOOM".
This stuff isn't for everyone. Hardcore NOISE. Right at that moment though, it was like a perfect reflection of my mood. I was hot, and wanted to crawl out of my body. 15 million annoying reminders of people being rotten and aggressive were wrestling each other in the front of my brain. My skateboard fighting against the jagged, toothy sidewalks and complaining audibly. Surrounded by pushy, careless automobiles with faceless automatonic drivers. Only sounds like these could push them far enough away from me that I'd be able to maybe catch my breath and assemble my thoughts reasonably. It sounded perfect.
The cover is cryptic and the track list spotty. Some tracks don't even list an artist, or just say "???" When I find the CD, I'll make sure and put up an accurate transcription of the track listing as it is listed on the cover. Til then, you can listen. :)
As far as I can tell this thing is very very uncommon and out of print. The label doesn't even seem to have a website anymore. Anyone have any more info on this thing?
Yes, I literally found it on the ground. Right in the middle of the street near NE Sandy, close to a nice little townhouse apartment I used to live in with my friend Keira.
It was summer and I had had a crap day at work and it was about a millions degrees outside. I rode my skateboard all the way from the record store I worked at on NE Sandy and 20th to our apartment, which was on like 54th or something. If you are familiar with that patch of Sandy Blvd circa 2000 - 2001, you know that it IS NOT skateboard friendly. 100% uphill and riddled with vicious potholes, shitty, smashed up sidewalks and weird intersections.
Anyway, I had turned up Sacramento to the kind of back approach to the apartment complex, and stopped to sit on the sidewalk and rest before I crawled up the last couple blocks. And there it was. Sitting right in the middle of the street. I picked it up and looked at it. A cdr with a printed disc in a little plastic sleeve with what looked like a photocopied piece of bright pink paper for a cover.
(the scan above I found on the internet. It sucks I know, but I can't find the cd right now...)
I assumed it was for some local band but saw that it was on a label called Bulb, out of Osaka, Japan. I fucking LOVE Osaka! Favorite place ever! I recognized something else as well. A name. Incapacitants. I had never heard these "Incapacitants" but I had heard of them. Infamous japanese godfathers of the Osaka noise scene, and older contemporaries of Hanatarash. This I was excited to hear. I decided to just go ahead and listen to the whole thing from the beginning and I had a discman with me. In it goes. It sounded a little like...
"SSSSSSSSSSSKKKKRR
RRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEE
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
E!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Auh-
GUHH-g-g-g-g-g--g-g-G-G
-g-gkschkreeeeeeeegk... gk...
gk gkgkgk!!!! DOOM".
This stuff isn't for everyone. Hardcore NOISE. Right at that moment though, it was like a perfect reflection of my mood. I was hot, and wanted to crawl out of my body. 15 million annoying reminders of people being rotten and aggressive were wrestling each other in the front of my brain. My skateboard fighting against the jagged, toothy sidewalks and complaining audibly. Surrounded by pushy, careless automobiles with faceless automatonic drivers. Only sounds like these could push them far enough away from me that I'd be able to maybe catch my breath and assemble my thoughts reasonably. It sounded perfect.
The cover is cryptic and the track list spotty. Some tracks don't even list an artist, or just say "???" When I find the CD, I'll make sure and put up an accurate transcription of the track listing as it is listed on the cover. Til then, you can listen. :)
As far as I can tell this thing is very very uncommon and out of print. The label doesn't even seem to have a website anymore. Anyone have any more info on this thing?
1997 - Bulb In Bulbophonic MP4
ReplyDeletehttp://www.badongo.com/file/12398087
Hey Dr. Science,
ReplyDeleteI was in a band on this record - Prehensile Monkey-tailed Skink. I found your review when I was looking for a scan of the cover. Funny you found it on the street. Perfect Bulb style of distribution. Anyway, Pete Larson ran the label from all over (including Japan) but mostly Ann Arbor, Michigan. He's not putting anything new out, I don't think, but the website's still up: http://users.tmok.com/~bulb/
If you're interested in my new project, which definitely fits the bill of obscure vinyl, check out The Monkey Power Trio: www.monkeypowertrio.com
Thanks for an interesting blog,
Dan