Shit Cook - Run to the Gun EP - 2004

As part of my work with this blog, I'd like to give away some music. In particular, I'd like to finally make versions of a few early Divorce releases available to the digital world. A lot of these albums were put together in small runs between 50 and 100, and so are long OOP.

I had to dig hard to find a copy of this one. Here we have the first of two Shit Cook EPs. Shit Cook was a solo noise/vocal project by yours truly. Although I spent hours locked in a jam spot obsessing over these and other sounds, I was only ever able to muster the spiritual fortitude to play two shows. The experience of a live audience coupled with the intensity of this music was always too overwhelming. The final performance resulted in me practically destroying a vintage 1975 Stratocaster (and my left hand) with a butcher knife. This thing could never happen again. I wasn't cut out for the long haul of the noise game, but I sure put all my soul into this music at the time. Enjoy.
http://www.sendspace.com/file/lvlgn5

Shin Joong Hyun

Here's another gem I unearthed in my ordering marathon this weekend. Beautiful Rivers And Mountains: The Psychedelic Rock Sound Of South Korea’s Shin Joong Hyun 1958-1974 comes to us by way of the prolific Light In The Attic label out of Seattle. This beautifully packaged 2LP showcases a diversity of highlights from singer, guitarist, arranger, and producer Shin Joong Hyun's work. His early music was inspired by the American jazz and soul he heard on US Army radio in South Korea, but as his career progressed, the psychedelia of 60's rock took hold of his sound. The resulting mix of influences from Korean pop to Jimi Hendrix and LSD culture gave way to one of the most unique pop sounds of the time, despite being far from Western ears. And as the story goes, in the early 70's The Korean government became increasingly concerned about Shin psychedelic offerings and lifestyle. To test his patriotism, dictator Park Chung Hee asked him to write a song in praise of the president. Shin refused and instead wrote Beautiful River and Mountains about the beauty of Korea. Over the next years he was harassed incessantly by the police until in '75 he was arrested, locked up, and tortured. Serious consequences for rock and roll.

Abdul Karim Khan

I took the summer off from ordering new records for the distro and the shop, so I was especially psyched to start digging through the new wholesale lists today. There will certainly be lots of interesting titles coming in over the next few weeks. I'll try to post info on a few of those records on this blog. To start, here's a sample of Indian classical singer Abdul Karim Khan. Mississippi and Canary just reissued 10 ragas from a collection of 78"s recorded around 1934-35. The haunting quality of these old recordings is only magnified by Abdul Karim Khan's sublime, soulful performances. This is truly a heavy listen that transcends time and culture.