Chris Connelly - "Phenobarb Bambalam" and "July"

(Chris Connelly's "Phenobarb Bambalam")

If you saw our video here, you would know recently we received in the mail from Wax Trax! Records, two Chris Connelly releases, the first one being "July", and the second one being the album "Phenobarb Bambalam". I used to have both of these in my CD collection waaaaay back in the day, when I was 19 or 20 or something like that. I got rid of them when I was trying to build extra cash for my move to Calgary. I don't regret getting rid of them, but after all these years I realized I missed having them in my collection, and I'm trying to grab stuff from the recently brought back to life Wax Trax! Records label.

(Chris Connelly's "July")

So, a little bit about these releases: when I originally received these when I was 19 or 20 from a friend, he had passed them on from a local goth/industrial DJ in Saskatoon at the time. Then I eventually sold them... I didn't want to, but I had to get rid of things that weren't essential in my collection at the time... and I needed to raise some funds (I sold a lot of stuff that I'm in the process of recollecting now).

("Phenobarb Bambalam" disc)

("July" disc)

My initial thoughts about the releases when I originally received them were, I enjoyed them... it was a little different from the stuff I was normally used to, but I thought they were still good! I also felt a little bit of a connection to Mr. Connelly, cause in the album artwork he has dreads, and at the time I had dreads as well.

(Back of "Phenobarb Bambalam")

(Back of "July")

Listening to them now... I remember what I thought when I had heard them for the first time... On these releases, Chris Connelly definitely has a Bowie vibe going on. I'm not sure if that was what he was going for, but he certainly sounds like Mr.Bowie... nothing wrong with that! I would say at least on these albums Chris Connelly sounds like a industrialized David Bowie. I still am enjoying this stuff! I would say the production values on the album, as well as the mixing and mastering are quite different from the regular Wax Trax! stuff... and I think that that might be because Al Jourgensen had nothing to do with these releases. The mixing and mastering is solid though... very clear... nothing seems buried in the mix. Listening to them again, I don't think I had the same appreciation for the music back then that I do today... I'm glad I purchased them again, and supported the label directly! I'm glad they are back in my collection, and I will say, if you are interested in industrial music history... Wax Trax! Records played a very large role in the American goth/industrial scene and were pioneers when it came to bringing European bands like KMFDM and Front 242 to the American scene as well as played a large role in the industrial metal movement (Ministry being one of the first acts to incorporate metal elements with industrial music), so head over to their website here! and order some industrial music history!!

I hope you folks are doing well!!

(Your Canadian Goth/Rivethead)

Shayne "Daemon_w60" Lawrence / Twitch

Industrial Accident: The Story of Wax Trax! Records CD

("Industrial Accident: The Story of Wax Trax! Records" Compilation)

Well, I went and purchased a new CD at a store here in Calgary called SAN K JTURI BUKS! Great little spot for books, comics, industrial music (If I'm not mistaken, they are official Wax Trax! Records dealers), all kinds of movies... and just rare stuff (they are in Eau Claire Mall, if you a curious to go check them out)! I initially went to this store to hang out with a friend who works there and just chat for a little bit, but I ended up picking up this "Industrial Accident: The Story of Wax Trax! Records" compilation CD! I had already ordered the Documentary, and I figured being that I had done that, I might as well pick up the compilation CD that goes along with the film! So, what is on this CD... My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult, Revolting Cocks, Ministry, KMFDM, Front 242, Chris Connelly... and a bunch of other stuff!

(Interior)

Being that I wasn't old enough to really appreciate what was on the Wax Trax! roster when I was younger and when these songs and bands were coming out (I was waaaay too young, and industrial music wasn't really on my periphery at this point in time), I will say for what is on this compilation, and knowing the bands now, I would say this is an excellent collection of songs and definitely displays the major bands and some of their pioneering and most iconic sounds that were on the label!! This also reminds me of my baby bat or young years as a goth... and being at events in my young adult years in my home city, and being exposed to these bands for the first time... and really loving this stuff!

(Tray Art)

It wasn't until many, many years later that I really started to appreciate what came off this label, and even really start to dig into some of the music off this label! If you watched this video here, you would know that... I would say, yes all the bands definitely sound different, but I will also say, a lot of the bands that came off this label... there was a similarity in the sound quality of the music, maybe not so much in sound design, but definitely in the way it was mixed and mastered! I also think another reason why there was a similarity in that aspect, was because Al Jourgensen had a big hand in a lot of the bands that rolled off that label, and quite frankly, a lot of the bands were side-projects of Al (Revolting Cocks, Pailhead, 1000 Homo DJ's, etc)...

(Back Cover)

So, yeah... listening to this CD, there is definitely almost a nostalgia, when hearing this kind of stuff in my early baby bat days and being at goth/industrial events in my home city, but there's also appreciation for this stuff that I hadn't had in the past, because I was too young to really appreciate it! There's also a lot of inspiration, and a lot of almost "wonder", as too be honest, some of this stuff... this is the first time hearing it! So, yes!! If you are into industrial music and don't know who Wax Trax! Records is or know of the bands on this label, or just haven't heard these particular tracks that are on this compilation... pick it up! There is a lot of history here... and if you have watched my video regarding the documentary "Industrial Accident: The Story of Wax Trax! Records" I will say it again here... watch the documentary!! You will not regret it, you will learn more about this transgressive genre and where it came from, and you will learn about this pioneering record label that spawned the careers of many of today's well known industrial bands!!

Our Favorite Nine Inch Nails Album, and Why?

Ok, so most of you know, if you've been reading our blog (or you have the digital booklet for our "20 Years of Twitch" retrospective), that we are heavily influenced by Nine Inch Nails, but what is our favorite Nine Inch Nails album..? I could tell you where it started, how I initially got into NIN... I can't quite remember how I came across them in the beginning, but something influenced me to pick up "Pretty Hate Machine", I may have seen the video of 'Head Like A Hole' and that is kinda what started me into the downward spiral 😉 of trying to find and purchase anything I could get my hands on! I loved NIN, and still do!

I could tell you how I purchased "Further Down The Spiral" by accident, thinking it was "The Downward Spiral"... and then putting it on and realizing it was not what I thought it was... but decided to keep it anyway! Then, a little while later I picked up "The Downward Spiral"... and then somewhere between purchasing "The Downward Spiral" and purchasing the "Closure" VHS tapes, I picked up the "March of The Pigs" singles, as well as the "Closer" single, and also somewhere in there "Broken" and "Fixed"...

...I could tell you sometime after moving to Calgary a friend of mine gave me a copy of the "Broken" snuff video... then moving to London, England for a 4.5 month stint, I was thinking about Nine Inch Nails, and was hoping that they would release something new, not knowing that I would randomly walk into a music shop there like 10 minutes later, and found the "The Day The World Went Away" single that they just released, and it would carry on like that, I found out they were releasing a new album "The Fragile" and picked that up as well...

...then I came back to Calgary, and found "Things Falling Apart", then "And All That Could Have Been" live album... then a few years later, I was wondering if they were going to release something again, initially called "Bleedthrough", "With Teeth" was announced! I managed to win a contest at a club here and won the CD and a poster as well... a little while after that, I picked up "Every Day Is Exactly The Same"...

...Then the next year "Year Zero" came out, and the "Survivalism" single... course I don't have everything NIN... I don't have all the Halo's, but I do have a large chunk of them in physical copies... I also managed to get the "And All That Could Have Been" live DVD, as well as the "Beside You In Time" DVD as well...

...I downloaded "The Slip" when it was available online (I would like to find the CD though), I ended up with a collectors edition of "Hesitation Marks" and picked up digital versions of the "Head Like A Hole" and the "Down In It" singles (would love to find this in CD as well), I also have the CD version of "Add Violence" and "Bad Witch", and I managed to get the special black package of "Not The Actual Events" (that was a lot of fun to open, lol)!!.

There's other things I have too like "Ghosts: I - IV", and "Still"... there's quite a few pieces I don't have... but I figure I'll find them someday... soooo, what Nine Inch Nails album is my favorite, and why? To be honest with you, I can't pick one... everything Trent has put out, I love, and I think every album speaks for the time that they were created... and I think each and every one, has their own character and sounds different... the only exception was the last 3 EP's that they did; "Not The Actual Events", "Add Violence", and "Bad Witch", I thought they were great, but I didn't feel Trent (and Atticus), where moving in new territory... I do understand that Trent was feeling nostalgic at the time, and wanted to honor the early days with these EP's, and they are great in that context, but like I said... they weren't really breaking into new territory, and I just felt that it has already been done, but I still do think they are great, just not the best in the Nine Inch Nails spectrum! So, there you have it, now you know what is/are our favorite album(s)!

So, what is your favorite NIN album?

The Death of Physical Media

Well, the last few days I've been really thinking about physical music media, and if we didn't know this already, I'm really starting to think, physical is dead. Most computers and laptops nowadays don't include CD players or even DVD players... and, it's only gonna get harder to obtain that outdated type of technology (you can purchase USB connected external CD/DVD drives right now, but it won't be like that forever)... even physical CD sales are rare... I do like the idea of having physical (love the packaging and stuff), but as time goes by, it will get harder and harder to find tech that supports that outdated media. Sure, there has been a slight resurgence in vinyl, but for how long? Quite frankly, I'm not interested in investing in vinyl (the question is, how long is that gonna last for..?)... Even with my own musical endeavor... I'm at the point where I think selling a CD is kinda pointless, being that that media IS becoming rare, and no one really purchases it anymore... and as stated above, it's only gonna get harder to find CD/DVD drives to connect to our computers or laptops. I'm also looking at my CD collection and wondering if it's even worth trying to collect more, or even keeping what I have... with digital and streaming being the #1 way for people to consume and listen to music, why even bother with physical. Like I said, I like the idea of collecting and the packaging and all that stuff, but in the end, it really is a dead format... and everything I have in physical, has been uploaded and digitized into my library on my computer... so what's the point? I don't need to have a physical copy anymore... and quite frankly they are probably gonna end up in a landfill somewhere at some point down the road... which really has me thinking... should I sell it? To be honest, I'm at the point where I want to, save for a select few pieces (will probably never get rid of my Nine Inch Nails pieces, but the rest of it... I don't really care). Of course, there's memories attached to some of these pieces, but will the memory die if I get rid of them? ... I'm really not sure, there is dates and times, and feelings associated with some of these pieces... I feel like having them is a reminder of those memories... but could I actually get rid of the majority of my collection?

What are your thoughts on physical media (CDs/DVDs)? And, would you get rid of your collection, knowing that the technology used to play that media is becoming rare and outdated?