J.T. IV - Cosmic Lightning [197?-1980s]

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The consummate loner punk J.T. IV [John Timmis IV] lived in and around the fringes of Chicago, and made some fantastically damaged glam-folk-punk tunes, first releasing the "Waiting for the CTA" 7" in 1980. It's a localized version of the Velvets song, sung over Blitzkrieg Bop chords. The song starts out pretty cheesy-sounding but devolves into a noisy mess foretelling the rest of this compilation of super-rare singles (with originals going for over $800). My favorite thing on here is the two-song folk lament suite "In the Can / Out of the Can," which communicates alienation and pathos as can only be done by a dude who's been institutionalized. On the rest of the songs there's all sorts of what Timmis called 'destructo rock,' an umbrella under which the MC5 and the Dead Boys would probably fit. All of this stuff languished in obscurity for the whole of Timmis's life (he died in 2002 in Nowhere, PA), but was released by Drag City in 2008. It's out of print now, but when it was available it came with a full-length DVD containing performances and home-movies (trailer below). More of his stuff remains unreleased and nearly impossible to find, but I hope it gets reissued like this album. If you can track that DVD down, let me know.

J.T. IV on Drag City

That's when I realize I'm starting to peak again

Suicide - Suicide (Second Album) [1980] + Dream Baby Dream 7" [1979] + more

EDIT: I got DMCA'd, looks like you'll have to find it somewhere else.

So this is the second studio album by Suicide (clearly). Makes me think of what rock n roll would have sounded like in the Blade Runner world. Which is to say, it's awesome. Like First Album, you're getting raw, sharp synth-punk (and they were one of the first bands to do this). The drum machine sounds like heartbeats, and on 'Fast Money Music' you'll feel like your pulse is trying to catch up to the song. Second Album has synth-punk doo-wop stuff added to the mix. These guys liked the Velvet Underground's 'Sister Ray' so much they made their own and called it 'Mr. Ray.' It's a jam. Second Album was produced by Ric Ocasek of the Cars, so the added pop sound should make sense to you, and if you didn't like First Album so much but think the premise is cool, try this record.

This version does not contain the First Rehearsal Tapes disc, but does include the Dream Baby Dream/Radiation 7", plus the excellent track 'Super Subway Comedian.'

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