RRR500 LP --- (really) Various Artists

Oh boy...This is so damn cool. For around $12, you hear 500 bands (that's $0.42 per band). 500 locked-grooves from 500 bands. Granted, you only hear 3-5 seconds from each band, but still, do you actually need to hear more than five seconds of Enbalmed? You can let the Terry Riley repeat ad nauseum and feel like you shelled out $15 for an actual Terry Riley record. The bands on this project seem to be of the tape-trader variety (i.e. Neil Campbell, His Name Is Alive, Ashtray Navigations, et al) and free-music heroes (Bruce Gilbert, Alan Licht, Derek Bailey, Bruce Russel).

The most "famous" band on this comp is probably Sonic Youth (Lee and Thurston make solo contributions, as well as Kim's Free Kitten), are band #500. The discernible trends on here seem to be:1.) gtr and/or synth squaking, 2.) people swearing, 3.) massive drones, 4.) breakbeats, 5.) conversation snippets, and, 6.)computer beeps. Oh, and coughing. People really like to cough. My only complaint is that you don't actually know whom yr listening to after groove five or so. I would love to report how great the Lettuce Little piece is, but its track #396, which makes it a tad bit difficult to pinpoint. This is one of those records you must own, even if you just take it out to show yr friends. As my Red Hot Chilli Peppers- diggin' friend Nick remarked, "Even I would buy this."

(RRRecords --- 23 Central St., Lowell MA 01852)

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Michael Keegan
2.3.1999