Mission of Burma - The Enthusiast

I’m finished talking about the MoB show this weekend; I’m sure all of you who’ve wanted to see them have. And maybe you were there in ‘82. I was a fetus, and three guys babbling in ragged harmony would’ve been awful for my development. Here is a mildly terrifying Burma-Shave sign.

[buy stuff here]

Black Flag - What I See

Can you imagine how catastrophic a true Black Flag reunion would be? Forget that WM3 comp: even if Ginn and Rollins could patch things up,the sheer number of ex-Flags who would be left in the cold is staggering. Gimme Kira on bass, Biscuits on the skins, Greg and Dezfor the two-guitar attack, and Keith to trade off with Hank on themic. Hank would tackle his own “What I See,” which on the right days is the best Flag song ever. Here is a perfectly serviceable review of the quasi-reunion benefit CD.

[buy stuff here]

Roger Miller - Palmsandr

How I Spent My Time OFF: Tinnitus didn’t knock Burma guitarist Roger Miller completely out of the game. He just had to turn down the levels a bit. Here’s a track from 1990’s Xylyl, a suite composed for a Boston art show. The conceit for Xylyl is the similar to the one employed for the ‘89 studio set Damage the Enemy (recorded under the moniker No Man): household objects are sampled and incorporated into structured songs. With no vocals, the focus switches to the lovely violin of Judy Stanton & Bob Weston’s stirring trumpet(!). Weston, the Dave Grohl of the post-punk network, has since joined Roger and Co. as Mission of Burma’s new resident tape manipulator. A beautiful song. Here is a man using a palm sander.

[buy stuff here]