130. Various Artists - AmRep Equipped

I love compilations, they're a great way to find new music. This is a CD that I came to own by stealing it out of the collection Todd brought with him from California. Sure, it's really still his, but he hasn't seen it since it first made its way into my CD player.

AmRep is Amphetamine Reptile Records. The label has put out records by Helmet, The Melvins, Mudhoney, Steel Pole Bathtub, a bunch of other bands you might have heard of and some you probably haven't. They specialize in noise rock, which is a lot better genre than the name would imply.

Of all the bands on this comp, I'd heard of only Unsane, Supernova and the Cows, the only song I knew was the one by the Cows. But at the time I stole it, I was bored with my music collection and looking for something new. I found it. I literally loved every song on this CD and it remained my driving music for about two months before I made myself sick of it.

Through this comp, I discovered the wonders of the band Gnomes of Zurich. I needed to find out more about them. So I dug into the internet and while I disocovered that the Gnomes of Zurich is a term used by British labor ministers during the 1964 Sterling Crisis to refer to Swiss banks, and they sold their gold and they were involved in something that may have angered the citizens of Switzerland, I found out very little about the band. But I did get a nice history lesson on Swiss finance. And I bought 33rd Degree Burns, the GoZ album featuring their song that appears on this comp.

So you see, compilations aren't just there to help us discover new music. They can teach you things. Fun and educational!

(Part of my goal with this project is to hopefully turn some people on to music they haven't heard before, which is why I really enjoy reviewing the lesser known artists in my collection, and why I proved links to videos/downloads on each review)

Favorite song: Gnomes of Zurich, Big Teeth Skeletal Face
Runner up: Supernova, Vitamins