River's Edge Soundtrack

I feel like... Chuck Norris, y'know?

  
!!!DON'T NARC!!!!

River's Edge (1986) is one of those movies you don't forget. Weird, awkward, disconnected, apathetic....yet highly attuned to a teenage frequency that is particularly hilarious small town rural and pre-internet. It's the antithesis of John Hughes-ian 80's teen romanticism....although John Bender, the character Judd Nelson plays in The Breakfast Club, might feel at home in this world. But instead of a principal raiding Barry Mainlow's wardrobe, you have wife murdering Dennis Hopper selling drugs, waving a revolver and dancing with an inflatable sex doll. And instead of Emilio duct taping Larry Lester's buns in gym class, Daniel Roebuck rapes a girl to death with cold power violence, then casually proceeds to brag to all his friends about it and invites them to come poke the dead girl with a stick. This aint Shermer...this is nowhere. And these kids are numb, dumb, and full of Slayer.

Certainly one of Crispin Glover's best roles. His character Layne is a masterpiece of neurotic, passionate, tweeker fanatacism, moronic, brutal....loyal to the point of mania. 

It might be Keanu Reeves best movie too because it plays to his strength of being a vacant faced dumb fuck aloofly asking questions.

I was working at the downtown Jackpot Records this weekend, staring at this SEALED vinyl copy of the River's Edge soundtrack (released on Metal Blade) sitting on the wall.

There are some really cool cuts on this soundtrack. I was pleasantly surprised to see The Wipers on here. In many ways it makes since that a band from the Pacific Northwest would be on this soundtrack. River's Edge technically takes place in Nowheresville, but given the rain-soaked overcast landscape it could easily take place in say, Oregon City.

That song 'Lethal Tendencies' by Hallow's Eve is NOYCE.

Slayer represents four times too. No coincidence though since all the songs are off Slayer's Metal Blade albums...three from their debut album Show No Mercy and one (Captor of Sin) from the EP Haunting The Chapel. I like the fact these tracks get some shine because usually the Slayer story really starts with Reign in Blood, as it should I suppose. If you're gonna know one thing about Slayer, and Death Metal for that matter, it's Reign In Blood. But if you wanna know two things about Slayer, it's their ties to River's Edge.

Here are links for the songs:

1. Hallow's Eve - Lethal Tendencies
2. Slayer - Die By The Sword
3. Fates Warning - Kyrie Eleison
4. Slayer - Captor of Sin
5. Slayer - Evil Has No Boundries
6. Agent Orange - Fire In The Rain
7. Slayer - Tormentor
8. Wipers - Let Me Know
9. Burning Spear - Happy Day

As a bonus I want to include the River's Edge Theme by Jürgen Knieper. In my opinion that should have been the final track of the album. It's a haunting piece of music and fits more cohesively with the punk and metal theme of the soundtrack.

Summer Madness Winter Sadness: Records I Want To Get

I want to find these records.

Kool & The Gang - Summer Madness

I want the 12" of it....looks like the one I want is this Japanese pressing. It has the extended mix which is what you need for this record. I can't tell if Kool and The Gang are actually playing on this Soul Train performance.

Sequence - Funk U Up

This has to be my favorite female rap track. I love the bass too. The original Sugar Hill 12" release will do just fine. It has the long and short version. Long version is best. This one shouldn't cost too much.

Audio Two - Top Billin'

Total classic right here. Perhaps not the most obscure track but its influence can not be ignored. That beat that is so famous was an accident according to legend. Sometimes mistakes are our greatest creations.What more can I say?

Stax of Wax: 3 New Records For The Collection

FIRST

Rodney O and DJ Joe Cooley - 'Everlasting Bass' 12" (1988)

Recently I have been on an old school hip-hop BINGE. 83-88 mainly...I have decided without a doubt old school rap wax is what I want to collect with ferocity. I have a decent stack already but now I'm ready to go all in deep. I scored this a couple weeks ago. The second the needle dropped I felt that rush of discovery, the connection of dots; I had heard this track before. Lil Wayne freestyled this track (renamed 'I Can't Feel My Face') on his legendary 2007 mixtape Drought 3

Now I could be all cool and act like I knew that was the old Rodney O, but honestly I didn't. I try to listen as much music as possible. But sometimes you miss some tracks. So what a great way to discover the history of this track. Which to me sounds very modern. It was totally plausible to me that 'I Can't Feel My Face' was some modern lo-fi stripped down Miami 808 shit...I love this track. Dark ominous synths with nice scratching, and of course that classic 808 beats and bass. I wish the instrumental was included on the 12" but still very happy to score this old school classic.

SECOND

Bohannon - Bohannon's Best (1975) 

This dude is heavy. Funk and Disco Spiritual Master. There are more authentic releases to get from him, particularly the stuff on Dakar/Brunswick. However, this German import "Best of" packs all the singles from that era onto one slab. It roars like a dream. And that is what is most important.

THIRD

The Brothers Johnson - Look Out For #1

This is The Brothers Johnson first full length from 1976, produced by Quincy Jones. They're second album is probably more well known, particularly because of the single 'Strawberry Letter  23' but I find the first album just slightly more cohesive and less polished than 'Right On Time.' Tracks like 'Get Tha Funk Outta My Face' demonstrate Louis Johnsons bass chops, pretty much summing up why Q had him playing bass on Off The Wall and Thriller.