#cherry point

Marines at Cherry Point, NC

RRRecords, Summer 2006.

Over the weekend as I was putting together the Omega Radio playlist posts, I made a few trips to Discogs to grab some album art. Then it hit me. All of it. Wolf Eyes, Black Dice, Jim O'Rourke, Carlos Giffoni, Burning Star Core, The Magik Markers, Rogers Sisters, Ecstatic Peace, Lightning Bolt, etcetera. The amazing burst exploded in my head. These were artists prominently featured in everyone’s minds and conversations on campus, online music sites, and in select cities everywhere during the last decade. These were artists I played on my original show and discovered during my time as WUSB program director and at The Stony Brook Press. Some people go as far to say that those mid-Zeros were the golden-age of hipsterdom. They’re not far from the truth. There could be many more but these are the ones that happened. Whether they were taken from Pitchfork, found in our new release bins at the station, or I even bought from the shows they performed, most if not all of these artists mentioned became a significant factor during my time at Stony Brook. The nostalgic burst made me feel that something has to be done sooner or later; which is why I will be putting together a special show about the golden age I was part of. Cornflower agreed that I better do something about it.

One that I neglected to mention was RRRecords. Somewhere along the way I discovered the Lowell, Massachusetts record store and noise label that is Ron Lessard, who is better known as noise artist Emil Beaulieau. Documentaries were made with his inclusion and is known for his strange oddball behavior during performances, but he is given credit for putting the New England noise scene and aesthetic on the map, sharing that honor with the now-finished Load Records. RRRecords was the label that gave away xeroxed catalogs for more than 15 years before putting its listings online where I found them. Going through the list that RRRecords had to offer, I noticed him selling a sizable list of “recycled tapes”: low-priced cassettes which the originals are recorded overs with noise artist’s material, and their J-cards physically duct-taped and written with magic marker. Really, tapes designed as samplers for those wanting to try out new noise artists at low risk. That was how I ended up buying a substantial order from the label. The tapes were $4 a piece so I ordered a lot of them. I also ordered for $5 each Masonna’s Inner Mind Mystique on vinyl (1996) and Merzbow’s Pornoise 1KG five-tape set (1987) with filthy Trevor Brown art. Everything was sent to my residence within the week. Aside from the titles I purchased from Lessard, he was also kind enough to throw in stickers, postcards, flyers, and even rare memorabilia having absolutely nothing to do with music, including old music advertisements, train schedules, and small bank pamphlets.

Most of the artists you see here are of recycled tapes. Recycled tapes such as Sparkle Girl, Athenian Mercury, NxFxTxEx, Cherry Point, and DCLXVI were the introductory point in finding these artists and eventually made it to some of our Omega Radio noise specials and personal mixes. I also discovered that the Prurient tape made was from a split with Wolf Eyes called The Warriors (2005).

His online store is still there. Going through his current stock, another order is way overdue. There’s potential to grab some interesting marquee releases for a low price. The probability to fill some empty holes and enjoy the golden-era that I experienced at Stony Brook is high. Wish me luck.

Jennifer Wolski (recycled)

Sparkle Girl (recycled)

AT&T (recycled)

Prurient (recycled)

Aube (recycled)

Incapacitants (recycled)

Haters, The (recycled)

Masonna (recycled)

Merzbow (recycled)

Achim Wollscheid (recycled)

NxFxTxEx (recycled)

Bruce Carkiss (recycled)

Athenian Mercury (recycled)

f/I (recycled)

Cherry Point (recycled)

Bastard Noise (recycled)

Japanese Torture Comedy Hour (recycled)

DCLXVI (recycled)

Masonna Inner Mind Mystique (vinyl)

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US Marine, Cherry Point, NC

Cherry Point, North Carolina

Marines with a turtle