Agony Shorthand
Saturday, September 23, 2006
AGONY SHORTHAND.......
(Please note that all 3 years' worth of Agony Shorthand's archives can be accessed by scrolling down to the bottom of this page)
AGONY SHORTHAND was a music-based site/blog that ran from February 2003 through September 2006. It was subsequently replaced with a new site called DETAILED TWANG, but that too was put out to pasture in December 2009. Both have been replaced by THE HEDONIST JIVE, as of April 2010. There's also a beer blog called BEER SAMIZDAT as of August 2011. It was penned by Jay Hinman, with a couple of noteworthy exceptions. When I started it, I knew of only a tiny handful of music-only blogs out there, and the goal was to foist my opinions and recent finds & discoveries on the dozen people I knew who might be interested in hearing about them. Three and ½ years later, it was gratifying to see traffic statistics that showed over 500 people a day were checking it out, and were adding their own commentary with heedless abandon. So why did it stop? Well, why does any unpaid, maniacal, obsessive, high-effort hobby have to come to an end? I don’t know. I reckoned that 43 months’ worth of postings, often done 4-5 per week, would be enough of a legacy to leave for anyone who might be interested in checking it out, and I hope that you do if you haven’t already.
In addition to my current blog THE HEDONIST JIVE, there are also a few pieces on the web one can peek at that I wrote on THE FLESH EATERS, SIMPLY SAUCER, the GUN CLUB and MISSION OF BURMA. To help any future visitors to Agony Shorthand navigate a fraction of the 800+ posts that went up during its lifetime, I’ve painstakingly gathered direct links to many of them below. Enjoy!
AGONY SHORTHAND TOP 100 LPs ; MIKE REP Interview ; "LAUREL CANYON" book ; WHITE ZOMBIE ; FORCED EXPOSURE #7/8 ; HACKAMORE BRICK ; ROCKET FROM THE TOMBS ; "FOLK IN HELL" ; VOM ; GREEN ON RED ; BANGLES ; BEST UNDIGITIZED LPs ; LEE HAZLEWOOD ; CRACK: WE ARE ROCK ; "CHAINS AND BLACK EXHAUST" ; X (Australia) ; PETER BLEGVAD ; JUKEBOX JURY ROUND ONE ; JUKEBOX JURY ROUND TWO ; JUKEBOX JURY ROUND THREE ; JUKEBOX JURY ROUND FOUR ; DUST DEVILS ; CHEATER SLICKS "Yer Last Record" ; COME ; "MUSIC FOR PUSSYCATS" ; BILL DIREEN ; RECORD SHOPPING IN TOKYO; MC5 movie; NATIVE HIPSTERS; FRENCH YE-YE pop of the 60s; BULL TONGUE (Coley/Moore) ; LOVE CHILD; BLACK FLAG "Police Story" ; A-FRAMES "A-Frames"; CONTROLLERS; ROXY MUSIC; THE NUBS; LIIMANARINA; THE REVILLOS ; SLUGFUCKERS ; UNION CARBIDE PRODUCTIONS ; CLOTHILDE ; PRINCE BUSTER ; ART vs. COMMERCE ; THE BRENTWOODS ; THE CLEAN (live) ; SCRITTI POLITTI ; THE GORIES ; COMETS ON FIRE / SUNBURNED HAND OF THE MAN ; "ON THE DIGITIZATION REVOLUTION" ; SKIP JAMES ; GREEN RIVER ; Dissing ARTHUR Magazine ; ROXY MUSIC "Country Life" ; AGONY SHORTHAND's "Greatest Songs List" ; RIGHT ON ; OVERRATED: THE MONKS ; GIRLS AT OUR BEST ; SOLGER ; "FRISCO STYLES" ; "NEW YORK NOISE" ; OVERRATED: THE DICTATORS ; TWENTY AMERICAN 60s PUNK SCREAMERS ; OVERRATED: THE POP GROUP ; DELTA 5 "Anticipation Is So Much Better" ; PUSSY CAT ; WORST ROCK MOVIES OF THE 21st CENTURY ; LAZY COWGIRLS ; NEIL YOUNG "American Stars N' Bars" ; A-FRAMES "A-Frames 2"; LIGHTNING BOLT "Wonderful Rainbow"; BLIND WILLIE McTELL; PERE UBU; REMBETIKA – SONGS OF THE GREEK UNDERGROUND 1925-1947; OVERRATED: THE RAINCOATS ; “FLOWERS IN THE WILDWOOD – WOMEN IN EARLY COUNTRY MUSIC 1923-1939"; HAIR POLICE; THE DOOR AND THE WINDOW; JOHNNY PAYCHECK; HASIL ADKINS ; ZODIAC KILLERS ; REVEREND CHARLIE JACKSON ; "UGLY THINGS" magazine ; LEFTOVERS ; MAESTROS & DIPSOS ; MO-DETTES; SON HOUSE; ZOOMERS; “VINYL JUNKIES – ADVENTURES IN RECORD COLLECTING”; THE DWARVES; "WHAT'S WITH THE HIPPY DIP TRIP?"; "WHAT'S WITH THE HIPPY DIP TRIP, PART TWO"; KENT 3; COME "Car" ; FINAL SOLUTIONS ; THE BOTTOM 10, CIRCA 1985-1989 ; PINETOPPERS ; THIRTEENTH FLOOR ELEVATORS ; THE ULTIMATE POST-PUNK C90 ; VELVET UNDERGROUND : "SCREEN TEST: FALLING IN LOVE WITH THE FALLING SPIKES" ; AMERICAN HARDCORE HALL OF FAME ; THE CLEAN "Oddities" ; THE CORPORATE RUBBER CHICKEN CIRCUIT ; ELEGY FOR TOWER RECORDS ; PONYS ; DIAMANDA GALAS ; NUMBERS ; “DOWN IN THE BASEMENT : JOE BUSSARD’S TREASURE TROVE OF VINTAGE 78s, 1926-1937" ; VINCEBUS ERUPTUM ; ERASE ERRATA ; CAT POWER ; LESTER BANGS ; DENGUE FEVER ; OVERRATED: WAYLON JENNINGS ; SWA ; THE FALL "Live At The Witch Trials" ; NEON BOYS ; SUPERCHARGER ; THE LOST RECORDS OF THE DIGITAL AGE ; PUSSY GALORE ; VELVET UNDERGROUND "Bootleg Series" ; SCREAMERS/WEIRDOS ; MODEY LEMON ; MISFITS ; Interview with CLINT CONLEY (Mission of Burma) ; KRONOS QUARTET ; FLESH EATERS "No Questions Asked" ; JOANNA NEWSOM ; SLITS ; FLIPPER ; TOWNES VAN ZANDT ; DAVIE ALLAN & THE ARROWS ; KINKS "Arthur" ; AVENGERS ; DMZ ; THE KIWI ANIMAL ; NAUTICAL ALMANAC ; SPK ; OBLIVIANS ; THE JONESES ; SHOES THIS HIGH ; MONSTER MAGNET ; VERTICAL SLIT ; GIANT SAND ; VKTMS ; NICO ; SKIP JAMES "1930 - The Complete Early Recordings" ; RED CROSS ; JOHNNY & THE SELF-ABUSERS ; "GOD LESS AMERICA" ; PINK FLOYD ; JOHNNY REBEL; "THE MAYOR OF THE SUNSET STRIP"; MONOSHOCK; FLESH EATERS "Hard Road To Follow"; CAMERA OBSCURA; ROBERT WILKINS; THE CHATTERBOX; JOHN FAHEY; FIERY FURNACES live; FIERY FURNACES "Gallowsbird's Bark"; IMPACT ALL-STARS; CRIME reunion show (live); THE DONNAS ; 100 FLOWERS ; "THE SECRET MUSEUM OF MANKIND -- NORTH AFRICA" ; DADAMAH ; "CHARRED REMAINS" ; TALES OF TERROR ; THE FORGOTTEN CLASSICS OF 1980s GARAGE ; LINK WRAY ; AGONY SHORTHAND'S BEST OF 2004 ; CHRIS D. AND THE DIVINE HORSEMEN ; PRIMITIVE SHIT ROCK ; MIDNIGHT CIRCUS ; HAMPTON GREASE BAND ; STEVE TREATMENT ; SCIENTIST ; YOUNG MARBLE GIANTS ; BASSHOLES ; VASHTI BUNYAN ; THE CRAMPS ; A-FRAMES "Black Forest" ; LIGHTNIN' HOPKINS ; MENTALLY ILL ; RUTTO ; BLACK FLAG ; SKIP SPENCE ; Interview with ALICE BAG ; MEAN RED SPIDERS ; ICKY BOYFRIENDS ; WACKIES : "AFRICAN ROOTS, ACT 1" ; THE TOP TWELVE 45s FROM THE FOURTH WAVE OF PUNK ; "THE FUTURE OF THE MUSIC DORK IN THE DIGITAL AGE" ; ROKY ERICKSON & THE ALIENS ; PRIMITIVE CALCULATORS ; DAVID ALLAN COE ;; RAMONES "End of the Century" DVD ; LAUGHING HYENAS ; TAR BABIES ; LEE "SCRATCH" PERRY ; THE PONYS / THE GRIS GRIS / PLASTIC CRIMEWAVE SOUND, live ; 45 GRAVE ; "DiG!" DVD ; JOY DIVISION ; ZIPPER ; MIDDLE CLASS ; PISSED JEANS ; SHEER SMEGMA ; COACHWHIPS ; DAVID KATZ : "SOLID FOUNDATION: AN ORAL HISTORY OF REGGAE" book ; GUIDED BY VOICES ; SCREAMIN' MEE-MEES ; THE GIRLS ; MORLOCKS ; "WE JAM ECONO : THE STORY OF THE MINUTEMEN" ; OVERRATED : THE HOMOSEXUALS ; BUSH TETRAS ; “THE MUSIC OF KENTUCKY, VOLUME 2" ; JOSEPHINE FOSTER & THE SUPPOSED ; 1980s-90s FANZINES REVISITED ENTIRELY FROM MEMORY, VOL. 1 ; CIRCLE JERKS ; THE SCIENTISTS ; TIME FLYS ; MAGICK MARKERS ; QUINCY PUNKS, CHiPS PUNKS & WALLY GEORGE ; THE EX ; MISS ALEX WHITE & THE RED ORCHESTRA ; CHROME ; "KEATS RIDES A HARLEY" ; TIMES NEW VIKING ; ANIMALS & MEN ; SCRATCH ACID ; “LEXICON DEVIL: THE FAST TIMES AND SHORT LIFE OF DARBY CRASH AND THE GERMS” ; VELVET UNDERGROUND "Caught Between The Twisted Stars" ; ROLLING STONES / METALLICA live ; "Best Covers" list ; AGONY SHORTHAND BEST OF 2005 ; THEE MIGHTY CAESARS ; DANNY & DUSTY ; “RIP IT UP AND START AGAIN : POST-PUNK 1978-84” ; INFLATABLE BOY CLAMS ; IMPACT ALL STARS "Java Java Java Java" ; RICHARD MELTZER : "A WHORE JUST LIKE THE REST - THE MUSIC WRITINGS OF RICHARD MELTZER" ; ZINES OF THE 80s-90s, RECONSTRUCTED FROM MERE MEMORY, PART TWO ; DEATH OF SAMANTHA ; KRIMINELLA GITARRER ; WET HOT AMERICAN HEAVY METAL ADOLESCENCE ; NIG HEIST ; DELTA 5 "Singles and Sessions" ; "BE HERE TO LOVE ME - A FILM ABOUT TOWNES VAN ZANDT" ; PUBLIC IMAGE LTD. ; YOU TUBE MANIA ; THE MUMMIES ; CURSE OF THE BIRTHMARK ; THE RAPIDSHARE CONNUNDRUM ; "FONOTONE RECORDS - FREDERICK, MARYLAND" ; FLESH EATERS live 2006 ; CHEATER SLICKS "Don't Like You" demos ; DEBRIS ; “ONE KISS CAN LEAD TO ANOTHER : GIRL GROUP SOUNDS LOST AND FOUND”; CLAW HAMMER; ELECTRIC EELS; OPAL; Interview with Mike Atta (MIDDLE CLASS); WOODEN SHJIPS
(Please note that all 3 years' worth of Agony Shorthand's archives can be accessed by scrolling down to the bottom of this page) AGONY SHORTHAND was a music-based site/blog that ran from February 2003 through September 2006. It was subsequently replaced with a new site called DETAILED TWANG, but that too was put out to pasture in December 2009. Both have been replaced by THE HEDONIST JIVE, as of April 2010. There's also a beer blog called BEER SAMIZDAT as of August 2011. It was penned by Jay Hinman, with a couple of noteworthy exceptions. When I started it, I knew of only a tiny handful of music-only blogs out there, and the goal was to foist my opinions and recent finds & discoveries on the dozen people I knew who might be interested in hearing about them. Three and ½ years later, it was gratifying to see traffic statistics that showed over 500 people a day were checking it out, and were adding their own commentary with heedless abandon. So why did it stop? Well, why does any unpaid, maniacal, obsessive, high-effort hobby have to come to an end? I don’t know. I reckoned that 43 months’ worth of postings, often done 4-5 per week, would be enough of a legacy to leave for anyone who might be interested in checking it out, and I hope that you do if you haven’t already.
In addition to my current blog THE HEDONIST JIVE, there are also a few pieces on the web one can peek at that I wrote on THE FLESH EATERS, SIMPLY SAUCER, the GUN CLUB and MISSION OF BURMA. To help any future visitors to Agony Shorthand navigate a fraction of the 800+ posts that went up during its lifetime, I’ve painstakingly gathered direct links to many of them below. Enjoy!
AGONY SHORTHAND TOP 100 LPs ; MIKE REP Interview ; "LAUREL CANYON" book ; WHITE ZOMBIE ; FORCED EXPOSURE #7/8 ; HACKAMORE BRICK ; ROCKET FROM THE TOMBS ; "FOLK IN HELL" ; VOM ; GREEN ON RED ; BANGLES ; BEST UNDIGITIZED LPs ; LEE HAZLEWOOD ; CRACK: WE ARE ROCK ; "CHAINS AND BLACK EXHAUST" ; X (Australia) ; PETER BLEGVAD ; JUKEBOX JURY ROUND ONE ; JUKEBOX JURY ROUND TWO ; JUKEBOX JURY ROUND THREE ; JUKEBOX JURY ROUND FOUR ; DUST DEVILS ; CHEATER SLICKS "Yer Last Record" ; COME ; "MUSIC FOR PUSSYCATS" ; BILL DIREEN ; RECORD SHOPPING IN TOKYO; MC5 movie; NATIVE HIPSTERS; FRENCH YE-YE pop of the 60s; BULL TONGUE (Coley/Moore) ; LOVE CHILD; BLACK FLAG "Police Story" ; A-FRAMES "A-Frames"; CONTROLLERS; ROXY MUSIC; THE NUBS; LIIMANARINA; THE REVILLOS ; SLUGFUCKERS ; UNION CARBIDE PRODUCTIONS ; CLOTHILDE ; PRINCE BUSTER ; ART vs. COMMERCE ; THE BRENTWOODS ; THE CLEAN (live) ; SCRITTI POLITTI ; THE GORIES ; COMETS ON FIRE / SUNBURNED HAND OF THE MAN ; "ON THE DIGITIZATION REVOLUTION" ; SKIP JAMES ; GREEN RIVER ; Dissing ARTHUR Magazine ; ROXY MUSIC "Country Life" ; AGONY SHORTHAND's "Greatest Songs List" ; RIGHT ON ; OVERRATED: THE MONKS ; GIRLS AT OUR BEST ; SOLGER ; "FRISCO STYLES" ; "NEW YORK NOISE" ; OVERRATED: THE DICTATORS ; TWENTY AMERICAN 60s PUNK SCREAMERS ; OVERRATED: THE POP GROUP ; DELTA 5 "Anticipation Is So Much Better" ; PUSSY CAT ; WORST ROCK MOVIES OF THE 21st CENTURY ; LAZY COWGIRLS ; NEIL YOUNG "American Stars N' Bars" ; A-FRAMES "A-Frames 2"; LIGHTNING BOLT "Wonderful Rainbow"; BLIND WILLIE McTELL; PERE UBU; REMBETIKA – SONGS OF THE GREEK UNDERGROUND 1925-1947; OVERRATED: THE RAINCOATS ; “FLOWERS IN THE WILDWOOD – WOMEN IN EARLY COUNTRY MUSIC 1923-1939"; HAIR POLICE; THE DOOR AND THE WINDOW; JOHNNY PAYCHECK; HASIL ADKINS ; ZODIAC KILLERS ; REVEREND CHARLIE JACKSON ; "UGLY THINGS" magazine ; LEFTOVERS ; MAESTROS & DIPSOS ; MO-DETTES; SON HOUSE; ZOOMERS; “VINYL JUNKIES – ADVENTURES IN RECORD COLLECTING”; THE DWARVES; "WHAT'S WITH THE HIPPY DIP TRIP?"; "WHAT'S WITH THE HIPPY DIP TRIP, PART TWO"; KENT 3; COME "Car" ; FINAL SOLUTIONS ; THE BOTTOM 10, CIRCA 1985-1989 ; PINETOPPERS ; THIRTEENTH FLOOR ELEVATORS ; THE ULTIMATE POST-PUNK C90 ; VELVET UNDERGROUND : "SCREEN TEST: FALLING IN LOVE WITH THE FALLING SPIKES" ; AMERICAN HARDCORE HALL OF FAME ; THE CLEAN "Oddities" ; THE CORPORATE RUBBER CHICKEN CIRCUIT ; ELEGY FOR TOWER RECORDS ; PONYS ; DIAMANDA GALAS ; NUMBERS ; “DOWN IN THE BASEMENT : JOE BUSSARD’S TREASURE TROVE OF VINTAGE 78s, 1926-1937" ; VINCEBUS ERUPTUM ; ERASE ERRATA ; CAT POWER ; LESTER BANGS ; DENGUE FEVER ; OVERRATED: WAYLON JENNINGS ; SWA ; THE FALL "Live At The Witch Trials" ; NEON BOYS ; SUPERCHARGER ; THE LOST RECORDS OF THE DIGITAL AGE ; PUSSY GALORE ; VELVET UNDERGROUND "Bootleg Series" ; SCREAMERS/WEIRDOS ; MODEY LEMON ; MISFITS ; Interview with CLINT CONLEY (Mission of Burma) ; KRONOS QUARTET ; FLESH EATERS "No Questions Asked" ; JOANNA NEWSOM ; SLITS ; FLIPPER ; TOWNES VAN ZANDT ; DAVIE ALLAN & THE ARROWS ; KINKS "Arthur" ; AVENGERS ; DMZ ; THE KIWI ANIMAL ; NAUTICAL ALMANAC ; SPK ; OBLIVIANS ; THE JONESES ; SHOES THIS HIGH ; MONSTER MAGNET ; VERTICAL SLIT ; GIANT SAND ; VKTMS ; NICO ; SKIP JAMES "1930 - The Complete Early Recordings" ; RED CROSS ; JOHNNY & THE SELF-ABUSERS ; "GOD LESS AMERICA" ; PINK FLOYD ; JOHNNY REBEL; "THE MAYOR OF THE SUNSET STRIP"; MONOSHOCK; FLESH EATERS "Hard Road To Follow"; CAMERA OBSCURA; ROBERT WILKINS; THE CHATTERBOX; JOHN FAHEY; FIERY FURNACES live; FIERY FURNACES "Gallowsbird's Bark"; IMPACT ALL-STARS; CRIME reunion show (live); THE DONNAS ; 100 FLOWERS ; "THE SECRET MUSEUM OF MANKIND -- NORTH AFRICA" ; DADAMAH ; "CHARRED REMAINS" ; TALES OF TERROR ; THE FORGOTTEN CLASSICS OF 1980s GARAGE ; LINK WRAY ; AGONY SHORTHAND'S BEST OF 2004 ; CHRIS D. AND THE DIVINE HORSEMEN ; PRIMITIVE SHIT ROCK ; MIDNIGHT CIRCUS ; HAMPTON GREASE BAND ; STEVE TREATMENT ; SCIENTIST ; YOUNG MARBLE GIANTS ; BASSHOLES ; VASHTI BUNYAN ; THE CRAMPS ; A-FRAMES "Black Forest" ; LIGHTNIN' HOPKINS ; MENTALLY ILL ; RUTTO ; BLACK FLAG ; SKIP SPENCE ; Interview with ALICE BAG ; MEAN RED SPIDERS ; ICKY BOYFRIENDS ; WACKIES : "AFRICAN ROOTS, ACT 1" ; THE TOP TWELVE 45s FROM THE FOURTH WAVE OF PUNK ; "THE FUTURE OF THE MUSIC DORK IN THE DIGITAL AGE" ; ROKY ERICKSON & THE ALIENS ; PRIMITIVE CALCULATORS ; DAVID ALLAN COE ;; RAMONES "End of the Century" DVD ; LAUGHING HYENAS ; TAR BABIES ; LEE "SCRATCH" PERRY ; THE PONYS / THE GRIS GRIS / PLASTIC CRIMEWAVE SOUND, live ; 45 GRAVE ; "DiG!" DVD ; JOY DIVISION ; ZIPPER ; MIDDLE CLASS ; PISSED JEANS ; SHEER SMEGMA ; COACHWHIPS ; DAVID KATZ : "SOLID FOUNDATION: AN ORAL HISTORY OF REGGAE" book ; GUIDED BY VOICES ; SCREAMIN' MEE-MEES ; THE GIRLS ; MORLOCKS ; "WE JAM ECONO : THE STORY OF THE MINUTEMEN" ; OVERRATED : THE HOMOSEXUALS ; BUSH TETRAS ; “THE MUSIC OF KENTUCKY, VOLUME 2" ; JOSEPHINE FOSTER & THE SUPPOSED ; 1980s-90s FANZINES REVISITED ENTIRELY FROM MEMORY, VOL. 1 ; CIRCLE JERKS ; THE SCIENTISTS ; TIME FLYS ; MAGICK MARKERS ; QUINCY PUNKS, CHiPS PUNKS & WALLY GEORGE ; THE EX ; MISS ALEX WHITE & THE RED ORCHESTRA ; CHROME ; "KEATS RIDES A HARLEY" ; TIMES NEW VIKING ; ANIMALS & MEN ; SCRATCH ACID ; “LEXICON DEVIL: THE FAST TIMES AND SHORT LIFE OF DARBY CRASH AND THE GERMS” ; VELVET UNDERGROUND "Caught Between The Twisted Stars" ; ROLLING STONES / METALLICA live ; "Best Covers" list ; AGONY SHORTHAND BEST OF 2005 ; THEE MIGHTY CAESARS ; DANNY & DUSTY ; “RIP IT UP AND START AGAIN : POST-PUNK 1978-84” ; INFLATABLE BOY CLAMS ; IMPACT ALL STARS "Java Java Java Java" ; RICHARD MELTZER : "A WHORE JUST LIKE THE REST - THE MUSIC WRITINGS OF RICHARD MELTZER" ; ZINES OF THE 80s-90s, RECONSTRUCTED FROM MERE MEMORY, PART TWO ; DEATH OF SAMANTHA ; KRIMINELLA GITARRER ; WET HOT AMERICAN HEAVY METAL ADOLESCENCE ; NIG HEIST ; DELTA 5 "Singles and Sessions" ; "BE HERE TO LOVE ME - A FILM ABOUT TOWNES VAN ZANDT" ; PUBLIC IMAGE LTD. ; YOU TUBE MANIA ; THE MUMMIES ; CURSE OF THE BIRTHMARK ; THE RAPIDSHARE CONNUNDRUM ; "FONOTONE RECORDS - FREDERICK, MARYLAND" ; FLESH EATERS live 2006 ; CHEATER SLICKS "Don't Like You" demos ; DEBRIS ; “ONE KISS CAN LEAD TO ANOTHER : GIRL GROUP SOUNDS LOST AND FOUND”; CLAW HAMMER; ELECTRIC EELS; OPAL; Interview with Mike Atta (MIDDLE CLASS); WOODEN SHJIPS
