Culturecide

SPK - Auto Da Fé

Long before Graeme Revell was seemingly providing the score for two-thirds of the films released since 1992, he was a humble orderly at an Aussie mental institution. Along with one of its patients, Neil Hill, he formed SPK (Sozialistisches Patienten Kollectiv, after a German terrorist organization) in 1978, making them one of the very first industrial acts. "Auto Da Fé" is collection of their singles, spanning from 1978-82. Thankfully, the tracks are presented chronologically, giving you a feel for the astoundingly rapid development of this amazing band.

The earliest cuts are almost indescribable as there are few touchstones to use as reference. Consisting of frenetic, thrashy punk coupled with the clanging of metal and shrieks of electronic sonic debris, masterpieces like "Slogun" and "Germanik" still sound extreme nearly three decades on-- rivaled only by perhaps the early works of Sutcliffe Jügend or Ramleh in sheer ferocity. As they progressed, a tribal, almost shamanistic quality began to manifest itself in their work-- the once shouted vocals became much more subdued, and the synths are used to provide melody instead of aural terror. These tracks are almost, dare I say, beautiful, with their stark, hypnotic atmosphere. They may lack the aural wallop their fist-in-the-teeth predecessors had, but they still kick the shit outta anything Depeche Mode ever did.

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PETER SOTOS - Buyer's Market

Music is far from being my only hobby-- I spend countless hours as an armchair psychologist/criminologist, ceaselessly reading texts that make many people shrink away in horror. It's far more than simple morbid curiosity; I'm fascinated by the way that the put ourselves on a pedestal, thinking we're too "civilized" to indulge in the same repulsive acts that loathsome, "underdeveloped" creatures who murder strangers perform with impunity-- comfortably tucking away in our subconscious the thought that we somehow possess "higher moral standards." The truth is that we are a frail species, and were we to lose a sizable amount of the contentments that allow us to function as "normal," law-abiding citizens, who knows what we are capable of becoming? Would we have the desire to reap tenfold the pound of flesh that was stolen from us? Only the person with nothing left to lose knows for sure. Regardless, I'm not here to write a thesis about the darker side of human nature, so let's move on to Mr. Sotos.

You may remember him from his work with legendary power electronics unit Whitehouse, but these days he's what the hep cats like to call a "transgressive" writer-- meaning that he scribes about things Mommy wouldn't wantcha to read (for what it's worth, no less than the incredibly boring, though much admired in some circles, Jim Goad, once stated: "No one rapes a blank page like Sotos"). Every so often he puts out disturbing records like this one, recorded in 1992 with Steve Albini with the "producer" hat on. Let me make this very clear: this is not for those of you with a less-than-hardy constitution for human suffering. What Sotos examines here is the Culture of the Victim-- how family members left behind are manipulated by the media, and ultimately, how their identity is redefined in the process. If that sounds a bit high-falutin' for a record that is nothing more than snippets of interviews with the kinda dupes who make the Oprah-Maury-Phil rounds, I suggest you investigate this work. It is assembled for maximum impact, and, although I would be the first to agree that Mr. Sotos has more'n a few sadistic bones in his body, at least he's upfront about it, unlike the vultures who prey upon the broken souls featured here.

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VARIOUS - Für Ilse Koch

Leave it to Whitehouse's William Bennett to assemble a tribute to Ilse Koch, wife of Karl Koch, SS chief commander of Nazi concentration camp Buchenwald. Despite the contrived attempt to shock (no one still buys that neo-fascist bullshit they used to spew, do they?), this is an amazing compilation of electronic/industrial/outsider music before the aforementioned terms meant Marilyn Manson and Nine Inch Nails.

Apparently this fetches big $$$ on ebay these days.

Released in 1982.

Tracklist:

1. Imperial Japan - Under The Victory Banner
2. Musique Concret - Exit
3. Come - Come Sunday 2
4. Aleister Crowley - Nature Of The Beast
5. Nurse With Wound - Fashioned To A Device Behind A Tree
6. Consumer Electronics - Lebensraum
7. Leibstandarte SS - Plutoniumetrio
8. Charles Manson - Cease To Exist (Come Version)
9. Etat Brut - Necro
10. Viking DDV - Nordik Perversion
11. Whitehouse - Mind Phaser
12. Whitehouse - Anal American
13. Heinrich Himmler - Europe Lives

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