Jerrold Immel - Megaforce OST (1982)

A fixture of my youth. Megaforce is probably one of the tackiest and mindlessly stupid movies you will ever see, but as a child, it was also the most awesome movie. A secret military force who use flying motorcycles, laser tanks, colour changing camouflage and the sort of wisecracks that even GIJoe avoided. What wasn't awesome about all this. 

The film was directed by ex-stuntman Hal Needham. The man responsible for Smokey & The Bandit, Cannonball Run, Hooper and 80's BMX classic Rad. It starred his stuntman buddy Barry Bostwick (pictured left), Coney Island Warrior Micheal Beck and the unstoppable Henry Silva. The soundtrack was handled by Jerrold Immel, a regular in TV soundtracks, having been responsible for the TV version of Logan's Run and most famously, Dallas.

Immel pulls a pretty sweet score out of the bag for this one. Based on the simple premise of uplifting motifs to represent the good guys and sinister orchestration to represent the bad guys, Immel utilised a heap of electronic organ and synthesiser equipment to replace the usual brass and string accompaniment.

All that aside its a solid piece of electronic drama. Get it downloaded.....

Jerrold Immel - Megaforce OST

Mr Len - Pity The Fool : Experiments in therapy behind the mask of music while handing out dummy smacks (2001)

Its no secret of my love for Company Flow ( search the archives on here), but up until a few years ago I never really dug into what DJ Mr Len did after the trail blazing Brooklyn trio called it quits back in 2001. I followed El-P pretty obsessively across all his solo works and spent some time absorbing Bigg Jus's Black Mamba Serums but Len seemed pass me by.
Mr Len, Leonard "Lenny" Smythe to his friends, followed the break up with this very album. Acting as a sort of mixtape, it showcases a sound you have come to expect from one of the guys behind the dark Funcrusher Plus album but also leans way more towards standard structures. Sort of like trying to jam a huge, dark, nasty creature into a presentable glass box for people to stare at. That makes sense right?
His choice of vocalists on here is pretty spot on. Each track obviously playing to that lyricists talents and vibe. Jean Grae stands out on her contribution "Taco Day", that's pretty intense in its narrative. Mass Influence, Lord Sear and Chubb Rock all provide pretty solid accompaniment. The only lull in the albums running is the collaboration with metalcore chumps Agents Of Man. Which is just lame. Despite that, Pity The Fool makes a pretty sweet mixtape for random journeys and in my experience household cleaning.

Mr Len - Pity The Fool........

 That's right Lenny, Agents Of Man was a bad idea.

Fuckmorgue - Down Forever (2004)

 Once again. Another Canadian band that went completely under the radar first time around, alongside the awesome Association Area ( that is to come soon). Another band that shows those Cannucks skill at producing quality noise. I mean just look at the list...legends like Crypotopsy, Gorguts, Cursed ( and its own family tree) Grade, Acrid, No Warning, Fucked up.....and so forth. Pure quality. Anyway, I digress.
Fuckmorgue are a lo-fi amalgamation of hints of black metal, crust, hardcore, Gothic rock, punk all overlaid with spooky keyboards and some very desperate sounding female vocals that all adds up to create a really interesting and unusual listen. I couldn't think of any bracket to put them in. Despite the added influence of the crust and black metal on each others worlds Fuckmorgue easily sidestep that. The only way I can describe this is to imagine west coast art rockers get lost and kidnapped in the cold, harsh winter. Forced into slavery and witness to brutality, murder and the futility of life. They escape and make a bid for Canada. Along the way they are forced to eat one of there party and kill animals to survive.........

Fuckmorgue - Down Forever

.....this is what all that would have sounded like. Down forever. on a related note, some of this lot did go onto play in the sweet Kursk and Wolbachia as well. Another couple of bands worth checking out.

My most favourite Black Flag albums

My War

The Process Of Weeding Out

Loose Nut

Company Flow - End To End Burners EP (1998)

Following up the previous Company Flow posts here is maybe my most favourite track these hip hop renegades ever produced. From 1998, released as a single with the radio edit and instrumental versions of Krazy Kings Too and Blackout, End To End Burners is carried along on a bubbling, dense musical groove led by Bigg Jus's laconic stream of conscience rhyming. Superb stuff.

Company Flow - End To End Burners