Wesley Willis was a Chicago-based outsider artist and musician, who passed away in 2003. His artwork consisted primarily of ink drawings of Chicago landscapes and skylines. In 1989, Willis was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia This song is one of several about ‘whupping’ superheroes. Many of the songs he wrote featured obscene lyrics, including a large number of songs devoted to bestiality. His approach to songwriting was very systematic; typically, he sung over various Casio keyboard presets, composed of a few verses and an instrumental interlude, followed by a final verse and ending with some slogan (e.g. “Wheaties, Breakfast of Champions,” etc.).
A documentary made back in 2003 by Daniel Bitton follows Willis around in his daily activities, and can be seen in its entirety here. In 1991, he formed the band the Wesley Willis Fiasco with Pat Barnard and Dale Meiners. The group also released a 7″ with Sublime in 1996.
ESG (which stands for “Emerald, Sapphire and Gold”) was composed primarily of a group of sisters, with the group’s original lineup featuring Valerie, Renee, Marie and Deborah Scroggins. “UFO” comes off of their 1981 self-titled EP, which saw release on 99 Records, a small label that to that point had primarily put out releases by post-punk group Liquid Liquid. ESG is a particularly highly sampled group; “UFO” has been sampled by numerous artists since its release, from TLC (on “Das Da Way We Like ‘Em”) to J Dilla (“Geek Down”) to 2Pac (“Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z”). In 1992, the sisters put out an album called Sample Credits Don’t Pay Our Bills, addressing the often-dubious legality of sampling in hip hop’s early days. In 2006, Renee Scroggins participated in an interview with Girl Talk about the usage of samples in music, which is also worth reading.
In 2007, the group said they were calling it quits, but they reappeared in 2009 to open for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs in New York. They put out their most recent (and potentially last) album, Closure, earlier this year.
Experimental Products formed in Philadelphia in 1982. Michael Gross and Mark Wilde, the two founding members of the group, had previously played together in a punk band in suburban Delaware called The Snots—after that band’s breakup, the two came back together owing to a mutual interest in synthesizers. They recorded their debut LP, Prototype, in the garage-studio owned by Gross’s landlord and released it on their own Short Circuit Records imprint. After the album’s release, Gross bought his landlord’s equipment and set up a studio in his basement where the band recorded the Glowing In The Dark 12”, also self-released, which ended up a hit in the dance clubs—one YouTube commenter claims the song was played “every night for years” at Chicago’s Berlin Nightclub. This video was shot at The Kennel Club, a members-only nightclub that seems to have been at the epicenter of the New Wave scene in Philadelphia (there are some great old photos on its Facebook).
The group recorded a final 12”, Experiment!, in 1987 (the only Experimental Products release recorded in a professional-quality studio), but tragically Wilde died before it saw release. After his untimely death, the band fell apart and put out no new material for nearly 20 years. Then, in 2005, International Deejay Gigolo Records reissued Glowing In The Dark with a new remix from the French producer Play Paul. And in 2010, the excellent reissue label Vinyl-On-Demand released the compilation Tracks To Glow In The Dark, which contains all of the group’s vinyl output as well as unreleased rarities.
Carsick Cars first made a name for themselves in the Beijing underground rock scene with gigs one writer described as “riotous explosions of pent-up energy”—but I guess we’ll have to take his word for it. Today’s track comes off their second album, 2009′s You Can Listen You Can Talk, put out in China on the Maybe Mars label. Carsick Cars were seen as one of the progenitors of the No Beijing sound—they were one of four bands featured on a compilation of the same name released in 2005—a clear riff on the classic No New York release some 30 years prior. The group’s No Wave roots go deeper than that, though—You Can Listen You Can Talk was produced by Wharton Tiers, drummer for Theoretical Girls and producer for big names like Sonic Youth and Dinosaur Jr. In 2006, the group’s guitarist Shou Wang was among the 100 guitarists who joined Glenn Branca in the recording of his Symphony No. 13 (Hallucination City), and Carsick Cars opened for Sonic Youth on the Vienna and Prague stops of the latter group’s tour the next year.
Carsick Cars’ original lineup disbanded in 2010, but their two albums are both well worth your time. Check them out if you haven’t.
Indian Jewelry formed in Houston, Texas in 2002 out of the ashes of noise-rock collective Swarm of Angels. They have changed their name several times; some of the best ones are Corpses of Waco and Perpetual War Party Band. Known for their insane live shows where they perform in the dark with only a single strobe light, as well as their incessant touring, Indian Jewelry is the perfect soundtrack for a bad acid trip. “Going South” was originally featured on Sangles Redux in 2005, with an extended version included on their 2006 release Invasive Exotics. They plan to release their latest, Sufi Headbanger, this September on Girlgang Records.
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