THE END - Psychedelicious 1. Purple Voice 2. I Saw My Face LISTEN 3. Love Brigade 4. Missing 5. Edges 6. Pleasant Dreams / Shine On You Crazy Diamond / Mushroom Soup / Acid Bath / Mushroom Soup (Slight Return) / Peyote Place / For Absinthe Friends / Crash Landing 7. The Graveyard

The End's final studio recording reveals the full evolution of this DC-based psychedelic band that first made its mark 25 years ago playing The Doors. PSYCHEDELICIOUS evidences a level of maturity in songwriting, lyrics, and professionalism that demonstrate how The End moved from being a good bar band to being a great psychedelic band. The roots of this album are planted deeply in rock music's psychedelic era, but rather than simply recreating the sounds of 1967-1973, The End took the zeitgeist of that era and extended it into a new millennium - adding new sounds to old musical forms, dark realism to naive hippie optimism, and paranoid delusions to simple psychedelic visions. Characterized by lengthy tracks that shift timing, tempo, and style, PSYCHEDELICIOUS actually builds on styles from four decades of rock music. Sixties vocal pop, seventies jazz, eighties metal, nineties punk, and even new age influences are all found here. Yet from beginning to end PSYCHEDELICIOUS leaves no doubt that The End is taking us through a mind-expanding, psychedelic musical experience. Vocals are drenched in reverb, while guitars, drums, keyboards, and other unrecognizable sounds weave in and out of the mix. Dreamy soundscapes are suddenly interrupted by screaming blasts of hard rock. Put on your headphones, turn on the black light, and tune in. There's really only one way to describe PSYCHEDELICIOUS accurately: this CD is a trip. $10.

CAPTAIN CHEMICAL - The Decline of Civilization 1. Welcome to The Apocalypse 2. Wall-Mart Shopping Experience 3. Beer Goggles On 4. Beer Drinkin' Goat 5. Zamboni Joyride 6. Lawn Chair Larry 7. Weasel Poop Coffee 8. Police Arrest The Cops 9. Bottles of The Apocalypse

The third album released by the 2.0 version of Captain Chemical has rapidly become the band's most popular. Chock full of hits, THE DECLINE OF CIVILIZATION is more insanity set to music, with song after song telling the story of human stupidity. Internet memes come to life in "Wall-Mart Shopping Experience," especially in the must-see official song video. But the Captain's other musical stories - all of them based on actual events - are equally entertaining. Like the "Beer Drinkin' Goat" who became mayor of a small Texas town, only to be killed by his own son... who became mayor himself! Or the famous "Lawn Chair Larry" who tied weather balloons to his patio chair and floated up to 16,000 feet. For some special WTF-ness, listen to "Weasel Poop Coffee," a real brew made from coffee beans pooped out by weasels. And who hasn't fantasized about taking a joyride in a Zamboni, on an interstate highway, in Arizona, in July? Yes, our civilization is truly in full decline, and the Captain is telling us all about it in his uniquely colorful way. The music is great too, everything from blues to metal to jazz to yacht rock. You can stream this album on nearly every known music platform, but you'll really want to buy this disc for your permanent collection. $10.

CAPTAIN CHEMICAL - Ain't Dead Yet 1. Party In My Pants 2. Eating Tide Pods 3. Story Time 4. Rat Trap In The Glory Hole 5. Don't Fear The Reefer 6. Christmas In Hell LISTEN 7. Ain't Dead Yet 8. Soccer Mom Action 9. Toilet Full Of Blues 10. Robbing The Cradle 11. Power To The Peephole 12. Captain's Last Gig 13. Too Ugly For Jail

Just when you thought it was safe to listen to music again... Forty-three years after the first-ever Captain Chemical album was recorded, and fourteen years since the last release (which was a greatest hits collection), here comes an ALL-NEW Captain Chemical release. And it's a real masterpiece. If you thought that time would mellow out the Captain, think again. As usual, no topic is off limits. On AIN'T DEAD YET, the Captain explores life as a dirty old man, from robbing the cradle to powering up the peephole, while the drug abuse extends to ridiculous new thrills such as eating Tide Pods, served up with a heaping helping of Viagra. Long-time fans of Captain Chemical will be thrilled to find that it's all still here: kinky sex, crazy drugs, insane rock and roll, presented in that inimitable musical style called "junk blues." The songs are still catchy, while the lyrics remain refreshingly over-the-top and politically incorrect. And guess what? On this album, the movie "Reefer Madness" actually does get set to music. So if seeing a song titled "Rat Trap In The Glory Hole" makes you think that you'd like to hear this album, then you really need to hear this album. But don't say you weren't warned. This CD is hardcore, and totally not suitable for children... or even adults who lack a warped sense of humor. $10.

THE SHRUNKEN HEADBANGERS - Shrunken Headbangers' Anthology 1. Fifty Ways to Cleave Your Lover, 2. Diseases 3. Uncle Milton's Fascinating Giant Ant Farm, 4. Self Amputation 5. Song For Sale, 6. Chia Pet Farm, 7. Bodyart Girl, 8. Please Hold 9. Wo Woe Whoa Wough, 10. Play For Food, 11. WHFS Station ID Tags 12. Selling Body Organs, 13. Hothead!, 14. Hothead! (Satanic Mix) 15. Today's Especiales, 16. Disorders, 17. Found Out About You 18. Coconut (recorded live), 19. Aliens Abducted Me, 20. Secret Asian Man 21. Club Nancy Kerrigan, 22. Paté All Night Long LISTEN 23. Flaming Nazi Biker Babes of Edinburgh, 24. the Shrunken Headbangers 25. That's Not Gladys, 26. Unrequited Love Song, 27. Fat Person on an Airplane 28. Reptile Love, 29. Incubus, 30. Fungible Lover, 31. Get So Hungry 32. Good Stuff, 33. I Alone, 34. Reasons Di Died, 35. Leader of the Free World 36. Martian Blues, 37. Dead Rock Stars, 38. Car Song, 39. Plate Tectonics 40. Hell, 41. Flagpole Eatta, 42. MacSandwich, 43. Vanilla, 44. Microwave 45. Burritos, 46. Foodstuffs, 47. Slim, 48. Found Out About Food 49. Poisoned By Mom, 50. Gopher Guts, 51. Smells Like Fish 52. Smells Like Yeast, 53. She Won't Swallow 54. I'll Pick Around, 55. I'll Stick Around

The Shrunken Headbangers traveled all over the musical map, from rock to rap to reggae to Celtic to flamenco, mixing outrageous lyrics with clever original tunes and hilarious parodies to create a musical style they called "shock and roll." For eight years, the Headbangers shamelessly exploited tragic events, human foibles, and absurd news through their music and videos. The band's career included performing their big hit "Fifty Ways to Cleave Your Lover" on the courthouse steps during the Lorena Bobbitt trial. They defined what it meant for a band to be politically incorrect by ridiculing people of every race, physical shape and behavioral quirk. The Headbangers proudly took ridiculous positions on the news stories and issues of the 1990s, such as praising the death of Princess Diana in "Reasons Di Died" or supporting Tonya Harding's kneecapping of her main competitor during the 1994 Winter Olympics (in "Club Nancy Kerrigan.") They took even bolder stands on non-issues such as the abuse of Chia pets and alien abductions. And finally they crowned their careers by completely selling out to DC radio station WHFS, doing a series of parody songs about food to promote the station's lunch segment. The Headbangers' lyrics were almost always uproariously funny, and the music was usually pretty good too. And now every significant recording by this "band with no shame" has been assembled in one three-disk anthology. The Shrunken Headbangers' ANTHOLOGY captures the complete musical history of the band, and is certain to keep you laughing. 3 disk set for $40.

RENAISSANCE WOODS - Compendium (the best of Renaissance Woods) 1. Noel's Gaillard (A. Holborne), 2. April Is In My Mistress' Face (T. Morley) LISTEN, 3. Ronde "Mein Freund" (T. Susato), 4. Bist Du bei Mir (J. S. Bach), 5. Largo (J. B. Loeillet), 6. Boston March (J. Cushing), 7. Lo How A Rose E're Blooming (M. Praetorius), 8. Martin Said to His Man (T. Ravenscroft), 9. Allemande (T. Susato), 10. Illis Nihil (anon.), 11. Adagio (J. B. Loeillet), 12. Come All Ye Shepherds (trad.), 13. Belle Qui Tiene Ma Vie (anon.), 14. Psalm 122 (H. Schutz), 15. Psalm 98 (H. Schutz), 16. Psalm 119, IV (H. Schutz), 17. Two Fugues (G. Telemann), 18. La Volta (M. Praetorius), 19. Alle Psallite (Montpelier manuscript), 20. Two Christmas Hymn-settings (M. Praetorius), 21. Leave Now Mine Eyes Lamenting (T. Morley), 22. Ein Kind geborn zu Bethlehem (M. Praetorius), 23. Reigen (Pavane) "Bittre Reue" (T. Susato), 24. Dame Get Up And Bake Your Pies (anon.), 25. Sonato IV, Presto/Adagio (A. Corelli), 26. Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring (J. S. Bach), 27. Fanfare (A. Mann), 28. Battle Pavane (T. Susato), 29. Allegretto (W. Mozart), 30. Allein Gott in der Hoh (J. S. Bach), 31. In Dulci Jubilo (M. Praetorius), 32. Bransle de Bourgogne (C. Gervaise), 33. Allemande Nachtanz (T. Susato), 34. Spanish Pavane (M. Praetorius), 35. If My Complaints (J. Dowland), 36. La Furta (F. Canali), 37. Pase el agoa, ma Julieta, dama (anon.), 38. Triste Espańa (anon.), 39. Good Christian Men Rejoice (trad.), 40. Rodrigo Suite (G. Handel) overture, bouree, menuet, rigaudon, gigue, 41. Chanson (K. Hannibal), 42. Patapan (B. de la Monnoye), 43. De La Dulce Mi Enemiga (Gabriel)

Early music (broadly defined as music written in western Europe before the year 1750) has gained significant popularity in the United States in recent decades with the rise of groups such as Anonymous 4 and the Medieval Baebes and associated cultural phenomena, like the Renaissance Festival. However, in 1980 early music was a niche specialty, with interest mostly confined to music students, historians, and certain academic circles. In this climate, the pioneering group Renaissance Woods broke ground by being one of the first all-female early music groups in the country. Formed in Virginia in 1981 by four friends who got together informally to play the recorder (a fifth woman joined a few years later) , Renaissance Woods quickly diversified their sound and their repetoire. They accompanied beautiful vocal treatments with violin, flute, cornameuse, and percussion as well as recorders, and played early Christmas music, baroque, and medieval pieces. Between 1983 and 1990, Renaissance Woods recorded five albums of increasingly challenging and interesting material. Their recordings had a tremendous influence on many who heard their music. Their quirky tapes turned up as background music in homes and stores and inspired the musical careers of others who heard them. The best Renaissance Woods recordings of the 80s have now been digitally remastered and assembled into a sort of "greatest hits" CD release titled COMPENDIUM. While not recorded to the standard of the digital age, these vintage Renaissance Woods recordings have been remastered so that the group can now be heard crisp and clear and their innovative arrangements can be fully appreciated. The quality of their material also makes this CD a nice introduction to the early music era. $10.

USA - Office 1. Corporation 2. Loyalty 3. Coverup 4. Greed LISTEN 5. Fear 6. Goddess 7. Ego 8. Arrogance 9. Violence 10. Blame 11. Retirement

The Aural Assualt is back! The frenetic hardcore/punk band USA has issued their first CD since 1984, and this one is killer. OFFICE decries the evils of the modern workplace: rapacious executives, lecherous managers, shirking slackers, finger-pointers, martinets, and jerks of every stripe. The twenty year layoff certainly hasn't dampened any of USA's musical ferocity. OFFICE still cranks out the high-energy, raw garage sound they pioneered in the early 1980s, long before the word "grunge" was in the musical vocabulary. USA is not for the fainthearted. The band calls out every imaginable sort of bad behavior at work, lambasting the offenders with harsh, acerbic, and scathing lyrics. OFFICE puts its lyrical finger squarely on the raw nerve of everything that is screwed up and de-humanizing in corporate America. It's set to the relentless pounding beats of what the band has called "anti-music," raw and abrasive sounds played in the key of feedback. Yet USA's music, highlighted by Jack Schitt's amazing guitar pyrotechnics, remains completely listenable. Just be sure to get your mad on before you crank up this chaos. $10.

PEACH STEALING MONKEYS - The Missing Link of Lo-Fi 1. Beautiful Life LISTEN 2. It Is Not The Time 3. Joy Is Gone 4. Nature Boy LISTEN 5. Trip Confessions 6. Summertime 7. Only Two 8. In The Air 9. Images of War 10. Poor Fairies 11. Yellow Eyes 12. Dreams 13. Where Did You Sleep Last Night 14. Bang Bang

The debut album from Peach Stealing Monkeys (PSM) is a masterpiece of 21st-century stylistic fusion, drawing from influences that appeal across the generations. PSM is the brain child of V. Taranov, who came to his Washington DC studio from overseas, picking up musical tidbits from around the world along the way and perfecting his sound over ten years. Peach Stealing Monkeys tracks are underpinned by potent modern trip-hop beats – spacey, half-speed hip-hop rhythms – and tortured guitar parts. But then PSM is also full of retro musical touches, weaving in a signature lo-fidelity sound that recalls scratchy old vinyl records, mellotrons (lo-fidelity keyboard strings), and echoes of John Lennon. Covers of great songs from earlier eras like Gershwin’s “Summertime” and Leadbelly’s “Where Did You Sleep Last Night” add to the retro feel of this disk. A parade of male and female singers appear on the album, while occasional lines sung in German and Russian bring further spice to this musical melting pot. The whole package is mostly dark and brooding (dreary cityscape artwork, industrial sounds, and gloomy lyrics), but rocked-out tracks such as “Only Two” and “Images of War” provide change-ups in tempo and style. In short, The Missing Link of Lo-Fi captures the zeitgeist of music in the 21st century: globalized, post-industrialized, fused, and edgy. But no one else has put all the pieces together quite like Peach Stealing Monkeys. This is an album that belongs in your CD collection. $10.

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