V/A - "N.Y.H.C. - Documentary Soundtrack" compilation cd

With a name like "Documentary Soundtrack", this compilation represents exactly what was going on in the New York (and northern New Jersey too, jabroni) scene in the mid-90's, 1995 to be exact. Live songs from scene-reppin', tough-guy bands like 25 Ta Life*, Crown Of Thornz, Madball, Vision Of Disorder, etc. All of these tracks are quite excellently recorded, I must say, as they are straight from the soundboards of their respective shows. The real highlights here are the jams from No Redeeming Social Value ("the band that made Jerry Garcia retire"), 108 (complete with preachy song explanations, which was par for the course) and the District 9 song "Victim". I still to this day have no idea how 108 made it one here, since they stuck out like a sore thumb style-wise when compared to the bands they shared this compilation with. Be that as it may, they are easily the best band appearing on this cd, so I'll take it.

This album came out on New York's very own Striving for Togetherness Records (#13), who you may recall released records from some of these bands, as well as an early 90s repress of the Smorgasbord Records 7" comp "X Marks the Spot", which was originally released in the late 80s and nowadays could be considered a much-sought-after record. The actual live footage of these songs didn't see the light of day until many years after this disc was released, and you can find it over on YT if you search hard enough. There are also interview snippets with various band members to be found here, discussing what hardcore means to them and how the scene has helped some of them get through tough times, et cetera. The compilers also took into account a female's perspective on hardcore, briefly interviewing a young lady named Virginia Kress who was a regular show-goer at Newark's Pipeline (I guess). In the documentary video footage that's available, you can tell she's really proud to be a part of the machismo-dominated scene that is N.Y. Hardcore. She also really fucking loves (loved) 25 Ta Life.

If you want my honest opinion (you don't, but tough shit), someone should have clued in the dude(s) who put this whole thing together (I'm looking at you Kevin Gill) to replace the Crown Of Thornz songs with stuff by a different band from the area, one who wasn't fucking terrible; like perhaps Warzone, Fahrenheit 451 or Candiria. That would have been a smart move. I guess it could have been worse though, there very easily could have been some E-Town Concrete or Fury Of V included.

Thank fuck there wasn't.

* I'm not gonna lie, I was really into the first few 25 Ta Life records around the time that these songs were recorded. I still have my three "Live at Wetlands NYC" cassette tapes (circa 1995) in the basement. Feel free to make me an offer.

-each moment without you i die-