Better Done Than Better Said - Issue 1

Another awesome zine from 2003. Some awesome photos from all sorts of bands and interviews with some great bands. Pics from Boiler Frog, Cuthbarts, The Sun, Tiala, I Eat Me, Dip Leg, Yarmulke, Nitro Mega Prayer, Five Kinds Square, The Black Line Fever, 3cm Tour, Sora, Womb, After Forever. So, pretty much everybody from that era. Check it out!

Better Done Than Better Said - Issue 1

VA - My Notebook is Full of Scribbles Compilation [2002]

In my memory, which is admittedly shaky these days, this was the first item in my distro. When I found my first sampler CD, I realized it was actually the second. Irregardless, it's always been one of my favorites. I have love, deep in my heart, for good compilations. There are so many bad ones, that good ones stand out like diamonds in a pile of crap. When a compilation is more like a mixtape, then you're in business. While this one (I'm not going to bother typing the full name out, it would end up being about as long as this parenthesis) isn't without its faults, it's really the first appearances from several bands (GMN, After Forever, Enforce, Womb) and seemed to signal a new movement in the Japanese underground that lasted for several years. 

Take Gauge Means Nothing, for instance. There were a few demos before this compilation, and they'd formed in 1997, but this was the beginning of their most prolific line-up (on a side note, any recording before this compilation is gone-gone. Maybe Yuichi has them somewhere and wants to share?). After Forever and Enforce showed their first recordings on this compilation as well. 

The spiritual followup to this compilation was Satire Records "Light Your Way" compilation, named after the zine that Satire Records edited. It featured some of the same bands (After Forever and Enforce) but expanded the selection to include Nitro Mega Prayer, Dip Leg, End All, Five Kinds Square, 1000travels of Jawaharlal and other notable bands from the scene. That compilation feature bands from all over Japan, whereas this one was only Tokyo bands.

Here's a video of Womb from 2003:

VA - My Notebook is Full of Scribbles compilation

1. Womb - Empty Pancake

2. Overgreed - Class Pieces

3. After Forever - The Scale of Sin and Desire

4. Senna - 3 plus 3.

5. Evil Eye Empire - Each Situation Grownd

6. Enforce - 鎖と火炎瓶

7. Gauge Means Nothing - My Glass Reflect Untrue View on My Eyes

8. Senna - I Stam

The HD Revolution [will not be televised]

Who'm I kidding. This shit isn't HD. But what it is, is much better quality videos of Japanese hardcore and screamo bands playing in 2002 & 2003. Since Youtube storage allowances have sky-rocketed, I can now upload the full 2GB live videos that I've had yellowing in crates for the past 8 years. I broke the box out of these shows and will re-rip them and post on youtube with the better quality. Just imagine it, it's gonna be awesome! Well, at least I'm excited.

Anyways, my scanner is on the fritz, so I won't have any good releases until I get that fixed. These will have to fill the void. Here's three to start out with, Womb & 3cmTour, both from 2003: