Satire, Punk and Politics

Lightning Bolt, Hypermagic Mountain(Load Records) If you prefer punk that’s pure and obscure, this duo from Providence, Rhode Island, are as credible as they come. Bassist Brian Gibson scribbles furiously distorted riffs over low drones, while drummer/vocalist Brian Chippendale babbles away and attacks his set like a jazzman during an extended solo. It’s dense and hyperactive, much like their live show: They set up in the middle of the crowd and just go, forming a cyclone of bodies around them. Their fourth record would be more listenable if it were more varied, but I guess you don’t go to a slaughterhouse for fresh fruit. Official website: www.laserbeast.com John Loder (1946–2005) On the morning of August 13, John Loder died of complications stemming from a brain aneurysm suffered in 2004. We’ve lost a great man. Loder was sound engineer on classic albums by bands like the Jesus & Mary Chain, Fugazi and Crass, but his true achievement came farther behind the scenes, as the shrewd and honorable businessman in charge of Southern, a stridently independent distribution network that has supported a boggling array of bands and labels. Loder’s eccentric tastes and fiercely self-sufficient outlook are, in many ways, the Rosetta stone for indie rock. Or as Ian MacKaye put it on the blog Loder’s daughter created in his honor: “His distracted ease behind the wheel of a car could at times make for a harrowing ride, but we always made it there.” The world of music is not the same without him. Memorial: http://johnloder.blogspot.com