(Un)Focused Definition Ep. 60: Hitting the Medicated Wall

Not gonna lie: I think I’m hitting a bit of a wall. And I don’t know if that’s because of the constant churning out posts, struggling to decide in a day what album I want to cover in addition to the stress of writing for my other sites and covering work/family stuff, or if it’s the fact that I’m now on anxiety medication and my body is having some issues adjusting. It took me years to get to the point where I could finally talk to my doctor (it helped that during the appointment I had a full-blown shaking attack), and so rather than just abandon it I’m trying to get used to it until the “good” benefits take effect in a few weeks. So I don’t know how consistent I’ll be for a while, and this playlist is more of a hodgepodge of music I’m either listening to or interested in listening to.

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black sabbath - steel city blues

Black Sabbath: Steel City Blues (1978)

First off: Rest in Peace, Ozzy Osbourne. You can argue until you’re blue in the face the face, but in the end there is no argument: the man was the personification of heavy metal. No one sounded like him, and no one lived the metal life quite like he did. Even as a doddering family man on reality TV, he still managed to embody spirit and fire that ignited an entire movement more than 50 years ago on February 13th, 1970 when the first Black Sabbath album enveloped the world in its darkened wings. After a night spinning all my favorite records from the man, it was inevitable I would get an entry in today, but I wanted to write about something different, so let’s look at the end of an era. Steel City Blues was recorded live in Pittsburgh in 1978, just as they were recording Never Say Die! A year later he’d be fired, but listening to this live broadcast all I hear is a band still capable of fire and passion.

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haystacks balboa

Haystacks Balboa: Haystacks Balboa (1970)

Another band lost to the either of the early 70s rock and prog brigade, Haystacks Balboa formed up in Forest Hills, Queens and hit the circuit hard, opening for the likes of Jethro Tull, Faces, Savoy Brown and Mungo Jerry. Their one and only album was produced by Shadow Morton, which is pretty much the extent of their listing on Wikipedia (under Shadow Morton, no less). What makes one band rise to the top, and another fall to obscurity? Listening to Haystacks Balboa again, I have ideas but no firm answers. There’s some real gold on the debut, but there are also the claw marks of inexperience, though not enough to turn me off to the band’s many charms.

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takeshi terauchi - Eleki bushi

Takeshi Terauchi: Eleki Bushi 1966-1974 (2023)

Here’s the connective tissue as to how I stumbled upon Takseshi Terauchi, the premier guitarist of late 60s Japan, a purveyor of the surf sound made popular by The Ventures, who (if you believe the liner notes) were a bigger influence in post-war Japan than The Beatles. I was home on the couch, depressed and anxious, and I got an email announcing a repress of Terauchi’s first album with his backing band The Blue Jeans. Seeking to fill a gaping hole via media consumption I spent about 15 minutes checking out his music and instead settled on Eleki Bushi (1966-1974), an admittedly fantastic retrospective of the man’s style and technicality. Shockingly, I’m still massively depressed and anxious, but now I have some cool Japanese surf rock to serve as background music.

Is that glass half full?

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(Un)Focused Definition Ep. 59: The Mid-Year Metal Report

I’ll be honest: about half of my trip to Italy was spent listening to Italian progressive rock – mainly the Quella Vecchio Locanda debut, the debut from Le Orme I also picked up while at Discoteca Laziale in Rome, and some mid-70s Banco del Mutuo Soccorso. Another quarter was spent listening to David Bowie live albums, and then the last few days was a mad escapade trying to sort my mid-year report for Nine Circles. Usually I do nine records as part of our Nine Circles ov… series, but something happened. Turns out I loved metal this year. I think it gave me a lot of comfort in times of great stress and depression. So not nine, not even a baker’s dozen…but 32 albums, a tasting of which is presented for your perusal, enjoyment, or distress below.

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tonguecutter - minnow

Tonguecutter: Minnow (2025)

Looking at how it morphed and twisted over the course of 50 years, it’s still strange to think that the first word coming to my head when I think of punk as a genre is “versatile”. The DIY ethos and unadorned approach has spread to so many different styles and movements, and when it intersects with noise rock, hardcore and (using it since they do on their Bandcamp page) riot girl, you get Tonguecutter, a trio out of Muskegon, Michigan whose debut full-length Minnow has been playing non-stop on my turntable since discovering them back in May. Short, ferocious, and catchy as hell, it’s been my go-to when I have a lot of pent up frustration and stress that needs to come out.

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