Customer Reviews

So Indie It Hurts: Roir Rocks Volume One

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Pretty good album but these are PUNK tracks not INDIE - in fact I'm pretty sure all of these songs were originally released before the term "Indie" was coined. It's a good sampling, not quite definitive songs for each band and don't expect polished tracks - they're raw and underproduced - but if you're an old school punk fan then you're used to that low-fi sound.

ROIR Records specialized in cassette-only releases that captured bands like the MC5, Fleshtones, Dictators and many more live and/or at their most raw. Anybody looking for polished musical gems from these bands should probably look elsewhere but if you want low-fi nuggets of rawk and roll history, this is definitely worth checking out.

This album is as "indie" as it gets. All these tracks share a certain d.i.y. aesthetic and are brought to you by one of the last true "Indie" record labels left on the face of this world. If you are looking for some typical "Alt-cliche", or the latest band to sound like a cross between Pavement and Vampire Weekend, you might want to go to Wal-Mart and pick through the "Indie" section. What is given here, freely is some god damned inspiration. Stop whining and start listening to some tracks that just might change your mind about a few things.

The sound reminds me a lot of Tony Hawk games. It's definitely a lot more Punk than Indie. I can really appreciate the raw sound - almost like a garage band. I can see why some people wouldn't like this, but after listening to lots of processed junk it's nice to get back to our roots of punk. If you're into skateboarding or want to revisit classic punk, this album is a must have.

what you are talking about. As for the person who categorized these songs as "wanna-be", I don't even know whare to begin with you. Some of these bands are well-respected icons in punk. The rawness and the "painful noise" as some may call it are integral to the genre. Removing the pristine production that most modern music was coated with was the whole point. If you don't like DIY or punk music, don't bother to "review" it. I don't go around reviewing Soulja Boy records.

"Back in the day," I bought ROIR cassettes. A few were fantastic, particularly a live album by the Durutti Column. But some were too raw and same-sounding for my taste. So I appreciate this set, but I can also understand those who were turned off by it. The Bad Brains song that opens the collection is excellent, sounding like a harder, meaner Ramones. (The song also gave an outstanding 'zine its name, The Big Takeover!) I like the Bush Tetras cut as well, and a couple of others. But listening to the Dickies and Flipper songs is like rubbing sandpaper across your arm. And the James Chance track is a chaotic mess.

Reading the "comments" pages for the negative customer reviews of this collection, I saw a lot of hostility. Really, it was the standard reaction of "You don't like something that I like, so you're an idiot." That kind of reaction always reveals who the real idiot is.

Two final points about this "So Indie" download compilation: (1) People often respond to negative reviews of these free Amazon downloads by saying "Why complain? It's free!" My answer to that is, "Thank you Amazon for giving us the free music," but also "just because it's free doesn't mean it's good." Also, (2) One reviewer made a big deal about the title, "So Indie...," saying this was punk, not indie music. That reviewer missed the whole point of the title, which is basically saying, "We were an independent label way before the whole 'indie' trend even began." It's good to remember that the term "indie" started out referring to any independent label music. These days there is a lot of so-called "indie" music that's on major labels. In other words, "indie" is not really "indie" anymore.

This a great sampler, from a historic indie label- whether it's punk, hard-core, reggae, dub... keep your ears open- & you may hear something you didn't expect or know you were into- that's one of the beauties of music. Plus it includes the Bad Brains & MC5- what's not to love.

The songs are decent, but the sound quality is so bad that it makes it unbearable. It sounds like it was recorded with a cheap tape deck in someone's garage. That's not indie...indie is unknown artists but still decent sound quality. Even free, I can't listen to this. Save the hard drive space for something else.

I got this yesterday not exactly expecting it to be the greatest music ever. After all, it is a free album, and sometimes you get what you pay for. In this case, you definitely get what you pay for, as it really just doesn't jive with my personal listening tastes. I found many (read: almost all) of the songs to just not really be that musical or melodic in nature, and that really turns me off of an album. If you like music and singing that just doesn't sound like a whole lot else, then this is for you. If you want to be able to follow along with the melody of the songs, then I suggest giving this album a pass, even though it is free.

(The above is the sole opinion of the author, and in no way reflects on the other purchasers of this album who rated it highly. The author just didn't like it that much.)

So Indie It Hurts: Roir Rocks Volume One

OK, this is a "free:" album, so I suspect that I'm supposed to be grateful; problem is, most of the tracks sound like the performers plugged themselves into AC outlets, rather than their instruments!

Imagine flushing the toilet 11 times in 37 minutes; next, imagine stabbing yourself with a pencil 11 times; finally, imagine how much more enjoyable either of those alternatives are to enduring 37 minutes of these 11 electro-shock-induced screams for mercy!