Rust 4 The Art and Science of Rust

 

Rust 4 The Art and Science of Rust

by Tim Mungenast & Astro Al

Another album write up

1. Evolution #99 - A racing rush of sounds. The joy of improvising music is the unexpected layers of sound that rush forth. The problem with improvising is sometimes you get nothing of interest. It happens. So you just cut out the boring bits and keep the good bits until you have enough good bits for it to work. Even some bad bits can become a sound source to manipulate.  Title by DNA Girl (I think).

2. Merry Go Rust - Tim plays the saz a bit on this one. The saz is a really cool instrument that I first became aware of thanks to our friend, Greg Grinnell (who fronts an amazing band called Mission Creep) who is an incredibly gifted musician and artist. Acoustic instruments can rust just as well as electric ones. Tim did tasty work on this one.

3. What Are You? -This is my favorite track on the album. Deb's vocals give me the chills. I didn't think we could make this one work but it does. The sense of menace builds pretty well. Feels like a creepy horror flick. I couldn't recall how we got that cool sound at the end until I talked to Tim who created that sound using his Babybox analog synth. It is a wild sound and perfect to close out this track. What are you? A robot, an electronic ghost, a sound of pure chaos?

4. Levitating Saucers of Rust - The favorite track of someone who actually bought the album. Yes, sometimes people actually buy our stuff. A dreamy breezy ambient soundscape of escape.

5. Rust of the Codemancer - What is a Codemancer? It's a necromancer who creates magic through programming. The words for this one all grew out an improv piece that I recorded at Maudslay state park then spliced into the track. Rust can be beautiful. The Honey Tone 5 are part of the story and referenced again in Rust Triptych. This track is about sacrificing yourself for beauty and to help others. True beauty is helping others and maybe rust can show us the way to that beauty.

6. Rust Triptych - Three rust stories. Each story is independent of the other. We purposely kept each other in the dark about what we were writing for the words. DNA Girl's Rusty the rabbit story is my fav of the three. Bias? Perhaps. The line "night of the musical Lepus" is a reference to one of the most ridiculous "horror" movies ever made, Night of the Lepus. It's about giant killer rabbits and they used real rabbits for most of the "special" effects scenes. It's even more ludicrous than it sounds. The Honey Tone 5 teach love and being better together. 

This album was released on March 25, 2025

Credits:

Tim Mungenast: Teak Wonder guitar, Marshall MS-2 toy amp, Mesa Boogie Studio.22+ amp, Babybox analog synth, FX, overtone singing, vocals, whirlie, balalaika, voice, cymbal, saz

Tim is a truly gifted guitarist and wonderfully quirky collaborator of sounds, ideas, and fun.

The Rust series of albums was his idea. He told us one day that he wanted to make an album that sounded like rust and that started it.

How many Rust albums will we create?

I don't know but another is being mixed/edited as you read this...

Astro Al is:

DNA Girl: PRS Piezo SE guitar, vocals, Ibanez mandolin, Gold Tone octave mandolin, wah-wah tube, FX, steel drum, synth, tongue drum, cabasa, slide, voice

Count Robot: Vocals, voice, microphones, duotron, monotron, springatron, acoustic and electric kazoo, DVD player, Aztec death whistle, metal, genometer signal generator, FX, boom box

-Oh you might be wondering how you play a DVD player and a boom box? You play them by putting a microphone that picks up electronic frequencies and then feeding that signal through FX pedals and an amp.

Part of the voice narration for Rust of the Codemancer was recorded in the bunker in Maudslay State Park. MA. If you find yourself in MA visit this spot. You won't regret it. It's one of the best sounding recording spots I've ever been in. Sounds better than any of the studio spaces in any pro-recording studio I was ever in and yes I was in more than a few in Boston.

Everything else was recorded in Weirdfield, MA, and Allston Spa, NY

Written, performed, produced, and mastered by Tim Mungenast & Astro Al

copyright 2025 Tim Mungenast & Astro Al

Rustingly yours,

Count Robot

Press Release about Cassette Culture

 

Jerry Kranitz is pleased to announce the publication of his book Cassette Culture: Homemade Music and the Creative Spirit in the Pre-Internet Age. Originally published in 2020 in a now sold-out edition by Frank Maier’s Vinyl-on-Demand imprint, the book takes a social history/analytical approach to the growth of the global homemade music/cassette culture network that sprouted and flourished from the post-punk era through the early 1990s. Kranitz explores how the participants communicated, traded, collaborated, and set up cottage industry labels to distribute their work. A long overdue study of this pivotal yet less than comprehensively documented chapter in the post-punk and 20^th century independent arts movement stories.

 

This second edition includes multiple updates. The Introduction has been reworked, multiple people quoted from the 1980s-90s small press publications/zines have been tapped for feedback from a contemporary perspective, plus other ‘bits and pieces’ additions. The scope of the book has not changed. Kranitz is still laser focused on the hometapers and post-punk era network of communication, collaboration and exchange.

 

Paperback and Kindle editions are available from Amazon stores worldwide.

PLEASE consider purchasing the paperback from one of these esteemed vendors:

·       Soleilmoon (US)

·       Tapehead City (US - Coming soon)

·       Resident Music (UK)

 

Direct links to purchase are available on my website at https://www.jerrykranitzwriter.com/books/

 

If you are a retailer and would like to stock the book, it is available through IngramSpark (ISBN 979-8-218-81983-5), or email me at jerry@jerrykranitzwriter.com for details.

 

Check out Cassette Culture Podcast host Martin Franklin’s video review of the book on YouTube…

https://youtu.be/KW8ZIgO_Llo?si=NSrAfu76HrSfEuJ2

 

Alan Rider posted a detailed review in Outsideleft Magazine…

https://outsideleft.com/main.php?story=flying-the-flag-for-independence

 

Acclaim for Cassette Culture…

 

In Cassette Culture, Jerry Kranitz has achieved the near impossible, that of summing up the nature, reach and impact of the radical and democratizing technology that was the cassette tape. The invention of the compact cassette wrestled control out of the hands of the record industry and placed it firmly into the laps of you and I, to create, communicate, collaborate and innovate like never before. Drawing on original sources and prime movers in the underground cassette scenes that sprang up all over, Kranitz paints an evocative picture of an era now passed, but whose influence is still with us. The humble cassette offered true emancipation to those seeking to share and exchange music with others across the world and enabled small bands to record and release their own music without the need to go into a studio or chase a recording contract. Kranitz opens the door to this world through the eyes of some of its key protagonists and brings it alive for us through his clear passion for the topic. Cassette Culture acts as an eye-opening introduction, a selection box, and a guidebook into the incredible world of the underground cassette revolution, from which once experienced, there is no going back.

- Alan Rider, Outsideleft Magazine/Adventures in Reality

 

The humble cassette has received quite a lot of interest of late with a number of books exploring its social and cultural significance across a range of genres, but Jerry Kranitz’s book remains one of the few publications to focus on the cassette’s significance as a means of DIY music production and distribution. Starting firstly in the heady days of late 1970s post-punk and then outlining the cassette’s role in the 1980s and 90s in the development of an alternative network of hometapers. Out of print since its initial hardback publication on Vinyl-on-Demand, this new and updated version is therefore very much appreciated.

- Philip Sanderson, founder of Snatch Tapes

 

Jerry Kranitz’s book evokes the almost-clandestine networks, the home-dubbed love and revolution that snailed its way through the mail, a thing that didn’t need permission, a thing that thrived precisely because it was excluded. It was raw, unruly, and totally outside of the algorithm’s grasp. It was rough, slow and amateur, but it built real connections across borders and physical isolation. The is how we misfits found each other, making noise outside of commerce. A countercultural web stuck together with trust, photocopies and international reply coupons.

- Nigel Ayers, Nocturnal Emissions

 

The cassette culture wasn’t just about underground music and art, it was a way of looking at the world. Jerry Kranitz’s Cassette Culture illuminates this grassroots network where kindred spirits were only a letter away and exchanges were always mutual. We created a Christmas Day every day, with quirky packages arriving through mailboxes the world over. This meticulously researched book is full of firsthand information and anecdotes from artists and innovators that join the dots to show how the network grew and interconnected creators and audiences. Embracing the bold challenges of assembling a comprehensive cultural history that straddles countries, musical genres and ideologies, Cassette Culture is an engrossing and weighty read. Uniquely, Kranitz roots the artist networks of the cassette scene within earlier fan communities of 1930s sci-fi and the scrupulously DIY approach of 1950s Sun Ra. Kranitz’s wide lens contextualizes what emerged with the arrival of the hometapers with foundational concepts from the Dada and Fluxus movements. You will emerge from reading this book not just with an understanding of the connections of contemporary music and culture but with a thought that maybe, just maybe, there is another way of doing things.

- Martin Franklin, The Cassette Culture Podcast

 

Jerry Kranitz’s entry into music journalism began in the late 1990s with the fanzine Aural Innovations and in 2000 he began an online podcast under the same name. Recently he sent me an advance copy of a fascinating new book titled Cassette Culture: Homemade Music and the Creative Spirit in the Pre-Internet Age. This is a fascinating and in-depth survey of indie music artists, labels and music collectors that covers the entire spectrum of music stylistically featuring musicians from all corners of the world. As someone who has been immersed in ‘Music from Around the World’ since the 1970s, as I read through it there were hundreds of artists, labels, music fans and musicians referenced that I had never heard. I was amazed and overwhelmed by the amount of information contained in the book. Cassette Culture is an essential musical reference source. I recommend you check it out.

- Archie Patterson, EUROCK

 

Cassette Culture is the result of 10 years of painstaking research. It is an enjoyable and captivating read and, although meticulously researched, it thankfully avoids becoming too dry and academic and will appeal to both lay and scholarly readers alike. As someone who was thoroughly immersed in the DIY cassette scene of the late 1970s and early 80s, I recommend this book to anyone who was directly involved and would like to relive those exciting times, or simply wishes to discover more about this fascinating - and often forgotten - period in the history of underground music.

- Richard Rupenus, The New Blockaders

And in the darkness

 

And in the darkness we dance 

and paint portraits of empty frames

When the silence falls

there is no fear

only joy in the vast night

Yours in short poetry,

Count Robot

Open

 Open

He breaks his skin open

more akin to a carapace

than skin

Drink to my sin

where do I begin

to melt away

Milky Way not 

here this day

I'm shattered

into the sea of shadows

Drinking in the empire of shadows

I've only seen this before

His skin is broken open

Follow me to the ending

Yours in something else,

Count Robot

Fell

 Fell

A star fell out of his back pants pocket last night as he flowed his way home through the neon swept rainfall which offers no warmth to the sleeping ground and every sound is a laugh track to the sodden image of the rundown to your residence in the sundown estates where all the stars fall out of your pocket but they light the way 

Night does not have to slay the day.

Yours in words,

Count Robot

A Rural Road

 

A Rural Road

The lizard of circumstance

demands you to prance

in a non-geopolitical stance

Moose flossing

with candy crossing

is the fly way to

your inner most buy way

A festival of garlic art

inside or being part 

and particle of a

mulch mart

An insubstantial semi-solid bear

is barely there

If this poem is a joke

it just broke

Yours in dumb poetry,

Count Robot

The Gypsy Moths new album, Here We Are

Here We Are is the new amazing Gypsy Moths album

It's a double album jammed with tunes!

This album isn't just a tribute to your cool aunt and uncle's record collection, this is a tribute to what the future of music should be all about. Rock and roll that is 

sinewy and has just the right amount of teeth and is looking at the present as well as the past. This is the album the Rolling Stones wish they could write today.

Yes, some of these songs appeared on the Gypsy Moths recent EP, but I don't care. They slot in well with the rest of these songs. 

1. And You Know I Do - Sunshine pop at the finest level. Jumping and bobbing along. 

2. Still I Recall - A breezy joy recalling the beautiful soul songs of the late 60's/ early70s'. Wonderful guitar work.

3. Leave You With This - Singer Steve O'Brien is a vocal chameleon. I didn't even recognise him at points during this song and I think that's great when a musician can surprise you with their skill.

4. Heart To Break - If I had a heart to break... Another fine example of guitarist Chris Conway's skills. 

5. Rubber Dubber -A song about bootleg records!? Yes!!! This is a glorious ode to the maniacs and pirates who would record shows for fun and occasionally for profit.

How amazing to describe the whole thing in a song! A pirate's record shop sets sail!!!! This track is worth the whole album.

6. Fall of Sam Tully (C and Third) - We go from a story of record pirates to a suspected pirate hanging in 1812 in South Boston. Gorgeous keys on this track. 

7. Train Tickets - What is it about trains that make such great songs and stories? If you want the answer to that question listen to this track.

8. Fold Up The Air - A classic example of psych pop. The guitar is killer. Close up the sky. The keys on this one too... just sublime.

9. Last Night at the Pickwick - A song about the collapse of the Pickwick theatre in MA. The Moths excel at giving us charming history songs about tragedies. I don't know if I can ever explain how they do it and do it so well, but here it is regardless. Conway turns in another excellent karate chop of a guitar solo and by that I mean, its quick and hits you just the right way.

10. She Doesn't Love You -Some gorgeous slide guitar work on this one! A... non love song, here to pick us up after the last tune.

11. Better Beware - Nice breathy FX on this track. It's not the end of the world but you can see it from here.... genius! 

12. Like We Used To Do - Jazzy, loungey, this one has got it. Reminds me of Frank Sinatra after having just the right amount of cocktails. A gem! Meant for a nice slow dance.

13. Tell Me She's Alright - Tell me she's in love, so I can go... The last line.... wow. This is such a potent song! Gets me every time. The change at the end too... grand!

14. Cover For Me - Fun! This song is a real good turn around after the heavy vibe of the last one. Ridiculously fun line in this one, "I go home alone with my xylophone!".

15. Go On Forever - Good riff on this track! Nice rock and waltzing feel. Great thick keyboard sound.

16. Invisible Stickball Paint - Love that intro beat. Drink an ocean dry... You can feel this song whenever you stare at your record collection.

17. Maybe You're Dreaming - Nice use of vocal FX track. Good backing vocals too. Reminds me of what the Beach Boys could do so well. There's some tasty jangling guitar here too.

18. All That I Can - A dark juke joint song. The kind that makes the jukebox shake with fear and joy when you play it.

19. He Really Must - Another rocking tune. The keys on this one really shine. Nice keyboard outro. 

20. Washashore - A ballad! Feels like a dream of a song playing late night on a white sand beach even though its the Winter.

21. Ship To Shore - "Clocks run faster than I can" Great lyrics! 

22. Rock-Ola 444 - A song about music and its got a solid dance groove. A nice fun song before the heavy one coming up.

23. Shots And Prayers -A song that shouldn't have to be written but needed to be created. Why the hell are we here? The innocent go underground. This song is the truth. I am so tired of living in the world capital of mass shootings. Thank you Moths for writing this much needed song. Chris Conway's guitar solo is perfectly deft. Get down. Listen!

24. Before The Lights Went Out - A nice refresher after the heaviness of the last tune, but wait it isn't. It's a beautiful song about lost friends. This is the beauty of the Gypsy Moths they make you feel. So much music doesn't have depth or feeling but the Moths push all the emotions to the foreground. This is truly beautiful song.

25. Looking For You - The album closer and a long song! A nice end to this double album. This song stretches out well and doesn't overstay its welcome conclusion.

The production on the whole album is lush and emphasises just what the listener wants to hear at the right moment.

If Massachusetts was an album, this would be it.

Yours in great rock and roll,

Count Robot