Ah, the heady days of 2002. A time before Bush’s re-election. A time when political engagement was still valued in some social circles. A time before independent rock bridged the gap punk rock had worked so hard to create, by allowing hippies into the tent (see: freak folk). Good days indeed. Still, at the time, my nutrition primarily came from Budweiser and vodka and day-old bagels, and I spent my hours more pissed about asshole customers than media consolidation and the increasing synergy of independent and corporate culture.

Out of personal torpor and an antsiness that defines both of our personalities, my good friend Pete Bernhard and I organized Tastes Like Burning, our first CD-R comp of indie, punk and folk bands from the Santa Cruz local scene along with a number of like-minded folks from other West Coast areas.

Few of these bands exist anymore, though a handful do. The obvious historical quirk is the inclusion of a couple demos by our friends-of-a friend in The Thermals, who have gone on to a well-deserved measure of success (including releasing one of last year’s most critically acclaimed albums). There are some great nuggets in here by musicians who’ve gone on to bigger things (such as Pete, with the Devil Makes Three) as well fantastic songwriters and bands that deserve a bit more historical re-estimation (including great Santa Cruz indie popsters Sin in Space, brilliant songwriter Boaz Vilozny who gave up music for organic chemistry, and Sweatitout, an amalgam of ’80s metal and the Cars that would have made Brooklynite hipsters swoon if they’d formed on the other coast.)

The other day, this blogger Steve, who runs the great Cover Freak blog and had ordered the other two CD-R comps I put together after Tastes Like Burning, sent me an email asking if I had any copies of this comp left. Unfortunately, I only have a couple copies kicking around the apartment anymore, both of which are slowly submitting to the decreptitude that awaits CD-R’s and home-silkscreened covers. His email inspired me to rip the tracks and archive them while I still could, scan the art, and post it all online for posterity.

So I offer to you, gentle readers, a .zip download of a small footnote in Santa Cruz (and west coast) DIY history. For people put off by the 120 MB download, please note the mp3′s are all ripped at 320 kbps VBR, or take a listen to a couple of the tracks first:

Sweatitout – “Takin’ Forever” mp3

Boaz Vilozny – “Waiting All Night” mp3

Download Tastes Like Burning .zip file (120 MB, 320 kbps VBR)

After the jump, the track listing and links to the current musical projects of the bands and musicians involved.

01> marker – road to nowhere (current projects unknown)

02> depth charge revolt – socrates diminished

03> the thermals – goddamn the light

04> sin in space – fly by night

05> pete bernhard – revenge (Pete is now in The Devil Makes Three)

06> boaz vilozny – waiting all night

07> paul m. davis – alkaline

08> the automatones – nobodys hero (current projects unknown)

09> sweat it out – takin forever (current project: The Gibbs)

10> audio crush – in love with misery (Joe Clement’s current band: Crucial Unicorn)

11> the spooks – rollin dice with jesus christ (current projects unknown)

2> the shakes – six fifty (The one document of me and Pete’s short-lived goober garage-punk outfit)

13> the thermals – it’s time to lose

14> ill lit – beating the daylights out of my nightlife

15> paul m. davis – bottom of the stack

16> zirkles unit – love inside

17> the roots of orchis – please call 874-2420

For more about Santa Cruz independent culture and DIY history, check out the awesome SCUM wiki.

Insert cover art by Koak.