16...

I’ve been meaning to do a post on these guys for quite a long time now. 16 was formed sometime in 1991 in Santa Ana, CA and despite a few lineup changes here and there they managed to release roughly 6 full-length albums, two 10 inches, and plethora of 7 inches. There are probably a ton of odds and ends in there, but that’s just a quick summation of their extensive discography.

For starters, 16 rocked hard…maybe one of the riff heaviest bands that I’ve ever had the pleasure of exposing my ears to. Their music was a great mixture of hardcore, stoner rock, and punk. The end result of that was some straight out balls to the wall rock. 16 are quite possibly one of my favorite bands to listen to in the car for that very reason, probably creating an unsafe environment for whoever is driving around me. I apologize to anyone out there that may have been cut off, flipped off, honked at, etc due to my listening of this band while behind the wheel. Unfortunately I never got to see these guys live, but judging by things I’ve heard and read it seems it would have been a treat to see. On record 16 is a crushingly heavy riff machine. I honestly have a hard time understanding as to how anyone could not be sucked in by the infectiousness of their music. Out of their albums, I am a pretty big fan of their 1996 release Drop Out on Theologian/Pessimiser, mostly for all of the above mentioned and the production on it. But really you can’t go wrong with a 16 album, I dare you to try.

16 also hold the title for creating one of my favorite music videos. I imagine anyone that is a fan of the band has probably already seen this a hundred times or more, but for those that haven’t it is a must see. The video is for their song “Damone” from their final album Zoloft Smile, which was released in 2003 on At a Loss, and the video is nothing more than the song synched up to clips from Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Simply brilliant and at the same time hilarious. Thanks to YouTube everyone can view this masterpiece.



Curves That Kick:
16 – Chum [MP3]
16 – Mr. Mouse [MP3]

Drop Out:
16 – Trigger Happy [MP3]
16 – Butterfly Labes [MP3]

Blaze of Incompetence:
16 – Asian Heat [MP3]
16 – Glowing Bowl [MP3]

Zoloft Smile:
16 – Damone [MP3]
16 – Hearing Voices [MP3]

I think most of the bands material is sadly out print these days, however you can still find copies of a few of their albums floating around on Amazon. I imagine a Google search would turn up some results too. I strongly recommend tracking down any of their albums that you can.