The Unblinking Ear's 2007 in review

Or 2007: The year indie rock officially became the music of choice for 21 year old girls who use the flowers tattooed on their hip or lower back as the default photo on their myspace profile.



(Picture taken from the comments section of Band of Horses' myspace page)

The 2007 playlist
Tvyek "Air Conditioner"
Love of Diagrams "Pace or the Patience"
The Laureates "Witching Boots"
Spoon "You Got Yr Cherry Bomb"
Bottomless Pit "Dead Man's Blues"
New Pornographers "Myriad Harbor"
The Ponys "1209 Seminary"
Mannequin Men "Pigpen"
Black Lips "O Katrina"
The Intelligence "The Outer Echelon"
Times New Viking "Devo and Wine"
Residual Echoes "Fresh Eyes"
Shellac "Be Prepared"
Blonde Redhead "Spring and By Summer Fall"
LCD Soundsystem "Someone Great"
M.I.A. "Paper Planes"
Wooden Shjips "We Ask You to Ride"
White Hills "Spirit of Exile"
The Magik Markers "Taste"
Lamps "Now that I'm Dead"
Jay Reatard "I Know a Place"
Pissed Jeans "I Still Got You (Ice Cream)"
Dinosaur Jr "Back to Your Heart"
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists "C.I.A."
The Marked Men "It's Not a Crime"

Play or Download The Unblinking Ear's Best of 2007 Playlist

Piece of vinyl that floored me the most this year upon needle hitting the wax: Tyvek Summer Burns EP

Album I listened to more than any other this year: Love of Diagrams Mosaic. An excellent record that I'm also going to give the "Most lazy and misguided references to Gang of Four in its reviews by oblivious 'rock' 'critics'" award. Seriously guys, have you never heard another band with jagged guitar on top and a tight and heavy rhythm section? You're writing about music for a living and your palette is that limited?

Album I thought was just OK at first but a month later I couldn't stop listening to it: Spoon Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. I actually do the same thing for every Spoon album. You'd think I'd learn by now.

Album I'm going to strongly recommend even though none of you are going to listen to me: Bottomless Pit Hammer of the Gods. I've been plugging Silkworm for a decade and none of you have cared. Why would you start now?

Song I heard on Evan "Funk" Davies show on WFMU and immediately thought "I must have this": The Laureates "Witching Boots." MP3s of all the songs from the Laureates' 4 song 7" EP are available for free on their website but I was so floored by this track I needed it in a hard format as well. Anytime I've played it for anyone since they've immediately perked up with "Who is this?" Yes, it's that good. Go show them some love.

Song a friend told me about while standing in line for the Simpsons Movie which I had never heard at that point and teased her that I didn't believe it actually existed and thus culture forcefully proved me wrong over the next few months: Rhianna "Umbrella" Ella, ella

Reunion album that I (and probably everyone else) was surprised was as good as it was: Dinosaur Jr Beyond

Only active punk rocker who could make me spend $9 on his mail order only 4 song 12 inch: Jay Reatard

I just don't get it at all award: Band of Horses. Was there some kind of clamoring for an emoesque retread of C-list 90s alt-rock? Could the Eels not be persuaded to reunite?

I get it but I just don't care at all award: Feist and Arcade Fire (tie)

Already exhausted topic most likely to be discussed and dissected ad infinitum in this year's Pazz and Jop poll: Radiohead's In Rainbows only available as "pay what you want" digital download. Runner up: The nationality, ethnicity and gender of M.I.A.

Record I liked just fine but made me wish the other guy was still in the band: The Ponys Turn the Lights Out

Band I really wanted to like but couldn't make it work: Prinzhorn Dance School, you're a swell gal and I'm sure you'll find the right guy for you. Runner Up: Panda Bear

Song I really liked from an album which otherwise did little for me award: The National "Mistaken for Strangers" from Boxer. Maybe because it's the only song on the record with a backbeat

The marginally talented masquerading as the marginally interesting in order to be beloved by the marginally intelligent award: Dan Deacon

The "maybe my math is wrong but wouldn't these fit on one CD?" award: Robert Pollard's Coast to Coast Carpet of Love and Standard Gargoyle Decisions. Even if they couldn't, maybe Bob could actually edit out a song or two for once in his career to make them fit?

The "I like your old records and I'm glad you're still making music. I just have no desire to listen to your new album. It's not you. It's me" award: The White Stripes. Runner-up: Interpol

The most undeserved backlash award: The Shins. People should really be focusing that negative energy on Zach Braff instead.

Disappointing reissue of the year: The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (40th Anniversary 3-CD Deluxe Edition). Thanks for the mono version. That is very swell of you. And joining those early singles to the album (finally) was a great idea. But come on guys, no "Vegetable Man" and "Scream Thy Last Scream?" How about throwing "Jugband Blues" on there for good measure? None of those oft bootlegged early demos? For a $40 list price and plenty of leftover room on the 3 CDs (by my math, something like 118 minutes!), is it too much to ask for one stop shopping for all Barrett-era Floyd? If you're not going to clean out the vaults now, then when?

Best 18 minute plus song of the year: Fucked Up "Year of the Pig." Not to sound too hyperbolic but it could it be the best 18 minute plus rock song of all time? Seriously, name one that's better. And please don't say "Echoes."

Video of the year: Ted Leo and the Pharmacists "Coleen"



Comedy album of the year: Paul F. Tompkins Impersonal Runners Up: Patton Oswalt Werewolves and Lollipops, Scharpling and Wurster The Art of the Slap, Michael Ian Black I am a Wonderful Man

Best record made by a band with the initials MM: Marked Men Fix My Brain. Comes so close to the kind of cloying pop punk I usually detest but these guys manage to hit the mark perfectly. If I was 16 years old they would probably be my favorite band in the world. (Okay, I'd probably still like Jay Reatard more.) Runners Up: Magik Markers Boss, Mannequin Men Fresh Rot

Record that makes Times New Viking sound like Journey: Der TPK Harmful Emotions

Band I was actually disappointed was comprised of very attractive women: The Long Blondes. I adored their early singles and thought last year's debut full length (released in the US this year) was quite good. With their lovelorn and seemingly gender conscious lyrics I pictured them as being slightly homely English women like, oh I don't know, the Raincoats. However, it seems as though all the woman in the band are quite high on the doability scale. Just take a look at singer Kate Jackson and bassist Reenie Hollis:



Not only that but it turns out the dude guitarist is responsible for most of the lyrics. Somehow I feel gypped.

Record that give me an overwhelming urge to stare at a lava lamp even while stone cold sober: Wooden Shjips s/t Runner up: White Hills Glitter Glamour Atrocity

Good band whose fairly terrible name made me hold off on listening to them for too long: The Intelligence

Band most likely to own an original pressing of the Huns' "Busy Kids" single: The Lamps. Runners Up: Pissed Jeans

Most Dependable Label Award: In the Red. There was a time when I only thought of these guys as the folks who put out the Jon Spencer jukebox singles (collected this year on Jukebox Explosion). Now they are they are pretty much synonymous with quality, no-bullshit rock n roll. The label not only released the aforementioned records from Jay Reatard, the Lamps and the Intelligence but also fine efforts from Miss Alex White and her Orchestra, Mark Sultan and others. Plus, when they screwed up my mail order they not only sent me the correct record with an apology and no hassle but told me to keep the record they accidentally sent me as well. What a bunch of swell guys!! Runners Up: S-S, What's Your Rupture?, Dusty Medical

Best record to hold you over until the Reigning Sound make a new album: Goodnight Loving Crooked Lake (though in all honesty last year's Greg Cartwright-produced Cemetery Trails was even better)

Record I'm looking forward to most in 2008: Apparently the Oxford Collapse are working on some kind of 30 song double album. Hopefully available in time for the Big Dipper reunion. Runners Up: New efforts from Times New Viking and Sally Crewe and the Sudden Moves.

Record or band mentioned above about which I reserve the right to change my mind: All of them

Do I really need a good reason to post a Hüsker Dü live clip?

Nah, I don't think so.



I don't know what's more remarkable: that Bob Mould got away with playing the Flying V or that Greg Norton got away with sporting that mustache.

Dear viral marketing,

You are now even more annoying than regular marketing.

It wasn't the Aqua Teen Hunger Force scare that crippled the city of Boston for an afternoon that put you over the edge. Nor was it the little lad who loves berries and cream. That merely pulled you into a tie.

No, it was this abomination: whopperfreakout.com

I'm sure many of you have seen the ads on TV. As bad as they are, it doesn't compare to the endurance-testing agony of seeing them stretched out to 7 and a half excruciating minutes. I had to take a look the website for something work-related. (No, I don't work at McDonald's and I wasn't checking out the competition.) I could only make it to the 2:30 mark at which point I decided I needed to pick up my flat screen monitor and use it to beat the person who forced me to watch this atrocity to death. (My trial is pending.)

Are we supposed to mock these people who are so upset that the Whopper is ostensibly gone? Or are we supposed to identify with them? Both, perhaps? Isn't Burger King assuming that viewers love the Whopper as much as the flabbergasted dolts in this ad and even though we're meant to laugh at them we should also feel their pain? Has there ever been a more clear cut case of a company having contempt for their customers? I feel like BK is assuming the role of Ricky Gervais's character on Extras, playing for an audience he clearly feels is beneath him. The King is pissing on his peasants.

Oh Burger King, it's bad enough you've been shoving that guy in the creepy mask down our throats for years. What have we done to deserve this?

Sad All Over: Your 2008 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees

Madonna, Leonard Cohen, the Dave Clark Five, the Ventures and John Mellencamp

I don't think I need to comment. When the hall doesn't even know it's supposed to be "Rock 'n' Roll" what can you expect?

You'd at least think the hall would take a cue from the Experience Music Project and inject itself with some localism. After all, the city of Cleveland has given us many musical national treasures. Like these guys:



Not exactly Ubu's shining moment but still much closer to their prime than their appearance of the David Sanborn show which I also found on YouTube. If only the Pagans' "Dead End America" video that was floating around a while ago was still available.

This Moment in Slack History: Morsels from the Last Great Era of the 7 Inch Record

"This Moment in Slack History" collects songs from 90s indie 7 inches. For further explanation, please see my original post here.



Envelope "Trophy" and "Try Again"
Envelope was fronted by Matador Records co-president Gerard Cosloy. The band put out 4 7 inches (the fourth and final was a double so I guess it's 5 if you want to get technical) none of which were actually released by Matador though I suppose the band may have wanted to keep a relatively low profile. I actually got to see Envelope perform in 94 or so opening for Cobra Verde and Strapping Fieldhands at Sideshow's by the Seashore in Coney Island. Terrific venue. Anyone know if it's there anymore? In any case, it's definitely a point of interest to hear one of the most influential figures in independent music for the past 3 decades front his own band. (His stint as a GG Allin sideman didn't really count.) Cosloy is still making music with the Air Traffic Controllers and when not running his multi-media empire is writing a sports blog with the most extensive Lastings Milledge coverage on the web.

These two songs are both from Envelope's 3rd 45. Both are seethingly bitter break up songs. If neither rival "Soul and Fire" or "Couldn't You Wait?" as the definitive indie rock heartache song they're at least in the same league. Enjoy!

Play or Download Envelope "Trophy"

Play or Download Envelope "Try Again"

I saw two rock shows this weekend.

For a hermit like me that's a pretty big deal.

On Friday night I saw New Zealand indie rock legends The Clean at Cakeshop. The Clean are one of my favorite all time bands and they did not disappoint. If cleanliness is next to godliness then The Clean are indeed next to Gods. I thought maybe my enjoyment stemmed from the fact that I was finally getting to hear them play those cherished songs live but a companion of mine who had never heard the band before volunteered that she thought the band sounded awesome as well. Perhaps seeing them in Cakeshop, with its tiny basement of a performance area, best replicated the sort of environment The Clean would be playing during their early 80s heyday. It was a fairly shambolic affair with the occasional false starts, bum notes and abrupt endings but the music was so transcendent it hardly mattered. The band mainly played selections from Compilation which I suppose are their "hits" though there were other tunes like the mighty "Draw(in)g to a (W)hole" from 1990's Vehicle and Robert Scott's "E Motel" from 2001's Getaway. Perhaps most affecting of all was their version of "Hold onto the Rail" by Clean side project/offshoot The Great Unwashed. (Not these guys.) Opening line: "You say we're like the Rolling Stones/Or the Beatles or better." Yes... I do say.

I did happen to catch the openers, Brooklyn's Crystal Stilts. They played in a C86 style with a bit more of a downer vibe. Imagine the Pastels if they listened to nothing but the Xpressway discography for a year. Some folks were turned off by the singer's Ian Curtis-y vocals but I kind of dug 'em. If they had a 45 for sale I would've picked it up which I suppose qualifies as an endorsement.

One quick note about Cakeshop: in theory it's the coolest hangout in NYC; a café-cum-record shop-cum-live music venue. Unfortunately. it doesn't quite live up to it in practice. The café is fine and the record shop is small but has a nice (if slightly pricey) selection of used vinyl. However, their basement where they hold shows is set up in such a way that unless you're directly in front of the stage it's impossible to see the band. This is unfortunate because the sound is quite good and they consistently book worthwhile acts. Sadly, there's probably nothing that can be done about this without altering the architecture of the building itself. I'll just continue going and elbow my way to front when I can.

On Sunday night I saw Mudhoney with Pissed Jeans as support at Bowery Ballroon. It was my second time seeing the PJs and they were much more lively than the previous time which was in front of about 16 people in some kind of student rec center. Singer Matt Korvette is certainly trying his best to become his generation's David Yow. The band's incredibly loud Flipper/Drunks with Guns/My War-era Black Flag style noise punk seemed to divide the crowd but I'm sure the headliners approved. And how can you not like a band that makes this video?

Mudhoney was billed as playing Superfuzz Bigmuff and early singles which is pretty much exactly what they did opening the show with "Touch Me I'm Sick" and playing every single song from the collection that if not birthed grunge at least served as it's first identifiable archetype. This included both covers: a dirge-like, bad acid trip version of Sonic Youth's "Halloween" (betcha SY's not doing that one anymore) and the Dicks' mighty punk classic "Hate the Police" which closed their set and made me grin from ear to ear. An encore consisted entirely of covers (I think) with Mark Arm eschewing guitar and playing punk frontman for takes on Fang's "The Money Will Roll Right In" and Black Flag's "Fix Me" among others. If that makes it sound like the covers were the highlights of the performance that's probably at least half true as Mudhoney were a band whose excellent taste could sometimes exceed their songwriting chops. But watching 30-somethings slam dance and stage dive(!) to "You Got It (Keep It Out of My Face)" was not without its charm. A nostalgia revue for Gen Xers? Probably but I'll take it over any VH1 Classic-sponsored tour.

Paleontology for Dullards: A Consumer's Guide

This feature is for you, the consumer, to use when rummaging through used LP bins. Some of you may find a record by an artist with whom you are unfamiliar and think "I've heard of these guys. Are they any good?" or "How do I know this isn't their one dud album and a terrible entry point to their body of work?" or, most importantly, "Is this really worth $3.99?" This guide is for you, least your home become filled with nonessential vinyl and your significant other begins giving you the evil eye whenever that damn Radio Shack commercial comes on. Not only will I review a plethora of used LPs amassed from many a used bin but I will assign them actual cash value. In other words, you, the consumer, may rummage with confidence knowing full well whether or not the piece of vinyl in your hand is worth the same as a value meal at Arby's.

Ratings are based on the percentage of the authentic value of an LP in ratio to what I actually paid for it. For example, if I paid $5 for an LP but it's only worth $4 the LP will receive a rating of 80%. If I paid $3 and the LP is worth $1 the rating is 33.3% and so on. Please note: scarcity is a factor in determining value. Black Sabbath LPs are much easier to find than Go-Betweens LP so while they both groups may be of equal musical value the rating of the latter will be inherently higher. This is not snobbery, it is simply the economic principle that mass production degrades value. You should never pay more than $2 for a Buckingham/Nicks-era Fleetwood Mac LP (if it's Tusk). Also note: when records receive maximum ratings of 100% it is not necessarily the top dollar amount you might want to pay for that particular LP. You may want to pay more if you wish. A top-of-the-food-chain, life-affirming album for which I happened to pay $7 may be worth picking up for $8. Or even $15 or $20. Or not.

Feedback on ratings will likely be erroneous but is welcome and will amuse me. And finally, no, I will not tell you where I found these LPs. Frankly, if you're blowing up my spot and finding all the bargains, this feature will become expendable. And we couldn't have that.

(Ed. Note: this feature was inspired by "$2.99 Wax Necessities" by Tim Midgett (formerly of the excellent Silkworm, currently of the similarly excellent Bottomless Pit and well respected rock crit) wherein Mr Midgett gave you a host of LPs worth purchasing for $2.99. I would link this but it seems to have disappeared from the world of the Internet. Nonetheless, I tip my hat to Mr Midgett and note that while his writing may have the edge in insight and general scribe skills I make up for it in hubris.)

Roger C Reale and Rue Morgue Radioactive
In my younger days I had a bit of an infatuation with Killed By Death/Bloodstains-type compilations. If you have no idea what I'm talking about... that probably means you're a well-adjusted human being with no need for such folly. However, if you're curious...

Killed by Death and Bloodstains were two series of bootlegs compiling very rare (usually a couple of hundred copies pressed) late 70s/early 80s punk records. These collections were assembled for the type of punk rock fan/collector for whom records by the Damned or the Dead Boys were easy to find as sand at the beach. KBD and Bloodstains were the most commonly used monikers (being bootlegs no one compiler had rights to the name of a series so other enterprising bootleggers quickly co-opted the titles as their own) but there were other series (Teenage Treats, Break the Rules) and a ton of one offs (Cheap and Nasty, Deep in the Throat of Texas). My first exposure to this phenomenon came from some of the earliest comps (Killed By Death 1, Bloodstains Across the Midwest and the all Australian Murder Punk) and I was totally floored. They were simply fantastic: all killer and no filler. I dove headfirst into this "scene" and started snatching up every comp I could find. This was no easy task as these comps were often as rare as the records they compiled and few were legitimate releases. Many were excellent but the law of diminishing returns eventually set in. There were only so many impossibly rare punk 45s to compile and only so many of those are worth repeated listens. Soon most comps were nothing more than one or two cuts worth of collector bait (the original singles sometimes go for hundreds of dollars. Search "KBD" on eBay and see what I mean) and mediocre at best filler. Soon the excitement of buying a comp and possibly hearing some previously unheard classic punk scorcher was replaced with inevitable disappointment until I swore off buying new comps altogether.

What does this have to do with Roger C Reale you ask? Well Reale had one of his songs, "Kill Me," on of one of the volumes of esteemed German collector Peter P's Break the Rules series, one of the few legitimately released series of its kind and because Mr P has exclusive rights and could exercise some quality control also one of the more consistent. (Remind me to tell you the mildly amusing anecdote of the time I met Peter. I'd recount it here but requires both visuals and onomatopoeia.) "Kill Me" is a slammer: just a minute plus of over the top aggression. When I saw Radioactive in a used bin containing "Kill Me" and with a sticker price of $2 I thought I stuck gold. My first clue that this was not the case was that guitarist for the Rue Morgue was G.E. Smith. Surely not that G.E. Smith? Yeah, that one, the former Hall and Oates sideman and SNL band leader. Needless to say, this is not the work of teenagers picking up instruments for the first time for the sake of anarchy and giggles. No, this is pros playing "regular dude" rock reminiscent at times of Tom Petty or Bruce Springsteen but with lesser songs and more explicitly punkish leanings than either. The unintentionally hilarious notes on the back cover by one "Doc Cavalier" try and make the case Reale as a bold blender of genres but that's hyperbolic malarkey. I can easily believe the Roger and co. rocked the house as a bar band but other than "Kill Me" and a sort of neat take on the Troggs' "I Can't Control Myself" there's little here that's rewarding. I'm probably destroying any chance I have of reselling this for some decent scratch to some gullible punk collector but that's the kind of integrity you deal with when you're dealing with me, people.
Price paid: $2 Rating: 100%

Ed Kuepper Everybody's Got To
Anybody familiar with my all time musical favorites knows that I am a huge fan of the Austrailian punk combo the Saints, or at least a huge fan of their output when guitarist Ed Kuepper was still in the band. (What I've heard of singer Chris Bailey's led post-Kuepper Saints hasn't thrilled me much.) Despite my obvious assumption that Kuepper was the real talent behind the group, I've heard very little of his post-Saints work, either solo or with his band Laughing Clowns. It's not that I wasn't curious, it might be more that I had little time to devote to tracking down Australian imports. Everybody's Got To, however, was one of Kuepper few (only?) albums to come out in US with major label (Capitol) distribution so I suppose I was likely to come across it eventually and I'm glad I did. While it displays little of the raw, high energy, frothing-at-the-mouth, jumping-off-the-rails punk of the Saints, it does seem like a logical progression from his later work with the group, even with my 10-year-long ignorance gap of his work in between. Think of "Memories are Made of This" from Eternally Yours as a starting point and you're about halfway there. Kuepper reveals himself to be an exceptional songwriter of elegant, stately rock n roll not too far removed from contemporary Aussie modern rockers like the Go-Betweens or the Church but with a touch more raw punk rock bluster, as you might expect. Every cut is strong and some ("Too Many Clues," "Nothing Changes in My House") are outstanding. My only complaint is that the production is a bit too 80s-fantastic for my taste. While some of these flourishes benefit the songs (Rebecca Hancock's backing vocals are a particularly nice touch), some sound rather dated (snare drum WAY too high in the mix, horns that sound more like synthesizer than actual brass). Kuepper actually produced the album himself so it's hard to assign blame elsewhere. Still, aside from that small caveat, Everybody's Got To effortlessly demonstrates why many of Kuepper's devoted following insist his career does not begin and end with the Saints. A minor classic? Perhaps.
Price paid: $4 Rating: 100%

The Yachts s/t
This is a neat slice of keyboard heavy new wave pop in the vein of the Cars or very early XTC. The Yachts self-titled debut, often erroneously referred to as S.O.S. (mainly because of the giant red letters spelling out "S.O.S." on the cover), was produced by Richard Gottehrer, co-founder of Sire Records with Seymour Stein and making waves at the time for his work on Blondie's early releases. I have to wonder why this thing wasn't any kind of hit even in the group's homeland of the UK. Gotteherer's production was state of the art for the time and well suited for the band. Plus the Yachts actually have the tunes to back it up. The singles ("Yachting Types, "Look Back in Love," and "Suffice to Say") are the best things here but the songs are consistently catchy (if a bit samey) throughout, featuring strong melodies and solid hooks. I've gotta believe these guys must have been really physically unattractive to meet such indifference from the pop buying public. Yachts is not a masterpiece but new wave and power pop aficionados will probably eat this up. For everyone else, it's worth a listen for a few bucks.
Price paid: $4 Rating: 100%

The Necros Tangled Up
My first exposure to the Necros came via Sebadoh's cover of "Reject" on the b-side of the "Soul and Fire" 45. Even if Sebadoh's verison is superior, it's easily the best song on the Necros' 1981 9-song I.Q. 32 EP, which otherwise featured nothing but substandard Minor Threat-imitating hardcore. "Reject" slowed down the tempo and featured lyrics that displayed some uncommon sensitivity for a hardcore band: "You've lost compassion is that so?/Well I stopped caring so long ago." The first emo song, maybe? Like many of their hardcore brethren during Reagan's second term, the Necros evolved into a kind of punk/metal hybrid. I'm not exactly sure what the reason is for this phenomenon. Were the bands owning up to the all the Ted Nugent and Aerosmith they dug in their pre-punk days? Did they realize that metal was where the bucks were and aggressively tried to sell out? Both perhaps? Whatever the reason, most of it hasn't aged particularly well and Tangled Up is no exception. The opening cut, "Gun," is convincing thrash but the album goes downhill quickly from there. For example, the title track, noted as a superlative example of punk evolution by respected rock critic Chuck Eddy, sounds like little more than Mötely Crüe played at Bad Brains tempos. Shockingly, after 10 songs worth of mosh pit machismo, the band ends the album with an austere piano and synths instrumental. Seriously guys, what the fuck? You're not Hüsker Dü and this isn't side 3 of Zen Arcade.
Price paid: $3 Rating: 33.3%

Yung Wu Shore Leave
Further proof Hoboken's Feelies were one of the greatest bands ever: they could cover both Brian Eno and Neil Young without batting an eye and absorb the unique stylistic qualities of each equally into their sound. Yung Wu is essentially the Feelies circa The Good Earth except percussionist Dave Weckerman steps to the forefront, singing and writing most of the songs with the rest of the band backing him up. Feelies guitarists Glen Mercer and Bill Million not only produced the LP but provide their patented guitar interplay as well. If that didn't perk up your ears, it really should have. On the Feelies 1980 debut Crazy Rhythms, Mercer and Million scaled heights of rarefied twin guitar bliss equal to Reed/Morrison or Verlaine/Lloyd. No easy feat, I assure you. Shore Leave is not at the level of greatness achieved by their debut (what did you expect?) but it holds up more or less as well as any of the Feelies less transcendent but still thoroughly listenable mid-80s to early 90s work. Weckerman isn't much of a singer but a handful of his songs are sublime ("The Empty Pool," the title track) and the aforementioned covers (Young's "Powderfinger" and the Eno/Phil Manzanera collaboration "Big Day") are fine and distinctive takes on the material. If the rest is fairly typical 80s indie strum and jangle at least it's of the distinguished sort. Collector's note: apparently less than 5,000 total copies pressed.
Price paid: $2 Rating: 100%

Various Artists The 20th Anniversary of the Summer of Love
This 1987 compilation was the inaugural release from the Shimmy Disc label, owned and operated by the musician/producer known as Kramer. (No, not the "Seinfeld" character portrayed by race-baiting failed comedian, Michael Richards. This one.) Shimmy Disc was label that brought the world King Missile, Ween and GWAR which should give you a pretty decent idea of their modus operandi. This album doesn't have any overt "joke rock" but rather provides a snapshot of the "downtown scene" in NYC circa the mid 80s. The beat generation/dirty hippie vibes are still present but you can tell they're trying to get on board with this whole punk thing. It's probably the same impulse that led David Peel to put out G.G. Allin's records. Much of the first side of this record consists of folks possibly well into their 30s trying to emulate (parody?) hardcore but not really having the conviction or raging hormones to pull it off. The highlights here are a Half Japanese song, Fred Firth making an effort to be catchier than Henry Cow and the spoken intro to Shockabilly's live cut: "If any music critics have arrived late, could you help me tune my guitar?" After some nonsense from Bongwater and Tuli Kupferberg of the Fugs not even bothering to disguise a big sour grapes fuck you to Bill Graham as poetry, side two actually settles into 5 or 6 cuts of some pretty convincing avant rock before Allen Ginsberg chimes in to remind you why you hated that long-haired English professor you had freshman year. Still, as uneven as it is The 20th Anniversary of the Summer of Love is a fascinating document. The wheat is pretty good stuff and the chaff is so contrarian to the ideals of Reagan's America you almost of have to admire it just for that. Almost.
Price paid: $5 Rating: 60%

Spam as refrigerator magnet poetry

I'm sure many of you are familiar with Patton Oswalt's bit "The Poetry of Pornography". I received a spam e-mail at an old Yahoo account of mine which I barely use anymore and while it's certainly less filthy than the spam Oswalt describes, I'm pretty sure I could read this at an open mic and someone would be moved.

The subject of this e-mail was:

shops, surrounded

Written exactly like that, all lowercase, ee cummings-style. Understated yet evocative.

The first line in the body is:

Head First Design Patterns

Which has nothing to do with anything that follows but who said poetry has to follow a narrative?

It's followed by (e-mail censored by me):

Hi. How is the day going? Email me at xxxx@xxxxxx.xxxx only. I am
good looking female. Don't miss some of my naughty pictures.

Pretty standard stuff, though the broken english gives it a nice flavor. (Or flavour.)

The final sentence is the real mind blower though:

kids: The American render you any further services. about creating
"super children" contribute to you would be

Wow. That is some pretty dazzling free verse. Who is The American? What services is he or she rendering? Is the service creating these "super children?" What are they contributing? Is it a commentary on the war? Are the "super children" out young men and women dying in Iraq and elsewhere?

Let's run this together excluding the obviously promotional line:

shops, surrounded
Head First Design Patterns
kids: The American
render you any further services.
about creating "super children"
contribute to you would be

Not bad. Anyone want to turn this into an exquisite corpse? Feel free to leave further additions in the comments section. If they come from spam you've received, even better.

This Just In: Ian MacKaye Still Alive

So it seems as though Minor Threat/Embrace/Fugazi/Evens singer and co-owner of Dischord records Ian Mackaye was subject to a rather nasty Internet rumor over the past couple of days. Perhaps he was killed via an overdose of Progesterex.

Perhaps even more shocking (and much more true) is the clip below, the Evens appearance on the D.C.-based public access children's television program Pancake Mountain. It's a pretty long way from the Mackaye in crowd on the Fear on SNL clip I posted last week but I suppose 25 years will mellow a dude out. What's remarkable is that this is probably the first actual video MacKaye has made in his entire 20-plus years as a performer.



Edit: Apparently, this clip is a few years old. It's new to me and hopefully a few of you but yes, I'm a bit behind the curve on this one. Mea culpa. In any case, I still dig it. MacKaye has long been a proponent of Olympia-styled innocence pop and this is possibly the only example of him performing something comparable himself.

The Best!!!

In light of many saying that I'm totally negative misanthropic asshole (a half truth at best) I thought I'd compile a list of people, places or things I think are the best. Not that might be the best but are the best, indisputably. Please read and enjoy. You may comment with a contrary opinion if you wish but serve to display your ignorance or lack of taste.

The best band with a really terrible name: The Bassholes
The best syllable to begin a word: "imp"
The best Arnold Schwarzenegger one-liner: "Let off some steam, Bennett!!" from Commando
The best show on WFMU: The Best Show on WFMU
The best way to appreciate 80s hair metal: as a moment of mass cultural retardation
The best punk rock song about statutory rape: La Peste "Better Off Dead"
The best punk rock song about the inability to ejaculate: The Sniveling Shits "I Can't Come"
The best comic book to read while you're sitting on the bowl: Johnny Ryan's Angry Youth Comics
The best free masturbation fodder on the Internet: http://www.americanapparel.net/
The best Simpsons episode, episodes 201 and up: Pray Anything
The best taking head on VH1's Best Week Ever: Paul F Tompkins
The best band on Matador, circa 1996: Silkworm
The best reason to commit a homicide: Jerk sitting behind you on the bus is yakking it up on his cell phone and won't quiet down no matter how many dirty looks you give him
The best way to irritate a David Bowie fan: Mention Tin Machine*
The best way determine a person is not in the mafia: They say they're in the mafia
The best Cosby kid: Theo
The best argument for Tim Burton not being all that great: Planet of the Apes
The best side of Sandinista!: 3
The best Alan Moore comic, post-Watchmen: Top Ten
The best album of the 1990s that nobody talks about: Prisonshake's The Roaring Third
The best time to take a nap: Whenever you're sleepy
The best name for a character played by Tony Danza: Tony
The best season, New York Mets, Bobby Valentine era: 1999
The best fake trailer in Grindhouse: Don't
The best television show not currently legally available on DVD: Get a Life
The best Mr. Show sketch: Pre-Taped Call In Show
The best band to release a dud of a live album as their debut: Hüsker Dü
The best band to release a dud of a studio album as their debut: The Go-Betweens
The best way to enjoy the Staten Island ferry: When you're not taking it to and from work everyday
The best advice no one ever gave Kurt Cobain: You should stick with that Mary Lou girl
The best sign that a rerun of Roseanne isn't worth watching: New Becky
The best form of birth control: Turning the lights on in a bar at closing time
The best way to pointlessly fill space on your blog: stupid lists
The best: You. Just for being you. (awwwww)

*I'm aware that I've mentioned Tin Machine in 3 of my past 9 posts. I'm sorry. This won't happen again until I find their self-titled LP in a used bin for a buck and review it for "Paleontology for Dullards." Probably.

This Moment in Slack History: Morsels from the Last Great Era of the 7 Inch Record

"This Moment in Slack History" collects songs from 90s indie 7 inches. For further explanation, please see my original post here.





The Kent 3 "In the Tunnel" and "Smokin' Fuse"
In his book "The New Bill James Historial Baseball Abstract" statistician and father of sabermetrics Bill James ranks Darrell Evans as the 10th greatest third baseman of all time (ahead of perennial all stars and more recognizable names like Pie Traynor and Ron Cey) and calls him the most underrated player in the history of the sport. How, you ask? James makes the case that Evans is underrated because a) he played in the shadow of Mike Schmidt (according to James, the greatest 3B who ever lived) who came into the National League around the same time, b) he never played in a major sports media center like New York, LA or Boston and c) sportswriters tend to overvalue batting average and runs batted in when judging a player and Evans was prolific at neither, batting .248 lifetime and driving in 100 runs only once in his 20 year career (though he is 77th on the all time RBI list, ahead of guys like Duke Snider and Steve Garvey). However, James points out that Evans walked a lot (5 seasons at 100 or more bases-on-balls and over 1600 for his career) and hit for power (414 career dingers, an average of about 22 per full season) which was good enough to yield him a career OPS of nearly .800, which is pretty impressive. Plus, Evans was a superior defender at his position and baseball's standard statistics for measuring defense are (as we all know) largely useless thus this part of his game also often overlooked.

So was Darrell Evans a great player? There's certainly a strong case for him being a very good player, superior to many of his contemporaries but somehow overlooked. I'd like to postulate that the Kent 3 were the Darrell Evans of of 90s rock. Like Evans, the band was overshadowed though not by a single, worthier band but by the literal dozens of other band in the Pacific Northwest mining similar sonic territory at the time. And like Evans, the Kent 3 didn't have the media hyping them up either. Most of their releases were on micro labels like Super Electro (which was run by Steve Turner of Mudhoney) or Bag of Hammers (probably the premier indie garage label of the 90s but nowhere near the budget or distribution of a Sub Pop or Epitaph). And like sports writers, the rock press has certain aspects of the game they value over others. You average rock scribe tends value things like "innovation" and "relevance" (and if we're being honest, "popularity") so they can appear to be down with the zeitgeist of the times. The Kent 3 played garage punk, a genre much less fashionable 15 years ago than it is now and the critics couldn't have cared less.

It's a shame because the Kent 3 made some pretty awesome records. While you could easily slide them into the garage punk genre, the Kent 3 were no revivalists or genre fetishists but rather played with their own voice which just happened to be young, loud, snotty and easily categorized. Their songs twisted and turned with jagged edges more reminiscent of Wire than the Chesterfield Kings and were tightly constructed featuring memorable hooks usually courtesy of guitarist Viv Halogen's surf-meets-spaghetti-western leads. After recording a fine debut (Screaming Youth Fantastic) with Mark E Smith-ish vocalist Mike Pitts, Halogen stepped to the front to handle vocals and the group subsequently released 3 more excellent albums (1998's Peasant Musik is especially potent) all of which are probably in the discount "this has been sitting in our racks for 6 years so we're going to do all but give it away" bin of your local record shop. The group has a myspace page (featuring zero songs!) and are apparently still some kind of active outfit.

These two cuts are from some of the Kent 3's earliest releases. "In the Tunnel" is from their first 7" on the (band's?) Generic Records label and "Smokin' Fuse" their 3rd 7", the Coin of the Realm EP on Empty Records, both from 1993. Their 2nd 7", the Chromies EP, is probably their best but it's included in its entirety on Screaming Youth Fantastic and should thus be relatively easy to find once these two nibbles make you hungry for an entire meal. Track this stuff down folks. It's probably available for even less than this would run you...



Yeesh. I guess James forgot to mention that unattractive ball players are underrated too.

Play or Download The Kent 3 "In the Tunnel"

Play or Download The Kent 3 "Smokin' Fuse"

Jesus, why don't you update this thing once in a while? redux

Um, yeah. What I wrote in my last post, I really meant it, just two weeks later than I wrote it.

There is stuff in the pipeline. Hopefully, I'll get it done sooner rather than later. Don't hold you breath though. What's that Meat Puppets song? "I Can't Be Counted On At All?"

There doesn't seem to be any kind of clip for that particular song on You Tube so instead please enjoy Fear playing Saturday Night Live, Halloween 1981. It may well be the exact opposite of the Move clip I posted earlier. For what it's worth, this is probably the only legitimate example of American hardcore on mainstream national television. John Belushi was apparently a fan of the band and got them the gig. Check the very, um, enthused crowd for members of Minor Threat.

Jesus, why don't you update this thing once in a while?

I will, I will. I've got a few things in the works (read: half-written) and will hopefully be posting at least a handful of them this week. It the meantime why don't you enjoy this clip I found on You Tube of the Move performing (lip syncing?) "California Man."

This Moment in Slack History: Morsels from the Last Great Era of the 7 Inch Record

"This Moment in Slack History" collects songs from 90s indie 7 inches. For further explanation, please see my original post here.



Helium "Hole in the Ground"
You all probably know Helium. At least everyone I knew back in 96 or so did. Mary Timony's post-Autoclave project put out 2 full lengths and a handful of EPs on Matador in the mid 90s. "Hole in the Ground" is from their second 7" released on the quite excellent Pop Narcotic label in 1993 just prior to the band being snatched up by the multi-conglomerate. In all seriousness, it was probably this single that convinced Matador to sign them and it's easy to hear why. It remains one of my favorite songs from the band and it's sadly out of print and unavailable anywhere else. (Though I believe the B Side, "Lucy," is on the "rarities" disc of What's Up, Matador? compilation/label sampler.) Give it a listen and dig that female empowerment, sister.

Play or Download Helium "Hole in the Ground"

Yes, it is scary

Sidebar ad on my g-mail today:



I don't know what's worse: this or the ad on myspace that keeps telling me about the rerelease of Soupy Sales' 1965 album. Granted, Soupy's kids were pretty good as the rhythm section for Tin Machine but still...

Make this band your Myspace friend: Tyvek

Best record I've heard thus far this year? That would be Tyvek's "Summer Burns" double 7 inch. I've been hearing this band's name thrown around for months: sharing a 7" with the excellent Cheveu, going on tour with the also excellent Cause Co-Motion!, doing a session for the Cherry Blossom Clinic on WFMU, being name dropped by none other than Ted Leo. It's easy to see why. Many bands who drink from the post-punk fountain are stiff and rigid, recreating the formal elements of whatever aspects of the sound they choose to emulate but not the enthusiasm, and are generally too cool for school (but not cool enough for my turntable, motherfucker). Tyvek play their songs with the ragged fervor of a lo-fi garage punk band. (They're from Detroit so maybe that helps.) They're all about immediacy, not detachment and these four songs will penetrate your soul to evoke memories of your 16 year old self scouring 7 inch bins for Datapanik/Anyway singles or hearing Delta 5 or the Fall for the first time. (Okay, that's probably more my 16 year old self than yours.) The 2x45 has me clamouring to hear anything else the band has to offer as I suspect it will for you as well.

Mucho props to the folks at What's Your Rupture? for presenting this gift to the universe. They are quickly becoming of the best labels in the world. If only they would release the 3rd Sally Crewe and the Sudden Moves album they would almost certainly get the top spot. That's called a suggestion, guys!!

Make Tyvek your myspace friend.

This Moment in Slack History: Morsels from the Last Great Era of the 7 Inch Record

For those of you who lived through the 90s you may remember that it was a remarkable time for music. If you think that's hyperbole or nostalgia I will remind you that 90s were a time when someone like Lou Barlow could have a side project that was little more than a tribute to the Sliver Apples score a top 40 hit. The 90s were also the last time when the market for 7 inch records was viable and healthy and 1000s of bands took advantage releasing 45s on their own imprint or (if they were lucky) getting an indie label to press it up and distribute it for them. It was the perfect way to introduce a band to the listener: 2 or 3 of the band's best blasts in a small, attractive and affordable package. The bubble burst on this market around the same time that the mainstream alt rock boom went bust and the insidious beasts known as post-grunge (in the mainstream) and emo (in the underground) rose to prominence. Bands are still releasing 7 inches today but in lesser numbers. Why waste the money on making a material item that you then have to go through the process of getting into hands of the public when you can just throw a couple of MP3s on your website (or myspace page) and potentially have the entire world able to hear your work? It's certainly more convenient and economically sound. I won't say which approach I consider better but speaking as someone who is a collector by nature I do miss the ability to possess an actual object as a memento. But that's neither here nor there.

Unfortunately, this era has yet to be documented in any kind of meaningful way. (Hell, I'm still waiting for Rhino to release their inevitable alt rock hits of the 90s compilations.) Certainly, a few labels and artists have released retrospectives of their own 7 inch releases but there's been nothing in the way of a "Pebbles" or "Killed by Death" style collection for 90s indie 45s. So being the semi-ambitious fellow that I am, I took it upon myself to right this wrong. But being the somewhat lazy fellow that I am, I decided, much like the hypothetical band I described above, that pressing up and distributing records would be too much of an undertaking and that converting 7 inches to MP3s and posting them seemed like the more practical thing to do. (Not to mention having to track down all the bands and pay them. I could release a comp as a bootleg and bypass this step but I'm the above board, straight and narrow type.)

Thus, this feature will be something of a piecemeal compilation. I'll provide you with the track and a little background info and you can go ahead and assemble you own comp if you'd like once there are enough cuts posted to fill a CD. Or you can just take it as it comes. That's really up to you. What's up to me is providing you with quality. Though not the kind of quality that one would file under "sound." This was the lo-fi era after all. So all that surface noise you hear from the vinyl to MP3 is there for ambience. Ambience or the fact that I can't figure out how to make them sound any better.

(Note: If any of the artists responsible for these songs object to them being freely available please get in touch and I will delete them without hesitation. I'm not here to tell you that you should be giving your music away though you should consider that maybe demand for those 50 copies left in your mom's basement will suddenly and sharply increase. Another note: The claim that no one else is documenting this era is not entirely true as the good folks at Static Party have been posting cuts from 90s 45s for some time. However, their focus is entirely on the garage punk genre and while some overlap is possible and even likely this feature should be a bit broader in scope. But do go and pay them a visit, will you?)



The Bartlebees "Winter in the City"
Let's hear it for German twee pop!! Twee is not usually my cup of tea (too much sugar!) but the Bartlebees pull if off better than most. Or maybe it's just more appealing to me to hear cutesy lyrics sung in broken English through thick German accents than the seemingly ubiquitous infantile vocal stylings of most indie pop. In any case, this Munich trio was quite prolific in the 90s releasing several LPs and 45s mostly on their own Little Teddy label. Most of these were only sporadically available in the US though the fine New Jersey-based label 18 Wheeler released a CD (From Path of Pain to Jewels of Glory) combining the band's first two full-lengths along with some fairly hilarious liner notes. "Winter in the City" is from a 45 featuring some lovely glued on artwork that came out on the Tout Le Monde label in 1997 or so. It's one of my favorite cuts from the Bartlebees though I have to admit I have little to no clue what they're going on about. Something about a "human blankie" and the Shroud of Turin. Um, yeah. Also be sure to check the band's ace cover of punk troubadour Patrik Fitzgerald's "Safety Pin Stuck in My Heart" available on their myspace page.

Play or Download The Bartlebees "Winter in the City"

Paleontology for Dullards: A Consumer's Guide

This feature is for you, the consumer, to use when rummaging through used LP bins. Some of you may find a record by an artist with whom you are unfamiliar and think "I've heard of these guys. Are they any good?" or "How do I know this isn't their one dud album and a terrible entry point to their body of work?" or, most importantly, "Is this really worth $3.99?" This guide is for you, least your home become filled with nonessential vinyl and your significant other begins giving you the evil eye whenever that damn Radio Shack commercial comes on. Not only will I review a plethora of used LPs amassed from many a used bin but I will assign them actual cash value. In other words, you, the consumer, may rummage with confidence knowing full well whether or not the piece of vinyl in your hand is worth the same as a value meal at Arby's.

Ratings are based on the percentage of the authentic value of an LP in ratio to what I actually paid for it. For example, if I paid $5 for an LP but it's only worth $4 the LP will receive a rating of 80%. If I paid $3 and the LP is worth $1 the rating is 33.3% and so on. Please note: scarcity is a factor in determining value. Black Sabbath LPs are much easier to find than Go-Betweens LP so while they both groups may be of equal musical value the rating of the latter will be inherently higher. This is not snobbery, it is simply the economic principle that mass production degrades value. You should never pay more than $2 for a Buckingham/Nicks-era Fleetwood Mac LP (if it's Tusk). Also note: when records receive maximum ratings of 100% it is not necessarily the top dollar amount you might want to pay for that particular LP. You may want to pay more if you wish. A top-of-the-food-chain, life-affirming album for which I happened to pay $7 may be worth picking up for $8. Or even $15 or $20. Or not.

Feedback on ratings will likely be erroneous but is welcome and will amuse me. And finally, no, I will not tell you where I found these LPs. Frankly, if you're blowing up my spot and finding all the bargains, this feature will become expendable. And we couldn't have that.

(Ed. Note: this feature was inspired by "$2.99 Wax Necessities" by Tim Midgett (formerly of the excellent Silkworm, currently of the similarly excellent Bottomless Pit and well respected rock crit) wherein Mr Midgett gave you a host of LPs worth purchasing for $2.99. I would link this but it seems to have disappeared from the world of the Internet. Nonetheless, I tip my hat to Mr Midgett and note that while his writing may have the edge in insight and general scribe skills I make up for it in hubris.)

Penetration Moving Targets
Pentration is probably best known for their fine class of 77 single "Don't Dictate," a neat little proto-riot grrl number that seems to be included on nearly every 70s Brit-punk compilation. It's not on this however, their 1978 debut long player, which is too bad because Moving Targets could really use a shot of life. The album is far from terrible but as a UK punk artifact it's not exactly Germfree Adolescents or Crossing the Red Sea with the Adverts. Despite Jon Savage's waxing poetically on the band in England's Dreaming there's not too much of note going on here with the best cut being a cover of contemporaries The Buzzcocks' "Nostalgia." A nice curio of the era perhaps, but not much else.
Price paid: $5 Rating: 60%

Great Plains Naked at the Buy Sell and Trade
I'm a bit ashamed to say that this is the first record I have ever owned from Ohio's Great Plains. This is despite a) my total adoration of singer Ron House's post-GP project Thomas Jefferson Slave Apartments, b) their fantastic ode to/mockery of the 80s underground "Letter to a Fanzine" (heard by yours truly via Homestead Records' excellent Wailing Ultimate comp) has graced many a mixtape of mine and c) an easily available double CD compilation of the lion's share of the their material came out a few years ago. After listening to Naked at the Buy Sell Trade I can only conclude that I am a fool for depriving myself for so long. "Letter to a Fanzine" isn't even the best thing here. A less aggressive affair than TJSA, Great Plains were nonetheless an equally perfect vechile for Mr House. House may not exactly have a classic voice-as-instrument (his nasal whine is reminiscent of Jad Fair) but I can say with no reluctance that he's a fantastic singer. His melodies are genuinely inventive and his lyrics are frequently hilarious. House displays the sharp, self-effacing wit of someone who's seen enough to be skeptical about everything yet never falls in love with his own cleverness or gets bogged down in negativity. Quite the opposite actually, as this record is a joy to listen to from start to finish. I've been walking around singing "Hey hey the dream's gone away/I'm living in the hall of shame" ("Hall of Shame) and "Don Howland has to take a piss/ Real bad!" ("Real Bad") for days. Great Plains make as good a case for unpretentious punk rock played by a bunch of "regular dudes" as the Minutemen did and that's just about the highest compliment I can give.
Price paid: $5 Rating: 100%

Teenage Head Frantic City
Often referred to as the the "Canadian Ramones" which I suppose is an adequate description if you think "Canadian" is synonymous with "bland and inoffensive" and you confuse the Ramones with the Stray Cats. For a bunch of rock n roll revivalists Teenage Head's songs sure lacked punch which is absolutely necessary if you're making a point of how derivative your sound is. Even the covers of "Wild One," "C'mon Everybody" and "Brand New Cadillac" fall totally flat. They supposedly had an incendiary live show but from the evidence here I have a hard time believing it. You would think a band named after a Flamin Groovies song would know a thing or two about making a good rock n roll album but you'd be sadly mistaken.
Price paid: $2 Rating: 25%

Marianne Faithfull Broken English
For those who don't know, Marianne Faithful was an icon of 60s swinging London known more for her beauty than talent as a singer whose career and personal life hit the skids in the 70s before she released this as her comeback album in 1979. You can file this one under "baby boomers respond to new wave" along with Rust Never Sleeps, Tusk and Linda Ronstant's Mad Love. While it's not on par with Rust Never Sleeps nor is it a fascinating mess like Tusk, Broken English does work and has it's share of great moments. (I can't compare it to the Ronstant album as, having some taste and dignity, I've never heard it.) Chief among those moments are the title cut, which opens the album, and it's closer, the trenchant "Why d'Ya Do It?" The title track is a nice piece of chilly atmosphere ala Bowie circa his Berlin era warmed up by Faithfull's all too human vocals. "Why d'Ya Do It?" is the real stunner though, one of the best spurned lover songs ever. Over a repeating slinky riff, Faithfull sings frank (and, frankly, filthy) lyrics about a relationship gone very sour made all the more effective by the profanity strewn throughout. Lines like "Why'd ya do it, she said, why'd you spit on my snatch?/Are we out of love now or is this just a bad patch?" are absolutely gut-wrenching. Give Faithfull some credit for doing this sort of thing when Liz Phair was still tooling around on her big wheel. As for all the songs in between those two peaks, they're all solid to good if a bit on the adult-contemporary side though Faithfull's voice and the new wave leanings of the arrangements keep things from getting too smooth. (I know the version of "Working Class Here" on here is much celebrated but honestly its no better than Tin Machine's.) All the songs though convey the feeling that Faithful has seen it all and she's done taking shit from anyone, including you. It's been a pleasure being told off by you, Ms Faithfull. Thank you very much.
Price paid: $4 Rating: 100%

Nick Heyward North of a Miracle
The Rock Snob's Dictionary called the debut solo offering from ex-Haircut 100 frontman Nick Heyward a "lost masterpiece of jangle-pop." After listening to said album, I can't help but think the authors were being facetious. North of a Miracle isn't a masterpiece by anyone's standards nor is it exactly jangle pop. It is, however, an affable bit of pseudo-sophisticated fluff, something that might perk up the ears of your average Britpop fan. The album's best moments evoke what a much slicker, more trival Go-Betweens might sound like. Its lesser songs are occasionally overblown but mostly pleasantly vapid though none are as puerile (or as catchy) as "Love Plus One." It's not exactly the stuff of legend but if you like your pop dainty and inconsequential it might be worth a listen.
Price paid: $3 Rating: 67%

Lou Reed Berlin
Sometimes said to be the most depressing album ever made. I don't know about that but I definitely wouldn't play it at parties.
Price paid: $4 Rating: 75%

Golliwogs Pre-Creedence
As you might have guessed from the title, the Golliwogs was the moniker of Creedence Clearwater Revival before they changed their name for their debut album. In this embryonic stage the group released 7 45s all of which are collected here. Sequenced chronologically, it's a treat to hear the band evolve. Early cuts are C+ garage rock typically aping the popular styles of the time. "Brown Eyed Girl" is not the Van Morrision tune but is so derivative of Them's "Gloria" they might as well have given him a writing credit anyway. There are some good tunes from this stage though like the much comped "Fight Fire" and the bluesy "You Can't Be True," which wouldn't sound out of place on first Pretty Things LP. By the end of the LP the classic Creedence sound is pretty much in place with the final two A-sides, "Walking on the Water" and "Porterville," winding up on CCR's debut. "Porterville" is the same version as the one on the debut but "Walking on the Water" was rerecorded and the version here is more of a garage stomper than the LP version. I wouldn't say it's superior to the album version but hearing it in its more primitive form definitely brought a smile to my face. I can't recommend the Golliwogs LP across the board but Creedence fans will probably find this more satisfying than Centerfield.
Price paid: $5 Rating: 80%

The Rubinoos s/t
In my post from a few weeks ago about Avril Lavigne's theft of their signature tune I called the Rubinoos "a band that in some ways, for better and worse, epitomized the power pop movement of the late 70s." Not to pat myself on the back, that's pretty on the nose. The Rubinoos' debut long player is almost relentlessly upbeat with really sappy teeny-bop boy-meets-girl lyrics for almost every cut. Personally, I prefer my pop with a little pathos. I was with them for the first couple of songs, including their cover of "I Think We're Alone Now" (about 10 years before Tiffany) and the buoyant blue-eyed soul original "Hard to Get," but by the time they around to their goofy cover of the Cadallics' "Peek-A-Boo" I was pretty much done. There are some excellent bands who are generally recognized as power pop of whom I'm quite fond mainly because they either transcend the genre's limitations (i.e. Big Star, The dBs, Tommy Keene) or their songwriting prowess is so strong that the efficacy of their pop asipirations is undeniable (i.e The Records, The Nerves, Cheap Trick). The Rubinoos, however, don't have the ambitons of the former or the chops of the latter. This LP has the effect of eating an entire meal of cotton candy. It's a tasty treat for the first couple of bites but by the end you'll have a toothache. Not to mention the lack of nutritional value.
Price paid: $2 Rating: 100% (but don't pay more than 2 bucks, seriously)

Top 5 Side 1, Track 1s

The good folks at Big Apple Music Scene were nice enough to link me a few days ago so, of course, I'm going to make fun of them now.

Well, not exactly but I do have some issue with their Top 5 Album Openers. My main issue is that I am not them thus I have my own opinion ergo I am not in total agreement and therefore I felt the somewhat compulsive need to compile my own list. I've also changed the title from "album opener" to "Side 1, Track 1" because a) I want to acknowledge that this concept is completely stolen from "High Fidelity" and b) I'm old school like that. Feel free to make your own list and post in the comments section. I won't make fun of you, I promise. It's not as though this is meant to be the ultimate argument settler.

5 The Wipers "Over the Edge" from Over the Edge
I often hear "Smells Like Teen Spirit" cited as the ideal album opener but anybody who knows anything about anything knows Nirvana swiped a large portion of their schtick from Portland's Wipers. And while this track didn't set the world on fire like "Teen Spirit" did 8 years later it does serve to show that Greg Sage was THE indie guitar hero back when J Mascis was still pounding skins for Deep Wound. The song's sections of pummeling power chords, screeching solos and elegant leads ebb and flow with Sage bellowing "It's not the truth I see!/It's just a mockery!" to begin each (identical) verse. Sage has probably never made a more explicit statement about his place in the world: the idealist outsider. It's no wonder that a generation of alienated Pacific Northwest youth used his sound and vision as a template. Yeah, you can pretty blame Greg Sage for grunge and thus its vomitous, insipid offspring, post-grunge. But Sage's despair was never commercial or contrived; it was raw and glorious which is evident to anyone who hears this song, the rest of this album or anything else with Sage's name on it.

4 Love "Alone Again Or" from Forever Changes
The story goes that Love's mainman Arthur Lee had a vision of his death just prior the recording of "Forever Changes" and he decided to make his next album his farewell gift to the world. Of course, Lee didn't croak until nearly 40 years later but "Forever Changes" remains as perfect an encapsulation of all that is precious, tragic and beautiful about the living universe as any rock album could hope to be. It is perhaps ironic then that the track that introduced "Forever Changes" to the world was written by Love's second in command Bryan MacLean though Lee and producer Bruce Botnick thoroughly renovated the track adding horns and strings to MacLean's flamenco flavored folk rock tune. While many examples of ornate instrumentation in 60s pop often come off as fussy and full of pretense not to mention extraneous (see the Doors' "Touch Me") here it perfectly compliments the song's melancholy qualities. While the line "You know I could be in love with almost everyone" might seem like a groovy summer of love sentiment it's actually a "funny thing" someone said to the song's protagonist and thus should be viewed with a certain amount of derision. The flower children were growing up and contemplating their mortality and it sounded great. Much better than the Youngbloods, at least.

3 The Gun Club "Sex Beat" from Fire of Love
A classic cut to open a classic album. It begins with a single guitar playing the tune's basic chord pattern for one measure. Then the rest of the band crashes in, playing along for another measure when Jeffery Lee Pierce begins his vocal and off we go. Pierce spins his tale of lust in a style's that simultaneously seductive and menacing with the verse climaxing (no pun intended) in a slide guitar run, a brief pressure drop and a chorus of Pierce cooing "Ooooooooh sex beat... go!" Then the process repeats with the band digging in harder each time, upping the intensity on every go round and exposing every raw nerve until Pierce concludes his paean to the devil with the blue dress on: "We can fuck forever/but you will never get my soul." With this cut and the remainder of Fire of Love that immediately followed, Ol' Jeffery Lee came as close as any white boy ever could to Robert Johnson's crossroads. Eat your heart out, Eric Clapton.

2 The Rolling Stones "Gimmie Shelter" from Let It Bleed
What could I possibly say about about "Gimmie Shelter" that hasn't already been said? I mean, really. I'm not Greil Marcus, ok? Suffice to say, that if you don't like this song or it's parent album, you probably don't like rock n roll. Or you're resentful that your parents had better music than you when they were young which basically translates into... you probably don't like rock n roll.

1 The Clash "London Calling" from London Calling
A bit of a cliché, I suppose. ("Janie Jones" is nearly as great and might be less cliché mainly because you've got to own the UK, or "proper," version of the the band's debut for it to qualify as an opener.) Look, I know there's a lot of criticism leveled at the Clash. They were a band assembled by a manager, not truly from "Garageland." They were self-aggrandizing rock stars i.e. "The Only Band That Matters" and their tired rebel rock pose has not aged well. They were culture vultures who were better at co-opting the sounds of others than creating anything original. We can more or less blame them for the existence of Social Distortion. Yeah, yeah. I'm picking up what you're putting down. On the other hand, they made some pretty fantastic records that were certainly among the best of their era and just because you don't want to buy into Rolling Stone's version of punk history (and rightly so) doesn't make them sound any worse. The "London Calling" album is usually cited as the band's definitive statement which is debatable but there's no debate that its title track kicked the album off in grand style. I've always felt that "London Calling" was the Clash saying "This is our last punk song. This is THE last punk song." Certainly those slashing chords and apocalyptic lyrics were very punk indeed. The song has been called an anthem but that couldn't be more wrong. How many anthems are about inescapable, impending doom? It's almost certainly the most bleak and nihilistic cut in the Clash's discography. It offers no solutions, just Strummer's fading echo of "I never felt so much a like... a like.... a like." Like what, Joe? The solution, as it turns out, was the remainder of the album that followed, none of which, if we're being honest, was very punk at all. The Clash began their album with doomsday, which seemed like a very real possibility at the dawn of the 80s, and then offered hope. Hope in the form of new directions, celebration of the past and the prospect of a future. It was a brilliant move that gave the album much of it's power. It didn't hurt that the rest of the album was terrific, of course, but if the band has chosen to open the record with "Rudie Can't Fail" or "Clampdown" we'd probably think of the album in a completely different way. And that's why it's the number 1 album opener ever.

Honorable mentions:
The Zombies "Care of Cell 44" from Odessey and Oracle
The Lyres "Don't Give It Up Now" from On Fyre
The Sex Pistols "Holidays in the Sun" from Nevermind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols
Spoon "Small Stakes" from Kill the Moonlight
The Beach Boys "Wouldn't it Be Nice" from Pet Sounds
Sonic Youth "Teenage Riot" from Daydream Nation
The Dead Boys "Sonic Reducer" from Young, Loud and Snotty
Dinosaur Jr "Little Furry Things" from You're Living All Over Me
Barbara Manning "Scissors" from Lately I Keep Scissors
Mission of Burma "Secrets" from Vs.
The Pixies "Debaser" from Doolittle
The Saints "Know Your Product" from Eternally Yours
Belle and Sebastian "Stars of Track and Field" from If You're Feeling Sinister
Vulgar Boatmen "Don't Mention It" from Please Panic
Superchunk "Precision Auto" from On the Mouth
Silkworm "Give Me Some Skin" from Developer
The Damned "Love Song" from Machine Gun Etiquette
Sleater-Kinney "Dig Me Out" from Dig Me Out
The Girls "Jeffery, I Hear You" from Girls Reunion (okay, so it's technically a posthumous compilation and not an album. You didn't know that anyway, did you?)

This Moment in Slack History: Morsels from the Last Great Era of the 7 Inch Record

"This Moment in Slack History" collects songs from 90s indie 7 inches. For further explanation, please see my original post here.



The Grifters "Queen of the Table Waters"
Okay, so maybe the first two cuts in this series were a bit disappointing as it turns both tracks were albumized and not 7 inch only. This one though is a killer and I'm nearly positive it's unavailable anywhere else. The Grifters are a strong contender for most underrated band of the 90s. (That title actually probably belong to the Kent 3 but that's another post.) I've always sort of considered them lo-fi's Rolling Stones to Guided By Voices' Beatles. (Apparently, All Music Guide feels the same way.) They never achieved the following the GBV did despite putting out some fine records, both as full-lengths (I'm particularly fond of 1994's Crappin' You Negative) and as slew of singles. In fact, no band in the 90s with the possible exception of GBV had more great material left off their albums, released only on 7 inches. Both bands are long overdue for definitive retrospectives of this material and hopefully some label with more money than sense will correct this. In any case, this one is one of the Grifters' best. I believe this was their inaugural release for big time indie Sub Pop and it was a fantastic introduction to the world at large. However, the public (by which I mean CMJ types) was nonplussed by the band's obvious greatness and after two very good full lengths for Sub Pop were met with indifference the Grifters called it a day. This was shame but now you can listen to this track and once the inevitable lo-fi revival begins you can pretend you were hip to these guys back in the day.

Oh, and there will surely be more Grifters songs from other 7 inches posted here in future. That is, unless, some label manages to put together a Grifters comp in the meantime. Come on, labels. Relieve me of this responsibility.

Play or Download The Grifters "Queen of the Table Waters"

Not as expensive as the Velvets acetate...

...but then again you can't listen to it.

12 hundred bucks is all it cost someone to pick up this piece of punk rock history: Darby Crash's high school ID.



In a semi-related stoty, the syllabus for Gregg Turner's calculus course at New Mexico Highlands University has just sold for $3 though the buyer may have simply been a student who was too hungover to attend the first day of class.

Link courtesy of the Leixcon Devil blog.

A serious query

Can some one tell me exactly why Todd Rundgren is any good?

I guess the Nazz had some good tunes but nothing else I've heard from the guy either solo or with Utopia has done anything for me.

I know some people swear by the guy. Tell me why, please.

Producing Badfinger's best album does not a career make.

This Moment in Slack History: Morsels from the Last Great Era of the 7 Inch Record

"This Moment in Slack History" collects songs from 90s indie 7 inches. For further explanation, please see my original post here.



Zipgun "I Can't Wait"
Zipgun were one of many garage punk (but not grunge) bands from Seattle in the mid 90s. When I hear this track I can't help but feel it's almost the audio equivalent of Peter Bagge's Hate comics. It just embodies that mid-twenties lost in the sauce feeling. Plus, it sounds like I'd imagine the band managed by Hate's hero Buddy Bradley, Leonard and the Love Gods, would sound. (Incidentally, I've been giving some serious thought to expanding wikipedia's entry on Hate but that might set me down a path from which I may never return. Any thoughts?) Noteworthy for being an early release on the Thrill Jockey label. Yes, this was the sort of thing they put out before they got Tortoised.

Play or Download Zipgun "I Can't Wait"

Breaking news!! Music of Avril Lavigne less than totally original

Link courtesy of The Friends of Tom message board:

Canadian punk princess Avril Lavigne is being sued by U.S. songwriters who claim her smash hit Girlfriend sounds suspiciously like a track they took up the charts in the 1970s.

Lavigne's manager, Terry McBride, said the pop starlet is one of several people named in a lawsuit filed July 2 that alleges striking similarities to the 1979 Rubinoos song I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend.

The group's founder, Tommy Dunbar, filed the suit in California's Northern Federal District Court. It also names Lavigne's publishing company, Avril Lavigne Publishing, and her songwriting partner, Dr. Luke, as defendants.

McBride said from Vancouver the claim is baseless, noting that a musicologist he hired to study both tracks has deemed them completely different songs.

Still, McBride, also CEO of Nettwerk Music Group, admitted he would consider settling the suit out of court if the costs of defending the case prove too high.

Original article

The Rubinoos (a band that in some ways, for better and worse, epitomized the power pop movement of the late 70s) have the song on their myspace page if you want to give it a listen. I must admit that the choruses are strikingly similar but we can give Ms Lavigne credit for coming up with lines like "She's like so whatever" with only the assistance of highly paid professional songwriters.

Make this band your Myspace friend: Wooden Shjips

I was turned on the these guys via the fabluous blog Agony Shorthand (which has closed down and now exists as the equally fabulous but more MP3 intensive Detailed Twang). Total mind fuck psych rock drone that absolutely no one will be grooving to at Burning Man. The band released two fine pieces of vinyl last year ("Shrinking Moon for You" + 2 10" and "Dance, California" b/w "Clouds Over Earthquake" 7"). These records might be a little hard to find but you write the band, ask nicely and promise to send money, they'll send them to you. Seriously, I got in touch with the band and they sent me a record before I even cut a check. What a bunch of swell guys!! And if you're not turntable equipped (for shame!) you can listen to 3 of their 5 released cuts on their myspace page. Full length supposedly coming this year.

Make Wooden Shjips your myspace friend.

SPOILER WARNING!! Transformers movie spoiler!!

Apparently, they're robots in disguise.

This Moment in Slack History: Morsels from the Last Great Era of the 7 Inch Record

For those of you who lived through the 90s you may remember that it was a remarkable time for music. If you think that's hyperbole or nostalgia I will remind you that 90s were a time when someone like Lou Barlow could have a side project that was little more than a tribute to the Sliver Apples score a top 40 hit. The 90s were also the last time when the market for 7 inch records was viable and healthy and 1000s of bands took advantage releasing 45s on their own imprint or (if they were lucky) getting an indie label to press it up and distribute it for them. It was the perfect way to introduce a band to the listener: 2 or 3 of the band's best blasts in a small, attractive and affordable package. The bubble burst on this market around the same time that the mainstream alt rock boom went bust and the insidious beasts known as post-grunge (in the mainstream) and emo (in the underground) rose to prominence. Bands are still releasing 7 inches today but in lesser numbers. Why waste the money on making a material item that you then have to go through the process of getting into hands of the public when you can just throw a couple of MP3s on your website (or myspace page) and potentially have the entire world able to hear your work? It's certainly more convenient and economically sound. I won't say which approach I consider better but speaking as someone who is a collector by nature I do miss the ability to possess an actual object as a memento. But that's neither here nor there.

Unfortunately, this era has yet to be documented in any kind of meaningful way. (Hell, I'm still waiting for Rhino to release their inevitable alt rock hits of the 90s compilations.) Certainly, a few labels and artists have released retrospectives of their own 7 inch releases but there's been nothing in the way of a "Pebbles" or "Killed by Death" style collection for 90s indie 45s. So being the semi-ambitious fellow that I am, I took it upon myself to right this wrong. But being the somewhat lazy fellow that I am, I decided, much like the hypothetical band I described above, that pressing up and distributing records would be too much of an undertaking and that converting 7 inches to MP3s and posting them seemed like the more practical thing to do. (Not to mention having to track down all the bands and pay them. I could release a comp as a bootleg and bypass this step but I'm the above board, straight and narrow type.)

Thus, this feature will be something of a piecemeal compilation. I'll provide you with the track and a little background info and you can go ahead and assemble you own comp if you'd like once there are enough cuts posted to fill a CD. Or you can just take it as it comes. That's really up to you. What's up to me is providing you with quality. Though not the kind of quality that one would file under "sound." This was the lo-fi era after all. So all that surface noise you hear from the vinyl to MP3 is there for ambience. Ambience or the fact that I can't figure out how to make them sound any better.

(Note: If any of the artists responsible for these songs object to them being freely available please get in touch and I will delete them without hesitation. I'm not here to tell you that you should be giving your music away though you should consider that maybe demand for those 50 copies left in your mom's basement will suddenly and sharply increase. Another note: The claim that no one else is documenting this era is not entirely true as the good folks at Static Party have been posting cuts from 90s 45s for some time. However, their focus is entirely on the garage punk genre and while some overlap is possible and even likely this feature should be a bit broader in scope. But do go and pay them a visit, will you?)



Sammy "Babe Come Down"
It's fitting that the first installment of "This Moment in Slack History" would start with a very slack track indeed. When I picked up this 45 from Sammy (released on Steve Shelly's Smells Like Records label) I would've sworn that it was Pavement working under a pseudonym. Just listen to it and tell me it's not a perfect slice of "Slanted and Enchanted" era Malkmus and co at their lackadaisical apex. But no, Sammy was indeed their own entity and even put out an album on DGC in 96 or so. They get a big fat zero for originality but one has to admire the craftsmanship of their sonic forgery. They put so much care into imitating the singular sloppiness of the originators that you may have to conclude that they expended more effort into sounding like Pavement than Pavement did themselves. Yes, it's borderline embarrassing but for the couple of minutes this track is playing you probably won't care.

Play or Download Sammy "Babe Come Down"