Middle of America

Middle of America (1984)

I like punk rock compilation records. There's almost always something on there that makes the purchase worthwhile and the songs are so short that the shitty ones go by pretty quick. This one is from the Chicago area and was presented by the Northwestern University radio station's "Fast'n'Loud Radio" show. It seems a pretty safe assumption that it was a hardcore radio show. (A hardcore DJ being the busiest kind of DJ since they'd only have 30 seconds to a minute most of the time to queue up the next song.) As with all compilations this one is a hit or miss affair, but it's entirely worth the price of admission because it has "I Don't Know" by Chicago's long standing rock and roll tradition, Naked Raygun. I'd almost entirely forgotten that song until I pulled this out.

There's also tracks by other Illinois heavy hitters like Articles of Faith, Rights of the Accused and a weird remix of the Effigies. There's even an early track by Big Black that reconfirms my contention that I am not now nor am I ever likely to be a fan of Steve Albini's. I just find his work to be kind of tedious which is my right as a hard working American to attest to. 

Flipping Through the Dollar Bin

I will occasionally have a look at the dollar bins. While usually it's a vast collection of shitty dance 12"s and Herb Alpert lps and the like, every once in a while you come across something kind of interesting like this masterpiece:

  

Ekstasis (1983)

It's New Wave, but with the vague pretensions of seriousness and pomp of certain aspects of Prog rock. It's bad, kinda, but nevertheless pretty entertainingly so. Prog New Wave. Such a lost musical opportunity that the world was probably never ready for.

Here. I'll let Jim Guido give you some of the skinny:

"...The album as a whole depicts the struggle of urban youth to find their way in a rapidly decaying society. I find it interesting that many of the lyrics of this album have become even more relevant than they were 30 years ago.."

So fucking deep. Really speaks truth. I may just become a Libertarian now.

He's got a slightly remastered version for sale on Bandcamp if you feel the need to upgrade the sound from my cruddy straight from vinyl version. And why wouldn't you? It'll only set you back four bucks, which granted is four times what I paid for my copy, but hey, it's your call.

Chicago Scores

A while back (at least as far as when this post will show up as opposed to when I'm actually typing this up and setting it loose in the queue) I made a quick trip down to Chicago to go and see the big "David Bowie Is..." Exhibit at the MCA Chicago. It was fab and had a bunch of stuff and costumes and ephemera. David Bowie's cocaine spoon was on display. It was a wonderful time.

While I was there I got to hang with a wonderful friend I hadn't seen in way way too long and she proceeded to chauffeur us around to just about every record store in town. I spent a lot more money than I'd wanted, but there was so much that I'd never physically seen that I knew I'd better just go ahead and pick it up while I could.

 the Lepers (1979)

ClePunk.com has a little bit of info on them. Doesn't matter. It's Cleveland, 1979. It's punk rock. It's on the same label as the Pagans. There's a song called "Coitus Interruptus". There's cowbell. I picked it up pretty cheap because there's a huge ugly scuff mark on the b-side which looks bad, but doesn't effect the grooves. I'm pleased with this purchase.

 the Panik (1977)

Manchester band with some vague tenuous Joy Division connections. It's loud. It's UK punk. It didn't sell.

Beast

Sometimes you just have a cover to go on. I could not resist the call of Beast when I came across the first 45.

 

 

The dude's dressed up like a fucking cow. A Cow! How the hell am I supposed to resist that? It's impossible. You just can't do it. There is absolutely no escaping grabbing this 45 and running to the counter and slapping down some folding money. It's the kind of sleeve art that begs the question of what kind of weird ass music does this Proto-Furry nutjob make? You have to motherfucking know. You just have to.

And the answer is Beast .

 

It seems that Beast was the band formed by Bryan Gregory in the wake of his rather unceremonious and acrimonious parting with the Cramps in 1980.

 

Beast (1982-3)

This is apparently everything they produced in their brief existence. It's every bit as goth as it looks but unfortunately not nearly as amusing or entertaining as the sleeves would have you expect. Kind of dreary actually. It's no wonder the band didn't last though, I'm pretty sure that there's no way they could sustain a viable career. Their Aquanet expenses must have been astronomical.

Comped to Death

Sometimes there are just some songs that are available in a bunch of different places that are just too good not to throw up here for the fuck of it. I don't know, maybe there are still some folks who haven't been overexposed to the bottomless pit of Nuggets and Pebbles collections and are unaware of some of these things. Or perhaps you're just some kind of weirdo who really like to have crackles and pops in their mp3s so they can pretend they're having an analog experience. I don't care I really really fucking love this stuff.

 

the Rationals (1966)

the Rationals were from Ann Arbor, MI. The A side is a decent enough cover of Otis Redding's "Respect" that apparently was a minor hit in a few markets around the country, but not enough to really take them to the next level. It's Ok. But nothing special. But like lots and lots of garage 45's the gold is on the flip.

I have to say I'm not really much of a Beatle fan. (They're kind of meh to me in comparison to so many of their contemporaries and frankly I've just heard their shit so much in my life that it bores the fuck out of me and I'd really rather listen to something else I haven't heard a million times already.) All that being said, "Feeling Lost" is probably the best Beatles song that they didn't write. (See also: "Lies" by the Knickerbockers which I've had to patiently explain to more than one person was not the "Fab Four") The Rationals took the harmonic blueprints and ran with them and produced pure gold. This is one I can listen to multiple times at a stretch.

 

the Todds (1967)

This super fast fuzz monster eeked out a little bit late in the cycle of garage punk monsters, but is no less fucking awesome. In 1967 it probably already sounded a bit dated by a year or so, but who cares from the perspective of the 21st century. The Todds were obviously from Chicago, IL. (The Toddlin' Town label is a pretty good clue there.) Once again the other side is a bit of let down. A pleasant enough ballad "Things Will Change" but everything you need is in "I Want Her Back". Strap on your Go-Go Boots and go to town.

Another Day Another Waste of Time

There seem to be a few folks who have discovered my uneven and splotchy little plot of earth on the internet and occasionally pluck from it some of the fruits of my labors. In the end it seems mostly like a bit of a waste of time, but I do it anyways. Just because.

I dunno. Maybe it's just good to keep my typing skills in good working order.

 

Baby Opaque (1984)

Baby Opaque were from Charlottesville,Virginia. There's some stuff to found on the web for interested parties. Or you can just listen to it yourself and come to your own conclusions. I quite like this. It's a bit messed up in all the right ways that make me happy. I'm hungry right now too. I may have a Poptart. Strawberry. Mmm. Strawberry...

the Outnumbered (1983)

The Outnumbered were from Champaign, Illinois & released this 45 and three lps between 1983 & 1987. But what they're mostly known for, if they're known for anything, is that they were the first band for Pansy Division front man Jon Ginoli. This band is a jangly pop affair which is decent enough, with some high school notebook level lyrics. Unfortunately from my perspective, Ginoli's vocals aren't quite up to the task of jangly pop and I can't help but think of a far too earnest Dead Milkmen without the sense of humor. But you know, that's just like my opinion, man.

Kindercore Single of the Month Club: September, October

Last two

  September

 Of Montreal & Ladybug Transistor

I'm not a fan of Of Montreal. They're a little too precious even for me. I gave them one cd and a couple of live shows, but they ended up just annoying me. Their bass player at this time was quite attractive though, so they had that going for them. Ladybug Transistor put out a couple of rather entertaining albums and here do a cover of "Galveston" composed by the legendary Jimmy Webb and made famous by Glen Campbell. It does not suck.

  October

Papas Fritas & Masters of the Hemisphere

Papas Fritas are well enough of a known entity now, but were still toiling in pop obscurity at this time. I don't know Masters of the Hemisphere from Adam. On either side of this the bands cover Fleetwood Mac to varying degrees of success.

And thus ends the Kindercore Singles of the Month collection until such time as the final two singles are made available somehow lo these many years later. I'm not holding my breath.