You're Welcome

It's apparently Thanksgiving. (or at least it will be when this posts. It's nowhere near then right now as I prepare it for the queue.) Here's something to be thankful for.

100 Percent Chance of Rain (1994)

While I was getting the last post together I realized I needed to upgrade my rip of this disc. There's a song on it called "Why Sting is Such an Idiot" which is a wonderful little pop ditty and one that likely ended up on more than one mix tape for girls. It, like Sting, was a lot more relevant in 1994. If you're under thirty, you may need to have somebody older explain what a "Sting" is/was and why it would ever have been relevant. (Or wikipedia. )
The times have long since shifted, I can't say for the better, for all of us and Sting. But...how shall I put it?  Let's go with "New Times, Same Old 5lb Bag"

Countdowns

Two singles that sit side by side in the box.

the Countdowns (1967)

New England garage on a Holyoke, Mass label. A lovely song celebrating the girl who works third shift. I can relate. I work nights.

I'm always a little confused by dates on stuff like this because it sounds to me like it should have been released at least a couple years earlier. I like both sides a lot on this one, but I've always been a big proponent of the New England 60's garage sound. I mean, I love a good fuzz punk pounder as much as the next person, there's something about the moody pop side that hits me deep in the feels.




Meanwhile in Galveston, Texas

the Countdown 5 (1967)



There's apparently a picture sleeve for this with a first pressing on a different label of the band all neatly coiffed and in matching collarless white jackets with black trim (I'm assuming since it's a black and white photo) They look like fine upstanding young men.

The Sound of One Allen Clapping

More stuff from the venerable Bus Stop Label

 

Mystery Lawn (1992)

Allen Clapp is also the main dude in a band called the Orange Peels. This stuff is primarily home 4-track recording indie pop stuff of which he, like me, did a shit ton of in the 90's when computers were still not that good at that stuff and crazy fucking expensive anyway. He did it better than I did. (More or less. I had my moments.) "Mystery Lawn" ended up on quite a few cassette compilations of the period.

 

Brown Formica Table (1996)

A single on the Spanish label Elefant from 1996. I played this one a lot less, but my tastes had shifted a bit in the previous four years. Fits in well enough a couple of decades later.

Cult Figures

Zip Nolan (1979)


Blah blah blah. Swell Maps involvement on their Rather Records label. If that means anything to you then you have an idea of what it sounds like. Home taping is music.

 

In Love (1980)

Follow up ep is a bit more polished but no less enjoyable.

Bruce

I used to have a roommate. His name was Bruce. We worked the same shitty restaurant job together and drank a lot. We were in our 20's. I'm pretty sure it's what kids still do. I sometimes wonder whatever became of him. We lost touch decades ago and he apparently doesn't have a Facebook account, so I may as yet never know. That's too bad. I'd like to say hello sometime.

 We're Not So Smart (1986)

That little anecdote naturally is our segue into this post featuring Couch Flambeau from Wisconsin, the Dairy State. We probably heard this played on the morning show on WMBR some bleary eyed weekday morning prepping case after case of fucking avocados for the lunch rush. It amused us. I bought it. I'd put it on mix tapes for work and we thought it was hilarious. I still think it's kind of funny. The b-side is a piss take on the Mountain classic rock tune and #1 cowbell song. It's also still pretty amusing.

So I post this now. It's dedicated to Bruce wherever his 6' 4" soulless ginger badass self is these days.

 Constant Pain (1996)

A decade later Constant Pain from New Zealand released another in our series of why it's poor design to print your sleeves with metallic paints on dark paper. They are almost always completely unreadable and any artwork is completely lost. At least there's the music to enjoy.