Ann Arbor is a Place

Ann Arbor.
It exists even if you don't remember that it does.
It exists in the past and the future.
It persists to be despite the overwhelming amount of folks in the world who are completely unaware of its existence.

Such is how reality works.

(In this dimension anyway.)

Hiroshima Girls (1985)

So back in August of 2018 the record posted on the 13th of that month was "Cruisin' Ann Arbor" a live compilation of various bands from Ann Arbor, Michigan. One of the highlights of which was a band called Map of the World.

There's a single that preceded this that I haven't pulled the trigger on, but this is the first 12" offering of jangly pop. Besides the title track this one includes a decent stab at the Willie Nelson penned, Patsy Cline made famous song "Crazy"

It's still the good shit.

Natural Disasters (1985)

They followed the previous release with this 6 song 12" that may or may not constitute and Lp. The distinction always gets a bit hazy at the six song mark. In my mind it's an elongated Elongated Player. Plus there's a reprise of "Hiroshima Girls" so it's really only five new songs.

Regardless. I like it.
It jangles. It's pop.
There's not much more to be said.

More Spoonerisms

Here's the follow up to the previous post

Every Corner Dance (1982)

The first full length by Spooner. More of that sweet sweet power pop type stuff from Madison, Wisconsin. If you're into that sort of thing you may enjoy this.

I do.

Not What the Drummer is Famous For

Oh yeah, I was going to make a sandwich...

Cruel School (1979)

More or less power pop. More pop than power, but still very pleasant songs that you can sing along with by a little band from Madison, Wisconsin that went by the name of Spooner.
It's the sort of stuff that you might pass over in any record bin. The outsides are pretty nondescript and the band photo doesn't really make them look particularly "cool". You might expect a subpar bar band or something even lamer based merely on that.

Fortunately this is not the case.

Where You Gonna Run? (1980)

Spooner made a number of records, toured the Midwest, and had their own label for themselves and other local bands. And came and went before the 80s were over.

If they have any cause for notice it's because the drummer for the band was Butch Vig who produced Nirvana's "Nevermind" and played drums and with the guitarist Duke Erikson hooked up with a Scot expat Shirley Manson to form Garbage.

But here are the first recordings of the future famous people in the first incarnation of the studio that would make the record that defined the early 90s.

I actually prefer this myself, but I'm a sucker for a Farfisa.

Unintended Consquences

I always seem to start doing this just before I get hungry.
Now I've started the typing part and instead of thinking about the music
I'm thinking about making a turkey sandwich.

the Side Effects (1981)

The Side Effects were from Athens, Georgia. You may have heard of that place and some of the music that emanated from it.

This is more of it. 

They looked like this when performing

It's good. I like it.

I'm going to make a sandwich now.

Get Hip to Those Crazy French

Fuck it.

This is the shit you need in your life.

Ils Sont Fous Ces Gaulois! 

A 1997 vinyl compilation of the cool hip sounds of Young French speakers in the middle 1960's from France and Canada.

If you haven't heard this.

You need to.

That's all I have to say about it

 

I Noticed This in the Folder and Decided to Post It Now.

Here's the final piece of a puzzle that I began assembling back in 2014.

Color Blind (1983)

It's the middle release by Acrylix.

I posted their first single back in 2014. 

A good friend of mine in high school really liked it. I hadn't seen him in over thirty years, but we'd reconnected on Facebook as old people do. It was nice to hear from him. He'd occasionally download some of this stuff. He made a point to tell me that one was a favorite.

In 2018 I put up the final 12" with a much more dance oriented mix.

I'm not sure he got to hear that one. 

Sometime that year he died following complications following a BMT for leukemia. 

I regret that I never got to go and have a drink or six with him before that. That would have been fun and a deluge of laughter and Monty Python bits.

it just wasn't in the cards, I guess.

 But life is like that and the older you get the more dead people you know. 

That's just how it is. 

You either know them or are them.

I like to think that he'd really like this one too. (Well, actually I'm pretty sure he'd get a kick out of "Dear John". It's pretty hilariously overwrought and dramatic.)

So this is dedicated to you, James. 

I hope they keep the good whisky wherever you are.

So We're Taking Our First Halting Steps

The first real post of 2020 not tied to a date.

As it is I'm typing this up from February of 2019 which I realize is just as fucking crazy.
I'm hoping that the rest of the year improves and 2020 gets even better.

Or at the very least that the Powers That Be will leave me and this silly thing I've been doing the fuck alone.

So here we go

Back in the 80's (1980)

I wasn't really sure where to place the Major Thinkers. They were based in NYC, but the major players were Irish. So there's that.

I'm going with New York.
It's good no matter where it's from. There's some nice synth stuff on there too.

This one pleases me.

Silence on the Radio (1980)

Here you go. Cross Louisiana off your Fifty States card.

Punk rock from the Crescent City.

There's something you don't hear every day.

Now you can.

You're welcome.

Welcome to the New Year

If you're hungover
I hope you earned this.

Pop Jems For W.E.e Stones (1994)

Some extremely lo-fi avant-folk porch recordings by AJ Sharma from a ridiculously small run of lathe cut discs. I can't remember the exact number, but these early Trinder lathe cut releases were usually done in editions of fewer than fifty. 

So this is really fucking rare.

Whether or not that means it's worth your time is up to you.