Mopping Up

Blah Blah Blah
Scritti Politti again

The Sweetest Girl (1981)

Ok, the politics is gone. We're making pop songs about girls now. 

Who cares when it's as lovely at this.

Especially one that has a contribution by Robert Wyatt in the recording.

This concludes the lesson on Scritti Politti as far as I will currently go.

You're welcome.

My Cherry is in Sherry (1980)

Ludus were from  Manchester and this 3rd single was released on the label that the Buzzcocks manager's label New Hormones.

I can never resist a good song about sex.

They're All A-sides to Me

We continue with yet more early Scritti Politti

Work in Progress: 2nd Peel Session (1979)

The released product of their 2nd Peel Session in June of 1979.

More of the same.

A lot more political bent on this one.

"Messthetics" 

Yes. 

4 A-Sides (1979)

A lifetime ago in my first band the bass player who was a few years older than the rest of us wanted to do a cover of "Confidence" from this. Never quite got that or the band off the ground, but I had possession of this for a brief period.

Listened to it a lot, but it was a few years before I could locate my own copy.

It would take a lot to pry it from my hands now.

Every song a gem. 

Posting this makes me happy because I have an excuse to play it a few extra times while I type about it.

Wait, Is It Supposed to Sound Like That?

This is one of two posts.

It's the initial recorded output of Scritti Politti.

Shut up.

You're dead fucking wrong.

No, really.

First Peel Session (1978)

For the general public Scritti Politti was a mid-80s synth-pop/dance group that had a couple of top ten hits with "Wood Beez (Pray Like Aretha Franklin)" and "Perfect Way" which are as perfect an encapsulation of terrible 80s production as you could ever find.

It's the sound of pastel colors, baggy tshirt and an ozone depleting amount of hairspray.

This is about as far from that as you can get.

This is a boot of their first Peel Session from May 12,1978.

It's a very disjointed sound. It's the sound of Art School kids living in squats. 

For me that's a big "Fuck Yeah!"

It's like they're all playing different songs at the same time.

(This is also not my rip or anything like that. A well connected friend passed it on to me. I return the favor and pay it forward as it should be.)

Skank Bloc Bologna (1978)

Their first proper seven inch. 

A lot more coherent than the Peel Session and something that I can listen to over and over again and have over many years.

 

(It's unfortunate that I don't seem to have done my own scans for these. When I ripped them a while back I didn't have a scanner. Perhaps if I feel like it in the next few months, I'll fix that.)

The cheaply printed sleeves have a very strict accounting for all the money spent in order to make the record like the good Leftists they were.

 

It's on their own St. Pancras label and a precious 2500 were all that were pressed.

I couldn't really say which song I love more. "Skank Bloc Bologna" or "Is & Ought the Western World" though the third track is less essential being some instrumental music over a bit of BBC Radio.

This is absolutely my jam.

Unrelated Seven Inches

I swear I'd posted this first one before...

Log-a-Rhythms (1981)

I think I had intended to post this along with the Painterband single that I haven't quite gotten to or maybe I already did post it. I remember stuff that I had written or wanted to write. But it doesn't appear in my site search. So, maybe I dreamed it.

Log-a-Rhythms is the work of Katherine Hughes, violinist. But strangely enough the bio on her page does not mention this single. An obvious omission on her part. Perhaps you could book her for your corporate event and request it.

I like it, myself. The world needs more songs about coffee.

You Did It (1983)

Liliput were from Zurich in Switzerland. This trio was originally named Kleenex until the Kimberly-Clark people asked them politely to call themselves something else. And such is how the legal world of names evolve in a corporate space.

It's on Rough Trade and occupies the same musical space as the Slits, Raincoats and the like of the post-punk sphere.

There was a double disc reissue of their complete recordings that Kill Rock Stars released in 2001 that I briefly considered for posting. You can consider this a sample. If there's interest perhaps I'll put it up. (Which is really just my thinly veiled plea for comments and attention. It gets lonely here when the cat's ignoring me.)

sPrinG is finally Here

Just because I can.

It's officially the Spring Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere which means I've only got another three or four big snowstorms before Summer hits.

sPrinG (2000)

This handmade Cdr disc by sPrinG has been sitting by my desk for years gathering dust and had reached a point of familiarity that it barely registered in my vision any longer.

It was just a thing that was there.

 I'm not even precisely sure I ever actually listened to it in its entirety.

Maybe.

It might have just been set down at one point and gotten moved around a few times before settling into the space it occupied until I picked it up and decided to look at it again just recently.

I am pretty sure that I may have received it from a member of the band probably at Sursumcorda in Minneapolis a couple of decades back. But that's hazy. Did they play? Were they just traveling through? I don't remember at all.

But I do think somebody handed it to me as occasionally happened when we played and they seemed to like what we were doing for some reason. But it's difficult to remember a short 30 second exchange from 20 years ago.

So it will remain somewhat a mystery. But I can't actually think of any other possible way it might have made it into my possession. For all I actually know it may have just suddenly materialized next to my desk without my noticing.

The gist of this rambling is:

I acquired this disc.
It existed in the periphery for a long time and at some point reasserted itself into my consciousness.
Now here it is.

And it's some nice dark lo-fi psychedelic weirdness just like you might have read about in the backpages of Ptolemaic Terrascope back in the day and a concept album.

I'm kind of puzzled as to why I never did check it out more than possibly once.

But we'll both be glad I did because it's something that ought not be consigned to oblivion.

Rescue it. Be aware of it. Enjoy it.

Not Cool/Cool

I make no apologies.

Plastic Man (1984)

Yes, It's Katrina & the Waves. They had a huge hit in 1985 with a song that's probably already playing in your head by reading their name. They were a terribly 80s one hit wonder that now gets used to hawk dish soap or something else banal.

I get it I do. But you need to reconsider.

The group was formed by Kimberley Rew and company after he left the Soft Boys and they recorded three quite lovely low key pop albums before the Bangles had a modest hit with the b side of this one. That got them a major label contract that lead to their big hit and an album where the band rerecorded, overdubbed and/or remixed songs from their previous releases to terrible 80s radio standards. (The original recording of "Walking on Sunshine" is so much more palatable without the cheesy horns and big 80s drum sounds and at a much faster clip.)

And I know all you hipsters would be loudly singing the Lost Pop Wonders of Katrina & the Waves if they hadn't had a huge hit. Give in and enjoy.

Kaspar Hauser (1982)

In Boston however, there were no hits to be had for Kaspar Hauser. They seem to have come and gone without making any impression at all with the exception of this dark New Wave seven inch every bit as much the mystery as the actual Kaspar Hauser they took their name from.

It's This. Twice

An original and a vaguely similar reissue of most of the same material for your listening pleasure.

Feel free to compare and contrast mastering subtleties.

What Is It (1982)

The What Records compilation of their previous glories of fine and dandy LA punk rock 1977-82 including the Germs first single. I love these kinds of comps.

What Is It (What Records) (2010)

In 2010 Wondercap Records sort of did a reissue. They took some of the same songs and added some unreleased stuff by the Spastics and called it a release. You won't mind the repeats. It's all good stuff.

Not Me, Baby, I'm Too Precious. Fuck Off

New Day.

More JPSE

Precious (1991)

Another wonderful single by the JPS Experience that slipped through the cracks in 1991 while the world's attention was focused elsewhere.

Hindsight is pleasant listening.

Lovely swirling pop nuggets for your brainpan.

Breathe (1992)

(See above.)

We Like Rain

So it's been about four months since I last posted anything to this silly escapade.

On your end there's been nothing noticeable. But here at SSC HQ there's been a whole lot of nothing going on besides occasionally checking to see if there's still some traffic soaking up the things I'm offering.

But the rub is that while I took a hiatus from queuing posts, I've still been buying records and cds and shit. So now I have a larger pile than ever of stuff to put up on here. It's a nice dilemma to have and one that should actually inspire me to be slightly more discerning as to what eventually makes it to this mess, but I also know me.

Things will appear as whim dictates.

There's lots of 90s indiepop in 7" and compact disc formats that needs reconsideration and I've really been toying with spending time presenting a grand overview of the music of Twin Cities as it existed in the mid-90s through the first part of this century. So much that needs rediscovering or rather discovering. You have no idea...

I also have a large number of semi-bootleg Duke Ellington Lps of radio performances from the 40s that I want to post because they're awesome.

Plus the never ending miscellaneous crap that catches my fancy.

The big takeaway on your end is going to be that as I near the limit on the free online storage I'll start deleting the oldest stuff here. Five years is plenty. Onwards and upwards. Snooze you lose etc...

Now on with our show...

1989 - The Size of Food

The Jean-Paul Sartre Experience (aka JPS Experience after a lawsuit by the existentialist's estate) were one of the unfortunate Flying Nun bands that kind of flew under the radar on the label during their existence by virtue of simply being in the shadows of giants. (see also: Bird Nest Roys who put out one of my all time favorite Flying Nun or other records.)

"The Size of Food" is the JPSE's second Lp and without the sophomore slump apparent that plagues some bands. I'll stake "Elemental" or "Shadows" against pretty much any of their contemporary bands. 

This record is a sleeper.

600 - One for the Road

I was looking over the queue and realized that if I left things as they stood after that last post I'd be sitting on a post count of 599.
That kind of hurt my aesthetic sense.
I needed to even it up to a nice round 600 in order to sleep at night.

So here we are.

#600

Standing Hampton (1994)

Bunnygrunt.

I found them recently and just ordered up copies of three of their albums on the internet.
It's the sweet, silly, amateur pop stuff that dreams are made of.

This is gold.

Heavy Petal (1996)

From Michigan and on Quiddity Records comes Madison Electric with more sweet pop music. I'm a sucker for a Farfisa. This is by far my favorite release on Quiddity and I've got all of them.

Just beautiful.