The Cat is Annoying Me

 

She wants her dinner and thinks monkey shines and jumping in and out of my lap randomly and generally causing problems and being an adorable nuisance is going to get her dinner early.

It is not.

I will finish what I'm doing first.

I'm an asshole like that.

I have a pair of late 80s indiepop flexi discs which I want to post specifically for today because they were both ripped and tagged and dropped into the SSC folder exactly three years ago.
They finally made it.

Don't Let Me Slip Away (1988)

I really kind of hate flexis. They always sound like shit.

But they were a cheap way for lots of late 80s bands and labels in the UK to get started.

So here I am. Buying a format I actively dislike because the music on it is rare as hen's teeth and otherwise unavailable.

Like this one by Mousefolk.

or this one

Under the Weather (1989)

Love Parade.

Love Parade transformed into a band called Pure (that single is somewhere in the pile) and eventually ended up as Eva Luna.

Let the low fidelity and jangle flow through you while I feed the freaking cat.
 

I Don't Know What to Do With Splits Pt 3.

More Splits

This is a pair of Flexis.

Adjust sonic expectations accordingly.

Choo Choo Train/ Eye Pilgrims (1989)




Choo Choo Train. Ric Menck & Paul Chastain pre-Velvet Crush.


Eye Pilgrims were from Hartlepool, UK and only existed on various compilations which is a bit of shame. I like their contribution here.

Spinning Jennys/the Fat Tulips (1990)


I have no idea where precisely Spinning Jennys were from. (I went with Bristol since that's where the label that put out their sole single was based.) It's unfortunate because their song here is fucking great. A masterwork of the genre. Kudos to them.

The Fat Tulips hailed from Peterborough. They put out a bunch of seven inches but only managed a singular full length in their career. Several of those releases were on Sunday Records. You know what you're getting into with that.

That said. Probably not my favorite song of theirs that I've heard so far.

Play the other one.

Only a Slight Reference and ten years

A decade separates today's pair.

That and very little immediate information.

(But I don't look too hard either)

Deeper Than the Ocean (1989)

The Mayfields hailed from Salisbury in the UK if the wiki page about a completely other band is to be believed. I'm just going to go with it. It's about all I came up with.

They released a grand total of two singles and a split single in their lifetime. This is the second and on the Bus Stop Label. It's a nice little Brit Pop double sider with the usual ever so just out of tune vocals that make these sorts of things so utterly charming.

The jangly A side is the winner.

Perfect song for putting on Tapes for Girls.
Make somebody special a playlist.

On Holiday With... (1999)

The Maulies. A few dead ends and eventually somebody else's blog where they were also looking for info turns up and reveals that these four fine ladies were from Austin, Texas.

One measly single and pair of compilation appearances later and they were gone.

This one is utterly fucking great though. Three songs. "Rude Limey" about a terrible English bloke which should brighten anybody's day, a decent cover of the Kinks' "Gotta Get the First Plane Home" and an instrumental called "Tofu π" 

Just fucking perfect.
Use wisely.

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.

Not All Maps Can Be Trusted

It seems that there is an odd and unfortunate trend in cartography of late where some maps leave the country of New Zealand off of them.

Which may or may not make you wonder if it really exists in the same way we established the existence of Ann Arbor in the previous post.

Cartography is a science after all, so perhaps New Zealand has been some kind of inside joke among cartographers for years. Like "Here be Dragons" or Finland.

An Inch Equals a Thousand Miles (1989)

So at some point Map of the World, who we know from photographic and aural evidence did in fact exist, made the jump to Atlantic Records in the intervening years from the previous post and plopped out this Elongated Player to little or no success before being sucked into the void.

It's more of the same pop stuff as the previous records done with a larger budget and a bit more production.

Unfortunately this was around the same time Grunge happened to enter the popular consciousness. 

They didn't stand a chance.

Take a moment and listen to what you missed. 

And enjoy a nice studio version of "Stop Thinking Now" which is the song they did on the live compilation that first brought them to my attention.

Running Low on Holiday Themes

Because I fucking hate Christmas music.

Holly and IV (1993)

A themed single on Sunday Records.

Womb Man (1989)

A single by Ellie Marshall. Not holiday themed, but she plays with the band Christmas.

It' a stretch, but it's all I got for you.

Silence is Golden

But these singles are money.

I'm just going to throw together a month's worth of posts with minimal typing.

Enjoy the respite from my babbling starting off with a bunch by Peter Jefferies and collaborators/co-conspirators. He's kind of fallen off my radar for a long while. Even the person who ran his unofficial page lost interest in 2016.

Nevertheless this is some really fucking good stuff.

He was always great live and shared a table with me while we watched Alastair Galbraith play at the Uptown Bar and Grill. I bought my copy of the Plagal Grind Ep directly from him at that same show.

(and no, I don't currently have a physical copy of "Randolph's Coming Home" I wish I did. It's a great single)

Fate of the Human Carbine (1989)

Knocked Out or Therabouts (1992)

The Good and Bad and Things Reconsidered

It's another day. The next day from the previous post and I've still got a head cold.
Bear that in mind.

Matt Allison (1989)

I hadn't actually listened to this in quite a long time until now. I must have been having a bad time when I first played it because I'm totally reassessing my my original opinion. First off the a-side has the core of the Velvet Crush (Rick Menck & Paul Chastain) backing Matt Allison up to pretty sweet pop effect. The flip is all Matt Allison in his home studio.

Oh, and it's on the Bus Stop Label so if you've enjoyed anything else I've posted on that label, this is going to be right up your alley.

As for Matt Allison himself, it looks like he's been making his living on the other side of the recording booth with his own Atlas Studios in Chicago if you're in need of some recording done.

Neo Bar & Grill (1979)

I'd thought that I'd posted the second single by the D'gadband a long ass time ago, so this was supposed to be a simple follow up of a less interesting single for the sake of completeness, but alas, I hadn't posted the original. (or I just can't find the post. Holy shit I've done a lot of this crap...)

So anyway, we'll start with the first single from Minneapolis unknowns the D'gadband. And I'll preface it with a simple that it's not particularly good. It's the exact kind of Midwest 70's bar band noodling you might expect of the leather vest, mustache and bad hair on the band members on the back of the sleeve. It's competently done, but really really not my scene.

No Money, No Future (1980)

But what a difference a year makes.

It seems like the gents had ditched the 70's soft country rock sounds and found a bit more of an edge. Perhaps they just put the bong down for a little bit. It's not like the holy grail of lost punk rock records, but "No Money, No Future" is a start lyrically and in intent which hopefully scored them more gigs in the big city and maybe some coke.

The next year before the waters of obscurity swallowed them again they were on the "12x8" compilation that' on here somewhere if you search for it. It' compilation so check the 13th. That has some good trcks on it, but the boy in this band had obviously picked the bong back up for  tune they called "Mini Spliff". Don't let that deter you...

Back to Rhode Island

Here we are again. I need to go to the store and drop off a check at the practice space for this month's rent. I am currently not doing that. I'm doing this.
It's not a problem yet, but it will be.

In the meantime, here's Honeybunch

Hey Blue Sky (1989)

Honeybunch was the band that Jeffrey Borchardt had before and during his tenure in Velvet Crush. It's a lot more twee than the powered pop of Velvet Crush. This first one was on the Bus Stop Label.

No More I Told You So' (1991)


More of the same. This time on Slumberland. I was introduced to them via the "Why Popstars Can't Dance" compilation that I posted here years ago.

Walking into Walls (1991)

Yeah, this is the song that first caught my ear. Perfect fodder for Tapes for Girls that was how music nerds attempted to woo women back in the dark ages before Tinder. It worked sometimes. You had to make lots. It was a numbers game. This one was on Summershine.

More Familiarity

I kind of set myself a three post quota for the past few nights.

This is the third post.

Short Stories (1989)

The Black Watch are this guy's band. They are better than the kind of pretentious picture on the front page of his website would imply.

If you want to scroll back to February 1, 2017 on here there's another single by them.

Of minor interest (and mostly because I  just learned about this stuff right now) is that the violin, guitar, vocals person on this particular 12" ep (and part of the Black Watch up to 2002), J'Anna Jacoby (who let her website die in 2014) was apparently the California State Oldtime Fiddle Champion: Junior Division in 1975 & 76, but she also earned her mortgage at the beginning of  the century by playing in Rod Stewart's live band which I hope paid well. (I mean, Rod seems like he could likely be a pretty Ok person, but I have a very visceral dislike of his recorded output.)

The More You Know...

More from Ohio or thereabouts-ish

Well, it has its roots in Ohio anyway.

More or less.

A Monster and the Devil (1989)

  It was recorded in NYC in 1989.

So what happens when you take author and founder of Cleveland's punk legends the Pagans, the late Mike Hudson and set him up to read his Bukowski-esque stories backed by the Styrenes?

You get this record.

Pour yourself a few fingers of your favorite hard liquor and close your eyes and absorb in a stifling hot room on a late Sunday afternoon while a fat green fly buzzes desperately in the window screen trying to get out. It's not going to get anywhere and gets stuck behind the window banging it's skull uselessly and endlessly between the panes. In a day or two you can find it's dried husk in the sill next to your empty glass.
That's what this record sounds like.

Getting High

I don't know much about this stuff. I don't feel the need. These singles just are.

Enjoy as such.

Flag (1989)

First single of three by Boston's long forgotten High Risk Group.
Google says they played some reunion shows in 2014.
That's about all really.
Enjoy?

(Turn on Your) Love Light (1965)

Also first of three singles by Minneapolis' long forgotten High Spirits.

Discogs says they played some reunion shows in 1984, 1998 and 1999.

That's about it really.

Enjoy?

Way Ahead of Myself

Derry Legend (1989)


So...


So as I queue this post up for today it's months in the past.

The 2016 World Series is still going on.

Game 7 is tomorrow, my present time.

The Cubs will either have won for the first time since 1908 or not and make Bill Murray happy or sad depending on the outcome.

Don't tell me how it ends.

Bill Murray already knows.

Here's the Axemen

I'm very concerned about school buildings

Popcorn Double Feature (1989)

Hey! Look at this! It's the new Fall single and it's a cover! How novel!

This one was originally recorded by the Searchers in 1967 who are primarily only remembered for the song "Needles and Pins". (You can look that up if you don't already have it playing in your head)

B-side is "Butterflies 4 Brains". There. That's much better.

And your tendril ocean bed achievements does not justify your abuse of privacy piracy act

Telephone Thing (1989)

Freshly divorced from Brix and the Fall soldiered on with a slightly more keyboard oriented sound this time. The title track here a collaboration with Coldcut and from the forthcoming Lp "Extricate"

"Extricate" was a grower for me. It took me quite a while to warm up to it.

It's the little things like the awful late 80's keyboard sounds like on the b-side here "British People in Hot Weather" that are sometimes hard to overcome. I do like the song anyway.

Your business friend's Australian. And when he comes it's Götterdämerung!

Cab It Up (1989)

Yeah, that throbbing bass that propels the title track with that bloody blimey space invader keyboard riff. This is late 80's Fall at its best.

The annotated Fall has an interesting bit about the origins of B-side track "Dead Beat Descendent":

'The title of The Fall's Dead Beat Descendant is a Flintstones reference. From the "Long, Long, Long Weekend" episode (season 6). After Fred criticizes a novel about the future that Barney is reading, The Great Gazoo sends Fred, Barney, Betty, and Wilma into the 21st Century (Wilma and Betty will remember nothing when getting back). This happens during a four day weekend that Fred and Barney have off from work.'

So the future they go to is very Jetsons-like. Fred's company still exists and the owner looks just like Mr Slate. Fred asks some questions about the old company and it turns out the $4 Fred took as an advance has now ballooned to 23 million dollars owed. The George Slate the 8000th chases them out yelling, 'Come back here, you dead beat's descendent!' [Fred is pretending to be his own descendant]

Thus, Fall history was made."

This 12" is rounded out by another fucking live version of "Kurious Oranj" which some asshole must have fucking liked more than me. 

And a live "Hit the North" 

oh boy.

Eric & Ed

I guess, men's names is today's secret link

Ed's Redeeming Qualities (1989)

I quite enjoyed seeing this weird folk quartet ply their wry craft on Sunday afternoons at the Rathskellar in summer of 1988 or so. (1989?) First met Robyn Hitchcock at one of those before he got up to sing "Rain" by the Beatles with Galaxie 500. It was a magic and weird time with songs so dark that they could only be funny.

This lone and forgotten blog post kind of sums it up and includes a link to some live footage from one of the Ed's Basement shows. I was probably there.

Eric's Trip (1994)

Lo-fi weirdness that found its weary ethereal way onto Sub Pop in the early part of the 90's and got lost there. They deserved better.

Not all Sarah Bands Were Whiny

I'm pretty sure that the first single on the Sarah label that I picked up lo those many years ago was this one by the Golden Dawn. I don't know why. It may simply have been that it was cheap enough and looked interesting enough to me on that particular day that I decided to fork over a couple of bills to see what it was about.

the Golden Dawn

I may have had the opportunity to listen to it. There were listening stations at some places I frequented where one might sample some of the used wares. I think the first few seconds of "George Hamilton's Dead" would certainly have sold me with "Let's Build a Dyson Sphere" sealing the deal. I have no regrets. 

(I also might have been initially interested because the name is the same as a particular 60's band who put out one rather decent record on International Artists and I liked making mixed tapes.)

 

So at some point I added Sarah Records to my list of things to pick up when I ran across them cheap enough. It didn't always work out for the better (there's quite a bit of really whiny crap) but there were more than a few winners that balanced out things enough to make it worth my while.

Action Painting

 

 I ended up with two by Action Painting. The noisier of them is the second one. I like that one better. Your mileage will vary.