This is Not a Prank

 I have some heartburn and a cat in my lap.

It's also April Fools Day.

This is not a prank.

It's the follow up to the previous post.

I'm not joking.

1993 - Augustus Loop

Everything I had to say I said in the previous post except that I think I gave a copy of this to a long ago ex for some reason. Probably because I thought she would like it. 

I like it more than her nowadays. 

But that's a whole other story.

(Besides I'm still in the throes of my particularly intense and enjoyable Robert Pollard obsession and don't need to dredge up bad memories.)

Besides the Trouser Press article linked in the previous post seems to enjoy this.

Maybe you will too.

Don't Mind Me

 So yeah, I've been a lazy slug this past week and only now realized I'd let the queue run dry.

But then again, I was just stuffing some cabbage rolls, so it wasn't a total wash.

Besides, I saw Guided by Voices again last Saturday and they were fucking incredible.

Three hours. Close to sixty songs. A fucking master class.

Hit almost all my personal highlights.

So I've been listening to nothing but GvB and other Bob Pollard related things for days now.

And ordered or hunted down thirty different discs going back to 2001 without making a dent in Bob's output. It's scary. 

And made worse by my compulsive need to complete discographies.

I think that's why I gave up way back when...

Anyway.

Here's the Barnabys...

Delightful Browns (1992)

The Barnabys were from Philadelphia. They released a number of things on the SpinArt label, so you know it's something more indiepop based.

One former members bio page calls them "Commercial Folk Rock" (I didn't link it since that's about the only related thing I saw on the page and was too lazy to dig any deeper)

Is it apt?

I dunno. We can go with it if that's how they saw themselves.

Shinola (1992)

Shinola was the brand name for a popular boot polish founded in the 19th Century.

It is also the name of this seven inch.

If you're discerning you'll be able to tell the difference.

I Don't Usually Do This

 Let's see how this goes...

(We Get There When We Do) (1995)

Now under normal circumstances I avoid posting major label things because 1) it's usually common trash and 2) I generally want to avoid drama from lawyers.

I'm going to make a bit of an exception here because it's good and long long OOP.

They got unceremoniously dumped by the label in a big, but probably short sighted in the long run deal at the end of 1996 where Warner Brothers cleaned house of a lot of indie type bands that weren't making million sellers like Celine Dion and the Spice Girls were.

So here it is.

They'd even recorded the follow up which was shelved.

And such is it in the cut throat cesspool that is the fucking music industry.

Suddenly Posts

 

I need to throw some stuff in the queue quick before I lose my currently unbroken record of posting as regular and predictable as my bowels.

Suddenly Tammy! (1993)

Suddenly Tammy!

A couple of years before anybody had ever heard of Ben Folds the band known as Suddenly Tammy! appeared as a guitarless piano trio singing their little pop hearts out.

One of the first few bands to appear on the SpinArt label which makes some sense because both were based in Lancaster, PA at the time.

I'm trying to assemble a SpinArt discography.

Let that be a recommendation.

The Question Remains

 So here we are.

It's officially 2022.

Fingers crossed it doesn't suck any worse than last year.

Amateur (2005)

So the question at the start of any year in my head is:

 "What's a good and auspicious thing to post for the first post of the year that's going to be cool and bode well for all the crap that's going to come after?"

I've decided to go with this.

Hisoft, from Philadelphia.

There's no telling if they survived long enough to fade away in the pandemic, but the only thing on their Bandcamp above is from 2017.

However in 2005 they were just under the radar enough to warrant a short article in Spin magazine. Online at least. Who knows if anybody ever read about them in the print magazine.

As it stands though this is the very kind of dreamy indiepop that's been floating my particular barge down the muddy Nile of my mind and flooding the banks with serotonin.

Thus it is with that in mind that I offer it to you on this the first day of the year to soothe your hangover.

It might go well with a Bloody Mary and a New Year's Brunch.

The Pitts.

 

I have nothing.

 

 

Train Song (1991)

 

Wimp Factor 14 : A Pittsburgh based indie band

this single is hand painted with an actual run over penny glued to it.

 

Botch (1992)

There is no mutilated monetary incentive to purchasing this other single.

Frank Boscoe from this band would reappear as the main dude for Vehicle Flips a couple of years after Wimp Factor 14 calls it a day.

 

I Don't Feel Like It

 And I don't have to.

I got an extra night off from work tonight because the census is way down due to the COVID 19. (it's the very end of April 2020 while I type this)

Nobody wants to go to the hospital in the middle of a pandemic unless they absolutely have to. Plus the OR is pretty dead. They're only really doing emergency surgeries and a few transplants as organs become available.

I'm Ok with it. I have plenty of PTO to use and I'm thinking of it as a mental health day.

Here's a couple of obscure singles for your mental health there in the future.

Tonnage (1993)


Kimbashing were from Philadephia, PA
Middle 90s Indie Rock.

You know you love it and know quality when you hear it.

The Dignity Workshop (For Two) (1996)

The Man I Fell in Love With were from Kent, Oh

Middle 90s Indie Rock

You love it still and know this is quality.

A Quick One and I'm Away

I got nothing.

Modern Gal (2001)

Bunsen Honeydew.
From New York.
Their final release under that name on Little Teddy Recordings.

The little label says "Original New York Punk Rock"

Don't take that at face value.

I can't remember how I came to have this. Part of me wants to say it was a bonus that somebody threw in the box with a large order of 45s and another part of me thinks I picked it up for a pittance because it was on Little Teddy.
Either way. I got my money's worth.

Sideshow All the Way (1996)

Flowchart.

This is very pleasant to listen to on a rainy day.
I hope it's raining where you are.

Moping

Well, I don't know what to believe.

Turkey (1995)

The fan mail address on the back gives a New Jersey address for this indie rock/pop trio, but the scant info found online places them as a Phillie area band.

Who knows.
Who cares.

They have a singing goddam girl drummer.

Fucking perfect.

Sibling (1995)

An Ep, an album and a collection of rarities and unreleased stuff I haven't found yet and they were done in the space of a couple of years.

Too bad.
This is good stuff.

More Mor Mor's

I'm doing other records.

Don't expect much.

3D Sound (1982)

Seriously there's not fucking diddly squat I could find about this band in a short search. Moroccos appear to be from Philadelphia and everybody was in a couple of other bands.

A side is some seriously nice catchy danceable Nu Wave. B side is an instrumental.

Does it matter?
Fuck No.

Is it good?
Hell Yes.

Suburbanite (1981)

The Morons were from Albany, NY.

This and a compilation appearance are the only evidence of their existence except in memories.


And today, a special bonus.
Just because...

The Girl Next Door (1979)

Another blink and you missed it Minneapolis group that cluttered up the Break'er Records catalog. Kind of almost Power Pop. Probably considered a "punk" band at the time.

I think I have actually less than a dollar invested in this one if I remember correctly.
Total score on my end.

All the Kingsmen

A two-fer.

Names the same, different bands

Haunted Castle (1966)

It's the band and a single with the song that you most immediately think of when you see the name the Kingsmen. "Louie Louie" is the b-side here.

It's an essential part of every music collection and having a nice mono version from a half a century old 45 just makes it sweeter.

You are now prepared in case a toga part breaks out near you.

The A-side is a nice instrumental number too.

You're welcome.

Week End (1958)


What may add to some confusion is that there had previously been a band with a Top 40 hit (this song) by a different group calling itself the Kingsmen.

This Kingsmen was actually the Comets of Bill Haley & the Comets moonlighting for a little extra cash.

It's a nice little instrumental bit of the Rock and Roll.

It is also Toga Party appropriate.

You're welcome.

And Now for Something Else

I need a shower.
I'm typing instead.
For now.

Bella Vista (1998)

So recently I've been kind of exploring the world of 90's indie pop. And there's a metric ton of it.

While the rest of the world was getting grungy and dancing and all kinds of other tedious things, there existed a small secret underworld of people making sweet delicate pop music on a legion of tiny bedroom labels. It's some fascinating stuff.

This is but one fine example. It's by Bella Vista.

Prepare your earholes because there's going to be a lot of it...

Recordando (1998)

This is a release on the Spanish pop label Elefant of the elusive recording artist Ana D.

I like it and don't even want to try and describe it.
I don't need to. You listen. You come up with your own set of adjectives and adverbs.
Leave me out of it.

Brotherly Love

It's the day before Valentine's Day.
I'm not in love with you, but I will let you buy me dinner.

I'd Rather be in Philadelphia (1983)

I can't find an easy cut and paste listing of who and what's on this.

If you're curious and/or do not trust my impeccable tastes to deliver to you the finest of vintage Nu Wave synthesized goodness from the City of Brotherly Love at the dawn of the 80s then go ahead and look at the Discogs page. I don't care. I have shit to do.

I only picked this record for today's post because I'm expecting a large package of singles in the mail tomorrow or the next that is originating in Philly. That's sort of  how my brain works.

Oh Yeah, Baby.

Not our usual fare, but you've probably gotten used to that by now.
This one just makes me laugh....

The Sounds of Love...A to Zzzz (1972)

So there's this record.
You've got some weird experimental early 70's synthesizer soundscapes on one side and some Switched on Bach type versions of Ravel & Mozart on the other.

How do you tie these two things together?
It's surely a head scratcher.

I got it.

We'll have a woman moan, whimper and breath heavily over the music for the entire Lp.

Problem solved.

Multi-tasking.

I'm not sure if that's one word or traditionally uses a dash.
I really don't care. I'm really only paying half attention to this while I type. I'm also listening to and digitizing other records at the same time. It's a lot of things to try and focus on at once. So you'll cut me some slack on the word "multi-tasking" if it's incorrect.

 Radio Dial (Don't Touch That) (1982)

There's really nothing I can come up with approximately five solid minutes of googling about the particulars of this Chicago band that called itself Broken English except that this their second single  before being swallowed by the aether of time. Both sides are pretty solid late era Power Pop that really don't deserve the dustbin of history where they are currently residing.

Punksation (1981)

Here's another power pop styled oddity rescued from the ash heap of eternity.

Coogie and the Zebra were from the Pittsburgh area of Pennsylvania and put out this sole single on a local label that otherwise only seems to have a handful of old time folk and country records to its credit. Strike one against them.

Strike two is naming themselves "Coogie and the Zebra" which sounds more like the name of a morning zoo crew radio team than a band that anybody with any self respect might want to associate with.

Then there's the song called "Punksation" which owes more than a bit of its guitar riff to Bowie's "Fame". The song itself feels like a very suburban concept of punk rock in a glam power pop wrapper. Even now, I'm unsure of how I feel about it.

The B-side feels like they've been studying the first couple of Cars lps in the meantime. It works better for me.

Let my ambivalence be your enlightenment.

Ladies Night

So I've been putting off going to the practice space and recording the whole weekend. The last time the thing I started wasn't working for me. So I've avoided going back.

Now, I've decided to scrap that shit for now and have a different tack to try. I'm fomenting a plan even now. I have no idea what it will be, but it beats sitting around the house.

Head Cheese (1981)

So this was a band from the city of Brotherly Love, Philadelphia, PA. It's a bit arty, but still New Wave from this trio of ladies. Not exactly what you might initially expect from the picture on the back, but then they did also call themselves "Head Cheese" which is a food stuff that only my grandfather could love. (Though, I might be more inclined to give it another chance now. Cheek meat is pretty fucking tasty. It's just the aspic that kind of creeps me out.)

The one claim to fame that this band has is that one member went on to have a couple of minor mid-80's hits with the group Book of Love starting with "I Touch Roses" in 1986. I saw them around then too when they opened for Depeche Mode at the Orpheum Theater in Boston. As I remember the stuck up snooty little fuck I was back then didn't enjoy the show.

P.U.N.K. Girl (1993)

Fifth single on Sarah Records for these popsters aptly called Heavenly. A pair of incredibly catchy and cheerful little numbers about girls by this female fronted quintet. I'm a sucker for this. If only the whole of the Sarah catalogue had more of this I'd be much more inclined to spend more time and money tracking down their releases.

This is the bees knees and quite catchy toe tap worthy so long as you don't pay close attention to the rather sad lyrics to "Hearts and Crosses". They're a bit of a downer.

Meanwhile on either side of the pond

 It's 7 inch compilations time

4 Alternatives (1979)

A four song sampler on Heartbeat Records of Bristol, England bands circa 1979. It's the earnest sound of youth. For whatever reason the Joe Public track is the clear winner for me here. I don't have a dog in this fight, but I put their sole other release in my wantlist after picking this up.


Meanwhile.....

Go Go (1979)

Two out of three bands here are from Philadelphia with the third JJ 180 being from Santa Cruz, Ca. Helen Wheels has some stuff coming up in the near future and I know fuck all about King of Siam.

JJ 180 are named after a highly addictive drug in the novel "Now Wait For Last Year" by Philip K Dick. (It's one of the better ones. Read it.) After a lineup change they became the Realtors whose 7" "Buy or Beware" will be gracing this screen some distant future just like a PK Dick novel and maybe just slightly less addictive.

You have been warned.