I Almost Forgot a Title

I'm running on fumes and the cat has taken up position to stare me into feeding her.

So Said Kay (1990)

So I pulled out the small stack of 10" records too the other day in search of something else and found this one by the Field Mice. They were pretty much the best band on Sarah Records by my estimation and there's no point arguing that. I didn't really need to digitize this. All the tracks are on the  "Where'd You Learn to Kiss Like That?" compilation that Shinkansen put out in 1998, but I wanted to listen to it again. So I made this to post.
You're welcome.

Nothing But Hits

Have a night off.

Don't have a whole lot to say.
I worked an extra shift so I could spend stupid money on a batch of records that have been lingering on my wantlist a while and I got the itch to finally pull the trigger on.

These aren't them.

But they're Hits.

the Hit Squad (1980)

From our good friends at Break'er Records came this actually pretty credible cover of the Status Quo hit "Pictures of Matchstick Men" from before they grew their hair out really long and made a long series of more or less mediocre rock records through the 70's. (And I may be being kind of overly harsh, but I'm cranky this evening)

The B-side is a bit odder. It's a cover of "Thou Shall Not Steal" by the Wailing Souls turned from the original reggae version into something more akin to to Doo Wop.

You can decide for yourself if either side is an improvement.

In Gunnersby Park (1991)

So this is the Hit Parade. It's on Sarah records. It's some earnest heartfelt acoustic songs.

You know the drill.

The band itself had apparently existed for quite a while. Their first single being released in 1984 chock full of chorus pedals and happy girls. I can imagine them sharing a bill or two with Haircut 100 to great effect.

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.

Fedoras all around

Here we are with Gentle Despite on Sarah Records

The Darkest Blue (1990)

Let's see. Quiet introspective songs about girls with jangling guitars and wispy vocals? Check.

The eternal whinging forsaken love call of the beta male? Check.

 Sarah Records? Check.
 
After listening to limp wristed stuff like this I find it difficult to imagine that there was a time that the English were capable of an empire encompassing half the planet.

I mean, I'm pretty sure that even I could have beaten these guys up for their lunch money.

Torment to Me (1991)

But lo! The title track here has some balls. A bit of distortion! Are they having a breakthrough?

And then it's over and we're back to the friend zone with "Bittersweet Kiss".

On the plus side, "Shadow of a Girl" appears to trying pretty hard to be an Only Ones outtake. It just needs more heroin addiction to succeed.



And thus began and ended the recorded existence of Gentle Despite in 6 songs.

From a Land Down Under

[10/12/17 - So I got a notice from Mediafire that Julian Knowles of Even as We Speak had reported this post so I'm removing the links.

And as it says in the sidebar here. I post this stuff out of love. It's things I like and want to share so other people can hear it, but if anybody responsible for the music in question is unhappy,  just let me know and I'll gladly take it down. 
For the most part the few times in the past where someone who's band it was stumbled upon my cruddy blog they were glad somebody was still listening a couple of decades later. But everybody is different and I respect that.

So if you're interested in Even as We Speak follow the link to their website and get new stuff from them. (Not these though. They're long out of print. Try Discogs)]






It's still that same day in March I was talking about several posts ago.
My jaw still hurts.

Nothing Ever Happens (1990)

The band is Even as We Speak.  This was their first seven inch for Sarah Records. It incorporates their previously released 1989 "Goes So Slow" 7" on Phantom and adds a couple more songs. "Blue Suburban Skies" and a cover of New Order's "Bizarre Love Triangle" which had been a Top 10 hit in Australia back in 1986.

That should be enough to go on.

 

One Step Forward (1991)

Their next release. Also on Sarah Records.  It's another record by Even as We Speak. Yep. That's what it is. (see above for more info)

Grind Your Teeth to even more Boyracer

I've got a a really intensely shitty toothache under an old crown. Got in to see my dentist and he drilled a hole to relieve some of the pressure. I'm scheduled for a root canal next week. Eating is pretty much off the table for a while and the constant dull ache even now makes me want to punch a baby.

I think I'm may have to utilize nature's best dental analgesic to numb the pain for the evening.

Irish Whiskey


In the meantime gird your loins, set a determined grimace and muddle along in quiet agony to the angsty sounds of even more Boyracer...

 Tour split w/ the Ropers (1994)

I don't think they swung through here on this tour. Wouldn't have mattered. I wasn't aware of either band at the time.

 

Pure Hatred '96 (1994)

This is one of the other Sarah Records ep's. There's still a third one that I haven't quite decided to splurge on and just go ahead and blow what feels like too much money on getting. Some other day without an incessant dull throbbing in my jaw perhaps.

 

Pain Plunder and Personal Loss (1995)

This wasn't my introduction, but this is probably the biggest catalyst towards feeding that inner record collector drive to hunt and gather all the Boyracer material I could track down. It's chock full of hissy lo-fi goodness, random noises and my favorite version of "You're Breaking his Heart". It's also full of yet more answering machine messages between tracks (something like the dial up modem sound or phones with cords that the youth of today won't understand.) that are vaguely amusing the first time through, but rapidly lose their appeal upon subsequent listening.  I've conveniently separated them out as individual tracks for your playlisting convenience. You're welcome.

Strap in for more Boyracer.

Next up in the hit parade. A couple of things from 1993


 They started things with a bang and a 4 song single on Sarah records "B is for Boyracer" which is the kind of loud careening noisy pop you don't normally associate with Sarah, but are willing to overlook because "I've Got and It's Not Worth Having" is such a great burst of manic energy tailor made to be played loudly while driving with the windows down. Sing along.

                                                B is for Boyracer (1993)

Then I suppose in some sort of effort to get back to their roots and tone audio fidelity down a notch or two things went back to the old standby of cheap flexi discs. This time it was a double dose of lo-fi.
Lots of love songs on this one. As much as they can be considered love songs since it seems that our pal Stew always seems to be on the short end of the romance stick as far as his songwriting goes at this point. "Bitter" is a highlight though.

Go Flexi Crazy (1993)

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.

Another Sunny Day

If ever someone was to conceive of a soundtrack to the Friend Zone I do not doubt that it would heavily favor the morose twee ramblings that Sarah Records specialized in. Case in point I would offer up a few of these tidbits from Another Sunny Day. (I mean, their first single is called "I'm in Love with a Girl Who Doesn't Know I Exist" fer cryin' out loud.)

 

So it's all here. All the aching and longing for a love that cannot be. All the angst your teenage heart can handle until it's almost bursting. (I have a tear in my eye yet as I type this)

 This is the sound of old girlfriends and missed opportunities basted in reverb and guitars. It's a pain that transcends time and place and little things of life like washing dishes or making your bed. Your heart hurts.

 You're totally allowed to wallow.

 

Wallow along with ASD