Flipper Rules

OK?

 

Love Canal (1981) 

 

Sex Bomb (1981) 

 Get Away (1982)

Doubling Down on Flowers

Junkyard (1992)


A double 7" release on Spin Art by a Mansfield, MA pop combo that went by the name of Flower Gang. Short songs The longest 2:10. Some are played incredibly fast, but they are jangly pop.

You may like that sort of thing.

the Five

The Five.

 Napalm Beach (1981)

They originated in Pittsburgh, PA in 1979 or 80. Then they moved to Boston.

I used to see this band a lot. Once again not intentionally, but simply because they played a fucking hell of a lot and played with and opened for lots of other bands that I did intentionally go to see. They weren't my favorite. They were very dark and that just wasn't my thing.

This is their stupidly rare second single. I will have have you know that there is an unfortunate defect in the vinyl itself in my copy that effects the first 30 or so seconds of each side (You know, the fucking quiet bits) I took a while and carefully excised as much of the noise as I could from each track so spare you (and me) from it. You're welcome. It could sound even worse.

The Five (1987)

Sometime just about the point where they were finishing up their run they put this sole Lp.

I can appreciate this so much more now at this distance from my youthful self in the moment. And if I got this Lp for any reason at all its the final track here "When Yr Done".  They definitely grew quite a bit over the years and were a reliable live presence. This is a lost classic.

Punk rock or Parody

It's a bit of an odd dilemma.

Nuke the Whales (1979)

So sometimes you come across a thing that is a bit unique and you're not sure if actually punk rock or some kind of one off parody of Punk Rock which ends up being totally punk rock by accident of not giving a shit. They took their name from a no-budget cult film Sins of the Fleshapoids by the Kuchar Brothers . (They don't make them like that anymore.)

So now here's this. Nuke the whales. Something you could likely get at one of those t-shirt shops at the Mall. (I had one as a preteen youngster that said "Save a tree Eat a Beaver")

I dunno, look at the cover. Who can really tell at this point 37 years later what the band's intent was. The band themselves may not even know or care anymore.

I certainly don't.

Fuck whales.

 

Turkeys in China (1979)

This band has Andy Metcalfe from the Soft Boys on bass and was recorded at their SpacewardStudios. The songs definitely have a certain similarity in word count and obsessions with what Robyn Hitchcock was writing at the time. (the use of words like "drains" and something about crabs, the title "Porky's Minion" etc...).
To my jaded ears some of these sound like they could be rejected Soft Boys tracks played by a different band. "The International" and "24 Hour Shop" anyway.

Your personal mileage will vary.

Fingerprinting

If you're looking for information on the history of Fingerprinting you could browse this little fact filled page.


I ain't got time for that.

 (Now I wanna Be a) Space Girl (1978)

The first song on this record is a fan-fucking-tastic barn burner of a song. It's a corker. It's a gem that should have been comped a hundred times on any number of those endless Killed by Death style compilations. It hasn't which I think has to do more with a tight control kept over the Twin Tone catalog than merit.
There are also 4 other songs on this single. Take that as you will.

 

Smiles for Sale (1980)

This is a bit more like it again. "Smiles for Sale" is another great fucking song. The inclusion of a saxophone is the only thing that separates it from being pure punk rock. I don't care. I like it.

You can decide what you want to make of the b-side. Its mostly an instrumental, but with another song tacked on about nothing.