I Don't Know. Stuff.

 
I got this lined up before I realized that the 13th compilation day was yesterday.

Who cares.

Angry Young Woman (1980)

Didi Stewart & the Amplifiers. Boston, MA. 

There's a fine line between what some would call Punk vs. New Wave vs. Rock and this is kind of all of that thrown together in a nice black and white sleeve.

I can imagine these folks going over well enough at the time to small crowds.

These days Didi Stewart is a vocal teacher at Berklee. Good for her.

Life changing, not so much. Nice sonic postcard of a time and place and what it sounded like, absolutely.

Box Set (1989)

The Snivelling Shits.

Ok first we need to admire the absolute wonderful punk rock hilarity that is the name alone.

Secondly we need to acknowledge the genius of the song "I Can't Come". 

It's what happens when you let music journalists make punk rock.

This 1989 box contained a postcard, a couple of stickers, a badge and this 3 song 7" record which isn't the single as originally released but three previously unreleased demo versions that sound just as poorly recorded and half assed as the regular version. Though the compressed mosquito buzz of the guitar on the demo "I Can't Come" is more preferential to me than what got released at the time.

A Tribute Album from the 90s with a Boyracer Track on It. How Novel..

 

Whatever, man. I just work here.

 

 Can You Talk to the Dude Volume 2 (1996)

1 Dog Shop – Girlfriend

2 Vehicle Flips – Dodge Veg-O-Matic

3 Jad Fair – New Teller

4 The Little Rabbits – Government Center

5 The Married Monk – Dance With Me

6 Telephatic Youth – Don't Let Our Youth Go to Waste

7 Romeo Suspect – Tandem Jump

8 Dèche Dans Face – She Cracked

9 Sonotone – You Can't Talk to the Dude

10 Iris – Ice Cream Man

11 Boyracer – I'm Straight

12 Cornershop – Angels Watching Over Me

13 Four One & Only's – The U.F.O. Man

14 Squad Femelle – Afternoon

15 La Buena Vida – That Summer Feeling


And no, I don't have Volume One. It's on my list.

Enough for Now

 

 I did four other singles/flexis tonight including some attempted cleanup with audio restoration software. I feel like I've accomplished enough for the time being.

I have a hard time doing that and this at the same time anyway because I can't listen to the thing I'm typing about. Not that it matters a whole heck of a lot, but it's the principle.

Jacques Cousteau (1998)

 

There's really almost nothing that I could find that goes into any particular detail about this Providence, RI band that called itself Rebuilthangartheory.

They were from Providence.  It's indie rock of its time and is enjoyable for it being itself.

Rebuilthangartheory/Bermuda split (1998)

I got nothing. But I did find a contemporary review from some kind of long dead Zine called Light Rotation that still sails the internet seas like some kind of ghost ship.

"Rebuilthangartheory / Bermuda split single (7") (Scribblehut)
This glorious split single gives us a taste of Rhode Island (two Providence bands, two songs each) and it tastes even better than a tall, cool glass of coffee milk (autocrat rules!). Um... on with the review. rebuilthangartheory play in an up-tempo strummy style that reminds me very much of Versus, especially on "agharta". The primary singer here is Frederick Prior, whose frenetic singing is kept under control by the cool vocal stylings of Margie Wienk (who's also in Difference Engine). There is a refreshingly magnetic quality about the fast-paced groove they set forth, making this an ideal soundtrack for a breezy drive over that bridge that takes you into Newport.
bermuda, with their steady dynamics and intensely crisp drumming (by Cara Hyde, also of Difference Engine!), calmly hit all of your pressure points in a systematic fashion. It isn't until after you listen to the songs that you realize they beat you all up. References made to Red Stars Theory definitely aren't off the mark, but bermuda take you even farther out to sea (so far out, in fact, that there may be glimpses of particular Chicago-based bands with oceanic references). Oh, and all of this comes in a smart blue-grey wrap around sleeve."

 So there you have a couple of Difference Engine connections for all you fans.

I'm Multitasking Again.

 

So a couple of days ago I got a package in the mail from the UK full of wonderful late 80s/early 90s flexi discs of indiepop goodness which some many years from now I may finally get around to posting on this particular shitty blog provided that the Man doesn't shut my shit down in the meantime.

Anyway. Here's some stuff from last year...

 

 Schwa (1993)

A long time ago and nearly a whole other lifetime ago I posted a single by a mystery band calling itself Fashion Central with a catchy as fuck little number called "Count Me In"

Go ahead and watch the video and dig the song. I'll wait. (then go and find the post, it's worth it)

Apparently the band had previously been known as Schwa which is in itself kind of a terrible name because there were at least half a dozen bands using the name at the same time. (see also: Shrimp, Plate O' in the 80s)

So here's their debut pre-name change and obscurity.

Moneyshot (1997)

Schrasj were from Houston, TX.

This is their third single on Rocket Racer who also put out a single by Boyracer.

Take that as a recommendation.

I Hope I Remember How

 

There's a new interface with Blogger that I wasn't fully prepared for.

It's actually been any number of months since the last time I set up some posts.
It's September of 2020 for me now.
What a fucking shitshow.

Anyway. It's been so long that I had to spend an hour going through the singles boxes to figure out where I left off and what needs to be filed and what needs to be done.

I think I've got it under control now.
Not that it really matters since I'm actually going through a pile of a couple dozen recent acquisitions rather than the regular boxes.

 

 

 

 

Red Dye No. 5 (1995)

Red Dye No. 5 were from San Diego.
They do an admirable cover of "Heart of Glass" on the flip here.

Everyone Liked that.

 

Push Kings (1994)

The Push Kings were from Cambridge, Massachusetts because apparently saying you were from Boston proper is not snooty enough or something.

They made a number of records in their short existence.

This is the first of them.

I like it a lot more than the new Blogger posting configuration, I can tell you that much.
Push Kings seem a lot more intuitive and user friendly.