It's Getting Later in the Summer

 

The Dog Days are upon us and we're already past the equinox.

But it's still warm and the sun is still hot.

So we should enjoy some fast fun silly summer type tunes while we still can.

Fiction Romance, Fast Machines (1998)

There's something utterly irresistible about kids playing loud garage songs for the sheer joy of making a huge fucking racket. It's a timeless thing.

So here are the Rondelles.

The band formed when they were still in High School.

This album came out 23 years ago, so if the band members were at least 18 when they made it they're already in their 40s.

Now I feel really fucking old and much less personally timeless.

Good thing I have loud primitive records made by teenagers to remind me of a misspent youth. (Misspent because I really ought to have engaged in much more sex, drugs and rock and roll than I did. And worn hearing protection...)

And What Costume Shall the Poor Girl Wear?

 

Blah  Blah Blah...compilation day.

 

 All Tomorrow's Parties UK2002 (2002)

So I'm going to just come out and say it.

I'm not really a big fan of Steve Albini.
He can get some great guitar tones, but he mixes like shit and all his recordings tend to sound kind of flat and a bit lifeless to my ears. I mean, that Stooges album he did is fucking terrible and unlistenable with the guitar kind of buried behind the vocals. On a Stooges record...

I also always found Big Black to be kind of tedious and pretentious and most Shellac kind of bores me. 

Plus the stories I've heard about him from friends who have been around him for various things always make him seem like kind of dick.
 

There. I'm glad I got that out of my system.

Now we come to this disc. It's the Shellac curated All Tomorrow's Parties from 2002.
And it seems if nothing else, Albini and I can agree that the Fall are the centerpiece of any curated lineup of bands because the Fall were the greatest band of all time.

Amen.

Shellac also included local MN heroes, Arcwelder and everybody's indie hipster namecheck, Mission of Burma on their bill. 

That's more win.

But if you were still be on the fence about this particular disc, let me just say that to my ears this is the definitive version of "Two Librans" by the Fall and above and beyond anything else it is an essential for that reason alone.

There I've said my peace and the cat is complaining in the other room.
I will feed her now.

Then the Other...

 

[something something robble robble robble]

 

 The Oswald Cup (1996)

the Technical Jed.

First One

 

[Insert food related nonsense here]

 

 Southern States (1994)

The Technical Jed was a rock band from Richmond, Virginia. They started when Daniel Bartels and David Bush asked Clancy Fraher and Steve Brooking to join them. Fraher taught Bartels some open tunings on his new telecaster, and Daniel began creating his own musical vocabulary that was later set this band apart from the typical 2-guitar bands of the day.

Sure. Why the Fuck Not?

 

I didn't really feel ambitious about posting anything. I have no particular thing I want to say or put out there.

This caught my eye.

So here we are.

Jam Tarts in the Jakehouse (2008)

the Bitter Tears.

I had absolutely no preconceived ideas about this band when I purchased this disc on the internet as a two dollar add on to a larger order I was placing. I saw it. I listened to a couple of Youtube videos and decided I would add it to the order and the collection because I kind of liked what I heard.

It certainly didn't hurt its case that it was released on Carrot Top Records. The label that gave the world the Coctails among others.

A contemporary review gave it a 7/10 with comparisons to Neutral Milk Hotel and the Shins.
While I may quibble with the reviewer's perceptions, I'm not going to necessarily argue with their ultimate score there. But then this does have some of the earmarks of an album that could grow on the ears with each subsequent listen. So who knows where we'll be a few more years down the road.

For whatever reason this seems to be their swansong. They existed until they didn't.
Enjoy it as such.