various artists - Dine Alone Records: Record Store Day 2017 Sampler

A dashed off post to fill my self-imposed minimum of two posts a week?

How dare you accuse me of such flim-flammery! I would never stoop so low.

I'm packing my house, and remembered at 10:20pm Sunday night that, oh yeah, I hadn't reflected on any records for next week. So here we are, talking about a Record Store Day giveaway from 2017. But it's Canadian, and those dudes are pretty mad at us, so credit where credit's due. Thank you for your delightful indie rock, your cold beerm and your reasonable pharmaceutical prices.

I bought this on a whim b/c it had an INVSN song on it, plus the Dandy Warhols and I'd heard of the Dirty Nil, so it seemed like a perfectly fine way to hear stuff from a label I otherwise only knew from putting out Tokyo Police Club records. And you know what? It's not half bad. I wouldn't get up before the crack of dawn to queue up on Record Store Day to get one, but I wouldn't be sore if it ended up in a bag with my purhcases.

Discogs

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various artists - Love & Napalm

I picked this up at a record store on California's Central Coast over the holidays, from the guy who used to sell Mrs. Ape Mummy her teenage 7"s and weed to her uncle. I love his store; he's constantly playing stoner rock and doom metal at levels far too loud to be appropriate, and everything always smells like nag champa. He will tell tales about how old timers on the police force still ask him about his head shop. The aged masters of record stores are almost all retired or dead, but a few still keep the flame alive, and are willing to share a look at their Sabbath bootlegs should you seem "cool".

King Coffey's Trance Syndicate put this one out, headlined by the almighty Cherubs and backed capably by the likes of Ed Hall, Crust, and Drain. I'm not exactly sure why I was intimidated by a bunch of acid-soaked Texans back in 1993. When our paths have crossed since then, they've always seemed like such nice fellas; real salt of the earth.

Have a little loving clamor for your ears on Valentine's Day, whether you're solo, paired, or in a throuple.

Discogs

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The Musings of Sense Field and Running From Dharma

I don't write about split releases all that often, in part because there aren't a great deal many that I've wanted to revisit. But this one resurfared recently, and upon giving it a few spins, I figured, "what the hell?" and sucked a high-quality, 320kbps rip up into the ol' MEGA portal for your listening pleasure.

I've wirtten a fair amount of Sense Field-related posts over the years, but nothing since 2020, so as one of my favorite bands of a certain era, it makes sense (HA!) to dig back into my recollections and share this latter-day release from 2004. You get a Smiths cover and a live recording of Killed For Less's "Soft". The other two tracks are from Central PA's Running From Dharma. Truth be told, I should be able to remember these guys, but nothing comes to mind, despite an acoustic version of "Drive Not Driving" and their own take on a Marr/Morrissey classic.

It has occurred to me in the writing of this blog that this was the last new Sense Field release before Jon Bunch's death in 2016. What a loss. This is a good way to remember a very good guy.

Discogs

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various artists - Spin This V

I've been laying pretty low on purchases since the first of the year. But I broke edge a few days ago; a record nerd can't stay out of the thrift store for long. I stumbled across this now-31-year-old sampler from Spin Magazine, and immediately flashed back to seeing the video for "Undone (The Sweater Song" in my neighbor's den for the first time. His folks kept the shades well drawn, so what natural light made it in had this yellow tinge to it. We stopped what we doing at the first beats from Patrick Wilson; it was unlike anything we'd ever heard up 'til then. Fuckin' Weezer, man. Always brings a smile to my face.

Plus: Mazzy Star! Frente! covering New Order! Major label Meat Puppets! Morphine! Guided By Voices! Plus a bunch of stuff that 30 years on I still don't recognize outside of a radio station giveaway bin. Kinda perfect for this space. I can never resist throwing a buck to a animal rescue or a job's program in return for something like this.

Discogs

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various artists - The Infinite Zero Almanac: 1996 Sampler V

I ran out of time coming into today, so it's time for an easy write up. The fifth in the series of six Infinite Zero samplers; this one is one of the more comprehensive, coming as it did in the last year of the reissue label's existence. Most of these are available here on the ol' blog; just type in Inifnite Zero and expand your mind. I'm feeling the cover of this one most of all; the caricature of Rollins, flanked by the Def American and Infinite Zero logos, big, stronge fonts. It's a golden joy to behold.

While lacking the superior graphic design and the even-deeper record selection, it's no surprise that my early exposure to these drew me into an ongoing love of the Numero Group and Light in the Attic. I kind of got a kick out of watch the Grammy pre-broadcast show on YouTube tonight, seeing Numero's 90 Day Men set get a Grammy nom. It's great to see even the most obscure bands get beloved treatment, the expense of which makes a hell of a lot more sense then that double LP Chappel Roan release at $50 retail.

I'm all over the place tonight; forgive me, friends. I'm looking at a big record purge within the month, so my head isn't thinking about anything particular.

Discogs

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David Axelrod - 1968 To 1970: An Anthology

I wrote about David Axelrod last year, a nifty little piece of writing that I'm pretty happy with. So there's no need to revisit how I got to my fandom; just some words to talk about where it's going.

This is the first anthology Stateside put out, back in 1999. Like its successor, it covers Axelrod's three solo records for Capitol, along with tracks from Lou Rawls and Cannonball Adderly. The difference here are a pair of cuts Axelrod produced for South African singer Letta Mbutu, someone who I'd never heard before and whose music probably bears the least amount of production fingerprint on it. There are also two songs from the Electric Prunes, who once had too much to dream last night, but here contribute from their final record on Reprise, 1968's "Release Of An Oath". It's bonkers how great these cuts are; psychedelic liturgies from Christian and Jewish traditions. It's holy music like Coltrane's finest; imaginative, cutting edge, totally unlike anything else happening at the same time.

What can I say? I like it. It never leaves my phone.

Discogs

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various artists - ...Think I'm Getting The Hang Of It

I've been coming across a number of these sort of 90s cardboard-sleeved samplers lately, and this is probably the best of them. A Warner giveaway, moved through The Body Shop, licensed from 4AD. A very clever way to get cool UK-curated music into the hands of American women.

Are they going to enjoy the likes of Liquorice, Air Miami, the Wolfgang Press? Will they experience the subtler qualities of Mojave 3 or Red House Painters? Who can say? Someone at Warner Bros. Records sure thought so.

What I know is this: when I plucked this from a stack of unremarkable CDs at a local thrift store, I found delight. And thus I share it with you.

Discogs

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various artists - This Comp Kills Fascists, Vol. 1

I had intended this to be posted on Monday, January 20th, but having a move thrust upon me kind of threw things out of whack, Instead, you get a a few days late.

It's taken forty-seven years, but I can wrap my brain around why someone might embrace fascism. And by "someone", I mean a normal human. A person who 30 years ago might have resided firmly in the middle class. That stability no longer exists. The world has gotten faster, the sensory input amped up, and still no answers present themselves. In the ensuing madness, I can understand why anyone might turn to a strongman, someone providing easy solutions to difficult challenges. Fuck the immorality or cognitive dissonance that comes along with accepting giving in; the trains might run on time, and you might get a deserved bite of the apple, a taste of the good life that you've been told is your birthright.

But it's all bullshit. It always has been, and, especially now, it will continue to be. After all, I lived through 2017 to 2021. I remember what has already happened; I can anticipate what will come.

A lesson I took from a life in punk rock is that you can do it yourself. You can start your own band. You can release your own record. You can publish your thoughts. You can create and distribute and connect and evolve. The scale is irrelevant. Whether you make 25 copies of a fanzine, or you start a mutual aid society in your town, you reject the dominant message that you cannot and embrace the message that you can.

i guess what I'm getting at here is that this is not a time for whining, or despair, or surrender. It's a time for regroup and realign. Figure out what sort of world you want to live it, and set about creating it. I promise there are others who feel the same way, and want to help. What your President, your MP, your Premier, your Prime Minister, and the men who back them, doesn't change what you can do at home.

Anyway, here's a comp from 2008, embracing Conflict's message to see who's who. Let's not be afraid to fight for a better world with this as part of the soundtrack.

Discogs

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various artists - CMJ Presents...Phase Five NZ Music Sampler 01

OK, so I have a gap when it comes to music from New Zealand. I know Flying Nun a bit, the Clean, the Dunedin sound. I think I owned a Chris Knox tribute CD long before I had a clue who he was. I am by no means an expert, or even possess intermediate knowledge. Hell, I have Music of New Zealand open on Wikipedia as I write this, just to have a point of reference. Like, I just learned that "How Bizarre" by OMC, a record I've never owned but whose black and white and red cover is burned into my brain by a million dollar bin encounters, is the best-selling New Zealand pop song of all time.

I'm guessing that was the whole point of the Phase Five series, a government-funded collection that ran 12 volumes from 2007 to 2009. This first one was a penny snag on eBay for me several months ago, but I think it fell behind a sofa cushion or something, b/c I only turned it back up this week. The Mint Chicks and the Phoenix Foundation are the big hitters here; both bands are the types of which I would have happily seen time and time again during tihs period. That's not to say that the other artists here are slouches. Pluto, Gasoline Cowboy, and Dimmer don't have great names, but I found their sampling of songs to be perfectly cromulent. Two songs each; if you get the CD, there's videos available also. It's a fitting relic of a pre-YouTube world, and a great use of national cultural funds.

Discogs

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James White's Flaming Demonics

This is the last of the mid-90s reissues of James Chance's records, re-released by Infinite Zero. Let's face it; it's my least preferred Chance release, but it's still pretty damned good. And if you're stopping by here, you're probably a degenerate completist like I am, so you'll download it anyway.

I passed up a very nicely priced Japanese pressing of the Contortions' "Buy" over the weekend, along with Eno's three 70s art rock records on Editions EG. I brought home pretty of good stuff, to be fair, but those are the ones I've thought about since Saturday. C'est la vie; life will go on.

Discogs

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various artists - Keep The Pressure On: Contemporary Traditional Ska!

I preordered a copy of Trust Records' reissue of Hepcat's second LP, "Scientific", along with the attendant Scientist dub version, within minutes of it being announced. I knew it'd make a killer gift for Mrs. Mummy, who's a huge Hepcat fan as well, and I figured that dub 12" would be a tough one to track down after the fact. Turns out I was correct; darn thing's already sold out.

Needless to say, the gift was a hit.

It reminded me of this comp, an early release from the short-lived but high-quality Minneapolis label Kingpin Records. Both records are led off by "Country Time", just a killer opening track by one of the bands from the third wave that still holds up well. But I suppose that applies to everyone here, even for the bands with cutesy-pie names or puns that were bad immediately after being ginned up. Every great band drawing from the JA wellspring of ska from this era is here. The Slackers, Let's Go Bowling, Skavoovie & the Epitones, the Allstonians; all bands that, within a span of two years, made records that still get regular play. Quite frankly, if you like JA music, but haven't checked out "Mr. Twist" or "The Allston Beat" in a while, you ought to come back to them.

But, for me, it's the non-Moon Ska bands that continue to feel relivatory. Like, how did Ocean 11 only get a handful of comp appearances and a single CD? Jump With Joey cut a live version of "Summer Come Lovin" with Rolando Alphonso, Ernest Ranglin, and Eddie Thornton that they contributed. Even the locals in the Siren Six! and the Jinkies are worth revisiting, reminding me of that time when I got really stoked by the music the band nerds made after high school.

Discogs

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