various artists - How Many Cats Can You Fit In A Bucket?

I've never really given much thought to A&M Records as a particularly interesting label. They were the world's biggest indie label for decades, which is a weird thing to call the home of the Carpenters, Burt Bacharach, and Captain and Tennille. But they also hosted Billy Preston, Quincy Jones, Phil Ochs, the Human League, OMD, and (for a day) the Sex Pistols. There's intrigue to be found in any entity that's been around since the early 60s.

This 1994 sampler is headlined by a pair of cuts from the then-new "If I Were A Carpenter" tribute...arguably my favorite two on the initial release, and the two most enjoyable here. It also has two songs from "Superunknown", soon to be Soundgarden's biggest, most inescapable release. Meat Puppets, Love Battery, Monster Magnet, and Paw all made up recent alternative signings, while Fretblanket and Kitchens Of Distinctions were English indie bands soon to be sacrificed to a mostly-uninterested American public. Blues Traveler's contribution, "Run-Around", is tucked away in the last third of this sampler, and would break out in a big way when its video hit MTV the next year. Rounding out the roster review were songs from the Neville Brothers, L.A. Guns, and Jackopierce (JACKOPIERCE?).

I held onto this one mainly because I enjoyed the cover, which gave me real Frank Kozik feelings.

Discogs

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various artists - If I Were A Carpenter

Let's face it; this is probably the only time I'll ever post something with Sheryl Crow on it.

But this is an important record, right? There had been tribute records before, but this one came out on A&M Records, home to Burt Bacharach and Cat Stevens and Janet Jackson and the Police and, yes, the Carpenters. And for every Sheryl Crow and Dishwalla, who both easily fit under the broad "alternative" banner 30 years ago, there were also Redd Kross, Shonen Knife, and Babes In Toyland. It also led to a very memorable (to me) video of Sonic Youth performing "Superstar". Would it surprise you to learn that Richard Carpenter doesn't like that version of "Superstar"? 

No, that's not Margaret Keane artwork; it's a reasonable facsimile of Karen & Richard listening to records. It's an indelible image from that time for me; I remember seeing POP in the backroom of the first record store I worked in, a small signifier that I was amongst fellow travelers, weirdos who might put their own twist on the most saccharine of art.

Discogs

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various artists - Live At The Knitting Factory, Volume One

I picked this up the other day for the following reasons:

• It was $2, and I already had a $2 CD in my hand. I feel weird spending less than $5.
• The Knitting Factory was, in my adolescence, this magic place where the cutting edge of music played every night.
• I saw Tom Cora played on a couple tracks. Tom Cora made some records with the Ex.

It turned out, this was a pretty good snag. The first of five volumes of live cuts from the NYC venue released by A&M Records, this one captures performances from the winter of '88-'89. I dig it.

Boring-ass cover on the US releases, tho.

Discogs

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