Caroline and ADA were the two "cool" distributors we could buy from when I worked that Borders-esque book & music store in suburban Baltimore. ADA had Sub Pop and Matador, and were always good for a big stack of promos every month. Caroline, home to their eponymous label, Astralwerks, Revelation, and Dischord, were less generous with promos, but did a nice sampler series called "I Hear Ya!", which we played over the PA during closing while we cleaned up. In retrospect, it seems weird that I never held onto those, considering there's a really good mix of stuff from the mid-90s.
The big release around this time was the Misfits' box set; I assume that's why Jerry Only and Doyle are the cover boys here, and why "Teenagers From Mars" headlines this sampler. This was also my first experience hearing the Brian Jonestown Massacre, who blew my 17-year-old mind the first couple times I encountered them. Doc Hopper, Shift, 88 Fingers Louie, and State Of The Nation were all bands we could see playing VFWs and basements; we had no clue that Hole was covering the Velvets, or who Mick Farren was...only that they sounded cool as hell. Sounds like those coming from Crash Worship and Controlled Bleeding were exotic, even if they didn't lead to my buying either record.
This one popped up in a dollar bin on the central California coast last winter. As fall...uh, falls, I thought it was an apt spin.
