various artists - Tropicana '84-'99

Robin and Elaine at the Tropicana, Olympia, WA (from the Tropicana Facebook page)

I have no clue about the origins of this here CD-R I found last year, but it's a winner of rare-ass WA state punk and garage. The Tropicana was an all-ages space in Olympia that only existed for two years, but served as an incubator for bands like Green River, the Melvins, the U-Men, and Beat Happening. The most recognizable name is Tacoma's Girl Trouble, subjects of a wonderful documentary from a few years ago and maker of numerous rackets since 1987. Also appearing are Noxious Fumes, Immoral Roberts, and Young Pioneers, all of whom put out recordings with K. There are four bands rounding out the comp, none of whom put out anything more than demos back in the days. The addition of Wimps, Generic Crib Death, Communicator, and Idle Worship makes this more than just a KBD-style bootleg. This is a really cool time capsule of an embryonic scene that, within a couple of years, would be setting the pace for the rest of the nation.

Discogs

Click here to download.

various artists - Mojo Ain't Nothing

Here's something I've been meaning to post since I kicked things off again back in April.

I have a lot less need to front on my musical knowledge these days. I know what I know, I know what I don't know, and I know where to go to learn about what I don't know. The incredible posting community at Twilight Zone has played a great role in opening up new musical worlds for me in the past two years; I can only express my gratitude by sharing the occasional post-punk record that someone's looking for. There's a person who posts these big ol' .zip files of 45s from the 60s and 70s, chock full of soul and doo wop and early rock 'n' roll and all kind of tasty treats I would have never checked out on my own. They're the one who got me coming back every day.

Shortly after I got hipped to TZ, I discovered this CD-R in a stack of dollar CDs at a local storage space liquidator. I recognized a few of the names: Curtis Knight and Wilson Pickett, the Pyramids and Little Johnny Taylor. And that cover: that is a killer cartoon. I've wasted more money on worse things. So home it came.

And a damned good thing it did, because this is a really great comp. There's very little you'd randomly stumble across in the world. Sure, you might turn up one or two or even three cuts, but nothing so well curated at such a low price. From what I've been able to research, this appears to have originated out of Rooky Ricardo's Records in San Francisco. When it was made, I couldn't say. But it's a great idea. If you're a seller of obscure records, it makes a ton of sense to put a sampler together of what you stock in the shop.

Since I snagged this, I've kept my eyes open for a lot of 50s and early 60s soul, and heard a lot of "new" artists from the early days of modern pop music. I've also been steadily downloading the East Side Story series, kindly shared by Robert over at Terminal Escape. It covers some of the same ground, while highlighting artists you might be more familiar with. They're all great to listen to, and, who knows? You might get a native nod from the old head in the car next to you in traffic.

Click here to download.