I-Rails - Panharmonium (1990, Primal)

This is a follow-up to my initial I-Rails 7" post from a couple months ago.   That record featured two superlative tracks, "Same Old Me" and "Everyone's in Love" that any band of their ilk would give a collective right arm for.  Well, today I'm offering six times that serving in the form of the I-Rails Panharmonium cassette album, the last in a series of four (Valentino Says, Unfocused and Nine Songs from Nowhere preceded it).  I made a point of mentioning that leadman Chris O'Conners would go onto commercial success in the mid-90s with the highly dissimilar Primitive Radio Gods, and moreover that the I-Rails were another barrel of fish entirely.  And what would that barrel entail you might ask?  If the likes of Dramarama, Gin Blossoms, Toad the Wet Sprocket, and Superstar Carwash-era Goo Goo Dolls are at all enticing to you, chances are you've stumbled onto a gleaming nugget of gold here.  The aforementioned single, particularly the b-side "Everyone's in Love" packed more grit than many of these songs combined, but the  side of the coin, "Same Old Me" but "Disconnected" and "Behold" are pretty damn propulsive in their own right.  Why the I-Rails didn't skyrocket in the same manner PRG did is beyond, because everything was perfectly in place on Panharmonium.  If anyone has any leads on the other three I-Rails tapes, there are some more than willing ears in these parts.

01. Around the World
02. Disconnected
03. Lucifer, Paul & John
04. Willingness
05. Two Feet in Front of Me
06. The Light of the Sun
07. Real Time
08. Fallen
09. Behold
10. In the End
11. Where I Am/Courage
12. Anything in Space

Hear

I-Rails - Valentino Says tape (1986)

This is the fourth and final leg in our tour of I-Rails cassette albums, with the last stop culminating with Valentino Says, which is actually their first release (ironic, but not when you consider I've been presenting them in reverse order).  I've already dedicated space to the three full lengths that followed-up Valentino Says (1987's Unfocused, '89s Nine Songs From Nowhere, and their 1990 parting shot Panharmonium).  Being that the case, if you've already absorbed Unfocused, you might recognize two songs which actually debuted in different incarnations on Valentino, specifically "There Goes Another" and "Mercury Don't Understand."

My original expectation was that as I went backwards with the I-Rails discography, I would encounter a rawer, more savage aesthetic that the band would eventually curtail and fine tune on each subsequent release.  If anything it was the opposite way around, with Valentino striking me as the most approachable of their four mini reel-to-reels.  In fact, the bulk of this one inadvertently fortels the mid-tempo power pop tack that the Gin Blossoms would corner the market with in the early nineties.  Song for song Valentino Says cuts the mustard, but the I-Rails would tilt in a grittier direction on their next three albums (and a 1988 7") to even more satisfying effect.  Unfortunately I have no artwork to offer for this one, although from what I understand original copies did have a cassette sleeve.  The audio quality on a couple tracks is slightly dodgy, but tolerable.

For a (slightly) more thorough backgrounder on the I-Rails, point your cursor to the hyperlinks in this article. A very hearty thanks to the gentlemen who digitized these tracks and sent them in my direction!

01. Trust
02. There Goes Another
03. Mercury Don't Understand
04. Oh God
05. The Man I Gave a Ride
06. Poets Wear Black
07. Waiting for the Sun
08. Let Me Go
09. I Thought You Were My Friend
10. Adventures in the Rain

Hear

Singles Going Single #167 - I-Rails "Same Old Me" 7'' (1988, Sloth)

The I-Rails may be virtual unknowns to most of you, but the band who would eventually succeed them by the early '90s, Primitive Radio Gods, made a splash with the sample-heavy, alterna-pop hit "Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth With Money in My Hand."  An appreciation for that loopy nugget isn't of any consequence when it comes to investigating frontman Chris O'Conners previous endeavor, the southern Cali based I-Rails, who traversed a far more linear path.  Alongside this stunning 45, which I'll comment on in a moment, the band was responsible for four albums (all cassette only from what I understand) with the final entry, Panharmonium arriving in 1990.  The I-Rails, particularly in their later years suggested the strain of power pop the Gin Blossoms would soon be serving to the masses, which while fairly conventional was far from a bad thing.  

O'Conner's soaring pipes color "Same Old Me" with an ambitious flair, encroaching into Bono territory at times, but it's the doubly impressive b-side, "Everyone's In Love" that's the true keeper, evoking the punchy ebb and flow of latter-era Replacements and Dramarama.  I will be sharing the I-Rails' Panharmonium tape in the near future, but if anyone out there can help me out with the three preceding albums don't be a stranger.  A very special thanks to Chris for hooking me up with an original copy of this wax.

A. Same Old Me
B. Everyone's in Love

Hear

I-Rails - Nine Songs From Nowhere (1989)

This past spring, I shared a couple of vintage, albeit rather inspired releases from The I-Rails, a band who's only remote claim to fame was their involvement with future Primitive Radio Gods figurehead Chris O'Conner.  I wouldn't let that scare you off, as the I-Rails were about 180 degrees from the aforementioned one hit wonders.  When posting their 1990 cassette album, Panharmonium, I mentioned there were three cassettes that preceded it which I didn't have in my possession.  That's still very much the case, however as of last week I have the missing three reels at the base of my sleeve, conveniently converted to ones and zeroes.  I'm sharing the Rails third tape, Nine Songs From Nowhere, featuring among other fine selections the staggeringly infectious "Sticks and Stones."  Like me, a lot of you were instantly endeared to Panharmonium and were clamoring for more, so here you are, with the other two albums to hopefully follow in the near future.  For a (slightly) more thorough backgrounder on the I-Rails, point your cursor to the hyperlinks in this article.  A very hearty thanks to the gentlemen who digitized these tracks and sent them in my direction!

01. Not My World
02. The Meaning of Life
03. Punk is Dead
04. One Day Older
05. Sticks and Stones
06. Under the Influence
07. Primitive Radio Gods
08. Slave to a Dream
09. Holy Town

Hear

I-Rails - live @ Ventura College 1990

In December of last year I exhausted the last of my I-Rails studio recordings when I posted their first cassette album, Valentino Says, originally released a quarter century ago in 1986.  Prior to that, I shared in somewhat reverse chronological order their 1988 single, and three post-Valentino tapes, Unfocused, Nine Songs From Nowhere, and Panharmonium.  Since I already extolled on the I-Rails history (including their connection to the Primitive Radio Gods) I'm not going to be redundant here, but will instead point you to the hyperlinks above if you wish to get caught up.  The only thing left at the bottom of the well is this brief live document from 1990.  I'm assuming late 1990, as there are references made to the impending Gulf War (Desert Storm).  Truth be told, while it does contain a pair of my favorite I-Rails missives, namely "Sticks and Stones," and "Behold," it's not exactly the best cross section of their repertoire.  As evidenced by the inter-song banter this was apparently an audience tape, however the recording of the actual performance is impeccable.  Closing their set with a run-through of the oft covered "We Can Work Out," is what it is I suppose, but I'm not complaining.  Enjoy (or not).

01. Around the World
02. Behold
03. In the End
04. Pray for Me
05. Mona Lisa
06. Sticks and Stones
07. We Can Work it Out

Hear

I-Rails - Unfocused (1987)

By popular demand, I'm here to serve up another helping of vintage I-Rails recordings.   Heading on the backwards trajectory I set into motion in March with the band's "Same Old Me" 45, we're dialing the Wayback Machine to 1987 for the band's second cassette album, Unfocused, which by the way was transferred from analog to ones and zeroes by some close associates to the band.  Without their generosity, time and consideration I wouldn't be able to bring this music to you, so once again, thanks. 

If you've been curious enough to lend an ear to the I-Rails third album, Nine Songs From Nowhere, the ten tracks comprising Unfocused should ring familiar.  For the uninitiated, the I-Rails were the unlikely precursor to '90s one-hit wunderkinds Primitive Radio Gods.  Click on the first hyperlink in this article for more text on the background of this criminally overlooked power-pop trio, or if you'd like a shortcut blurb on the way they rolled, think Toad the Wet Sprocket...with balls.  As for Unfocused itself, it doesn't disappoint, yielding some of the Rails best including the high-strung "No Matter" and "Mercury Don't Understand."  Perfecto.  Enjoy, and bear in mind there's one more tape to come...

01. In Babylon
02. Slings and Arrows
03. Mercury Don't Understand
04. The Worst Song About Jane
05. Still Invisible
06. There Goes Another
07. Beyond the Obvious
08. Stuck in Between
09. No Matter
10. Two Arms

Hear

Exploding Boy - New Generation (1992, Beyond)

Thought I'd share this until I get the chance to rip more vinyl.  Boy, I knew just what I was in for by a quick glance at the cover art.  Rochester's Exploding Boy dealt in the most polished, spit-shined strain of "modern rock" that was going on at the time.  Think a vaguely more AOR Rembrandts, Toad the Wet Sprocket, or even Crowded House and The Ocean Blue if that pair possessed a stronger pedestrian slant.  Not terribly far removed from the I-Rails tapes I've recently shared, but Exploding Boy's commercial aspirations are painfully evident and utterly impossible to downplay no matter how you care to slice New Generation.  Yeah, this entry is going to be something of a credibility killer, but that being said, some of the zestier rockers like "Charity," "Cry Out" and the title track cut the mustard quite capably.  If anything else, these guys dole out a steady stream of plush hooks, an abundance of which call for repeat listens.  Just don't get your hopes up for the Bowie cover.

01. New Generation
02. Charity
03. Close to Me
04. Flashpoint
05. Ziggy Stardust
06. I Want to Be Where You Are
07. Do You Believe
08. Blue Sky
09. Cry Out
10. Forever

Hear

Motion City Soundtrack - My Dinosaur Life - An overall assessment, three weeks in the making.

Thought I would spill some verbiage on a current release of note, My Dinosaur Life, the fourth long player from Minneapolis' Motion City Soundtrack. To those of you who took my Top albums of the '00s list to heart, you may have noticed that I tabulated all three of the band's previous albums (I Am the Movie (2003), Commit This to Memory (2005), and Even If It Kills Me (2007) in the top 50. No joke. They impressed me that damn much. Quite atypical for a slot on the Epitaph Records roster, MCS offered a dizzying conglomeration of slamming power-pop riffs, wonky Moog synthesizers, and Justin Pierre's endearingly neurotic, pseudo-autobiographical dissertations. But as early reviews of My Dinosaur Life began to enter the slipstream, I was introduced to the notion that some hardcore MCS fans deemed the quintet's last album, Even If It Kills Me, to be too "pop" for it's own good. Hmm. Granted, that album was a wee bit less frantic than it's 2005 predecessor, they had hardly gone softball. As for this album, I have a difficult time surmising what the reaction will be. My overall conclusion is that Dinosaur plays to the advantages MCS's entire Epitaph catalog, particularly Commit This to Memory and Even If It Kills Me.

The only obvious sonic gamble here is the diminishment of the band's telltale keyboards, that I imagine Andy Wallace, in all his infinite wisdom, buried deep into the mix to emphasize the more abrasive undercurrent that's been the foundation for most of their music, and nowhere is that more evident than on "Disappear." On their darkest album cut to date, the overarching theme of this rapid-fire salvo of oblique and disparate imagery will be somewhat lost on even the most dedicated of Pierre's minions. (The lack of booklet lyrics couldn't have been timed more poorly I might add). Thing is, "Disappear" is such a conniption to listen to, all the conjecture might just be worth it. The band charts a more linear course on the melody-friendly flow winding it's way through trademark Pierre confessionals like "Worker Bee" and "Her Words Destroyed My Planet." The fun really hits full-throttle mid-album on "Delirium," a tale of being tethered (or so it would seem) to a hospital bed in a mental health facility (or so it would also seem) where the patient is unable to differentiate if his meds or his surreal environment is responsible for said "delirium." In similar fashion, "Hysteria" also propels through the stratosphere like a searing firecracker, although the motif here is a little less psychotropic. It also happens to be the most keyboard-prominent cut on the disk. And yes, there's a ballad (of sorts) here, "Stand Too Close," but nowhere near as despondent as their last album's piano tearjerker, "The Conversation."

My Dinosaur Life is classic, utterly fun and off-the rails Motion City Soundtrack, and a more than logical successor to Even if it Kills Me. The latter part of that summation is bound to either delight or unnerve fans, that is, if Even if... was really viewed as that drastic of a departure (which in my opinion it wasn't). If twelve new MCS songs aren't enough to satiate your appetite, relax, because there's a very tricked out deluxe version of Dinosaur (pictured to your left) that you're about $60 in reach of, featuring the entire album laid out across six picture disk 7"s, all tucked away in an elaborate hard bound book. It also comes equipped with two CDs (one the album proper, the other an ep's worth of alternate takes and a bonus cut), and a signed lyric booklet.

Given the widespread availability of My Dinosaur Life, I am not at liberty to share any album content, per se, so I have assembled a brief three song selection of live versions of "Disappear," "A Lifeless Ordinary," and "Her Words Destroyed My Planet." These recordings are culled from a trio of December 2009 hometown concerts, where each gig was dedicated to one of their three previous Epitaph Records albums. If you need more convincing, Myspace is merely a click away. Finally, a word from our fine sponsor:

V/A - Tantrum (1990, Cocktail)

I'm damn-near downright surprised that no other sites have put this one on the table.  Perhaps Tantrum's schizoid album jacket scared some folks off, but personally I regard it as something of an asset.  This eighteen song platter is way more Flipside than Maximum Rock N Roll, and I wouldn't have done it the other way around in a million years.  Though it's emphasis was local (L.A. and surrounding environs) Tantrum strangely epitomized where the whole alt/punk/grunge thing was headed, not long before Nirvana would push that whole ball of wax kicking and screaming into the pop stratosphere.

The proceedings here aren't exclusively balls-to-the-wall punk, but if that was the draw there are some seriously hot practitioners in attendance, specifically White Flag, Wreckage, the Instigators, and Artistic Decline, not to mention like-minded acts of the female persuasion including Frightwig and the ever popular L7 who offer the instant classic, "Bite the Wax Tadpole." I Love You, who I've enthusiastically endorsed on the pages, are present with an early incarnation of a song that would later materialize on their first album, in all it's fuzzy, wha-wah'ed glory.  Pat Ruthenmmear and his Death Folk will kill two glorious minutes for you, Spiderbaby weave a chiming and chilly goth-punk tapestry in the guise of "Wake Up," while the Groovie Ghoulies update a certain Men Without Hats standard.  And if there was any band on Tantrum that perfectly dovetailed with the aforementioned record sleeve (in all it's glorious, bonkers abandon) the award would certainly go to Celebrity Skin, whose "Radiation Man" is about as avant as most of you would ever care to get.

01. Ultra Violet Eye - Bohemian Weight
02. I Love You - Jesus
03. Celebrity Skin - Ratt Fink
04. Haunted Garage - My Disciple
05. L7 - Bite the Wax Tadpole
06. White Flag - Zero Hour
07. Instigators - The Blood Is On Your Hands
08. Frightwig - 38 Special
09. Wreckage - Weird Woman
10. Celebrity Skin - Radiation Man
11. Pigmy Love Circus - Broken Lady
12. Christy McCool - Neal's Deal With Meals
13. The Death Folk - Jack
14. Groovie Ghoulies - Pop Goes the World
15. Spiderbaby - Wake Up
16. The Rails - Miss Rome Stays Home
17. Tony Gilkyson - Wedding Day
18. Artistic Decline - Will I Ever Learn

Hear

The Primeval Unknown - s/t (1988, Skyclad)

If "garage rock" seems unrepresented on these pages, I suppose that's not a particularly startling revelation given that isn't one of the coveted genres mentioned in the Wilfully Obscure header. Just in case you're wondering I do enjoy a good blast of that stuff now and again, be it from originators like Question Mark and Mysterians and the Count Five, and several that came a little later in the twentieth century including Lyres and Swingin' Neckbreakers.  Though they didn't boast an overarching shtick or gimmick, New York's Primeval Unknown were still a classic, no BS epitome of what this sect of music had to offer, delivering quality songs sans any (or much, anyway) attention-grabbing histrionics.  In short, the Primevals drew from respectable resources, the likes of which you've certainly encountered before - The Stooges, early Screaming Trees, The Seeds, while inserting some well proportioned Stones-y and Doors-y affectations.  Throughout this dozen song platter, P/U succinctly balance grit, sass, psych and just enough moderation to keep things from careening off the rails altogether.  And if you're anything like myself, you'll find virtually nothing in the way of the campy muck that made The Cramps and Birthday Party such a miserable listening experience for yours truly.  It felt like I'd been hearing this band's name for decades (and I likely had), but when I finally went to research them I couldn't find something as simple as a bio or a basic backgrounder.  Just enjoy the record for what it is I suppose, 'cos it's a hot one. 

01. The Word
02. Deep Six
03. Waste of Time
04. 8 to 7
05. Hopeless Fiend
06. All People
07. Don't Lay it On Me
08. Someone Like You
09. Screamin' Things
10. What's Inside
11. 86
12. God is Dead

Hear

There is hope for the hopeless now. 2011: The year in rear view, Top 25 albums, plus: Best of the Blog mix for the year past

To anyone who espouses the notion that my musical persuasions are solely relegated to the past (specifically the '80s and '90s) you're right...and wrong.  The emphasis on Wilfully Obscure is and will likely remain retro, but I'm still enthused about new music from both emerging and classic artists.   I thought I'd run down twenty-five of my favorite releases of 2011, not only as a way to catalog them for my own remembrance (in the event senility sets in later in life) but for your amusement and recommendation as well.  2011 was not a banner year for music, but in fact slightly superior to 2010 which I conveniently summarized.  On the proverbial one-to-ten scale, there were in fact no tens, or nines, or even eight and a halves (save for maybe my top pick).  Nonetheless there was plenty to pique my interest and maintain my curiosity, thanks to a clutch of inspired newbies.  A little synopsis follows each title on my hallowed and coveted album list.  Bear firmly in mind that your results may very. 

In addition there are short lists (in no particular order) for honorable album mentions, and some of my favorite reissues of 2011.  Towards the end of this lengthy diatribe, I've also included a link where you can download a  "Best of the Blog" compilation featuring songs from twenty of my most cherished blog entries and retro discoveries for the year, including a handful of songs from albums not previously featured.  A huge thanks goes out to anyone who has contributed in any small way to Wilfully Obscure over the past year.  You have sincerely made this a more robust and substantive site.

Top 25 albums of 2011:

01. Farewell Continental – ¡Hey Hey Pioneers! (Paper and Plastick) - Justin Pierre of Motion City Soundtrack goes the co-ed route with Kari Gray turning in the most neurotic and endearing rock album of the year.  Bravo.
02. Maritime – Human Hearts (Dangerbird)- Ex-Promise Ring frontman Davey von Bohlen follows up 2007’s Heresy and the Hotel Choir with a record that’s nearly as visceral and inspired.
03. Doleful Lions - Let's Break Bobby Beausoleil Out Of Prison! - Space age hooks paired with an often surreal indie rock stride.  Many happy returns.
04. Parachute Musical – Kill It Cut It Down - Probably my favorite singer/songwriter album of year.  Piano rock bliss.
05. Yuck – s/t (Fat Possum) - Everything you've heard about them is 200% true and then some.
06. Ringo Deathstarr – Colour Trip (Sonic Unyon)- Delirious, engulfing dream-pop revisionism that virtually none of their ‘90s forebears had the smarts to come up with on their own.
07. Tim and Jean – Like What - Passion Pit-inspired techo pop from this prodigious and infectious Australia duo.  Too bad it didn't see the light of day in North America.

08. Street Chant – Means (Arch Hill) - This sucker picks up where Dinosaur Jr.’s Bug left off, and furthermore, is indicative of the trajectory Sonic Youth should have charted in following up Goo.  Nearly as revelatory as Yuck, and that’s saying quite a bit.

09. Pocket Genius – Nordic - Wasn't expecting something this potent after a decade hiatus.  Pocket Genius bear the charismatic nonchalance and zesty reverb of The Replacements, Doughboys and Soul Asylum, in an oddly unique context.  

10. Neon Indian - Era Extraña - True blue innovators.  In the electronica venue, they are currently without peer. 

11. Saves the Day – Daybreak (Razor & Tie) - This was my most anticipated album of 2011, and even though it didn’t quite live up to my lofty expectations, Chris Conley is still the consummate melody weaver.
12. Foo Fighters – Wasting Light - A milestone for Dave Grohl and Co.  The Foo Fighters are the only arena band whose concerts I’m not embarrassed about attending. 

13. Shy Mirrors – Sailed Blanks (Big School) - The Superchunk and Weezer (blue album-era) aesthetic is alive and kicking up a storm.
14. The Strokes – Angles (RCA) - Returning a few years late, and IMO a song or two short, Justin Casablancas and Albert Hammond Jr’s inspired recent solo endeavors spilled over into their fourth platter, giving the Strokes the shot in the arm they were overdue for.
15. Under Electric Light - Waiting for the Rain to Fall - A sublime fusion of shoegazer headiness, suave keyboard-enhancements and breezy melodies. Thoroughly transporting songs.
16. Male Bonding – Endless Now (Sub Pop)- Not as wall-to-wall bonkers as they were on 2010’s static laden Endless Now, but still plenty nervy and voracious.
17. Patrick Stump - Soul Punk - Soul? A few notches shy. Punk? Not a trace. Savvy? Like you wouldn’t believe.
18. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Belong (Slumblerland) - The not-so-difficult second album. Irresistible.
19. Foster the People – Torches - 2011's soundtrack to summer
20. Joey Cape – Doesn’t Play Well With Others - Another devastating helping of acoustic missives from the brainchild of Lagwagon and Bad Astronaut
21. Office of Future Plans – s/t (Dischord) - Burning Airlines with a little cello thrown in? Works for me. Welcome back Jay.
22. The Drums - Portamento (French Kiss) - Doesn't match last years debut, but strives to anyway.
23. Sea Lions – Everything You Always Wanted to Know... (Slumberland) - A stirring update of classic C86-era Brit Pop with a bevy of old school hipster influences to die for.
24. Wire – Red Barked Tree (Pink Flag) - Still on the cutting edge after all these years, delivering a record that distills many of the key sonic attributes of their five-decade long run.
25. Lunch - s/t ep - fuzzy indie rock newbies drawing on a cornucopia of '90s influences.  Check out their song "Turn Around" streaming on a number of websites. 

Runners up:

Rival Schools – Pedals

Graham Repulski – Into an Animal Together

Iron & Wine – Kiss Each Other Clean

Sway – This Was Tomorrow

Samiam – Trips

Stuyvesant – Fret Sounds

The Forms – Derealization ep

Sloan – The Double Cross

The Cars – Move Like This

The Active Set – 11

Real Estate – Days

Dot Dash - Spark>Flame>Embers>Ash

Janes Addiction – The Great Escape Artist

High Tension Wires – Welcome New Machine

The Feelies - Here Before

Fountains of Wayne - Sky Full of Holes
Muler - Hope You Found a Home
The Raveonettes - Raven in the Grave

 

Recommended reissues and compilations:

Nirvana - Nevermind super deluxe edition

Jesus and Marcy Chain - discography reissue series (Edsel) 

Bitch Magnet - three CD discography (Temporary Residence) 

Radio Dept - Passive Aggressive, Singles 2002-2010

Lagwagon - Putting Music in It's Place box set (Fat)

Ben Folds - The Best Imitation of Myself - 3 cd deluxe edition

Jayhawks - Tomorrow the Green Grass deluxe

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - Tape Club (Polyvinyl)

Sebadoh - Bakesale deluxe (Sub Pop)

The Modulators - Tomorrow's Coming (Kool Kat) 

Although it's well out of my price range (and I've only heard the main album portion), it's a safe bet to say that the Beach Boys Smile Sessions box takes the cake in terms of deluxe reissues for 2011. 

Finally, here's the tracklist and link to our 2011 best of the blog mix:

01. Humidifier - Nicotine
02. Slumber - Valliat

03. Dissonant Blue - Practical Harmony

04. Beauty Constant - It's One Life (demo)
05. Beat Clinic - Brenda on the Big Bed

06. Rhythm Corps (Method) - Solidarity (1984 vers)

07. Alter Boys - Piles

08. Ups and Downs - Painted Sad

09. Pedaljets - Sensual Cardboard Event

10. Reaction Formation - Galesburg Bound

11. The Spliffs - Merry-Go-Round

12. Not Shakespeare - Turnaround

13. Blanket of Secrecy - Love Me Too

14. Five Cool What - Rescue Me

15. Brave Tears - Flippin' Through

16. Delusions of Grandeur - Carousel

17. 100 Flowers - Roof Tops

18. Naomi's Hair - Tilt-a-Whirl

19. Trusty - Bus Stop

20. I-Rails - Sticks and Stones

http://www43.zippyshare.com/v/X73uHFwO/file.html

Drake Tungsten (Britt Daniel, pre-Spoon) - Clocking Out Is For Suckers tape (1994)

This isn't the first Spoon related post I've done, but it could be the last considering there isn't a whole lot to plunder that's not available through commercial means (iTunes, Amazon, etc).  At any rate this one is a curiosity, albeit a very inconsistent one at that.  Drake Tungsten was an assumed recording (and possibly performing) alias for Spoon money-shot Britt Daniel.  The cassette-only Clocking Out... is a 17 cut mish-mash of lo-fi recordings, with the only element keeping the whole thing from completely careening off the rails is the fact that there are discernible track separations.  The finest moment we're offered is one which quite a few Spoon fans have abundant familiarity with, namely a well rehearsed demo for "All the Negatives Have Been Destroyed," which is the only thing here that wound it's way onto Spoon's primo Telephono debut LP.  "I Could Be Underground" was eventually recorded as a b-side, and the version here isn't exactly striking.  There are some meagerly pieced together covers including Wing's "Let Me Roll It," The Pixies "Do the Manta Ray," and a hushed reading of The Cure's "Secrets."  The dynamic "Dismember" is one of the more notable originals here, while the remainder of the tape veers between tolerable and sheer dross.  You have been warned.  I don't own an original copy of this, so a hearty thanks to whomever digitized it for us.

01. 15 Credibility Street
02. Chicago at Night
03. Let Me Roll It
04. All the Negatives Have Been Destroyed
05. Interview 1
06. Do the Manta Ray
07. I Could be Underground
08. Taking My Piss Out
09. Yeah Oh Yeah Oh Yeah
10. untitled
11. Interview 2
12. I Can't Believe Kurt Cobain Is Dead
13. Secrets
14. Dismember
15. I Wanted To Be Your Friend
16. Call Me When You Come Home
17. Are You Part Of The Movement?

Hear

Claude Pāte 7" (1987, Pravada)

Following up my post from last night, here's another salvo from '87.  When I belatedly encountered Claude Pāte on the Iowa Compilation (also from 1987) I knew virtually nothing about them, except that I was eager to hear more.  Of their two proper releases, this 45 is all I own thus far, but if you're hankering for straight-up, no frills rock and roll, C/P satisfy along the same lines as Fire Town, Snatches of Pink, and Carnival Season (wilfully obscure references, I know). And btw, they were a band (a trio to be exact), not an individual.  The everyman grippes presented in their songs are seasoned with grit, earnestness, and riffy power chords, however these guys had enough class to keep things from careening off the rails.  

A. I Will, If You Will

B. Ain't There/It's Gone

Hear

A few restored links.

By request.

The Acid Drops - 7"

American Standard - Wonderland & 7"

Aviators - Deed to a Ranch ep 

Jim Basnight and the Moberlys - s/t ep

Beat Temptation - Concerned About Rock Music?

The Bent Backed Tulips (Dramarama) - 7"

Bring Home the Lobsters - tape

Paul Collins Beat - live NYC 1979

Diodes - Survivor  

Doll Congress - s/t ep

The Donner Party: Complete Recordings -  Disks 1 & 2

Drive - covers 7" 

The Figgs - Rejects & singles

Fingers - Video Games ep

For Squirrels - Baypath Rd & demos

Gem - Hexed & I Am a Tree ep 

Glass Eye - Huge ep, Marlo & Christine ep

Gentleman Jesse and His Men - Singles and Rarities

Greg Kihn Band - Next of Kihn

Gunbunnies - Paw Paw Patch

Hummingbirds - LoveBuzz & singles 

Husker Du - Zen Arcade demos/outtakes & Psychepowerpopapunk   

I Can Crawl - Desert

I-Rails - Panharmonium, Nine Songs From Nowhere, Unfocused, Valentino Says, Same Old Me 7", live 1990 

The Iodine Raincoats - I Wonder ep 

The Killing Field - Courage tape

Killjoys - Starry, Gimme Five, Melos Modos, One Night and a Morning After

Lines - Standby ep

Lonesome Strangers - Lonesome Pine  

Math Bats - Bat Day ep

Nashville Ramblers - The Trains 7" (MP3/FLAC)

Native Tongue - s/t ep

New Sweet Breath - singles

Todd Newman - Too Sad for Words & Temporary Setback

The Nines - demo tape 

Nuns of the Great West - The World Ain't Safe ep 

Odolites - Chimes 7" & Persistence of Memory

One Plus Two - Once in a Blue Moon 

Orange Humble Band - Down in Your Dreams ep

Our American Cousins - demo

Poole - two eps

Prodigys - Another Lazy Wednesday

Raves - Past Perfect Tense 

The Records - A Sunny Afternoon in Waterloo & live Dallas 1979

Retriever - Greatest Moments of Doubt & Three Second Stereo ep

Rollerskate Skinny - Trophy & Novice eps

The Seen - Under the Sun/In the Rain/

Shins - Nature Bears a Vacuum ep

Something Blew - s/t ep

Sometime Sweet Susan - Fuse, Point ep & The Coming Lights 

Stag - Kickstart the Ramparts

Swimming Pools Q's - Pow Wow Hour

Trikona Frame - tape 

UV Prom - Field of Vision ep

V. Card - Pool Shark ep & 7" 

Velocity Girl - singles  

Venus in Furs - Real Moral Fibre

Ward 8 (Winter Hours) - tape

Wishes and Water - s/t ep

Wishing Wall - Maybe  

Wolfie - Necessary Sailing tape

V/A - Been There, Done That

V/A - Power pop special: Paul Collins Beat, 20/20, Sinceros live 1979

V/A - Powerpearls Vols. 4 & 5

V/A - Propeller