Wednesday, June 22, 2022

VA - Hanging Out at Midnight (1986, Midnight)

Though technically this is a label "sampler," so to speak, Hanging Out at Midnight functions and flows as a proper compilation, rather than an overt or glorified sales pitch. Midnight Records (the now defunct label and store in downtown Manhattan, not to be confused with Midnight Music in Britain) were purveyors of some of the best garage revival acts in the '80s, and also stretched it's tentacles around surrounding music arenas including power pop. There are some relatively known commodities here, including the Fuzztones and Cheepskates, but only the most dedicated scenesters are likely to have much firsthand knowledge of say, The Tryfles primordial stomp and the riff-addled Backbones. The Wind and Woofing Cookies veered in the vicinity of traditional college radio, and not surprisingly are among my favorites here. Perhaps the biggest anomaly amongst the Midnight roster, was Rochester's Absolute Grey, a co-ed troupe charting a noir, post-punk course. The Love Pushers, who entailed in their lineup two budding music journalists, Jim Testa and Jim DeRogatis contribute the excellent indie rock homage "Radio Girl," however when I went to make the digital transfer the song skipped frequently. This may have been more the result of the record pressing itself and not my turntable, and although I may try tracking it again, I'm fortunate to have an alternate source for the tune which I've substituted here. Finally, the Fuzztones gnarly reading of the Sonics "The Witch" has some describable swells of intermittent static I unfortunately wasn't able to compensate for, try as I might.

01. The Mighty Mofos - I Need You
02. The Cavemen - Labor Day
03. Woofing Cookies - Girl Next Door
04. The Wind - Good News, Bad News
05. Absolute Grey - No Man's Land
06. Love Pushers - Radio Girl
07. The Tryfles - No
08. The Cheepskates - About Time
09. The Kingsnakes - So Good
10. The Backbones - The Rain Won't Stop
11. Howard and Tim's Paid Vacation - That Won't Make You Love Me
12. Fuzztones - The Witch

Hear

2 comments:

Josef Kloiber said...

Thank you !

heartsofstone said...

I didn't know this existed. Thanks so much for the awesome share.