Fourth Night of Chanukah - The Figgs: 20th Century Masters - The Singles Collection...plus

Well look who came to bestow some happy Chanukah tidings?  The Figgs were kind enough to bequeath us with a steady flow of singles and such during their tenure in the Clinton-era, and I was kind enough to hem together as many of the disparate and sometime random non-LP Figgs jams that I was fortunate to collect over the years.  In fact, this entry has been in the pipeline for awhile now.  I had been procrastinating out of sheer fear that assembling this collection would be a bear of an undertaking, but I finally nailed it, save for a couple of tracks from tribute albums, and the elusive "I Am Clean" from a Blue Lunch Records comp cassette that I'm sadly missing.

As the long held notion goes, Beatles b-sides were usually superior to most other band's A-grade material.  So far as I'm concerned, The Figgs were another "fab four" (later pared down to three, but I digress) whose non-LP catalog could go head to head with their strongest album tracks.  Case in point, a spate of four exquisite singles that came down the pike between 1993-95, beginning with "Miss Velvet" and ending with my favorite Christmas record ever, the Christmas Shake ep which I originally posted here in 2007.  Still performing and recording, the Figgs sassy and charm-schooled power pop formula is microbrewed by two key singer-songwriters Pete Donnelly and Mike Gent, with drummer Pete Hayes contributing text on a less frequent basis, in proportion to say, Ringo Starr.  The net result isn't Beatle-esque, so much as Material Issue getting juiced up on Elvis Costllo's genius, late '70s tear.  Edgy, indigenous and endearing The Figgs halcyon era in the mid-90s was a sight/sound to behold, and proper full lengths, Banda Macho and Lo-Fi at Society High, were merely half the story.

Since I don't have the time to provide you with a track-by-track spiel, let me cherry pick a few highlights.  The Figgs first single, "Happy" was backed with a cover of the Green Pajamas winsome "My Mad Kitty."  Other single sides from the same era "Let's Get Arrested" and "One Hit Wonder" were big audience favorites, and rightfully so.  You can read more about the Christmas record in the link I supplied below.
"What Became of It" was initially released as the b-side to the Banda Macho era "Girl, Kill Your Boyfriend" single, not on 7" wax, but would you believe a 5" compact disk sized record.  If you ever gone to the trouble of playing a 5" piece of vinyl on a record player you know how dicey it is to get the needle to drop without the arm automatically retracting to it's resting position, but anyway.  There's more covers too.  The Figgs's spin on "Father Christmas" is even more breathless and strident than the Kinks, while Chuck Berry's "Don't You Lie to Me" is virtually reconfigured into a lounge number.  Yet another Kink's tune, "Johnny Thunder" is capably executed, as is an Undertones oldie.  There are some really obscure compilation tracks here too.  Immediately after the tracklist is a source listing for everything,  MP3 bitrates may vary slightly from song to song.

BTW these aren't the first Figgs rarities I've shared.  I've refreshed the links for their 1992 Ginger cassette album, and the vinyl only outtakes collection Rejects.  Then there's my original entries for Christmas Shake, the split singles with Prisonshake and Coffin Break plus the Undertones tribute and Half-Assed compilations.  A lot to love.  Enjoy.  Thanks to A Minor Obsession for the painstaking discogrpahy details.

01. Happy
02. My Mad Kitty
03. Miss Velvet
04. Powder King
05. Go Before
06. Let's Get Arrested
07. J Card
08. One Hit Wonder
09. Father Christmas
10. Christmas Sake
11. Merry Christmas, Girl
12. What Became of It
13. Let Me Have It
14. Up the Charts
15. Citizens Band
16. Appointments
17. This Phaser Sounds Divine
18. Wiser Goldfish
19. Don't You Lie to Me
20. Got Back Your Baby (live)
21. 1000 People Grinning
22. Who Hung That Sign
23. Johnny Thunder
24. Boys Will Be Boys

1 & 2 - Happy 7" (1992, Absolute A-Go-Go)
3 & 4 - Miss Velvet 7" (1993, Matt Label)
5 & 6 - Go Before 7" (1994, March)
7 & 8 - J Card 7" (1995, Square Target)
9-11. Christmas Shake 7" ep (1995, Chunk)
12. b-side to "Girl, Kill Your Boyfriend" 5" (1996, Capitol)
13. split 7" w/ Coffin Break (1992, Negative Feedback)
14. split 7" w/ Bloom (1994, Paint Chip)
15. split 7" w/ Incredible Casuals (1995, Kranepool)
16-19. split 7" with Prisonshake (1998, Flipped Out/Philthy Rex)
20. V/A - Live at the QE2 (1990, Sweetfish)
21. V/A - Half Assed 7" ep (1994, Kranepool)
22. V/A - Sponic magazine 7" comp (1998, Sponic)
23. V/A - Daydreaming in an Empty Station Wagon CD (1999, Dizzy
24. V/A - Here Comes the Summer - Undertones tribute (1995, Square Target)

Hear

The Figgs - Ginger (1992)

Late last year, I dedicated a post to the Figgs outtakes collection Rejects. While that sweet, vinyl-only delight was released in 2000, the Figgs history actually dates back to the late '80s. As far as I'm concerned however they might as well have opened for business in 1993, the year I discovered their debut cassette album, Ginger, at the great Last Vestige Records in Albany (literally a basement operation at that point, but I digress).

Originally a quartet, the Figgs hailed from Saratoga, about a half hour from the Capital District. Ginger was the first of two precursors to their 1994, proper debut album, Low-Fi At Society High on Imago Records, (the second being Ready, Steady, Stoned which I'll get to in a moment). Ginger featured the songwriting contributions of three Figgs, specifically Pete Donnely, Mike Gent, and to a lesser extent Guy Lyons who would depart the band by the late '90s. The tape begins with "Bitch Theme," truthfully, a less than representative instrumental spliced together with a miscellaneous foreign radio/tv broadcast of some sort. Two and a half minutes later, the first bona-fide song, "Kristy McNichol's Boots" kicks in, a Gent-penned number that sold me on the band immediately as a fan for life, with it's seemingly simple refrain of:

Why don't you quit your bitchin?

Use your credit cards, the bills are in the kitchen

The kids are in the yard

And you blow your mind...

More like blew my mind. "Boots" leads into an equally stunning and vigorous slice of power-pop, the Donnelly commandeered "Sleaze." By and large the remainder of Ginger holds up just as effectively. "Happy," another best song contender, leading off side two, was also issued on a 7" single from the same period, with a Green Pajamas cover on the flipside, "My Mad Kitty." "Wasted Pretty," as some of you might already be aware, crash-landed at Society High in a rerecorded incarnation.

With perhaps the exception of the oddball intro track, Ginger is remarkable, suggesting an ever so slight wink and a nod to Elvis Costello and The Replacements, completely uncontrived and hardly derivative. As you can tell from the scan, the tape was limited to 500 copies, mine being # 300 - even steven, and for the record, a total coincidence. Ginger was promptly followed up with another album-length tape in 1993, Ready, Steady, Stoned, reissued ten years later on CD with a ton of bonus tracks, which you can and should buy from the Figgs web store. According to the discography on the Figgs Myspace page, there is another unreleased home-grown album from this era, Waiting For The Bugasauras, that I'd probably trade a left nut for. If only it were that easy.

 

01. Bitch Theme

02. Kristy McNichol's Boots

03. Sleaze

04. Floored

05. Milk Dud

06. Happy

07. Pretty Wasted

08. Can't Be Cloned

09. Donahue

10. Treble Head 

Believe it or not, it's been reissued

Pete Donnelly (The Figgs) - Another Day on You (1999)

I had a request for this when I posted the The Figgs Ginger cassette about a month ago. Precious few know about this extremely limited edition (50 copies so the story goes) solo tape cut by Figgs bassist/songwriter Pete Donnelly. For a release of this format and scarcity, the fidelity is surprisingly excellent. More rewardingly, the ten cuts within aren't bedroom experiments or tossed off "extras" that didn't make the cut for any given Figgs album. I dug a little deeper on this tape, and here's some info I gleaned from article that appeared on Donnelly's Myspace blog in a early 2007.

If you're one of the lucky ones, you might have an old and most-likely, well-loved copy of Pete's solo album (the originals were cassette only, and limited to 50 copies – sorry folks!). The 10-song cassette entitled, Another Day On You, was released in 1999, after the Figgs relationship with Capitol dissolved. Pete was living in Providence at the time, and thinking of ways to reinvent himself and keep afloat at the same time. Song to song, Another Day On You comes off as a very personal and reflective album; even if it was never meant to be its own permanent release. There's almost a scratchy, frenetic energy and even a pained sound to Pete's vocals on these songs that remind me of a mod Rod Stewart – a cooler, mod Rod Stewart – who's gone through a LOT. And the songs themselves, are almost bridge-like in extension of the ones written and played with The Figgs.

"What is this love about? / Is it just a game? / This could be our way out / I want to break / Yeah I know that this is love / 'Cause I have you on my side / I've gotta feel you in my blood / I'm rushin' all the time / We're rushin' all the time …" ("Rushing All The Time", Pete Donnelly)"

I made them because I was going through this thing where I was like 'I'm going to start doing some solo shows to try to make some bread.' I was like, 'What am I doing, I'm getting in debt here.' You know; what's my life all about? Partly, I wanted it to be impermanent too, because I had reservations about the material…it's all stuff that was never completely realized. They're just, you know; sketches, ideas. Putting it on a cassette was kind of like saying, 'Hey, this stuff isn't to be displayed as a real permanent work of art,' It's just kind of like a, I don't know – a view of what I've been up to. I think that every once in a while, I get this feeling I'm going to put together all the music that I've recorded over the years – you know, release a double-CD, probably put some of that stuff on…and there were a few tracks that didn't fit on the cassette."

Can we look forward to a solo Pete Donnelly record? "It kind of gets back to the unfortunate reality of the dollar. One of the goals of mine is to find more time to be creative on my own. I have so little time, whereas when I was younger, you have too much time – and you scare and you explore yourself and your own psyche in your own studio or whatever. And, yet, Another Day On You is such a home recording record, that "Rushing All the Time" is from a studio in Conshohocken [PA] as a matter of fact. But you know, it's really personal because of the state of mind that you're in when you're alone, and by yourself… You're much more vulnerable than when you're working with other people."

By the way, one Mike Viola guests on a cut here, but you'll have to download the tape so you can take a gander at the sleeve notes to find out which track specifically.

01. Behind The Train
02. The Place Is Packed
03. Rushing All The Time
04. Another Day On You
05. guitar instrumental
06. Under Blankets
07. All Your Empty Memories
08. Letters to Friends
09. Shooting Away
10. Erased

Now on Bandcamp.

Splitting the Difference # 30 - The Figgs/Prisonshake +1 (1997, Flipped Out/Philthy Rex)

If you've been paying attention to our Splitting the Difference series, you'll notice that The Figgs have been previously featured - on the first occasion with Coffin Break, and now with Ohio's Prisonshake taking their turn on the flipside, only this time around, the Figgs offer four songs, all exclusive to my knowledge. And what of those songs you ask? Strikingly brief and lo-fi, compared to the rest of their repertoire, and not sounding particularly Figgs-y I might add. Even a rendition of Chuck Berry's otherwise rollicking "Don't You Like to Me" is given an ironically loungy treatment. Mightily enjoyable all the same, as are the three originals (each composed by a different member of the trio).

Rubbing elbows with Prisonshake's side of the other side of this wax is an outfit going by the name Neck Punch, who contribute an irreverent Berry cover of their own, "Come On." The Cleveland based Prisonshake are thoroughly adored in the hearts and minds of their humble but enthusiastic fanbase, pumping out a handful of overlooked, punked-up indie rock LPs during the '80s and '90s, but like the Figgs, they're relatively subdued here, namely on the 'ballad' "Nothing Has to Hurt." If only that notion were true...

 

The Figgs

01. Appointments?

02. This Phaser Sounds Divine

03. Wiser Goldfish

04. Don't You Like to Me

 

Neck Punch - Come On

 

Prisonshake

01. Nothing Has to Hurt/My Dearest One

02. answering machine blather

Hear

Splitting the Difference # 25 Coffin Break/The Figgs 7" (1992, Negative Feedback)

Coffin Break and The Figgs are something of an unlikely combo for a split single, in regards to both genre and proximity. Granted, "Let Me Have It," cut in 1992, presumably for the Ginger sessions finds the (then) upstate New York quartet raising a little more of a raucous then usual. The jagged little squelch of feedback in the opening seconds leads into a treble-happy, two-and-a-half minute slice of pogo-pop as only the Figgs know how to cook up. Of course, I've extolled on them a few times on these pages, so I'm a little biased.

Truth be told, at the time of this release Seattle's Coffin Break were also of significant interest to me. Their side, featuring "Drain" is a taught exercise in thrashy punk rawk with a vague metal tinge to drive the point home. Concise and punchy as-all-get-out, but a trifle too amelodic for all you "pop fanatics" I might add.
 

A. Coffin Break - Drain

B. The Figgs - Let Me Have It
 

Hear

The Figgs - Rejects (2000; rec 1993-99)

When I picked up a cassette album by The Figgs, Ginger, in 1992, I never would have guessed they'd still be an active band some 16 years later. Furthermore, I couldn't have anticipated that I'd be following them as fervently now as I did back then. While there initial batch of singles and albums, including Ready, Steady Stoned, Lo-fi At Society High, and Banda Macho, found these upstate New Yorkers at their zenith, they've nonetheless managed to pump out many, many more quality records on a fairly consistent basis. Currently whittled down to a trio of Pete Donnelly, Pete Hayes, and Mike Gent, The Figgs not only draw on all three members as talented songwriters, their sound is rooted in the likes of Elvis Costello, the Rolling Stones, and a myriad of edgy power-pop groups past and present.

The vinyl-only, and now out of print Rejects was a treat for fans fond of The Figgs halcyon era. Combining half a decades worth of (mostly) short-and-sweet outtakes, Rejects could easily pass for a proper album in itself (not counting the funny interludes and answering machine messages, as you'll soon experience). The cream of the crop here includes, but is certainly not limited to, the Stonesy stomp of "Fucks Off," the riff-roaring punk-pop of "Rollerskate," a cover of the Young Fresh Fellows "Hillbilly Drummer Girl," and "The Bar," a paean to full-blown inebriation.
 

01. answering machine #1

02. Rollerskate

03. What Became of It

04. Hillbilly Drummer Girl

05. Sully

06. Much to Lose

07. Barely There # 1

08. Rice Chicken commercial

09. ''Kick into da blues''

10. Fucks Off

11. The Bar

12. Getting Down With L.T.D.

13. My New Gun

14. She's Fine

15. commentary from Mike Gent

16. Barely There # 2

17. answering machine # 2 (WEQX)

 
Hear

Pete Donnelly - Face the Bird (2013) - a brief overview

The Figgs are one of those rare and unlikely rock and roll breeds who consistently benefit from the songwriting contributions of all of it's roster mates, both as a four-piece in the early/mid '90s (with the now absent Guy Lyons), and pared down to the current trio of Mike Gent, Pete Donnelly and Pete Hayes.  Kicking things off in the late '80s under the name Sonic Undertones, The Figgs have slogged through a quarter century of club gigs, released in the neighborhood of one dozen full lengths, almost as many 45s, and have intermittently served as Graham Parker's backing band - all while accumulating an audience of tried and true believers, one fan at a time.  Gent and Donnelly are the Figgs most accomplished songsmiths, and as such it shouldn't come as a shock that they have creative outlets outside the band.  Thing is, Mike Gent has been the far more prolific one of that pair, issuing three LPs with his fittingly named spinoff combo, The Gentlemen, and just as many disks under his own name.  Slowly but surely, Pete Donnelly is catching up, and is doing so in style with his second proper disk, Face the Bird.

Upon even the briefest examination (30 second samples on iTunes if you must), ...Bird takes the listener on a tremendously varied flight, diving in, out, and around a myriad of genres - virtually the antitheses of any given Figgs album.  In a solo context, Donnelly is demonstrably more nuanced and lucid, adopting a sonic penchant that affords his songs exponentially more breathing room than the often volatile power pop of his main gig.  I hasten to use the term "solo," as Pete receives no shortage of accommodation from a slew of backing musicians - and one particularly special guest, Shelby Lynne who contributes vocals to ...Bird's arguable centerpiece, "Got Caught Up."  Robust and assured, this tune could pull it's own weight in radio-ready gold, but I don't think our man intends to play that game.  Let it be known that "Always Something" shares a similar ambition quotient.  

The sheik, cosmopolitan groove propelling it's way through "Delicate Elocution," is another sublime departure, while a more wistful tone is struck on the acoustic "A Thing of Two," and the nearly as spare "Low Flying Planes."  "Toodle-oo" merges bluegrass textures with snappy lounge pop, and a bevy of clever keyboard juxtapositions infiltrate the concluding "Yet to Be Made."  Some amusing interjections from Pete's kids add to the unpredictable but thankfully rewarding anomalies of Face the Bird.    

For a limited time, I'm offering a brief taster below, but for the main course, move thy mouse in the direction of Pete's store page, and soon to come iTunes and Amazon downloads.  

Bird's the word...and so is Bandcamp.

almost forgot...

The Figgs, perhaps my favorite underdog band of all time, released this gem of a Christmas single in 1995, smack dab in their creative zenith no less. They kick off the festivities with their take on the Kink's classic "Father Christmas," brandishing all the moxie and exuberance of Ray Davies and the boys, and then some. The flip side reveals an original, "Christmas Sake," penned by vocalist/bassist extraordinaire Pete Donnelly. The follow-up cut, "Merry Christmas, Girl," is a driving, indelibly catchy blast of The Figgs trademark, punkin' power pop that even wins over the Kinks remake on the A-side. It's credited to "J Parrish," but can anyone tell me who this fellow actually is? Always been a mystery...

Stay tuned for the real "present" tomorrow. Indulge in the Figgs for now!

a. Father Christmas

b1. Christmas Sake

b2. Merry Christmas, Girl

 

Hear

Various - Half-Assed 7" (1994, Kranepool/Shithouse Rat)

A few days ago, Shiny Grey Monotone blog shared the 1994 soundtrack to the indie flick Half-Cocked.  Not to be outdone, I was inspired to post this 7" comp, the cover of which is a picture-perfect mock of the sleeve for said soundtrack.  The rose-red motif is where the similarities end however, as Half-Assed wasn't for a movie at all, rather a showcase of six Albany, NY-area bands that were making a solid go of it at the time.  Most notable to me, and perhaps even you, is the inclusion of a non-lp, lo-fi Figgs nugget "1000 People Grinning," which incorporates a bit of a Merseybeat vibe. Catapult also appear to be on something of a 4-track kick here as well.  We also enjoy a tune from Dryer, a trio of co-ed indie popsters who I've spoken of highly on here before.   Don't have much to offer on Small Ax, although their contribution, "Holy Ways" definitely subscribes to Amphetamine Reptile aesthetics.  Beef made a name for themselves on the Albany club circuit back when this wax was churned out, but I'm not sure if you guess it from the sound of things here.  The Coal Palace Kings were No Depression acolytes to the nth degree, with several releases under their belt, and the swinging little country number, "Asskicker Theme," despite it's slightly pugnacious title, is as good a place as any to make your acquaintance.

01. Small Ax - Holy Ways
02. Beef - Papercup
03. Coal Palace Kings - Asskicker Theme
04. Catapult - Seasons Change
05. The Figgs - 1000 People Grinning
06. Dryer - Helicopter

Hear

The Suburbans - The Pop Life (1980, Isleford)

The Suburbans were a nervy strum and drang trio, presumably from the NYC area.  Hard to believe this came out all the way back in 1980, given that just about every logic comparison I seem to draw is past the Carter-era, namely The Feelies, Misison of Burma, and even the Figgs.  In fact, singer guy/guitarist Jamie Rosenthal's vocal timbre falls roughly in the range of Burma's Roger Miller and the Figgs Mike Gent.  There’s a little backtracking in a Velvets kinda way, not to mention the Suburban's occasional knack for pulling off slight Brit Invasion maneuvers, but these similarities are dim and likely coincidental.  The band's DIY recording setup is devoid of effects and studio trickery, lending a minimalist stride to The Pop Life.

The frenetic chord-wrangling that grips “No Use to Cry” suggests the Suburbans may have gotten some face time at CB’s or Maxwells during their run.  "Saturday Night Blues (Going to a Party)" is a sprite rave-up that's equally fun.  Other highlights abound ("Suburban Rock" and "I Don't Undertand"), and unfortunately a few clunkers (you're forgiven if you pass on the parodic disco funk of "I'm a Good Dancer").  If anyone can shed a few further details on the Suburbans, please chime in, because there isn't squat to be had about these dudes online.

01. No Use to Cry
02. Saturday Night Blues (Going to a Party)
03. The Way I Look at You
04. I Don't Understand
05. You Don't Know My Name
06. No Love Song
07. I'm a Good Dancer
08. Nobody Told Me How It Would Be
09. Words and Wants
10. Suburban Rock

Hear

V/A - Here Comes the Summer: The Undertones Tribute Compilation (1996, Square Target)

Someone recently inquired if I had The Figgs contribution to an Undertones tribute CD they appeared on several years ago. I've decided to fulfill that request and then some, by sharing the disk in it's entirety...and here it is. The Seattle based Square Target Records, who released music from The Deflowers and UFOFU (both featured on this blog and compilation), did a smash-up job paying tribute to one of the most exemplary proto pop-punk bands ever. Not only are some of the best songs from the Undertones repertoire marvelously covered here, the roster of bands paying homage reads like a creme de la creme, who's-who of mid-90s punk/garage rock dynamos: The Queers, cub, The Smugglers, Vacant Lot, The Shambles, and Pluto among others. The first two Undertones albums, 1979's Undertones, and Hypnotised a year later (both recently reissued for the second time) are the ones that most of Here Comes the Summer's participants draw from, and appropriately so (if you're a fan, you know exactly what I mean). If you like this tribute and have yet to hear the originals, go directly to Amazon or your record store of choice for the aforementioned albums, and plunk down some of the best money you'll ever spend.

01. Cub - Here Comes The Summer
02. Pansy Division - Male Model
03. Deflowers - You've Got My Number (Why Don't You Use It)
04. Clay Wheels - Top 20
05. UFOFU - Wednesday Week
06. Smugglers - (She's A) Runaround
07. Figgs - Boys Will Be Boys
08. Vacant Lot - More Songs About Chocolate And Girls
09. Queers - Get Over You
10. Pluto - Girls Don't Like It
11. Milkduds - Mars Bars
12. Shambles - It's Going To Happen
13. Odd Numbers - Teenage Kicks
14. Racetrain - Casbah Rock

Hear

Singles Going SIngle #134 - Elevator 7'' (1993, Warner's Brother)

Straight-up, three chord bash 'n pop here courtesy of a Somerville, MA (i.e. suburban Boston) trio.  Having monikered themselves after an inanimate object, and a fairly ubiquitous one at that, pulling up any vital stats on Elevator is practically a fools errand (though I did come across a brief reference that claims the band was a side project of Beantown ska-sters Bim Skala Bim).  No ska here though, rather more in the vein of Finger (who I recently featured), and early Figgs.  The A-side is aces, particularly the rip-roaring "Eleven."  The lazier "It's Allright" never exceeds past a slow boil, but hey, two out of three...

A1. Timothy
A2. Eleven
B. It's Allright

Hear

Eureka - demo (199?)

Well, I'm not exactly going to be dedicating a book to this one, as vital stats are minimal at best.  I picked up this trio's tape in the mid-90s from the college radio station I dj'd at, and recollect being highly impressed with it fifteen years ago.  Eureka did the indie guitar-rawk thing quite earnestly I might add, not far removed from the Replacements and Figgs, albeit doled out in a slightly more pedestrian package.  Innovation is hardly a buzzword here, but Eureka's willingness to disavow any sort of studio gloss lends a refreshingly organic aesthetic to this quartet of songs.  Judging from the 512-area code gracing the cassette label, I would venture a guess that the band were in or damn close to the environs of Austin, TX.  They have a Soundclick page where you can stream these songs and five more, however my rip was taken straight from the source tape depicted above.

01. Marbles
02. Taffy
03. Catsup
04. Blockhead

Hear

The Pilgrims - It's Not Pretty (2012) - A brief overview

You’ve got to give it up for a band like The Pilgrims who wield that “just rolled outta bed nonchalance, but still have our shit way more together than all you strivers ever will” penchant as if they had the chops to stake their hides on it.  As luck would have it, these four Vermont-sters tear it up in the post-Replacements neck of the woods, terrain already chartered by such unheralded dynamos as The Figgs, Magnolias, Finger, and a bunch of others that are far too arcane to warrant mentioning.  In short, this quartet plays it lovingly roughewn, but never roughshod, with oodles of treble-kickin’ riffs, a few savvy harmonies and a nervy swig of Stonesy sass.  Their Bandcamped album, It’s Not Pretty is chockablock with the punchy, lived-in rawk and roll that you’ve spent the last sixty seconds reading about it, and I have to admit, it grows on you fabulously well, and very quickly at that.  Lend and ear to “Glue,” “American Eyes,” and ”Philibuster Brown,” and if you like what you hear, lay down the $5 will ya?

Restored links!

Almost seventy of 'em, based on your requests.  Enjoy!

Summer Suns - Greatest
Catherine Wheel - four eps
Rich Kids - Burning Sounds
The Germs - GI rough mixes
Semantics - Powerbill
Howard and Tim's Paid Vacation - I Never Met a Girl...
The Love In - s/t ep
Teeze - s/t ep
Pipe - singles collection
Centro-matic - singles
Splitsville - Amateur Hour
Greenberry Woods - Shorty ep
Diesel Park West - Shakespeare Alabama demos
Ten Ten - Ordinary Thinking
Not Shakespeare - Edge of the World
Chainsaw Kittens - High in High School ep & Mother 7"
The Flies - Alternatoid
Figgs - singles
Muler - singles
Pluto - singles
Wool - singles
Bum - singles
Jolt - Proof of Total Collapse tape & singles
Luxury - EP #1
Bangtails - Hypnotic Downpour ep
New Flamingos - In the Pink ep
Instructions - s/t LP
Christmas - In Excelsior Dayglo
Tiny Lights - Know It You Love
Four Color Manual - Guardian For a Year
Blank Schatz - The Grand Prize
Jo Broadbery & the Standouts - The House of Love
V/A - Here Comes the Summer - Undertones tribute
V/A - The Patio Collection
V/A - Super Mixer
V/A - More of Our Stupid Noise '98
V/A - Cinnamon Toast: Trim Crusts if Desired
V/A - Self Mutilation
V/A - Half Assed ep
V/A - Vehicle ep
New Musik - Straight Lines ep
Propaganda - Calling on Moscow ep
Green on Red - Rev. Luther 12" 
The Restless - s/t LP
Pink Noise Test - Electric Train ep & single
Superscope - Generally Electric ep
Grady Sisters - 7" ep
Dish - Mabel Sagittarius ep & single
Harvey Street - What About George? ep
The Harlows - 1995 tape & 1996 tape
Mrs. Svenson - 1995 demo
Five Ticket Ride - demo
Bluebird - The Two
aMINIATURE/Drip Tank - split singles
Second Childhood - Figure Skating
Revellaires - Pop of Ages
Carmine - Carpe Patio Flounder
Vim - 7" ep
Bright - Plymouth Rock 7"
Gone Daddy Finch - Sunshine Sister 7" 
Gardener - Intermission 7"
Zoinks!/Narcissistic Freds - split 7"
Bomb Bassets - Please Don't Die 7" ep
Girlpope - Teenage Jesus 7"
Smackmelon - Space Shot 7"
Forty - Lightswitch 7"
Revelers - This Little Light of Mine 7"
Sweetcream USA - 7"
Shelf Life - 7"
Lemons - Keep Diggin' 7" 

Five Ticket Ride - demo (1995)

Folks, this proverbial ticket to ride is an utter cold case.  Got this through the college station I used to DJ at, and in all likelihood it arrived in the mail with an accompanying bio sheet of some sort, not that I would have saved it even if I originally had access to it.  Anyway, three promising songs from an earnest bunch o' San Fran up-and-comers, residing on the crunchier side of period indie rock, a la Small 23, Figgs or perhaps a rawer Material Issue.  The only potential link I was able to cross reference on Five Ticket Ride was a handful of YouTube clips that could be a different band of the same moniker, but the sonic similarities give me the impression they're one and the same.  Anyone have a clue on these folks, comment away.  Am enthused to hear more.   

01. Wasting Away
02. Hold On
03. Lift Me Up

Hear

Magnatone - s/t (1997, No Alternative)

My apologies for not being able to get much in the way of new music this week.  Hope this will suffice.  Swiping their moniker from an amplifier manufacturer, Magnatone were presumably a Twin Cities export.  Their riff-laden power pop recalls Bash and Pop, The Figgs, and amazingly The Muffs, albeit not always as consistently inspired as those '90s powerhouses.  Lead Tone Tom Rosenthal occasionally slips into a microphone mode not too-dissimilar from Elvis Costello (check out "Make Up Your Mind") with my spidey senses telling me that's more coincidence than shtick.  Best of all, Magnatone isn't one of those front-loaded platters that sequence all the good songs at the beginning, instead gradually gaining steam, or at the very least not losing momentum. 

01. Merry-go-Round
02. Walk Away
03. Johnny Bravo
04. Up in Flames
05. Magnatone
06. Cry Baby
07. Drag City
08. Short Sweet & Simple
09. Make Up Your Mind
10. Listen/Tell Me

Hear