Friday, March 16, 2012

Vol. 3 Episode 10


Here it is, number 10. Reviews and history for some common and very rare items!

This is the second album from The Breeders. It was released in 1993. The group was supposed to be a side project for Pixies bassist Kim Deal. It quickly became her primary outlet after the breakup of the Pixies. There are three singles that were released from this album. The first is called Cannonball. The title of the album was taken from a lyric in the song Cannonball. I loved this song from the first time that I heard it, from the first drum stick hits on the stem of a cymbal stand to the loud, loud chorus and driving bass line. It is a classic 90s song. The next single released is called Divine Hammer. The vocals on this track are from another world. They are just perfect. Kim’s vocals backed with her sisters are like wearing silk. It makes me so happy. The song itself is very quick paced but the vocals over the top just make it so sweet. The last single released from the album is called Saints. This track is very in your face and stands out. The mix puts the vocals right out front. The chorus is smoothed out a little bit more with her sister doing backing vocals. There is something very special when the two of them are singing at the same time. I remember hating this album when I got it. I just did not get that the rest of the album was nothing like the first single. This is why I got the album after all. It was not until 10 plus years after I bought the album that I gave it a second chance. After listening to it on the second try I found these nice sounds that I have just talked about. I find that I really like the loud soft loud aspects that Kim brought through to The Breeders very much. I would recommend this album to anybody and everybody but you must give it more than one listen to get it. Look at how long it took me to find the gems in it.

This is the third album from Deftones. It was released in 2000. I bought it right away when it came out. I really liked the first single, Change (In The House Of Flies). I was really disappointed when I found out that they re-released the album with an additional track. This track was the second single released from the album. I refused to buy the album a second time for one track. Apparently this was a marketing scheme to sell more of the same album increasing prophets for the release. There was a special red vinyl release as well as limited edition CDs with a solid red case and solid black case. Each color of the CD had different contents in the book. As I said the first single from the album was Change (In The House Of Flies). The song is very uncharacteristic of the band. The song uses the classic loud, soft, loud tactic that was made famous by the Pixies. It is really a very interesting song. The next single, which was only released on the re-release of the album, is called Back To School (Mini Magit). This single was put out because the lead singer was suckered by the record company to out another single, saying that all the other songs were watered down so they couldn’t make another single happen from the album. The song is really a rework of the last song on the album Pink Maggit. Personally, I don’t like the rework, specifically because I don’t like the rap but prefer the hard rock that they are known for. It was still a single so what do I know. The last single released from the album is called Digital Bath. This song follows the style of Change with whispered vocals in a slowed down music. I think that it is just as good as Change and actually rivals the song because it makes better use of the loud, soft, loud method as opposed to the lead single being mostly the same volume throughout. I think that this is a great album in the hard rock vein. I don’t consider it a heavy metal album at all.

This is the second album released from Eurythmics. It was released in 1983. I was surprised to find that there were four singles released from this album. I only remember the last single released from the album, which is the title track. The first single released is called This Is The House. This single did not chart at all. The song was funded not from a record company but from Stewart’s bank manager at the time. The 12” single of this song has an extended mix of the track and four live tracks. These tracks were not included in the 2005 remaster package and still remain unavailable on CD. The second single released is called The Walk. This track was also a failure in the charts. As with the previous single the B-sides were not included on the ‘05 remaster. The next single released from the album is called Love Is A Stranger. This song was as well initially a failure but charted better after the release of the title track. The song has a fairly sparse, up-tempo arrangement. It uses the rare Movement Systems Drum Computer and various synthesizers (providing bass, melody lines and sound effects), including the Suzuki Omnichord, combined with Lennox's strident multi-tracked vocal harmonies. The song is also punctuated with vocal grunts of "uh!" from Stewart. The last single released is the title track, Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This). This is the song that gave the group their breakthrough success. This is also the track that Marilyn Manson covered to propel him to stardom. He did also change some of the original lyrics to suit his needs. I love both versions of this song. Both have a special place in my heart. There are many other cover versions of this song but this is the one that stands out the most.

This is the first album from Ben Folds Five. It was released in 1995. This was released the summer after I had graduated high school. It represents a freedom for me of not being required to do anything for that entire summer. I started college that fall but only had three classes a day and was usually finished in the early after noon. It there fore represents a freedom of sorts still as it was not the formal school format that I was use to. There are five singles released from this album. The first single is called Jackson Cannery. There was a 7” record put out for this album but it was limited to 500 pressings. Ben Folds had this to say about the song,

“Well, that's one of the images that hit me. It came from a guy who was riding the bus from college to work and he kind of was losing his shit at the time and he had the bus driver pull over and let him off and he ended up in Ireland trying to find U2. He's in and out of halfway homes and he's schizophrenic. What fascinated me was not that he was schizophrenic, but that at any point in your life, you can just quit. You can quit anything you want to. And I thought it was kind of dramatic, the idea of going, "Stop the bus." Everyone has to see you stop everything, and everybody has to stop with you and they let you off. I pulled the name Jackson from someone I knew who I thought worked too hard and the Cannery was a hosiery mill in North Carolina. So I just mixed the names up and I think the defining line in that song would be, "When seconds pass slowly and years go flying by." You know, just that every moment's a fucking drag and you look back and everything passed just in a second.

The second single released from this album is called Underground. The song is about geeks and social outcasts searching for acceptance in numbers through underground music and art scenes. I identified with this in a big way. I have always been looking for the next new thing. I still do. This song is the most recognizable from the album. It is the second most recognizable in their cannon only to Brick which comes from the follow up album. I can remember singing along with this song when I would play it. I would have so much fun singing the falsetto parts. The next single from the album is called Uncle Walter. This song was released in the UK and Australia only. It is another classic story song from the group. The fourth single is called Where’s Summer B? The song is about the disappointment one finds of returning to a hometown after being away and seeing things much the same as before. The last single released from this album was also only released in the UK. That song is called Philosophy. The B-sides for this single are the same for Where’s Summer B? The liner notes for the 1998 compilation and rarities album Naked Baby Photos claim, with a hint of sarcasm, that the song is about Folds' penis, "if that's what you think it's about." This is a great album that everyone should hear.

This is a 7” vinyl EP released from Man or Astro-Man? in 1995 from Estrus Records. It was released on clear gold vinyl. There were apparently only 1000 copies of this 7” made. The sleeve was die-cut. The electric bolts in the front cover were die-cut and the top of the sleeve was cut to the shape of the record. There is a yellow insert that goes in front of the record to give the lightning bolts their yellow color. The bottom half of the insert has a graphic of a man with very beady eyes. It’s kind of creepy really. The ink used on the exterior of the sleeve has a cool metallic sheen to it. The sides are labeled C and D instead of A and B. The graphic on the back is a picture of a brain with electricity shooting out of it. This was a giant Tesla coil, built by Dale Travous, with a modeled brain, created by Katherine Cook, and the photos of the art project were taken by Arthur S. Aubry. The results are a very unique graphic that is reminiscent of some black and white sci-fi horror flicks of the 40s and 50s. The cover graphic was supposed to be very much like something that Ed Roth would have drawn. The tracks on this EP are easy enough to get a hold of it is this particular package that is difficult to find. There are 4 tracks on this EP. They are Escape Velocity and Tomorrow Plus X on side C. On the other side, Side D, are Max Q with The Quartermass Phenomenon. This is not an EP that needs to be sought out unless you are so into the band that you gotta have it all.

This is a tour only cassette tape. It was released for the winter 2012 tour. Obviously there were no singles released from this split. The cassette has no printing on it but is colored blue. The paper sleeve is a laser printer copy cut to fit the cassette case. My particular paper sleeve was hand numbered 83/100. I would assume that there were only 100 copies created of this split. I am not a fan of Brilliant Colors so I have no idea what the track name are. I am a big fan of Veronica Falls as you all know and have figured out what the track names are for their side of the tape. The first track on their side is Starry Eyes (Roky Erickson cover) (demo version). This track can be found in multiple places at the moment including the rare 5 Demos EP. The next track is called Back Page. A physical copy of this song can only be found on this tape at the moment. The next track is called Steven. This is the demo version of this song that was found on Found Love In A Graveyard 7” single released on small record labels. The next track is called Staying Here. This was originally found as a B-side to Beachy Head. The last track on the tape is called Try Again. This track was originally found as a B-side on the first single released from Slumberland Records, Bad Feeling 7”. If you are interested see if you can find a copy on the internet (Discogs or other used music web sellers). Last thing is that I am not a fan of Brilliant Colors. Not to say that I don't like them but I don't own anything from them except this tape. Therefore, I have no idea what the track names are for the Brilliant Colors side of the tape. Side note, I just saw this tape up for sale at Discogs for $100. I think that I bought it for $5.

That is all I have for now...

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