If you all have been following my postings over the past two years, we are coming up to the end of this volume. Every year my job needs me to start putting in more hours because of the christmas rush. This year they have started me working those extra hours earlier than in the past. I have started those extra hours this past Thursday. I will be working to get the last few posts out sooner than later but they will be going up on Saturdays at the earliest. I will also do my best to get up a good Thanks Giving post and dont forget about the 2012 round up after Christmas but before New Years.
There are quite a few releases that are coming out this month that will probably be put up in posts in Vol. 4. They will also probably show up in the 2012 round up list too.
Well, the chunklet orders for the Man or Astro-Man? 7" have shipped. Some floks have gotten their orders already. I am still awaiting my order to come in the mail. maybe later today? I am hoping to get this included in the last three posts for the year. The third will probably be in the first few posts for Vol. 4 as, of course, will the new album coming out next year.
On we go...
This is a split 7” released this last week on SpeakertreeRecords. I have been a fan of Big Troubles since their release on SlumberlandRecords last year. As a matter of fact, Slumberland turned me on to this
release. You can get this release not only from Speakertree but Slumberland is also selling it through their web page too. I had never heard of Speakertree until this 7”. They are a small
record company that has only put out a few releases. I believe that this is
number six of all of their releases. I will be keeping my eye on them in the
future and checking out their previous five releases as well. I think that
there is for sure one other release that I am interested in from a band called
White Laces. I listened to the track on the record companies’ page and liked it
a lot. It is limited in pressings though so I may have to get it sooner than
later. This split single comes in many color combinations. The one that I got
is light blue with just a little bit of grey swirl mixed in. It is very pretty
and simple. The outer jacket is just a folded piece of paper with a graphic on
each side representing each band and song. The colors are the same on each side
with slightly different art work.
The first song, the A side, is from Lilys. The song is
called Well Traveled Is Protest. I am not sure what that even means but the
song is good and that is what is important to me. The song is a very smooth
song that makes use of acoustic guitar and bass along with a processed organ
sound that has a high pitched ring. I am not sure if that was intentional or
not but it gives a very different organ sound. The first time I listened to the
track I wondered if the organ part was a mic feedback sound. As the song
progressed I could hear the actual organ behind the ringing sound and that was
when I knew what it actually was. They lead singers voice reminds me of some of
the alternative singers from the late 90s. I like the song but I don’t think
that I will be hunting anything down by the group in the future.
The second song, the B side, is by Big Troubles. The song
that they gave for this release is called Comb My Hair. The song starts out
with some clear tones and breaks into some really nice guitar distortion. It
next to the 60s style distortion that makes me feel warm and fuzzy. I think
that this song is actually better than anything they put out on their
slumberland release except for the first single, Sad Girls, from that release.
There was something special about that single. This single is very close to
being just as good as Sad Girls if not on an even keel with it. There is
something very mellow about this song and its composition that just works.
I would recommend both of these songs to anyone looking for
mellow current shoegaze styled music.
This is their third album and the only album that got them
any accolades. It was released in 1986. They were a synthpop group that had Latin
freestyle influences. This album was their first major label release. I picked
this record up last summer when I was buying some 80s releases that I had on my
list for years.
There were three singles released from this album. I think
that it is interesting to note that Shep Pettibone did the mixes for each of
these singles. He was responsible for many of the popular remixes that were
done in the 80s including the most famous versions of New Orders Blue Monday
and Bizarre Love Triangle.
The first single released from this album is called I Can’tWait. The song was originally recorded in late 1984 and was featured on the
band's now-rare second album Tha's
Right the following year. It became a popular radio track in and around
the band's hometown of Portland,
Oregon. Credits on the back of
the single indicate that the Poolside
LP was originally to be called The Point of No Return. The song was remixed
overseas, and this new version connected with the rest of the nation. This
remixed version is the one that appears on Poolside.
This was a song that I remember recording on cassette tape
as a kid. This is part of why I picked up the album. As a kid I always thought
that the version that I had recorded from the radio was a remix of the original
version. It was a remix of the original version but the original version
appeared on the previous album. After listening to this track from the record,
I found that the version that I had been listening to from that cassette was
probably an edited radio mix. The original version of the song on this album is
longer but still keeps to what I had as a kid. So, the version of the song that
I remember as a kid was not a remix but an original edited for time version of
what is on Poolside. When I write my own music I always find it hard to cut
parts out. I guess I am not a very good editor but how do artists and mixers
know the best parts to cut out of a song and still make it work? It has always
been an audio mind bender for me.
The second single released from this album is called Pointof No Return. It is a good dance track but the song is not all that great. Shep
did his best to give it a good remix to keep the public interested in the group
but sometimes it is hard to put a good shine on crap. It is a good beat with
classic 80s synth sounds though. It is hard to say no when the music is better
than the vocals/lyrics.
The third single from this album is called Don’t Let Me BeThe One. This is another track with an awesome beat and classic 80s synths.
That is really why I like this album. great beats and classic 80s synths. The
vocalist has a very nice voice but I just cant get myself to care about what
she is saying. Maybe it is because when I try to focus on what she is saying
all she is saying is about relationships, whether about breaking up or getting
together. It is just so boring the way she lays it out.
This is a great album if you are looking for great 80s
music. There is only one hit on here but the music is still good enough to get
the whole album in my opinion.
This is the groups’ fifth album. It was released in 1985.
This was a breakthrough album for the group. They had a huge hit with What You
Need. I thought that the only album that I needed from this group was Kick. How
silly was I? Then, about six months ago I heard What You Need on the internet
and thought to my self that this was an amazing song. I thought I had the song but
couldn’t find it any where I looked in the house. When I ran across it in my
local record store I snapped it up quickly and am very happy that I did. It is
not as good as Kick but there are some great tracks on this album especially at
a price tag of only a couple bucks.
There were three singles released from this album. The first
was What You Need (the opening to the video in this link is not the version that I talk about in this post). From Wikipedia: After the album Listen Like Thieves was recorded and ready to be given to the
record label for inspection, producer Chris Thomas was worried that the album
didn't have a hit. As Andrew Farriss recalled in a 2005 interview; "What
You Need is another example of a huge hit that essentially took no time at all.
We'd already finished the Listen Like
Thieves album but Chris Thomas told us there was still no hit. We left
the studio that night knowing we had one day left and we had to deliver a hit.”
They obviously made a hit because this song is amazing. The opening of this
song is amazing but simple. It is a drum fill to a guitar chord that hangs
there and another guitar note that gets played in an odd pattern. There is some
perfection in those opening measures of that song. Then the actual song kicks
in and it is pure bliss of a rock song. If you haven’t heard the song you
should. If you have you already know what I am talking about.
The second single from this album is called Kiss The Dirt(Falling Down The Mountain). The guitar tone on this track is wonderful. If I
could get that tone I would totally use it in one of my songs. I have talked
about this in the past but it makes me feel warm like when I have a fleece blanket
on while watching TV. The backing of the song is done with what sounds like a
classic 80s wood pipe synth sound. I have problems picking the right sounds for
my own music and probably would not have picked this sound for the song but it
works so well within the song. I guess I could have messed up the whole thing
if I were the producer.
The last single from this album is called Listen Like Thieves
and is the title track for the album. This track is good but lacked something
to make it stick in the charts longer. I can’t even remember hearing it on the
radio as a kid and I listened to the top 40 channel at the time. It is a good
song but not a great song.
I think that with the lead single, What You Need, this album
is good enough to own. It is not a great album but that single makes the album.
That is all I have for now...
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