Vol. 5 Episode 49

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours. More importantly I hope you all got what you wanted for Record Store Day Black Friday (RSDBF). Unfortunately, I did not have an experience for RSDBF this year. I had to work. Instead my pregnant wife decided to go in my place. She went there after she got off from her work at some awful time in the middle of the night. She was first in line. I got short texts through the night of her saying it was so cold and I owed her big time. I also got updates as to when more people showed up. At one point after sunrise my father-in-law showed up to keep her company for an hour or so. That is about all I know about what happened that morning other than she got me exactly what I wanted and it was cheaper than I expected (extra bonus). The three albums that I got were the new Faith No More single, the New Order early singles collection and The Guardians of The Galaxy: Awesome Mix Vol. 1 on cassette. These three things plus one more item that is special are what I will be talking about in this post.

On with the show...

Whirr/Nothing – Split EP

This was a split EP that was put together because one of the members of Whir has been playing with Nothing to help them out. Because of this a bond has been made between the two groups. This is a vinyl only release that also came with a making of DVD. The DVD is housed in the gatefold of the record sleeve. The record has been pressed in a few different color combinations with black being the rarest. I think that having black be the rare version is so boring. I like colors and colored vinyl. I have the most common version with the colors green/baby blue/yellow starburst. It is a single sided 12” record with the blank side having an etched graphic. I sort of jumped the gun with this purchase and got it from Shop Radio Cast (SRC) instead of from the record company Run For Cover Records (RFC). I was very excited for this EP the instant I found it up I pre-ordered it. I should have waited to get it directly from RFC. Either Way, I got what I wanted.

There are two tracks contributed from each band. The first two tracks are from Whirr. The first song is called Ease. It is a wall of sound that is beautiful. It has a simple melody and I can almost understand the words that are being sung in the song. Both of these songs are probably b sides from their latest album, Sway. I think that I like these two tracks a bit more simply because they are played right nest to the Nothing tracks. They have a slightly different sound than Nothing does but they are close in genre. It is a nice juxtaposition for the two groups.

The second track from the EP is called Lean. This song is a bit more drug out compared to Ease but still has that wall of sound mixed with vocals that are just barely clear enough not to understand giving the vocals more of an instrument on its own feel. This is exactly what I like about the group. I don’t need to understand what they are singing. I just need to like the music and be in the moment with it.

The first track from Nothing is called Chloroform. They make that wall of sound like Whirr does but there is a clarity with nothing that allows me to see some of the dead space in the music. They use a different distortion on the guitars for example that is more solid than fuzzy. I have always liked a higher pitched vocal with my shoegaze too. I seem to get that from the vocalist with Nothing. This song not only has that shoegaze sound but also uses the alt-rock sounds from the mid 90s. They do it so well with this track that I really feel nostalgic for some Smashing Pumpkins (SP) or Pearl Jam.

The last song on this EP is called July The Fourth. This song is my favorite from the EP and is a hard hitting late 90s styled alt-rock jam. The melody totally reminds me of something from SP in the later 90s or Nine Inch Nails. The one thing that is different is the long smooth lines of the melody.

This is a great EP and one of my favorite purchases of late. I haven’t yet watched the DVD but will soon.

Faith No More – Motherfucker

This is a brand new single from Faith No More. We haven’t heard anything from them for seventeen years. They have gotten back together to create a new album. I am not sure what the release date is for the new album but this single was a special release for RSDBF with a pressing quantity of 5000. It seems like a small number but it is actually quite a lot. It was pressed in black vinyl at 45 RPM.

The A side, Motherfucker, is the version that I am assuming will by on the new album. It starts off with a repetitive noise that leads into a piano playing long bass notes with the vocals coming in and slowly each instrument comes in. The vocals are multi-layered with different sayings over each layer. The guitar solo is absolutely amazing though. The song comes off as very bizarre and not overly melodic like their music has been in the past. It is really a bit of a disappointment.

With the B side being a remix by Jim Thirwell. I had high hopes for an electronic remix to overcome the weirdness that was on the A side. I was taken in a completely different direction though. What is on the other side is a remix of the song done in a movie soundtrack style. It is absolutely what I needed to hear from this group. The remix is filled with trombone and percussion and strings and trumpet. I think the only thing it was missing was a flute/piccolo solo for the icing on the cake with this remix. It is one of the best remixes I have ever heard from any song ever.

New Order – 1981-Factus 8R-1982

This is a reissue EP re-released for RSDBF with 6000 being pressed for the event. This RSDBF version was pressed on clear vinyl. My copy has a slight haze in it like there were just a few white beads in the clear vinyl puck when it was pressed. I don’t mind really, it gives it character.

From Discogs New Order page, “The EP was released in November 1982, it compiles the two tracks from New Order's second 7" single (Procession and Everything's Gone Green) from September 1981, as well as Hurt and a longer 12" version of Temptation, taken from the third single, released in April 1982. Mesh was taken from the 1981 Benelux 12" Everything’s Gone Green.
The sleeve was designed by Peter Saville and uses a painting from his then-girlfriend Martha Ladly. The release is often regarded as transition away from the group's debut album, Movement, to the electronic-based sound of Power, Corruption & Lies. It also marks the band's break with producer Martin Hannett. While he had still produced Everything's Gone Green, Procession and Mesh, the other two songs were self-produced by New Order after Hannett left the recording session. Even though 1981-1982 was never properly released in the UK, it reached # 4 of the Indy Album Charts. The initial release was in the US on Factory (US).”

These five songs are not necessary to anyone’s collection unless you are a big fan of New Order/Joy Division. They are long and drawn out.

Guardians To The Galaxy: Awesome Mix Vol. 1

I really liked the movie. Not only that I really liked the movie but I liked that Peter Quill was plucked from earth in the early 80s and held tight to the one thing that meant anything to him at all, music, and on cassette to boot. So when I heart that they were going to mass produce a copy of the Awesome Mix Vol. 1 cassette from the movie I was very excited. It is like owning a movie prop. I still have and use my own cassettes and players, probably not nearly as much as my turntable. I am still known for buying new and used cassettes. I think that the extra with this cassette is that I don’t actually have to listen to it as it came with a download code. It is filled with great songs; I am not going to put up a track list because you can look that up anywhere at this point. I will say this, the release did not have a release number so there must be a lot manufactured. There are still some out there so go to your local record store and get a copy.

That is all until Christmas...?