Bikini girls with machine guns, on record covers

Been reading this book recently from the RE:Search series called Incredibly Strange Music.


It covers collectors of strange and obscure records mostly from the 50's-70's usually associated with the "easy listening" or exotica genre. Most of these novelty records stand out really because of the cover artwork. Here are a few of my picks from my personal collection....

Record of the week

Record of the week 9.05.08

Lloyd Cole & the Commotions- Rattlesnakes



Not a new record by any means, Rattlesnakes was released in 1984. Always having heard the name Lloyd Cole & the Commotions, I disregarded them as just another Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers or Derek & the Dominoes. What rekindled my interest was the Camera Obscura song called Lloyd, I'm Ready to be Heartbroken, which was a clever, sensitive response to Lloyd Cole's song Are You Ready to be Heartbroken. Also, the cover of Rattlesnakes looks a lot like Darklands by Jesus & Mary Chain, red text on black with a moody looking band picture front and center. Doing pretty well so far.

Finally got to the actual music, and I've been wearing this one out all week, trying to figure out which side is better, still can't decide. This album is straight pop music, warm, dark, and jangley pop very reminiscent to me of Felt, Pastels, and Jazz Butcher, Felt especially, but with more of a mainstream sound. It's very lyrically sharp, sounds like a novel, part of Lloyd's aim I'm sure, and there's beautifully subtle orchestrations all over the place. Some cheesy sounding organ and bass here and there, but that's all just part of the album's charm. I think the abundant amount of twangy guitars evens things out.

This is more of a personal listen for me, not really a bumpin' club banger or leather-clad motorcycle ride. It's a very good balance between heartbreaking and heartwarming, which I can connect a lot to the Camera Obscura's album Let's Get Out of This Country which features the Lloyd reference(which was my heart-break album, and Lust, Lust, Lust was the post heartbreak/heartwarm album). And it's the kind of record which deserves a pause when leaving the room, just like a bookmark in a great book.

Try it out for $4 and some change at Radio-Active Records, and no this is not a plug, more of a tip to people into good music.

Lloyd, I'm ready to be heart-warmed.

Record cover rip-off of the week

I'm a huge fan of record cover art, so I understand sometimes it's hard to be original when designing a timeless cover. Or sometimes you just want to do an homage to a classic cover. Hopefully one day I will be able to post every homage to Herb Alpert's Whipped Cream. Until then here's this one for the week.

Just been getting into the band Clinic. Mostly overlooked them as just another new indie/alternative/ post music whatever band. Even heard them being considered as the poor man's Radiohead, blah. Anyway, they're pretty good, but what caught my attention was the cover to their first album, Internal Wrangler

which completely rips off free-jazz giant Ornette Coleman's Ornette!

Still trying to figure out the connection between the two, I think it might be that I'm a fan of both artists. How ego-centric of me!

The Art of the American Snapshot 1888-1978

Here are some selections from this awesome book by unknown photographers.

Record of the week 08•11•08

Map of the Universe- "Party Size"



Here is the anticipated follow-up EP to Curse in Reverse by Map of the Universe. By now if you have been keeping up with the local So Fla scene, you've probably heard of them or seen them live. Now you can take something home with you, and it's party size, clocking in at just under 15 minutes, which unfortunately keeps me wanting to hear more, but that's a good thing.

All of the songs, with the exception of one, I've heard played live. Being a fan more of studio over live recordings, it's great to hear these songs the way they're supposed to sound. The production this time around is a lot cleaner too, making it easier to pick up more on the awesome guitar textures everywhere. What does it sound like, you ask. Well there's the shoegaze sound all over it, ringing reverby guitar, that kinda stuff. But where a lot of shoegaze bands are a bit too mopey and even too noisy (never thought I'd say that), Map keeps a perfect balance, trading in the mope for pure tude. The Stooges gone noise pop perhaps.

The closing track, Eyes in the Back of My Head, is my favorite on the EP. Sounds like it could have been a lost track from the Cure's Pornography, sans Robbie Smith's whining. Very dark and dramatic and it plays well on the quiet to loud dynamic. A perfect closing track to the EP.

Always a fan of great packaging, this CD comes in an awesome screen printed fold out sleeve with a velum gatefold insert containing the lyrics and cool drawings inside. It's eco-friendly too which is a plus.

Buy this CD at Radio-Active Records for $10. And no, I'm not plugging the store I work at nor my friends' band, it's just good music everyone should hear.

Back to school

It's about that time again. Having taken the summer off to work in the adult 9-5 world, I will need to resume my studies pretty soon if I want to achieve my ultimate gold star diploma thingie. And unfortunately Math is the main factor in this equation.

But really, when it comes down to it, I just wanna rock!

Top 5 school songs:

1. De La Soul- Me, Myself, and I (see music video)
2. Van Halen- Hot for Teacher
3. Alice Cooper- Schools Out
4. Camera Obscura- Suspended from Class
5. Ramones- Rock n' Roll High School

Here's a record review from the archive, 2.26.08 to be exact.
This record really meant a lot to me at the beginning of the year and still does. It got me through a terrible break-up and encouraged me to pick up the guitar, so here I am today, single and playin' a mean twang guitar.

The Raveonettes: Lust Lust Lust (Vice records)


So I've been talking up this record a bunch since i bought it last week. Why, because it's fucking awesome! Everything is in place and in full form. It has everything i love about music baked into one precious deep fried death pie. Sheets of face-peeling guitar noise, perfect pop harmonies, big echoey drums, and twang that would make Duane Eddy weep. Remember that song from the first record Chain Gang of Love called That Great Love Sound, well it was about this record, and here it is. Oh yeah, and Jesus & Mary Chain, why don't you guys stop being pussies and get the band back together, this could have been your record. My only complaint, if i must, would have to be the absence of tambourine and ooh ahhh vocal harmonies, but knowing the Raveonettes' work it was proabably a conceptual thing. Although there's still that strange high pitched dinging sound just above the drums that we first heard on Whip it On. So, my advice to you, crank this shit to 11, let go of the wheel, and fall in love all over again. And for those of you who think this record sucks, go kill a puppy or something, you souless piece of fuck.

7 inches are fun

Here are some selections from the vault