Holy shit, first post in 2009.
Been a great year so far; to think of all the loved ones I've seen and spent time with in this concentrated period of family fun makes me feel good, and not to mention I've been enjoying the musical climate around here in NYC these days. There's gonna be lots of good fucked up pop in '09. Some local groups who are making just that - Real Estate and The Tony Castles. The former are joining my band on a bill in early March and the latter practice across the hall from us. Sure, it's not like all of the old stuff that I listen to because it's... new. Just feel like it's important to pay attention to acts in and around town since it's good to try and be in touch with the new jamz.
This weekend was pretty crazy with Gary War, Kurt Vile, and Sore Eros in town, which definitely was somewhat of a convention for the Weirdo Pop Contingency that is arguably a result of Ariel Pink's im pact. Sure it's a bit stupid to lump them all together under one person's influence, but why would it be refuted? Speaking of which, I bought a copy of out-of-print the Doldrums LP for $10 thanks to Mr. Hugpatch. This is how much they usually go for: http://www.popsike.com/php/quicksearch.php?searchtext=ariel+pink&x=0&y=0
Enough boasting, I'm here to give out some music. I'll be posting some niceties over the next few days hopefully because I don't wanna put this space to waste. First up, the Associates' debut album The Affectionate Punch. Really great 80's flam wave group from Edinburgh, Scotland who don't need an introduction because where most bands that sound this mental would try and capitalize off of their strangeness in weird publicity stunts or striking appearances, these guys just channeled it all into the music. And at the end of the day, that's what really matters right? Although to be fair, some of them were involved in cabaret acts or something before this (which shows in the singing), but thankfully they substituted the theatrics with solid musicianship. I found a gritty vinyl rip of this record which I'll be sharing below; kind of fitting since I only own it on vinyl as well, thanks to my rad boss who served it up as an Xmas present.
I think this record should be heard because I never saw it being discussed when I was first looking into these guys and it's becoming such a treat to listen to. Before the core songwriting duo of Alan Rankine and Billy Mackenzie (Rankine left after the second LP) got weirder, colder, and electricker, so their scope is a bit more focused. I definitely appreciate the later shit, for sure seeing as that's what I first heard, but >>>this is a really cool starting point.<<<
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