Been another little while. Suppose I've been too busy scouring other blogs n such to even tend to mine, not that I ever thought I would. Sure, in a way, this is really just a bulletin board for me to put things up for friends n family, but in me there is a desire to put something up that would benefit the greater internet community. Hence, my refraining from doing the already did.
Anyway, coinciding with my ever-growing addiction to eBay and affiliated auction sites, I came across a cheap copy of Bobby Brown's 3rd LP "Prayers Of A One Man Band" from 1978. The title of the record sums it up nicely though, seeing as this guy was a real deal one man band street performer from the west coast. A mystic and all around new age'r, his first album was a highly conceptual and very meditative record whereas his 2nd was just a live album. This one is more quirky, dance-y, and sort of lovable. One standout track is "Hawaii Nei I'll Miss you", which I came across in Tim Koh's Flying & Falling mix. A great mix which you can find yet again at lovefingers.org.
Making a mix, I swear. If you've been within ten feet of me over the past few months, you've probably heard me talking about one of my favorite groups, Further.
Comprising of mainly two rad bros, Darren and Brent Rademaker, and one Josh Schwartz, these guys are so fun to listen to. I initially found out about them through Beachwood Sparks, whose Brent is the radster that I mentioned just a second ago. I was in my high school library, scrounging YouTube for any Beachwood material that I could find and came across this video for Further's California Bummer and nearly flipped a shit. The energy, the twang, and the shots of double Rickenbackers clearly jangling out on the beach. Who the fuck takes their Rickenbackers to the beach? These guys clearly do, or at least did back then before they gave up stripes for stirrups. Speaking of which, if you haven't heard Beachwood Sparks or the Tyde, you should check them out. Both of them provided some really good vibes towards the end of high school and still do now; the former having just played a great set at Bowery Ballroom last month (which I caught with Sezbo) and the latter borrowing heavily from awesome indie group Felt, who are a whooole different story.
Anyhow, th' Tube offered cuts from three separate albums of theirs, so I was lucky enough to have a taste of three crucial releases from their catalog, Griptape LP, Sometimes Chimes LP, and the Grimes Golden EP. The first two I got my hands on in Brussels and have yet to wrap my head around completely. Don't get me wrong, quite a few of the tracks on these albums are some of my favorite songs ever, but if they weren't entirely copping the sounds of Dino Jr, Pavement, Sonic Youth, Guided By Voices, and literally covering an Unrest tune, they were making a shitload of noise. Too much maybe. But the fact that I dropped all of those names is an essential element in this band's story. They took all of these groups' sounds and added their very personable touch to them. My most current statement on the matter is that in a parallel world, none of those bands would exist, and Further would be the lone substitute. Ha!
Sure, it's hard to imagine a world where there's no Kracked, Summer Babe, or Richard Edson on drums, but sometimes I feel like I am one of the few people in this world who even knows of Further. I hope for that to change. Over the course of these next few days I'll be uploading what I do have of theirs, but right now I offer you the Grimes Golden EP.
This EP sees (hears) the group getting it just right. Unlike the 26-track Sometimes Chimes LP that preceded it, this album originally had 9 wonderfully noisy pop tunes to its name. The slice at Wilfully Obscure offered this EP as well, but not with the 4 I-talian bonus trax that I've got. If I'm not mistaken, I think I downloaded this off of Oink before it got busted (I was a member for one glorious month), or my friend Chris hooked it up. Altogether, this is one of the most expressive, noisy pop records I have ever had the privilege to hear and it is forever a part of my lexicon. I kinda feel like a chump, what with offering this superior record first, but I feel like if you receive this immediate treatment from the group, you'll be more inclined to explore the other records.
01. california bummer 02. inert pieces 03. quiet riot grrrl 04. summer shorts 05. artificial freedom 06. 20 pages 07. this time around 08. teenage soul 09. ...v.s. (livingston seagull) 10. badgers 1 (extra track on italian release) 11. don't know how long (extra track on italian release) 12. 6 gun territory (extra track on italian release) 13. j.o. eleven (extra track on italian release)
Friends, the time has finally come for me to offer you something really special. The story goes like this...
Back in February, within the first couple of weeks my wonderful (and continuing) work experience, the boss put on a great record that I knew I had to have. Not only would its sound have a nice little influence on my taste and my own music for the months to come, but I envisioned listening to these tunes in my favorite environment, Brussels in the summertime. Between not being able to find this shit ANYWHERE, not in record shops or the on the internet, I had the chance to put this album off and not wear it out up until now. That's because I finally got my act together and forced a new friend to help me manage my first vinyl rip.
BUT, as this is fucking lame shit, of course the vinyl rip was a semi-tone below normal pitch, thwarting my efforts to provide you with an exclusive musical offering. Well, FUCK IT. I just found a CD copy of the same goddamn record here with additional tracks! I strongly suggest checking out the rest of the great New Zealand albums that this person has to offer, but for now, I am gladly hosting this incredible record on my on dime right here.
The cover of the record that I would've presented before you had I ripped her right
In my opinion, every track on this album sounds like a small victory. Simply triumphant.
