The Housemartins - Happy Hour and Caravan Of Love 7"s

Hello hello hello. I'm shifting decades today, for one night only, and sending y'all back to 1986. I went for a wander around a little town called Nailsworth in Somerset the other day, and in an RSPCA charity shop found a mass of 80s 7"s. Most of them weren't too good, or I had them already, but I couldn't resist these two. It was quite a collection - I guess some poor chap must have died and they were given away; a lot of them had the date of release, chart position, that kind of thing written on the covers.

Anyway, enough with the story. I don't have to tell you much about these, surely? Both great singles, especially 'Happy Hour', and good b-sides too. I couldn't resist them, and however much of a music snob you think you are, I doubt you can either... Go on... No-one will ever know...

Happy Hour
1. Happy Hour
2. The Mighty 'Ship

Caravan Of Love
1. Caravan Of Love
2. When I First Met Jesus




Here's Happy Hour, and here's Caravan Of Love.

Spare Snare - Bugs

Hey hey. Today's excitement is a 7" from what I thought was, until I looked on Wikipedia (sorry), an obscure Scottish indie band. Turns out that, while still obscure, they're not as obscure as I thought, and have seven LPs to their name, plus four Peel sessions. This single is superb. Really, really good.

I have one other single by them, which isn't too good, so I never looked out for any more. But this record is great, and if anyone can recommend me an album or two to get started, please do. The b-side is good too, but the single is just brilliant. Go on - treat yourself, Indie-lovers.

1. Bugs (Goodbye Jan)
2. Scrabble

hErE.

Black Box Recorder - Child Psychology

Here's something miserable for you - I know what you folks like. This is a single by the second (successful) band that Luke Haines was in, the first being The Auteurs (and I'd thoroughly recommend checking some of their stuff out - 1993's "New Wave" is a great record). Both the a- and b-sides are off their first album, "England Made Me", and I'd have to be honest and say the a-side isn't one of my favourites on the LP. That said, the b-side is great, and you might well like the a-side too, depending on what mood you're in...

They played at the Nick Sanderson (from Earl Brutus) tribute concert, and there you have a seamless link to my Earl Brutus post of a few weeks back. That, my friends, is quality blogging.

1. Child Psychology
2. Girl Singing In The Wreckage

Heer.

UPDATED Urusei Yatsura / Mogwai / Backwater - Split Tour 7"

Right. Sorry for any confusion, and thanks to Rob for pointing it out, but I'd screwed up the track listing/tracks for this post. I've re-upped it, and the new listing is below. Rather than a long version of 'Phasers', it's actually two Urusei tracks, but one - 'Pachinko (live)' - isn't listed on the 7". I'd also put up the Mogwai track twice, because I am a fool. Backwater's there now.



Second in October's short series (of two) tour 7"s from some time ago... This one is a split between two of Scotland's finest (Urusei Yatsura and Mogwai), and one of Ulster's most-forgotten (Backwater). A little reading around tells me that (as well as previously appearing in my blog) they supported Sebadoh and Def Leppard in their now sadly neglected career.

This 7" was handed to the first 50 people through the doors of the tour that these three bands did in 1996, where U.Y. were supported by an up-and-coming Mogwai for half the dates, and by Backwater for the others. I saw them with Backwater at the Moles Club in Bath, where I also once lost a jumper.

The Urusei and Mogwai tracks are live, and the former is a good version of an album track where they turn into Pavement halfway through (no they don't - see above). The Backwater one is a demo, I think. Apologies for the poor quality of the vinyl (and the original recordings), but you're not going to find this stuff anywhere else!

1. Mogwai - Summer
2. Backwater - Summer 17
3. Urusei Yatsura - Phasers (Live)
4. Urusei Yatsura - Pachinko (Live)

Hear.

Tortoise / Stereolab - Split 7"

New job. That's my excuse. But here's something special for y'all to get your ears into, by way of apology for the delay.

This was a split 7" by these two, which they were selling at shows on the tour they did many years back. I caught them at the Bierkeller in Bristol, which is one of the few venues which still exists from my childhood (the Mauritania, anyone?) Anyway, I'm sure you don't really care, so on with the music.

They're both pretty good examples of the bands, so if by any chance you haven't come across these guys before then maybe this will turn you on to some good music. If you get a chance, I'd recommend getting hold of 'Millions Now Living Will Never Die' by Tortoise, which I also picked up at the same gig. Stereolab's albums all sound pretty much the same, but that's not to say you shouldn't try a few of those too. The Tortoise track on this 7" is kind of hypnotic, and I like it a lot. Stereolab's one is also hypnotic, in a different way, and I think you'll enjoy it.

1. Tortoise - YAUS
2. Stereolab - Speedy Car

Here.

Earl Brutus - The S.A.S. And The Glam That Goes With It

Here's something nuts. You may remember these guys, and if you ever saw them live you'll remember for sure. Their sets were pretty famous for chaos, including smashing up their gear in the first song, stuff like that. Neon signs. Garage forecourt signs. All good stuff.

This is a 1997 single, which captures a bit of the chaos. It's a good track, and I recommend listening to it, as well as seeking out some more. The b-side is surprisingly addictive, despite being (as it sounds) recorded in someone's front room, and then produced in the kitchen. The tunes, though, it's all about the tunes. Enjoy 'e. There's some proper punk ethic going on here, in so many ways. Great.

It's also a very, very late tribute to Nick Sanderson, the singer, who died in June 2008, having lived his dream as a train driver for four years or so.

1. The S.A.S. And The Glam That Goes With It
2. Midland Red

Here.

R.E.M. - Electrolite

So here's one I'd forgotten all about. Uploaded it a while back, and then didn't end up posting it. All is well, though, and it's here for your enjoyment. From the same ill-advised experimental scanning session as E-Bow The Letter from a little while back, so apologies if you can't really make anything out on the cover.

Anyway, you're only here for the music, and there's some good stuff on here. The single itself is excellent, off New Adventures In HiFi (which I may have mentioned previously as a favourite of mine, REM-wise). I know the b-sides are live tracks, which I'm not usually that into, but these ones are cracking versions of other tunes off the album. The remix is pretty good too, well worth a listen anyway.



1. Electrolite
2. The Wake-Up Bomb [Live] Atlanta
3. Binky The Doormat [Live] Atlanta
4. King Of Comedy (808 State Remix)

Oi! Over here!

Badly Drawn Boy - EP3

Another treat. This time it's an old, old Badly Drawn Boy EP, off 7". I remember being told about this guy back in the day (the late 90s) and how his live shows were pretty weird, and I should look out for these EPs. There were three of them in all, but being a little slow at these things I only got hold of this one. I'm sure if you look hard enough the other two are around...

You know what? It's really good. I've kind of gone off him as he gets more Radio 2-friendly, but I still listen every now and then. However, this EP is great. Track 2 is a 'proper' song, after track 1's experimental-ness, and then tracks 3 and 4 are proper songs over a load of noise. You can't say fairer than that. The guy has an ear for a tune, and I hope you enjoy this. It came out about a year and a half before the first LP.

1. Spooky Driver
2. I Need A Sign
3. Meet On The Horizon
4. Road Movie

Right here, right now.

Palace - Come In / Trudy Dies 7"

Hey hey. It's been a while, eh? Sorry about that. Hope you haven't missed me as much as I've missed y'all. Had a pretty crazy month or so, but things are back to somewhere near normal.

So, by way of an apology for the delay, I have a treat for you. This is more Palace (Will Oldham/Bonnie 'Prince' Billy/Palace Songs/Palace Music/others), and although I said the last Palace Songs post had my favourite of their songs on it, I've changed my mind again. Both tracks off this single are, I think, only on this single (and a collection of b-sides and rarities which came out later), and both are superb. 'Trudy Dies' is just an amazing, amazing song. So sad. I hope you come to love it as much as I do.

Enough rambling - enjoy.

1. Come In
2. Trudy Dies

Here.

The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - Experimental Remixes

So here's a big ol' EP for y'all to listen to. All (except 'Tour Diary') are remixes of what were already great tracks off the LP 'Orange', by various luminaries of the time (and indeed still now). Some of them are as you might expect, especially Beck (which he sings on) and Moby (which sounds like a Moby track). 'Tour Diary' is a 17:13 epic, with bits of live (practice?) recordings, bits of interviews (q: "can a white man sing the blues?" a: "... he shaves his eyebrows.") I have to be honest and say I've not made it all the way through track 7, but I'm sure someone out there is braver than me.

I don't have the original CD with me now, so I can't be sure, but it seems that the labelling of tracks 2 and 3 is wrong, as Beck is clearly singing on track 3 - these listings are what iTunes told me. Either way, it's all good, and I won't be offended if you change the names.

1. Bellbottoms (Old Rascal Mix - U.N.K.L.E.)
2. Flavor Part 1 (Beck)
3. Flavor Part 2 (Mike D)
4. Soul Typecast (Dub Narcotic Sound System)
5. Greyhound Part 1 (Moby)
6. Greyhound Part 2 (Featuring Killah Priest)
7. Tour Diary

It's right here...

p.s. Although August hasn't exactly been a flurry of posts, September's going to be even worse, as I won't be around for the first couple of weeks - check back soon!