Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine - Let's Get Tattoos (CDS)

More Carter, I know. One of the few (maybe only?) bands I think I like more now than I did back in the '90s. There's something about the passion that Jim Bob puts into everything, as well as having some of the great choruses. And I'll tell you what, this single has an absolutely killer chorus, no doubt about it. You probably already know that.

The b-sides of this single are good too, the first one does that proper Carter thing of going 'quiet... quiet... quiet... BOOM! DRUM MACHINE!'. And if you don't like that, well, you shouldn't really be here, should you? Go home and take a long look at yourself, your motivation, and your record collection. Come back when you've grown your fringe long.

Second b-side is a cover of a track by These Animal Men, in true 1990s covering-each-other style. Third b-side is a cover of a David Essex track. Really. So limited is my knowledge of most music I don't think I know it, but I'm sure all of you do, and I hope you like it.

1. Let's Get Tattoos
2. Especially 4 U
3. Speeed King
4. Silver Dream Machine

Bring it.

Another blog

No idea if anyone will be interested, but thought I'd let you know that I'm periodically going to put some recordings from 78rpm records on a blog called Shellacs of Freedom.

Frank Black - Men In Black (CDS)

Imagine my disappointment when I realised this wasn't a cover of the Men In Black film themetune. I guess it's the same crushing disappointment you're experiencing as you read this. But wait! It is a very good song, it's just not that one. It's off what appears to be not a very well-received album ("Cult Of Ray", also notable for one of the worse LP covers I've ever seen), and scraped the top 40 in the UK. But I like it, it's one of Frank's better solo tracks. You do wonder quite how much editing the rest of The Pixies did, don't you..?

B-sides of this one are all Frank Black tunes, and all enjoyable listens I reckon. I know his solo songs are quite hit and miss, but these four are all pretty consistent. "Pray A Little Faster" is my highlight of the three. Does it sound to you like his voice was a bit shot on these songs, maybe from all the Pixies screaming? Not actual Pixies screaming, that wouldn't affect your voice. Be worth hearing, though.

1. Men In Black
2. You Never Heard About Me
3. Pray A Little Faster
4. Announcement

It's right here.

The Boo Radleys - Lazy Day EP

A belated happy new year to you all, I hope you had a good Christmas period, and that 2015 has been awesome so far. Be a bit disappointing if it had already been shit. No Christmas single this year (last year I guess), as I don't have any more, but I'll try to rectify that over the next 12 months.

Anyway, back to now, and The Boo Radleys. One of those bands I feel like I should know more about, and listen to more. Every time I hear them (including the stuff from that brief 'breakthrough' period with all the pop songs) I like it, and this single is right on the money for my favourite bits of theirs.

There's an ace tune, and great riff, and also a load of distorted noise over the otherwise quiet verse. You can't really argue with any of that. And it's only 1:39 long! That's an excellent length for a single. The b-sides are all good, too, particularly three and four.

The only time I ever saw them live was at a Glastonbury in 1994 (give or take a year). They played second from the end on the NME stage, and trashed all their equipment at the end of the set. And then came on and played an encore! Maybe that's why I like them.

1. Lazy Day
2. Vegas
3. Feels Like Tomorrow
4. Whiplashed

Here.

Belly - Feed The Tree CDS

Another from the big Raves from the Grave collection, and I love this single. It's worth downloading for the a-side alone.

But wait! If you, as I, have changed from indie-kid to indie-father, or you were already a Disney fan, you'll be interested in the first b-side. Yes. It's the song the snake sings in the Jungle Book. And somehow works remarkably well...

The other b-sides are Belly tracks, and they're both excellent. Particularly track 3, which I'm surprised was never an album track (as far as I know). Track 4 is, like "On The Mouth" by Superchunk, the track an album's named after but without being on the album itself*. Cool.

* all information relating to which tracks are on albums/singles/films or any other fact is not necessarily, or likely to be, accurate.

1. Feed The Tree
2. Trust In Me
3. Dream On Me
4. Star

Here you go.

Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine - The Impossible Dream EP

Carter USM play their last show tonight, ever. Maybe right now. Sniff. In honour of that, here's some for you. It's also partly inspired by them being on BBC 6music's Maida Vale session not that long ago. Apparently it was the most requested ticket for any of the sessions (10,000 applications for 200 tickets?!), which suggests either a large and loyal fanbase, or the same people applying under 200 false names (Mat).

So here's "The Impossible Dream", which shouldn't really work for Carter, I don't think. But it does, somehow, and in fact I really like it. Passion, my friends, passion. You can't put a price on that (apart
from £2.99 from HMV in 1992).

Good b-sides on this one, too. First one is very earnest, as you'd expect, with a very good chorus. The second one starts like Queen, but I assume it isn't a sample as I doubt Carter could ever have afforded the fees, but there certainly is a sample later on... Third b-side (good old days) is awesome, it's got jazz and rock and 'ting'. You'll understand. Well worth an ear.

1. The Impossible Dream
2. Turn On, Tune In And Switch Off
3. When Thesaurases Ruled The Earth*
4. Bring On The Girls !

*A nod and a wink to EMF, KLF and PWEI

Enjoy it while it lasts.

Ben Folds Five - Brick (CDS)

Another month off posting, sorry folks. However, during October I managed to get to Warminster and pick up a load of CD singles, so with any luck everything will be back to normal. So a post a month, rather than every six weeks...

So, this one. Killer tune. Killer. I was lucky enough to hear this when he played Bristol a little while back with an orchestra, and it was even more killer then. But you're not here for "Brick", are you? You're here for the orchestra and backing vocals, and harpy lushness of the live version of "Smoke", and the Japaneseness of "Song For The Dumped". And the Japanese version is superb, very entertaining.

If you're as much of a geek as I am you will want to know that the live one is from "Morning Becomes Eclectic", broadcast on KCRW Los Angeles, on July 17 1997.

I'm not usually a fan of this kind of thing on singles, as it always smacks a little of filler, but these ain't filler. Both we'll deserving of a listen, and I hope you like them.

1. Brick
2. Smoke (live)
3. Song For The Dumped (Japanese version)

Have it.

Cud - Oh No Won't Do 12"

One of my favourite Cud songs here, but I don't think it was ever on an album. Please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, of course, but the quality of the b-sides makes a lot more sense if this was an EP in the old-school sense. It's three really good Cud songs, and a cover. What more do you want?

Last track is an Everley Brothers tune, which was also covered (apparently famously) by Status Quo. Again my knowledge of music outside a very slim genre in a very narrow time period embarrasses me, but hopefully someone out there will be excited to hear it.

1. Oh No Won't Do
2. Profession
3. Ariel
4. Price Of Love

Enjoy.

Mercury Rev - Delta Sun Bottleneck Stomp CDS (#2)

Back in the day, when men weren't men, etc. etc... CD2 of a 2 CD set usually had either pointless live tracks, or shit remixes. But did it stop you buying it? Of course not. Did it stop you keeping it after you'd moved house with it three times, found it in a box, and realised you'd only ever listened to it once? Of course it did.

That's where I come in. I scour my own collection for those little gems (I never got round to getting rid of them), but I also dig around the charity shops anywhere I happen to be. Yesterday it was Chippenham, which has more than its share of charity shops. And they themselves have far more than their share of rubbish vinyl. However, in one of them, I dug up this gem.

It does fall into the live b-sides category, but these ones are ace. Recorded for KCRW in 1998, there's a brilliant version of Holes off the 'Deserter's Songs' LP, as well as a Lennon track. I am no Lennon expert, and I'd never heard it before, but I like this a lot. It's listed as being written by the whole Lennon family (Julian and Sean included), which is a bit odd, but there you go.

Hope you like it.

Yer it is.

AC Acoustics - Hand Passes Plenty 12"

There I was, thinking I knew something about stuff, and then there's this!

I love this band, and have done ever since I first heard the 'Victory Parts' album. It remains one of my favourite LPs. This track, I thought, was a single from it, and so I had my usual excitement about checking out the b-sides etc... But wait! It's not off the album! That track is called 'Hand Passes Empty'!

Turns out that this is a kind of early version of the LP track, but released as a single about 3 years before. It's really, really, good, especially if you know the original. Also the first b-side is superb, really like that too.

This was the period of the ill-advised remix, and although the attempt at messing about with track 2 is alright, it's not great. Also side 2 of the single plays at 33, and side a at 45, which is annoying for those of use with lift-off-and-move-the-band turntables. The remix is by Larry Primrose (and the band). Can't tell you who that is. Anyone?

Fourth track (I LOVE 12" singles) isn't so great. But side 1. Man. It's like a single with a bonus a-side.

Brilliant stuff. Get to it.

1. Hand Passes Plenty
2. Love Lies Broken Pieces
3. Love Lies (Equamneno Mix)
4. Emily

It is here.