Teenage Fanclub - Grand Prix Bonus 7"

Just when you thought I'd run out of Teenage Fanclub... Because I was/am kind of obsessed with this band, I picked up this LP pretty much the day it came out, and was lucky enough to get hold of one with the bonus 7". Here, for your (hopefully) equally obsessive interest, it is.

Track 1 seems to be a recording of some vocals and a shaker, with the rest of the music in the background somewhere. There's some whistling too. And clapping. It's kind of nice. Track 3 is another version of the album track, with louder drums, I guess it's also a demo. Tracks 4 and 6 I had to do some digging about to find names (there's nothing listed on the record) - both instrumentals.

I hadn't listened to this 7" in years, and it's got a real intimate feel to it. Maybe that's just me. I like it, and hope you do too.

1. Discolite (demo)
2. Answerphone message (to Norman)
3. I Gotta Know (demo)
4. Coffee Morning
5. Norman's outgoing answerphone message
6. Untitled

Hear them roar.

The High Fidelity - Addicted To A T.V. 7"

Feeble amount of information about this 7", I'm afraid. All I know is that it came out in 1997, on Plastique Recordings. Side 1 is labelled 'analogue side', and 2 is 'digital side'. Beyond that I know nothing. Anything I told you would be what I could find by searching for them on the internet. What I do know is that this single's well worth an ear, and I hope you enjoy it. Any more information would be welcome. I like the cover.

I will attempt to resume normal service next month!

1. Addicted To A T.V.
2. Pelvic Rock

Here y'are.

Echo & The Bunnymen - Nothing Lasts Forever 7"

I know, I know. And I'm not here for the next two weeks, so there's going to be another huge gap. I'm so slack.

Anyway, to keep you going, here's a cracking tune from an early indie comeback (before Ned's got in on the act). The single is really, really good, and was quite big at the time. It was recorded before he lost the ability to sing. 'Hurricane' sounds like The Doors, and it's a good track. It does sound like a b-side, but it's well worth hearing.

Fair amount of surface noise all over this, for some reason, but I guess if that bothered you, you wouldn't be here.

The packaging is lovely, kind of gatefold, and with an inner sleeve. That and two b-sides... Well. You know what I like, and that's the kind of thing I like.

1. Nothing Lasts Forever
2. Hurricane
3. Jonny

Here you go.

Cable - Arthur Walker 7"

This single's off Cable's second proper LP, 'Sub-Lingual' (third if you're counting the first EP). At the time I really wasn't into it as an album, suffering pretty badly by comparison to 'When Animals Attack', which you should check out if you don't know it already. However, listening again the other day I enjoyed it more, I guess time changes your appreciation of these things. This single is really good, and there are certainly some other cracking songs on it. Give it a go.

Anyway, the main reason for putting this up is the b-side, which is one of my favourite Cable tracks. They had some great b-sides over the years, and someone very kindly sent me a link to a compliation of them a while back. 'Vertigo' was in the compilation, and I knew I recognised it, but it wasn't a very good recording, and I didn't know where it was from. It's from here. And here's a good version of it. It's ace.

1. Arthur Walker
2. Vertigo

Hey ya.

PJ Harvey - The Wind 7"

Hello again. Here's a good one. It's a track off the 1998 LP 'Is This Desire?', and is a real standout song. The b-sides off this single are also very good, as is PJ's way. 'Rebecca' sounds lovely, especially the drums, and 'Nina In Ecstasy 2' (number 1 was somewhere else, I guess) is a beautiful little song, just simple organ and vocals; one of those little classics that used to turn up as the third track on a single every now and then.

Track 3 also contains portions of 'Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep', which I initially hoped was going to be some massively out of place sample, but it doesn't, sadly. Enjoy.

1. The Wind
2. Rebecca
3. Nina In Ecstasy 2

Here you go.

AC Acoustics - Stunt Girl 7"

I'm still here! Sorry again for the long gaps between postings, but just occasionally I have to give other things priority. Here's a little something to keep you going, a great single by a great (and greatly under-rated) band. The b-side is also good, more of the same really.

If you don't know them then I'd really recommend giving this single a listen and then searching out 'Victory Parts', which is the album it's taken from. Really good. The one after it is good too.

1. Stunt Girl
2. Shoka

Hear me now.

And 'Repeater' by Fugazi is an awesome track, isn't it?

Crescent - Sun 7"

Right folks. Another quick one, what with everything else happening at the same time, but this is really, really good. Really good. It's another from back in the day, back in the Westcountry, on Planet Records straight outta Bristol in 1994. Labelmates of Flying Saucer Attack, Movietone and the like.

You may well not have heard of this band, but if you have then you probably own this record already. If you don't know it, I can't recommend it highly enough, it's a superb slice of noisy, rocky, LoFi, shouty, home-made... And with a killer tune on top of all that. The b-side's well chilled.

Just try it.

1. Sun
2. They Are Rebuilding The City

Here it is.

Sebadoh - Beauty of the Ride 7"

Hello. Sorry it's been so long between posts, but I currently have very little time to eat, sleep or think, so it's taken a bit of a back seat.

Anyway, as an apology for the delay, here's something a bit special from Lou Barlow and the boys. The a-side is off Harmacy, their 1996 Sub Pop LP, and is one of their best tracks, I reckon. If you don't know them then it's quite a good example (as long as you're also prepared for a few touches of noisy nonsense along the way).

Your b-side is a cover of 'Riding' by Will Oldham/Bonnie 'Prince' Billy/etc., which is a great song in its own right, and this cover does it justice. It's off a Peel Session, I believe, and is a kind of slack, ragged, laid-back... you know what to expect. Good stuff. Enjoy it.

1. Beauty Of The Ride
2. Riding

Here it's. Let me know if you like it.

The Third Eye Foundation - Universal Cooler

Told you I'd found something special... I don't think I have anything with an Easter theme, so you'll have to make do with this. Think of it as the result of an Easter-egg hunt, but with records as little chocolate eggs and shelves of vinyl as mysterious wooded areas, with me as that weird uncle who's following you around and you're not allowed to talk to.

Those of you who know me won't be surprised, but this is some extra proof that I am a dumbass. For a long time I thought this record was by a band called Universal Cooler, and I didn't listen to it for years, on the basis that Universal Cooler is an awful name for a band (apologies if it's your band's name). It's not by Universal Cooler. It's called Universal Cooler, and it's actually the first single from The Third Eye Foundation (Matt Elliot), on Planet Records, from Bristol, back in the day.

It's bloody great.

1. Universal Cooler
2. I'm Not Getting In A Car With You

It's right yer.

Bivouac - The Bell Foundry 7"

I'll be honest with you, one of the main reasons I bought this record was the colour of the vinyl. Just look at it. Beautiful. You try doing that with an MP3.

Anyway, turns out I made a great decision, as this is a superb slice of noisy guitary mid-90sy ROCK! And, looking them up right now, it appears they ended up on Geffen for their third LP, which is actually the only one I have; it's called 'Full Size Boy', and I'd strongly recommend getting hold of it. Great stuff. They were from Derby, like Cable.

This is a couple of years earlier than that album, and is great. A-side's really good, first b-side also good, second b-side (happy days) is an acoustic track, which is a bit of a departure from anything else I've heard by these guys. Also good, but suffers from either shoddy recording or a shoddy needle.

By the way, I've found a great 7" in the pile, which will go up next...

1. The Bell Foundry
2. Lead
3. Saltwater Heal (acoustic)

Hear ye.