Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - 2Kindsa Love 7"

Look me in the eye and tell me you don't already love a Jon Spencer Blues Explosion 7" on bright pink vinyl. Good. So do I. I've tried to scan the 7" itself, but the colour doesn't do it justice at all - it's really quite horrible in real life.

Now, if you don't know this track then you've been missing out for 15 years or so; it's bloody great. Everything about it, shouting, crazy guitar sounds, great production... Love it.

It's off his Now I Got Worry album, which is up there with his very best. The b-side is a poorly-punctuated but nicely-nuts slice of blues/punk madness, with some killer keyboard (at least that's what I think it is).

1. 2Kindsa Love
2. Lets Smerf

Here

The Flaming Stars - Sweet Smell Of Success 7"

I used to love this band. Still do, in fact, but back then they were one of those ones that I seemed to be into, but no-one else was, which always adds a certain something. Partly I loved them for the music, partly for the sound (all analogue equipment and so on - same studio the White Stripes used a lot, I think), and partly for their habit of releasing limited 7"s with four tracks on them. Needless to say, the one I've chosen only has two tracks, but they're both awesome. It's listed as a double a-side, which always seemed a completely pointless idea to me, but there you go. Still, it kind of makes sense on a record like this.

The first a-side is a killer tune, and sounds lush when the guitar really kicks in. The second a-side, however, is one of my favourite of their tracks, and completely different to the first. Great stuff. And both under 2:30!

You should listen to these, it's only 5 minutes of your life. You'll like them. And I'm glad y'all liked Teenage Fanclub.

1. Sweet Smell Of Success
2. The Day The Earth Caught Fire

Here it's.

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.