The Hello Strangers - Goodbye

The Hello Strangers – Goodbye
Incas, 1987
Acquired: Love Garden Blowout Location, Used, 2009
Price: $2.50

Ok, so first off I would have bought this even if Mark Mulcahy wasn't in the band. Mulcahy is apparently hot shit these days, even getting his own tribute record featuring the likes of Thom Yorke, Dinosaur Jr., the National, and Michael Stipe (which makes sense given that the Hello Strangers sound a fuckin' LOT like REM). He also sang in the bands Polaris and Miracle Legion, Polaris being the band from the Pete & Pete theme song. Apparently he is a genius, and I need to get into this shit, and this is where I'm starting. With a band of his they don't even list on Wikipedia. But this album is fucking excellent late 80s college rock. It's fucking excellent, and there's a big picture of Anna Karina on the cover and there's a SONG called “Anna Karina,” and that's why I would have bought this no matter who was in the band. The song is about how Anna Karina is the most beautiful woman in the world, a virtue I hold as well. I also wrote a song inspired by Anna Karina once, so I feel a kinship with this dude now. And seriously, what a great band name! And after researching this, apparently Mulcahy just played drums (it seems) given that I found the dude whose band it actually was on the blogoworld. Apparently this is Michael Priggen's first “solo” record but in those days it was “Cooler to have a band name.” I think it's still cooler these days, and especially if you've got a name like The Hello Strangers. Better yet, he even has the whole album up for download! Also, according to the blog there are apparently “Mark Mulcahy completists” out there, which makes me think I am missing something. But that's irrelevant, because this post is about the Hello Strangers, and this is one of the little gems I was hoping to find at the Love Garden Blowout Location. They're there, and all you have to do is look! Yeah, some tracks are a little stale (“A Blessing” is pretty cringe-worthy) but there are more jams than duds which makes this one pretty rad, and for $2.50 I can't complain!

DOWNLOAD THIS RECORD HERE!! TOTALLY WORTH IT