Crawlspace - "Solitude Smokestack Head" 7"

Crawlspace – “Solitude Smokestack Head” 7”

Sympathy for the Record Industry, 1990

Acquired: Love Garden, Used, 2007

Price: $.25

If you’re a band and you want to get on my bad side, make deciphering the band name/song title/album title as difficult as possible. Couple that with a lack of clarity as to which side is which and I will hate you forever. There is no need to be this willfully opaque goddamnit! This 7” has resided in the S section of my 45s for years and now I see that it should be in the Cs. I suppose the LEGALIZE illustration on the inside sleeve has something to do with it. I digress. The music has grunge/protogrunge leanings (this is 1990 after all) but mostly plays like a darker iteration of college rock. B-side “Ocean = You” is the more interesting track of the pair and builds some severe moodiness. I dig it, and it’s almost enough to forgive the band for RUINING THE PERFECT ALPHABETIZATION OF MY RECORDS!

http://www.slippytown.com/crawlpg1.htm

Linda Smith - "Gorgeous Weather" 7"

Linda Smith – “Gorgeous Weather” 7”

Harriet Records, 1990

Acquired: Love Garden Shotgun Room, Used, 2007

Price: $.25

My experience with Harriet Records is limited, but that doesn’t stop them from being one of my favorite bygone record labels. I’ve always thought of them (and idolized them) as a sort of American Sarah Records. When I hosted Pop Rocks!—an indie pop worship showcase on KJHK—Harriet artists got a ton of play. The Magnetic Fields, Tullycraft, the Extra Glenns, and any band featured on the label’s amazing compilation The Long Secret were A-OK in my book and got a ton of play. The lo-fi production values of Linda Smith’s dreamy pop makes for an interesting listen and reminds me why I am constantly looking for the little illustration of Harriet the Spy on labels when I go record hunting.

The Sedgwicks - "Up Till Now" 7"

The Sedgwicks – “Up Till Now” 7”

Susstones, 1990

Acquired: Love Garden Shotgun Room, Used, 2007

Price: $.25

Here is some college rock from the halcyon days before grunge came along and made everything crunchy. This Minneapolis quartet has a bit of a sedated vibe but the hooks are solid and the tunes are…also solid. The b-side has a little more pop/a little more jangle but is just as much a delight as side A. The Sedgwicks from Minneapolis (not to be confused with the Sedgwicks from England, who also played jangly pop music) appear to have released only one seven-inch. Alas, what a waste, for the music herein is super good! I'm sure you all know by now the soft spot I have for bands who, while not spectacular, were solid and contributed a thimbleful of joy to the world of music.

Nothing Painted Blue - The Bellyspeak EP

Nothing Painted Blue – The Bellyspeak EP

Jupa Records, 1990

Acquired: Love Garden, Used, 2010

Price: $1

This Nothing Painted Blue 7” is totally different than the other one I owned, which I wrote up just a few days ago. It’s amazing what can happen to a band in three years. On this, the group’s first single, the band spends the majority of their time sounding like fellow Southern Californians the Descendents. Maybe it’s the big bass lines that reign supreme, or maybe it’s the playfulness, but either way they sound like a punk rock band on the A Side. “K for Karnival” and “Let’s Kiss” are wonderful fun (notably, “K for Karnival” which asks the question/pays tribute to a certain record label with the repeated line “Who put the shield around the K?”). Bruno’s lyrics are as clever and quirky as ever (“I don’t know what your tarot deck says/ About this battle of the sexes”), but it’s the b-side “Foundation Slips” that steals the show. It might be my new favorite Nothing Painted Blue track. The guitars jangle the same way they do on the NPB albums I know and love, but there’s something about this one that sounds like the platonic ideal of all that jangly 90s college rock that I adore.

"K for Karnival"

K For Karnival from Nothing Painted Blue on Myspace.

"Foundation Slips"

Foundation Slips from Nothing Painted Blue on Myspace.