Baby Birds Don't Drink Milk/ Boo and Boo Too - Baby Boo Split

Baby Bird Don't Drink Milk/ Boo And Boo Too – Baby Boo Split
Lovely Sea, 2009
Acquired: Release show, New, 2009
Price: Pretty sure it was free with the price of admission.

Ah yes, the 7” of Lawrence's two most up and coming bands of 2009 released by the label Seth and Edmond started to release this record. It's weird that this came out only a year, year and a half ago, because 2009 sounds so long ago. Both songs sound like songs you put in the middle of an album. Neither are really overly catchy or anything like that, and maybe that's the point. Baby Birds' contribution, “3,” was one one of their myriad CDRs, and actually come to think of it, the closest they come to writing a pop song. It's all in the drums though. All in the drums. It's really long though, or FEELS really long. I just listened to it through at 45 RPM and still thought it was kind of long, but yeah, if Baby Birds have a song they can call a song that was really awesome, it's probably “3.” They probably sound completely different though, if they're still a band that is. Same with Boo and Boo Too, if they're still a band, their contribution “I Am the Lorax” pry sounds nothing like what they sound like now. Granted, “I Am the Lorax” sounds more like an Ad Astra Per Aspera song crossed with I dunno, some gloomy Bauhaus with layers and layers of reverb as usual. It feels a little slight, but that's just my opinion and I'm just bummed that “Ripper's Hell” never got a proper release. Although, that's going under my assumption that Boo and Boo Too broke up, which I really have no evidence of. I just assume that when bands stop playing shows they've broken up...or been cannibalized by other local musicians to form new bands. Who knows.

Mike Bones - "What I Have Left" 7"

Mike Bones - “What I Have Left” 7”
The Social Registry, 2008
Acquired: Seth gave it to me, Used, 2009
Price: $0

Seth was cleaning out his 7” collection when I was at his house last year and gave me an extra copy he had of this saying it was good. And he was right, it was good. It's the single to the album A Fool For Everyone, which I've never listened to, and I hadn't ever listened to this single until now. It's a great, sad song that builds and builds and the little guitar/piano melody that runs through the whole thing is just great, and it's very interesting hearing everything build and build around it especially towards the end when it gets kind of epic. Can't really describe it, though I SHOULD be able to describe it, pretending to be a music critic and all. There are strings, which makes anything epic, naturally. The B-side is a remix of the song by Social Registry label mates Sian Alice Group, and despite my general wariness of remixes by other bands given that they end up sounding just like the original but with a beat or some shit cut out, the song is good enough that the remix actually sounds OK. It's more spare, and more rearranged than remixed, and while it kind of totally falls apart at the end, it's mostly good. And now I'm going to get A Fool for Everyone, because if the songs are even half as good as this one, it's sure to be a solid record. Even if it sucks, this song is gonna be one of those songs that floats around. Years from now, some random person will find it in a cutout bin and buy it for a quarter and go “Hey, this song is really great whatever happened to Mike Bones?”

Listen to the song, it's very very good. Very classic singer-songwriter sounding.

Bomb Pops - "Paler" 7"

Bomb Pops - “Paler” 7”
Audrey's Diary, 1992
Acquired: Love Garden Shotgun Room, Used, 2007
Price: $.25

Strummy Minneapolis band whose guitars all sound out of tune on the A-side, “Paler.” I actually think I thought this band was the Blow Pops, who I'd read about somewhere in my search for a million indie-pop bands. It's quite ramshackle and though quite nice, kind of forgettable and a little too long. The insert tells me that Audrey's Diary released Black Tambourine's “Throw Aggi Off the Bridge” 7”, which I would pretty much kill to have, but that's beside the point. OK, wouldn't actually kill, but man, I wish I had that record. The B-side has a couple of nice little instrumentals that kind of amble along. It's all very nice, but hardly anything happens on this 7”.

The Blow Pops - "Stop!" 7"

The Blow Pops - “Stop!” 7”
Get Hip Records, 1990
Acquired: Love Garden, Used, 2007
Price: $1

Power pop from Milwaukee with just the right amount of throwback charm and not overshadowed by the mid-90s college rock vibe that lurks under the surface (in that the guitars sound slightly like REM). Awesome vocal harmonies for the really nice and authentic sounding 60s psych pop vocals. Honestly, the label design is pretty reminiscent of the Capitol labels on Beatles 45s, and kind of perfectly matches the sound coming off of this thing. This is their first single, and while “Stop!” is quite good, the b-side “I Know Nancy” grabs me a little bit more. It's the harmonies, and the kind of mash of sound that SHOULD sound jumbled but just sounds warm and comforting. This is a fun, Nuggets-inspired 7” that, while not terribly original, is still quite enjoyable and done right.

Blondie - "One Way Or Another" 45

Blondie - “One Way or Another” 45
Chrysalis, 1979
Acquired: Salvation Army, Used, 2002
Price: $.50

One of the very first records I ever acquired on my own, shortly after getting a turntable in the very early 00s. I had just started driving, and frequently drove over to the Salvation Army on K-7. I got this and Devo's “Uncontrollable Urge.” I'd always heard that Blondie was somehow associated with punk rock, which I very much loved at the time, and it was the only other coolish thing there besides Devo, so that's why I have this. And it's kind of rad. Well, it would be rad had I not heard it in a million movies, movie previews, and TV commercials thus making it really fucking annoying. Oversaturation sucks, and I really can't think of why I'd go out of my way to listen to this song when I can just turn on the TV and wait for the next Swiffer commercial or whatever. Thus, Blondie wasn't really punk rock at all, but the kind of right place at the right time New Wave that grafted itself so easily to the mainstream. Maybe Debbie Harry was just too pretty, because really, she is. I see the cover to Parallel Lines at work pretty often, and I'm always amazed by how good looking she is. The b-side, “Just Go Away,” is well, it's fucking great and gritty and fun and not at all oversaturated. Not that that makes it better. If I took both songs and played them for someone who had never heard them, that person would immediately be like “'One Way Or Another' is so much better!” but in this universe, where “One Way or Another” is totally fucking lame and obnoxious because it's so frequently associated with some horribly un-engaging (is that a word? Disengaging? That doesn't sound right either) film protagonists running from something in a montage. “Just Go Away” rocks and is practically soulful, though, so this 45 earns its keep in the record collection.

Bis/Heavenly - "Keroleen"/"Trophy Girlfriend" Split 7"

Bis/Heavenly – “Keroleen”/ “Trophy Girlfriend” Split
K, 1996
Acquired K Records Mail Order, New, 2008
Price: $4

In my twee pop days of late college, Heavenly was the most flawless twee band I'd ever encountered. I really can't think of a single song of theirs I don't like, and even now I have a hard time trying to pick out my top five favorites. “Trophy Girlfriend” is definitely top three though, because like many Heavenly tracks, it's fucking perfect. Those almost P.U.N.K. Distorted power chords that open the song remind us where Twee's roots lie, and the only slightly veiled bitterness in Amelia Fletcher's iconic vocals and naturally, the way that the verse is hooky enough to be a lesser band's chorus. This song kicks ass, and that's kind of where Heavenly excelled. Having rising from the ashes of twee-punk heroes Talulah Gosh, it just makes sense. Sure, there's the blisteringly sweet love-song twee pop of “C is the Heavenly Option” and “Our Love is Heavenly,” but hell, both of those songs are pretty much kiss off songs (the latter especially). “Trophy Girlfriend” is a cleaner sounding tune, and was the lead-off track from their final LP Operation Heavenly. Sadly, Amelia's brother and Heavenly's drummer Matthew Fletcher took his own life prior to this album's release, making it Heavenly's last album and “Trophy Girlfriend” their last extraordinary single. The profound tragedy was, in a strange turn, referenced by the Hold Steady on their latest album, which is one of the reasons I can't bring myself to admit that it's easily their weakest effort. “He wasn't just the drummer/ He was the singer's little brother.” Oof. Still, Heavenly were the best. People can talk shit on twee all they want, and oftentimes, yeah, twee is kind of annoying, but Heavenly did it without playing up the overly cutesy schmaltz that's come to overrun the genre. It's punk rock for wimps and sensitive kids.

Bis contribute two songs to the b-side, and I don't know anything about this band because all I ever did was play “Trophy Girlfriend” over and over and over again. It's quite cool, listening to it right now. Bratty DIY punk mixed with influences ranging from dancey New Wave to art punk to Sarah Records with vocals akin to Bikini Kill. “Keroleen” is the jam, a fun artsy little tune in the same thematic vein as “Trophy Girlfriend” whereas “Grand Royale with Cheese” is a little synthy instrumental that's almost overshadowed by its backbeat. Perhaps if “Keroleen” were devoted its own 7” it might stand out more, but here it just stands in the shadow of one of Heavenly's best tunes. Still, it's a nice contrast and really, I think that's what the point of the International Pop Underground was. A bunch of different bands from England and America (in this case, both were British) forming a sort of pop loser union that made for some of the catchiest and most interesting records of the 90s.

Note: I've always thought of this as the Bis/Heavenly split, even though I believe Heavenly's track is on the A-side. However, the cover for Bis' side looks more like a front cover, so this will continue to be filed under B despite having written the little thing up there out of order.

The awesome video for "Trophy Girlfriend"

The Beau Brummels - "Just a Little" 45

The Beau Brummels – “Just a Little” 45
Autumn, 1965
Acquired: Love Garden, Used, 2005
Price: $2

One of the first 7”s I remember buying, having discovered this band on my then girlfriend's Nuggets CD box set via their song “Laugh, Laugh.” I saw this at Love Garden, grabbed it, and pretty much instantly fell in love with it. I don't know why I didn't follow “Laugh, Laugh” down the rabbit hole further, I feel like I missed out on a whole 60s psychedelic pop phase my freshman year of college. But then again, the conditions for indie rock were just so much better. Still, those Nuggets box sets hold a special place in my heart, and this is one of those perfect little songs that exists on a 7” piece of wax forever or until the world melts. The b-side “They'll Make You Cry” is also quite good, and like “Just a Little” twists some folk rock influences into a mysterious little number with a harmonica line that sounds straight out of some seedy b-movie western. Diggin' these jams, diggin' 'em good.

The Beatles - I Want to Hold Your Hand 45

The Beatles – I Want to Hold Your Hand 45
Capitol, 1963
Acquired: Love Garden, Used, 2007
Price: $2

Well, it's the Beatles, and for me this is where pop music starts. This song. I remember hearing it all the time as a kid when the only radio station we ever listened to was Oldie 95 and I remember this having an impact on me. I never became one of those dudes who was obsessed with the Beatles or anything like that, but there really isn't a time when I can't listen to the Beatles. At work, they're one of the few rock bands that are actually allowed over the speakers and it's a nice change from yawny classical or random blues (which ultimately, just makes working depressing). The Beatles are the best band in the world because well, it's just too much of a pain in the ass to try to refute that. This is where pop music starts, this is the reason you have Katy Perry and all that trash and it's also the reason you have Beat Happening and the Pains of Being Pure at Heart or whatever. This is what I think of when I think “catchy song.” Song that, from the first note, lodges itself in your brain. It's stupid simple, and that's why it's great. Maybe someone should do a modern version of this song, something along the lines of “I Want to Text Message You Sweet Nothings” or “I Want to Do the Nasty With You in a High School Parking Lot,” but that would cheapen the simple, and still SOMEWHAT desire to just simply hold someone's damn hand, which is somehow still a big thing, even with the internet and all that.

Informative video with song!

END OF A (7")

Actually, A's were done a couple months ago but I became distracted with other things (work, Pitch writing, video games, Harry Potter, etc). That, and it was a pain in the ass to keep getting up, walking ten feet across the room to flip the record, then play the track again, and then put on a new 7" and I finally just brought Jenny's little portable all-in-one turntable/CD player/Radio thing out and have it sitting two feet away from me on the coffee table. Lazy? Yes. But now getting through the B's isn't as much of a pain in the ass!

Many of the latest updates haven't even been 7"s, merely records I've been picking up at work. They will be lumped in with whatever letter I'm on at the moment, which will serve the blog's function of calculating how much money I've wasted and ultimately, figuring out what all of these records are worth and seeing if I could break-even if in a rash moment I decided I needed to sell off all my records.

LP Collection = $2593
A = $99.25
Total = $2692.25

It's going to suck when I add sales tax to this...

The Troggs - Vintage Years

The Troggs – Vintage Years
Sire, 1976
Acquired: Half Price Books, Used, 2010
Price: $4

Shittttttt, I forgot how much my little heart swells for 60s psychedelic garage music. I mean, swells to the point where I can overlook “I Want You” being the exact same song as “Wild Thing” but with maybe one different chord and less than half the inspiredness. Inspiredness isn't a word, is it? Inspiration, right. But yeah, I listen to this and a chord is struck in my black little heart. A chord that makes me want to play music because this is a primal scream for the anyone-can-play-guitar generation. Four homely nerds bashing out grungy tunes in a fashion that puts you there with the band, in the garage or wherever. It's that feeling of getting things to tape. The raw excitement of “let's record this right now, as it is.” It may not be the best recording or whatever, but it's the one that people are going to remember. You get that certain desperation in the singing that you don't get in a proper studio. Overall, a nice collection of songs that sound a lot alike but still kick some ass.