Love as Laughter - "Do You Experience Alien Boredom?" 7"

Love as Laughter – “Do You Experience Alien Boredom?” 7”

K Records, 1996

Acquired: Love Garden, Used, 2008

Price: $.50

 

Sometimes I gotta be in the right mood for this stuff to work on me. I’m talking indie rock with pop tendencies pushed so far into the lo-fi sphere that it sounds like it was recorded in a Laundromat with every machine set to its spin cycle and all of the equipment intentionally pushed over onto the floor, semi-broken, put back together again and used to record music. It sounds like shit, but that’s the point, and the A-side of this Love as Laughter 7” is totally working its charms on me. This is the sort of weird thing I have come to expect from K’s International Pop Underground series, which is about as spotty of a series as you’re like to find. Some of these are godawful, some are absolute gems, and some are just plain pleasant, easy, if slightly forgettable alt-pop. Honestly, some of the stuff that is self-awarely lo-fi sounds like garbage if there isn’t a little diamond of a song buried under all of the rubble. Fortunately, both “Do You Experience Alien Boredom?” and the even dirtier sounding “Idol Worship! Idol Worship! We Offer Sleep to You!” have enough going for them at the base level that they sound just fine even though they sound like they were recorded on busted old cassette tapes found at a thrift shop.

Enjoy this little gem here in all of its glorious sloppiness. 

Low - "Hatchet (Optimimi Version)" 7"

Low – “Hatchet (Optimimi Version)” 7”

Sub Pop, 2007

Acquired: Kiefs, New, 2007

Price: $0

I am fairly certain I acquired this on Record Store Day, 2007, which if memory serves correct was the first big RECORD STORE DAY. Back when you could just grab free 7” singles. Back before the regimented high-dollar releases that sapped the joy from Record Store Day. It’s great for the record stores, don’t get me wrong, and people still get giddy about weird/rare stuff, and while I always peruse the list of RSD releases I’m rarely moved (the exceptions were the Limited Edition pressing of the Hold Steady’s Heaven is Whenever which didn’t even come out and the vinyl version of Pavement’s greatest hits collection Quarantine the Past which had a different track list than the CD version and I own and has fucking awesome cover art and I thoroughly enjoy). I’m just set in my ways though. If GBV or the Mountain Goats put out some RSD exclusive thing I’d be on that like my in-laws inbred Labradors on a dropped chicken wing. All that said, I don’t think this was an official RSD release, just something Kiefs had surplus of and blew out the door. Or maybe I’m remembering it wrong, it was like SEVEN YEARS AGO. Christ, I used to be a young pup! Consuming all the new music all the time, never letting up, reviewing 8 new albums a week for music staff. I was definitely overdoing it. The drawback is that there are very few albums from 2007-2009 that really, really stuck with me. Those that did were almost exclusively made by bands I already liked, like Low’s Drums and Guns. This 7” was apparently released with vinyl copies of that album and includes remixes of the breezy, lighthearted “Hatchet” (for me, "Let's bury the hatchet like the Beatles and the Stones" became one of the most memorable lines from any song during the 00s)paired up with the bleak and sinister “Breaker.” That said, the Optimimi Version of “Hatchet” makes the track even breezier with some groovy piano bits and a new vocal mix and “Breaker” only gets bleaker as all but electronic drums, haunted synthesizers and Mimi Parkers ethereal vocals push their way to the forefront with hypnotic results.

"Hatchet (Optimimi Version)" - This remix has an official video! Neat!

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"Breaker (Dub Plate)" - A bored person's version of a video.

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Low - "Venus" 7"

Low – “Venus” 7”

Sub Pop, 1997

Acquired: Love Garden, Used, 2008

Price: $3

 

As far as I can tell, the “Venus” 7” falls somewhere between the band’s early breakout albums Long Division and The Curtain Hits the Cast and two of their best albums: Secret Name and their masterpiece, Things We Lost in the Fire. What we get on “Venus” is the sound of a band who has just figured it out, and it’s wonderful. I have long admired Low for their ability to just as compelling as any major indie rock band while playing at half the speed. The benefit is an atomosphere and moodiness unrivaled in the realm. “Venus” is a stunning example of the magic that happens when Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker harmonize. It’s not as epic as some of their later tracks, but there is something about the quaintness of this track that puts my heart at ease. It’s just so easy to love, but then again, so is Low. Kudos to them for staying relevant and continuing to make kick ass records (most notably 2007’s sparse and haunting “Drums & Guns” and most recently, the absolutely teriffic The Invisible Way). B-side “Boyfriends & Girlfriends” is a spare and hypnotic dirge that forecasts towards the darker edge of Low’s discography.  

"Venus"


"Boyfriends & Girlfriends"

Los Campesinos! - "You! Me! Dancing!" 7"

Los Campesinos! – “You! Me! Dancing!” 7”

Wichita, 2007

Acquired: Los Campesinos Mail Order, New, 2009

Price: £5

I feel like I must have been at every show Los Campesinos! played at the 2008 SXSW. I definitely know I cut in line to get into a day set at Emos and didn’t feel bad about it because no one in line was even paying attention and, besides, I wanted it more. The show was basically magic: cluttered, exuberant magic. During “You! Me! Dancing!” Gareth jumped into the crowd, which on paper seems like a cheap ploy to force audience engagement but it WORKS EVERY SINGLE TIME. “OH MY GOD THE GUY SINGING THE SONG IS HERE AMONGST US PLEBES!” I probably said and loved the band even more. “You! Me! Dancing!” is like THE Los Camp! song. It’s the most towering single from their electric debut Hold On Now, Youngster... and best distills the band’s strengths, which is basically throwing a hundred different influences into a blender and serving up a pop smoothie. 1990s alternative rock in the guitars, Sarah Records songwriting in the clever, occasionally self-effacing lyrics, a genuine understanding of twee pop in all of its majesty without actually being twee pop itself, and A SHITLOAD OF GLOCKENSPIELS. Glockenspiels make it a party, it’s just a fact. Seeing seven early-twentysomething Brits crammed on that tiny stage in Austin is still one of my favorite concert experiences. In hindsight, Gareth Campesinos’ vocals are chirpy and thin compared to his room-commanding pipes on No Blues and Hello Sadness. Maybe the best portrait of the band is a sort of timelapse, side-by-side pairing of “You! Me! Dancing!” and their latest single, “Avocado, Baby” which is both way more in control of itself (although the wild quality of “Dancing!” is part of its charm) but about twice as face-meltingly catchy. I sometimes wonder if people don’t take Los Campesinos! seriously. Like all they think is “Oh, twee pop revival there’s no depth” because this is the stuff I worry about when it comes to bands I adore. As with the Hold Steady and GBV, I get defensive if people slag on Los Camp! Even with an absence of religion, I still found a way to be a zealot.

"You! Me! Dancing!'

"It Started With a Mixx"

And just because, here's the fantastic video for "Avocado, Baby"

Los Campesinos! - "We Throw Parties, You Throw Knives" 7"

Los Campesinos! – “We Throw Parties, You Throw Knives” 7”

Wichita, 2007

Acquired: Los Campesinos Mail Order, New, 2009

Price: £5

 

Have you ever heard a song where you just knew you were going to follow a band to the end of it all? It’s exactly like falling in love, because it is falling in love. There was a moment in 2008 when I looked past this hype machine image of Los Campesinos! that had been planted in my head based solely on the disco ball cover of their Sticking Fingers Into Sockets EP and listened to the damn thing and realized that there, in the midst of my indie pop years, it was the most perfect thing I could have possibly heard. Following this band through the years has been one of the great joys in my life, and the only other bands that rouse me on a cohesive gut/heart/head level are Guided by Voices and the Hold Steady. So LC! are in very good company. Watching the band move beyond their playful twee-inspired glee into darker, truer territory has been a treat. That said, “We Throw Parties, You Throw Knives” is a total fucking mess of a song, and that is what made me fall so hard. The music is a jumble of things running into each other, and the accented boy/girl vocals feel like they are spelling one another because there are too many lyrics for the songs brisk tempo. It all devolves into chaos, and though it’s a little rough and a little silly, there’s just so much pure bliss that it feels impossible not to love this scrappy group. All of the joy of making music is on display on “You Throw Parties…” and b-side “Don’t Tell Me to do the math(s),” and it’s a special thing, because these humble beginnings are the high watermark of a lot of bands. And compared to the concurrent masterworks of LC!, these two songs sound like the quaint rumblings of 8-year old children fucking around in the family room.  

"We Throw Parties, You Throw Knives"


"Don't Tell Me to do the Math(s)"

Lois - "Press Play and Record" 7"

Lois – “Press Play and Record” 7”

K Records, 1992

Acquired: Love Garden, Used, 2009

Price: $.50

 

While Lois has never been my favorite of the 1990s indie pop lady singers, the tracks on this 7” so perfectly capture the gauzey look of the early 90s that they come across as rather charming. The music is incredibly ramshackle, populating the same streams that fed grunge as well as the sweet and cuddly incarnation of punk rock that was twee. This is her first release, so it's a little rough, but again, you can't kill the DIY charm of the early 90s. The spare, acoustic b-side “Long Time Gone” works better with Lois Maffeo’s voice than the jangly pop of the a-side (and the majority of Lois’s discography). It strips away any hint of sweetness and doesn’t feel strained, and while I don’t love the song, I much prefer it to the rather forgettable nature of her usual output.

"Press Play and Record"


"Long Time Gone"

Li'l Pit - "Feeling Good" 7"

Li’l Pit – “Feeling Good” 7”

Kill Rock Stars,

Acquired: Love Garden Shotgun Room, Used, 2008

Price: $.25

 

No doubt, I grabbed this little baby from the Love Garden Shotgun Room because of the KRS and because of the Mike Watt on Stand Up Bass. Watt also produced this strange attempt at cool jazz by alt-rockers (Porno For Pyros’ Stephen Perkins dishes up drums on this one). Leave “Feeling Good” to Nina Simone, I say. This one’s a bass-heavy wash. For kicks, here is the record's ancient website from Mike Watt's hootpage circa 1997s.

feelin' good from lil pit on Myspace.

sometimes I'm happy from lil pit on Myspace.

Let's Wrestle/The Love Language - Split 7"

Let’s Wrestle/The Love Language – Split 7”

Merge, 2010

Acquired: Love Garden, New, 2010

Price: $6

 

This is a Record Store Day exclusive, no doubt purchased because I got up early and didn’t want to leave Love Garden empty handed. Even though I think $6 is a bit excessive for a 7”, I fucking love Let’s Wrestle. And their contribution, “I’m So Lazy,” is an exemplary slice of the slacker-tinged alt-rock the band worked to perfect over the course of their early EPs and first album, In The Court of Wrestling Let’s. The aforementioned first album was a little overstuffed for my liking, and I don’t know if I ever made it all the way through, but their single “I Won’t Lie To You” is one of those songs that pops up every now and then and I’ll stop in my tracks to enjoy the pure, sloppy glory of that number. The Love Language is a band I’m not familiar with, but their contribution to this 7”, “Brittany’s Back,” is a damn good piece of middle of the road indie rock thanks to the fact that it sounds like it was recorded through a camcorder, which paints an intriguing film over the song.

Let's Wrestle - "I'm So Lazy"

The Love Language - "Brittany's Back"

Ben Lee/Pony Up! - Split 7"

Ben Lee/Pony Up! – Split 7”

Dim Mak, 2004

Acquired: Love Garden, Used, 2008

Price: $1

 

I know two things about Ben Lee: 1.) He was in a quasi-supergroup with Ben Kweller and Ben Folds called the Bens. 2.) According to the Ataris, he sucks. I know lots of things about bands I’ve never even heard. This is the first time I’ve ever heard the music of Mr. Lee, and while I wouldn’t say he sucks, perhaps his clumsy-trying-to-be-cute snoozefest cover of Modest Mouse’s “Float On” probably isn’t the firmest ground to stand on when casting judgement. After all, I used to think Ben Kweller was lame until I realized he was a brilliant pop-smith. So I’ll just leave the forgettable “Float On” cover alone for now. Besides, I bought this 7” for the Pony Up! side. This is the Canadian all-girl twee group’s very first release, and it’s a bit rough but as endearing as all of Pony Up!s stuff. The track “The Truth About Cats and Dogs (Is That They Die)” from their 2006 debut LP Make Love to the Judges With Your Eyes was a fixture on my twee-based radio show Pop Rocks! in the late 00s. In the two years between this 7” and their full length, the band grew from ramshackle Riot Grrrl meets Jonathan Richman novelty to a magnificently tuneful pop group.

Ben Lee - "Float On"

Pony Up - "I Heard You Got Action"

The Lawrence Arms - Fat Club 7"

The Lawrence Arms – Fat Club 7”

Fat Wreck Chords, 2001

Acquired: Half Price Books, Used, 2013

Price: $.50

“Porno and Snuff Films” was the lead single and lead off track from the Lawrence Arms third album, Apathy& Exhaustion. This was the first song of theirs I ever heard and it was the beginning of a long, fruitful relationship with one of Chicago’s best punk bands. This is the same as the Fat Club 7” listed on Discogs, but it is not pressed on transparent purple vinyl. Either way, it contains “Overheated,” one of my favorite Larry Arms b-sides. Only because it came on shuffle one day and I sat back, said “Oh shit” and thought about how the Larry Arms always have the best b-sides. It’s funny, because I started off as a total Brendan Kelly guy and evolved into a Chris McCaughan guy. I think it’s an id/superego thing. Brendan Kelly is all the raw, brutal, piss and shit elements where Chris McCaughan is the more sensitive, emotionally ravaged stuff. Together, their dynamic and the way their little venn diagrams overlap make the Lawrence Arms a band I consistently root for and patiently await each and every release. Good to know their new album, Metropole, is comin’ out on the ‘taph on January 28!

"Overheated" 

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