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What’s up Sorry State readers, I hope everyone has had a nice week. Today I’d like to talk about biscuits, and not just any biscuits. I’m talking about Mother’s Best biscuits. More specifically, I’m talking about the Mother’s Best Flour show. This is another addition to the long list of things that Dominic has introduced me to. The show was a weekly 15 minute radio broadcast airing at 7:15 AM from 1949 to 1951 in Nashville, Tennessee, which featured the music of Hank Williams and his band. Throughout the show, Hank and the host are pedalling Mother’s Best products, such as flour, self rising cornmeal, and livestock feed, but they’re doing it in such a charismatic way, you don’t even mind. One of the things I love about old country and bluegrass shows is the funny and informal banter in between songs. It just adds a whole other element to it, and this radio show has plenty of that. I also love the short jingle they sing about biscuits every show about three times. It’s been stuck in my head all week. The show usually consisted of about three songs performed by Hank and his band. One thing I really like about it is he would perform some of his bigger hits, but he would also play older country and bluegrass songs from his childhood that he normally wouldn’t play live. There was a CD set released featuring a large collection of the shows, but all of them have been uploaded to youtube, which is what I use to listen to them. I feel like I say this a lot, but listening to one of these shows and having a cup of coffee is a great way to start the day. Maybe you’ll even end up cooking up a mess of Mother’s Best biscuits.

https://youtu.be/csktxveKcQ0

Hi Sorry State fam! How’s it going? Hope all is well on your end. I’m gonna just jump into it!

This week’s pick is the sophomore album from The Whiffs, called Scratch N’ Sniff. The Kansas City power pop band released an album full of really well-done, cool and catchy songs. I gotta get this out of the way first. It comes adorned with a banana scented scratch and sniff sticker! I very lightly “scratched” mine with the side of my finger to preserve the smell because I’m just a nerd like that.

Anyway, on to the music.

This album is so damn likable. It’s so damn listenable and so damn wholesome. But it’s not at all lame. It’s not the style of music I typically reach for, but it’s very hard to not like it. Don’t get me wrong, it rocks, but in a very easy going, feel-good, retro, pop sort of way. It’s one of those albums that I didn’t know I needed.

It’s Not Over is a great opener for what’s to come. The chorus is perfect, and the song is just so damn lovely. I don’t know why this record is provoking me to say damn so many times. I tend to lean on cuss words for emphasis, and this is just not a fuck type of record. Let’s talk about the second track called Shot Thru. Holy Rick Springfield. The intro is giving Jessie’s Girl, which I’m definitely here for. I’m not saying the song sounds like Jessie’s Girl, but it feels like they’re going for that vibe.

The first few songs on the record really pulled me in, but the rest of the album does not disappoint. It’s a cohesive album from top to bottom. Plenty of big choruses and smooth and clean guitar work throughout. The whole album is very hooky and chorus-driven.

The song Won’t Go Away is the perfect example of the retro meets contemporary style of this record. I like that they seem to borrow certain stylistic elements from the 50s through the 80s. It’s very carefully done, as it projects just the right amount of nostalgia without dating themselves.

Overall, Scratch N’ Sniff sounds very polished and thoughtful. It’s a shining example of masterful power pop.

And the sticker! I’m a sucker for the details. Thanks so much for reading!

Until next time.

Thanks,

Angela

Hi and thanks for reading! Today I am writing about friendship, and how important it is. 2020 really changed my social life, and I feel like I haven’t bounced back from it. I have more anxiety than ever, mostly around social interactions. This never used to be a thing for me, and I blame it on the isolation that came during the pandemic. Of course it’s not that simple, though. Friends are so important. True friends will tell you when you are fucking up, but at the same time they will support your decisions, even if they disagree with you. I believe that our friends are our support system. We need to look out for each other 24/7, cos the fucked-up capitalist landscape is definitely not making things any easier on us. I could not have made it to this age without my friends (and punk, which is the same as friends in my mind). It gets old, seeing people hating and talking shit on the internet all the time. What’s the problem... are you jealous? Or is your ego so big that when you disagree with someone, it has to be an argument? Can we not all be different people, with different approaches and ideas, yet still work together to achieve a common goal? A common goal of surviving, causing the least harm as possible. Everyone has “character flaws” and these are traits we should embrace, rather than ridicule. Life is seriously too short for petty shit. Words mean more than you might think, but of course actions speak louder... Cherish your friends and tell them you love them. Show the world your care, indiscriminately. I think it’s OK to fight with each other sometimes. We are only human. But think to yourself next time you get bent outta shape about something, what are you really upset about? Take care of each other, but make sure you take care of yourself. Enjoy YOURSELF. It’s the little things that make this life worth it, I think. Alright, back to work I go. Thanks for reading, my friends. Much love.

Hey guys, what’s up? A happy Saint Patrick’s day to you. As I write, that will be tomorrow, but I’ve been in the proverbial spirit all week long. On Monday Matt and I played an all Irish and Celtic inspired two hours of music for Worldy, which was fun. Check it out if you need a fix of Emerald Isle themed music. During the show I managed to fit in two Thin Lizzy tracks, naturally Whiskey In The Jar was one and with my Lizzy albums out for potential selection I have spent the rest of the week dipping into the records I have by them. I can’t flex and say I have their complete discography, far from it, but I have always liked them, and particularly Phil Lynott. What a dude. I’ll raise a pint in his honor tomorrow.

The rest of my week has been spent here at the store pricing up records. Jeff and I have made a good dent on that big Jazz collection Daniel bought recently and we have lots of cool stuff from other collections that will be hitting our new arrivals bins over the next few weeks. We sent out a little tease yesterday about one slab of wax that I was excited about, the stereo copy of The 13th Floor Elevators’ first album. Very cool. I naturally had to carefully test play it a couple of times for quality control reasons. Lol. It sounds amazing.

Yesterday, my football inflicted misery continued as my Reds were bounced out of Europe. That wasn’t really a shock as the odds were against us, but the prospect of no Champions League football or possibly any European football next season is quite depressing. I’ll have to chat with supporters of other teams and see how they cope because this isn’t something we as Liverpool fans are used to. Ha. I’m fooling around.

Anyway, that all being said, here I am on a Thursday morning and trying to write something for the newsletter with my head swirling with all kinds of emotions and vibrations from the music I have been spinning this week and having a really hard time trying to formulate words interesting enough for you to read. I’d like to wax lyrical about some of these Jazz records we have here, or tell you a great story about the recording of one of Thin Lizzy’s albums or go into a deep dive about how the 13th Floor Elevators records are so good and need to be heard from originals as almost all reissues sound like shit, or tell you that we just got in yet another Heartbreakers record, this time the Yonkers 1976 demos and why it’s worthy of your consideration. Short answer, these recordings feature Richard Hell in the line-up. However unfortunately my brain is mush right now, so my staff pick is going to be a simple instruction this week. Play as much Thin Lizzy as you can. That’s all. I brought in several of my Lizzy records to the store today and Jeff and I will be rocking out to those among other things today as we go about our work. Not a bad soundtrack to have, right? Are you a rocker?

Slainte - Dom

What’s up Sorry Staters?

Maybe it’s cuz Dom’s playing Richard Hell at the store as I’m writing this, but my brain is feeling extra blank at the moment. This week has just kinda breezed by. What even happened? I guess I’ve been nose-deep in mountains of boxes trying to price a bunch of jazz records for all you people. Mailorder has also been nuts, so thanks to all you Sorry Staters for buying up all those Zorn records. Before I know it, St. Patty’s Day is gonna whack me over the head. I’m sure I’ll be diving headfirst into a green beer by this time tomorrow (maybe not haha).

Yeah, I know, there’s been a bunch of cool new records coming through the shop. I’m sure Daniel will be covering it heavily, but I probably should just gush endlessly about how much I love that new Personal Damage LP. Not to mention the new releases on the Sorry State label. There’s tons of cool stuff. But what have I been doing over the last few days this week? Drinking red wine and listening to David Bowie… Typical. Slight change of topic (or is it?)… Funny enough, I stumbled across this YouTube video where this guy is breaking down the structure of the song “All The Young Dudes”. The chorus is strange, but oddly perfect at the same time. The chords kinda change key midway through, flipping from major to minor. And then there’s this oddly timed turnaround to start the chorus over. Anyway, nerd shit.

Now of course, this song has most notably gone down in history for being a classic tune by the Mott The Hoople. But even listening to Ian Hunter singing lead vocal on the track, you can hear Bowie’s DNA all over it. It’s one of those songs where even before I discovered that David Bowie wrote it, I totally knew that David Bowie wrote it haha. It’s so obvious. Being released in 1972, which was around the same time Bowie was in the Hunky Dory/Ziggy Stardust era, “All The Young Dudes” is basically like a cousin to some of his other moody, slower tunes from that period. It’s not too far off from “Oh! You Pretty Things” or “Moonage Daydream.” And it’s such a great song. Such a great song that Mott The Hoople made it the title of the album. And SUCH a great song, in fact, that Bowie must have realized he couldn’t let Mott totally claim ownership of the track. He couldn’t totally let it go, and shiiit, I don’t blame him. What I didn’t realize is that Bowie would perform the song in the early 70s. Sometimes, he’d even do a medley where “Moonage Daydream” would transition into “All The Young Dudes”. And guess what? It rules. I’m sure all the dudes in Mott were like “ooooh shit.” I only discovered the other night while a bit tipsy that there are studio recordings out there of Bowie doing a rendition of the song, even though I don’t think it ever properly appeared on one his albums. No diss to Mott The Hoople, but the song sounds pretty perfect with David at the helm. Not “better” exactly, it’s just kind of an “A-HA!” moment when you first hear it. “Oh, there it is.”

What are ya gonna do? I didn’t kick it in the head when I was 25, but man, I sure do need TV when I’ve got T. Rex. I guess I’m a dude, dad. Enough already. That’s all I’ve got this week. As always, thanks for reading.

‘Til next week,

-Jeff

The Only Ones: The Only Ones LP (1978, CBS Records)

There’s nothing like striking something from your want list by finding it in the wild. I’ve had the Only Ones’ first self-titled album on my want list for years, watching copies pop up infrequently, usually overseas, and always for inflated prices. After stalking the record for years I knew what I was looking at when I found a copy, and when the momentcame, I knew what was happening and ripped Excalibur from the stone… carpe’d motherfucking diem, if you know what I mean. Ridiculous analogies, I know, but I was pretty darn excited when I found this record.

I love the Only Ones. I think I first heard “Another Girl, Another Planet” on the Rhino compilation No Thanks! The ‘70s Punk Rebellion. That compilation is perhaps the best survey of 70s punk you’ll find, and over the years I’ve bought the album or single for just about every one of the 100 tracks on it. However, even among such heavy company, “Another Girl, Another Planet” stood out. It’s one of the best power-pop songs ever. If you don’t agree, then it’s clear we have radically different ideas of what comprises a great pop tune. My love for the Only Ones deepened when I picked up a copy of their second album, Even Serpents Shine, at Vinyl Conflict many moons ago. That album knocked me out, and it’s one of those rare records that I first heard in my late 30s, but I listened to enough to learn every nook and cranny of it. If you ever come across a copy of that one pick it up, as it’s usually cheap.

Neither Even Serpents Shine nor this first, self-titled Only Ones albums ever got released in the States during the band’s heyday… instead, we got Special View, one of those mongrel collections of British bands’ material repackaged for the American market. Compiling songs from the first two Only Ones albums, I suppose there’s nothing wrong with Special View, but it never clicked with me… I could just tell this wasn’t how we were supposed to be listening to these songs, and just like when you hear the original UK track listing of the Clash’s first album, everything makes a lot more sense when you hear these songs in their original context, including the bits that some suit or another decided weren’t good enough for American ears.

Reading up on this self-titled album to prepare for writing this staff pick, I didn’t see too many kind words for it. People’s criticisms fall into two camps. There are the folks who dismiss the album because none of the other songs are as good as “Another Girl, Another Planet.” Fair enough, I suppose, as I’m sure an album full of pop bangers of that caliber would have been something to behold. But taking the album on its own terms, I like how it starts with its two most accessible songs, “The Whole of the Law” and “Another Girl, Another Planet,” then writhes around in this druggy, dream-like space for the rest of its running time. It seems appropriate given the lyrical subjects. The other criticism I see of this album is that it’s not punk, to which I reply… “so what?” Did the Only Ones ever present themselves as punks? “Another Girl, Another Planet” appeals to a lot of punks, but beyond that, I’m not sure where that expectation arises, other than from the time and place in which the Only Ones were making music. Only Ones drummer Mike Kellie was in Spooky Tooth, for chrissakes, so I don’t think they’re too concerned with their stash of punk points. (This is, of course, putting aside the fact that Spooky Tooth’s album Ceremony: An Electronic Mass (one of the many albums Dominic has turned me on to over the years) is, by my arbitrary metric, pretty punk, dude.)

Anyway, back to this Only Ones album. Is it a great album? Perhaps not. It’s certainly not as great as Even Serpents Shine, though I can’t shake the feeling that it doesn’t aspire to greatness. It’s a murky, dingy album, the jacket’s muted, earthy, and unassuming layout doing a good job of capturing its overall approach and vibe. It certainly pulls me into its world, and all the way in at that. The album, particularly its second side, evokes what I imagine withdrawals must feel like, time moving slower than it seems like it should, the minutes grinding past like sandpaper against your skin. Not that it’s a difficult listen, just that it distorts your sense of time and makes you listen on its own terms. It’s an album to smoke a joint to and lose yourself in, not to throw on while you’re washing the dishes.

Right now I’m still basking in the glow of acquisition, so who knows where this album will land with me in the long term? Will it stick to my turntable like Even Serpents Shine, or will it live on the shelf, doing little more than making my Only Ones section feel complete? Either way, I’ve already gotten several enjoyable spins out of it, and I’m nowhere near ready to file it away.

What’s up Sorry State readers? I hope everyone had a nice week. Last Friday, March 3rd, would have been Doc Watson’s 100th birthday, whom I’ve talked about many times here in the newsletter. To celebrate the life of such an amazing artist and North Carolina legend, Billy Strings performed two nights in Winston-Salem here in North Carolina, about an hour and a half from Deep Gap, the town where Doc was born and spent most of his life. The first night (Friday) was a tribute to Doc and the music he loved to play, featuring lots of guests, including some pickers that used to play with him back in the day. It was an incredible show, three and a half hours of straight flatpicking, no set breaks or anything. He ended up playing 45 songs the first night, which blew my mind. I could have listened to him play 100 of them though… I was having such a great time. I got to hear so many songs I’ve only dreamed about being able to hear live, like Otto Wood the Bandit, the true story of a one-armed bandit from North Carolina who escaped jail over ten times till they finally locked him up in Central State Prison here in Raleigh, just down the road from Sorry State, where he escaped four separate times before finally being shot down by the sheriff the final time he escaped on December 31st, 1930. That’s why I love folk and bluegrass music so much, cause there’s so many songs that tell crazy stories about stuff that happened right down the road from where you. Another favorite of mine that was played the first night was Tom Dooley, an old, true story about a man who was hanged for killing his mistress, but many people believe it was his wife that killed her and he was framed for the crime. North Carolina had some crazy shit going on back in the day and it’s so cool to hear someone still perform these songs and tell these stories to an arena full of thousands of people. The second night was also a great show, more of a return to a regular Billy show, but was mostly his own original music since the night prior was all covers. The encore, though, is what really did it for me, when he busted out Tony Rice’s old 1935 D28 guitar and he and the band all gathered around one mic and played a couple of Tony Rice tunes. All in all it was a great trip, but I’ve gotta say that first night was probably my favorite show I’ve ever been to and it’ll be hard to top it. Thank you for your music Doc Watson, here’s to 100 more years of it.

Hi Sorry State readers! Hope everyone is having a good week. Things are pretty good on my end. It’s been a really good couple of weeks for music listening, so it was hard to narrow it down to one record this week. I just realized I haven’t even written about the Koro release, which is absurd because I’ve played it a ton. So I’m going to honorably mention it because you absolutely need it. I’m convinced it will never sound better.

That said, I chose to go a different direction this week and write about the new release from Rough Kids. Rough Kids is a consistently good LA power pop/punk band that should probably be more widely known than they are. Their third LP, The Black and White and Gray, is on Dirt Cult Records, and it does not disappoint. I popped it on right when we got it, but it didn’t quite get its hooks in me until the second spin a few days later. And now I’m sold.

The album is very guitar-driven with some great guitar leads, and the rhythm section is really tight and focused. It’s very obvious that they mean business with this album. The songs are reminiscent of ‘77 punk, but I also hear a good amount of more modern sounding post-punk. I like the diversity in vocal styles throughout the album because it changes the feel of the songs and just makes the album more fun and unpredictable. It feels like Rough Kids get a little more intense and more focused with each album. While you're at it, check out their second LP on Sorry State Records.

From top to bottom, the energy of this album does not wane. Don’t Blow it Away and Breakdown are two standout tracks for me. Both are pretty straightforward, mid- to fast tempo tracks with razor sharp riffs and simple yet super catchy beats. She’s All Gray is another one of my favorites and a good example of the diverse styles on the album. This one has a more emotional tone and sense of urgency, with some killer guitar solos. The guitar work is really the star of the whole album.

This is just one of those albums you throw on when you just want something high energy and fun to listen to. It may help pull you through the last part of your shift, or keep you motivated while you clean your house. Or, more realistically, while you organize or re-sleeve your record collection. Give it a try!

Anyway, thanks for reading and have a great weekend!

-Angela

Hello and thanks for reading! I wasn’t too sure what to write about this week. DESTRUCT’s new album is now available for pre-order and streaming, but only the special record release gig version of the LP has circulated. SCARECROW played this gig, and DESTRUCT was off the charts. I’ve seen them a lot and I think this was the best I have I yet to witness, god damn… I think the LPs they had at the gig sold out before they even played, haha. I thought it might be best to wait and write about the LP until Sorry State gets our copies, since the limited blue vinyl quickly sold out on pre-order from Grave Mistake. I’ve been playing this LP for a while now since I am lucky enough to have a test press, and it is fucking killer. Just wait until you hear their split tracks on the upcoming ‘Screaming Death’ 4-way split LP...

I haven’t really mentioned this to anyone, but since my brand new label has released something this week I thought I would mention it! This label will be focusing on reissues only, beginning with this SEKAANNUS 7”. Sorry State will definitely be getting copies of this once the covers arrive next week, so there’s no need to order from my site if you are interested. Well, I do have some color vinyl available still that’s only available direct from Mäkitie 8... SEKAANNUS had a demo tape before their split with MASSACRE. The tape is quite rare, but luckily there have been some digital rips shared over the years. The band plays much more raw and raging hardcore during this time, instead of the more pulled-back, groovy song writing that came later on the “Kutsu” EP. I enjoyed that EP a lot, but there’s nothing that beats raw Finnish hardcore, haha. I am happy this demo has finally made its way to a reissue and I love that they still did the cover in the classic Finnish cut-and-paste style!! This 7" is actually the second release for Mäkitie 8. The KAAOS 12" that was supposed to be the label’s debut is still at the plant, but it should be released soon! The KAAOS 12" is a live recording, super early in the band’s formation. It’s got a ton of unreleased songs and actually has Kake on vocals instead of Jakke, like the split with CADGERS. Both of these are co-releases with the Finnish Hardcore label, and Sami is the one doing all the work. He has some other plans ahead that I am very excited to play in a role in as well. To simply put it, it’s an honor to have this small hand in releasing some old raw Finnish hardcore!! Alright, back to work then. Thanks to everyone for reading and thanks loads for the support here at Sorry State, cheers!

Hey there everyone! I hope all is well. Our apologies for missing you last week here in newsletter land. No slacking, just too much going on. That’s a good thing though, and we love being busy with the business of music and records. We’ve certainly been working hard on scoring some killer collections of used records. There will be plenty of good reasons for store visits if you are local or visiting Raleigh. I’m still halfway through a great collection of 1970s prog and weirdo electronic type records that has yielded some real gems. Lots of cool UK pressings of stuff. We also scored another nice Jazz collection that we’ll be adding to the bins over the coming weeks, and just yesterday I bought a small collection containing some cool US 60s Garage records. That had a couple of rarities in it that will blow someone’s mind soon. I couldn’t be in a better place, surrounded and almost buried by amazing records. It makes me so happy thinking about these great records being taken home by our loyal and fabulous customers and enhancing their lives with the music held in the grooves. Records rule!

As for me personally, the other week I was all down in the dumps over a game of footie and now this week it has all been turned around and I’m as happy as can be, again over a game of football. For those not following or caring, I’ll catch you up. I support Liverpool FC and last Sunday we beat our biggest rivals Manchester UTD 7-0. That’s right, I’ll say it again, seven nil. That’s an incredible score line. You don’t see games like that very often. Maybe it was a freak result. Whatever, it happened, and it was amazing. Liverpool have been having a difficult season this term. We’re struggling to get in the top six, let alone top four, but are on a good run of form more recently. UTD on the other hand have been doing great and playing well. They just won the League Cup to secure silverware and certainly came into the game as favorites. If we get nothing else out of the season, we at least have this historic result to keep a smile on our faces and will have a “sit down” card to play against UTD fans for some time to come. It’s up to them to try and do it to us next. Or maybe we’ll spank them again. Who knows? That’s all part of the joy and misery of following and supporting a team. If you know you know.

Still, this isn’t a sports blog or ESPN, and I can imagine there is a good swath of you reading that couldn’t give a crap about any of it, and so with that in mind let’s talk about music and records. I only brought all of that up because it made me so happy and changed my mood and took me to my happy place. It reminded me of being a kid in the 70s and 80s and my first experiences of supporting my team. That, in turn, got me thinking about the music that I first got into when I was younger and how it has stayed with me all these years and still has the effect to take me to a happy place. For me, it was the original rock and roll from the 1950s that was my big obsession when I was a kid. Not surprising, as the 50s revival was in full swing during the 1970s and early 1980s. So, I was all about Elvis, Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, Sun records, Gene Vincent etc. and particularly Eddie Cochran. I really gravitated towards him. My small local record shop in my town was run by an old Teddy Boy and so he had lots of great rock ‘n roll records and rockabilly stuff. Rockabilly was my youth cult back then. He turned me on to lots of great records, but one that has always remained as an all-time favorite song to this day is the track Jeannie, Jeannie, Jeannie by Eddie Cochran. Originally released on Liberty Records in 1958, you’d be hard pushed to find a better example of rock ‘n roll from the era. Eddie was a terrific and inventive guitar player, and his solo in this song is pure fire and makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up every time. Sadly, Eddie was taken from the world far too soon. He died from injuries sustained in a car accident whilst on tour in England. In the car with him was another legend, Gene Vincent. He survived but compounded an existing injury to his leg and the pain from that and losing his friend tortured him for the rest of his life.

I’ve had the Jeannie track on various Eddie Cochran compilations and albums over the years but for one reason or another have never had the actual 45 until literally last week, hence me becoming reenergized by the song again this week and fitting in perfectly with my sense of nostalgia for my connections with music that I was digging back then. As I loved this song so much and was getting more and more into the rockabilly youth cult during this time, it was just perfect that my favorite band from that period, The Stray Cats, covered Jeannie on their debut album. Just like Eddie, Brian Setzer is an amazing guitar slinger and his playing and solo on the Cats’ version of the tune is just as hot. He nails it and does what any good cover should do, matching the energy of the original whilst making it their own. Hearing them cover that song cemented my love for The Stray Cats that is just as firm to this day. Their first couple of records are great and they were so good live. Amazing energy from a simple three-piece group. I can put on their records and be in my happy place instantly. That’s the power of music. It’ll affect you and stay with you forever. I love it.

So yeah, love your music. Play those records that bring you joy no matter what they are and how “cool” or not they may be. Fuck anyone that tries to tell you different. I would thoroughly recommend you investigate the life and music of Eddie Cochran if you are not familiar, and I would encourage you to take a listen to that first Stray Cats LP when you have a chance. I’ll leave you links to the two versions of Jeannie to compare and hope that some of you will find them just as joyous and fun as I do. One last point of interest is how the spelling of Jeannie varies. Mostly the Eddie Cochran version is spelled with two Ns, but sometimes you’ll see it spelled with just one, whereas the Stray Cats version uses just the one. Okay, back to work and processing all these other killer records that are stacking up around me. Thanks for reading and indulging me. See you here next time. Cheers, Dom.

Eddie Cochran – Jeannie, Jeannie, Jeannie

The Stray Cats – Jeanie, Jeanie, Jeanie

What’s up Sorry Staters?

You got your leather chaps ready? I know you coffin-dwelling freaks are waiting with bated breath for that new Zorn record. You can pair your leather wears with a fresh new Koro shirt on its way to you now. So yeah, we’re back after skipping the newsletter last week. As always, we’re slammed busy over here at Sorry State HQ and also, Scarecrow went to go gig in Richmond with our homies in Destruct for their LP release gig. Jah bless our buddy Kestrel for helping out lately. I’m still feeling wiped out. I’m hoping this weekend I get to recuperate just a little bit. I’m tryna see that Cocaine Bear flick. Any of you seen that movie yet? Is it any good? Sounds insane.

Anyway, let’s talk about stuff I’ve been listening to:

It’s funny, the other day I found that we had a Dr. Strange compilation reissue of Symbol Six that we’re selling brand new for $8. 8 BUCKS? I was spinning that a bunch in the store and I was like fuck it, I’ll buy this. I’ve been on an 80s SoCal punk kick for a while anyway. And recently, I’ve been jamming this new SoCal’s Parishioners tape. Y’all heard this band yet? We had the band’s previous tape also, which I think I only listened to briefly. But for whatever reason, this new one called The Big Blast… From SoCal! really gripped my attention. Honestly, the tape is pretty lo-fi, which might just be a rough sounding home dub. But actually, that almost kinda adds to the experience because it sounds OLD. These dudes totally nail that oldschool, early 80s, slightly melodic Orange County hardcore sound. But not unlike Symbol Six or Shattered Faith or bands of that ilk from Southern California, SoCal’s Parishioners totally sound like a band that could’ve been on Posh Boy in like 1981. Cool riffs and ripping guitar playing, Soto-esque walking basslines… but really, this band just writes catchy as fuck songs. Also, the lyrics are great. The singer nails that aloof, snotty, sorta irreverent vocal delivery. The first song “I Don’t Know” is killer, but it also cracks me up. The chorus goes something like, “I don’t know what’s going anywhere. Indonesia? Italy? I don’t care!” Homie doesn’t give a fuck, it’s so awesome. I’m pretty sure the lyrics not only mention skateboarding, but like multiple instances across the 5 tracks on this tape. Also, the way the band members are credited, Dagger on vocals, Mr. Flames on guitar, The Kid on bass… They’re like a gang. So rad.

We’ve still got a good stack of copies of this tape. If my endorsement makes people pay a little more notice to this band, then I’ll be stoked. I really think these dudes are killing it. Makes me wanna put on Thrashin’. Members of SoCal’s Parishioners are here to remind you that “breakin’ is a memory.” Haha.

Anyway, that’s all I’ve got for ya this week. As always, thanks for reading.

‘Til next week,

-Jeff

Hatfied & the North: The Rotter’s Club LP (Virgin, 1975)

I’ve often said that “when it rains, it pours” is the most useful cliche in the record world. I always think of the time when we had three copies of the infamous Beatles “butcher cover” in stock at one time. I found them all in the wild, close enough together that I wondered, “is this record even rare?” Of course I haven’t seen another one since, so I’ll chalk that up to coincidence. The last few months have been slow for us in terms of used stuff coming in, but the floodgates opened over the past couple of weeks and the vinyl gods have inundated us with cool stuff. Our used drops should look pretty good for the next several weeks. Of course I kept a few items for myself, which leads me to this week’s episode of the synchronicity files.

I was on a house call where this guy had an amazing collection. His entire basement was full of packed shelves of CDs, vinyl, and books, and even as someone who has spent a lot of time looking at people’s music collections, it was impressive. When I got back to the store, I told Dominic it looked like the guy had bought just about every reissue reviewed in Mojo and Ugly Things since the 80s. We were chatting about our favorite records, and he told me his all-time favorite record is Soft Machine’s Third, and that he was a big fan of the Canterbury scene, including bands like Soft Machine, Caravan, and Hatfield & the North. I know a little about that music, but not a lot. I wrote about Caravan’s In the Land of Grey and Pink as my staff pick a few years ago after hearing a track on the BBC 6 program The Freak Zone (actually, I swear that I did, but now I can’t find the post to link it), but Canterbury is a world I’ve brushed up against, not dove into. Anyway, when someone who has 20,000 records in their basement tells you what his favorite record is, the smart thing to do is to listen to that record, so I listened to Soft Machine’s Third. It is excellent, and you shouldn’t be surprised if I write about it for my staff pick somewhere down the road.

I was looking at that collection on a Saturday, then on Monday I got to work and started getting settled in, and Jeff sends me a message that someone called the shop about selling some records and that it sounded promising. I had a moment, so I called the guy back, and since my next few days looked pretty busy and he was available, I went straight out to look at his records. It turns out the guy had a killer collection full of experimental music from the 70s and 80s, including a lot of UK imports, and you’ll see those records popping up on our Friday Instagram posts over the next several weeks. Oddly, this collection included many of the records I had just been talking about at the other guy’s house two days earlier… many of them records I’ve never seen or seen only once or twice. This happens a lot… I’ll buy two collections at more or less the same time and think to myself, “these two people should be friends.” I’ve never actually made a record love connection, but when the universe rings me up I try to answer, so I skimmed copies of Soft Machine’s Third and Hatfield & the North’s The Rotter’s Club off the top of that buy and brought them home.

For whatever reason, The Rotter’s Club is the record I keep coming back to. I think this might be a signal that I’m developing a taste for Canterbury. I may be speaking out of turn here because I’m a neophyte rather than an expert in Canterbury, but here’s a quick rundown. The scene gets its name because it was centered near the English town of Canterbury (the same Canterbury from Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales). Scene fulcrum Robert Wyatt’s mother owned a 15-bedroom Georgian mansion near Canterbury, and many of his musician friends rented rooms there. Musical connections formed, people came and went, projects formed and splintered… it’s a whole long story I’m not qualified to tell, so look it up if you’re interested.

To my ears, Canterbury music brings together three musical styles: whimsical, often absurdist pop; sophisticated classical composition; and incantatory psychedelic improvisation. Those elements were all in the air in late 60s and early 70s Europe, but they didn’t come together anywhere in quite the same way they did in Canterbury. Critics often compare the whimsical pop element to Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd, but Floyd were contemporaries of the Canterbury scene, not influences on it, and the Soft Machine often played the UFO Club alongside Floyd in both bands’ early days. The playful lyrics, filled with absurdities in the vein of Edward Lear or Lewis Carroll butting heads with low-brow jokes and puns, often garner comparisons to Monty Python. However, these playful passages sit, perhaps slightly awkwardly, next to complex, classical-influenced compositions that would coalesce into prog (many of the Canterbury bands formed before prog stalwarts like Yes and King Crimson had released anything). And even these proto-prog passages might drift away from the tight compositions and arrangements and do some free-form psych improvising for a few minutes. It’s a mixed bag, and it makes it harder to find your way into this stuff because if you’re interested in only one or two of those elements, the others may grate on your nerves.

The Rotter’s Club is a prototypical mix of these elements. I’m still not sure I’m 100% sold on the opening track, “Share It,” but from there I’m on board. And who can’t get behind song titles like “(Big) John Wayne Socks Psychology On The Jaw” and “Your Majesty Is Like A Cream Donut?” Actually, there are probably a lot of you out there who can’t, and if that’s the case, then you can ignore this whole corner of music history. The same goes if you hate early Yes and Crimson, or you can’t stand German progressive rock (aka “Krautrock”). I guess you have to have a pretty open mind to like this Canterbury stuff, or maybe you just need to be a middle-aged Anglophile who spends way too much time and money on music. Either way, they got me.