The Dump-Bin Blues: 100 Flowers - 100 Years of Pulchritude

A former co-worker and I once figure that one of the worst things to befall a musician was either to wind up in the dump bin or record the cliche blues album. Combining the two nadirs, we entitled an imaginary album, "The Dump Bin Blues". In that sad spirit, MRML's "Dump Bin Blues" series celebrates works obtained for less than two dollars out of one of the ever-growing dump bins chewing-up floor space in the ever-shrinking world of music retail.


100 Flowers was the name 70's LA primitive-punk band The Urinals chose to relaunch themselves as an artier but still hard-hitting new wave (Mao-quoting Gang of Four division) band in the early 80's. This 1990 collection on Rhino [!] collects up the band's entire oeuvre.







  


If you enjoyed this trip into the dump-bin, and would like to hear more such oddities, let us know in the COMMENTS section (which is where you'll find the 100 Years of Pulchritude link).

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Moskow: Man from UNCLE (1979)

Roberto's Rarities:
An irregular MRML series powered by the wild generosity of our reader, Roberto: Enjoy and don't forget to leave our benefactor a thank-you comment.

This early version of goth-poppers The Bolshoi - David Ashmore (Vocals), David Cole (Guitar), Trevor Flynn/Tanner (Bass), Michael Matthews (Keyboards), Jan Kalicki (Drums) - released the same catchy post-punk song., "The Man from UNCLE" (different versions?) with two different B-sides in 1n 1978 and 1979. For version I of the single see HERE for more info on the band see this SITE).




Reactions to this rarity are strongly encouraged and can be left in the COMMENTS section (where the Man from UNCLE link can be found).

Moskow 7'' (1978)

Roberto's Rarities:
An irregular MRML series powered by the wild generosity of our reader, Roberto: Enjoy and don't forget to leave our benefactor a thank-you comment.

This early version of goth-poppers The Bolshoi - David Ashmore (Vocals), David Cole (Guitar), Trevor Flynn/Tanner (Bass), Michael Matthews (Keyboards), Jan Kalicki (Drums) - released the same catchy post-punk song., "The Man from UNCLE" (different versions?) with two seperate B-sides in 1n 1978 and 1979. For great background info, check out this dead-linked blog post (and the comments).

Reactions to this rarity are strongly encouraged and can be left in the COMMENTS section (where the Moskow 7" link can be found).

The Friendly Hopeful's: Tribute to the Punks of 1976 (1981)

*

Two commenters and almost 70 downloads? I think readers here can do better.



Roberto's Rarities:
An irregular MRML series powered by the wild generosity of our reader, Roberto: Enjoy and don't forget to leave our benefactor a thank-you COMMENT.

We already talked about the solo work of Eater singer Andy Blade  (HERE) and Sex Pistol producer Dave Goodman's (HERE), so let's see what happened when these two guys got together back in 1981 to make a novelty record that pillaged punk's past.




So, the result, which was supposed to be a Stars on 45 style disco medley, instead sounds like a buncha punk songs smeared together and  played at the same tempo. Inconsequential possibly but an amusing listen nonetheless.

Reactions -  love, hate or confusion - to this Eater/Sex Pistols-related novelty item are strongly encouraged and can be left in the COMMENTS section (where the Tribute to the Punks of 1976 link can be found).

Ex Pistols: Land of Hope & Glory (1984) FIXED

Roberto's Rarities:
An irregular MRML series powered by the wild generosity of our reader, Roberto: Enjoy and don't forget to leave our benefactor a thank-you comment.

Dave Goodman's legacy is inextricably linked to The Sex Pistols, a fact John Lydon always resented and Goodman exploited relentlessly for the remainder of his days. Those attitudes may explain why Lydon tried have this record, on which Goodman did everything possible to resemble a Sex Pistols release (even including Glen Matlock somewhere along the line) banned.

Still a pretty fun single and almost as authentic as anything on the Great Rock n' Roll Swindle. (For even more on that curiously fraudulent era of the Sex Pistols see this site).




Reactions to Goodman's Swindle are strongly encouraged and can be left in the COMMENTS section (where the link for Land of Hope & Glory can be found).

Update: The full single is now available - please see the fourth comment for link.

HOMEPAGE 478478478478478478478

REM: Rare Frequencies (Fanclub)

To see my list of great R.E.M. videos (1982-1984) please come visit The Big Takeover.


While I never worshiped at the altar of REM (more HERE), the band kept a strong hold of me till 1994's Monster. While the first single, "What's the Frequency, Kenneth" lived up to album's idea of a louder, rawer rock n' roll sound, much of the rest album ("Crush With Eyeliner" might also get a pass here) just fell flat*. And from then on my interest in REM never really returned. I've heard albums the band's released since '94 that sounded just fine but that sense of vitality, that sense that this is music people will remember for generations just evaporated for me.

* Of the albums legacy, Wikipedia dryly notes, "Despite generally positive critical reception, used CD stores received a large number of copies of "Monster" from sellers seeking to unload the album. A large pile of "Monster" copies was often the only used option for buyers looking for an REM album. Some used CD stores stopped buying the album due to a growing overstock and little demand from buyers."

So to bring us back to the vital era, let's offer a bootleg CD that collects up the  band's fanclub-only Christmas singles from 1988 to 1996. While there are definitely a few holiday-tunes here,  the lion's share of the tracks are intriguing cover choices by influences like Television, Mission of Burma, The Vibrators, CCR, Spizzenergi, Suicide, Johnny Cash, Flipper, Roky Erickson and Richard Thompson.

Did your interest in REM drop off at some point? Let us know in the COMMENTS section (which is where you'll find the Rare Frequencies link).

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The Breakdowns: The Kids Don't Wanna Bop No More (2011)

Stealing from The Beatles and the Ramones with equally gleeful abandon England's The Breakdowns are poised for a break-through. Watch them:



or just listen:

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R.E.M. and The Byrds do Dylan (And More!)

Well as the title implies this is a meeting of two massively influential forces in American music that occurred on 5/11/88. On that day, ex-Byrd Roger McGuinn joined 3/4 of R.E.M. (more HERE) and the band ran through a set of Byrds classics including, not surprisingly, three Bob Dylan covers ("You Ain't Goin' Nowhere", "Mr. Tambourine Man and "Knocking on Heaven's Door"). Of course other Byrds' classics like "Turn, Turn, Turn", "Eight Miles High" and my personal favourite, "Feel a Whole Lot Better" as well as then-new McGuinn songs like "The Tears" are well-represented ".

Michael Stipe, as he did when the band backed up The Troggs, Warren Zevon et al,  absented himself leaving just the Southern Gentlemen (Bill Berry, Mike Mills, and Peter Buck) to give McGuinn wings on this fine-sounding bootleg.



Over El Vagon Alternativo McGuinn himslef dropped by to speak tersely of this release, "This is a bootleg. They did not release this recording under any name. The guys showed up at a Roger McGuinn show and sat in for a few songs."

    Track Listing:

        1. 
            Sunshine Love    2:27
        2. 
            The Tears    3:30
        3. 
            Chestnut Mare    5:33
        4. 
            Tiffany Queen 2    3:11
        5. 
            You Ain't Going Nowhere    3:37
        6. 
            I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better    2:46
        7. 
            Mr. Spaceman    2:43
        8. 
            The Bells Of Rhymney    3:38
        9. 
            Mr. Tambourine Man    2:40
        10. 
            Turn, Turn, Turn    3:57
        11. 
            Eight Miles High    5:00
        12. 
            Knockin' On Heaven's Door    5:16

What do you make of this meting of the generations?  Let us know in the COMMENTS section (which is where you'll find the 'REMember the Byrds' link).

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R.I.P. R.E.M. (The Unreleased Live Album, 1984)

"Pretty Persuasion."

That was the first R.E.M. song I ever heard. It would've been sometime in early 1985 and my hipper, cooler brother-in-law made me a tape which included everything from the New York Dolls to The Psychedelic Furs to Black Flag to Hanoi Rocks to The Enigmas to, of course, R.E.M. I quickly became obsessed with that soon-to-be-legendary intersection of mumble and jangle. I devoured Reckoning and its follow-up, Fables of the Reconstruction and I used them as my albums to fall asleep to (in a good way).



Now that R.E.M. have called it quits, I suppose it's time to re-visit a band I've hardly payed attention to for the last 15 years. What better way to do glance backwards than to present this live bootleg that, according to the liner notes, was supposed to be their final album for I.R.S. till it was nixed by lead singer, Michael Stipe. While this sounds a little fanciful to me, the performance and the sound quality are excellent reminders of why we should all mourn the passing of R.E.M.

REM "THE UNRELEASED LIVE LP" live R.E.M. Soundboard.

1         Chinese Bros.        
2         Catapult        
3         Radio Free Europe        
4         9-9        
5         Gardening At Night        
6         Windout        
7         Letter Never Sent        
8         Kohoutek        
9         So. Central Rain        
10         (Don't Go Back To) Rockville        
11         1,000,000        
12         Hyena        
13         West Of The Fields        
14         Old Man Kensey        
15         Second Guessing        
16         Hyena        
17         Letter Never Sent        
18         Driver 8        
19         Old Man Kensey        
20         Pretty Persuasion        
21         1,000,000        
22         Second Guessing        

Tracks 1 to 15 recorded live on Sept. 24, 1984 at Duke University in Durham, NC on the North American "Little America" tour.
Tracks 16 to 22 are bonus live tracks with no dates given.


So what was the first R.E.M. song you heard?  Let us know in the COMMENTS section (which is where you'll find the Unreleased Live Album link).

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Andy Blade (Ex-Eater): Break the News (1980)

Roberto's Rarities:
An irregular MRML series powered by the wild generosity of our reader, Roberto: Enjoy and don't forget to leave our benefactor a thank-you COMMENT.

Underaged punkers Eater got maligned a lot back in the day "("Dire." opined Trouser Press editor Ira Robbins, "Yesterday's worst hardcore.") but their reputation has grown over time. Eater's Anglo-Egyptian singer and guitarist Andy Blade (Ashruf Radwan) went onto a few interesting projects including this more Roxy Music-ish solo single in 1980.



To learn more about the apprenticeship of Andy Blade read this excellent interview.



Reactions to this Eater-related new wave rarity are strongly encouraged and can be left in the COMMENTS section (where the Break the News link can be found).

The Weakerthans with Sarah Harmer: CBC Sessions (2005)

Yesterday we talked up Greg Macpherson (see HERE), one of Winnipeg's favoured lefty-indie-punk sons. So that seems to be as good as reason as any to remind you of Winnipeg's more famous lefty-indie punks sons, The Weakerthans (more HERE). What we have for you today is a CBC session of the band playing a set alongside Toronto alt-country heroine, Sarah Harmer.

The Weakerthans with Sarah Harmer, Glenn Gould Studio, Toronto, 18 November 2005

1) My Favourite Chords
2) Reconstruction Site
3) Psalm for the Elks Lodge Last Call
4) Utilities
5) Night Windows
6) Swinging Party (The Replacements cover)
7) Reasons
8) Past-Due

Sarah Harmer with The Weakerthans, Glen Gould Studio, Toronto, 18 November 2005

1) I am Aglow
2) Escarpment Blues
3) Weakened State
4) Islands in the Stream (Bee Gees cover)
5) Gone for Good (The Shins cover)
6) I’m a Mountain
7) Lodestar

You are now invited to leave some Weakerthans words behind in the COMMENTS section  (which is where you'll find the CBC session link).

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Greg Macpherson covers The Clash!

Winnipeg guitarist/singer/song-writer/label head/community-organizer Greg Macpherson has been releasing albums and touring this world for over a decade. Imagine a dramatic splicing of Bruce Springsteen, Billy Bragg John K. Sampson (of the Weakerthans) and Joe Strummer and you'll just have a thumbnail sketch of this strikingly original figure.

To read my review of his show last week at the West End Cultural Centre go to The Big Takeover.

To hear Macpherson cover The Clash's Bankrobber, click 'play'




To get this entire radio concert, "Live at the Hideaway" click HERE (and be sure to leave some words in our COMMENTS section).


To see Macpherson perform "California" on Exclaim TV go HERE, to see him perform "West St. James" go HERE.


To learn more about McPherson go visit his HOMEPAGE or his MYSPACE

XTC: Fab Foursome in Philly - FM broadcast (1981)

(To see my 2nd list of Ten Amazing XTC Videos - 1979-1980 - please visit the The Big Takeover.


XTC are one heavily bootlegged band, despite their brief tenure as a touring band. Therefore much thanks is owed to their HIGHLY dedicated fan-base for their preservation work.





Of this bootleg Discogs say, "Recorded live in Philadelphia, ostensibly 1979, actually recorded at Emerald City, Cherry Hill, NJ, April 17, 1981, from FM broadcast in 1981."

A note on programming: As I am trying to keep series a little shorter and the blog's focus a little less narrow, I'm going to spread out my final three or so XTC posts (including a real whopper!!) over the next few weeks. If that 's an irritant, a blessing or a non-issue please let me know, as this is an attempt to respond to my readers' comments.

What's your favourite XTC bootleg? Let us know in the COMMENTS section (which is where you'll find the link for the Fab Foursome in Philly CD).

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967968

The Adjusters: Alway in the Wrong Place at the Wrong Time 7" (2011)

 

Another shot of  backwards-looking, striped-shirt rock n' roll from a set of young lads from the North West of England. There's just a stroke of slickness to the band's look and sound (but also a bit of Stones-iness to the B-side) which is gonna hit some people in the right spot and turn off a few others. Either way, give it a listen and tell us what you think:

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XTC: 5 Senses 12" EP (1981)

Of this LONG out-of-print 12", XTC WIki says, "XTC's 5 Senses EP is a Canadian-only EP released on September 18, 1981 on Virgin Records/Polygram Records. It is a collection of five non-album tracks. It also contains the rare (only rare because it was not a big seller) UK single "Wait Till Your Boat Goes Down". Andy Partridge gave the Canadian record company the title for this EP, and was subsequently inspired to write the song "Senses Working Overtime" shortly thereafter." . (For more XTC on MRML go HERE.)

 1   "Smokeless Zone" 3:50 (Colin Moulding)
 2  "Officer Blue" 2:40 (Colin Moulding)
 3  "Wait Till Your Boat Goes Down" 4:21(Andy Partridge)
 4   "Don't Lose Your Temper" 2:33 (Andy Partridge)
 5   "Strange Tales, Strange Tails" 2:18 (Andy Partridge)

 

So does XTC have some amazing B-sides or what? Let us know what you think in the COMMENTS section, which is where you'll find the 5 Senses link.

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XTC: The Rhythm - FM broadcast (1980)

God this band was GREAT live. That Valium withdrawal-fuelled nervous breakdown of Andy Partridge in 1982 deprived the world of some amazing shows. (For more on XTC go HERE.)

XTC - live at the Michigan Theater, Ann Arbor, Michigan
January 22, 1980 - broadcast on WUTF FM - D



What do you think of XTC as live act? Le us know in the COMMENTS section (which is where you'll find the link for The Rythm CD).

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XTC: Beeswax (Some B-sides) LP

When I went on an XTC vinyl-buying tear back in '88 this was one purchase that I adored. It seemed odd to me for a band whose every album contains some filler (at least by many people's standards) could have such a rock-solid collection of B-sides. Of course, when I bought all the CD re-issues on Virgin, I expected to find "Tissue Tigers" and "Heaven is Paved With Broken Glass" restored to their proper place but NOOOOO - you have to buy Rag and Bone Buffet just to get those tracks and others you can't find anywhere! Fuck! Virgin needs to do double XTC re-issues that work like the new Buzzcocks (B-sides, Peel sessions, demos, radio concerts) ones do.

A1         She's So Square        
A2         Dance Band        
A3         Hang Onto The Night        
A4         Heatwave        
A5         Instant Tunes    
A6         Pulsing Pulsing        
A7         Don't Lose Your Temper        
B1         Smokeless Zone        
B2         The Somnambulist        
B3         Blame The Weather        
B4         Tissue Tigers        
B5         Punch And Judy        
B6         Heaven Is Paved With Broken Glass

So do all XTC albums have filler on them? Let us know what you think in the COMMENTS section, which is where you'll find the Waxworks link.)

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XTC: BBC Radio Live Concert (1980)

The bounty of out-of-print XTC rarities will run dry but not at any time soon - enjoy this BBC concert from 1980 and keep your great COMMENTS coming!





Recorded 22nd December 1980 at the Hammersmith Palais, London

Tracklist
1         Life Begins At The Hop     3:55    
2         Burning With Optimism's Flame     4:24    
3         Love At First Sight     3:10    
4         Respectable Street     3:51    
5         No Language In Our Lungs     4:59    
6         This Is Pop     2:49    
7         Scissors Man     4:49    
8         Towers Of London     5:23    
9         Battery Brides     7:18    
10         Living Through Another Cuba     3:29    
11         Generals And Majors     4:28    
12         Making Plans For Nigel     4:29    
13         Are You Receiving Me?

So do you want to hear more rare XTC, MRML readers?  If so, let us know in the COMMENTS section (where you'll find the BBC Live link).

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Graham Parker & The Rumour Reunion OFFICIAL! (Plus Live in SF '76!!)

So the Graham Parker has officially re-joined forces with The Rumour and they have an album and two films on the go for 2012. The first film is the oft-delayed documentary "Don't Ask Me Questions" by Michael Gramaglia and the second is a Judd Aptow comedy, "This is Forty" in which the GP and the band figure prominently in the story line. The whole story (well worth the read by the way) is here and for LOTS more Parker on MRML go HERE.




To celebrate what is a fantastic thing for music fans and everybody involved in the aforementioned projects here is a crisp-as-hell-sounding GP + R show from back in the day:

GRAHAM PARKER & THE RUMOUR
THE SAVOY, SAN FRANCISCO, CA, USA
NOVEMBER 7, 1976
KSAN-FM PRE-FM PRODUCTION TAPE

01. white honey
02. that's what they all say
03. fool's gold
04. turned up too late
05. something you're goin' through
06. pour it all out
07. back to schooldays
08. hotel chambermaid
09. heat treatment
10. don't ask me questions
11. not if it pleases me
12. help me shake it
13. soul shoes
14. kansas city
15. hold back the night

Let us know what you think of the Graham Parker and the Rumour reunion in the COMMENTS section (which is where you'll find the San Francisco, 1976 link).

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XTC: All Along the Watchtower

(To see my list of Ten Amazing XTC Videos please visit the The Big Takeover.)

For a band who are notorious for being almost too English for their own good, XTC's early work has strong American influences. You can hear the art-funk sound of  NYC's Talking Heads, the herky-jerky rock-deconstruction of Akron's Devo plus of the very few artists XTC ever covered one would be Californian Captain Beefheart (on the B-side of "The Mayor of Simpleton" single) and of course America's most towering song-writer, Bob Dylan*.

The band's version of the oft-butchered, "All Along the Watchtower" employs some of  the electric fury of Hendrix's version and some the harmonica wail of Dylan's original acoustic one but to it all they bring an incredible nervous energy and a love of odd dynamics that makes it sound like no one else's version of the song.





For more on XTC go HERE.

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*(And yes, their cover "All Along the Watchtower" on their debut album is preceded by a paean to the "Statute of Liberty".)

The Kik: My Eyes Are Still Dry 7" (2011)

The Kik are a retro-minded Dutch power pop band, albeit one who, befitting their name, bring the necessary kickage to make sure their songs don't float away on a cloud of jangle.






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P.S. Much more XTC to come...

XTC: Rainbow Drops and Finger Pops

"Malking Plans for Nigel" from XTC's 1979 album "Drums and Wires" is one of the defining songs of the new wave era for me, alongside The Police's "Can't Stand Losing You", Split Enz's "I See Red", Squeeze's  "Misadventure" and Joe Jackson's "I'm the Man". These relentlessly up-tempo songs with choppy guitar, catchy choruses, conspicuous keyboards and deliberate quirkiness did much to fuck up my taste in music forever.

Rainbow Drops & Finger Pops - Live at the Rainbow Theatre, London, UK, 1979-09-17 is another lavish XTC bootleg - worth getting just for the packaging alone never mind the kinetic live performance from the band near their peak:





01 Beatown
02 Real By Reel
03 The Rhythm
04 Roads Girdle The Globe
05 Science Friction
06 Life Begins At the Hop
07 Helicopter
08 Battery brides
09 Making Plans For Nigel
10 Scissor Man
11 Instant Tunes
12 Outside World
13 Life Is Good In The Greenhouse
14 Crowded Room
15 Radios In Motion
16 Are You Receiving Me?
17 Set Myself On Fire
18 Meccanik Dancing
19 This Is Pop
20 Dance Band
21 Statue Of Liberty

Love or hate the designation, what are your defining 'new wave' songs? Le us know in the COMMENTS section (which is where you'll find the link for Rainbow Drops and Finger Pops CD).

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XTC: 3D CD (1977)

Your COMMENTS - have demanded more XTC and be ready for the deluge. This offering is one of the more loving bootlegs you'll ever see (check out the promo poster!) and consists of live material and demos from 1977 (and 1978). More to come...



I'm looking forward to this series but of course I'm pretty sure by XTC Fans standards (those who buy muti-volume of Partridge's home demos) I'm a real lightweight. I only own the first five albums on CD, my once substantial XTC vinyl collection got sold years ago and while I've owned Oranges & Lemons and Nonsuch they too were purged plus I once tortured a guy I worked with when he wore his XTC shirt by saying, "Hey, I hear they're coming to town." (now that's just mean, I know). While I do believe that they are one of the very few graduates of the class of '77 who never had a dire period (some may beg to differ), my interest in their newer (i.e. pre-break-up) material has waned. Though, it should be noted, my favourite XTC fan did make me listen to Apple Venus Vol. 1, which I found pleasant if overly long and little too quiet for its own good.)

XTC
3D Compact Disc

Live in Birmingham & Liverpool 1977 + Early Demos, Helium Kidz and Go 2 out-takes

   Live at Rebecca's, Birmingham 17/11/77:
01 Hang Onto the Night
02 Crosswires
03 Let's Have Fun
04 Radios in Motion
05 I'm Bugged
06 New Town Animal in a Furnished Cage
07 Into the Atom Age
08 All Along the Watchtower
09 She's So Square
10 Do What You Do
   Live at Eric's, Liverpool 26/11/77
11 Dance Band
12 Science Friction
13 Neon Shuffle
14 Traffic Light Rock
   Helium Kidz Demos:
15 Yabber Yabber Yabber
16 Neon Shuffle
   XTC Demos:
17 Refridgeration Blues
18 Quicksilver
19 Saturn Boy
   Go 2 out-takes:
20 Cheap Perfume
(21 Things Fall to Bits) officially released on the Coat of many cupboards box set.
22 I Overheard
23 bonus interview: “What do you remember of 1977?”

So what XTC albums do you own? Are you gonna get more? Le us know in the COMMENTS section (which is where you'll find the link for 3D CD).

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