Before another month goes by, I have to make another post. I have many on deck, and a big project to procrastinate from, so I’m hoping to squeeze in a few posts this week before we go on vacation the first week of August. & on the cusp of something great is the perfect time to post about Martha & the Muffins (later M+M), one of the greatest Canadian bands of all time. & that’s saying a lot.
This track, from their 3rd LP, This is the Ice Age, is one of my favorites, and demonstrates their keen attention to sound. Their albums are so amazingly mixed it gives me goosebumps to listen to them. Also, this album’s cover is just gorgeous in every detail, down to the tiny typography.
This is the Muffin’s first album produced my Daniel Lanois, the production genuis– he happened to be the brother of Jocylene, the band’s new bassist. Lanois, with Brian Eno, is responsible for blowing the world’s mind with the production on the Joshua Tree. The band eventually had 2 Marthas (!) and even featured Tim “not that Tim Gane” Gane and his brother Mark. Talented siblings.
Martha & The Muffins, “You sold the cottage” from the This is the Ice Age LP on Virgin (1981).
You should pick up a copy of the reissued Danceparc cd ASAP.
Here’s a video of the group performing “Echo Beach,” from their first album.
& a mix I recently made featuring their great track “Cheesies & Gum” about 1/3rd of the way in (track 6).
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It’s time to get your early-90s dance on. This track is from the remix EP of the Inspirals’ downer hit single from 1990. The b-side of this ep, the “drum mix” is nearly unrecognizable as a derivative of the original single, but this version has a bunch of bit that you’ll remember.
What I like most about this EP (aside from the cover) is that it seems to fundamentally betray the sentiment of the original song, without any hesitation. Crazy times.
Inspiral Carpets, “This Is How It Feels (robbery mix)” from the This Is How It Feels Remix 12″ on Mute Records (1990)
These are two exceprts from “Behavior Disorders and Therapy” the strangest disc in the 1972 Psychology Today 4LP set. Each side of this disc is only one band, but anywhere you drop the needle is golden. It’s almost as if they were trying to cause Behaviorial Disorders with this.
The whole disc is thick with a strange FIresign-Theater-esque subversive sense of humor, and its cut-and-paste aesthetic has me longing for a time where people were willing to engage in a sort of impressionistic presentation of things. There’s no way you could recreate this in a Powerpoint slideshow.
The other topics covered in the series are Memory and Problem Solving, Human Development, Learning, Perception, and Social Psychology. I’ll post more excerpts if there seems to be any interest.
Behavior Disorders and Therapy (Excerpt 1) from the Psychology Today Record Series (1972)
Behavior Disorders and Therapy (Excerpt 2) from the Psychology Today Record Series (1972)
Happy new year! Here’s a a dinky dancehall gem to start your year right. Another one I know nothing about, but spin all the time. Both the instrumental and vocal versions posted here. I don’t know why I always prefer the instrumentals, perhaps so I can apply my own inner monologue as lyrics.
Booyaka!
Verdy Green, “Booyaka (Version)” from the Chopper Productions 12″ (198?)
Verdy Green, “Booyaka (Vocal)” from the Chopper Productions 12″ (198?)
No, not that Hole. Not much online about this group or label, but they did put out this and another 12″, Dyskinesia, which I’ve yet to find in a store. This is one of the few records I managed to actually buy at Cheapo in Austin.
A nice, dark sample play track to increase your holiday cheer. Some nice dubby overtones here.
Hole, “Coprolalia” from the Other Voices Other Tongues LP on EYAS Media (1988)
A couple of great tracks from Belgium’s The Honeymoon Killers. I couldn’t settle for a single one, so here are my two faves from this disc. Actually, now that I’m looking around, I realize you can purchase pristine versions of the entire album from other’s digital download site. Go for it. Also, there’s a 2007 remix of “Decollage” Prins Thomas’s 2007 release Cosmo Galactic Prism 2CD, which you can and should by at other music.
An uncited Wikipedia quote sez:
Live on stage The Honeymoon Killers often used pre-recorded drum machine loops which were played from cassette, over this they put guitar, bass, drums, trashy percussion, cheap-sounding organ, with Vromman and Vincent taking turns on singing. Some of their songs were extended to 20 minutes with their own brand of dub echo effects.
Sounds like fun, huh? I once posted that I purchased this album, and someone emailed me offering like $50 for it. Here’s a little for free. The CD/digital re-release of it are well worth tracking down.
The Honeymoon Killers, “Decollage” from the Les Tueres de la Lune de Miel” LP (1981)
The Honeymoon Killers, “Fonce a Mort” from the Les Tueres de la Lune de Miel” LP (1981)
Mutant Sounds has a super-rare album available (for free of course!) of the group that eventually released this disc in 1981, named, like this album, Les Tueures de la Lune de Miel. Go grab it and thank them!
Also, the always-terrific MissingToof.com featured them earlier this year on a New Wave Tuesday post; a couple tracks available there, including their full-blast version of Serge Gainsbourg’s “Laisse Tomber Les Filles”.
Here’s a somewhat-tame live taste, from Dutch TV in 1983:
Update: The Walrus Music Blog has what sounds like a higher-quality version of “Decollage” as well as the song performed above.
Is this actually the official sound of 1988? I think it might be. This is a great little instrumental moment from a kinda throw-away 12″ I have from Roll Records.
I know almost nothing about the artist, Time Traveler (or do we attribute this to ISH, the producer?), except that his/her name is incredibly accurate. All of the sudden, there I am, in the late 80s, swimming in synthetic cowbells and handclaps. Short and sweet.
The stamp on the sleeve says “Property of Gerald the Whirl.”
Time Traveler, “Compulsion X-TRA Beats” from the Compulsion 12″ on Roll Records (1988)
I recently ripped my LP of Henry Badowski’s Life is a Grand for our friends over at dualtrack, so it’s been turning up on my iPod all the time lately. While I like all of the dense and poppy tracks, I find myself repeating this one over and over again. The lyrics fit together really well, I think.
Henry Badowski, “Henry’s In Love” from the Life is a Grand LP (1981)
If you like this track, go get the whole album zip– James from dualtrack was kind enough to post it on rapid share.
& please, if anyone has any requests of things you’d like me to post, let me know. I know I’m likely to continue in my own directions until someone requests I try a new one.
Great new wave from NYC. I really love the use of warm, light keys in all of this band’s music. This album was produced in part by Phillip Glass, which may be why it sounds so fresh still.
I just found out that this album, as well as their album Changing Hearts were re-released by Wounded Bird this year. I think I’ve picked up all of their discs in the dollar bin, but I urge you to get the cds. That way you don’t have to deal with any surface noise. & check out Wounded Bird’s tons of other great 60s, 70s, and 80s re-releases while you’re at it.
One of the things I love about this record sleeve beyond the awesome colors and typography, is the portraits on the back… it seriously looks like 5 of the 6 are the same person in different clothes and poses:
Now that’s a look. Find more tracks on their myspace page.
Polyrock, “Sound Alarm,” from the Polyrock LP (1980)
This has to be one of my favorite songs, and it always gets people looking around. I bought this disc from Vinyl Ink before its beloved owner George passed away in 2002. I always made the trip out to Silver Spring when I was in the DC area, and when I moved up to NYC, I was a constant mailorder customer of the store.
I wish I still had the little description sticker he so thoughtfully put on every disc– I’m sure it was full of adjectives and namechecked A Certain Ration or PiL. Anyway, this is another group about which I know next to nothing. Mutant Noise recently posted one of their singles, but details seem to be few and far between. Any details would be appreciated. This track, the opener, is my favorite one on the album, but all are worth a studied listen. I’ll post more Music+Noise releases soon.
C.U.B.S., “We Don’t Need No Carpet Baggers,” from the Maroi Bwana Oi LP on Music+Noise (1983)
