New Single From Allo Darlin'

This little bit of jangle really has my ear right now. "Capricornia" from Allo Darlin' is out as the first single from the band's second album, 'Europe.' Check out this description of the song from frontwoman Elizabeth Morris: "Musically, when we first discussed the album with our producer, I suggested that the feel of 'Europe' should be somewhere between "A New England" by Kirsty MacColl and "Cattle and Cane" by The Go-Betweens. I think this song is the closest to that." Now you have to click on the video below to hear this one, eh? You can pre-order 'Europe' from Rough Trade (United Kingdom) and Slumberland (United States). If you need this 7" to tide you over, buy here. Pretty snazzy yellow vinyl, too.

Last Trio From NME/Rough Trade 'C81'

This final post on 'C81' features the big boys of the compilation. They need no introduction, and the trio already had quite a bit of success by 1981. The Buzzcocks, in particular, had a dozen or so singles and three full-length studio albums out there by the time the cassette was released. Both of the Specials must-have albums were already in the rear-view mirror as well. The English Beat, in my humble opinion, were at their peak. These established acts seem like odd choices for a cutting-edge compilation, but I can't imagine this tape without them. For me, the Postcard material is the best of 'C81,' but these three songs aren't far behind.

The Beat - Twist & Crawl Dub (mp3)
The Specials - Racquel (mp3)
The Buzzcocks - I Look Alone (mp3)

Happy (Mitch) Easter!

I could have gone a few directions here... his work as a producer or as a solo artist... but I'm sticking to Mitch Easter's early work as frontman for the jangle-pop outfit Let's Active. Here is a one-song sample from each of the four excellent Let's Active releases. This is sure to put a little extra bounce in Peter Cottontail's step.

Let's Active - Every Word Means No (mp3) (from 'afoot' EP, 1983)
Let's Active - Easy Does (mp3) (from 'Cypress,' 1984)
Let's Active - Fell (mp3) (from 'Big Plans For Everybody,' 1986)
Let's Active - Every Dog Has His Day (mp3) (from 'Every Dog Has His Day,' 1988)

Another Trio From NME/Rough Trade 'C81'

Sorry this is a day late, but I got caught up in some holiday activities with the family. Early next week I'll do one more post on 'C81' with some bands you know and hopefully love. Today, we'll listen to a few of the more obscure tunes from 'C81.' I'm going to keep this text short and sweet because I hope to do an Easter post later today.

Subway Sect was a punk band that was more or less finished by the time "Parallel Lines" appeared on 'C81.' Vic Godard became a mailman for a while after the band split, but he went on to release a few solo albums. I don't know much about Gist. I read somewhere it's a side project of Stuart Moxham from Young Marble Giants. Essential Logic's best known member is Lora Logic from X-Ray Spex. About a decade ago Kill Rock Stars put out a compilation of Essential Logic material called 'Fanfare in the Garden.' It's physically out of print, but you can still buy it as a download here.

Subway Sect - Parallel Lines (mp3)
Gist - Greener Grass (mp3)
Essential Logic - Fanfare in the Garden (mp3)

A Trio From NME/Rough Trade 'C81'

I was a little bit too young to get the legendary cassette when it came out, but I have wanted 'C81' for as long as I can remember. I recently took the plunge and bought it for a very fair price from an Aussie on eBay. It came with the "owner's manual," and he also threw in an original Nov. 7, 1981, 1.5-star review of the tape from Dave McCullough, critic for NME rival Sounds. McCullough somehow manages to rip the project, NME and Rough Trade to pieces while patting himself on the back in the process. Brilliant! I'm a bit shocked I can't find this historical text online. Hopefully you can read the original Mrs. LTL! scanned in for me.


Let's take a listen to the three songs from the Postcard stable, and I'll follow it up tomorrow with a few lesser-known favorites. As an Aztec Camera fanatic, I particularly enjoy this lo-fi take of a later 'High Land, Hard Rain' gem.

Orange Juice - Blue Boy (mp3)
Josef K - Endless Soul (mp3)
Aztec Camera - We Could Send Letters (mp3)

Cover Me Impressed: 'Slack Motherfucker'

I have gone on the record here that I don't like fIREHOSE's Columbia output quite as much as the trio's work for SST, but it's still pretty damn good. The highpoint of those brief major-label years was the 20-minute 'Live Totem Pole' EP. The 1992 disc was recorded at North Hollywood's Palomino Club on Aug. 16, 1991. Five of the seven songs were eclectic covers by the likes of Public Enemy and Wire. The other two songs were fIREHOSE classics from the SST years. The best cover of the lot was the indie anthem "Slack Motherfucker" from Superchunk. If you don't have any Superchunk, start with the singles compilation 'Tossing Seeds.'

The songs on 'Live Totem Pole' have been out of print for years... until today. To celebrate the 45-song double-disc release of fIREHOSE's 'lowFLOWs: The Columbia Anthology ('91-'93),' let's listen to the band when it's at its best... live. I hope they play this one when I see them in Seattle this weekend.

Superchunk - Slack Motherfucker (mp3)
fIREHOSE - Slack Motherfucker (mp3)

Pure Pop From the Brilliant Corners

Fans of the Brilliant Corners seem to fall into two camps:
1) pre "Brian Rix"
2) post "Brian Rix"
Can't we all just get along? There is no doubt the band's sound became decidedly more twee about the time this song came out in 1987, but I rather like the jangle. For those of you who don't know who Brian Rix is (that's most of us on this side of the pond), he's an old actor and humanitarian that's famous for being caught sans trousers on a bunch of BBC shows. That's why Davey Woodward has his pants around his ankles during much of the promo video for the song. Rix himself makes an appearance at the end of the video, and proceeds from the single went to Rix's charity, Mencap. If you would like to help, it's a great cause, and I'm sure they would be more than happy to take your dough.

As for my copy of the song, I have it as a bonus track on the Canadian reissue of the band's 1988 album, 'Somebody Up There Likes Me' (on the label Pearls From the Past). I would link you to it, but I'm not finding this version of the album anywhere.

The Brilliant Corners - Brian Rix (mp3)

Two From an Album All About Threes

Yesterday's post included a cover from Brian Wilson that had me thinking about a handful of fascinating songs he did, seemingly out of nowhere, in mid 90s for tribute albums and other compilations. My favorite of these appeared on 'Trios,' an out-of-print 1994 album from bassist Rob Wasserman where on each track he is accompanied by two other well-known artists.

The album opens with "Fantasy Is Reality/Bells of Madness," a song Wasserman performed with Wilson and Wilson's daughter Carnie. It was written by Sam Phillips, Wasserman and Brian and produced by Don Was. You may remember Was directed the documentary on Wilson's life that would come out a year later,
'I Just Wasn't Made For These Times.' The first time I heard Wilson's background vocal come in I got goosebumps. There is no doubting that's Wilson's on the piano either. It's very Beach Boys. The biggest surprise, however, is Carnie's lead vocal. Beautiful. I should also mention my favorite Wilson songs are the ones with lyrics that prove, without a doubt, he is crazy. This album came out while I was working at a record store, and I played it over and over in the shop. It was pure torture to most of my younger co-workers, but I did convert one or two of them.

Wasserman's second song on 'Trios' is with Elvis Costello and Marc Ribot. "Put Your Big Toe in the Milk of Human Kindness" was written by Costello in 1986 "as an imaginary theme song for an imaginary movie," and his vocal is in a crooning style we would hear quite a bit more of in future years. I would love to tell you the rest of the album is of the same quality as these first two songs, but I don't think I have even made it through even as far as the third track in the past 15 years.

Rob Wasserman With Carnie Wilson and Brian Wilson - Fantasy Is Reality/Bells of Madness (mp3)

Rob Wasserman With Elvis Costello and Marc Ribot - Put Your Big Toe in the Milk of Human Kindness (mp3)

Faves From 'For the Love of Harry'

If, like me, you're a fan of the late great Harry Nilsson, you may have picked up this 1995 tribute album, 'For the Love of Harry: Everybody Sings Nilsson.' There are some real keepers here. Probably the best-known cover is "One," with lead vocals by Aimee Mann, and all instruments, as well as production, by Jon Brion. The all-star lineup is topped off with backing vocals by Chris Difford of Squeeze and Neil Innes of the Rutles. About four years later, the song appeared on the mostly Mann (and Academy Award-nominated) 'Magnolia' soundtrack. That record is still available. So, I'll skip this song and give you a listen to the three artists that got me to pick up 'For the Love of Harry' in the first place. They were and still are among my all-time favorite performers.

In the summer of 1994, Brian Wilson took lead-vocal and piano duties on "This Could Be the Night." His good pal Andy Paley played just about everything else and helped Wilson produce it. This was still back when Wilson wasn't releasing much. So, this one-song sighting was a pretty big deal to me.

Marshall Crenshaw "acted alone" when he recorded "Don't Forget Me" at a little studio in Woodstock, N.Y., around May 1994. Unlike the quintessential Wilson sound on "This Could Be the Night," Crenshaw's take on "Don't Forget Me" sounds an awful lot like Nilsson himself.

"Good Old Desk" is, perhaps, my favorite Nilsson song, and I like knowing Ron Sexsmith must have a soft spot for it as well. Sexsmith was backed by legends (at least in my mind) Mitchell Froom and Jerry Scheff at, oddly enough, a different studio in Woodstock.

All proceeds from this album went to the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, in Nilsson's memory. I'm sure they would still take your donation.

Coalition to Stop Gun Violence
100 Maryland Ave., N.E.
Washington, D.C. 20002-5625
(202) 544-7190

Brian Wilson - This Could Be the Night (mp3)
Marshall Crenshaw - Don't Forget Me (mp3)
Ron Sexsmith - Good Old Desk (mp3)

'For the Love of Harry' Tracklist
1. Remember (Randy Newman)
2. Turn on Your Radio (Marc Cohn)
3. One (Aimee Mann)
4. Coconut (Fred Schneider)
5. Joy (Joe Ely)
6. Lay Down Your Arms (Ringo Starr and Stevie Nicks)
7. Without Her (Beckley/Lamm/Wilson)
8. Jump Into The Fire (LaVern Baker)
9. The Moonbeam Song (Steve Forbert)
10. You're Breakin' My Heart (Peter Wolf and The Houseparty 5)
11. Mournin' Glory Story (Jennifer Trynin)
12. Salmon Falls (Al Kooper)
13. The Puppy Song (Victoria Williams)
14. Don't Forget Me (Marshall Crenshaw)
15. This Could Be The Night (Brian Wilson)
16. Think About Your Troubles (Jellyfish)
17. The Lottery Song (Bill Lloyd)
18. Good Old Desk (Ron Sexsmith)
19. Me and My Arrow (Adrian Belew)
20. I Guess The Lord Must Be in New York City (Richard Barone)
21. Spaceman (The Roches with Mark Johnson)
22. Don't Leave Me (John Cowan)
23. Lifeline (Jimmy Webb)

It's the Nick Lowe Show

If you're a regular visitor, you know I don't miss too many opportunities to post about Nick Lowe. On March 16, Lowe stopped by the studio of NPR's "Sound Opinions" for a lengthy talk with hosts Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot. Yes, he performed some songs from his latest, "The Old Magic," too. I'm a huge fan of this program and have been listening since the duo's early days at WXRT in Chicago. If you get a chance, lend an ear. Here are the stations where you can pick it up. Clicking on the following link will get you to the entire audio of the program with Lowe, and you will find some high-quality video of his "Sound Opinions" performances below. Is it just me, or is he getting better with age?

Nick Lowe performs 'Somebody Cares For Me' on 'Sound Opinions' from WBEZ on Vimeo.

Nick Lowe performs 'Stoplight Roses' on 'Sound Opinions' from WBEZ on Vimeo.

Record Store Day Releases Announced

"The new phone book's here! The new phone book's here!" Sorry, riffing on 'The Jerk.' Actually, Record Store Day has just released the list of this year's exclusives available on April 21 at your local mom-and-pop shop. I'll give my recommendations a little closer to the holiday (yes, I said "holiday") but thought you would want to start making your own list of must-buy vinyl right now. What a great way to begin the week.

The People Have Spoken...

...or should I say person? The other day I said Linear Tracking Lives! was a dictatorship. Turns out a better description would be a man without a country. Only one reader took me up on my invitation to request songs from 'CD86: 48 Tracks From the Birth of Indie Pop.' So, Dirk, this one is for you.... all one minute and 24 seconds of it. Straight outta Glasgow, here's side one, track one of 'CD86.'

Primal Scream - Velocity Girl (mp3)

Oh, and one more thing. I just discovered my new pal Dirk has a must-see blog. Cheers!