4 Records, 8 Songs; 7″ Of Joy

Since ‘fessing up to being complicit in the neglect and mistreatment of a, once mighty but now, endangered species, namely the 7″ single I’ve tidied them all up a bit, although I haven’t neurotically alphabetized them yet – which is how I express my love for anything, just ask our pets!  Tonight after coming home from a parents evening, I grabbed an almost random sample since my turntable was set to 45RPM* and enjoyed the hell out of them.

First up, was probably my favourite ever rock/metal/whatever single Zodiac Mindwarp & The Love Reaction Prime Mover.  Right from the opening seconds you know this is just going to be perfect, no you can tell just before the opening seconds – it really is that good, even without the video.  In fact I genuinely don’t think music gets a whole let better than this, it’s hard, it’s funny, it’s cool and just the right side of being a joke. It also makes me feel like I did back in 1987 again**.

I Love TV and I love T-Rex

I can see through your skirt

Babe I got X-ray specs

I’m sorry but, that’s so much better than ‘God Only Knows’, or ‘Eleanor Rigby’ !! If only Brian Wilson and the Beatles had only written ‘your lipstick flickers around my lightning rod’ – they might really have done something with themselves.  Lightweights!  The B-side is dire, ‘Laughing in the Face of Death’, three minutes of tuneless bollocks written on a drum machine, a couple token rude lyrics and a horny-sounding lady with a London accent don’t make for a great listen – no wonder it’s a non-LP track.  2 songs down.

Following such frivolity, some much-needed decorum is provided by Alice Donut Boyfriend / Demonologist split single, way back in 1990.  ‘My Boyfriend’s Back’, has been shall we say souped-up a little, over the tune, slowed down and played by a man probably wearing boxing gloves, Tomas Antona sings,

My boyfriend’s back and he’s gonna kick your ass

My boyfriend’s back and you’re shitting in your pants

   and it gets more indecent from there on in, over the sound of the sort of things being done to guitars that would make Eric Clapton weep.  ‘My boyfriend’s back and he’s got his Black and Dekker’, isn’t the least of it.  I’m saving this for the first dance next time I get married.  ‘Demonologist’ sounds like a metal version of, Alice Donut’s label mates, Dead Kennedys.  It’s a really good, driving track with great bass playing and, for them, absolutely minimal weirdness.  This made me happy again.  4 songs down.

Anyway, no messing about this time, I wanted something befitting a 41yo father and pillar of the local community, Super Furry Animals The Man Don’t Give a Fuck, it is then.  I remember rushing out and buying this in December ’96 on one-sided blue vinyl.  I was particularly moved by the sticker on the back which reads:

Now for a man as fond of swearing as I am, this was perfection served up on a silver platter.  In all seriousness this track gets written out of their history a little sometimes, for swearing and potentially due to sample problems (‘Showbiz Kids’ by Steely Dan, which I’ve never heard), but it’s a great tune with a really creative use of the sample. You also genuinely can’t beat a good swear, or 50 too.  Tricky guys, the Welsh.  5 songs down.

Last up was Fugazi 3 Songs, which I only got hold of in 2003.  I make no apologies, I love this band; well I love their early stuff^, the later stuff that people really rate I just haven’t got that into yet.  There’s nothing not to worship here, attitude, wisdom, great covers, really inventive guitar interplay from MacKaye and Picciotto and just all round greatness – but hey, I can bore you all with that when I review their LPs for you in 2017.  ‘Song Number One’, is just a great, wise summation of the faults of the hardcore scene, too parochial, too hung up on exclusion and not focused enough on inclusion and its seventh word is ‘fuck’  – what a bonus! Great, energetic tune too.  ‘Joe Number One’ is an instrumental, lesser bands have made whole careers out of lesser grooves than this.  I genuinely believe Fugazi are one of the most plagiarised bands on the planet.  It all finishes with ‘Break In’,  1:30 or so of restrained hardcore spite about, as I read it, how crap and exploitative sex can be,

And he’s happy because she’s got skin

And she’s happy just to let him in

     – wherein lies the problem I have with Fugazi sometimes, that over focus on the negatives.  Maybe they should have got together with Zodiac, I can’t really see Ian MacKaye declaring himself as the ‘Sex Führer’ anytime soon though.  8 songs down.

256 Down still.

[spotify id=”spotify:user:15371537:playlist:2Nq05SAS1T9WGhaWP9q2Z9″ width=”300″ height=”380″ /]

*which involves taking the table up and moving the belt around. Why?

**I’m not going to elaborate (nudge-nudge, wink, wink).

^including, if you stretch the point, Minor Threat.