Sad Lovers and Giants – Seven Kinds Of Sins

• Artist: Sad Lovers and Giants
• Title: Seven Kinds Of Sins
• Year: 1987
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 5
• Owner: Mary
• Acquired: 1987 – Probably Plan 9 in Richmond, VA.
• Keeper: Maybe

This is a 12 inch single. I don’t anything about this band. They sound a little like The Chameleons, but with more keyboards. If you don’t know who The Chameleons are keep moving.

Negativland — Escape From Noise

• Artist: Negativland
• Title: Escape From Noise
• Year: 1987
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 3
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 1987 – Bought for myself when I worked at Mother’s Records and Tapes in Hampton, VA.
• Keeper: Maybe

For the most part this isn’t music; it’s what I would call audio art. Lots of noise from various gadgets, talking voices, etc. I think in 1987 I was buying pretty much everything the record label SST was putting out. They have a following and maybe knowing that also prompted me to check it out. I would guess that their fans are what people from my planet would call “nerds.”

Noteworthy, and maybe another reason I bought it is the long list of artists who made contributions to Escape From Noise: Jello Biafra, Steve Fisk, Fred Frith, Jerry Garcia, Alexander Hacke (Einstürzende Neubauten), Mickey Hart (Grateful Dead), Mark Mothersbaugh (Devo), The Residents, and others.

I’m committed to playing all these records before I write about them. Mary asked me to please finish playing this one while she took the dog for a walk.

I don’t imagine I’ll ever play this again, but I’m on the fence about keeping it unless I can find someone who wants it. Like I said, they do have fans. And the teenager in me finds that “CAR BOMB” bumper sticker funny. Maybe I’m a nerd too.

Laibach — Opus Dei

• Artist: Laibach
• Title: Opus Dei
• Year: 1987
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 7
• Owner: Mary
• Acquired: 1987 – Mary bought it when she worked at Plan 9 Records in Richmond, VA.
• Keeper: Yes

“Leben Heißt Leben!” And you can’t argue with that!

I had to start playing this one last night to flush that Kajagoogoo out of my head. It worked. These guys are hard to explain, and I’m not sure I even get the whole thing. But I like it. Laibach is probably the weirdest band I know of that has had any commercial success.

Eastern European/Wagnerian/Industrial/Stomp/Electronic/Orchestral/March Rock with the occassional pretty tune thrown in to keep you guessing. That’s the best I can do. It’s worth your time to click one of the search links to read more about them.

Game Theory — Lolita Nation

• Artist: Game Theory
• Title: Lolita Nation
• Year: 1987
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 4
• Owner: Mary
• Acquired: 1987 – Mary bought it for herself when she was working at Plan 9 Records in Richmond, VA.
• Keeper: No

OK, I played this one out of order. I played the second one first. Mary says the first is pretty good, but agrees with me that this one needs to go. She rated it only a 2 or 3, but I’m giving it a 4. The whole time I was listening to it I was thinking “this sounds a lot like Let’s Active”, which is not really a bad thing. And surprise, surprise, surprise! It was produced by LA main man Mitch Easter.

It wasn’t really bad, but it’s a freakin’ double album! Double albums in general encourage too much self-indulgence and noodling around, being arty or whatever. Unless you’re the Beastie Boys, Isaac Hayes, Metallica, Outkast, or Led Zeppelin, (and you are not) a double album is just never a good idea. Seriously. Don’t try it. Seriously.

Sinead O’Connor — The Lion And The Cobra

• Artist: Sinead O’Connor
• Title: The Lion And The Cobra
• Year: 1987
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 5
• Owner: Mary
• Acquired: 1987 – Mary bought it when she was working at Plan 9 in Richmond, VA.
• Keeper: Maybe

What can I say about this one? It’s a decent pop record, and different than most stuff at the time. That said, she is solidly in the category I like to call “too-earnest-too-often.” It doesn’t even matter what the lyrics are about, it just sounds too earnest.

Gamalon — Self-titled

• Artist: Gamalon
• Title: Self-titled
• Year: 1987
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 8
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 1987 – Promo when I was working at Mother’s Records & Tapes in Hampton, VA.
• Keeper: Yes

Just got back from house hunting in Oregon. Oh, yes. I think we’re moving there.

If you’re a guitarist you really should check this out. This is an instrumental jazz/rock or “fusion” album. I’m not usually into that kinda stuff but these guys shred. It’s hard to explain the sound, but once you’ve heard this record it’s even harder to not like it.