Madness — Shut Up

• Artist: Madness
• Title: Shut Up
• Year: 1981
• Format: Vinyl 7 in.
• Rating (1-10): 8
• Owner: Mary
• Acquired: “No idea”

You know, I try to do these in a somewhat alphabetical order, but I have records laying all over the place along with Christmas stuff and I can’t keep it straight! I need to backtrack some tomorrow and try to pick an I and a K.

Madness. The great ones. A Sigler household favorite. And this is a great a single. “Shut Up” is of course familiar to me, but “A Town With No Name” on the flipside is one I don’t recognize. What is on an album? Anyhow, it’s an excellent instrumental with a mild spaghetti western vibe. Thumbs up, for both.

Etched in the run off margins:

Side A – PASS THAT BUCK – ARUN
Side B – GOOD LUCK TO THE FAITHFUL SHERPAS

Lime Spiders — Out of Control

• Artist: Lime Spiders
• Title: Out of Control
• Year: 1985
• Format: Vinyl 10 in.
• Rating (1-10): 10
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 1985 – Unicorn Records in Portsmouth, VA
• Keeper: Yes

If you don’t like this record then Aussie garage rock is just not your thing. This Lime Spiders single, “Out of Control”, is as good as it gets. Their playing is also out of control, but super-tight at the same time. They’re always locked in to each other, but it ain’t like they’re recording to a click track. When the songs get to the exciting parts they step on the gas and play as fast as they want. Which is my kind of perfection. The flipside “Save My Soul” is just as good and maybe even more frenetic.

Joe Jackson Band — Mad at You

• Artist: Joe Jackson Band
• Title: Mad at You
• Year: 1980
• Format: Vinyl 7 in.
• Rating (1-10): 8
• Owner: Mary
• Acquired: 1985 ? – Tower in the District of Columbia
• Keeper: Yes

Joe Jackson is the man. He even wrote a song about it. But that’s another record. On this one he’s mad, “Mad at You” to be specific. This single is from the album Beat Crazy and the flipside is an outtake from the album called “Enough is Enough.” I love ’em both. That’s all I’m saying for this one.

Debbie Harry — Liar Liar

• Artist: Debbie Harry
• Title: Liar Liar
• Year: 1988
• Format: Vinyl 7 in.
• Rating (1-10): 5
• Owner: Mary
• Acquired: Dunno
• Keeper: Maybe

“From the film ‘Married to the Mob.'” Never saw the movie and never heard this record until today. I have no idea where Mary got it. Debbie Harry does a decent cover of “Liar Liar”, the 1960s hit by The Castaways. The flipside is some weirdness called “Queen of Voudou” by The Voodooist Corporation. I’ve never of them at all. It doesn’t appear to have anything to do with Ms. Harry. The song is sorta synthy and it didn’t really hold my attention so I can’t describe it beyond that.

God Bullies — Fear and Pain

• Artist: God Bullies
• Title: Fear and Pain
• Year: 1988
• Format: Vinyl 7 in.
• Rating (1-10): 5
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 1988 – Bought at our store RIP Records in Norfolk, VA
• Keeper: No

God Bullies music is not for everybody. I know I got “Fear and Pain” when my brother and I had a record store, and I think I may have bought from our guy at Sub-Pop, which I realize seems unlikely since this is on another label, Amphetamine Reptile Records, and the band is from Michigan. Maybe I got it somewhere else… Anyhow, the cover art reminds me of engravings or wood cuts that I saw in a book I read about Vlad the Impaler. Fun. The song “Fear and Pain” is another number I would describe as more metal than metal. Whereas the other side, “Kick it to Sleep”, has a more familiar indy dirge feel. Kinda interesting, but I don’t need to hear it again. This one is number 304 of 600.

There’s more about the band at Trouser Press.

The Fall — Slang King

• Artist: The Fall
• Title: Slang King
• Year: 1984
• Format: Vinyl 7 in.
• Rating (1-10): 6
• Owner: Mary
• Acquired: She’s outta town…
• Keeper: Yes

OK, this was the “FREE 7 inch single” that I couldn’t find when I wrote about about the “Call For Escape Route” EP it was packaged with. (Sorry grammarians.) This single, “Slang King” by The Fall, is decent but I don’t care if I ever hear it again. The flipside has another version of “No Bulbs.” I think a rating of “6” is generous. Maybe I’m being hard on it because I’m feeling kinda sick. I had way too much to eat at Jerusalem Garden tonight with Ixa, Kellie and Grayson. Oof.

The Cars — Since You’re Gone

• Artist: The Cars
• Title: Since You’re Gone
• Year: 1981
• Format: Vinyl 7 in.
• Rating (1-10): 6
• Owner: Mary
• Acquired: ?

I really liked The Cars when I was a teenager. I even bought a couple albums, but they’ve never been a big part of my life. That said, I always enjoy their music whenever I hear it. “Since You’re Gone” was a radio hit, maybe it still is on the “classic rock” stations or XM. I dig it and the flipside “Think It Over” is a more upbeat rocker with a very 1980s sound, a sound created by them as much as anyone. This single was from their fourth album Shake It Up and came out in 1981.

Even if The Cars never existed Ric Ocasek will always be my hero for his work on the early Bad Brains records.

a-ha — The Sun Always Shines on T.V.

• Artist: a-ha
• Title: The Sun Always Shines on T.V.
• Year: 1985
• Format: Vinyl 7 in.
• Rating (1-10): 5
• Owner: Mary
• Acquired: No information available
• Keeper: No

“It’s not bad, it’s just not super.” That’s from the owner herself, and I think it sums it up. I’m no a-ha historian, but I don’t think “The Sun Always Shines on T.V.” was even a hit. The flipside is “Driftwood.” Either one ring any bells?

Various Artists — Flex Your Head

• Artist: Various Artists
• Title: Flex Your Head
• Year: 1982
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 8
• Owner: Mary Earle
• Acquired: 1982 – Some record store in Rockville, MD

This is going to be a mega post, keep scrolling. This is supposed to be about the label Dischord‘s no. 7 release called Flex Your Head. And it is. But I have a couple related stories and graphics to share.

Is this music special? That depends. If you weren’t really interested, or old enough, when it was new, probably not. If you were there and into the scene then yes, absolutely. There was something exciting about punk and hardcore, the shows at any place people could gather, no matter how unlikely, and the whole by-the-kids-for-the-kids vibe that I haven’t seen again in the last twenty years. I know, that sounds like an old geezer talking. But has there been another truly grassroots music scene like that? Tell me.

My wife, Mary Earle, was on the scene at the D.C. shows way back when. She’s seen most of the bands on this compilation more times than she can remember. She’s still the most punk rock woman I’ve ever met. And I mean that in the best way. She does it her way and doesn’t care what people think. And I mean that in the best way too. She’s not cocky, just independent and above putting on airs, and the most naturally honest person I know. Punk rock.

Mary took this picture of Sab Grey, the singer of Iron Cross. They are on side two of Flex Your Head. Keep scrolling…

This is a flyer Mary saved. It’s from around the same time. Most of the bands listed are also on this record, except for Scream and Gang Green. I never saw Scream in D.C. but I did get to see them in London, believe it or not. Anyhow, click this flyer to get a bigger image, print it out and pretend you were there.

Anecdote time… Mary and some friends were hanging out one evening when John Stabb, singer of Goverment Issue, coined the term “Beef Edge” in a surrealistic, or maybe just sarcastic response to Straight Edge. Continuing the surreal sarcastic theme they collectively came up with a Beef Edge logo: The Black Flag bars logo with a cow’s head on one end and a tail on the other. Mary even made it into a t-shirt that her friend Mike Ryan wore. I like the logo concept so much I’m tempted to get some more shirts made now.

Back to the record… Eleven bands and 33 songs on a single LP. If you don’t like a song, at least you know it will be over soon. My favorite bands are Minor Threat and State of Alert. Everyone knows about Minor Threat. SOA had Henry Garfield on vocals, later known as Henry Rollins. The album included a photocopied set of pages for each band. I’ve included a handful of them below the album jacket pics. Check out Henry and Ian Mackaye in the bottom corner of The Teen Idles page.

These were good times. Kids, it’s time to start another the do-it-yourself music scene.

Etched in the run out margins:
Side 1 — From nothin’ to nowhere
Side 2 — Don’t let it go to your head

Zodiac Mindwarp and The Love Reaction — Planet Girl Picture Disc

Zodiac Mindwarp and The Love Reaction -- Planet Girl Picture Disc

• Artist: Zodiac Mindwarp and The Love Reaction
• Title: Planet Girl Picture Disc
• Year: 1988
• Format: Vinyl 10 in.
• Rating (1-10): 6
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 1988 – Probably at our store RIP Records in Norfolk, VA
• Keeper: Maybe

I selected “Vinyl 10 in.” for the format on this one but I suppose it depends on how you measure it. This Zodiac Mindwarp and The Love Reaction single “Planet Girl” is a solid rocker. The flipside song “Dog Face Driver” is a lot more electronic, like it’s a demo, but not bad. The most interesting part is the most obvious: a picture disc that’s also cut in the shape of a cross. One-time fanatic that I was of course I had to have this. Now, I don’t know. I think these versions of both songs are on other records I have. And who wants to be a completist? That’s for nerds. Weeding out my record collection in public in nerdy enough.