The More Successful Band Should Get to Keep the Name

Oxford Valley Mall. Shopping with Kim.

New releases. The London Suede.

Is that Suede?

It was.

The first time I saw a "UK." A "London." Added to a band's name. To distinguish it from another. Of the same name. American bands.

I assume American.

They were still Suede to me. Still are.

I don't know how long labels had been doing this. I know it continues.

I was hesitant to buy the EP in question. I wanted to be positive I was purchasing the band I liked. The Nude on the back. Confirmed.

"The London" or not. This is my favorite Suede release.

Suede - Stay Together. The Wall. New.

Whatever You Call Them, Shoegaze or Not, They Are Under-Appreciated

I had heard of them. Never heard them.

T-shirts in Thrasher. For sale.

Through their appearance at Lollapalooza. The first or second.

I wasn't there. I knew they played.

Then. In Dallas. World Cup. 1994.

I decided to give them a listen.

Prompted by Dallas radio. There was a single. Played between The Offspring. And Blur.

I didn't buy an album there. Strange. Considering I bought others.

Th' Faith Healers. Swirlies. Sunny Day Real Estate.

It took the return home.

A trip to the Newtown Book and Record Exchange.

Helped by Jess. My neighbor. A classmate. A friend.

I always wanted her job in high school.

Lush - Split. Newtown Book and Record Exchange. New.

We Weren't Above Picking Through Their Trash

Positively Records. The Newtown Book and Record Exchange. Rainbow Records. Spinster Records.

We would spend a lot of time. And money. In the record stores of our suburban world.

Our world. Suburban Philadelphia. Bucks County.

Mostly with Mike. Or Chad. Sometimes Colin.

All of them. Still interested in music. New music. More than a lot of our friends. Our shared friends.

Occasionally. A lucky day. The stores would have a "free" box.

Never filled with music. Always filled with promotional material.

Posters. Stickers. Banners.

Perfect for my teenage room.

A sampling of posters. SST and Cruz Records stickers. All over my room. Mirrors. Light switches. Random items. Bands. Labels. Some things I had only marginal interest in.

They were free. I did not discriminate.

A Sub Pop poster. An illustration. Teal. A shade of yellow. White. Various bands. The new releases.

The Spinanes. Sunny Day Real Estate. 5ive Style. Definite.

Red Red Meat. Six Finger Satellite. Maybe.

The poster made it's way to Syracuse University. A lot of the promotional items did.

Most never made it back.

Traded away. Given away. Thrown away.

Five Style - Miniature Portraits. AKA. Bargain bin.

Of Course You've Heard It in a Beer Commercial

Sometimes it felt. As though.

And to me. At least.

And always in good fun.

Myself. Bobb. Were in a race. An unspoken race.

A race to post.

"Newly-hyped British band X."

"Newly-hyped European band Y."

To Bobb. 120 Days. Working for a Nuclear Free City. Mando Diao.

To me. The Kooks. Guillemots.

The Kooks - Konk. Best Buy. New.

Greatest Hits Do Not Count and Neither Does Bona Drag

Favorite album by The Smiths. That was the question.

The Smiths. Strangeways. The Queen is Dead. Meat is Murder.

Four choices.

Someone responded. Hatful of Hollow.

It can't be. It isn't an album. There was a debate.

I stand by my opinion.

A greatest hits. Technically. No. The concept is the same.

I am not opposed to greatest hit packages. Or. Collected works. Rarities. B-sides. But these aren't albums.

Greatest hit releases. Perfect for the casual fan.

For me. That means. Styx. Journey. Bruce Springsteen. Elvis. David Bowie.

Even then. They don't allow for a complete picture. Of an artist. Of a band.

They can open doors. Can be a good starting point.

Though. I'd rather have the best album. Over a greatest hits. A better starting point.

Greatest hits. Collected works. Rarities. B-sides. Serve a second purpose. Completion.

I may own every album. Most. If not all. Singles. Of a band. An artist.

And I will buy the greatest hits release. I will buy the collected B-sides.

I will double up. Triple up. On many tracks.

I don't expect people to understand. They may even think I'm wasting money. It makes sense to me.

I want the entire body of work. Regardless of. If the release contains any new material. Or not.

The Smiths. New Order. Happy Mondays. Stone Roses. Morrissey. Suede. Oasis. Blur. The Cure. Depeche Mode. Erasure. Pet Shop Boys. Ian Brown. Joy Division. All fall into this category.

I will buy the same songs over. And over.

This can be a greatest hits. A collected works. B-sides. Rarities. As long as it is a distinct. And separate release.

Embrace - Fireworks (Singles 1997 - 2002). eBay. Used.

Explanation Embrace

My brother made a request.

I honor requests.

The request. More Embrace.

I loaned him This New Day when it came out.

Months ago. Many months.

He ripped it. Listened to it.

Now he's looking for more.

A sampling. That's what he is getting.

A sampling. Meaning. What I own.

Embrace - Come Back to What You Know (Single 2). eBay. Used.

That Should Have Been Their Free Show at The Garden

They could have been. Should have been.

The undisputed kings. Of mom-friendly British rock.

They missed their window. Only a few years.

Snatched away.

Chris Martin and Co.

Embrace - Drawn From Memory. New York purchase. Jewel case lost.

It's Not the Most Embarrassing Thing I've Had in My Collection ("Honey to the B" Anyone?)

"I wonder how the new Ashlee Simpson is."

"I hear it's bad."

A few days pass.

"I downloaded some songs. It is bad."

A week. Or two. Passes.

"It's only four dollars. Should I buy it?"

Another week. Or two.

"You know there is a Santogold song on there?"

"Really?"

"Yes. Santi White."

"Maybe I'll give it a listen."

Listened. And enjoyed. Most of it.

Ashlee Simpson - Bittersweet World. AKA. Used. Cathy purchase.

Acquiring the Recorded Output of J. Spaceman and Sonic Boom Is Not Cheap

Many posts ago. A month. Or two. Or three.

I mentioned my dislike of Spectrum. In what context. I can't remember.

It has always been more disinterest. Than dislike.

Based on prior ownership of Forever Alien.

As stated in the post. I was willing to reanalyze my position. Some time had passed. Since my last listen. And selling of the disc. On eBay.

Within days. I found a used copy at AKA.

Things were meant to be.

I enjoyed them more. This time around.

It made me wonder. Had I confused them with E.A.R.?

Was my disinterest with E.A.R.?

I have only owned one E.A.R. release. Because Kevin Shields appeared on it.

That's the same reason I own an album by The Beat Up.

And the Fear Satan Remixes. (Mogwai.)

So. I've come to terms with Spectrum. A favorite. No. A lot better than I remembered. Yes.

Which brings me back to E.A.R.

Standing in AKA yesterday. Discounted discs. Best of Jesus Jones. Double disc. In my hand. I see an E.A.R. import. Perhaps the time to re-evaluate.

Eighteen dollars. Two songs. Perhaps not. Going forward. I'll be looking.

I put Jesus Jones back.

And raided the bargain bin.

Spectrum - Forever Alien. AKA. Used.

He Introduced Me to a Number of Bands, Most of Them on Thrill Jockey, One of Them Being Rollerskate Skinny

I like to think I heard Sean talking about a new band. Endeavor.

While standing on the street. In a tank top. And shorts.

Outside of a Frail/Chokehold. House Show.

In Philadelphia. On Rodman Street. I'm pretty sure Rodman.

It was quickly shut down.

That's not true. The show is. The tank top is. The story isn't

The real story. Manages to be less interesting.

I believe Sean mentioned them on the SXE-L. A new band he liked. A new hardcore band.

That was the first I had heard of them.

Endeavor - Don't Die With Your Eyes Closed. Trustkill.com. On sale.

What Other Revelation Releases Made Their Way to Commercial Radio?

They pre-dated a lot of the harder. Non-offensive. Alternative rock. That made its way onto radio. MTV. And the charts.

Setting trends.

That might be a stretch.

It was owned. Sold. Repurchased. Twelve years later.

This release gets better with time.

Or my taste gets worse with time.

The latter. More likely than the former.

Shades Apart - Save It. Generation Records. Used.

From the Ashes of Babagaluguts

Robes are a new band from Philadelphia.

Their EP is available for download. For free. On their Myspace page.

It is also available below.

You should see them at Tritone. Next week.

As advertised on this page.

I am told it will be their only show of the summer.

For fans of New Order. Jesus and Mary Chain. Primal Scream. My Bloody Valentine. And everything in between.

Robes - The Breaks. From their official Myspace page.

I Envision a Sea of Hot Topic Fashion, Manic Panic and/or Undercuts

That isn't fair.

I like Nine Inch Nails. As do some friends.

Current output. Recent output. I don't know.

They say it is good. They. Media. People.

Again. I don't know.

It's admirable they are on the tour.

It makes me wonder. The reaction.

Does It Offend You, Yeah? - You Have No Idea What You're Getting Yourself Into. Best Buy. New.

They Had the Sub Pop Seal of Approval

They were referenced by a lot of bands. Bands I was listening to. At the time.

A lot of Sub Pop bands.

I ordered an album or two.

It didn't take me long to figure out. They were not my thing.

I was able to appreciate their influence. If not their sound.

For the next fifteen years. I held that belief. Held tight.

During that same period. My tastes matured. Still. I never gave them another chance.

Cathy mentioned buying an album.

I made my opinion clear. Unsolicited.

"I just can't get into them."

She ignored me. Usually the best option. She picked up an album.

The time had come to give them another shot. It didn't cost me anything.

Calvin Johnson's vocals. That is what I didn't like. What I still don't like.

Something I can get used to. Getting used to.

The music. Is great. Heather Lewis on lead vocals. Also great.

My curiosity. Reignited.

Beat Happening - You Turn Me On. AKA. New. Cathy purchase.

Sadly, Every Release Brings Us Closer to Sinners & Saints Territory

Walking back from the bar. O'Neals.

A street near South.

A broken bottle.

"Go back to Jersey!"

Punches. Shoes removed. Shoes.

I kept my distance.

It was a weeknight. Of all nights. For this to happen.

Punch. Yell. Punch.

They went inside. We continued walking.

Josh punched a passenger window. On a car.

Right through it.

Bleeding.

I offered my t-shirt.

Blood for Blood.

I let him keep it.

Blood for Blood - Wasted Youth Brew. AKA. Bargain bin.

There Must Be a Master List of Buzz Clips Somewhere

The first trip. London. Ireland.

The rest would come later. A year and a half.

They were popular. Very popular.

Listening to the radio. Bed and breakfast. Ireland.

I made sure to come home with their debut album.

I couldn't stop talking about them. No one bought the hype. My hype.

In my world. I thought they would be huge. Crack the market. The U.S. market.

They never did. Few do.

What is popular with my friends. Another friend. A friend. Or myself. Does not make that the case. For most people. For society.

No matter how great I think they might be.

At sixteen. That never crossed my mind.

It had become an alternative world. Even so. This rarely included the United Kingdom.

Talking. Talking. And talking. Apparently. Dana listened.

She told me she saw a video on MTV. A Buzz Clip.

Their buzz didn't last. Neither did mine.

I gave up on my friends. Never on the band.

Suede - The Drowners. AKA. On sale. Japanese release.

Boss Fueled Tear Jerkers

There are certain movies. That make me cry.

Not always. On occasion. Not so often anymore.

Empire of the Sun. Gallipoli. Say Anything. AI. The Crying Game.

A Harry Potter. A Disney. Once or twice.

Always due to content. Sometimes aided by soundtrack.

Often aided by soundtrack.

Philadelphia. Jerry Maguire.

Bruce Springsteen - Greatest Hits. Best Buy. On sale.

I Liked Them Better When They Were Called New Order

Taking a two year hiatus. Things change.

We used to go to every Making Time. Most Making Times.

The crowds would grow. Change.

That's normal.

The last time I went. Such a dramatic change. Never so dramatic.

I didn't recognize anyone. Anymore. Very few at least.

I'm aging. We're aging.

Thankful for a balcony spot.

The floor. A sea of bodies.

A new wave. Youth.

Stage diving. At Making Time.

Crowd surfing. At Making Time.

Even the band said something.

Hipsters. Via Hot Topic.

I haven't been missing anything. Missing much.

Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours. Cathy purchase. AKA.

About a Ten Year Journey

Avoided the purchase for years.

I was too cheap. And unemployed. When living in Syracuse.

I had most of the songs. On singles.

Cathy had it. It was scratched. I ripped the discs. The files skipped. I put up with it.

It has been popping up used at AKA recently.

The first one I saw. Scratched.

A month or two. Or three. Later. Another copy.

Cathy found it. Used. No scratches. Reasonable price.

Suede - Sci-Fi Lullabies (Disc 1) (Disc 2). AKA used.

Rave 'Til Dawn Is Gonna Rock You

In tenth grade Mike and I decided to get into techno.

Electronic music. Dance music. Rave music.

The decision was made during Social Studies.

Mike bought the Rave 'Til Dawn compilation.

Through Columbia House. Or BMG.

The starting point.

Expanding.

Speed Limit 140 BPM compilations.

Our tastes improved. Moby. The Prodigy. Orb. Orbital. The KLF. Keoki.

They continued to broaden.

With the ability to drive. Came the ability to go to South Street.

611 Records.

Mix tapes. Magazines. Discs. Records.

More artists. More genres. Sub-genres.

We liked the same things. Similar things.

Though. There were preferences.

Mike liked ambient. I didn't. As much.

Tastes. Mine in particular. Moved towards jungle. Drum and bass.

We listened to. Purchased. Discussed. Dance music.

For years. A few years.

Before we actually went to a club. To a "rave."

Baltimore. 1995.

The KLF - What Time Is Love? (Live at Trancentral). Princeton Record Exchange bargain used.

They Weren't Such a Surprise After All

Doghouse Records.

Name recognition. Vaguely.

Liner notes. 1995.

Had I heard their music? No.

Purchased on the above criteria.

Ripped into iTunes.

Oh.

There they were.

Voice of the Voiceless.

Transcend - Version 8.5. Princeton Record Exchange bargain used.

Someone Was Buying the Albums, Buying the Tickets, Buying the Shirts

No one ever admits to liking them.

They played a lot of shows.

A long career. For hardcore.

A release in 2000?

I've owned things. I've seen a few shows.

Nobody admitted to liking them then.

Nobody admits to liking them now.

Their staying power is impressive. Was impressive. A band that seemed to be a punchline. Continues to be a punchline.

As recently as May 2008.

"Sam. Will I regret buying a Brother's Keeper disc from Trustkill?"

"Yes. They are bad."

Are they bad? They vocals throw people off. Turn people off. Yet. There are flashes of quality.

The style. Musically. Mid-nineties. Not for everyone. It is the vocals though.

People cannot get past the vocals. People I know.

There are people who must. People who do. People who adore their output. Admire. Or at least purchase it. Purchased.

They lasted. Continuum indeed.

Disembodied / Brother's Keeper - Oxymoron. Trustkill.com. On sale.

Does Every Band, Regardless of Genre, Go Through a Country Phase?

Every band eventually comes across Gram Parsons.

Even The Byrds came across Gram Parsons.

That might be a gross overstatement. It is a gross overstatement.

Sometimes it's Johnny Cash.

Band. After band.

Return to "their" roots.

What they think are "their" roots.

American roots.

Influencing bands. Artists. Across the musical spectrum.

Split Lip. (Chamberlin.) Bruce Springsteen. Asteroid #4. Tim Burgess. Kula Shaker. (The Jeevas.) Supersuckers.

They say Menswe@r as well. Unconfirmed.

Supersuckers - Must've Been High. Used at AKA Music. Not quite bargain bin.

The Heat Took Away the Air Conditioning, the Fans, the Dr. Mario and the Ability to Post this New Age Release from 1995

I spent more time. And money. At Generation Records. After I moved to New York.

I would leave work for extended periods of time. Or for the day. To enjoy some shopping.

Sometimes clothes. More often music.

Working on twenty-third street. Generation Records was not a far walk. Or subway ride.

Their used section. Full of hardcore castaways.

Walking back to work. With Ire. Jihad. In my hand.

Generation Records continues to feed my addiction. For the hardcore that time forgot.

The Suppression Swing - Just a Word. Used at Generation Records.

Something Strange at SUNY Potsdam

It was his roommate. Maybe just friends.

Something happened.

When we met John. Or when I met John. It was his story to tell.

His personal conflict.

Somehow. That became. An imagined slight against political correctness.

Homophobia. Specifically. Ridiculous. In retrospect.

All words. Of course reserved for the Internet. A one-sided battle. Our side.

Finally. After a Fugazi show. At the Electric Factory.

A stop at a gas station. Spring Garden. And Delaware Avenue. What was a Mobil. Is now a Lukoil.

Words were exchanged. From my Volvo.

We returned to Syracuse.

Of all the bands to take issue with. Endeavor?

To be nineteen. And have ideals. No matter how misguided. Or misplaced. They may be.

I don't miss it.

Endeavor - Constructive Semantics. Trustkill.com. On sale.

I Bought an Extra Large Copper Shirt in the Past Year with the Intent to Have It Tailored to Fit

Erin liked Copper more than me. Loved.

There wasn't a lot of substance to our discussions. Copper discussions. Beyond. "How good is Drag Queen?"

She liked Copper more than most. More than anyone.

At least in my experience. Limited experience.

Erin asked me if I listened to Idle Hands.

Hadn't heard them.

Filed it away.

When I saw it. Finally. Years maybe.

I recognized the name. I thought Youth Crew. Based on the name.

After pulling the disc from the shelf. I remembered. Definitely not Youth Crew.

Idle Hands - Building a Desert. Princeton Record Exchange sale rack.

Sweet, Petty, What's the Difference?

Do you remember the video for "Girlfriend?"

I do. Though sometimes I remember it as the video for "Runnin' Down a Dream."

Both cartoons. Yes. Related. Not at all.

He seemingly came out of nowhere. MTV. Follow up album.

Faded away.

To Ming Tea obscurity. Novelty. Proximity. To Susanna Hoffs.

Lucky.

Matthew Sweet - 100% Fun. AKA bargain bin.

Surprising Finds in West Philadelphia and All Because I was Early

Arrived for The Simpsons Movie. The Bridge. We were early.

There was time to kill. To waste.

Parking was validated. The car wasn't going anywhere.

We decided a walk around University City was in order. That part of University City. We didn't go far.

We came across a record store. I knew how I would be spending my next thirty minutes. To an hour.

It was the first time I had been there. I didn't know it existed.

It may have been there for years. I'm sure it was. I spend limited time in University City. West Philadelphia in general. Mostly for dining. Ethiopian. Indian. Pakistani.

This place was new to me. Those are sometimes the best.

I made my way to the used section. Students like to sell out and/or drop out of hardcore.

Often their music finds its way to the local record shops.

I speak from experience.

"You're selling Earth Crisis and Bloodlet? And buying John Cougar Mellencamp and The Moody Blues?"

Yes. Yes I was.

I was limited on time. So I made my way quickly through the used compact discs. Incredibly. I found Godspeed. I was really excited about this. Finding what really isn't a very good release.

If it's of the nineties. And hardcore related. That tends to trump any quality issues.

I checked the watch. I still had time.

I flipped through the seven inches. I no longer have a record player. Yet I still go through records. I enjoy it.

Four Walls Falling.

Statue.

Some others.

I thought Sam would be interested in the Statue. I gave him a call.

He was.

Something to Say. On white. No real value.

I always thought. Prior to that day. The release was a ten inch.

It was not.

Statue - Something to Say. Digital version acquired on Livewire.

[Image via imagecache2.allposters.com]

Think of Them as Forgotten Gems, Diamonds in the Rough or Plain Old Coal

Mark liked Stillsuit.

He was the only person I knew who liked them. Stillsuit.

I had forgotten about them. Long ago.

I owned it briefly. Mid-nineties.

Wreck-Age Records. Again. Mid-nineties.

A lot of releases are written off. Barely remembered. If so. For nostalgia's sake.

Some. Better than others.

Better or worse. Always worth owning.

Stillsuit - Green Spock Ears. Princeton Record Exchange. Sale rack.

Oasis Is a Gateway Drug

All of the sudden. Brian was into Oasis.

It may not have been that sudden. Not sudden at all.

I was down on Oasis during this period. Not listening. Not purchasing. It was the height of the Oasis versus Blur feud.

I sided with Blur. As if my support was important.

It was nice when a year or so later I stopped being a moron and decided I could listen to both bands. And enjoy them.

I was living Quadrophenia. Only in my head.

Oasis - The Masterplan. Purchased at Best Buy. Or via eBay. One or the other. I'm leaning towards eBay.

Bonus Discs, Bonus DVDs Reel You In

Every so often an album will come along. Packaged with a bonus disc.

Sometimes a DVD.

I appreciate the bonus material. If given the choice. That is the format I will purchase.

I prefer the bonus compact disc. To the bonus DVD.

I don't think I've ever watched a bonus DVD.

Yet I keep buying them. Will keep buying them.

Oasis - Standing on the Shoulder of Giants. I couldn't tell you where I bought this. I can tell you it has a bonus single.