Did a bit of a greatest hits over the weekend, spinning several personal classics, including Cattle Grind off Revolting Cock’s 1988 classic live album, Live! You Goddamned Son of a Bitch. This 10-track double LP is certainly not for the faint of heart, but is well worth the listen for those with an experimental disposition, and a general willingness to enjoy the art of noise.
Category Archives: 1988
Urban Sound Surgeon
Every once in a while I’ll dig through some of my favorite hip hop tracks and try and source their samples. 4-Ever Fresh released this acappella version of the rare, 1988 track Urban Sound Surgeon that appears in the Handsome Boy Modeling School classic, Holy Calamity (Bear Witness II). In my half-handed search, I discovered a groovy little website called Who Sampled that breaks down samples from various, and namely classic hip hop tracks. Have a look!
New from 1988!
What I find most interesting about this insert, apart from the all-star line-up of yesteryear, is that wax-047 is referred to as The Ballad of Pailhead. It would never be released as such, and wax-047 would be pressed and forever known as Trait, a 12″ EP compiling Pailhead’s last two 7″ singles.
Idiot
Minimalist industrial (the best kind), in all its Wax Trax! Records glory (though, it did not need said label’s social nuances to successfully flourish). 1988’s three-track EP, Idiot is an adventurous (and repetitive) introduction into Paul Barker’s debut (Ministry / Blackouts) side project, Lead into Gold. Only releasing one LP (1990’s Age of Reason), Lead into Gold was a short-lived, heavily weighted shadow, worthy of your next vacation from the scowling reality that is 2017 “America.” I’d suggest you listen with caution, but such a warning would fall upon deaf and ignorant ears.
Pains
First and foremost, RIP Alan Thicke. Anyone remember My Sister Sam? I don’t, but I bet Steve Dorff & Friends do! Along side the unforgettable (depending on who you ask) Growing Pains theme, Dorff and crew are responsible for themes to Just the Ten of Us, the aforementioned My Sister Sam, and of course, Murphy Brown. Also on this comp is the theme to The Oldest Rookie (never heard of it), Whattley by the Bay (again, no clue), and the Spenser: For Hire theme.
Jersey Shore
Reason no. 1309 justifying the existence of the Groove. I had stupidly, and for years, considered Wanted Dead or Alive a cut from 1988’s New Jersey. Having freshly experienced this angelic gem on LA radio the other morning, I found myself dodging lolly-gagging traffic on my escape home in order to spin Bon Jovi’s 2nd consecutive no. 1 album. To my reluctant surprise, Wanted Dead or Alive was nowhere to be found on ’88s NJ. Once again, and stupidly, I was reminded that WDoA was a / the seasoned favorite from 1986’s Slippery When Wet LP. I figure the moral is, grease up on your Bon Jovi history, fool!
Looking Back
I could go for some rural dirt beneath my fingernails right about now. Big city life woes gettin’ the best of me these long, sleepless days. Nothing that a cold beer and some Don’t Look Back from Tom Wopat can’t fix. Tonight’s spin. Cheers.
The Room is Waiting
She may be remastered, but she’s nothing short of an essential staple of any, and every modest collection. Dear Fugazi, please and thank you dearly.
D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S
One of the two hip hop acquisitions from Saturday’s Wax fair, this sealed Young MC single from 1988: I Let ’em Know backed with My Name is Young. This was a no-brainer as far as historical, LA-based labels are concerned. I’ve not seen many of the standard Delicious sleeves (featured here), instead generally seeing a plain black or white sleeve. Defunct label design aside, tonight I’m going to blast some Young MC while pretending I’m 9 years old again… should make for an interesting evening for my neighbors.
Me and My Bean Bag
Me and My Bean Bag, the follow-up to the critically acclaimed Me and My Garbanzo Bean, shatters the primitive expectations (read: demands) from loyal fans of the Me and My Series. Marginally abandoning the space-country vibe of the series debut, the eponymous Me and My Asteroid Mistress, Me and My Bean Bag focuses more on the eclectic sounds of a Kitchen Aid mixer crossed with the unsettling sounds of lively power lines (aka: the rhythm section), which make up the bulk of this grounded album.
Questionable rumors are already spreading about the upcoming release in the series, a concept album loosely based on cement mixing called, Me and My Last Shoes.
If you enjoy Me and My Bean Bag, you’ll be thrilled by other outstanding releases from this groundbreaking series:
Me and My Asteroid Mistress (MaM001)
Me and My Expanding Waistline (MaM002)
Me and My Misinterpretation of the Word, Churlish (MaM003)
Me and My Garbanzo Bean (MaM004)
Me and My Bean Bag (MaM005)
The Prudent Groove 