Black cats and delicious fish tacos aside, the 19-year in-the-making Drive Like Jehu reunion went off without a hitch, and I’m thankful for the opportunity. If you’ve not heard this brand of early 90s post-hardcore, you should Mos Def check it out. Black kittah approves.
Tag Archives: wax
Somerset Records
The logic of record-labeling business-practices fades in and out like a mid-western thunderstorm… at least within the county of my bordered headspace (i.e. the extent of my knowledge); this blathered statement seems to be true. Somerset Records, as far as I can gather, was the brainchild of one, Mr. Dave Miller, and his ambitions to offer overpriced records at a budgeted prices. Standard North American gluttonous business practices certainly applied.
Likely a 101 String release, this Somerset Records logo is something of an eye-catcher, and unfortunately lives in the obscurity of modern day record collector’s mental vocabulary… the logo is pretty, though, don’t you think?
Divided… No Vinyl
…And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead didn’t release their fifth album, So Divided, on vinyl, so we’re left with this 7” single. Wasted State of Mind b/w Eight Days of Hell is an insufficient representative of this band’s (in my opinion) greatest achievement. So Divided needs a proper vinyl release… their previous four albums each had one. So Divided, what gives?!
Elvisert
Dead only a month after his final album’s release, Elvis Presley, and his insert to Moody Blue, serves as a bullet-pointed checklist of entertainment tombstones celebrating this legendary performer’s luxurious career. Not a fan per se, I acknowledge his esteemed importance throughout recorded music history, and although his music has never connected with me, appreciation and respect must be given.
Dancing for Decadence
The Sainte Catherines, arguably Quebec’s finest punk-rock sextet, released only 220 copies on yellow vinyl of this, their fourth LP, Dancing for Decadence. Their first (and only) release on Fat Wreck Chords, Dancing for Decadence dropped back in aught six, and is one of maybe a handful (a giant’s handful) of records that I’ve yet to listen to… but she sure is a beaut!
Watt ‘er Ya Gonna’ Do?
To my dismay, I received a discogs ordered Mike Watt Ball-Hog or Tugboat? double LP with a chopped corner. The seller didn’t list said missing chunk in the item description, and now I don’t even want to look at the thing, let alone listen to it. I’m torn between reselling it (as returning it, I’m finding, is not an option), or begrudgingly keeping it, only to scowl at it every chance it’s in eyesight. I’ve been contemplating this decision all week as it haunts the waiting room of my collection. Oh well, Watt ‘er ya gonna’ do?
MCA for the Save
So, what do you do when you’re halfway into work and the piercing notion strikes that, once again, you forgot to snap a few pics for the day’s post?! Some would veer their car off the next overpass, while others would make up some vague excuse, double back, and snatch the visual interpretation of one’s daily obsession. So… what did I do? I cursed myself, countless times, and left it up to “oh, well, we’ll figure it out” as a viable, and ONLY option.
So, here’s a photo of a mid-seventies MCA Records logo. Swallowed up by the mighty Universal Music Group, MCA Records gasped its last, fleeting breath back in 2003.
RIP MCA.
Arthur We Know and We Sympathize
A hearty thanks to JWick1 for this amazing double LP (proper post forthcoming). Arthur (or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) is a personal fav, and this graduated version is, simply put, the bee’s knees. A collector and avid Kinks fan cannot go wrong with both mono and stereo versions of this outstanding album. Thanks again, senior choch!
Provocative See-Thru
Squeeze’s first album is a fantastic, British firework of pop explosion. Here, it’s presented in fire-red vinyl, with the sticker promoting the classic, Take Me, I’m Yours. I can offer nothing more than this printed, advertisement, and an early morning photo of said fire-red record. If you don’t know Squeeze, you don’t know. 
Off With Their Heads!
As the long-told, infrequently-forgotten story goes, the sunshine-happy-give-us-your-money band featured on the back cover of Dead Kennedy’s debut, Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables was used without the band’s consent, and resulted in a threatened lawsuit causing variations of the Bay area’s backside cover art. LA-based Sounds of Sunshine (aforementioned sunshine-happy-give-us-your-money band), wasn’t quite satisfied with their work-around beheading, and the Dead Kennedy’s were forced to come up with a new back cover concept altogether (replaced the sunshine-happy-give-us-your-money band sans heads with four vintage living room-dwellers sitting under a framed Alternative Tentacles logo… subsequent lawsuit forthcoming).
If any morals are to be learned from this tug-and-pull fiasco, they are forever silenced by the timeless music contained within.
Drawings: Raymond Pettibon
I broke the mold of tradition yesterday and removed the shrink wrap that bound my copy of Double Nickels on the Dime, the Minutemen’s timeless magnum opus. It has become habit for me to neatly slice the plastic along the sleeve opening, preserving the virgin cover, back, and in this case, gatefold center.
I’d never owned Double Nickels in any format until I found this reissue, so I was more than amazed when I released the fruits of this gatefold for the very first time. Aside from the usual credits and a collage of action band shots are seven drawing by Raymond Pettibon I’d never seen before. Famous first throughout the Southern California early punk scene, then the world over, Mr. Pettibon’s art ranges from morally exposing to minimalist shock, which, after reading this again, does absolutely no justice to either the style of his characters, or the weight of his foreboding, and ominous messages. His often humorous take on the vulgar details of moral principles (many struggle their whole lives to ignore) raise a sense of loaded guilt that makes you want to go out and punch an elected official in the face, but you know… in a good way.
A Halfhearted (Politician’s) Promise for Tomorrow
Just like how function trumps fashion, so too shall quality (eventually) trump quantity here at The Prudent Groove. For too long I’ve been lacksadaisically (it’s a word… I think) thumbing my procrastination button and parading through an inferior product (since day one). So, as a mission statement (if only to myself), I, out-of-turnly proclaim, that tomorrow’s focus will showcase a much more thought out analysis (read: sarcastic observation).
What you see here (obviously), is an 8-track cassette of Led Zeppelin’s fourth album. Acquired today for a cool $1.99, this lil’ jammer will squat within the vacant garage currently residing in our living room in the shape of an empty (wood-paneled) 8-track player. Gone (and thoroughly missed), is my red cassette copy of Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M., and in its place, and abridged version of Zeppelin’s most commercially proclaimed outing.
“Do you own an 8-track player?’ – Record story Guy
“Have you read The Groove?” – Me (to myself, and several hours later)
Sunday… Lazy Folks
So, all I can offer this fine evening is the most recent addition to the discogs.com labyrinth. John Peterson Presents Western Moods… an album, rich and ripe of tomfoolery, a topic, clearly, with which I will tackle at a later time.
Enjoy your Sunday evenings, buckaroos!
In a Relaxation Como
Relax… you’ve earned it. But even if you haven’t, disguise your bourbon in a dainty tea cup, bathe yourself in the lavish frills of your favorite evening gown, close your rose-markered book and enjoy the provocative exclamations of the one, the only, Perry Como.
Better make it quick, as this is just a violent tease of Como-inspired relaxation. With only four tracks, your momentary break from the chaotic endeavors of everyday life will swiftly blow away, like the cool, lamenting breeze from the relaxation King, Mr. Perry Como.
Man, Thank Decca for World Saving Ninjas
Man, thank Decca Records for their lifelong, globally-conscious contribution to the safety of all of us, and let’s, universally, thank them for enlisting a giant, intergalactic ninja that unrelentingly keeps our planet safe from outside planet handlers. A New World of Sound equates to a New World of Ninja Protection. Thank you, Decca Records!
The Happy Puppy
Bent Fabric, the Danish, piano-playing wizard, strikes again with his second major label release, The Happy Puppy. Continuing his drunken-saloon style of wistful merriment, Mr. Bent Fabricius-Bjerre couples intensity with enjoyable amusement, and he does it with animal-loving flair. Animal-friendly piano geniuses need recognition, this, is evident.
Waylon Live
Ok, so I’ll admit, my bashful affection towards classic country is something I’d normally stutter to admit to, but its presence, recently, has weaseled its (normally) unwelcomed way into my carefree, pleasure-driving (to and from work) odyssey.
Waylon, Willie, Johnny, and Hank (and / or Hank III) will always remain as the synonymous black sheep of my collection, and sometimes, and this is usually accompanied by a period of severe exhaustion, the shepherd needs to stray away from the neatly aligned flock to comfortably align himself (or herself) with the fresh smelling nature of tainted familiarity.
Waylon Jennings, one of the Good ol’ Boys, never meant no harm, and like with all goodhearted thieves and murderers, may very will find themselves in a predicament where the law might get ‘em, then again, the law might not get ‘em too.
Nine Tonight
If you don’t listen to Bob Seger, with his horn-blowing, rhythm curating Silver Bullet Band, you should. Nine Tonight, a live compilation album comprised of two live performances from 80 & 81, flawlessly captures the hopped-up energy and non-assuming down-home shtick of this legend in the height of his celebrated, classic rock pilgrimage. Straightforward, certainly does not equal mundane.
There is a certain circle of classic rock bands (which, when analyzed, highlights specific albums) that embody the bulk of my early, classic-rock-stratosphere-puncturing inauguration into a wealth of audible pleasure that reached passed the (familiar) heavy wave of Bon Jovi and Def Leppard. I have my father to thank for this, and not a Bob Seger reference goes by that doesn’t remind me of riding in my father’s pickup, and listening to, among a slew of other classic rock essentials, Nine Tonight.
… that kind of music just soothes the soul…
If Only Life Were Easy it Would Be Such Fu-u-u-un!
1969 was a colorful year… or so I’m gathering. Fat-assed, punchy kangaroos named Arthur (with an apparent case of the dribbles), baking, medium-rare against the British sun, make for a rather kinky inner gatefold design. Had the music for Arthur (or The Decline and Fall of the British Empire) not been so impeccably genius, such mundane overindulgences may have garnished more criticism, but as it stands (or squats), this objectifiable throwaway acts more as a condiment for chuckles than an in-depth revelation of the band.
The British sun sets over many lands… as well it should. God save the Kinks!
Happy Birthday, Emile Berliner
Today, we honor the birth, ingenuity, and modern-day-forward-thinking of phonograph pioneer, Emile Berliner. Evolving from the Edison-based cylinder phonograph that preceded him, Mr. Berliner had the wherewithal to secure his disc record gramophone into the thickened soil of format obsessed enthusiasts, and whose achievements in developing the preferred, modern day musical vehicle (as of the past decade +) need not go overlooked. Happy Birthday, Mr. Berliner, and thank you for shining a light into the darkened void of my obsessive behavior… this next round is on me.
The Prudent Groove 