we listen so fast: forgotten/unkown/unloved 80s we are listening to.

regarding db records and atlanta music, Oh-OK is great, The Method Actors are great (enough for me to put it on CD) and Kevin Dunn's The Judgement of Paris well worth checking out.

i've been an Oh-OK fan since 1983! love them to death.

dan selzer are you a fan of those early love tractor records? i had no idea. nobody ever told me they were cool. i saw those records everywhere ever since they came out and i ignored them like i ignored big dipper and phantom tollbooth records. i don't know why. maybe it was the name? could have been. so great though. viva love tractor.

As far as DB Records goes I was a huge fan of the first Guadalcanal Diary album back in the day, but from a US perspective I guess they're about as cool as Big Country were in the UK? I liked the Zeitgeist album too, or at least that one song from it (Freight Train Rain). Fetchin Bones, not so much. And let's not mention The Coolies. You could pick all these LPS up in the second-hand shops in London for about 50p back then, I had tons of them.

everyone shouyld have this on their ipod:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JojJgMnu7lY

lol fetchin bones. i liked the song "stray" so somehow i ended up owning three of their albums and never playing anything but the song "stray". that album that "stray" is on is okay though. as far as their thing goes. i think don dixon is just supremely not cool.

I had the Don Dixon album too, loads of crap I only played once really. I blame The Bob magazine for recommending it all to me.

guitars that sounded really cool to me after not hearing the album for 20+ years: the first Christmas album, In Excelsior Dayglo.

i like The Bob for that one Robyn Hitchcock flexi they put out with the song "Surgery" on it. love that song. i put it on a lot of tapes.

I FUCKING LOVE THAT BUSHIDO ALBUM

the 12" prior to it and the LP after (Deliverance) are also good

Underrated and under-listened to band x 100 for me is without a doubt...Urban Verbs.

two GREAT major label albums from 1980 and 1981 and i can't even really give them away in my store. they sit and sit forever.

these albums are AWESOME. i don't get it. wounded bird did CD reissues that probably came out for a day and then disappeared. someone hepcat label should do deluxe editions and maybe people will actually hear them. maybe if they had been on Rough Trade or something people would think they were cooler.

love love tractor<3 i only have the wheel of pleasure comp with their magical cover of kraftwek’s “neon lights”

love love tractor

okay back to some nerdcore. i barely remember listening to the Yipes! debut from 1979. but now its 1980. a new day dawning. show me what you got, Yipes!

https://i.discogs.com/R1MEYPJL39U_NRH6N4n_0BnMtFELXNGPSQdELUZHxNY/rs:fit/g:sm/q:90/h:600/w:597/czM6Ly9kaXNjb2dz/LWRhdGFiYXNlLWlt/YWdlcy9SLTMwODU0/MDAtMTMxNTAyODM3/Ni5qcGVn.jpeg

I love mid 80s pop that sounds especially 'post krush groove.' think like the power station lp. or 'lets go all the way.' skott do you have any recommends in that vein??

listen to this. if you haven't before. its a personal fave of mine. might not be something people even listen to anymore. but i got an unplayed copy and played the first side last night and i still love it. all the laswellisms are fine by me. and the drums are very power station.

https://i.discogs.com/_6xmLyiIEnK35e5U4efSvPeK3UBSaFWcuaRXW3AXwFU/rs:fit/g:sm/q:90/h:600/w:600/czM6Ly9kaXNjb2dz/LWRhdGFiYXNlLWlt/YWdlcy9SLTQxMjc4/LTExNTgzMzIyMDgu/anBlZw.jpeg

wait sly fox guy is on this too! i think. so, good for sly fox fans. mudbone.

that yipes! record sucks. don't buy that one. playing some more unknown powerpoppers. i just put this on and i can't help but notice the completely horrible production. its so bad.

https://i.discogs.com/PPK4FU15LgB5-ZbC0TlahEVatxEFx_0NecgsIlZ-JHk/rs:fit/g:sm/q:90/h:600/w:596/czM6Ly9kaXNjb2dz/LWRhdGFiYXNlLWlt/YWdlcy9SLTkxMTMw/NzYtMTU0MTQxNDA1/OS0xOTY0LmpwZWc.jpeg

911 are WAY better than Yipes! for the record. they can jam.

dig the music on this. luckily the 12-inch comes with an instrumental version. gonna play it loud.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4lTTD74CTQ

man, talk about forgotten. how did all these people get signed to labels? they had an album too. Keep It Dark is a weird name for a band that is not goth. their a-side single sucks. gonna try the b-sides.

https://i.discogs.com/HSFxFGIAVgHDfhyXGuiNSSaoDqbG-DXMQfVYBjrlZrM/rs:fit/g:sm/q:90/h:600/w:595/czM6Ly9kaXNjb2dz/LWRhdGFiYXNlLWlt/YWdlcy9SLTU5MDgz/MjctMTQwNjAzMzAz/My02MTg2LmpwZWc.jpeg

how did all these people get signed to labels?

guessing cocaine played a large part in all this

i made fun of the connells so i listened to their "hats off" single. i think i remember seeing the video on mtv. they got the smiths jangle as well as the r.e.m. jangle. if "hats off" wasn't at least a little bit inspired by smiths i'll take my hat off and eat it.

they were the buffalo tom of their day.

grant lee buffalo being the buffalo tom of THEIR day. which might have actually been the same day...

I was disappointed to play a bit of Shiva Burlesque recently (talking of GLB) and finding that I didn't love it nearly as much as I did at the time. Althogh I did keep the first couple of Downy Mildew LPs on a replay, were they known in the US? Totally obscure in the UK.

When I was a teenager and used to tape 120 Minutes every sunday night I HATED the Connells. I thought this song was the tweest wimpiest thing of all time.

Revisiting a few years ago when I wrote a thing about 120 Minutes for my blog I realized I had grown up and could now appreciate this anthemic jangle.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fluvL_5P1XM

here's my 120 minutes if yr interested. Sorry for the dead links.

http://acuterecords.com/blog/?p=29

The first Downey Mildew album was on Jack Rabid’s top 200 of all time list or whatever (from a 90s big takeover issue)

this is so great. john luongo for the win!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJ_NDwZTlU4

speaking of don dixon, jack rabid, jangle rock, and the 80s, i went and saw concrete blonde at their debut performance in nyc after their first album came out (and sang "still in hollywood" on stage with them!) and jack rabid was playing the original version of "blue line" up above and this led to me hanging out with jack and looking at all his cool 45s and he had every cool 45. i was a top let's active fan as well as a top oh OK fan. i had never heard the original. i flipped out that someone would play it in a packed rock club.

ubiquitous 80s album i have never been tempted to play: Rave On Andy White

buzz buzz buzz. i got a bunch of these radio shows on vinyl. john peel intros to every track.

https://i.discogs.com/LNOCJwiDWh1o_Oqc7AcaHKeykkRAFhdqGVDltwLb6Og/rs:fit/g:sm/q:90/h:444/w:450/czM6Ly9kaXNjb2dz/LWRhdGFiYXNlLWlt/YWdlcy9SLTExODA2/MTQtMTE5ODgxNTAw/Mi5qcGVn.jpeg

hubba hubba...

https://i.discogs.com/0krwFVRpmWcpPS7DuTl8L3_YU64m3DLFSNS2OxJ9-78/rs:fit/g:sm/q:90/h:594/w:600/czM6Ly9kaXNjb2dz/LWRhdGFiYXNlLWlt/YWdlcy9SLTI4Njg2/ODctMTQxMTA5NzA4/MS04MjA0LmpwZWc.jpeg

damn, i wasn't expecting such freestyle goodness! sign me up!

also, r.i.p., tommy:

Tommy Page (born May 24, 1967, Glen Ridge, New Jersey, USA - died March 3, 2017, New York City, New York, USA) was an American singer-songwriter and later a music industry executive. He served as an A&R executive and Vice President of Top 40 Promotion at Warner Bros. Records/Reprise Records, associate publisher at Billboard, and Vice President of Artist and Brand Partnerships at Pandora Internet Media.

I don't remember Tommy Page at all but his Wiki entry is filled with "unusual details in Wiki articles."

Page also appeared on an episode of Full House, titled "Crushed", which first aired on January 14, 1992.[6] In the episode, he sings a special song to Stephanie Tanner on her tenth birthday, but spends the following day with her sister DJ, much to Stephanie's dismay.

this album is outstanding. the freestyle is actual freestyle and not some pop hybrid and the syrupy pop ballads are way over the top orchestral and goopy behind his unthreatening boy voice. they sound cool. plus, you get a pet shop boys song about africa!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJ-wOIJ4TUY

playing loudly in public...

https://i.discogs.com/yG62W0hYcTclJlwJ8pVzs1SrDs-UcFIaqAr3MXQ5I5g/rs:fit/g:sm/q:90/h:400/w:400/czM6Ly9kaXNjb2dz/LWRhdGFiYXNlLWlt/YWdlcy9SLTMyMTk2/MDItMTMyMTAxNjYy/OS5qcGVn.jpeg

listening to this and trying to figure out why people pay so much for it. $200+. apparently its because of the LONDON STEPPER RARE GROOVE SCENE OF YORE. kinda one of those IF YOU KNOW YOU KNOW situations. sounds nice. that Koko Pop record sounded nice too. and it will only set you back five bucks.

https://i.discogs.com/j8OC96UoZvUf2u_XXv_4son_yfxSOPJKNtwa9kvrB-s/rs:fit/g:sm/q:90/h:593/w:596/czM6Ly9kaXNjb2dz/LWRhdGFiYXNlLWlt/YWdlcy9SLTEwNjQ4/MzQ1LTE2MDQxMzQz/MTAtNzI1Ni5wbmc.jpeg

i sold that Zulus EP! same guy bought a drum & bass 12-inch and his kid got a sweet copy of Beck's Loser 12-inch. 1st pressing. it's really the best way to hear "Loser". the one Beck song i love.

i sold that tommy page record so fast. and that rare soul stepper lp as well. definitely want the tommy page CD.

best promo cover of the day. please believe us! midge is your man! hahaha. so not going to happen.

https://i.discogs.com/0CnydiHENZla14sn8K77tYvwkWJpHLa2UjK1RQy3sOo/rs:fit/g:sm/q:90/h:588/w:600/czM6Ly9kaXNjb2dz/LWRhdGFiYXNlLWlt/YWdlcy9SLTQxNDQ2/NjMtMTUxMDg0NjU3/Ni01NzU2LmpwZWc.jpeg

Is the Baton Rouge Morning Advocate a notable venue for incisive rock criticism?

It's a bit impressive how anonymous Midge Ure remained in the US given all that hyperbole.

I had literally never heard of him before just now, but it’s the guy from Ultravox? Weird that I didn’t know that

(fwiw i am almost 39 so it sort of makes sense that i wouldn’t know but still)

The guy from Band Aid you mean

His Wikipedia page says McLaren asked him to be lead singer of the Sex Pistols. Hard to imagine God Save The Queen in the Vienna voice.

That was later. At the time he was doing this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQod5Qwjteg

He was briefly a guy in Thin Lizzy!