ts: factory vs rough trade

factory was a way of life.

(so, umm, that'll be factory, then)

Factory was superior as a label, but Rough Trade just about made up for it in DISTRIBUTION.

not that i dismiss FACT...loadfs great stuff. luff it.

but small deal capital eh? why're you pitting us against each other?

wilson

Factory was truly *modern*, pioneering, over-ambitious and yes, a total mess too. Had all the best bands because Wilson stuck his neck out and believed in the likes of JD, Vini Reilly, ACR, SXXV, Sean Ryder to change the world. And they did.

Rough Trade: Metal Urbain, Augustus Pablo, Cabaret Voltaire, Stiff Little Fingers, The Monochrome Set, Subway Sect, Electric Eels, Kleenex / Liliput, Swell Maps, The Raincoats, The Pop Group, The Feelies, The Pack, The Red Crayola, Scritti Politti, Essential Logic, Plastics, Delta Five, TV Personalities, Robert Wyatt, The Slits, The Prefects, Young Marble Giants, James Blood Ulmer, The Fall, Pere Ubu, The Red Crayola, Girls At Our Best, Blue Orchids, David Thomas & The Pedestrians, Zounds, The Virgin Prunes, The Nightingales, Jackie Mittoo, Bunny Wailer, DNA, Mighty Diamonds, Brilliant, The Go-Betweens, Aztec Camera, Dream Syndicate, Wire, The Smiths, Microdisney, The Pastels, Prefab Sprout, Dislocation Dance, Ivor Cutler, Del Fuegos, Violent Femmes, Jonathan Richman, Camper Van Beethoven, Horace Andy, Easterhouse, The Woodentops, Shelleyan Orphan, Arthur Russell, Thomas Mapfumo & Blacks Unlimited, AR Kane, Band Of Holy Joy, Lucinda Williams, James, Sandy Shaw, The Butthole Surfers, The Sundays, Pussy Galore, Mazzy Star - wins hands down

for this very reason, rough trade loses.

easy choice

It's tough, but although Rough Trade had a shitload of classic bands on it, they didn't really do anything for them. Not in the way Factory was behind their bands.

Unfortunately they frequently seemed to afford a vast amount of care, attention and most of all money to the branding and to various vanity projects / products and other monuments to their own egos, which might have been better spent on the music.

Their distribution in particular was frequently piss-poor; which didn't do either them or the bands who signed to them any favours whatsoever.

Rough Trade otoh were really just a bunch of idealistic old hippies who were only interested in making great music available.

Oh great point, Andrew. Never thought of that. I'm changing then, Rough Trade it is.

http://www.ltmpub.freeserve.co.uk/images/sxxvdvdsmall.jpg

now in stock at LTM HQ is the very first DVD from cult Factory Records band Section 25 (LTMDVD 2429).

So Far runs for almost two and a half hours, and features complete sets from 1980 and 1985, as well extracts from several other shows and studio clips. Sound and vision has been remastered in 5.1, and the disc is Region 0.

So Far gathers together rare live and studio footage from all stages of their career. The original post-punk trio are captured live at the ICA in London in June 1980, while the later five-piece electronic line-up at Minneapolis First Avenue in January 1985. In addition to these two complete concerts, extracts from shows at Chicago Metro, Manchester Hacienda and London Riverside are also included, as well as studio clips for tracks including New Horizons and Looking From a Hilltop. The fascinating Chicago Metro footage proves beyond doubt that Section 25 were a vital formative influence on early techno music. Region 0, 5.1 sound, NTSC format, 2 hours 30 minutes of footage. Full tracklist: Knew Noise, After Image, Number One, Friendly Fires, Girls Don't Count, Untitled, Charnel Ground, Haunted, Dirty Disco, Not So Real (SSRU), Warhead (Hacienda), Looking From A Hilltop, Beneath the Blade (Riverside), Inspiration (Riverside), Program For Light (Hacienda), Backstage footage (Metro), Hilltop Megamix (Metro), Dirty Disco II (Metro), The Process, Looking From A Hilltop, Prepare to Live, Crazy Wisdom, Beneath the Blade, Inspiration, Reflection, Program For Light, Dirty Disco II, Bad News Week.

a fitting tribute to jenny too.

Factory discography

"RTT128: James Blood Ulmer - Eye Level" Ulmer with the Pop Group rhythm section, produced by Adrian Sherwood. Did Factory produce anything as cool as this? (Doubtful)

Oh, man. That is classic.

dear anthony h

i had this really successful band in the eighties (and another less successful but still moneyspinning one in the late seventies) and should be rolling in cash. problem is, this bloke in a linen suit told me to invest in this big club thing, which went horribly wrong. then he bought an expensive table and let my mates break it. now i'm reduced to feeble attempts to recapture past glories in order to pay my gas bill. what can i do?

love B (or P, or S), manchester

sub plop

Oh, man. That is classic.
I suppose that's better than Sub Poop.

I must hear that James Blood Ulmer single.

In pace requiescat, Jenny.