Favourite SST Release of... 1988

totally voting for zoogz in this

197 Trotsky Icepick Baby

I had a poster for this album for YEARS, but I've never even heard it.

I'm probably going with Triskaidekaphobe here.

ugly american was getting service from SST at this point so I personally trashed quite a few of these in print

that elliott sharp is a pretty good album

Now I'm not going to say that Bug is D Jr's best album by any means but I have no problem voting for it here. Loved the song "2541" but can't bring myself to vote for it over Bug.

Those Who Know History for me

I don't know how many people have Marshmellow Conspiracy, but it's a serious contendor, especially if you're talking about the pink vinyl version that has Song For Michael Jackson to $ell on it...

Otherwise for me it's a battle of the Bugs: Bug and Bugged.

Invisible Lantern easy. It was my first Screaming Trees album and I played that cassette to death. The second side in particular - more fuzzed out psychedelia, less poppy than the first side. "Smoke Rings" and "Night Comes Creeping" are still personal favorites.

Oh, yeah, spaced on the fact that Marshmellow Conspiracty also has a Bug song. As Thurston Moore pointed out long ago in Spin, I think, 88 was all about the bug.

yeah the trees album is terrific

Master-Dik is a sentimental favorite. I bought it because it was the only SY record I could find after Daydream Nation. I may vote for it just for the inner sleeve reprint from MRR of Ben Weasel's takedown of late 80s SST/Homestead indie rock.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cc4H5KhogTg

my review of das damen's marshmellow conspiracy alleged that it sounded better backwards and should've been mastered that way

You were wrong...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LG7PS2k9J_o

Not a great year for SST. Tempted to give poor Zoogz some love just for the hell of it. Of all the records listed, I've only ever owned "Master-Dik", Bug, Ultramega OK (shudder) and Sometimes, none of which are anything like favourites from any of those bands. (The live "Ticket To Ride" gave an early boost to my 'maybe Sonic Youth are actually dickheads' meme which took me over completely about five years later). Bug rocked pretty good, actually... but my vote's for sale if someone is passionate about an album. PayPal or music-enhancing drugs gladly accepted.

drop-off from 87 to 88 is staggering. not due to the fact that all the good bands had left the label or anything, just seems to be an off year. good heavy stuff from screaming tress, das damen, saint vitus and especially dino jr, but dag. bug by a long shot.

and Soundgarden

Anyone heard these Run Westy Run records? Saw them live around this time and didn't think much of them (though nice guys), but within a few years they'd become a truly great live band in Minneapolis--still one of my favorites. I'll be the one vote for Tar Babies from here on out for sentimental Madison reasons.

Universal Congress Of Prosperous And Qualified

^ thinking of voting for this. Need to listen to it again, but in my mind it's massive.

Think I owned 22 of these records at one time.

http://gravitys-rainbow.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/images/4/4d/Slim-pickens.jpg

Records from this list I have at one time owned :

127 Cruel Frederick The Birth Of The Cruel
131 fIREHOSE Sometimes
146 Sylvia Juncosa Nature
153 SWA Arroyo
154 Pat Ruthensmear Ruthensmear
155 Sonic Youth Master-Dik
160 Bad Brains Live
162 Sister Double Happiness Sister Double Happiness
163 Descendents Liveage
169 Tar Babies No Contest
180 Universal Congress Of Prosperous And Qualified
185 Alter-Natives Group Therapy
190 Das Damen Triskaidekaphobe
191 Mofungo Bugged
192 Run Westy Run Hardly, Not Even
193 Always August Geography
194 Elliott Sharp/Carbon Larynx
196 Paul Roessler Abominable
197 Trotsky Icepick Baby
198 Henry Kaiser Those Who Know History Are Doomed To Repeat It
199 Run Westy Run Run Westy Run
200 Paper Bag Music To Trash
202 Brian Ritchie Sonic Temple And Court Of Babylon
203 Roger Manning Roger Manning
204 Universal Congress Of This Is Mecolodics
206 Angst Cry For Happy
207 Treacherous Jaywalkers Good Medicine
210 Volcano Suns Farced
216 Dinosaur Jr Bug
219 Grant Hart 2541
222 Henry Kaiser Re-Marrying For Money
223 Kirk Kelly Go Man Go

Records from this list I still own :

127 Cruel Frederick The Birth Of The Cruel
219 Grant Hart 2541

Hiya...
Well say uh, whatdya think of this band here?
Man...
I've never seen these guys before...
Gee!
I think they're pretty New Wave!

They have a little uh...

They got kinduva R.E.M-y thing...

I think they've got kind of a riding the crest...so to speak...

Can I getchu something?
Maybe a..a Daiquri?
Or a Margarita?!

OH!
You don't wanna dance with me?!
I guess it's true...you can't REALLY dance to that kindof music now can you?!
I know Billy Idol says you can "dance by yourself" but i'd rather dance with you!
You don't wanna?
No?
Oh...
Ok...

for me it's a battle of the Bugs: Bug and Bugged.

This, but easily the former for me (even though I accidentally voted for the latter).

Sylvia Juncosa: Nature

Wanted to love this record. Went right back to the used CD store after two listens (I needed ten listens, right?).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lu6VQt2QiiI

Arroyoooooo-ooooo-ooooo!

I still have:

127 Cruel Frederick The Birth Of The Cruel
180 Universal Congress Of Prosperous And Qualified
185 Alter-Natives Group Therapy
204 Universal Congress Of This Is Mecolodics

Would like to re-acquire the Tar Babies albums at some point too.

Fred Frith The Technology Of Tears

Anyone heard this? You never know which Fred'll show up.

Henry Kaiser Those Who Know History Are Doomed To Repeat It

I actually used to play this loads, although side 2 was a 25 minute cover of "Dark Star" so I tended to stick with side 1.

Roger Manning Roger Manning
Kirk Kelly Go Man Go

An ill-advised and short-lived move into retro Bob Dylan folk music, think I paid 30p for each of these. Played them once, if that.

Anyone heard these Run Westy Run records? Saw them live around this time and didn't think much of them

Had both of the ones on this list and didn't like either much. Think I picked them up for about a pound each because (a) SST!!! and (b) didn't Grant Hart*** produce them?

Also saw them live supporting Soul Asylum at the Marquee. Must have been a lot later on cos that was the first time I ever heard (eek) 'Runaway Train'. They were alright-ish...

***(Come to think of it I bought a few shit records in this era due to a Huskers connection - albums by the Zulus and Half A Chicken that Bob Mould produced, the Yanamamos record on New Alliance that Grant drums on, also few Hated records cos I think their was a Bob Mould connection there too...)

Stuff I've heard, ranked (it's pretty obvious I'm not a huge SST fan, huh?):

216 Dinosaur Jr Bug
188 Screaming Trees Invisible Lantern
155 Sonic Youth Master-Dik
201 Soundgarden Ultramega OK

Voting for Dino Jr.

I apparently wasn't liking SST at all by 1988 - weird:

Probably some of the best (and worst) records of 1988, but not all of them

So I'm gonna sit this one out. Remember Master-Dik being, uh, passable maybe, if that. Possible I missed the boat on those Tar Babies or Mofungo or Henry Kaiser albums (or Trotsky Icepick -- what did they sound like anyway?), but I bet they weren't so great either.

Actually, I did list this on my album list, even though it allegedly technically came out the year before:

72. saint vitus - born too late

So I'm going to vote for their '88 album, as a stand-in, even though I don't think I've ever actually heard it.

Also...I assume Ras Michael was a reggae guy?

Actually though -- as a late convert to Gary Floyd's singing voice -- the one I'm most curious about up there though is Sister Double Happiness.

That Ras Micheal is so, so bad. He did some great stuff in the 70s with the Sons of Negus, but this is him and H.R. trading verses over some bad reggae by a thrown-together band. If only it was forgettable...

wo this list is yuck

lol looking at this list, it is really not surprising at all that this was the year I got super into post-punk goth stuff and industrial music

like, I think the Bad Brains album is the only thing here I'd even heard

What year did you both get photographed in matching Front Line Assembly tshirts for your highschool yearbook?

91, I'm guessing...?

You need to post those pics

i actually bought one of those HR albums. oof. so terrible. and i bought the live bad brains and i bought bug. and that's it. haven't heard ANY of the others. didn't even play bug much. i think i bought it for the cure cover.

the only RWR album i really like is the one from 1990 on Twin/Tone

Trotsky Icepick -- what did they sound like anyway?

'Post-punk power pop' would be a good description, I think. Guys from the Urinals and The Last.

Speaking of The Last, I LOVE LOVE LOVE Confession! I may well have to vote for it (even though Ultramega OK was my first SST album).

a thoughtful consideration of ultramega ok

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y176/edwardiii/soundgarden.jpg

our radio station had a couple of those brian ritchie albums too, dire as well IIRC

Ed is now a merchant banker (probably)

I will buy and sell you

oh are you "Ed"? hahahahaa

yeah, I scanned some old fanzines about a month ago so I had an '88 ish at hand

have you changed your mind on the long hairs from the 70s?

depends on how long their hair is

I was pretty anti-seattle at the time tbh but you know black flag were a bunch of longhairs too

I'm going through the list of '90s releases, and it seems like SST released over 100 albums in that period, which kinda blows my mind as I could probably only list a handful of 'em. Anyway, I'll probably split the '90s poll into two polls to fit everything, using catalogue numbers rather than release year as the cut off (the cat numbering seems to be pretty wacky in the '90s, probably due to delayed or postponed releases, and there are loads of vacant numbers too).

100 albums a year? or 100 in the whole of the 90s?

didn't even play bug much. i think i bought it for the cure cover.

― scott seward, Wednesday, April 28, 2010 12:06 PM (2 days ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

there's no cure cover on bug.

I voted for "Geography" because probably no one else will...and it's pretty great.

"Invisible Lantern" is one of the worst produced records I have ever hear, but still one of the Trees best.

Went back and relistened to some stuff. I *loved* Dino Jr.'s "Bug" back in the day, but it didn't do too much for me now: find the whiny/drawly vocals annoying. Did it ever get remastered? My original CD sounds like Du.

Mofungo's has some great bits, but still too much specific socio-political folk roots to really hold up well today (opening track "#1 For Take Off" still sounds good though, very Minutemen).

I'm voting for Das Damen's EP. Pretty vinyl, four solid songs, collectible status, etc. Basically sounds like a mix of Dino and SY anyway (555 is like SY said we'll do the verse and Mascis/Lou do the chorus) so why not give it the vote...

All the SST stuff sounds like Dü.

think bug got remastered when merge reissued it a few years back. never heard it though.

as with dlp9001, Bug doesn't stand up for me like it once did, it pretty much boils down to Freak Scene and Yeah We Know now - both of which remain undeniable. They were such huge heroes when this came out - briefly absorbing SY into their lineup, one of the local college stations tried to get in the Guinness Book for playing Bug in full more times in a week than any other station had ever played an album, we'd order from El Greco more often when Dinosaur wasn't touring because Murph was still delivering pizzas for them around this time - local boys made good x1000000. Anyway, I'd take their second or Where You Been over Bug now, easy.

Gave Carbon a listen again too, that record is seriously unpleasureable; intentionally I think, but that doesn't help me much, y'know?

Voting for either Farced or Bugged, unless I get inspired and dig out some boxed-up Cruel Frederick or Universal Congress Of tapes that change my mind ... not likely.

Gave Carbon a listen again too, that record is seriously unpleasureable; intentionally I think, but that doesn't help me much, y'know?

lol guess what I voted for

ha ha! yeah, dense slabs of oppressive sound that overpower you: I can see how it would be fun to play, but not much joy to receive. (Though I realize this description might sell it to some folks.)

FARCED

100 albums a year? or 100 in the whole of the 90s?

By my counting, just under 100 between 1990 and 1998, then those four from 2003 that were never actually released (or were they?) and the latest few from a year or two ago with the MS Paint meets Pen & Pixel covers.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Wow - a lot less convo for 1988's list...I guess that says it all about the quality drop (whether actual or perceived).

yeah

dont expect a lot of votes tbh

dinosaur jr,screaming trees & soundgarden will get most of the votes i reckon. A few others will get 1 or 2 votes most on 0

Yes, but will Zoogz get any votes this time out?

voting for 2541 & feeling damn good about it.

1 less thing with 0 votes

1 2 1 2 1 2 titty

master-dik is one of the most offensive records I ever bought, guess it should get points for that

I wasn't big on smashing records but I might have smashed that one

shit's funky fresh

It's gotten so poor by now I might have to give it to a Descendents live album

Either them , Tar Babies or Volcano Suns , but even these were poor compared to their previous? I'm being shoddy but I can't remember

Screaming Trees were having a very sizeable crack at baking the grungepie

Is the Smear album worth lots now, since his stint in you know who? I have it on vinyl. Mint, minus one play. I think he was trying - really trying to be Prince from recollection. Tbh, it wasn't that bad...

Either them , Tar Babies or Volcano Suns ,even these were poor compared to their previous

I'd agree that the Volcano Suns records on Homestead were their best - I like all three(?) of those - but Farced never really did it for me.

yeah, same here. love all night lotus party, bumper crop and thing of beauty are each at least half great, but farced is pretty weak.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

No votes for the Treacherous Jaywalkers? Shocking!

I still want to hear that Everett Shock album. Don't think it was ever released on CD.

i can hang with that top 6. We got a lot more votes than I thought we would

aww bad brains live didnt deserve a 0

Favourite SST Release of... 1989

i didn't vote in this poll 'cause i haven't heard nearly enough of these, but "2541" was a formative record for me. firehose's "sometimes" is a great little rock and roll song.

Numbers 1, 2, 3, 6, and 8 were all really good stuff. I also liked the fIREHOSE, and I think they got picked on a little cuz they weren't the Minutemen. Or not. The Last & the Divine Horsemen were decent enough. The rest here were fairly forgettable, but not BAD [except for Zoogz Rift, who seemed to think it was cool and funny to suck so hard you could get a basketball to pass through a garden hose]. Also, I must say I don't even remember those Universal Congress Of platters, which is sorta strange. I was all about keeping up w/ SST releases...