Lubricated Goat - Plays the Devils Music (1989)

All hail the Goat! So proud to own this jar of death-encrusted scum. Stu Spasm was curiously absent (along with the Cows) from the Amphetamine Reptile 25th Anniversary bash this summer, but like I said, I'm so honored and privileged to have this slice of gutter trash in my attic that I know, deep down, I'll never need anything more. I wish someone would sack up and reissue the Goat's lost catalog, but again... I'll never need anything more.

Sometime in the early 2000's I snatched up as much Amphetamine Reptile vinyl as I could find. Most of it was really cheap and golden. I love the AmRep logo. I duct-taped my old baseball cap together for the big party in Minnesota this summer and I was reminded that pretty much any picture of me that was taken in high school somehow incorporates this menacing logo. Ah yes, I miss the 90's...

Anyway, it's also powerfully wrong that most of the lyrics are printed inside this AmRep reissue, but the greatest bit of additional strangeness is the band photos: each member photographed with his head strung up and bound with a trillion rubber bands.

Paul Nudd

MR0139-7 (1996)

Fu Manchu "Asphalt Risin'" (Mammoth)

This one is so wonderfully direct, encapsulating Fu Manchu’s central preoccupation plainly: badass, tricked out vehicles. The b-side shown is a sludgy, low-gear version of Sammy Johns’ “Chevy Van.” This “three-on-the-tree” is totally rockin’.

The Para-Monts - I Don't Wanna Lose You

More Chicago soul. This is maybe the 45 i hold most dear. It's beaten well beyond vg-, but the goldmine grading system can't measure my love.

Denon (1969)

I was under the impression that all of the Japanese 45s in my mother's collection were from a trip to Tokyo in the summer of 1967, but considering its 1969 copyright, she must have picked this one up on a subsequent visit. The music is blissful 60s pop with male and female vocals and a touch of enka melodic stylings. Not unlike its sublime label art, it spins like a soft, cool breeze on a hot summer day.

Y, 1980

Y Records was about as awesome as post-punk label could get. Formed in 1980 by Dick O'Dell (aka Disc O'Dell), and distributed by Rough Trade, the label channeled in some of the most primitive and explosive funked-up punk ever recorded, blazing a trail for countless British bands in its immediate aftermath, plus all of that Brooklyn hoo-haw from a few years ago. The studied primitivism of this label design was a simpatico match for the music--raw, rude, profound, and weirdly elegant at the same time. Pictured is the 'a' side of For How Much Longer Do We Tolerate Mass Murder?, the second album by the brilliant, politically blunt Pop Group, who's debut album a year prior gave O'Dell the label name. (Yes, it was called Y.) The group was led by the caustic singer Mark Stewart who later hooked up with a bunch of Sugar Hill studio cast-offs and formed a knock-out punk-dub outfit called the Mafia, who made some classic records with producer Adrian Sherwood. Among the artists who released music on Y; Slits, Maximum Joy, Pigbag, Diamanda Galas, Sun Ra, Pulsallama (the earliest group of the fab Ann Magnuson), Shriekback, Glaxo Babies, Steve Beresford & Tristan Honsinger, and the Fearless Four. It makes sense that the label had some so-releases with New York's 99 imprint, as they trafficked in similar low-end excursions.

David Shrigley

Excited to be asked to post some of these label thingies, here's the first of an eclectic bunch-enjoy!

Picked this up in Liverpool, or maybe Manchester, released on my birthday 2006!

Late Night Tales presents David Shrigley – Forced to Speak with Others, the first collection of audio offerings from acclaimed British satirical artist, David Shrigley. Released October 23rd 2006 Forced to Speak with Others features Shrigley’s dark rhetoric to a backing of dark melodies, ominous percussion and playful sounds. This collection of tracks can only be described as weird and wonderful… or perhaps bizarre and slightly unhinged or maybe brilliant and genius?
Shrigley has penned 14 tracks of spoken word stories and mutterings on subjects as diverse as Satan’s apocalyptic rock concert, giant hairy children, ludicrously clumsy fathers and an insect that desires to lays eggs inside someone’s brain.
Fans of The Book of Shrigely, followers of his sketches in The Guardian Saturday Magazine and those who have experienced his shows will recognise Shrigley’s signature wry observation and absurdist vision on this unique LP. Those uninitiated to Shrigley’s world can expect to find themselves laughing out loud at the bizarre offerings or frowning quizzically at his sometimes sinister musings.
The artist forces us to reconsider clichés, confront the horrible and laugh at the utter absurdity of everyday life. From the tale of a sinister hospitals voiced by a fearful narrator in ‘Doctor’, to the noise of a felt tip pen in ‘Scribble’ and the desperate affirmation of goodness set to the backing of what sounds like a grave being dug in ‘I am Good’.
We are left feeling like we’ve been on a rollercoaster, a car journey and an choppy boat ride through the, tunnels roads and rivers of his imagination. The choice of narrators, many disturbing, some demanding, some fearful, and a few angry, convey these stories fantastically.
The LP came about as a result of the tracks Shrigely wrote for the end of a number of Late Night Tales albums. The stream of seemingly never-ending, witty observations that Shrigely produced for these albums naturally led to a collection of tracks all of his own work, presented of course, with the artists signature stick- man illustrations.
David Shrigley, Artist, comments; “I am a man with things to say. Some of the most important things that I have said have been recorded here for future generations to enjoy after my death. They have been set to music to make them more enjoyable.”
This LP is a limited edition of 500 vinyl copies only world wide and it also features a specially designed pull out poster by David Shrigley himself!!

Pickwick

Pickwick has quite a selection of fun weird kids records and this one is the single greatest halloween record ever. OK, to me. It is also the record I have owned the longest, must have been around ten when I got it. Find and listen.

Earth (1969)

What many a goober secretly wishes would miraculously result from hours of sifting through smelly thrift stores, flea markets and used record shops: groupies. Alas.

I dig the colors on this label. Love the shades of pink with the mustard. The font of the album title looks great. The look doesn't quite complement how a serious "documentary" project might ordinarily be presented, but it certainly aims for that with the tag line and the dramatic "The girls heard on this LP report..." explainer. I haven't been able to dig up a lot on Alan Lorber, but I like the owl-ish logo for his production company. I do wonder what the hell is going on with the "EARTH" flame that originates in a location that could be New York City if the continents were stretched and redrawn in weird, blocky shapes. That's just where Earth originates in this conception I guess.

There are some great things about this LP -- awesome cover, vocal bits that are fed through echo effects and a "Groupie Glossary" that includes definitions for "piggies," "randy," "freak scene" and "rock-geisha" among other laughables. But this can also be a tough, confusing listen. It's a conversation between four to five women about all the ups and downs of '60s groupie life and damn if some of the downs are outright scary.