various | the may queen in july

this is the best tape compilation i did, and i never bloody released it. i spent 2 years compiling it, was very excited about it, but then its completion coincided with the collapse of my tiny empire in 2000. oof.

anyway, at 2 x c60 it's a monster - 42 tracks in all - and it's basically dedicated to four-track pop, so expect lots of hiss along with the tunes.

and there really are plenty of tunes to be had here, from:

::: charlie mcalister
::: father
::: southern charm pageant
::: remora
::: crayola summer
::: inca eyeball
::: girlboy girl
::: mad planets
::: courtis
::: werewolves on hashish
::: in tundra
::: tegan fraid (age 3)
::: hood
::: caleb fraid
::: 50holehead
::: jalopy
::: michelle glaw
::: fink
::: plundershop
::: warser gate
::: smirkworthy
::: elk
::: catkins of jazz
::: food
::: november 1959
::: frank peck
::: will simmons
::: drekka
::: i hail taxis
::: cocker spaniels
::: ring
::: mandorris
::: crosseyed
::: my place in space
::: shy rights movement
::: swingset
::: wagstaff
::: princeton reverbs colonnial
::: george willard
::: fernando

2 x c60 nearly released by kylie productions in 2000.

part 1.
part 2.

various | neon signs in a dralon sky

the first release from fisheye, the label from paul wild, who ran the distro of the same name. for a while there fisheye was the best source of decent underground tapes, records and zines in the uk. and the label released some quality stuff too.

unsurprising then that this cassette represents a pretty decent snapshot of that scene, with sounds both noisy and tuneful from the uk, us and down under.

it features: children at play, paste, tea culture, prick decay, brown tower, omit, the shadow ring, hood, scaredy cat, calvin party, goosewind, wizard ho ho, moist, refrigerator, polyp, 70 gwen party, derv, lichtenstein girl, superfluous, bucknalls, jack geek, my deviant daughter, earl + osram, the golden mile and w.o.r.m.

for a full tracklisting view the discogs page.

tape released by fisheye in 1994.

get.

various | huggy nation/kisser boy kisser girl

i've posted a couple of tracks from this before (in 2006!), but never ripped the whole thing, so here it is in all its glory. this is still one of the best compilations i've ever heard, partly because it contains some fine songs, but mainly for the spirit and energy it conveys. i bought it from a then rare visit to rough trade in covent garden and was immediately inspired to do it myself. the whole concept is so rough & ready, it was hard to listen to it and not want to have a go.

anyway, for the uninitiated, this comp encapsulates the emerging brighton riot grrrl scene, with huggy bear at its epicentre, featuring:

huggy bear
blood sausage ("fuck you & your underground" is probably still my favourite song from that scene)
ascension
the legend!
furbelows
mambo taxi
limpstud
mambo taxi
gabby lionheart
noosong
derv

the tape is full of snippets of film dialogue and uncredited music, some of which is identifiable and some not. as such sometimes it's hard to say when a track finishes and another begins so i just stuck with the official tracklisting. anyway...

tape released by soul static sound in 1992.

get.

various | deliberately lo-fi

this is the first thing i ever released, and in time-honoured tradition it's a mixed bag, with some bands you probably know (hood, boyracer, 70 gwen party) and tons that (perhaps rightfully) you don't.

listening back now for the first time in a long time, on balance i'd say it's not bad for a first effort. not great, but not terrible either. a bit like the label as a whole.

this was ripped from the master tape, but still very much lives up to its title.

tape released by kylie productions in 1995.

get.

various | does your dog moult?

first and only release from the label and possibly a case of putting all your eggs in one basket, given the quality of bands featured, featuring as it does paste, refrigerator, the keatons and kennedy, plus snog 6 - who were never heard of again.

7" released by happy dog rekordz in 1993.

get.

various | big-bollocked bonfire blow up

mmm must rip my fabric lp.

::: emperor julian - red rag
::: joeyfat - perfumery, incendiary
::: hood - attempts to revive the victim failed
::: wat tyler - everything i do
::: ligament - way good otis
::: fabric - friend

7" released by ka-boom! in 1995.

get some.

various | gigantic 2

i was one of the lucky 50,000 or so who got to see nirvana's second performance at the reading festival in 1992. it was my first visit, just for the day, and i'll never forget bouncing up and down with everyone else to "in bloom" trying to save my reading fest poster from getting crushed while clutching a plastic bag containing this great indie compilation cd.

put together by melody maker, it's a pretty good survey of the early 90s indie scene with a good smattering of bands demonstrating the scene's inherent quirkiness. so i'm glad it didn't get crushed to bits.

::: the breeders - i just want to get along
::: pale saints - a deeper sleep for stephen
::: cocteau twins - the high monkey-monk
::: see see rider - rosey singer
::: mazzy star - ride it on
::: souled american - buck dancer's choice
::: the clean - i wait around
::: galaxie 500 - flowers
::: lush - scarlet
::: the shamen - pro-gen
::: kitchens of distinction - shiver
::: lightning seeds - 15 reasons
::: band of holy joy - right as rain
::: pussy galore - seattle
::: loop - blood
::: the sugarcubes - eat the menu
::: marc almond - my death
::: cranes - untitled
::: birdland - hollow heart

cd released by melody maker/rough trade in 1990.

get.

various | way-out: the sound of um

the point of this compilation was to collect a bunch of bands whose music makes you go "umm!". in reality this means a whole bunch of noise from the tape underground, a genre that i dabbled in as "label boss" but never fully embraced. let's face it, the scene was completely overwhelmed with dodgy noise bands - people recording any old distorted shit and calling it music - that you had to work hard to find the good stuff.

i think i got some of both here.

::: cefodie - two years today
::: children at play - sandhopper ina storm
::: culver - replace position
::: expose your eyes - acceptance feature
::: expose your eyes - acceptance feature no 2
::: hoom - headwaters
::: the infant cycle - -
::: kjetl d brandsdal - joustra
::: labrador - wot a downer
::: lee milan - untitled
::: melanchthon - different kind
::: mlehst - 100 ways of saying no
::: phlegm - ringing [i did this - it's rubbish]
::: realm of dreams - alien grounds
::: schizoid wikler's - pink punker
::: schmrtz - play it again sam
::: shimmer - space
::: sideboard radiator - china in your hands
::: the speeding peters - insulin kens
::: tenmaka - nice man
::: tuob & leigh smith - blyth, lexi & syd
::: wand packer - wave theme
::: zarathustra - klasikal

get it.

various | cosmic

definitely not your run of the mill tape comp this. i don't have any other releases from the label and can't tell you much about it, other than it's french. i can't even remember where i got this from. but no matter, a quick look at the tracklisting should make it clear that you want to have a listen.

tape released by paperplane in 1995.

::: avocado baby - angel queen party
::: dump - don't worry baby
::: les molies - car boot sales
::: milky wimpshake - knife attack
::: golden starlet - 4th best babe
::: dragibus - ramamliff
::: the yummy fur - modno-coyote
::: god is my co-pilot - careless love
::: peu importe - apres l'orage
::: fraid starsky - once i'll go to disneyland
::: dode's ka-den - everything
::: mr. kubyak - chanson pour les enfants
::: yximailoo - association of pa n' ma whom their chold runs away #2
::: refrigerator - tourists
::: clair - tense
::: wilfried - pussy galore
::: dragibus - jules et jim
::: avocado baby - another girl another planet
::: six cents and natalie - just one
::: serge comte - xavier
::: hem - you will anyway
::: dump - ceilings
::: kim - mk ballad 2

un.
deux.

various | happy birthday, baby jesus

a sweet compilation of christmas songs from some of the US's foremost garage rock bands of the time.

::: the shitbirds - christmas is a comin'
::: the junkyard dogs - brand new bike
::: claw hammer - the night before christmas
::: the devil dogs - i wish it could be christmas every day
::: rocket from the crypt - cancel christmas
::: the humpers - run, run rudolph
::: jackknife - santa claus never forgets
::: new bomb turks - christmas (baby, please come home)
::: red aunts - little drummer bitch
::: monsieur jeffrey evans with ross johnson & the amf - mr blue x-mas (cut your head on christmas)

10" released by sympathy for the record industry in 1993.

long gone john.

various | skinless wonder: slampt city punk soul explosion

whether it's a coincidence or a direct response, newcastle label slampt rode somewhere close to the crest of the uk riot grrrl movement all the way from meldon terrace to my hot little hand in the rough trade shop in covent garden. their third release, this compilation captured the appeal of the label: raw, immediate, unpretentious, lo-fi, cheap as fuck fun.

while pete and rachel could cometimes be accused of taking these things far too seriously (check the first red monkey lp liner notes and photos for instance), at this early stage in the game they mixed the polemics with a highly infectious enthusiasm. and some tunes!

::: delicate vomit - check out boy
::: unscene - schadenfreude
::: avocado baby - parachute drop
::: seacat - sleeping bag
::: pussycat trash - our option
::: boy heart soup - baby milk action
::: stickfuck - charmed life
::: roundabouts - shellsuit boy
::: ballerina pink - waterlung
::: lumpsuckee - fireball jumping
::: avocado baby - carpet stain remover
::: delicate vomit - popstar
::: pants - special
::: roundabouts - porno cinema
::: razorbladesmile - ext
::: lumpsucker - true stories
::: pussycat trash - vroomism
::: delicate vomit - i hate you
::: mudbath - mudbath
::: ballerina pink - happy stupid
::: tadpole - fabrice pussycat
::: pants - pants
::: clefthanger - marmitesegacorkdwellinghouse (a tribute to the mighty bum gravy)
::: avocado baby - groovy shoes
::: boy heart soup - soup of the day
::: pussycat trash - un soul less
::: ballerina pink - doll eyes
::: stickfuck - carry on up the cemetery
::: las calamares - theme from tadpole

tape released by slampt in 1993.

get.

various | the condition of muzak

the beauty of the tape compilation is that you had 90 minutes to stuff it with whatever you fancied. sure that means there's normally a fair amount of crap to wade through till you find the oysters, but so often the oysters aren't where you'd expect.

cakehole was one of the better tape labels, one that seemed to actually have some kind of quality threshold. and this comp was their fiftieth release, a kind of "state of the label" release if you will. and if the title is anything to go by, then clearly we need to redefine our expectations of what is actually music.

::: cakehole - intro
::: rarb terb - even steven's
::: realm in dreams - as the scalpel cuts
::: hood - worrying about getting old
::: father - sex & ten
::: bleekmen - h-bomb versus a-bomb
::: they have stayed too long in the forest - sulky nectar
::: eastnmoor ambient group - extract
::: strip - mary 1
::: gary & the cro-magnons - untitled i
::: i hail taxis - me nag nug's a-naggerin'
::: stewart walden - song from the back of ian's record collection
::: children at play - the swollen testicles of jesus christ
::: splendid palatial retreat - difficult 2nd novel (a rock opera)
::: crayola summer - monkey island
::: the mike hunt set - living off the fat of tape hiss
::: children at play - wok noise
::: kostas d'lary - caruso '95
::: bovine over sussex ne - rok & choc
::: father - frog balloon
::: the starfire lounge - redwood yard
::: scooter - all these people
::: gary & the cro-magnons - untitled ii
::: stonebody - freak not born
::: rosa lee state - clip twist (holding one's breath mix)
::: johnnie mitchell - contact
::: drug masturbation - oh yoko (ono is the nigger of the world)
::: bleekmen - fluffer
::: orange sunshine - the truth about carrots
::: i hail taxis - you've made your bed
::: geoffrey sick - improvisation for xaphoon & tape xaphoon
::: peter buckley - a long time ago
::: culver - lectchin
::: vileda - night birds
::: novemberer - census '66 (appropriate music no. 1)
::: stewart bloody walden - snare hater

tape released by cakehole in ???

side 1.
side 2.

various | some hearts paid to lie

think of this as a more grown up statement of intent than the "kisser boy kisser girl" compilation (which i'll get round to posting eventually - need to re-rip it), demonstrating that the uk riot grrrl scene was not about huggy bear alone.

this double 7" packages together some of the earliest vinyl offerings from linus, skinned teen, pussycat trash and comet gain, all of whom deliver prime examples of what they're about. from the playground chants of skinned teen to the lo-fi heavenly of comet gain, from the 3-chord confrontation of pussycat trash to the politicised indie rock of linus. nice.

2 x 7" released by wiiija in 1993.

boy/girl revolutionaries.

various | i'll procrastinate tomorrow

for a while it seemed like every tape comp featured boyracer. indeed, when i was putting together the inaugural tape comp on kylie, i wrote to stewart asking if he'd like to contribute and he sent me some stuff, commenting that i happened to catch him in a "yes" phase, he gets so many requests.

as this is a sticky release, boyracer are not the only attraction here - check the live mambo taxi, hula hoop and spatula songs.

::: boyracer - this has gone on too long (demo)
::: evil wiener - we're both crazy
::: mambo taxi - belgium blues (live)
::: corradi kid - this time
::: spatula - break
::: murray torkildsen - stop talking football
::: hula hoop - tula (demo)
::: johanna's house of glamour - only lovely love

tape released by sticky records in 1993.

do it now.

various | songs from a room

a compilation that mines a rich seam of excellent american (+ 1 dutch) 4-tracker action. hushed whisperings from lonely men in an age when the cassette was still king.

::: franklin bruno - winter's just a word
::: vehicle flips - lockout song
::: ron house & matt wyatt - broken man
::: simon joyner - robin hood
::: ramon speed - vassar

7" released by sing, euncuhs! in 1996.

i don't give a shit mom i'm sick.

various | around the world with sticky records: sweden

blimey you don't get records like this very often anymore. at least i don't.

sticky was another brilliant label that seems to have been largely forgotten but should be cherished for releasing records like this. this picture disc was the first in a series (next stop was uk with boyracer and cornershop - not ripped it yet), and features four prime examples of swedish indie pop, less twee more boyracer if you see what i mean...

anyway, it looks great and more importantly sounds ace... a brighter spark might have sought out more records by the bands, especially puffin, but sadly i failed.

1. the bear quartet - capital breath
2. puffin - three-piece
3. a shrine - number
4. blithe - allegiance

released by sticky records in 1995.

get some.

p.s. the eagle-eyed will spot the price label on this - yes, i bought this at rival records in bath. i bought a lot of records at rival records in bath. including this one.

various | red tape

in the same vein as select 12 comes this compilation, also a select mag covermount. this one was sponsored by 4ad and mute, the labels taking a side each. and i think both halves represent the labels at their peak, one dominated by reverb, the other by the sequencer.

again, my actual copy of this tape is long gone, so this is compiled from album tracks and so on.

released by select magazine in 1990.

1. cocteau twins - pitch the baby
2. pale saints - insubstantial
3. pixies - alison
4. his name is alive - some and i
5. lush - deluxe
6. ultra vivid scene - special one
7. dead can dance - the song of the sibyl
8. crime & the city solution - the last dictator i
9. renegade soundwave - murder music
10. nick cave & the bad seeds - foi na cruz
11. depeche mode - clean
12. fortran 5 - midnight trip (tubby noise mix)

archived.

various | cashier escape route

excellent compilation of melodic electronica, conceived as the soundtrack to the modern day supermarket, and thankfully far removed from the usual muzak dross.

1. skanfrom - electronique supermarket
2. solvent - frozen food
3. rederik schikowski - station breslauer strasse
4. opiate - last dr. pepper in the fridge
5. the remote viewer - vg on hd
6. lexaunculpt - plus and minus miss c-bug
7. to rococo rot + d - robfrog
8. phonem - blue skies over leuna (wish i was somewhere else)
9. dynamo - 18°
10. isan - ghost voices
11. geiom - understanding openers
12. pole - sachte
13. goodiepal - mutate
14. arovane - discomarkt 2000
15. styrofoam - cashier escape song
16. roger van lunteren - n-2097
17. skanfrom - electronique supermarket (a capella version)

released by city centre offices in 2000.

download me.

various | select 12

in my formative indie years, i.e. ca. 1990, i was short of money and long on a thirst for this new music called indie. before then i had never really concerned myself particularly with genres and record labels and all that stuff. no, i was too busy listening to queen, eurythmics and def leppard to care about that. but then the stone roses and ride came along and kicked the shit out of all that. and suddenly i was wide awake, eyes wide open, legs spread, arms outstretched (you get the idea) for more.

so being a skint schoolboy, freebie cover-mounted compilations became a godsend. two in particular really hit the spot, both courtesy of now defunct select magazine. the first came with the launch issue in 1990, and i can still remember the particular shopping trip, or at least the fact that i picked up this magazine with a picture of prince on the cover (or rather an impersonator) and one of my first cds ever: "come home" by james. good times.

anyway, i listened to that tape over and over. i still have it somewhere i think, or hope. but rather than hunt it down i figured it was easier just to recreate it. so here it is. a bit of an odd mix perhaps but some real gems in there.

the house of love obviously come out on top, one of those perfectly produced, perfectly played songs that constantly revolves around my head. almost no one outside australia knows about the hummingbirds, but they really should. 'whoops' provides a snapshot of pre chart-fame james. "talkin' with myself" is a classic. and i'm not really sure what cameo is doing on there.

there's one song missing: ruby blue. if anyone has it i'd love to hear it again.

1. the house of love - se dest
2. james - whoops
3. yello - angel no
4. electribe 101 - talkin' with myself
5. the walker brothers - my ship is coming in
6. the hummingbirds - house taken over
7. ruby blue - quiet mind
8. the lilac time - fields
9. dusty springfield - breakfast in bed
10. tom verlaine - cooleridge
11. the fall - i'm frank
12. cameo - i want it now

released by select magazine in october 1990.

crop rotation in the fourteenth century was considerably more widespread after...

various | soluble fish

this compilation is subtitled "some songs that chemical imbalance magazine likes a lot" - now i never read the magazine but judging by this article by the publisher mike mcgonigal, i missed out. and what better reason to do a compilation - collecting together a pile of songs you like by bands you admire. and it seems mike mostly liked early 90s indie rock. lucky us.

incidentally, mike now publishes the book-sized zine "yeti".

1. phoaming edison - stencil queen
2. thinking fellers union local 282 - out in the kitchen
3. kicking giant - songbird
4. caroliner - rear end hernia puppet show
5. uncle wiggly - eleanor's pizza party
6. sun city girls - flesh balloons of tibet
7. sleepyhead with bob bannister - fortunate son
8. happy cat - we fuck you like superman
9. dumbhead - dead bugs
10. unrest - green
11. beat happening - what's important
12. barbara manning & mad v. dog - baby we're really in love
13. dogbowl - low brown clouds
14. fly ashtray - snack bar
15. fire in the kitchen - seventh wonder
16. empty box - burn
17. jane martin & nathaniel knight - what that means
18. gashounds - delerium
19. smack dab - worrying my eyes red
20. spawnbath - dark olive
21. gamma rays - hotel songs
22. zomboths, the - la noche del esperanto (night of the universal language)
23. waldo jeffries - the inside song
24. wall drug - twinkle

released by homestead in 1993.

i was being nice! *re-upped!*