[Vinyl Vednesday is a weekly feature about three favorite vinyl finds. It’s not meant to be a dick-measuring contest, but it usually turns out that way. Since today is 7/7, clearly I have to write about seven-inches today. It’s just proper etiquette. E-mail pelonej1@gmail.com with your own big finds!]
Records: The Menzingers’ Hold On Dodge (2009) on brown, Queen’s “Another One Bites the Dust” single (1980) on black, and YACHT’s Don’t Put Out (2009) on black.
Place of Purchase: Dodge came from Interpunk.com, a punk merch site that I kind of hate because they don’t return your money when they run out of stuff. They just give you store credit. Queen was inherited from the Ferris record collection after my grandmother’s house got sold. Don’t Put Out was purchased directly from YACHT. They put out some interesting bootlegs from time to time.
Thoughts: While I was a huge fan of A Lesson in the Abuse of Information Technology, I actually didn’t get around to buying Hold On Dodge until a few months ago. It’s every bit as anthemic as the group’s other Clash/Billy Bragg rockers; its only crime is being too dang short. Otherwise, this one’s perfect – instantly memorable, super catchy, wickedly rocking. I’ve been big upping the Menzingers this year, and Dodge came into my life just as I was starting to overplay Chamberlain Waits.
Everybody knows “Another One Bites the Dust,” but how many people know its B-side, “Don’t Try Suicide?” Taken from Queen’s The Game, it’s a pretty awesome pro-life jam. Frontman Freddy Mercury informs the listener not to try suicide because:
1. You’re gonna hate it.
2. Nobody gives a damn.
I think some people commit suicide specifically because nobody cares about them, but maybe Mercury is on to something: Don’t be such wieners, clinically depressed people! Go listen to “Princes of the Universe!” Like Queen says, “Blow your brains out? / Don’t do that! / Yeah!”
I got into YACHT specifically because of this bootleg collection of covers of songs from Ladies and Gentleman, The Fabulous Stains. The film itself is a little made-for-TV-ish in terms of drama, but it gets the music right, accurately portraying punk and reggae at the time while also prefiguring riot grrrl and grunge by almost a decade. YACHT, being a disco/techno act masterminded by Jona Bechtolt, keeps the lyrics but ditches the music for something that’s a lot groovier but no less nihilistic. “Waste of Time” and “Professionals,” the two signature songs from the film, are presented here with delicious indifference from vocalist Claire Evans. “Waste of Time” also gets an extended remix, because why not?
No comments:
Post a Comment