THE UNION The Union 1994

 

Discogs

 

	Punk band from Atlanta, Georgia on Grass Records.

Tracklist

1		Tabloid
2		L.D.
3		Green Eggs
4		Kid Wilson
5		Buzz Aldrin
6		Mike Zick
7		Friends
8		Smthg. Abt. Jesus
9		Instaman
10		You. Whatever

 

MACHINE GUN FELLATIO Love Comes To An End EP 1997

 

Discogs

Alternative rock band from Sydney, Australia. Formed in 1997, disbanded in 2005. They were well known for their provocative on-stage antics, which often involved both male and female nudity, light bondage gear and implied sexual intercourse with their instruments, their humorous lyrics, as well as the musical merit of their songs. Their outrage-provoking name (coined by an early associate of the band who devised the term from a philosophy exercise) gives some idea of the attitude that pervades the band's work.

Tracklist

1		Blacklamb	4:58
2		Isaac Or Fuzz	2:26
3		Sick With The Taste (Of Truckers Come)	3:02
4		Yankeez	1:58
5		Coon Hunt	3:20
6.1		(silence)	2:00
6.2		Untitled	1:13

 

CONTEMPT Still Fighting On 1994

 

Discogs

 

Punk band from Wolverhampton formed in 1984, featuring former members of Vendetta (77), 7th Plague (2) and Pulex Irritans. 

 

Tracklist

1		Contempts View Of Government
2		Propaganda
3		Surrender Means Defeat
4		Canvassing
5		I Hate Tories
6		Self Abuser
7		51st State
8		Backstab
9		Don't Go
10		12 Years On
11		Selfish Society
12		6 Seconds
13		A C A B
14		See Me Bleed
15		Lie
16		Night Sky
17		Frank Sinatra
18		Duggie

 

BLACKSPOT Check Out The Helmet 7 inch 1992

 
Discogs

 

Orange County (California, USA) based hardcore band, active from early to late 90s and briefly reunited in 2009. 

 

Tracklist

A1		A Reverence For Life
A2		Don't Tell Me
B1		Downtown Rut

 

BARCODE / EX-IGNOTA Barcode / Ex-Ignota 7 inch 1996

 

Discogs

 

Barcode were a US hardcore/punk band hailing from Ithaca, NY and active from summer 1994 to summer 1995.   

Ex-Ignota were an American emo/post-hardcore band from Goleta, California.

Tracklist

A1	Barcode (9)–	Hornet
A2	Barcode (9)–	Barney Chemistry
A3	Barcode (9)–	Calvin Koolaid
B	Ex-Ignota–	Overfed

 

3/12/93 7 inch Various Artists 1993

Discogs

 

7 inch compilation of punk on Ebullition Records - Blogatrix 

Tracklist

A1	John Henry West–	Avoiding
A2	Sinker (2)–	Slash And Burn
B1	Not For The Lack Of Trying–	Goodbye
B2	Manumission (2)–	Hawthorne Effect

 

SAMIAM / GARLIC FROG DIET Ping-Pong Gods EP 1996

 
Discogs

 

Samiam are an American punk rock / emocore / alternative rock band. Founded in 1988 in Berkeley, California, United States.
They are considered as one of the initial bands of melodic hardcore aka emocore. 

Garlic Frog Diet were a French melodic punk rock band from Lyon, active between 1991 and 2000. 

 

Tracklist

1	Garlic Frog Diet–	Poverty
2	Garlic Frog Diet–	In All Innocence
3	Samiam–	Ain't No Size That Small (live Brave New Radio)
4	Samiam–	Stepson (live Brave New Radio)

 

GREENHOUSE (UK) Denser 1991

 

Discogs

 

	English indie rock band from Leeds

 
Tracklist

1		Is That All?	3:31
2		Syd Pick	0:45
3		History	2:58
4		Tintinnabulate	0:38
5		Innocent	3:33
6		Flapperjack	0:36
7		Rules	5:26
8		Crossroads	0:32
9		Ban The Car	3:00
10		Sixes	1:50
11		Love Me When I'm Dead	5:10
12		Anteclimax	1:03
13		Overgrown	3:16
14		Cloud Busking	1:09
15		Theft	3:56
16		Birthday	0:43
17		Her Too	2:44
18		Great Fall	0:35
19		New World Order	4:14
20		Bell Jar	1:15
21		Part Of The Times	2:25
22		Enter	3:38
23		Satellite Girl	5:20
24		Three Go Mad	5:01
25		Gas Mask	7:02

 

FANTASY BAND (A SHRIMPER COMPILATION) 7 inch Various Artists 1994

 

Discogs

 

Indie rock compilation on Shrimper record label - Blogatrix 

 

Tracklist

A1	The Ah Club–	Cool Stone On A Hot Street
A2	Will Simmons–	I Think It Would Be Incredible
A3	Iacocca*–	I Asked The Man
A4	Primordial Undermind–	Solvent
A5	Chicken Damage–	Insignificant Other
A6	God Is My Co-Pilot–	Lead With Your Chin
B1	Massengil–	Estelle
B2	Furniture Huschle–	Pro-Billy
B3	Party Of One–	Keeper
B4	Jack Knife*–	Won't Pump Gas
B5	The Extra Glenns–	I Hear The Planets

 

OPTIGANALLY YOURS Spotlight On Optiganally Yours 1997

 
Discogs

 

Optiganally Yours Biography by Heather Phares

Optiganally Yours began as a fascination with the Optigan, a keyboard manufactured in the early and mid-'70s by Mattel, and grew into a long-lasting showcase for Pea Hix and Rob Crow's whimsical creativity. The duo takes the Optigan's murky, faraway sound -- which comes from the lo-fi loops encoded on the celluloid discs it plays -- in directions that range from heartfelt to ironic and from nostalgic to experimental; they're equally comfortable paying homage to Philip Glass and the Shaggs. With every release, the duo broadened the project's scope: 1997's Spotlight On... fell somewhere between the early-'90s lounge revival, the sample-heavy productions that dominated the end of that decade, and the hooky indie pop of Crow's former band, Heavy Vegetable. Later, 2000's Optiganally Yours Presents: Exclusively Talentmaker! featured Optigan spinoffs and 2018's O.Y. in Hi-Fi sampled the '70s-era studio recordings used to make the instrument's discs. On these albums, as well as their prolific remixes and contributions to compilations, Optiganally Yours' sense of wonder and mischief is even more distinctive than their instrumentation.

Optiganally Yours began in San Diego, California, when Hix, a UCLA grad with a degree in music and a member of Tit Wrench, found his first Optigan at the Salvation Army in 1995 and wanted to start a band using the instrument as its focus. His housemate, Rob Crow (ex-Heavy Vegetable and also a member of Thingy, Pinback, and Physics), volunteered to sing. After spending some time playing cover songs, the duo began writing original songs and sent a demo tape to Cargo Records, who signed the band and released Spotlight On... in 1997. The album's blend of hooky songwriting, lo-fi production, and strangely lush arrangements won critical acclaim from NME, CMJ, Melody Maker, and Cool & Strange Music Mag, among other publications.

Hix and Crow then contributed tracks to a number of compilations, including the OMD tribute Orchestral Interpretations in the Dark, a benefit album for East Timor, and March Records' Reproductions: Songs of the Human League before releasing their second full-length, Optiganally Yours Presents: Exclusively Talentmaker!, in June 2000 on Absolutely Kosher Records. On this album the duo played the Vako Orchestron and the Chilton Talentmaker, which were slightly varied descendants of the original Optigan. Following the album's release, Optiganally Yours appeared on The Powerpuff Girls: Heroes & Villains, the soundtrack to Cartoon Network's popular series The Powerpuff Girls, and reworked Kahimi Karie's "Pygmalism" for her remix album SPIN! In 2001, Hix and Crow contributed a version of "You're Something Special to Me" to Better than the Beatles: A Tribute to the Shaggs, and released De-Composed, a remix EP featuring Lesser and the Moog Cookbook's Brian Kehew.

Around this time, the duo began working on Optiganally Yours' third album. Hix managed to find the original studio master tapes used to make the Optigan's discs (they'd been stashed in a SoCal garage for years). With hours of recordings that never made it onto the discs -- and all of it in high fidelity -- it was a treasure trove of material for Crow and Hix. However, their other commitments delayed their work on the album: Hix worked as a composer and sound designer in San Diego's theater scene and continued to promote and preserve the Optigan, while Crow worked steadily with Pinback, Goblin Cock, and his numerous other projects.

After lots of tinkering -- which included higher-quality digital transfers of the tapes -- Optiganally Yours debuted some of the songs intended for their third album at their 2010 concert dates. In 2013, Crow and Hix offered a preview of their cleaner sound with a version of "And the Dish Ran Away with the Spoon" that appeared on Raymond Scott Songbook, a Japanese tribute to the great composer and inventor. The following year, Optiganally Yours appeared on Running Up That Hill: Kate Bush Covers for Reproductive Rights. Eighteen years after Hix and Crow started work on it, Optiganally Yours' third album, O.Y. in Hi-Fi, finally saw the light of day in 2018 as part of Crow's residency with Joyful Noise Recordings, which also included releases by Thingy, Goblin Cock, Physics, Anal Trump, and Pinback.

 

Tracklist

1		Down
2		Mr. Wilson
3		Compressor/Expander
4		Remo
5		Nighters
6		Wichita Lineman
7		You're In My Heart
8		Hugs
9		Patio
10		Dr. Smooth
11		Stop Touching Me
12		Sleepytown Train
13		Johnny Largo On The Snowball Special
14		Beebo
15		Untitled

 

NME PRESENTS RADIO 1 SOUND CITY OXFORD '97 cassette Various Artists 1997

 

Discogs

 

New Music Express compilation cassette from the UK featuring trip hop and indie rock - Blogatrix 

  

Tracklist

A1	Embrace–	Fireworks (Live)	3:54
A2	Sleeper (2)–	She's A Good Girl	3:41
A3	Travis–	Funny Thing	4:56
A4	Broadcast–	Misc	1:23
A5	Gene–	New Amusements	6:22
A6	Hurricane #1–	Let Go Of The Dream	2:24
B1	Bentley Rhythm Ace–	Midlander (There Can Only Be One)	6:08
B2	DJ Shadow–	Organ Donor (Extended Overhaul)	4:05
B3	Lo-Fidelity Allstars–	Puppy Phat Number One	5:38
B4	Spiritualized–	Cool Waves	4:40
B5	Ultrasound (5)–	Floodlit World	3:54

 

LOVE-CARS I'm Friends With All Stars... 1999

 

Discogs

 

The Minneapolis-based Love-Cars write lyrically enriched emo-style pop/rock songs as a group rather than as individuals. Formed in 1997, the band consists of frontman James Diers, guitarist Matthew Foust, bassist Alex Gaddis, and drummer David King. Of the four, Diers, a rock writer/editor, tends to get the most attention, mostly for his gripping vocals. The indie rock quartet debuted in 1998 with Chump Lessions, followed by I'm Friends With All Stars in 2000. No Alternative released both albums, but Love-Cars decided to self-release their 2002 album, Thank You for Telling Me What I Already Know. 

Love-Cars Biography by Jason Birchmeier

The Minneapolis-based Love-Cars write lyrically enriched emo-style pop/rock songs as a group rather than as individuals. Formed in 1997, the band consists of frontman James Diers, guitarist Matthew Foust, bassist Alex Gaddis, and drummer David King. Of the four, Diers, a rock writer/editor, tends to get the most attention, mostly for his gripping vocals. The indie rock quartet debuted in 1998 with Chump Lessions, followed by I'm Friends With All Stars in 2000. No Alternative released both albums, but Love-Cars decided to self-release their 2002 album, Thank You for Telling Me What I Already Know.

Tracklist

1		24	5:49
2		Ultimate Goodbye	2:33
3		The Sentimental Worm I've Turned Into	5:07
4		Stammer	5:06
5		Call Me Sometime, Best Friends Forever	4:50
6		Lullaby For Jerks	6:24
7		Man Of The Month	4:26
8		Now We're Even	7:38
9		Lovesick Sigh	4:30
10		Hi-8	9:24

 

MY LIFE IN RAIN What People Say 1994

 

Discogs

 

Bio

My Life in Rain formed in the Fall of 1991 with absolutely no expectations. While longtime fans of bands such as Husker Du and the Replacements, the likes of Jawbox and Archers of Loaf became more prevalent as musical influences. Summer of 1993 was the first opportunity for the band to put their music on vinyl, recording the "This is Your Ballistic Helmet" seven inch at WGNS studios with Geoff Turner spinning the knobs. The seven inch, distributed by Cargo, Revolver, and Dischord Direct, garnered positive reviews and led to shows with bands such as the Dambuilders and Chisel. This exposure helped My Life in Rain catch the eye of Grass Records. Their subsequent union has produced the December 1994 release "What People Say."

"What People Say," recorded in four days despite equipment malfunctions and accidental lock outs (three), displayed a My Life in Rain sonically similar to such bands as Jawbreaker and Superchunk. "What People Say" (titled after a segment of a fortune on the back of Pat's guitar which reads "the greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do") gave the band the first real opportunity to successfully refine their intense live performance. Geoff Turner returned to help produce and engineer "What People Say," giving the album surging, noisy guitars and driving rhythms.

After the release of "What People Say," MLIR toured the East coast, appeared on college and alternative radio (both live and on record), and returned to the recording studio on three separate occasions. Highlights of the tour included dates with Archers of Loaf in Hartford, Radial Spangle and labelmates Old Man in Washington, and Andy and Matt's duffel bags being stolen in New York City (go figure). Between tour dates, the band recorded "Pictures of You" (again with Geoff) for the album entitled "Give Me the Cure," a compilation of Cure songs performed by sixteen Washington, D.C. artists. It was an opportunity not only to be associated with such local stalwarts as Shudder to Think, Jawbox, and Edsel, but also a chance to make a small contribution to help end the AIDS epidemic (all profits went to the Whitman Walker clinic). During this time they also had the opportunity to record two of their own songs with Don Zientara at Inner Ear studio, which yielded the February 1996 release of the "Carousel" seven inch for Thought Balloon records. A second session at Inner Ear, in late 1995, produced MLIR's upcoming second album, "Slowburn."

Tracklist

1		Close To Shut	2:18
2		Codify	2:49
3		Unsaid	3:04
4		Venus Cracked	2:58
5		Better	3:40
6		Down On You	2:48
7		Did	3:00
8		Motion Sick	3:26
9		Stupid Game	3:33
10		Ed	3:01
11		Courage Is	3:17
12		Long Time	3:56

 

MARY'S DANISH Experience (Live + Foxey Lady) 1990

 

Discogs

 

Alternative rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in the late 1980s and released a series of albums until 1992. 

Tracklist

1		Tracy In The Bathroom Killing Thrills	2:28
2		Blue Stockings	2:31
3		Don't Crash The Car Tonight	3:18
4		Hey There Man	2:58
5		It'll Probaby Make Me Cry	3:22
6		Shanty Pig	3:29
7		Foxey Lady	3:48