Friday, February 27, 2004
The Viability of Independent Record Stores
Do you have a good independent record store in your town? I live in Greensboro, North Carolina, and we have a great store in gate.city.noise. The owner, Andrew, has good taste in the records he stocks (and important to me, actually stocks a fair number of new LPs). He is very knowledgeable, and the store regularly hosts some of the best shows in North Carolina (ida, dr. eugene chadbourne, atom and his package, crooked fingers, the shins, q and not u, xbxrx, the mountain goats, ted leo and the pharmacists, the album leaf, poor rich ones, superchunk, neko case, american analog set, engine down, the mercury program, k., denali, rye coalition, six parts seven, my morning jacket, 764-hero, the capitol city dusters, elf power, jason loewenstein, archer prewitt, lanterna, the velvet teen, hot hot heat, the aislers set, the quails, hella, smog, the thermals and many more). That is an impressive list, and shows are always free (although a donation for traveling bands is requested and a moral imperative). Local bands also get to open for these bands, and there are many shows with just local bands. The store and Andrew are central elements of Greensboro's underground scene. gate.city.noise displays local visual art and also sells skateboards (although I am not qualified to comment on the skateboard side of the business).
The problem is that gate.city.noise is in trouble and may be shutting down. Andrew sent out this message the other day:
-----------
What does gate.city.noise mean to you?
And what I mean by that question is what does it represent to you and how does it make your day better. This isn't a "check me out" by any means. Believe me when I say I don't run this record store to be cool or to be some big man around town, and I'm not trying to get some recognition for what I do here. I don't need that. I'm doing this because I love music to death. It consumes me and nurtures me. I do this because music commands it of me, and I whole heartedly accept. And I know a lot of you out there feel just as passionate about music as well.
I have tried many subtle times in the past to express my worries for the record industry and the future of this store, but today I will not sugar coat it and I will tell everyone the facts as they are. Some of this may come as a shock to you and many others simply won't care, which is fine. So the situation that the store is in now is the worst that it has ever been in it's 3 years and 11 months of business. People just aren't coming out to buy cd's and skateboards. I could speculate for hours on why, but the facts still remain. The past few months gate.city.noise has had remarkably low sales which cause it to be in debt something fierce. You see, in this unique business of release dates and large amounts of expensive inventory, one has to keep abreast of the new and desirable titles that you think everybody wants. Well, after weeks and weeks of buying cd's and not selling them, the lack of funds begin to become apparent in the form of flubber checks and denied shipments. And none of this new. This has been going on the whole time here, it's just that we were able to pull through unscathed. Not this time I'm afraid.
Last year, I (Andrew k Dudek), the sole owner and employee of gate.city.noise, made a grand total of $6400.00 . That's right, I made absolutely nothing. That barely covers the mortgage on my house. I'm not lying about this. So how do I survive then? Simple, I sacrifice everything I have and do for the better of the store as I should, it's mine. But I purposely did not take paychecks because it was more important to have this store stocked with new titles then it was for Andrew to have health or car insurance or even take his girlfriend out to dinner .
The debt is in the thousands which isn't so astonishing if you think about it. One shipment from one distributor could cost $2000 dollars and that doesn't include restocking title. And all businesses owe, that's no secret. But the debt I'm talking about is such that the lack of business and interest, leave me to worry and stress about not finding a way out. I am seriously considering selling the store and finding some new line of work that brings in an honest paycheck. I have seriously considered not selling skateboards, cutting my cd stock in half and focusing on making this more of a venue that brings in slightly larger bands. I have considered many many different things all at once, and I am tired.
So the next few weeks I am probably not going to have the newest albums you're looking for, because i simply do not have the money to make any orders. Aside from ebaying some posters and old skateboards, I can only hope that sales will pick up and carry the store to a safer place.
My reasons for writing this aren't to lay guilt on people or to look for hand outs. I'm not looking for anything like that. I'm just trying to tell everyone like it is. I do this store because I too want to live in a town that at least HAS a cool record store. Is Greensboro capable of sustaining such a store? Do people not like what gate.city.noise does? I'm I doing something wrong? Has president Bush's stupid stupid campaign really made this country's economy so bad that even its young financially aided student is too broke to buy cd's? Has the internet and downloading and overall suck bands caused this much damage? These are questions I ask myself daily. I don't have the answers. I know this is a bummer email, but it's better to hear it now instead of seeing taped up windows in two months. If any of the 1000 people on this email list have questions for me or suggestions or criticisms, you are more that welcome to call or email me. Please just ponder what it is I've said and think about the question that have I asked.
-----------
I think that this presents many interesting questions. Some are local questions. What does this say about Greensboro? However, I think that most of these problems are similar to those faced by independent record stores around the country.
I can speak to the state of independent record stores in the cities where I have lived. I have been in Greensboro less than a year and a half. I grew up in Connecticut, went to college in Boston, and law school in Manhattan. I also practiced law in DC for two years. When I was in Boston, it had great record stores, and I assume it still does. It is a fairly large city with a very large student population (although I have heard that even Newbury Comics is struggling with the record side of the business). New York of course has good record stores; New York can support a myriad of underground niches. Washington, DC, on the other hand, does not have a good independent record store (at least as of of 1.5 years ago). It used to. There was Vinyl Ink which was a great store, but it couldn't make rent as a store-front and became an internet business. Then, tragically, George (the owner) died a premature death about two years ago, so the mail order business disappeared as well. Smash in Georgetown has punk records, but it isn't a great place for independent new releases. DCCD in Adams Morgan was a pseudo independent store, but it closed in December. Yesterday and Today, out in Rockville Md., closed its doors two years ago and is today just an internet business. Yesterday and Today is owned by Skip Groff of Limp Records fame. On Limp he put out a bunch of great early DC punk and wave bands but is probably most famous for co-releasing the second Minor Threat 7". Many of the important figures in DC punk and hardcore worked at Yesterday and Today at one point.
My point is that if DC repeatedly can't support an independent record store in today's climate, I am not surprised that a city the size of Greensboro can't. Tom Ivey, a fellow WQFS dj, argues:
---
"I don't have the answers either. I think some of it falls into the decreased sense of community in today's society, where we (in the collective sense) are too busy and too isolated to even know, much less care about our neighbors. And yes, I think it takes a certain amount of social awareness when you're in the big chain stores or the ubiquitous discount department store (you know the one, the evil W world) to think, "do I really want to buy my music here or do I make a community quality of life decision and support my neighborhood indie store that carries the regional and unique titles I'm interested in as well as the major artist releases?" "Do I go to the major venue that's owned by the monopoly that's killing radio and pay a ridiculous service fee in addition to the ticket price or do I support original, live music at my local venues?" "Do I buy the records of the artists I love, or do I burn a copy from someone else?" I realize I'm probably preaching to the choir here. Definitely something to think about though. To steal a slogan from one of my old concert t-shirts, "change begins with the individual"."
---
All repect for Tom, his argument may be part of the problem, but I am not sure it is the main problem. I don't think the problem is with the people of Greensboro and especially not with the people involved in the underground scene. They are the patrons of independent music and support it as best as they can.
I may be out of touch with mainstream music consumption behavior and have an overly indie-centric view of the world. I haven't been to a big box record seller in almost a decade. I either buy new independent releases at a local independent store if I can get them that way, or I get them on the internet, usually straight from the label or band. I can't recall the last time I purchased a major label new release. I also buy out of print vinyl on eBay, but that is just about the only way to get it. I do not download music, either illegally or legally. The Luddite I am, I like to get new releases on vinyl if I can.
My (perhaps uninformed) sense is that a lot of gate.city customers do buy records and do most of their bricks and mortar shopping at gate.city. They may download, but I think they probably buy as many records as they would otherwise even without downloading. The average buyer of independent records has a limited record budget, but I think he spends most of that budget. Downloading may keep some people out of the store altogether, but it is unclear how many of them would be gate.city customers otherwise. I think the same is true of the big box. I am not sure how much of an intersection there is between big box customers and independent customers. I think there are two universes of record shoppers: independents and mainstreamers. The mainstreamers I know wouldn't shop at gate.city and vice-versa. I think that the biggest problem is that except in the largest markets, the universe of independent buyers is not large enough. There are also structural, financial difficulties faced by independent stores and labels. Independent records cost more to make but sell for less on the rack than major label releases. Major labels don't deal fairly with independent stores. The majors charge too much for their releases, so independents can't turn a sufficient profit on major releases. Walmart gets huge volume discounts. A store like gate.city gets charged more than any other retailer. Majors really don't even want to bother with independents who have tiny sales. As Andrew explained above, a record store requires a lot of cash and a large inventory for what, under even the best conditions, is a relatively small turn on investment.
There are so many ways to get music these days, and we can't really blame people for taking advantage of a number of these methods. We will see what happens with downloading, and a lot has been written on the subject. It may swamp the industry. Often times the most convenient way to get records is online. For some of the more obscure titles I buy, gate.city doesn't stock them and can't even get them on special order. I have no sympathy for people who buy at big boxes, but big boxes aren't really a place to get independent releases anyway. In short, I don't think we can blame our community if gate.city goes under. Essentially, the economics of the business are bad and Greensboro probably isn't a big enough market for an independent record store. That sucks. It sucks for me who may not have someplace to pick up new releases (I'll have to go online). It sucks that there will be less shows(although hopefully Ace's Basement can take up a lot of the slack). It sucks that a cohesive element of the community might disappear. It sucks for Andrew who put his heart into the business and could very well lose his shirt. What sucks most, though, is that the fourteen year old kid who discovers independent music through gate.city may never discover the music. She will go through life listening to whatever the corporate taste-makers sell her and will not experience the community of independent music. She will be a different person. On the other hand, her parents will probably be happy she goes down the path more traveled.
Hopefully we can come together as a community, realize what an important asset gate.city.noise is, and give the store the support it deserves.
Use the comments to put in your two cents on the subject. If you have something longer to say(the comments have a letter limit), write me an email, and I will post it to the site.
The problem is that gate.city.noise is in trouble and may be shutting down. Andrew sent out this message the other day:
-----------
What does gate.city.noise mean to you?
And what I mean by that question is what does it represent to you and how does it make your day better. This isn't a "check me out" by any means. Believe me when I say I don't run this record store to be cool or to be some big man around town, and I'm not trying to get some recognition for what I do here. I don't need that. I'm doing this because I love music to death. It consumes me and nurtures me. I do this because music commands it of me, and I whole heartedly accept. And I know a lot of you out there feel just as passionate about music as well.
I have tried many subtle times in the past to express my worries for the record industry and the future of this store, but today I will not sugar coat it and I will tell everyone the facts as they are. Some of this may come as a shock to you and many others simply won't care, which is fine. So the situation that the store is in now is the worst that it has ever been in it's 3 years and 11 months of business. People just aren't coming out to buy cd's and skateboards. I could speculate for hours on why, but the facts still remain. The past few months gate.city.noise has had remarkably low sales which cause it to be in debt something fierce. You see, in this unique business of release dates and large amounts of expensive inventory, one has to keep abreast of the new and desirable titles that you think everybody wants. Well, after weeks and weeks of buying cd's and not selling them, the lack of funds begin to become apparent in the form of flubber checks and denied shipments. And none of this new. This has been going on the whole time here, it's just that we were able to pull through unscathed. Not this time I'm afraid.
Last year, I (Andrew k Dudek), the sole owner and employee of gate.city.noise, made a grand total of $6400.00 . That's right, I made absolutely nothing. That barely covers the mortgage on my house. I'm not lying about this. So how do I survive then? Simple, I sacrifice everything I have and do for the better of the store as I should, it's mine. But I purposely did not take paychecks because it was more important to have this store stocked with new titles then it was for Andrew to have health or car insurance or even take his girlfriend out to dinner .
The debt is in the thousands which isn't so astonishing if you think about it. One shipment from one distributor could cost $2000 dollars and that doesn't include restocking title. And all businesses owe, that's no secret. But the debt I'm talking about is such that the lack of business and interest, leave me to worry and stress about not finding a way out. I am seriously considering selling the store and finding some new line of work that brings in an honest paycheck. I have seriously considered not selling skateboards, cutting my cd stock in half and focusing on making this more of a venue that brings in slightly larger bands. I have considered many many different things all at once, and I am tired.
So the next few weeks I am probably not going to have the newest albums you're looking for, because i simply do not have the money to make any orders. Aside from ebaying some posters and old skateboards, I can only hope that sales will pick up and carry the store to a safer place.
My reasons for writing this aren't to lay guilt on people or to look for hand outs. I'm not looking for anything like that. I'm just trying to tell everyone like it is. I do this store because I too want to live in a town that at least HAS a cool record store. Is Greensboro capable of sustaining such a store? Do people not like what gate.city.noise does? I'm I doing something wrong? Has president Bush's stupid stupid campaign really made this country's economy so bad that even its young financially aided student is too broke to buy cd's? Has the internet and downloading and overall suck bands caused this much damage? These are questions I ask myself daily. I don't have the answers. I know this is a bummer email, but it's better to hear it now instead of seeing taped up windows in two months. If any of the 1000 people on this email list have questions for me or suggestions or criticisms, you are more that welcome to call or email me. Please just ponder what it is I've said and think about the question that have I asked.
-----------
I think that this presents many interesting questions. Some are local questions. What does this say about Greensboro? However, I think that most of these problems are similar to those faced by independent record stores around the country.
I can speak to the state of independent record stores in the cities where I have lived. I have been in Greensboro less than a year and a half. I grew up in Connecticut, went to college in Boston, and law school in Manhattan. I also practiced law in DC for two years. When I was in Boston, it had great record stores, and I assume it still does. It is a fairly large city with a very large student population (although I have heard that even Newbury Comics is struggling with the record side of the business). New York of course has good record stores; New York can support a myriad of underground niches. Washington, DC, on the other hand, does not have a good independent record store (at least as of of 1.5 years ago). It used to. There was Vinyl Ink which was a great store, but it couldn't make rent as a store-front and became an internet business. Then, tragically, George (the owner) died a premature death about two years ago, so the mail order business disappeared as well. Smash in Georgetown has punk records, but it isn't a great place for independent new releases. DCCD in Adams Morgan was a pseudo independent store, but it closed in December. Yesterday and Today, out in Rockville Md., closed its doors two years ago and is today just an internet business. Yesterday and Today is owned by Skip Groff of Limp Records fame. On Limp he put out a bunch of great early DC punk and wave bands but is probably most famous for co-releasing the second Minor Threat 7". Many of the important figures in DC punk and hardcore worked at Yesterday and Today at one point.
My point is that if DC repeatedly can't support an independent record store in today's climate, I am not surprised that a city the size of Greensboro can't. Tom Ivey, a fellow WQFS dj, argues:
---
"I don't have the answers either. I think some of it falls into the decreased sense of community in today's society, where we (in the collective sense) are too busy and too isolated to even know, much less care about our neighbors. And yes, I think it takes a certain amount of social awareness when you're in the big chain stores or the ubiquitous discount department store (you know the one, the evil W world) to think, "do I really want to buy my music here or do I make a community quality of life decision and support my neighborhood indie store that carries the regional and unique titles I'm interested in as well as the major artist releases?" "Do I go to the major venue that's owned by the monopoly that's killing radio and pay a ridiculous service fee in addition to the ticket price or do I support original, live music at my local venues?" "Do I buy the records of the artists I love, or do I burn a copy from someone else?" I realize I'm probably preaching to the choir here. Definitely something to think about though. To steal a slogan from one of my old concert t-shirts, "change begins with the individual"."
---
All repect for Tom, his argument may be part of the problem, but I am not sure it is the main problem. I don't think the problem is with the people of Greensboro and especially not with the people involved in the underground scene. They are the patrons of independent music and support it as best as they can.
I may be out of touch with mainstream music consumption behavior and have an overly indie-centric view of the world. I haven't been to a big box record seller in almost a decade. I either buy new independent releases at a local independent store if I can get them that way, or I get them on the internet, usually straight from the label or band. I can't recall the last time I purchased a major label new release. I also buy out of print vinyl on eBay, but that is just about the only way to get it. I do not download music, either illegally or legally. The Luddite I am, I like to get new releases on vinyl if I can.
My (perhaps uninformed) sense is that a lot of gate.city customers do buy records and do most of their bricks and mortar shopping at gate.city. They may download, but I think they probably buy as many records as they would otherwise even without downloading. The average buyer of independent records has a limited record budget, but I think he spends most of that budget. Downloading may keep some people out of the store altogether, but it is unclear how many of them would be gate.city customers otherwise. I think the same is true of the big box. I am not sure how much of an intersection there is between big box customers and independent customers. I think there are two universes of record shoppers: independents and mainstreamers. The mainstreamers I know wouldn't shop at gate.city and vice-versa. I think that the biggest problem is that except in the largest markets, the universe of independent buyers is not large enough. There are also structural, financial difficulties faced by independent stores and labels. Independent records cost more to make but sell for less on the rack than major label releases. Major labels don't deal fairly with independent stores. The majors charge too much for their releases, so independents can't turn a sufficient profit on major releases. Walmart gets huge volume discounts. A store like gate.city gets charged more than any other retailer. Majors really don't even want to bother with independents who have tiny sales. As Andrew explained above, a record store requires a lot of cash and a large inventory for what, under even the best conditions, is a relatively small turn on investment.
There are so many ways to get music these days, and we can't really blame people for taking advantage of a number of these methods. We will see what happens with downloading, and a lot has been written on the subject. It may swamp the industry. Often times the most convenient way to get records is online. For some of the more obscure titles I buy, gate.city doesn't stock them and can't even get them on special order. I have no sympathy for people who buy at big boxes, but big boxes aren't really a place to get independent releases anyway. In short, I don't think we can blame our community if gate.city goes under. Essentially, the economics of the business are bad and Greensboro probably isn't a big enough market for an independent record store. That sucks. It sucks for me who may not have someplace to pick up new releases (I'll have to go online). It sucks that there will be less shows(although hopefully Ace's Basement can take up a lot of the slack). It sucks that a cohesive element of the community might disappear. It sucks for Andrew who put his heart into the business and could very well lose his shirt. What sucks most, though, is that the fourteen year old kid who discovers independent music through gate.city may never discover the music. She will go through life listening to whatever the corporate taste-makers sell her and will not experience the community of independent music. She will be a different person. On the other hand, her parents will probably be happy she goes down the path more traveled.
Hopefully we can come together as a community, realize what an important asset gate.city.noise is, and give the store the support it deserves.
Use the comments to put in your two cents on the subject. If you have something longer to say(the comments have a letter limit), write me an email, and I will post it to the site.
Thursday, February 26, 2004
Fri., Feb. 20, 2-4 AM
I felt good about this week's show. A high energy, cohesive show, although it is difficult to do that in the middle of the night. Lots of new records, which always helps.
1. Those Intrinsic Intellectuals, "Radio Iceland", Fault Line Records, 1980: Great diy Scottish punk. I have been looking for this record for the longest time. You just can't beat the lyric, "Radio Iceland, (high pitched)Reykjavik, (high pitched)Reykjavik." Hard to beat the band name too.
2. Dead Kennedys, "California Uber Alles", Fast Records, 1979: Second issue of the first 7". Now that presidential primary season is upon us, it is interesting to examine this story about Jerry Brown's would be presidential victory. I am from Connecticut, which I believe is the only state Brown won in 1992. No matter what you think of Brown, I think it is great that he would go from governor of California to presidential candidate to mayor of Oakland.
3. Those Intrinsic Intellectuals, "Do the Executive", Fault Line Records, 1980: B side of this 7".
4. Tubeway Army, "Blue Eyes", Beggar's Banquet Records, 1979.
-------------------
5. Showcase Showdown, "Bob Barker is Innocent" and "Last of the Whigs", Pogostick Records, 1994: Two tunes from this Boston band's third 7". I recently picked up the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th 7"s by these guys. I saw them a great number of times when they were first starting out and would open for lots of shows in Boston, but I never bought the records then for some reason (I guess I didn't have much money and I could listen to the records down at the radio station). You probably don't remember that Millard Fillmore was the last (at least so far) Whig president.
6. Showcase Showdown, "You're the Type of Person" and "Hey Hey Hey", Tario Records, 1994: Self-released 2nd 7" entitled "chickens".
7. Measles Mumps Rubella, "Zusammen Mit Motown", M'Aladay's Records, 2003.
8. Halo of Flies, "Human Fly", Power-Fist Records, 1991: Cramps cover.
--------------------
9. Y Pants, "Favorite Sweater", Periodic Document Records: A retrospective cd of this 2nd or 3rd generation NY no wave band. Features their 1980 ep on 99 Records, a comp track, and their 1982 lp on Neutral Records. This track comes off the 1980 ep. Catchy inventive no-wave with tinny sounding toy instruments.
10. Homosexuals, "Vociferous Slam", ReR and Morphius Archives, 2004(new release): A reissue of the Homosexuals lp (itself a retrospective lp) from 1984 with five additional tracks. Brilliant diy art music. Look for a more comprehensive three cd retrospective to be put out by Chuck Warner around May.
11. The Nurses, "I Will Follow You", Teen-A-Toons Records, 1980: The second 7" from this DC minimalist, art wave band.
12. Radio Birdman, "Burn My Eye": From the 2001 Sub Pop reissue.
13. Buzzcocks, "A Different Kind of Tension", IRS Records, 1980.
-------------------
14. Erase Errata, "Spanish Harvester", Gringo Records: From the Gringo Records Singles Club split 7" with Red Monkey.
15. People in Stores, "Metaphor", Propeller Product Records, 1981.
16. Red Monkey, "alter ed.", Gringo Records: From the above mentioned split 7" with Erase Erratta.
17. Antelope, "Crowns", Dischord Records, 2004 (new release): 2 song cd.
18. Finks, "Sleepwalk", self release, 2004 (new release): New record by this lofi Winston Salem band.
19. Ampersands, "Postcards", Harriet Records, 1992.
--------------------
20. Game Theory, "Here It Is Tomorrow", Rational Records, 1986.
21. Olivia Tremor Control, "Jumping Fences", Flydaddy Records, 2004 (new release): Reissue of their first full length.
22. Wingtip Sloat, "Read About Seymour" and Rake, "Vertical Slum", vhf records, 1992: A one-sided 7" with each of these bands covering a Swell Maps tune.
23. Tall Dwarfs, "Paul's Place", Flying Nun Records, 1982.
24. Mountain Goats, "Palmcorder Yajna", 4AD Records, 2004 (new release).
25. Y Pants, "Beat It Down", Periodic Document Records: See listing 9 above. This tune is from the 1982 lp.
-------------------
26. Error, "Homicide", Epitaph Records, 2004 (new release).
27. Rites of Spring, "Deeper than Inside", Dischord Records, 1985.
29. Numbers, "Dumb With Pain", Tigerbeat6 Records, 2004(new release): I have loved the Numbers, but their records are starting to sound a bit too much like each other.
30. Radwaste, "Off Course", Happy Squid Records: Features two former members of the Urinals and 100 Flowers.
31. Slant 6, "Love Shock", Dischord Records, 1994.
32. All Astronauts, "Glassening", LookaliveRecs, 2004 (new release): Winston Salem band.
-------------------
33. Ebba Gron, "Mona Tumba Slim Club", Mistlur Records, 1978: Swedish punk.
34. Crimson Spectre, "The Bourgeois Decadence of Depression", Magic Bullet Records, 2004 (new release): Greensboro band.
35. Mortal Micronotz, "Old Lady Sloan", Fresh Sounds Records, 1982.
36. Angry Red Planet, "Mediocrity", Angry Red Records, 1987.
37. Sister Ray, "Black", Resonance Records, 1987: Promo 7" that came with "Random Violence lp.
38. Mono Men, "Burning Bush", Estrus Records 1989.
39. Groodies, "Count Your Dreams", RedLine Distribution, 2004 (new release).
-------------------
40. Wreckless Eric, "Take the Cash", Stiff Records, 1978.
41. Camera Obscura, "Let Me Go Home", Merge Records, 2004 (new release).
1. Those Intrinsic Intellectuals, "Radio Iceland", Fault Line Records, 1980: Great diy Scottish punk. I have been looking for this record for the longest time. You just can't beat the lyric, "Radio Iceland, (high pitched)Reykjavik, (high pitched)Reykjavik." Hard to beat the band name too.
2. Dead Kennedys, "California Uber Alles", Fast Records, 1979: Second issue of the first 7". Now that presidential primary season is upon us, it is interesting to examine this story about Jerry Brown's would be presidential victory. I am from Connecticut, which I believe is the only state Brown won in 1992. No matter what you think of Brown, I think it is great that he would go from governor of California to presidential candidate to mayor of Oakland.
3. Those Intrinsic Intellectuals, "Do the Executive", Fault Line Records, 1980: B side of this 7".
4. Tubeway Army, "Blue Eyes", Beggar's Banquet Records, 1979.
-------------------
5. Showcase Showdown, "Bob Barker is Innocent" and "Last of the Whigs", Pogostick Records, 1994: Two tunes from this Boston band's third 7". I recently picked up the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th 7"s by these guys. I saw them a great number of times when they were first starting out and would open for lots of shows in Boston, but I never bought the records then for some reason (I guess I didn't have much money and I could listen to the records down at the radio station). You probably don't remember that Millard Fillmore was the last (at least so far) Whig president.
6. Showcase Showdown, "You're the Type of Person" and "Hey Hey Hey", Tario Records, 1994: Self-released 2nd 7" entitled "chickens".
7. Measles Mumps Rubella, "Zusammen Mit Motown", M'Aladay's Records, 2003.
8. Halo of Flies, "Human Fly", Power-Fist Records, 1991: Cramps cover.
--------------------
9. Y Pants, "Favorite Sweater", Periodic Document Records: A retrospective cd of this 2nd or 3rd generation NY no wave band. Features their 1980 ep on 99 Records, a comp track, and their 1982 lp on Neutral Records. This track comes off the 1980 ep. Catchy inventive no-wave with tinny sounding toy instruments.
10. Homosexuals, "Vociferous Slam", ReR and Morphius Archives, 2004(new release): A reissue of the Homosexuals lp (itself a retrospective lp) from 1984 with five additional tracks. Brilliant diy art music. Look for a more comprehensive three cd retrospective to be put out by Chuck Warner around May.
11. The Nurses, "I Will Follow You", Teen-A-Toons Records, 1980: The second 7" from this DC minimalist, art wave band.
12. Radio Birdman, "Burn My Eye": From the 2001 Sub Pop reissue.
13. Buzzcocks, "A Different Kind of Tension", IRS Records, 1980.
-------------------
14. Erase Errata, "Spanish Harvester", Gringo Records: From the Gringo Records Singles Club split 7" with Red Monkey.
15. People in Stores, "Metaphor", Propeller Product Records, 1981.
16. Red Monkey, "alter ed.", Gringo Records: From the above mentioned split 7" with Erase Erratta.
17. Antelope, "Crowns", Dischord Records, 2004 (new release): 2 song cd.
18. Finks, "Sleepwalk", self release, 2004 (new release): New record by this lofi Winston Salem band.
19. Ampersands, "Postcards", Harriet Records, 1992.
--------------------
20. Game Theory, "Here It Is Tomorrow", Rational Records, 1986.
21. Olivia Tremor Control, "Jumping Fences", Flydaddy Records, 2004 (new release): Reissue of their first full length.
22. Wingtip Sloat, "Read About Seymour" and Rake, "Vertical Slum", vhf records, 1992: A one-sided 7" with each of these bands covering a Swell Maps tune.
23. Tall Dwarfs, "Paul's Place", Flying Nun Records, 1982.
24. Mountain Goats, "Palmcorder Yajna", 4AD Records, 2004 (new release).
25. Y Pants, "Beat It Down", Periodic Document Records: See listing 9 above. This tune is from the 1982 lp.
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26. Error, "Homicide", Epitaph Records, 2004 (new release).
27. Rites of Spring, "Deeper than Inside", Dischord Records, 1985.
29. Numbers, "Dumb With Pain", Tigerbeat6 Records, 2004(new release): I have loved the Numbers, but their records are starting to sound a bit too much like each other.
30. Radwaste, "Off Course", Happy Squid Records: Features two former members of the Urinals and 100 Flowers.
31. Slant 6, "Love Shock", Dischord Records, 1994.
32. All Astronauts, "Glassening", LookaliveRecs, 2004 (new release): Winston Salem band.
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33. Ebba Gron, "Mona Tumba Slim Club", Mistlur Records, 1978: Swedish punk.
34. Crimson Spectre, "The Bourgeois Decadence of Depression", Magic Bullet Records, 2004 (new release): Greensboro band.
35. Mortal Micronotz, "Old Lady Sloan", Fresh Sounds Records, 1982.
36. Angry Red Planet, "Mediocrity", Angry Red Records, 1987.
37. Sister Ray, "Black", Resonance Records, 1987: Promo 7" that came with "Random Violence lp.
38. Mono Men, "Burning Bush", Estrus Records 1989.
39. Groodies, "Count Your Dreams", RedLine Distribution, 2004 (new release).
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40. Wreckless Eric, "Take the Cash", Stiff Records, 1978.
41. Camera Obscura, "Let Me Go Home", Merge Records, 2004 (new release).
Blogger Ads
For the longest time the blogger ads at the top of this page that come with the free account were music related. Either about records or punk. Now they seem to be hospital ads (which comes from the name of my radio show). Lets see if I can do something about that. I assume they do some sort of search of the blog content to find appropriate ads. Punk, vinyl record, lp. Punk, vinyl record, lp. Punk, vinyl record, lp. Punk, vinyl record, lp. Punk, vinyl record, lp. Punk, vinyl record, lp. Punk, vinyl record, lp. Punk, vinyl record, lp. Punk, vinyl record, lp. Punk, vinyl record, lp. Punk, vinyl record, lp. Punk, vinyl record, lp. Punk, vinyl record, lp. Punk, vinyl record, lp. Punk, vinyl record, lp. Punk, vinyl record, lp. Punk, vinyl record, lp. Punk, vinyl record, lp. Punk, vinyl record, lp. Punk, vinyl record, lp. Punk, vinyl record, lp.
That might do it.
That might do it.
Saturday, February 14, 2004
Fri., Feb. 13, 2-4 AM
I got in my car to do my show tonight, and WQFS was off the air. It didn't make sense to go in and start up the transmitter just to turn in it off two hours later. I figured everyone had tuned out since the signal was down. I will try to figure out what went wrong here. I'm not too happy about it because I had spent time pulling a show and planned my Fri. evening around the show. I apologize for the absence of the Record Hospital this week, but I should be back next Friday night. In the meantime, check out these shows this week:
Mon., February 16- The Mountain Goats, The Rosebuds, Cub Country @ Go Room 4 (ch)
Tues., February 17- Ben Davis and Cinemechanica @ the UNCG Faculty Center on College Avenue (WUAG show)
Sat., February 21, 2004- Kudzu Wish, Tiger Bear Wolf, Fire Parade, Skyline Awake @ Ace’s Basement
Sat., February 21, 2004- Mates of State, Dal Hawnay Troop, The Like Young @ Cat’s Cradle (ch)
-Michael Petitpas
Mon., February 16- The Mountain Goats, The Rosebuds, Cub Country @ Go Room 4 (ch)
Tues., February 17- Ben Davis and Cinemechanica @ the UNCG Faculty Center on College Avenue (WUAG show)
Sat., February 21, 2004- Kudzu Wish, Tiger Bear Wolf, Fire Parade, Skyline Awake @ Ace’s Basement
Sat., February 21, 2004- Mates of State, Dal Hawnay Troop, The Like Young @ Cat’s Cradle (ch)
-Michael Petitpas
Tuesday, February 03, 2004
New WQFS Schedule
The new schedule for the spring semester has been set, and the Record Hospital will be back in its old slot on Friday night / Saturday morning from 2-4 AM. Email your requests. - Michael Petitpas
