Sure, boys grow up dreaming of game-changing grand slams,
fast vehicles, and guitar-fueled glory—and I was no different. Add to that list
that I also dreamed about obscure, exotic new wave records, thanks to The New
Trouser Press Record Guide: a book spun off
of a magazine (which I’d never heard of and was a bit too young for) that had a
unique take on modern rock: hooky and pop-driven, anglophile, worldly, deconstructionist,
historically minded, and—thank the Ramones for this, perhaps—almost defiantly
fun. I think I bought at least three copies of this book, and each one fell
apart from over-use. Hence, I had to fish about on the web for a photo, as
opposed to shooting my own copy, which has long-since disintegrated.
That said, I’ve ended up committing much of the book to memory, anyway, and all
of its contents are now online at www.trouserpress.com.
The thing, to a kid in Atlanta (somewhat isolated from the leading edge of
alternative indieism in those pre-interweb days), it opened a window to quite a
world of edgy and innovative musics. I became obsessed with certain artists
based on the book’s intriguing entries. I never thought I'd see many of these records, but as I eventually tracked down some of them, a few didn’t quite live up to the sounds I heard in my head for
years based on the guide book's prose and my own imagination…but some surpassed their print descriptions almost instantly.
Below are a handful of disks discovered via The New Trouser Press
Record Guide, with a brief note from me and
an excerpt from their review…do visit their website, as it's a great resource.
I have a weakness for singing drummers, so how could I not
be intrigued by YUKIHIRO TAKAHASHI, of
Japanese synth-pop outfit Yellow Magic Orchestra? For some reason, his solo
albums seemed more interesting to me than the group’s…perhaps it was this
little blurb from the Trouser Press book:
"Takahashi’s albums are far less programmatic and predictable than YMO’s. He’ll
go from a reggae-style version of ‘Stop in the Name of Love’ to a new-romantic
soap opera to tongue-in-cheek pop powered by galloping synths to poignant
soul-searching to a loopy update of Duane Eddy guitar instrumentals.” Full
Entry
Surprisingly, five of his albums (all Japan-only releases) turned up for six
bucks apiece at the Nashville used vinyl Emporium The Great Escape when I was
living in Tennessee.
Personal. Too personal? ARMAND SCHAUBROECK’s
first record was a THREE LP SET that documented his youthful conviction for
safe-cracking and resultant time in prison via songs and chilling, surreal
skits. But this …
“With Ratfucker, Schaubroeck created the masterpiece he’d been
building toward… Cinematic and convincing, obscuring the line between art and
life, Ratfucker uses horns and a background
chorus to complement the characters’ singing, talking and growling. In painting
images of villains who wear their sickness like a badge, Schaubroeck delivers a
rough, stunning tour de force.” – Full Entry
A friend of mine went to Rochester over Christmas, where
Schaubroeck co-owns the legendary retail shop The House of Guitars, and came
back with a sealed copy of this gem, which seems nearly impossible to find
outside of a certain radius from the store.
Here was a guy right in my own back yard making riveting, artful, eccentric,
exceedingly intelligent modern pop. This album was in a lot of bins in Atlanta,
as he was local genius and the market may well have been flooded, locally. It’s
become a cherished new wave artifact, with good reason:
“… a striking modern-music pop album by this onetime member of Atlanta’s great
pioneering independent band, the Fans. In reality a solo album, with lots of
synths and guitars, Dunn mixes technical flash with semi-demented musical
ideas, camouflaging nutty lyrics in engaging melodies…” – Full Entry
Years after I bought this copy at an Atlanta swap meet (for two bucks), I
tracked down KEVIN DUNN (still making brilliant music) and released it on my Casa
Nueva imprint as part of an anthology of his groundbreaking work from the late
’70s and early ’80s. Read the Phoenix review of the anthology here.
I already knew and loved Pere Ubu, so I had to hear this: a concert featuring
Ubu front-force DAVID THOMAS backed by just drums and bassoon:
“Winter Comes Home, which gives front
cover billing to ex-Henry Cows Chris Cutler and Lindsay Cooper, mixes
intellectual stand-up comedy with winning performances, all recorded live in
Munich in 1982. Cooper’s bassoon perfectly suits Thomas’ tastefully strident
vocal excursions.” – Full Entry
Found this in Atlanta, at the great Wax’n’Facts in Little Five Points. Still
sealed. I found a lot of great Trouser Press-inspired purchases here, including the first Katrina
and the Waves album and Billy Bremner’s legendary Bash LP.
Footnote: David Thomas insists that this album does not
exist, saying in the notes of an anthology of his solo work: “If it HAD
existed I’d explain the reason to disappear it as follows: that version of the
Pedestrians was more of a theatrical experience than a musical one and the
intention was always that the release be a limited edition; a limited edition
means that it’s limited. But the album never existed so there’s no reason to
explain ANYTHING.”
A tossed off sentence in the Trouser Press book that borrowed into my brain:
“…on ‘Judgment in a Babylon,’ a startling Jamaican 12-inch, Perry accuses
Island Records boss Chris Blackwell of being a vampire who killed Bob Marley.
Although libelous and crazy, it must be heard.” – Full Entry
After seeking this one out for years, it was actually
repressed by Sanctuary and given a wide release…and worth the wait!
Brad
San Martin is a multi-instrumentalist
and songwriter in the Boston-based indie-pop trio One Happy Island, who
will be performing a free brunchtime set at the Burren in Davis Square on Saturday, January 29th. His recently-minted VinylSighting blog is a welcome addition to On The
Download,
despite the obvious shortcomings of not being able to download a vinyl
record.
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