Sorry for no post on Friday, here's a bonus to make up for it! Went to Used Kids Records (as usual) today and spent too much money (also as usual). Sadly there were no good cassettes that I saw, but the selection of colored 45s was pretty nice.
Dag Nasty – Can I Say (LP, $12)
What better way to start my trip? This was in the first section I checked out (the "new arrivals" bin, naturally) and I was excited to get it. I like just about everything that came out of the Dischord D.C. scene in the '80s, and this is up there with the best of them. It's basically an extension of the Minor Threat sound, so for people who are craving more of that (like me) it's a must-listen.
The album itself is pretty damn good condition (at least for being from 1986)—both the disc and the insert look mint, while the sleeve is just a tiny bit dinged. (There was a re-press of the LP in 2009 but I don't think that's what I have; I got the purple cover and the reissue is green. Or so I understand.)
The Residents – The Third Reich 'n Roll (LP, $15)
I'll be honest, I don't particularly care for this album at all. But at the same time I could't resist picking it up—seriously, how often are you going to see something like this ready and waiting at the store? And how often are you going to buy something that makes the cashier suspect you're a Nazi?
That aside, this wasn't really the greatest deal and I might never actually play this since it's old and I don't really like it that much—it's an interesting concept, to be sure, covering old radio hits with their particular brand of eclecticism and bizarre arrangements, but not as well-executed here as their other stuff. Maybe. I don't listen to them as much as maybe I ought to in order to make this kind of assessment.
Bauhaus – Gotham (2×CD, $7)
Bauhaus is one of those bands I know I like but never listen to for whatever reason. Time to change that. This caught my eye, being a double-thick digipak set, so I grabbed it without even knowing what it was. It's a double live album, and normally I'm not a fan of live albums as I prefer studio material, but it is actually quite good. I don't know most of the songs, that's probably why it sounds fresh to me.
Aesop Rock – Boombox (12", $3)
Used Kids' hip hop section is always so disappointing, about 50 records total and half of them are copies of "Rapper's Delight" and the other half is utter crap. Today I finally found a couple artists I like, but I decided to go with the Aesop Rock single over the Roots single. It's from Labor Days, one of his best, and it's even got a track on there I haven't even heard of before.
Unfortunately the A-side is pretty dirty and beat up, with lots of crackles and the occasional skipping where there's gunk I couldn't clean off. I guess it's gotten its fair share of love... it is over twelve years old at this point, I guess; maybe some DJ used to spin it a lot. I dunno. On the other hand, the B-side is pretty clean and sounds much better (fortunately, that's where the better tracks are). Still a good find in my mind.
Silver Daggers – Silver Daggers (7", $2.50)
I don't know a single thing about this band. I just found this EP in the 45 bins and it caught my eye due to the marbled blue vinyl and the elaborate packaging. It's not your standard 45 sleeve: it's got a full-size booklet stapled in and a flap sewn down to hold the white record sleeve, all wrapped in a thick sort of particle cardstock (I don't know what it's called). The booklet is your typical artsy DIY black-and-white photo collages / sketches; nothing fancy but neat to have.
The music matches well: it's basically very amelodic noise rock with a slight punk edge. The kind of thing hipster punks would like. (Yeah, that's a bad way of putting it, but you know what I mean, right?)
Bluekid / Duster – The Lunar Chronicles vol. 2 (7", $2.50)
My justification for buying this split was that it was two Ohio bands, and it was on marbled orange vinyl. Fortunately I got lucky and the music itself is actually pretty good—sort of a garage rock/punk sound. Bluekid is a bit slow and generic; Duster is a lot more entertaining and has a bit more edge and soul to them. They're pretty darn good.
Earth / KK Null – Dexamyl / Andromeda (CD, $3)
Not much to say about this one except that I find it totally weird to see Earth—during their stoner rock stage—doing a split with KK Null, the harsh noise artist. Anyway I'd heard this before but didn't remember if I liked it or not, and for only $3 why not? Another little nondescript glossy sleeve from Important Records, and I can usually trust them to put out good stuff, so yeah.
Ghosting / Robedoor – Rivermouth / Roving Shaman (7", $3)
I have always been pretty ambivalent to Robedoor's stuff but I got this anyway—mostly for the white vinyl, of course. Both sides are pretty average noisy drone kind of stuff, nothing to write home about (actually exactly what I expected from Robedoor, to be honest). Ghosting's track was a bit better; maybe they'd be worth checking out sometime.
Salem – Asia / Dirt (7", $3)
Yep, it's that Salem, the prolific witch house group that was all the rage in 2010 even though no one seemed to like them. I thought they were alright. The really plain packaging on this single is a bit disappointing—plain white sleeve, plain white labels with little stamps on them—and the music is just as plain. Typical Salem, really. To be honest I'm not totally sure why I got it.
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