Conflict – The Ungovernable Force (1986)

Mortarhate Records ‎– MORT 20

I remember seeing The Final Conflict in Virgin Megastores when it came out. The name I'd seen around Camden a lot while out that way - printed on the back of jackets and in record shops. The black cover knocked me back as I thought it was so powerful. I then became really intrigued by them when I saw on the back that they had a cover of the A Team theme.

Of course, it wasn't the A Team theme - just a song by the same name. I found this out as a guy I worked with at CEX (Or Tottenham Court Road Computer Exchange as the business was known back then) picked up the album and played it in store. I was gutted that there wasn't a punk cover of one of the best theme tunes ever but liked the music.

Anyhow...Conflict had always rattled around in my head as a group that at some point I needed to delve further into.
A couple of years later, I was in a band and there was a plan to cover Big Hands by Conflict, which stupidly I tried to learn from a live recorded LP borrowed from a guy who somehow managed to live in our house for a year, yet never officially therefore avoiding rent. You couldn't pick out the drums very well, so I just kind of made it up. The cover was weak at best and we ditched it before the band ultimately was ditched itself.

The same guy had this album on CD. The cover is so powerful that it took me straight back to the first time I saw that black album cover of their following LP.
At that point, the Police were just useless bobbies on the beat or city cops who would seem to spend all day moving you on from skate spot to skate spot. But this guy had the British Police font on a fearsome bit of headgear and a gun. In England.
That's pretty weird for a kid from the UK to see.

I'd listen to the album a bit in the kitchen of that place. This was around '97, for about a year. About twelve years later, I realised I'd not listened to this in a long time and after a quick search in a local shop, picked it up for not much more than the original 1986 cover price of £4.

I love this album. From the post-apocalyptic start to its gentle yet harrowing finish. It's just one of those records which has been clearly thought out as an entire album rather than having its order thrown together last minute.
I regret not picking it up back when I was first figuring out punk rock...because I know I spent my money on a lot of crap instead.

Don't skip: The Ungovernable Farce, A Piss In The Ocean, Force or Service, Statement

Iron Maiden ‎– Women In Uniform · Twilight Zone (1990)

EMI ‎– IRN 2

The First Ten Years series.

I have literally only just found out that Women in Uniform is a cover. It was originally by an Aussie band called Skyhooks.

It makes sense, I guess. It's an amazing song, but nowhere near as heavy (or punky) as their stuff around this time. Although that said, the other record here is Twilight Zone which is a track similar in tone, although it is one where Maiden are just generally being wicked at playing guitar.

Women in Uniform just wasn't a song I knew existed until the Napster years. The CD box set version of The First Ten Years series was pretty much the first appearance of this song on CD, and therefore only a few people seemed to share it on Napster back in the day.

This is Maiden trying to bury something they weren't happy with - but I don't see why and after all these years, they should embrace it. It's a good little part of their history and a good song, too!

Fuck, I mean...who doesn't like women in uniform?

It would have been cool if Sanctuary was the B-side on this double A side affair - purely because the cover to Sanctuary is Eddie standing over the corpse of Maggie Thatcher. It could have worked really well in opposition to the Women In Uniform cover on the flip of the gatefold as on that one, Maggie is lurking in the shadows waiting for Eddie, armed and ready to kill. Bitch.

This was a discogs pickup. I might need to check what single they covered UFO's Doctor, Doctor. Thats another banger of a Maiden number.

Side note: You should check out the Derek Riggs site as he not only has all of the Maiden covers up, but also usually without logos and ALWAYS has a cool little story to go with it.

Don't skip: Women In Uniform (Duh!)

Aphex Twin ‎– Selected Ambient Works Volume II (1994)

Warp Records ‎– WARPLP21LTD 002383 of 10000

Another eBay job. Sadly theres a little bit of water damage to the cover. It's nothing harsh - just the back cover is a bit rippled.

Bought as I am a completist and also as the CD doesn't have the track Stone In Focus on it. I downloaded that song back in the Napster days and finally caved when I saw this going cheap.

I used to always play the CD as I went to sleep after coming home drunk when I still lived with my parents. Maybe I thought it would help me dream? Apparently the album was written by lucid dreaming or some similar Richard James tall tale.

One time, a friend stayed over. I was in bed, boozy and he was wasted sleeping on the floor. He ran off to the toilet and I just left him to it. He returned a few minutes later, got back into his sleeping bag and let me know that the music had sent his stomach gurgling (and not the cheap beers) he was sorry as he'd "just been sick all up the bathroom wall."

...and then came back to bed.

I just told him it wasn't a problem that he'd been sick, but if there was any trace of it I'd kill him.
He got back up.

He actually really got into Aphex Twin a little while later.
Weird.

Don't skip: Stone In Focus, Cliffs, Blue Calx, Lichen

Melvins - The End (2008)

Enterruption Records 451/500

This is another solid eBay find. I paid a little over the odds for what I would have usually paid for a live record - but I paid way under the odds for what this usually goes for.
On the negative side, the centre hole is so fucking small playing this record is a solid worry - I genuinely fear it will snap as I take it back off of the platter.

The record covers a fairly solid portion of their studio recordings up to that point with songs from Ozma, Houdini, Stag, Honky, The Bootlicker and Hostile Ambient Takeover all making appearances.
Of the songs on there, I've rarely heard Brain Center at Whipples played live and have never seen them in person play it at all. In fact, I think it is the only live recording they've ever released of this song.

The recording is from 2003 and was originally released in 2004 on cassette only which is almost impossible to source for under £100. This is the first vinyl release from 2008. Theres a weird 'Nihilist' version too, which contains an unplayable second record and was limited to forty copies which came out at the same time.

Don't Skip: Night Goat (The bass sound is pretty weak on this and it kind of changes the song - but I like it), Let It All Be, Brain Centre At Whipples.

Melvins - 1983 (2012)

Amphetamine Reptile Records ‎– AmRep 087

I picked this up a few weeks back via Discogs at a pretty reasonable price from a UK seller. I guess there are people out there selling relatively new Melvins records who aren't just professional flippers.

I tried to get this via the AmpRep website when it came out but these things tend to sell out within a matter of minutes. I did grab the CD at that point though. I'll post that sometime in the future, maybe.

The vinyl itself is a pretty amazing tri-colour. I like the idea that therefore no actual two copies will be identical. This could probably fuck some record collectors heads up, I'm sure.

This is the reformed (almost) 1983 lineup of the Melvins recording new stuff in the old Melvins style. Although, I'd kind of disagree that it is exactly in that style. Maybe that's just down to the honed talent and refined songwriting skill that the years have afforded them? I feel it's a lot more Ozma era aside from the final song. Either way, it's cool.
"Walters Lips" is a simple but killer tune. There was an instrumental demo version on the Mangled Demos From 1983 (Released in 2005), but the added lyrics make is a solid punk rock blast.

All of these songs reappeared on the Melvins 1983 LP "Tres Cabrones" which came out a year later.

Does the fact that these are all now LP tracks from the same LP negate this as an EP and make it a single?

Don't Skip: Walters Lips, Stick Em-Up Bitch

Sonic Youth - Sister (1987)

Blast First! BFFP20

This was the second Sonic Youth album I bought after Dirty. I'm not too sure why I got this on vinyl to be honest - I think it just came down to price. If it was a quid cheaper, I would have gone that way back then.

What I didn't know about this album was that several songs were used on the Santa Cruz video Streets on Fire, which I'd watched over and over along with Powell Peralta's 'Attack' and H-Street's 'Not The New H-Street Video' at my mates.
I'd had VHS to C60 dubs of that video so I could listen to it on my walkman and at first it was odd hearing Catholic Block or White Kross without the skate noises over the top. I still rerun quotes in my head from certain videos throughout songs as I knew them first that way. Claus wins the day!

To tie the skate trivia in even more - it was Geoff Rowley who recently pointed out that I had the version of this release with the original cover. Disney threatened SST and Sonic Youth with a lawsuit if their photo of the Magic Kingdom wasn't deleted from all releases.

There you go - an entire note on an amazing LP which purely talks about skating. I get the feeling a lot of this blog may go this way.

Don't skip: Schizophrenia, (I Got A) Catholic Block, Pipeline/Kill Time, White Kross

Dead Kennedys - Bedtime for Democracy (1986)

Alternative Tentacles VIRUS50 UK Release

The DK's last proper album. I had this on CD originally. I will get that up on here at some point, I guess. I should as it was my entry point into the Dead Kennedy's.

The main reason I picked this up was for the artwork. The cover is amazing and you just couldn't get into the detail on the CD. The vinyl also has a mock newspaper included but I blew it here as this second hand version doesn't seem to have that included. Whether this is some later pressing which doesn't include that, I don't know.

Bedtime for Democracy is a step back to a time before Frankenchrist. Five minute plus jams are out. Aside from two or three songs everything on here is roughly two minutes or less in length.

The pace is frantic throughout and probably deserves a little more attention that previous releases which I reckon you can enjoy without giving over your full focus...Honestly. You can listen to Police Truck or California Über Alles and probably learn all the lyrics within a couple of listens whilst also doing the cooking or playing video games. 

Bedtime for Democracy really works in a far better way if you take the time to sit down and listen on your own. Give it a shot.

Don't Skip: Dear Abby, Cesspools in Eden, Gone With My Wind, Anarchy For Sale

Butthole Surfers - Piouhgd (1991)

Rough Trade R260-1

This is the Rough Trade original release. I was always surprised that the London-based store had a record label. I just knew it as the place beneath Slam City Skates with all of the signatures on the ceiling and a healthy dose of punk rock records.

This was the second release from the Butthole's that I owned after the Hurdy Gurdy Man CD single...and it's kind of surprising that I continued buying releases from these guys after this. Hurdy Gurdy Man is a straight Donovan cover which I loved - so I was after more of the same; but this was all a bit too out there. Or lazy. I guess that depends on your viewpoint.
Hurdy Gurdy Man is by far the best track here. Blindman and Something aren't bad and Lonesome Bulldog (Which is clearly a piss-take) is cool in it's own odd way but I'm not too sure of the need for it to be on here four times, despite clearly getting more twisted with each play. It's just a gag which doesn't work too well. 

Piouhgd is just not a record I went back to often. I sort of wish I liked it more, but the Butthole Surfers definitely have far better releases out there.

Don't skip: Hurdy Gurdy Man

Hüsker Dü - Metal Circus (1983)

SST Records ‎SST 020, Reflex Records ‎REFLEX G

This would have been a late 90's purchase from Notting Hill Music and Video Exchange while I was working at Playstation Skatepark. 

It seems like a natural follow up to the Dinosaur Jr. release I posted yesterday - not only were they label-mates at one point (and I'm sure they would have played some shows together, too) but they also had a song in Blind Skateboards "Video Days" release from the early 90's.

That video ended up on rotation at the skatepark when Ralph - another guy working there - brought his copy in and entrusted it to the long line of shitty VHS players we had. By donating your player to the park you were basically giving it a death sentence no matter how good you claimed your find was.
I spent most lunch breaks between Notting Hill Gate Music & Video Exchange and the original Rough Trade store always looking for something marked down.

Hüsker Dü were a band I'd always heard of but never really listened to until this point. An ex-girlfriends best mate was really into them and always had cassettes lying about with hand drawn strike-through logos which never really looked quite right. Being that they are a massive link between early 80's hardcore and late 90's alternative I have no idea how I managed to avoid them.

'Real World' - The opener - was the track this EP was purchased for. However, 'Diane' is the real killer. Much lighter in tone (Along with 'It's Not Funny Anymore' - both sung by Grant Hart) than the hardcore side shown by Hüsker Dü up until this point.

I can listen to that song over and over.

Don't skip: Real World, Diane

Dinosaur Jr – Just Like Heaven (1989)

Blast First BFFP47

I really don't remember where I got this. I've never been one to buy 7's unless they are something really special. I guess it was probably some Dinosaur Jr. phase crossed with a 99p sale purchase or something.

In all likelihood the purchase was probably just a cheap way of getting a copy of Just Like Heaven which had been in Blind Skateboards "Video Days" VHS and was at the time probably etched into my mind from repeat viewings at my fake cousing Ben's house (We used to say we were cousins to everyone. Not sure why...We were good mates who knew each other through our dads who were good mates from school).
I never liked the way that song just ended in the video, so wanted the full thing. Turns out that was the full thing. I've always been surprised at Dinoasur Jr. settling on that ending. It's not that I don't like it...I am just left wanting more. What happened after the cut? Noise doesn't just end. Does it?

Throw Down is a forgettable little number clocking in at under a minute and Chunks (A Last Rights Song) is a classy hardcore blast from start to finish. Randomly, I didn't actually know this was a cover until about five minutes ago. "A Last Rites Song" refers to it originally being written and put out by the band Last Rites, as opposed to some sort of execution related ditty.

Don't skip: Just Like Heaven, Chunks (A Last Rights Song)