www.gehkacken.de

Tag: vinyl

my loveliest vinyl, part 11

Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet – Savy Show Stoppers (Glass Records GLALP 31, 1988)

Now this is a fun one – one of the view times TV made me explore a band. Back in 1993 my soon the be wife already had pay-tv (“Premiere”, now Sky) and they had some strange stuff there including a canadian commedy called “Kids in the Hall”. Highly entertaining and with a distinct “twang” on the musical side. With a bit of pre-internet searching i found that the theme-song was from “Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet”, from Canada, and they released through Cargo – got it!

1977 – mhh, this is instrumental. few bands in 1977 burned their finger on that one!
published by a cool lable – Glass Records in the UK did the 1988 Vinyl, Cargo re-released it in 1990 when “Kids in the Hall” went big.
found in a cool shop – ticked, again Martin Stehr’s Drugstore
catching sound – reverb and instrumental. surf. dig it! next thing cool to punk rock!
not too bad words – hahaha, having a laugh and having a say is one in one!

They dispanded 1996 and left behind quite a legacy and where instrumental (sic!) in driving other bands. Sadly bass player Reid Diamond died in 2001 of cancer. Damn.

This is the famous theme song:

And this is my loveliest thing from “Kids in the Hall”:

Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet served as the background band and sometimes even played in the foreground. You can listen to all sound snipits from all episodes here!

2011/11/18
my loveliest vinyl, part 10
Chixdiggit – Chixdiggit! (Sub Pop SP355, 1996) – Chixdiggit II (Bad Taste Records 2007)

Punkrock and Hockey where my thing in the early 80ties. I even went to shows with clothes that had an “HSV Eishockey” patch on it (at that time soccer (and HSV) where no-go for punk – something that has sure big time relaxed since then). Chixdiggit appeared on the radar with their “Best Hung Carrot” EP on Lance Rock in 1995, esp. as it had an Heino (sic! Hanson Brothers – Can’t hide the Heino) cover. Their debut for Sub Pop came in the hey-day of “Pop-punk” and in a unique fashion they re-recorded it in 2007. And re-did the cover, giving them an “grown up” state…

1977 – yup, a clear line of sight back to the mighty Ramones.
published by a cool label – Sub Pop, not sure if really “cool” with me but yes – back then ok!
found in a cool shop – ticked, again Martin Stehr’s Drugstore
catching sound – Seldom a better entry into an album like the combination of the instrumental “Dolphins Love Kids” followed in-kick by “Great Legs” and all within under 02:00 minutes! Only other contender is the first Travoltas album (“Modern World”).
not too bad words – the one who sings about love bringing in a hockey goalie can’t be a bad thing:
```
saw a picture yesterday
of a guy who used to play
for the boston bruins
and in school i always drew him

he had the longest undefeated streak
for every shot that hit his cheek
he drew on a stitch mark
and i think he played with brad park

i feel like gerry cheevers
i feel like gerry cheevers
i got stitch marks on my heart
just like gerry cheevers

saw a picture yesterday
of a guy who used to play
for the boston bruins
and in school i always drew him
he wore a mask just like my heart
he had stitch marks on every part
and he wore number 30
thats how old you were when you met me

i feel like gerry cheevers
i feel like gerry cheevers
i got stitch marks on my heart
just like gerry cheevers
i feel like gerry cheevers
(i got stitch marks on my heart)

(c) Chixdiggit 1996
```
and now listen and watch:

And in case you need more as in “do they still make it today?” – go figure out“
2011/11/11
my loveliest vinyl, part 9
fluf – Home Improvements (CD) / Whitey on the moon (LP) (Headhunter HED032, 1994)

fluf, the band that threw records out like hell in the early 90’s, hailing from sunny San Diego and masterminded by someone aptly called “O” and pushing the art of covers for the punk space into the retro-design territory. And as a bonus: Vinyle and CD releases had different covers and different names – cool, this way i could thrill my record collector asshole!

The verdict:
1977 – naaa, this type of sound the class of 1977 had not forseen. Classic anyway!
published by a cool lable – Headhunter, a Cargo outfit, had an endless stream of great stuff back then!
found in a cool shop – ticked, again Martin Stehr’s Drugstore
catching sound – “Fluf’s strength lies in its to-the-point songwriting, namely O.’s gift for combining ultra-heavy hooks and tender pop strains (“happenin’ melodies with friggin’ raw, heavy guitar,” is how he describes it)” (claims the net, and the net is always right)
not too bad words – yeah, the are great. touchy, personal and to the point like this chorus:
```
you say you want a relationship
but you never really care
no one likes you anyway
you alway buy a fare
(c) 1994 fluf
```
And this is fluf, reformed and @ a private party in 2010, trashing out that very song:

An extra bonus goes to the band for the graphical design of the records – extra class! i’d say one of the most underrated bands from out west!
2011/11/11