The Donnas - I Don't Want To Know (If You Don't Want Me) (2005)

Side A:
I Don't Want To Know (If You Don't Want Me)

Side B:
I Don't Want To Know (If You Don't Want Me) (Acoustic)

The Donnas are another band that I absolutely loved ten years ago, who I have - I hate to say - all but forgotten about in 2015.

They really stepped up their game with 2004's Gold Medal. With every album they seemed to get better and better, and they reached their pinnacle with Gold Medal. They were always a great party band, but Gold Medal felt like the hangover. Which is probably why I loved it so much.

'I Don't Want To Know (If You Don't Want Me)' became the sound track to my life for a time in my early 20's. Like most people, I made questionable choices, romantically. And, 'I Don't Want To Know (If You Don't Want Me)' summed up my situation pretty damn well. As such, it was on heavy rotation during 2004-2005. I'm pretty sure it was the soundtrack to many a LiveJournal entry.

Hearing it tonight - for the first time in a long, long time - brought back a lot of memories. Suddenly, it's 2005 again and I'm drunk at the Crown & Anchor pissing my friends off and chasing boys. Gladly, I still really enjoyed hearing it tonight. The B-side is pretty faithful to the original, just played on acoustic guitars.

PJ Harvey - The Piano (2007)

I think I need a palate cleanser after that last blog. I deliberately picked this one.

Side A:
The Piano

Side B:
Heaven

This is notable for being one of the few PJ Harvey singles that I own in only one format. Even though the majority of her singles over the past ten years have only been released on 7", I usually pick up promos or other curios. For some reason, I haven't with 'The Piano'.

I'm not sure I'm ever going to be able to blog White Chalk, the album from which this single was pulled. It has become one of my favourite albums of all time, if not the favourite (and, yes, I know I said the same about To Bring You My Love. I'll probably say it for every PJ Harvey album I write about. And, I will mean it, sincerely, every time). Despite having White Chalk in my life for eight years, I don't think I will yet be able to articulate just how much I love it, how genius I think it is and just how much it means to me. 'The Piano', with it's images of violence and loneliness, is one of White Chalk's unsettling highlights.

White Chalk was interesting in that all three of it's singles did not, for the first time in Harvey's career, include album outtakes as B-sides. All three features old demos. I've always pictured Polly Harvey having a huge backlog of demoed songs that she's never released, given that she's often stated that she'll write up to 60 songs when writing for an album. This theory (or fantasy) was supported by Mick Harvey when he recorded her beautiful unreleased song, 'Glorious'. He stated that it was on a tape of songs she had given him and he thought it was too good a song to waste away in a drawer somewhere. The White Chalk B-sides only furthered my insatiable curiosity as to what other lost treasures exist.

Both 'When Under Ether' and 'The Piano' featured demos recorded way back in 1988. Intriguing choices, given that 'Dress', her first single, didn't come out until 1991. 'Heaven', 'The Piano''s B-side is an interesting inclusion. She had actually recorded the song with Automatic Dlamini, the first band she was in with John Parish, in 1990 on their unreleased record, Here Catch Shouted His Father. This version, however, is a demo recorded with John Parish in 1988. It's a nice little song, full of Biblical references, which she would later explore further on her first two records. It really shows just far her song writing came in the next few years, especially as the production is reminiscent of the Dry demos.

'Heaven' is a rare glimpse into PJ Harvey's early development as an artist, while still managing to be an enjoyable listen.

Tiffany - I Think We're Alone Now (1987)

Side A:
I Think We're Alone Now

Side B:
No Rules

Oh boy.

In my late teens and early 20's, I was always a total snob when it came to what records went into my collection. If I had anything remotely daggy, I made sure I justified it somehow (usually irony or nostalgia). As time wore on, I began to care less and less about filtering what went into my collection. These days, anything goes. Because, why the fuck not?

Plus, I do have a soft spot for bad pop songs.

Hello, Tiffany.

A lot of 80's songs like this are now socially acceptable, thanks to the 80's revival that's now lasted longer than the 80's did. Which irks me somewhat. Because, songs like this really are atrocious. Though, I think that's the appeal? Because, loathe as I am to admit in a public forum such as this, I fucking love 'I Think We're Alone Now'. Goodbye punk rock street cred. Perhaps it's nostalgia? This was my favourite song in the world when I was 5. I have fond memories of singing this song as a child (and have, somehow, never forgotten the words).

I also have fond memories of acquiring this record. It was when I moved to London in 2011 and my friend Kate bought me this, along with a hand full of other 45's, to cheer me up when I found out that my cat died. We'd spotted it earlier at the record fair we'd stumbled across and had all been highly amused by Tiffany's denim jacket. When I wasn't looking, Kate went back and bought it for me. Bless her heart.

OK, enough about Tiffany (oh, except to say that the B-side here was, unlike the A-side, - which is gloriously terrible - offensive in it's terribleness).

The Rolling Stones - The Last Time (1965)

Side A:
The Last Time

Side B:
Play With Fire

I can't tell if this was double A-side, or if 'Play With Fire' was actually the B-side. Either way, both sides of this single are essential, two of the best early Stones songs from their pre-Aftermath period. I have a great many of the Stones' 60's singles, but I think this was one of the very first I ever bought.

Funnily enough, after explaining why I love 60's singles in the last batch of 7" blogs, 'The Last Time' actually sounds pretty lifeless on this single, compared to how it sounds on the various albums it appears on. 'Play With Fire', though, sounds great. While it doesn't sound so bad on CD since the Stones' 60's catalogue was remastered in the early 00's, I'm still scarred from how utterly terrible it sounded on the original Stones CD's, released in the 80's. I don't know why, but 'Play With Fire' - out of every 60's Stones song - seemed to suffer the worst. I'm eternally grateful that this has been rectified!

Kate Bush - Running Up The Hill (1985)

Another game of 7" roulette!

Side A:
Running Up That Hill

Side B:
Under The Ivy

After picking 'Babooshka' last time, 'Running Up That Hill' was the first random selection tonight. I guess the universe wants me to listen to more Kate Bush. And, who am I to argue? 'Running Up The Hill' is, of course, one of my favourite Kate Bush songs. As I'm sure it is for many people. It's pretty great. This 7" was another from my 7" binge of 2011. I actually can't remember if this was from the eBay guy mentioned in the last blogs, or if I picked this one up from one of the Music Exchange stores in London (which is odd, I usually have a 'Rain Man'-esque knack for remembering where I bought most of my records, and how much I paid).

Like 'Babooshka', my main interest here tonight is the b-side, in this case, 'Under The Ivy'. Like 'Ran Tan Waltz', I'm fairly sure I've never played it. Considering how much I love Hounds Of Love, I'm not sure why I've neglected a b-side from that record, but here we are. It's a shame, too. 'Under The Ivy' is really something. I've enjoyed it so much, I've just started it again for a third time. I think I've found a new favourite Kate Bush song. it's just beautiful (and, I've just started it for a fourth time).

Discoveries like this are part of the reason I wanted to do this blog in the first place.

Iggy Pop - American Caesar (1993)

Since my long-awaited vinyl copy of American Caesar arrived the other day, I figured now's a good time to blog it.

Versions:
LP
CD

Tracklisting:
1. Character
2. Wild America
3. Mixin' The Colors
4. Jealousy
5. Hate
6. It's Our Love
7. Plastic & Concrete
8. Fuckin' Alone
9. Highway Song
10. Beside You
11. Sickness
12. Boogie Boy
13. Perforation Problems
14. Social Life
15. Louie Louie
16. Caesar
17. Girls of N.Y.

Best Tracks:
Fuckin' Alone
Louie Louie
Wild America
Hate
Mixin' The Colors

Iggy Pop's solo career is patchy, at best. I used to feel awfully guilty about this. Being that Iggy is one of my favourite artists (and one of my absolute favourite people in the world), I always felt bad that I didn't like a lot of his solo work. Obviously, there are moments of absolute genius (The Idiot, Lust For Life) and a great number of buried and/or forgotten treasures (this, New Values, Skull Ring). Unfortunately, there's also a bunch of records that, if I'm being honest, just aren't very good (Party, Instinct). I felt, for a long time, that I loved Iggy so much that I should still love his not-so-good albums. It wasn't until I read Paul Trynka's wonderful Iggy bio, Open Up And Bleed, in which the author explicitly notes the flaws in Iggy's back catalogue, that I stopped feeling guilty about it. So, not all of his records are great. Big deal. The ones that are great, are really fucking great. Iggy has always been a risk taker. Sometimes, artistically, those risks don't work out. Sometimes, though, those risks result in moments of greatness. The Stooges aside, Iggy is still highly regarded, and that speaks volumes about the quality of his work when he gets it right. And, with American Caesar, he got it right.

This is probably my favourite of all Iggy Pop's solo records. I love it more than Lust For Life (though, it may be equal with The Idiot). I first bought it after Triple J did their Iggy Pop J Files show, around 1998. They played 'Fuckin' Alone'. I'd never heard it, but instantly fell in love with it. It remains my favourite song on the album. But, it took me a while to really digest American Caesar. For the first few years, I'd listen to the songs I liked and that was it. At 75 minutes, it was certainly a lot to take in. At 16, I somehow didn't have the attention span to give the album the time it warranted. I did, however, love the feel of the album. I always found myself coming back to it, even as I investigated Iggy's solo work further. By the time I was about 25, I'd found my groove with American Caesar. It's a fucking wonderful record.

Hearing it on double vinyl for the first time tonight has given me a renewed appreciation for the album. It really should have been a double album. It certainly feels more immediate, broken over four manageable sides, rather than all lumped onto a single CD (and that could be said for many albums released during the CD era). It's certainly a diverse record, probably the most varied of Iggy's career. It's also surprisingly mellow. The acoustic 'Highway Song' and 'Social Life' are excellent, but there are actually some real tender moments ('Fuckin' Alone', 'It's Our Love', the beautiful 'Mixin' The Colors' and, especially, 'Jealousy'). These moments are particularly moving, showing a vulnerability not often heard - before or since - from Iggy. There is also the weirdness of the wonderful seven minute, spoken word title track. Being an Iggy Pop record (as the warning on the sleeve hilariously warns us), there's also no shortage of rock tracks. 'Wild America' and 'Louie Louie' are highlights (the latter is, somehow, even better than The Stooges' version), while others result in American Caesar's only disappointing moments. While 'Plastic & Concrete' and 'Sickness' are OK, 'Perforation Problems' and 'Boogie Boy' are the albums only bad songs. Which is, however, not a mean feat for a 17 track album.

I had been searching for a vinyl copy of this album for many years. It's been the only one of Iggy's solo records, released on vinyl, that I haven't owned on vinyl. I actually found a copy last time I was in London, at a little record shop I found tucked away in a lane way off Tottenham Court Road. It was £25, so I left it there. I immediately regretted my decision. I went back a few days later to buy it and, of course, it was gone. Much to my delight, Plain Recordings re-released it last year and, this week, I finally have a vinyl copy. And, I haven't been disappointed. This blog was the first listen, but certainly won't be the last. It's a great sounding pressing and, as I said earlier, the album makes a bit more sense as a double record.

Duffy - Rockferry 7" (2007)

Side A:
Rockferry

Side B:
Oh Boy

Aww, remember Duffy? It's more than a little depressing that she's practically fallen off the face of the earth after her underwhelming second record. Because that first record was truly wonderful.

I'll delve into it more when I blog the album, but 'Rockferry' was always my favourite song off Rockferry. 'A Bag of songs and a heavy heart'. Oh, yes. She had me at hello. It's simply charming. And it swaggers along beautifully. I bought this 7" off eBay before Duffy's downfall. I seem to remember it being somewhat pricey (between $30 and $40, maybe?). But, after I'd accumulated all of her her other singles, I was desperate to get this one, being that it was my favourite of all her songs. Being that it was her first 7", we were led to believe it something of a rarity. Depressingly, it's now on Discogs for $4 (the same thing happened with an Irish band I really liked in the early 2000's called JJ72. Except that I ended up buying most of their 'rare' releases very cheap).

B-side, 'Oh Boy', I'd first heard as it was released on the Australian 'Mercy' single. It's a nice song, and wouldn't have been out of place on Rockferry, much like all of her b-sides from this album. More on those later.