Thursday 7 March 2024

In Love With Those Times (Flying Nun Records 1981–1988)

 


This compilation was inspired by the excellent Matthew Goody book, "Needles and Plastic: Flying Nun Records, 1981–1988", which goes into great detail about every Flying Nun release from the years 1981 to mid 1988. All artists on this compilation are featured in the book. Finding some of the more obscure releases did prove quite difficult. I managed to find online some vinyl rips of singles/EPs which have never been reissued by the label. Big thanks go out to 'thehappyone' for some of those rips, especially the releases by Ritchie Venus & The Blue Beetles and Marie and the Atom. A handful of the vinyl rips I'm also responsible for. A few of these more obscure releases have been reissued on other labels, or self-released, such as the EPs from Vibraslaps and Phantom Forth. Other artists such as Mainly Spaniards & Scorched Earth Policy have released anthologies from which the respective tracks have come from, though some of these have been brickwalled to hell! Scorched Earth Policy probably the worst offenders here...

Among the better-known artists who have appeared on several Flying Nun compilations, I have selected a few personal favourite songs that have not been featured before on those comps. Hard to believe that one of The Clean's finest songs, "Anything Could Happen", has never appeared on any of these comps, apart from the couple of band anthologies released so far. This compilation has been a real labour of love, spending several weeks trying to find these very rare releases. Some I really would love to find some day, for example: The Jumblies – "Stuff Of Dreams", Spines – "Idiot Sun", 
Not Really Anything – "Watched a World" and The Moas – "Spaz Out!"

There are some releases I did track down which I haven't included on this compilation, due to my personal dislike of them. I had the sole album by The Fold many years ago, really could not get into it, selling it soon after purchase. Listening to them just recently my opinion of the band hasn't changed at all. You also won't find here Netherworld Dancing Toys, Stiff Herbert and a few others which can be found in the book. One small surprise (for me anyway) was including a track from the much derided 2nd Gordons album. Notoriously difficult to find a copy, with good reason. It really isn't very good! Listening to it just recently though, it isn't almost as awful as I remember it, and included here is one of the better tracks.
Note: Axemen - "Womin of Love" isn't a bad rip, that's exactly how it sounds on the album! This is also one of the more listenable tracks on that album so you got off lightly...

I hope you enjoy my latest Flying Nun compilation, as ever origin of each track & year of release is tagged in the music files and in the download file. Cheers!


Disc 1:
  1. Crystal Zoom - Dunedin Sound on 45 (3:26)
 
2. The Pin Group - Columbia (3:52)
 
3. Die Bilder - Girl at Night (3:12)
 
4. Vibraslaps - Crooked Lines (2:56)
 
5. The Clean - Anything Could Happen (2:35)
 
6. Ritchie Venus & The Blue Beetles - Bleeding Heart (3:29)
 
7. Fetus Productions - Fetus Productions (4:43)
 
8. The Jean-Paul Sartre Experience - Fish in the Sea (3:28)
 
9. The Exploding Budgies - See You Around the Stones (3:12)
10. The Verlaines - Phil Too? (4:36)
11. Alpaca Brothers - It's No Joke (4:07)
12. Peter Jefferies & Jono Lonie - Thief With the Silver (2:04)
13. Marie and the Atom - Orange Towel Song (3:18)
14. Mainly Spaniards - Secretaries' Lunch Break (3:29)
15. Scorched Earth Policy - Sunset on the Loading Zone (3:23)
16. All Fall Down - Actifed Blues (4:27)
17. The Stones - Funky Conversations (3:36)
18. Ballon d'Essai - Testimony to Paradise Street (4:01)
19. Expendables - Say Cheese (3:03)
20. Gordons - Joker (2:36)
21. The Orange - No Reason to Hide (3:01)
22. The Rip - River / Chasm (3:45)
23. Bird Nest Roys - Joringel (3:18)

Disc 2:
  1. The Chills - I Think I'd Thought I'd Nothing Else to Think About (2:06)
 
2. Bailter Space - El Whizzo (And Then) (4:58)
 
3. This Kind of Punishment - The Men by the Pool (3:24)
  4. The Great Unwashed - Born in the Wrong Time (2:16)
 
5. The Max Block - Came in a Can (2:55)
 
6. Jay Clarkson - Penelope (4:28)
 
7. Look Blue Go Purple - 100 Times (2:36)
 
8. This Sporting Life - Difference (2:52)
 
9. Tall Dwarfs - Carpetgrabber (2:03)
10. Able Tasmans - I See Now Where (1:59)
11. Axemen - Womin of Love (2:29)
12. DoubleHappys - Moss Monster (3:16)
13. Phantom Forth - March (3:54)
14. The Terminals - Turning Every Word Around (3:18)
15. Sneaky Feelings - Everything I Want (3:43)
16. Eight Living Legs - Don't Do That Near Me (4:27)
17. Goblin Mix - Coleridge (2:58)
18. Dead Famous People - Take Your Leather Jacket Off (3:05)
19. Naked Spots Dance - Governed by You (2:35)
20. Children's Hour - Slaughter House (4:11)
21. Straitjacket Fits - All That That Brings (4:12)
22. Graeme Jefferies - Prisoner of a Single Passion (4:42)
23. Headless Chickens - Run, Sheep, Run (4:04)
24. The Bats - Round and Down (2:17)

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Tuesday 16 January 2024

Best of 2023 mix - Volume 2

 


  1. Druid Fluids - Then, Now, Again & Again (3:23)
 
2. Charif Megarbane - Pale Baleine (2:44)
 
3. A.J. Kaufmann - King of Kreuzberg (2:25)
 
4. Modern Cosmology - Trauma Release Makes Free (4:28)
 
5. Allah-Las - Dust (3:26)
 
6. JJ Whitefield - Orecchiette (1:55)
 
7. April March & Staplin - Parti Avec le Soleil (2:38)
 
8. Huw Marc Bennett - Pinc Sunset (3:49)
 
9. Celistia - Hoy (3:38)
10. Melody Fields - Home at Last (3:34)
11. Ricardo Dias Gomes - Menos (4:58)
12. Maya Ongaku - Nuska (4:44)
13. Forever Pavot - Décalco (3:44)
14. 3 A.M. Again - Dust in Sunlight (3:55)
15. John Matthias & Jay Auborn - Long Time Dead (4:26)
16. Lorelle Meets the Obsolete - Datura (4:52)
17. Kristin Hersh - Constance Street (2:52)
18. Dina Ögon - Berget (3:15)
19. Monde UFO - Air Quality (2:33)
20. EMZYG - Ely / Akari (Radio Edit) (3:59)
21. Matt Berry - Too Many Hats (3:18)
22. Marlene Ribeiro - You Do It (7:21)
23. Altin Gün - Dere Geliyor (3:45)
24. Badge Époque Ensemble - Thinking of God (2:24)
25. The Sundae Painters - Hollow Way (5:17)
26. Paintbox - Shadow Bridge (3:04)
27. White Canyon & The 5th Dimension - As Above So Below (4:03)
28. Laure Briard - Au Diable le Coeur Arraché (3:23)
29. Thought Bubble - Pondlife (5:02)
30. Eje Eje - New Roots (Winter) (3:01)
31. Missing Jack & The Kameleons - Hidden Gem (7:19)

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Monday 8 January 2024

Man Erg 2023 Mix />7even<\

 


Belated happy new year to you all! As promised here is Man Erg's selection of favourites from last year. He sent me quite a huge list of songs, which I was more than happy to compile for this almost 4 hour long mix. There's a few artists I'm not too familiar with featured here, from what I've heard they're definitely worth investigating further. Hope you enjoy listening to this mix as much as I enjoyed compiling it. Cheers!

Part 1:
  1. Protomartyr - 3800 Tigers (2:22)
 
2. Benedict Benjamin - White Noise (3:16)
 
3. Belbury Poly - The Path (4:19)
 
4. Nighttime - Spring, You Come Again (3:40)
 
5. The Clientele - Fables of the Silverlink (8:24)
 
6. Squid - Swing (In a Dream) (4:27)
 
7. Vanille - La Rose (3:43)
 
8. Altin Gün - Leylim Ley (4:12)
 
9. The Polyphonic Spree - Section 49 (Hop off the Fence) (3:29)
10. John Matthias & Jay Auborn - Auto Psalm Engine (4:57)
11. Meg Baird - Ashes, Ashes (6:06)
12. Dina Ögon - År (3:50)
13. Avey Tare - Hey Bog (9:22)
14. Orions Belte - Balloonfest '86 (2:39)
15. Homunculus Res - Fine del Mondo (4:04)
16. Shana Cleveland - Mayonnaise (2:55)
17. Dorotheo - Cristina (2:57)
18. Anona - Anona (4:26)
19. Yo La Tengo - Brain Capers (5:30)
20. John Cale - Marilyn Monroe's Legs (Beauty Elsewhere) (6:51)
21. The Brian Jonestown Massacre - As the Carousel Swings (4:58)
22. Modern Cosmology - A Time to Blossom (7:15)
23. Holy Wave - Hypervigilance (4:58)
24. Blonde Redhead - Via Savona (5:05)
25. Paintbox - Today & Tomorrow (4:09)
26.
Derrero - Sigh of Life (2:25)

Part 2:
  1. Celistia - Epílogo (4:23)
 
2. @ - Camera Phone (4:21)
 
3. Sunfruits - Believe It All (4:04)
 
4. Forever Pavot - La Mer à Boire (5:43)
 
5. Warrington-Runcorn New Town Development Plan - A Fresh Dawn For North Cheshire (4:21)
 
6. Large Plants - No Time to Make it Right (2:08)
 
7. Monde UFO - Garden of Agony (3:36)
 
8. Ulrika Spacek - No Design (4:51)
 
9. The Gaslamp Killer & The Heliocentrics - Rumble in the Jungle (5:23)
10. White Canyon & The 5th Dimension - Ancient Secrets of Green Leaf (4:22)
11. Emma Anderson - Xanthe (2:30)
12. Rose City Band - Mariposa (7:14)
13. Slowdive - Shanty (5:43)
14. Eerie Wanda & Kramer - Antebellum (6:04)
15. Death and Vanilla - Find Another Illusion (4:01)
16. Brown Spirits - Space Race (4:41)
17. En Attendant Ana - The Cut Off (2:38)
18. Goat - You'll Be Alright (3:36)
19. Jihad Darwish - 4 Parakeets (4:22)
20. The South Hill Experiment - Every Stride (3:55)
21. Maria BC - Mercury (4:08)
22. Kassi Valazza - Watching Planes Go By (5:55)
23. Mathew's Hidden Museum - Naked & Rolled in That Rotten Dirt (3:03)
24. Cory Hanson - Driving Through Heaven (10:28)
25. Wax Machine - Sister (3:18)
26. Kolezanka - Cheers! (3:48)

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Tuesday 19 December 2023

Best of 2023 mix - Volume 1

 


As we approach the end of another year, here is my first volume of favorites from 2023. Similar to last year, I haven't been able to listen to nearly enough new releases this year, primarily due to work commitments and a few personal issues at home which have limited the opportunity to seek out and discover new releases. These factors have had a notable impact on my mental health, affecting my mindset when it comes to compiling as many mixes as I have in previous years.  Hopefully things will improve and I'll be a bit more active on the blog next year.

I've still managed to discover some amazing bands, so it wasn't all bad. This first volume features many artists familiar to regular visitors to my blog, along with a few new discoveries. As for my favorite albums of the year, "Gardeners of the Earth" by White Canyon & The 5th Dimension is probably my top pick. Other highlights include "Oas" by Dina Ögon, "Ghost Notes" by John Matthias/Jay Auborn, "The Memory Effect" by Paintbox, and "Dormida en Sus Ojos" by Celistia. The self-titled debut album by Abstract Concrete is my most recent enjoyable discovery, featuring one of my favorite musicians, Charles Hayward, formerly of This Heat and Camberwell Now.

Wishing you all a Happy Christmas, and once again thanks to everybody who has taken the time to post comments on this blog. I hope you enjoy this compilation, coming soon I'll be posting Man Erg's favourite tunes from the past year so that'll be something to look forward to. Cheers!



  1. Les Big Byrd - I'm Living a Saved Life Now (5:14)
  2. Dorotheo - Humano (4:20)
  3. Louis Fontaine - Voyage Cosmique (2:26)
  4. Frankie and the Witch Fingers - Weird Dog (3:57)
  5. Mermaidens - Push It (3:42)
  6. PNEM - Mecari (8:47)
  7. Alice - Deux Mille Trains (2:16)
  8. Abstract Concrete - Sad Bogbrush (3:43)
  9. Sababa 5 - Alpis (3:18)
10. Picot - Si Tu Veux (3:27)
11. Homunculus Res - Viaggio Astrale di una Polpetta (5:15)
12. The Soap Opera - The Clouds Are Laughing at Me (2:08)
13. Motorpsycho - W.C.A. (4:07)
14.
Vanishing Twin - Lotus Eater (4:21)
15. The Gaslamp Killer & The Heliocentrics - Manic Panic (5:00)
16. Sons of Zöku - Möönlight (8:29)
17. David A. Jaycock - White Tea from the Vending Machine (2:59)
18. En Attendant Ana - Wonder (5:47)

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Saturday 18 November 2023

Songs from Beneath the Spaghetti Tree Vol. 93

 


Getting closer to the magical 100th volume...! As long as there is interest I'll keep on posting further volumes until not humanly possible. The cover art of this volume features my beloved cat Iggy who sadly passed away last month. Forgive the crude photoshopping! Hope you enjoy this latest volume and thanks once again for all the lovely comments. Cheers!

  1. Emma Anderson - Taste the Air (3:27)
 
2. Matt Berry - Top Brass (3:43)
 
3. Summer Rain - Turn On Your Love Light (2:25)
 
4. Robert Calvert - The Greenfly & the Rose (3:37)
 
5. Gong - All Clocks Reset (4:09)
 
6. Plasticstatic - The Somnambulist (5:22)
 
7. Instant Flight - Under the Moonlight (3:28)
 
8. Erny Belle - Crypto (3:21)
 
9. Ruiz! - The Human Touch (3:29)
10. ATA Records - Fear on Phobos (1:37)
11. Bowes Road Band - I Hear a Knocking (3:22)
12. The Pretty Things - The Good Mr. Square / She Was Tall, She Was High (2:59)
13. Melody Fields - Going Back (4:25)
14. Golden Pop Orchester - Weiße Elefanten (3:35)
15. Huw Marc Bennett - Pinc Sunset (3:49)
16. London Odense Ensemble - Desert Star Leaf (3:16)
17. Low & Spring Heel Jack - Way Behind (4:55)
18. Hungária - Die Farben der Natur (4:29)
19. Sewell and The Gong - Passing Oort Clouds (4:19)
20. Fat White Family - When I Leave (5:30)
21. Ty Segall - My Room (4:17)

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Tuesday 31 October 2023

Elephant Stone - Caught in the Noise

 


Bio:
Combining the influence of Indian classical music with the influence of British Invasion bands like the Kinks and the Beatles, Canadian neo-psychedelic outfit Elephant Stone is the brainchild of Rishi Dhir, formerly of the High Dials. The project's first album, 2009's "The Seven Seas", demonstrated Dhir's knack for breezy melodies as well as his use of instruments like sitar, dilruba, and tabla in a Western rock context. "The Glass Box" EP followed in 2010, their self-titled 2nd album appearing in 2013. Settling into a regular lineup of Dhir, Gabriel Lambert on guitar, and Miles Dupire-Gagnon on drums, their third album "Three Poisons" arrived in 2014. Their fourth LP, "Ship of Fools" was released in 2016, followed in 2020 by the band's fifth, "Hollow",  with  guitar duties now split between Lambert and Robbie MacArthur.  The French-language EP "Le Voyage de M. Lonely dans la Lune" appeared in 2022. Their sixth album "Back Into the Dream" is set for release early 2024.


My latest anthology should delight all fans of sitar-infused psychedelia. I've been a fan of the band since their first album, they've featured on several compilations posted on this blog. My favourite album by the band is probably their self-titled 2013 release; however, I wholeheartedly endorse exploring their entire discography. Their next album promises to be yet another excellent release, two tracks from which are featured here
. As usual, origin of each track & year of release is tagged in the music files and in the download file. I hope you enjoy!


  1. Motherless Child (Love's Not for War) (3:29)
 
2. Lies, Lies, Lies (3:19)
 
3. A Silent Moment (5:14)
 
4. Au Gallis (5:38)
 
5. M. Lonely (4:04)
 
6. The Spark (3:28)
 
7. The Straight Line (7:04)
 
8. Hollow World (4:03)
 
9. Sally Go Round the Sun (1:43)
10. Echo & The Machine (4:22)
11. Silence Can Say So Much (3:03)
12. Alap / Strangers (4:00)
13. Harmonia (5:09)
14. La Fusée du Chagrin (3:45)
15. Don't You Know (7:30)
16. Godstar (2:04)
17. Andromeda (3:33)
18. The Sea of Your Mind (8:32)

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Saturday 30 September 2023

Songs from Beneath the Spaghetti Tree Vol. 92

 


  1. Metin Alatli - Mevlana Boyle Dedi (3:25)
  2. The Garment District - The Starfish Song (6:30)
  3. Momus - The Beast (4:07)
  4. Maurizio Fabrizio - Angela D. (5:40)
  5. Ernest Honny - Kofi Psych (4:28)
  6. MEMORIALS - Peacemaker (5:25)
  7. Wet Fruit - St. Charles (4:35)
  8. The Budos Band - Curled Steel (2:28)
  9. Jacco Gardner - Hypnophobia (5:26)
10. Wreckless Eric - Standing Sunday Morning (3:39)
11. Broadway Project - Beauty (3:30)
12. The Silhouettes - Lunar Invasion (5:30)
13. Frankie and the Witch Fingers - Political Cannibalism (4:22)
14. Sons of Mu - Small World (5:00)
15. Vert:x - Machine / Oblique (4:27)
16. Frankie Teardrop Dead - What It's All About (2:50)
17. Françoise Hardy - À Sa Merci (3:45)
18. Mordant Music - Fallen Faces (3:38)


Thursday 31 August 2023

21st Century Psychedelia - Volume 7

 


  1. River Flows Reverse - Demons (4:51)
 
2. Shivalila - Shivalila Part 1 (6:30)
 
3. Druid Fluids - Flutter By (4:28)
 
4. Dust Mountain - Under My Spell (5:41)
 
5. King Isxan - Disorientation / Getting Lost (4:57)
 
6. Firefriend - Hunt (3:30)
 
7. The Savage Blush - Shapeshifter (3:39)
 
8. GIFT - Here and Now (Time Floats By) (7:05)
  9. Electric Eye - The Sleeping Sharks (4:24)
10. Altin Gün - Badi Sabah Olmadan (4:39)
11. The Small Breed - Remember a Dream (3:55)
12. Baby Cool - Mother Luna (4:31)
13. Missing Jack & The Kameleons - One Drop Later (9:24)
14. Se Permiten Submarinos - Marisma Seca (3:23)
15. Hanford Flyover - Formless (4:30)
16. Hooveriii - Twisted and Vile (4:04)

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Wednesday 26 July 2023

Songs from Beneath the Spaghetti Tree Vol. 91

 


  1. The Beta Band - Troubles (2:30)
 
2. White Canyon & The 5th Dimension - Fireflies Dance (5:17)
 
3. The Bayan Mongol Variety Group - A Black Horse (4:48)
 
4. Missing Jack & The Kameleons - Wegonnadie (7:44)
 
5. 43ODES - HVO OV HVO (3:48)
 
6. Wigwam - Henry's... Mountain Range or Thereabouts (3:08)
 
7. Trouble & Strife - The Shag (2:25)
 
8. Night Beats - Hot Ghee (3:38)
 
9. Group Photo - Full of It (2:17)
10. Genesis - Happy the Man (3:05)
11. Angil and the Hiddentracks - To Progress (5:09)
12. Vanishing Twin - Afternoon X (4:06)
13. Paintbox - Today & Tomorrow (4:07)
14. The Bonzo Dog Band - What Do You Do? (3:09)
15. Perilymph - Tout en Haut (7:45)
16. Charif Megarbane - Ya Salam (3:01)
17. Thought Bubble - 200 Teeth (4:33)
18. C Duncan - Garden (4:16)
19. Basil Kirchin - I Start Counting (featuring Lindsey Moore) (3:41)

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Wednesday 28 June 2023

Songs from Beneath the Spaghetti Tree Vol. 90

 


  1. Tindersticks - 4.48 Psychosis (5:08)
 
2. Red Snapper - Hot Flush (4:07)
 
3. Dina Ögon - Vi Smälter (4:43)
 
4. Cortex - Troupeau Bleu (5:01)
 
5. The Twelve Hour Foundation - Hot Dust (3:34)
 
6. Sababa 5 - Eilat 22 (4:11)
 
7. House of All - Minerva Disrobed (4:25)
 
8. Homunculus Res - Cinque Sensi (3:57)
 
9. Pepe Deluxé - Sommarland (4:10)
10. Witch - Nshingilile (3:00)
11. Plaid - Unbank (3:52)
12. 93-105 - Lords of Space (3:56)
13. Sauer Adler - Megacity (3:33)
14. TEKE::TEKE - Doppelganger (4:03)
15. Oliver Nelson - Skull Session (5:59)
16. Arto Lindsay - Simply Are (3:38)
17. Aluno Predileto - O Pensamento Plástico (2:21)
18. Loose Capacitor - Theme From Robins Nest (3:14)
19. Dorotheo - Cristina (2:58)
20. Eddy Crampes - Viens Me Voir Cette Nuit (2:53)

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