Slivers From the Spine (SST Records)

 

Hello again! This latest compilation is in celebration of SST Records, one of my favourite record labels from the 1980s. It's by no means a definitive overview; rather, it features tracks from SST releases I personally bought back in the day. I thought about including something from Opal’s "Happy Nightmare Baby", but the version I picked up was released on Rough Trade in the UK, so it didn’t feel quite right for this comp. Also no Henry Rollins era Black Flag are here, the only release I bought of them was "The First Four Years", which covers their early stuff before Rollins joined.

Some albums I still cherish, notably the albums released on SST by Minutemen, Hüsker Dü, Volcano Suns, Screaming Trees and Slovenly. I really should do a Slovenly anthology one day, they're a bit of an acquired taste but I've loved every album they released. Maybe a Volcano Suns collection too, that'd be quite a noisy affair! Another possibility is Pell Mell, in fact the final SST album I bought was their 1991 release "Flow". Like most of my comps, this one’s a mix of some better-known bands and a few more obscure ones that you might not have heard of before.

Jusf for the fun of it, I posted this mix to ChatGPT and asked them to write up a description of the contents. Here is the result!
"From the vaults of America's most relentlessly uncompromising independent label comes a collection so raw, so real, and so recklessly non-commercial… we’re amazed it exists at all.

Presenting a once-in-a-lifetime sonic journey through the hallowed halls of SST Records, where melody feared to tread and song structure was merely a suggestion. This essential anthology assembles the all-stars of underground iconoclasm: the blinding fury of Black Flag, the melodic mayhem of Hüsker Dü, the sunbaked surrealism of Meat Puppets, the econo-genius of Minutemen, and the art-damaged charm of Slovenly—bands so ahead of their time, they’re still broke.

This collection crackles with the unfiltered electricity of an era when indie meant indigent, and “tour support” was just sleeping on a stranger’s floor.

Are you ready for 80 minutes of music that changed everything, and sold almost nothing?
Then step into the van, crank the volume, and embrace the noise.

SST: Sounds So Tremendous. Or Something."

Not bad, I must say! As usual origin of each track & year of release is tagged in the music files and noted in the download folder. Hope you enjoy!


  1. Black Flag - Nervous Breakdown (2:05)
  2. Hüsker Dü - I Apologize (3:36)
  3. Angst - Red Wing (2:43)
  4. Minutemen - The Glory of Man (2:57)
  5. Saccharine Trust - We Became Snakes (5:21)
  6. Würm - I'm Dead (3:24)
  7. Bad Brains - Sacred Love (3:36)
  8. No Man is Roger Miller - Calling the Animals (3:56)
  9. Lawndale - Interstellar Caravan (2:49)
10. Das Damen - 555 (ESP With a Fender Version - Long Mix) (6:07)
11. Screaming Trees - Transfiguration (3:55)
12. Slovenly - The Way Untruths Are (4:16)
13. Volcano Suns - Noodle on the Couch (3:56)
14. Dicks - Rich Daddy (2:27)
15. Sonic Youth - Shadow of a Doubt (3:32)
16. Trotsky Icepick - Big Dreams (4:03)
17. Pell Mell - Aero (3:54)
18. fIREHOSE - The Candle and the Flame (3:11)
19. Descendents - Impressions (3:06)
20. Meat Puppets - Away (3:25)
21. Dinosaur Jr. - Lose (3:07)
22. Grant Hart - Twenty-Five Forty-One (4:40)

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Songs from Beneath the Sultana Tree, Volume 1 (revised version)

The second variation on the Spaghetti Tree mixes, this mix has one common theme which shouldn't be too hard to decipher... First posted on mixcloud 3+ years ago, when collecting all the tracks in FLAC to recreate for this blog, I wasn't completely satisfied with the finished result, so I've made a few changes. Below is the original mix as it appeared on mixcloud, it would be interesting to know which one you prefer! The revised version will appear on mixcloud soon. 
Edit: Revised version now on mixcloud

  1. Turid - Song (4:28)
  2. Magik Markers - American Sphinx Face (6:45)
  3. Project Pollen - Scum (4:11)
  4. Melt-Banana - Spider Snipe (2:12)
  5. Lhasa - Anywhere on This Road (4:35)
  6. Throwing Muses - Snakeface (3:28)
  7. Jane Weaver - Oh You Lucky Ones (3:58)
  8. Even as We Speak - Spirit of Progress (3:43)
  9. Viv Albertine - Confessions of a MILF (5:30)
10. Team Dresch - #1 Chance Pirate TV (3:04)
11. Sonic Youth - Flower (3:32)
12. Beverly Copeland - Nothing Beautiful (5:27)
13. Faye Wong - Duòluò (3:39)
14. Nancy Priddy - Mystic Lady (6:30)
15. Jan & Lorraine - Bird of Passage (3:53)
16. Bongwater - Obscene & Pornographic Art (3:19)
17. ESG - Moody (Spaced Out) (4:15)
18. Elizabeth Anka Vajagic - Where You Wonder (6:50)

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Songs from Beneath the Spaghetti Tree Vol. 48

 

  1. Sudden Death of Stars - Goodbye (3:36)

  2. Mark Lanegan Band - Stitch It Up (2:56)
  3. Otoboke Beaver - S'il Vous Plait (2:15)
  4. The Godfathers - I Want Everything (2:51)
  5. Gabriel Family - That's All You Need to Know (2:53)
  6. Jem Targal - Luckey Guy (2:53)
  7. Robert Calvert - Voyaging to Vinland (3:59)
  8. The Modern Lovers - I'm Straight (4:16)
  9. King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard - Real's Not Real (3:40)
10. The Tokens - I Could Be (1:48)
11. A.J. Rowe - Smoke My Pipe (The Sign Ain't Right) (4:58)
12. Linda Guilala - Estado Natural (5:01)
13. Clinic - Complex (2:39)
14. Fovea Hex - Chained (5:17)
15. Morton Valence - Man on the Corner (5:05)
16. R. Stevie Moore - Here Comes Summer Again (4:53)
17. Television - Venus (3:50)
18. Structure - Disco (2:19)
19. Wreckless Eric - Indelible Stain (4:09)
20. The Very Things - This Is Motortown (Solid Chrome) (2:59)
21. The Motors - Emergency (6:14)
22. Otoboke Beaver - Mean (0:18)

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Songs from Beneath the Spaghetti Tree Vol. 8

 

  1. Spacebox - Sue Ist Ein (2:44)

  2. Higamos Hogamos - Infinity Plus One (2:55)
  3. Random Hold - Second Nature (3:54)
  4. Kuno & The Marihuana Brass - Marihuana Mantra (2:33)
  5. Tages - You're Too Incomprehensible (2:33)
  6. Pere Ubu - Cloud 149 (2:37)
  7. Ghetto Brothers - Got This Happy Feeling (4:34)
  8. Fikret Kizilok - Yumma Gözün Kör Gibi (2:48)
  9. David A. Jaycock - Half Cut But Moving Swiftly (2:43)
10. English Heretic - Hell's Angel Blake (5:39)
11. Big Business - Cats, Mice (3:50)
12. Mariah - Soko Kara... (5:19)
13. Overhang Party - Pyramid (5:35)
14. Mamuthones - Don't Be Choosy (5:16)
15. Hailu Mergia and The Walias - Musicawi Silt (3:46)
16. Love Sculpture - In the Land of the Few (3:55)
17. Bipolaroid - Where's the Spring (1:36)
18. Spherical Objects - The Knot (1:38)
19. Savage Republic - Varvakios (3:36)
20. Gang of Four - Outside the Trains Don't Run on Time (3:15)
21. Los Impala - Let Them Try (3:00)
22. Anthroprophh - Space Box Zonk Machine / Dog (4:30)

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Minutemen - History Lesson

 

Once again I have to thank Manerg for my introduction to Minutemen, way back in the 80s. Unfortunately the band no longer existed at the time of my introduction, singer/guitarist D. Boon tragically dying in a van accident in late 1985. There just isn't enough space here to attempt a short bio of the band, to those unfamiliar with them I suggest reading the wiki entry on them here.

Minutemen have had the odd anthology released but never really comprehensive, either a collection of live recordings or their early releases compiled on "My First Bells" which was a cassette only release in 1983. In the late 90s, their record label released "Introducing the Minutemen" which did feature songs from their whole catalogue, but for me it was somewhat lacking in content. It was also less than 1 hour long, and only featured a handful of songs from their finest release, the double album "Double Nickels on the Dime". This album features heavily in my collection, of the 48 tracks compiled 13 of them come from it. I'm sure many of you out there will argue about which tracks from each album/EP should have been included, but this is just my own personal favourites, and it did take some deliberating. For instance there's 2 versions of "Little Man With a Gun in his Hand", the first one from the EP "Buzz or Howl Under the Influence of Heat", or the re-recorded version which only features on the vinyl edition of "Double Nickels on the Dime". While the later version is harder to find, I slightly prefer the original recording so picked that.

As ever I have tagged in the music files the origin of each song, but have also included a text file with this information. Hopefully most of you will enjoy this collection of one of the most outstanding underground bands of the 1980s.

  1. Sickles and Hammers (0:47)
  2. History Lesson (0:37)
  3. More Joy (1:08)
  4. Plight (1:37)
  5. Political Song for Michael Jackson to Sing (1:30)
  6. Cut (2:02)
  7. What Is It? (1:50)
  8. Case Closed (1:28)
  9. Ain't Talkin 'Bout Love (0:39)
10. Search (0:51)
11. Dreams are Free Motherfucker! (1:11)
12. Life as a Rehearsal (1:34)
13. My Heart and the Real World (1:05)
14. Lost (2:30)
15. King of the Hill (3:21)
16. Straight Jacket (0:58)
17. History Lesson - Part II (2:11)
18. Futurism Restated (0:55)
19. Below the Belt (0:56)
20. Sell or Be Sold (1:44)
21. Ack Ack Ack (0:27)
22. Tension (1:19)
23. Clocks (0:39)
24. Take 5, D. (1:38)
25. The World According to Nouns (2:06)
26. Take Our Test (2:44)
27. Fake Contest (1:43)
28. I Felt Like a Gringo (2:04)
29. The Red and the Black (4:08)
30. Two Beads at the End (1:52)
31. Cohesion (1:55)
32. Corona (2:25)
33. Working Men are Pissed (1:18)
34. Black Sheep (1:09)
35. 9:30 May 2 (1:04)
36. Mutiny in Jonestown (1:08)
37. Spoken Word Piece (1:07)
38. Dr. Wu (1:44)
39. The Cheerleaders (3:47)
40. Little Man With a Gun in His Hand (3:11)
41. Storm in My House (1:58)
42. Song for El Salvador (0:31)
43. Party With Me Punker (0:55)
44. No Exchange (1:50)
45. Stories (1:35)
46. Tour-Spiel (2:48)
47. The Glory of Man (2:56)
48. Badges (0:39)

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A Tribute to the Classics

 

As many of you know, I also have a mixcloud page where all the mixes that have appeared on this blog I have posted there too. Many mixcloud mixes though, have not featured on this blog, so I will start creating some of those for here. First will be my two (so far) tributes to the "classics", which feature cover versions of songs which I consider to be superior or equal to the original. I'm sure many will disagree with my choices! So, here's the first volume:

01. Bauhaus - Third Uncle (5:09)

02. Melt-Banana - Uncontrollable Urge (2:56)
03. Rowland S. Howard - White Wedding (2:53)
04. The Arbors - Like a Rolling Stone(3:35)
05. Dana Gillespie - Andy Warhol (2:34)
06. Yellow Magic Orchestra - Day Tripper (2:40)
07. The Groove Farm - Red Dress (3:26)
08. The Lee Harvey Oswald Band - Boss Hoss (2:15)
09. 16 Horsepower - Heart and Soul (6:26)
10. Terry Edwards - New Rose (2:49)
11. The Ballroom - Baby, Please Don't Go (3:06)
12. Magazine - I Love You, You Big Dummy (3:44)
13. My Bloody Valentine - Map Ref 41°N 93°W (4:09)
14. Bongwater - Kisses Sweeter Than Wine (3:58)
15. Silver Apples - Mustang Sally (3:14)
16. Drinking Electricity - Shaking All Over (3:06)
17. The Damned - Looking at You (5:06)
18. The Better Beatles - Baby You're a Rich Man (2:39)
19. Au Pairs - Repetition (3:23)
20. Petra Haden - Our Love Was (3:18)
21. The Nova Local - Morning Dew (5:39)

 

Original versions by:
01. Brian Eno 02. Devo 03. Billy Idol 04. Bob Dylan
05. David Bowie 06. The Beatles 07. Alvin Stardust 08. The Sonics
09. Joy Division 10. The Damned 11. Big Joe Williams 12. Captain Beefheart
13. Wire 14. The Weavers 15. Mack Rice 16. Johnny Kidd & the Pirates
17. MC5 18. The Beatles 19. David Bowie 20. The Who 21. Bonnie Dobson

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