Category Archives: EP

The Undertones Teenage Kicks 7-inch EP

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John Peel, already a legendary  DJ, plays Teenage Kicks twice in  a row in 1978. He would play this song often in the Fall of 1978 and throughout the rest of his career.  It would become known as one of his favorites.  A man known for his eclectic music taste, Peel had a special affinity for  the song, Teenage Kicks, one that endured almost thirty years after he first introduced the song to his listeners.

Out of all the music he brought to the radios of millions, John Peel’s gravestone has the lyric from Teenage Kicks – Teenage dreams so hard to beat. No annotation is needed, Peel fans know.


Though Peel doesn’t want to take all the credit in the clip above, record labels started to seek out the Derry quintet when the EP became part of his broadcast.  They were playing together years before in Northern Ireland, an area known more for unemployment and political struggle at the time then for music.

This is a well crafted collection of an experienced band nearly calling it quits. The world is a much better place because of these four songs – Teenage Kicks, True Confessions, Smarter Than U and Emergency Cases.


The 2008 7-inch SALVO EP is the official digital remastered 30th anniversary editions of the Good Vibrations EP that ended up on Peel’s turntable back 1978.  Turntabling has a copy of this limited edition release Teenage Kicks EP for sale –  (the image below is an example , our copy is #4670) first come first served.

The Undertones Teenage Kicks EP For Sale

 

PiL Vinyl–First in 20 Years! Coming For Record Store Day

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The music blogs are abuzz about the new Public Image Limited four-song vinyl EP due out as part of Record Store Day on April  21, 2012. It’s a precursor to the new PiL album, This Is Public Image Limited due out in the summer.

In an interview for the BBC, John Lydon told interviewers Adrian Larkin & Matt Everitt, “…we record live, some songs are made up on the spot,” and adds that the new songs are “not moody and terrible” and making a point to mention the “completely experimental” nature of the new material.

You can get a listen to the new PiL track, One Drop, at the SlicingUpEyeballs Soundcloud account. The track and commentary are via the BBC.

Soundwise, One Drop hearkens back to mid-period Public Image Limited, taking the more commercial (but still quite enjoyable) sounds of 9, stripped down a bit with a bit more dub space added for good measure. It’s nowhere near as dub-influenced as the Wobble-era recordings, but you’ll feel a bit of the Jamaican vibe, definitely. There’s even a bit of vocal harmony–PiL has always sounded stronger with additional voices to counterbalance Lydon’s verbal assault vocal style. Well done, lads.

Lydon’s voice sounds more vulnerable than in the past. The swagger is still there, but it’s been tempered by age and tragedy. Lydon had a death in the family prior to this recording–whether or not that factors into the actual songwriting, his material sounds more thoughtful, less antagonistic. Could that be reading too much into one single? Perhaps.

Lyrically, he’s revisiting his past. The track is said to be an autobiographical snapshot of his life in the early days. It sounds strange to hear Lydon, the grand old warhorse of the rock-n-roll swindle, singing “We are teenagers”…but the track is solid, no doubt about it. Any PiL follower would be happy to have this in the collection.

PiL and John Lydon fans will also be interested in the new Public Image Limited Live At Rock Palast DVD which is, at the time of this writing, is in the pre-order stage, due to be released on February 21.

WTF Album Covers: Morrissey Get Rich Or Die Tryin’

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When the PR spin doctors couldn’t live up to the courage of their convictions with the original gun-totin’ 50 Cent image for Get Rich Or Die Tryin’, they took the most spineless, cheesy route possible to save their wretched little movie–they swapped the gangsta thuggin gun visuals for the pic on the left–Curtis Jackson holding a cute little tyke instead.

“Awwww” you say. “Just look at that sweet little kiddo! Curtis Jackson might carry a pistol, but at least he won’t let the kid use it as a pacifier.”

It was shameless. It was corny. It worked. Even though poor 50 Cent had to endure the shame of the sort of spin doctoring usually reserved for Republican senators caught with their hands on the interns, he not only ended up no worse for the wear, he might have actually become a major influence for older, less relevant crooners who can’t…quite…command…the attention of the media and buying public the way they used to.

Case in point: Morrissey, who could be the very very first case of “me too” crossover from alt. rock to hip hop imagery. Is Moz trying to score points with 50 Cent’s audience? Is this the very first “aging rocker versus rap” feud? Perhaps Morrissey and Fiddy will engage in some kind of DJ battle, rap-off or…um, croon-off.

Probably not. But it would be damn amusing if they did. Behold Morrissey’s attempt to cash in on the baby pic image, which is somehow as disturbing as the possibility that he might try to guest-rap on the next 50 Cent single.

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Elephant Stone The Glass Box EP

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When this seven-track vinyl EP by Elephant Stone arrived in the post, I knew I was in for something good. For starters, the band makes sure to point out in the press materials that it’s an analog recording. 2-inch tape to 1/4 inch before it got onto vinyl.  My kind of recording aesthetics, those are.

Then there’s the record itself. If Shindig! magazine doesn’t get wind of this to further spread it to the masses, I’ll be very disappointed. The Elephant Stone Glass Box EP is chock full of psychadelic jangly pop that does indeed call back to the swirly, radio-friendly pop psychedelia, without being at all annoying about it.

Some of these genre-influenced bands get weighted down by their own musical obsessions, but in Elephant Stone’s case, it’s more about taking an influence and making it your own rather than aping it by rote down to the waistcoats and matching hairdos.

There’s some top-notch songwriting and playing on tracks like the moody Lies, Lies, Lies and the perky Strangers. On the B-side, Yesterday’s Gurl is an excellent slice of yearning with a great hooky Smithereens-style guitar riff tying the song together. Has to be said, 360 Degree Music has done well in adding Elephant Stone to the roster; this band provides a completely enjoyable listening experience–not a single bummer song on the vinly–and that’s no easy feat.

That said, the final cut Dhun (available for free on the Elephant Stone official site)  is a total departure from the rest of the EP. It’s probably not the first track you should hear if you’re trying to decide whether to buy.

Instead, go to Pardon My Hindi and stream the Strangers and Savage Soul cuts–great stuff and totally representative of the band. Then you’ll know why you should buy this record now.
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