BROADCAST #17
AIR DATE: 04-18-06

Hello again, Fanatics! Tonight, we feature 8 bands/artists all getting an extended play. I picked out some of my favorite singles and EPs, as well as some choice tracks from the recent Wire re-issues. So many times we go all over the place with genres and bands and we will again of course but tonight, everyone gets to stretch a little. I hope you enjoyed this and we’ll be back next week with some really good stuff. I think we should get into more of that unreleased Nick Cave since I gave you all a breather this week. So much more great stuff to play, it’s hard to cram it all into two short hours a week but it’s a good time trying.
     For you Europeans, Australians and New Zealand Fanatics, there is a re-broadcast time of Friday mornings, 0200 – 0400 hrs. West coast time so you all can check out the show and not have to set your alarms to too rude an hour. If you want to download this show, http://www.rollins-archive.com/ is the place to go for that.
     As always, thanks for listening. Henry

Wire – Reuters, Practice Makes Perfect, 40 Versions: One track from the first three Wire albums to celebrate the newly mastered re-releases of Pink Flag, Chairs Missing and 154. They sound really great. As most of you have found, a new mastering of a CD doesn’t always mean it sounds better. I compared masterings of the older versions and these new ones and there’s no comparison. The new masterings are amazing. If you don’t have these records, you’re missing out on some really great music. The influence Pink Flag had on independent music of the eighties in America is huge. So many bands covered songs like Mr. Suit, 12XU, Ex-Lion Tamer, etc. I know most of you are familiar with these records. If you want to hear them with more punch and clarity than ever, these are the ones to check out.

Teen Idles – Minor Disturbance EP: Teen Idles / Sneakers / Get Up and Go / Dead Head / Fleeting Fury / Trans AM / Fiorucci Nightmare  / Getting in My Way / Too Young to Rock. The first ever Dischord release. I saw almost every Teen Idles show there was. This record was a big deal for all of us. In my mind it is a very important record in that it allowed other local bands that they could make records on their own. Of course this wasn’t the first local DC record by a long shot but as far as our small circle of bands, it was a major record. Since this record was released, Dischord has become one of the most important independent labels in America. It was great to be there at the start.

The Cramps – Human Fly / The Way I Walk: The first ever Cramps single on their own Vengeance Records label. I bought mine at a Cramps show. Later on, I was at Yesterday and Today Records and Skip, the owner showed me a copy of the single with a slight difference. The light bulb and the Cramps logo was painted in glow ink. He said it was rare. So, I parted with 20 bucks, about a day’s pay for it. Operating under the principle that I had not heard yet, “You never regret the records you buy, you regret the ones you don’t.” That one has served me well. Anyway, years later,  I found out that Lux Interior hand painted those single covers and he only did about 35 or so and gave up. Anyway, here are two of the coolest songs ever.

The Descendents – The Fat EP: My Dad Sucks / Mr. Bass / I Like Food / Hey Hey / Weinerschnitzel. This is the 2nd Descendents release. The first single, Ride The Wild, we heard a few weeks ago. In the spirit of this night of singles and EPs, we can’t leave out one of the greatest EPs of all time. If you want to find this one, I think it’s still around as the Bonus Fat EP+ CD on SST.

The Buzzcocks – Spiral Scratch EP: Released on the band’s New Hormones label, 01-29-77. Breakdown, Time’s Up, Boredom, Friends Of Mine. The first ever Buzzcocks record and one of my favorite EPs of all time. This is from the time the band still had Howard Devoto before he split to be in Magazine. From what the sites say, there were 16000 of this single pressed. All the pressings after the first run all say “Featuring Howard Devoto” on the cover. The first run do not. A perfect record in my opinion. I have been listening to this one since 1978 or so.

The Fall – Ed’s Babe EP: Ed's Babe, Pumpkin Head Xscapes, The Knight The Devil And Death, Free Ranger. Can’t leave out Manchester’s finest export, the mighty Fall. Released June 1992. One of my favorite Fall EPs. The corresponding album to this release is Code: Selfish. A great album but you knew I was going to say that! The Fall’s unofficial website address: http://www.visi.com/fall/index.html.

The Minutemen – The Bean Spill EP: Split Red, If Reagan Played Disco, Case Closed, Afternoons, Futurism Restated. This might be my favorite Minutemen EP. Case Closed is like a lot of Minutemen songs—incredible. Might be my favorite song of theirs. Actually, that’s a hard choice to make. So many good songs. I got to see this band play many times and it was always great. 

The Stooges – Sick Of You EP: I'm Sick Of You / Tight Pants / Scene Of The Crime. How many times did I listen to this record in 1982? I had it on tape with a dub of some Misfits tracks that Glenn gave me that eventually became the Static Age release. Whenever I could borrow Saccharine Trust’s tape deck I would put that tape in and listen. This is crushing genius.