I don't have much info about THE VALVES, but they were from Edinburgh, Scotland, and this single is from 1977. "For Adolfs' Only" is the more compelling track, though I'm unclear what the hell they're singing about. According to Wiktionary, there are 3 definitions for piss artist: someone who is frequently drunk, someone who claims knowledge or understanding that he does not possess, and someone who frequently ridicules others. Which one is Adolf? All 3?
"Robot Love" is still at least half catchy, but a bit more goofy and far less driving. But with lines like "we could go drinking with all the stars, but there's no atmosphere in the outer-space bar," how can you go wrong? Overall, this is a nice single to have in your arsenal for your DJ night!
It's easy to get distracted by how amazing "Girl On The Run" is, but this whole EP is so interesting and solid. "Porno Grows" relies on unconventional rhythms that almost have a Latino flair, topped off by piano tinkling and Honey Bane's youthful perspective of porn in London. We can all relate to "Boring Conversations" - pretty straight-forward. Essential CRASS release.
Sometimes being an avid record collector/enthusiast makes it hard to choose what to listen to. I'm one of those freaks who requires music to be playing about 95% of the time I'm at home, and the wall of records sort of blurs my ability to choose what to play, so I often just select something at random and throw it on. This trick has produced an array of results, from rediscovering a long-forgotten classic, to a first time discovery of a brilliant record that got filed too early, to a record that I actually just don't like that much and is occupying precious space in our living room. OR, sometimes I simply throw the record on and walk off to go cook, clean, make the bed (which I'm pretty bad at remembering to do), and forget to pay attention to the sounds. What a waste, right? Waste of awesome sounds, I mean. So I'm borrowing Greg's idea of writing a little something about each random pull to engage more with my collection. That's what the vinyl record is all about right?
First pull is the fucking brilliant second album from 1986 by the legendary Chicago-based ARTICLES OF FAITH. It's quite a bit more melodic and has a "softer" feel that their earlier works, but retains an extremely high level of intensity. I was 3 years old when In This Life was made, but I've done a lot of "research" over the years and it seems to me that this record is an incredible anomaly of its time. The arrangement and pulse of "Doesn't Have To Be That Way" is challenging and curious, but still manages to hook you in and make you believe it's totally natural. I hear pure honesty and intuition, which creates a sound that was a result of a special evolution and can't be copied. Few voices in punk can match Vic Bondi's. This is also one of the key punk LPs that reminds me how important melody is to me, and consistently pulls me away from the atonal and nihilistic end of the spectrum of punk/hardcore. I'd never let this one go!
