When you're in Barcelona and you're desperately digging the bins, trying to turn up something exciting, you definitely pick up something that looks like this for 6 Euros. A few days prior, on our first entry to a record store of the whole trip, my travel-mates and I stumbled upon an original PARALISIS PERMANENTE Al Acto LP, ESKORBUTO Eskizofrenia 1987 LP pressing, DESORDEN Generacion Kaos LP, each for 12 euros or less. So I already had the record-scoring fever boiling through me and felt lucky. This ZARAMA single, from Discos Suicidas circa 1983, isn't particularly as exciting as the CODIGO NEUROTICO EP I'd hoped to find, but I knew nothing about it and it's actually a pretty cool discovery. "Zaramaren Erdian" is like an upbeat POLICE song fueled by power-pop-punk. The B side is a little more tame and ska influenced, but its catchiness actually makes it worthwhile for a flip every once an a while. The A side will be a new mix tape staple for sure.
I always liked EA80's tracks on Keine Experimente II and other compilations, but I only started really paying attention the last few years. They have a huge catalog of self-released albums dating back to 1982, and they're utterly impossible to find here in the states. I had a German friend make me an MP3 CD-R with like 6 EA80 albums while I was in Germany a few years ago, and it was just so dense that I couldn't dedicate the time to it, especially on that format. Ebay (tisk, I know) and Discogs have been useful resources for finding a few of their records, but they don't pop up that often and I'm not made of money. The more I discuss this band with German friends, the more they convince me that EA80 is one of the most important bands in the history of German punk, and I'm missing out on the brilliance of their lyrics because I don't know the language. Luckily this gem was reissued right before I come to Europe and it was fairly easy to grab a copy. The extra 7" is included in the download file. Simply unmatched, passionate, unique punk.
