News

What’s up Sorry State readers, I hope everyone is having a nice week. This past Saturday, me and Dom were working the store together, and it was pretty busy, as Saturdays tend to be. Artsplosure was going on downtown as well, so there were a lot of people out n about. I was in a Willie Nelson mood that particular morning and we had just got some of his records from a buy we did a couple days earlier, so I decided to give those a spin. At one point, a young girl and her dad came in and were doing some shopping around. The guy explained to me his daughter had just recently gotten a record player and was trying to build up her collection. I happened to be playing Shotgun Willie at this point and they had been in there for about ten minutes before she asked her dad, “Who is this playing?” He told her to go ask us at the front counter who it was, so we told her and showed her the record and she was saying how much she liked it and asked if she could buy it. Of course you can buy this Willie Nelson record. It always feels good to sell something right off the record player, but especially when it’s someone who’s hearing something for the first time and it just really clicks with them. As Dom said, “another soul saved.” I guess it would make sense for me to write about Shotgun Willie for my record this week, but I don’t even own that one. For my choice this week, I’m going with what I think is the coolest Willie album, Red Headed Stranger. I’m always a fan of murder ballads and this album is just one long murder ballad. It follows the tale of a preacher who’s become a fugitive on the run after catching his wife cheating with another man and killing them both. What more do you need? It feels more like watching a movie than listening to an album to me honestly. I also love the way he incorporates older songs like Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain and puts them in a whole new perspective to tell the story. There are so many Willie Nelson albums it’s kinda hard to know which ones are actually really worth checking out and listening to the whole way through, but I would definitely say this one is essential listening.

Hey Sorry State fam! Hope you’re having a fantastic week! Just wanted to quickly say thanks for your overall rad-ness, your kind words, and continued support. We appreciate you and we think you’re the coolest. Ok let’s go….

My pick this week is the new EP (Fantasy) by the English post-punk band, Es. This is their third release over seven years, but this is the first time I’ve heard them. Daniel said he really liked the EP too, so we got a grip for the store. It’s a good-looking EP. A beautiful turquoise/aqua (what’s the difference?) with a bright green sleeve (which compliments the vinyl color so well), and a good sized lyric sheet insert.

Aesthetics aside, it sounds really cool. Broadly, the sound is mid-tempo gothy synth punk with doomy, yet lovely, vocals. The crazy part is they don’t have a guitarist. Even crazier, I didn’t even notice until a few spins later when someone told me. It’s only four tracks, and while that makes for a short EP, the songs are very satisfying and ordered in a thoughtful way. Upon first listen I will admit that it sounded a little samesy to me. Not a bad thing, as I happen to like the style so why not hear more of it? But after a few listens I realized I rushed to judgement. More on that later.

The opener, Emergency, sounds like a period piece, and that period would be the early to mid-eighties. It’s a likable and sensible opener. It doesn’t blow you away, but it still makes sure you aren’t going anywhere. It worked, because here I am writing about the EP for my staff pick.

After the first track you can throw the sensibilities out the window because the song Too Late really struts its stuff. The crunchy bass parts sound great with the high-pitched synth nuggets. The latter sounds are reminiscent of an 80s video game, and lean a little egg punk. It’s like a demented pop song.

The song Unreal is kind of like the first track stylistically, but it’s cleaner, faster, and it just gets to the point quicker. It has a bigger chorus. The kind of simple and catchy chorus that gets stuck in your head.

Swallowed Whole closes out the album. It’s faster, more urgent, and the rhythm section is punchier and more apparent than previous tracks. It feels like the culmination of the prior three tracks.

It sounds like the songs build on one another. Not necessarily in a linear fashion, but in some sort of interconnected way. Each track has its core sound or style and also incorporates the coolest features of the other tracks, but in a subtle way. That might not make sense. I’m probably reading too far into it, but I think you have to read further into it to notice the nuances that make the record more unique and intentional than you may give it credit for.

Anyway, give it a go!

Until we meet again.

Thanks,

Angela

Hello and thanks for reading. I’ve been out sick from work this week, unfortunately. I am here today though to write about this (also) sick record from LANGUID. However, before I begin, I wanted to mention this killer new shit that I can’t get enough of. While it’s just a Bandcamp link for now, I know that it will eventually be released on Adult Crash. This is some of that real deal Tottis-worship, from none other than Uppsala, Sweden! The vocalist, Martin, booked SCARECROW in Uppsala on our European tour. (Hi Martin!!) It makes me feel super cool to know someone in the band across the ocean, especially cos I like it so much, haha. I can’t wait for the record. Until then I will be frequently visiting their Bandcamp site. So, LANGUID first came on my radar with their debut 7”. Their sound very quickly caught my ears. The most obvious influence I pick up on here is DISCHANGE. When a band like this is your primary inspiration, I think you gotta be super creative. Since almost all the songs are slow, the riffs must be very catchy, and the D-beat MUST groove. If you can’t achieve both, the record is going to sound sterile and just drag on. This pulled-back DISCHARGE style has been done countless times, but every now and again a band executes the sound with perfection, like LANGUID has done here. I feel like the DISCHANGE formula is unique, and so influential, because despite the songs being groovy and catchy, the riffs are still heavy and mean. Soon after DISCHANGE changed (haha) over to MEANWHILE they developed a more “rocked out” style compared to the heavy edge that DISCHANGE carried. Don’t get me wrong, they have plenty of songs that still have that heavy sound (including every single track on this amazing 2005 EP), I just feel like they leaned more into other aspects of the songwriting as time went on. Their 1995 masterpiece Remaining Right Silence is before I notice this change, however. Alright, LANGUID. It’s cool Desolate has decided to get this LP back in print. I remember trying to find a copy soon after it was released was no easy task. It was released only by the band in Canada. This Desolate release includes a bonus 7” which features their 2017 demo, remastered at Communichaos. I had never heard these recordings before. All these songs are re-recorded on the LP I think, but it’s always cool to get to hear their original take on the songs. Aside from the excellent songwriting on these releases, LANGUID’s artwork has always gotten my attention. The illustrations are simple yet mean. Just like the music, haha. They always gave me a Scandinavian Jawbreaker kind of vibe, but it doesn’t come off quite as cheesy. Naturally, I was excited to see this Desolate release came with a poser of the front cover! Alright, I think that’s all I got left in me this week. Thanks for reading, and thanks to everyone for the support. Peace!

Greetings Sorry Staters, thanks for clicking on us and reading. Thanks also for the nice comments and support that we received from many of you this past week. As you may have noticed, we had the hump and were annoyed by certain comments directed towards us. Regardless, we are moving on and will continue to work hard and do our best for you out there and hope that if we slip and make a mistake, you will understand and give us the benefit of the doubt instead of slagging us off and being that guy. Of course, if we deserve to be told off, we’ll take it, but fortunately those types of situations don’t happen that often.

Moving on. Writing anything today is with heavy heart after the sad news of yet another legend leaving us. I’m speaking of Tina Turner. Rest in power Queen. I’m of the age where I grew up with her music and presence in the popular culture. One of the first records I owned as a kid was the River Deep Mountain High album on A&M. That was the Phil Specter produced album she did with Ike. The title tune being a song that originally did not hit in the US, but went massive in the UK. Great album with a bunch of great tunes. Title track of course, but I Idolize You being my next favorite. Lovers of Soul and R & B music have been following Tina since the early 1960s and I joined her rank of fans as a kid in the 70s and 80s. I don’t need to tell you about her remarkable story, but suffice to say she truly earned her legendary status.

I was thinking about the book that Daniel talked about last week in the newsletter on celebrities that fall from grace and whether it is possible to separate the art from the artist etc. Can we still listen to Ike & Tina records? Don’t get me wrong, I love Private Dancer as much as the next person and can dig the Mad Max movie, but the records she made with Ike in the 1960s are so good. Not to ignore all the horrible things that Ike was, but he wasn’t the only person in the studio when all those fantastic records were made. He may have been the main catalyst for the music’s creation, but many others worked hard to make them happen. Should their efforts and talent be ignored? Big questions and answers don’t come easy. As the writer of the book points out. I’m going to continue enjoying the music Tina made with Ike in celebration of her and for the power of the music itself and nothing more.

I hate to make this column an obituary, but I couldn’t talk about one legend passing without also mentioning the sad departure of Andy Rourke last week also. Bass player for The Smiths and all-around top bloke. Those records would not have sounded as great as they were without his inspired playing. When your band mate is Johnny Marr and he is in awe of the lines you played, you must be damn good. Andy, in later life, lived in New York City and was a fantastic DJ. His show on East Village Radio was terrific and that show and the station were influential on many, including The Face Radio, who I am with now. God bless you Andy, rest in peace.

As for my “staff pick” selection this week? Other than plenty of Smiths and Tina? How about a great 45 that finally made its way to us here from the UK? We have been proud to be carrying releases from a fabulous small label in England called The Big AC Records. Among a talented roster of artists, they are championing the career of an incredible vocalist called Carmy Love. We have one of her previous records, Rebel, here in stock. This new one is titled In The Morning, although officially a few months old from release date it’s new to us and I imagine you. This is modern sophisticated soul music that manages to maintain a retro feel whilst still sounding current. Not as easy as it might seem. Carmy Love may not be in Tina Turner territory quite yet, but critics and fans are falling over themselves to heap praise on her vocal talent. All her previous singles have sold out at the label, so this is a good chance for you to snag a copy before they disappear. She has a new single out next month which we should be stocking, so keep your eyes peeled for that but in the meantime go take a listen to In The Morning and see what you think for yourselves.

Okay, back to work. These boxes won’t open themselves. Plenty of incoming goodness along with a nice new batch of cool used records are awaiting my attendance. Better hop to it. Cheers and see you next time.

• Dom

What’s up Sorry Staters?

I had a few people hit me up after last week and check in about my insulin pump and not feeling so well. Well, for those who care, I got my new insulin pump and am feeling much better! Just in time too, because I’d hate to be in a sorry state (hehe) health-wise during all the rad stuff I got coming up in June. I mentioned in a previous newsletter, but next weekend I’m flying to Minneapolis for a skate event hosted by Thrasher. Then, that evening, Public Acid is playing with Electric Chair. It would’ve sucked to be having a hard time with diabetes while being far from home, so I’m glad I’ve got that all sorted. Should be a blast!

I was trying to think about what to write about for my staff pick section this week. It’s always strange timing when several celebrities die within a few days of each other. South Park had a funny episode about that several years ago where the plot revolved the “rule of 3” where celebrities always pass away in groups of 3. Kinda funny. Kinda dark too, I guess haha. It is kind of a weird time we live in. Seems like famous people are at an age where every other week they’re dropping like flies. I don’t know, I honestly have mixed feelings about the nature of “celebrity” in general. Not that I roll my eyes or anything, but when I find myself being bombarded by a flood of social media posts about celebrity/musician/actor X, it becomes a bit exhausting. Like, Tina Turner passing away is sad and all, but I personally don’t have a deep emotional reaction upon receiving that news. But hey, that’s not to diminish anybody’s feeling any type of way about a famous person’s passing.

All that said, Algy Ward died. I’ve decided that’s what I want to write about and I’ll attempt to not be cringey in the process. Maybe my perspective on this comes from the crabby, judgmental part of my brain, but it’s hard for me to think of Algy Ward as a “celebrity.” I understand that he was a public figure that played in bands that many people consider meaningful (myself included), but my reaction to his passing doesn’t feel the same as like when Tom Petty or Olivia Newton-John or whoever passes away. It’s just not the same. I also find myself questioning the character of said famous person when they die. But whatever, maybe that’s not what you’re supposed to care about. I will say that with Algy, he touched upon some records that hold a special in place in my heart—most notably, he played on my favorite record ever made.

I find Algy Ward’s journey pretty interesting. Though I love Music For Pleasure, you could argue it’s basically like The Damned’s sophomore slump. When the band reassembled after Brian James quit, Captain Sensible moved to guitar and they got a particularly interesting fill-in on bass. I don’t know if they had other scab bass players in between, but I’m pretty sure Algy stepped in to take over for Lemmy Kilmeister. Pretty rad. Then the band would make my favorite record ever (probably, so hard to say emphatically) Machine Gun Etiquette. I think Algy was only 19 or 20 at the time. Just before that, he played on The Saints’ Eternally Yours—my personal favorite Saints album. So right there he touched upon 2 legendary punk bands’ third and best albums. The rule of 3 (wink wink). Not too long after leaving The Damned, Algy formed the heavy metal band Tank. And then, bringing it back to Motorhead, Fast Eddie Clark produced Tank’s debut album Filth Hounds of Hades. Pretty Damned good run if you ask me.

Many readers of our newsletter probably know all this info already. I’m not trying to re-write the dude’s autobiography or anything. It’s just when I take a look at Algy’s string of records he played on, I do find it rather mind-blowing. So rad. RIP Algy. Thanks for the music.

Anyway, that’s all I’ve got this week. As always, thanks for reading.

‘Til next week,

-Jeff

Egg: The Polite Force LP (1971, Deram)

I have now succumbed to one of the ultimate record collector cliches: I’m into Canterbury. This has been brewing for a while—I chose Caravan’s album In the Land of Grey and Pink as my staff pick way back in July 2020 and I had been checking out Gong and Steve Hillage before that, but the world of Canterbury has sucked me in over the past few months as I’ve spent more time with Canterbury mainstays like Soft Machine, Hatfield and the North, and Quiet Sun. I’d been exploring this scene on my own time, but the process got sped up thanks to a couple of folks who sold records to Sorry State. One guy was so attached to his Canterbury records that he kept all those, but sold us several thousand others, and on my house calls I spent a lot of time talking with him about his favorite records. Then, coincidentally, another prog aficionado sold us his record collection. This guy was willing to part with his Canterbury gems, so I scored original copies of several of the records the first guy was raving about. Synchronicity!

For those of you who are unfamiliar, Canterbury refers to the city in Kent, England (famous as the setting of Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales), and Canterbury music refers to the explosion of music that happened there in the late 60s and early 70s. For me, what’s interesting about Canterbury music is its unique set of influences. The musicians in that scene were interested in the then-current psychedelic and progressive rock movements happening in the UK, but they were also engaged with jazz (including the contemporary jazz-rock fusion movement Miles Davis was pioneering), avant-garde and experimental classical music by composers like Stockhausen and Edgard Varèse, and early modern English folk music. These aren’t influences that lend themselves to a natural fusion, and a lot of Canterbury albums can feel eclectic, with jarring shifts in tone and style from one track from the next, or sometimes even within a single track.

I’m not sure when I happened upon Egg’s second album, The Polite Force—it may have just been in reading about the Canterbury scene—but when I first listened to it, the monstrous organ riff that opens the record knocked me on my ass. While Egg didn’t employ a guitarist, organist Dave Stewart lays down a riff as dense and sludgy as anything Black Sabbath or Deep Purple did in their heyday. While nothing else on The Polite Force is like that, it’s a great introduction because it demands your full attention, which Egg subsequently tests over the course of the album. In researching the critical reaction to The Polite Force, I found many people were put off by the album’s experimental elements. The Polite Force certainly leans more toward that end of the Canterbury spectrum, with much of its runtime given over to Stockhausen-influenced tape manipulation and freewheeling jazz experimentation. I guess I can see how it’s too much for some people, but for me Egg keeps the ideas coming fast and furious, and even if I like some moments more than others, wondering what they’re going to do next keeps me engaged throughout the record.

Last night, as I was playing The Polite Force, I was pondering why Canterbury music appeals to such a particular breed of nerdy record collector. Can you appreciate this music if you have less than two thousand albums in your collection? Perhaps you can, but having a voracious appetite for music seems to help. Maybe that’s because the Canterbury scene is so embedded in its context that you need some knowledge of the influences they were working with to appreciate what they were doing. Or maybe it’s because the way these bands combined the different elements of their respective sounds was often surprising, even jarring. Maybe it’s perfect for an old head who craves that sense of discovery, but has kind of heard it all before.

Another way the Canterbury scene whets the collector nerd’s appetite is how interconnected everything is. As I was reading about Egg last night, for instance, I learned that guitarist Steve Hillage had played in a group called Uriel, which was basically Egg plus Steve Hillage. While Uriel never released anything, the group reformed in 1969 and released a self-titled album as Arzachel, which streaming service recommendation algorithms really think I’ll like, but I’ve never checked out. Even more enticing is Khan’s album Space Shanty, which came out in 1972. Khan featured most of the personnel from Uriel / Arzachel, and the songs on their LP were intended for the follow-up to Steve Hillage’s solo album Fish Rising, another ye olde staffe picke para moi. The vibe on that one is supposed to be more space rock than prog, and I can’t wait to dive in and learn more.

What’s up Sorry State readers? I hope everyone is having a nice week. Last week I travelled to Colorado to visit one of my best friends who lives there and we attended the two nights of Billy Strings at Red Rocks. Ever since I learned about Red Rocks when I was probably like 13 I’ve wanted to go to a show out there, so it was awesome to finally have the opportunity to do so. What fun would a trip be without some bumps along the way, though? Upon arriving at my gate to fly out from Raleigh, my flight was delayed by 4 hours due to a tornado watch at the Denver Airport. No worries, as long as I make it over there I don’t mind. I finally make it to Denver and my buddy comes to pick me up and drive back to his place in Boulder and it’s pouring rain. He told me it’s been raining the last two days straight and it should let up tomorrow cause it never rains for that long there. It did not let up the next day. We ended up getting to the venue at about 6 for a 7:30 show time. We park and throw on all our protective layers, raincoats and ponchos and all. It was also about 40 degrees and windy up in the mountains, so not only was it gonna be wet, it was gonna be cold. We have a couple beers and grab some roadies for the long line ahead. We were hoping the rain would eventually let up some, but it honestly only got worse. By the time we got to the end of the line to get into the show, my water resistant boots and two layers of socks had already soaked through and my pants were drenched as well. Really, the only part that kept dry was my upper body cause I had about 6 layers on. I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything else, though. It felt like a true journey just to get to the show and only the strong and willing had made it. The huge amphitheater was still packed out despite the weather. The sound of wind ripping through cheap plastic ponchos filled the air. Nary a joint could even be lit in the harsh conditions. But Billy and the boys finally rolled out onto the stage and the place erupted and the attendees who stuck it through were treated to an incredible show. The whole show was fine tuned and songs thoughtfully picked to address the weather, starting things off with Cold On The Shoulder, a song written by the late Gordon Lightfoot, who just passed away earlier this month. Shortly following this was a performance of Dreadful Wind and Rain (how could you not?), a more recent interpretation (made popular by Jerry Garcia and David Grisman) of a traditional murder ballad dating back to the 17th century. Before the end of the first set was also a performance of one of my favorite Doc Watson songs, Red Rocking Chair. Man, I love hearing them play Doc Watson tunes. Set break rolls around and when the music stops and you’re not dancing, that’s when you notice how bad the weather is. It was raining sideways. Sometimes you would think it was letting up, but then the lights would hit the right angle and you could see it was still pouring. It was like being a wet fish in water. The second set started off strong, but my favorite part of the show was when Billy mentioned how a lot of songs he plays were learned by way of Doc Watson and this next song is one Doc picked up from Mississippi John Hurt, which was Make Me a Pallet On Your Floor. I was so happy to finally get to hear Billy perform it, and at such an amazing venue. Like I’ve mentioned before, that’s the reason I love bluegrass and folk music so much, a song passed down from three of my favorite artists, always reaching a new generation. Another highlight of the show was the performance of It’s Raining Here This Morning, a song made popular by a favorite of Dom and I’s, the Stanley Brothers. I think you can pick up a theme for the show from the song titles. It’s cool to think how different the setlist would’ve been had the weather just been different, but having the rain pour on me at Red Rocks is a memory I won’t soon forget. Okay, I’m gonna do a shorter recap of the second night cause that was really long. The weather was amazing for this show. We ended up getting to the lot to hang out before the show at around 4. It was nice just chilling before the show up there in the mountains. We even saw an elk walking around the top of the venue. Hell, people just walked up to you and handed you free mushrooms. Colorado is a great place. I even got to meet up with one of my best buddies from Memphis who I haven’t seen in years, and he joined us for the show. The weather was great throughout the whole show, but compared to the weather the night before, it felt like the biggest luxury in the world. I’m pretty sure I saw a bunch of shooting stars and a UFO during the second set that night, but that’s still up for debate. Anyway, both nights were incredible, and it was such a fun trip out there. I always love visiting Colorado and hope to make it back to another Red Rocks show. Technically, this write up should be about my record of the week, so I’ve picked out this Doc Watson record Dominic got me for my birthday a couple weeks back, the appropriately titled Memories, which features the aforementioned song, Make Me a Pallet On Your Floor. As me and Dom like to say, you just gotta put it out there in the universe. Sometimes things just work out exactly as they should.

Hi Sorry State readers! Hope you’re having a good week. It’s been a pretty chill week on my end. May has been kind of meh so I’m gonna talk about June.

So I was writing down the stuff I’m doing in June so that I don’t create any schedule conflicts, and it looks like June is gonna be pretty fun so far. We’ve got Subhumans with Scarecrow right around the corner at Cat’s Cradle! Stoked to say the least. About a week after that, I’m seeing Pixies here in Raleigh. Seeing Pixies is just mandatory at this point. Public Acid is playing a couple days after that at King’s here in Raleigh. Super excited to start seeing shows there again!

Anyway, my staff pick is Display Homes: What if You’re Right and They’re Wrong? I was entertaining 3 or 4 staff pick options, but this one won out without question. I liked it immediately and I’ve played it a couple times a day every day this week.

To preface this, I just wanted to say that when visiting the band’s IG page, I learned that the band’s guitarist and close friend Darrell had passed away last June. My sincere sympathies go out to the band. Darrell does some incredible guitar work on this album.

Display Homes hails from Sidney Australia. They recently released this fantastic post-punk album that leans poppy in a wonderfully weird and dynamic way. It’s mid to fast tempo the whole way through and it keeps you on your toes. It’s raw and minimalistic, which gives you a chance to really hear and appreciate their individual contributions. And the vocals are one of their greatest instruments. Loud, raw, erratic, and exciting. You never know what you’re gonna get.

Sometimes the singer does a talk and sing type thing on certain tracks that reminds me of the Pixies. But just a little bit. What’s impressive is how the drums are perfectly locked in with every syllable she sings. Maybe that’s easier to accomplish when you’re the singer and the drummer, but it sounds seamless. The song Proofread is a perfect example. That’s my favorite track on the album. I love the shouting vocals that become increasingly more intense in the chorus. There are a lot of big choruses in the album and this is where the singer really shines.

I can’t say enough about the bass parts on this album. The bass is an integral part of their sound. I don’t think more than ten seconds go by where you don’t hear the bass. The album is full of boppy bass intros and solos, and he is a big part of providing a solid foundation throughout the album. It also feels like he’s very intuitive.

The clean and razor sharp guitar work sounds killer played over the lower melodic bass riffs. The sharpness of the guitar riffs and frenzied vocals are mediated by the rhythm section in a really complimentary way. It’s obvious the band has really great chemistry.

This album is a must have for melodic post- punk lovers, but I think its the type of record a lot of people would enjoy. Every track is good, but my favorites are Proofread, Nitty Picky, CCTV, and Background Check. Check it out!

Thanks for reading!

-Angela

Hello and thanks for reading. I have been listening to KOHTI TUHOA a lot lately. I recently moved and Pelon Neljäs Valtakunta keeps finding its way back onto my turntable. I wrote about them in a staff pick a few years ago when I first heard them. They instantly had me hooked. When I heard their PAINAJAINEN cover, I lost my mind. On the album I just mentioned they have a song entitled “Kohti Tuhoa.” Unfortunately, there are times when a band has a song named after the band and it just doesn’t hit very hard. But every now and again there are occasions like this where it hits so hard you punch the fuckin air, even if you’re just jamming in your room alone. I feel like when you name a song after the band, it must be like the best song ever. It probably won’t have the same effect when you pull it out of the context of the full album, but “A Mean While” by MEANWHILE is another excellent song of this style. The lyrics are super clever, too. My drive to work takes about as long as the Who Killed Dove EP. I’ve been playing it every day for the past two weeks I think, haha. Funny enough, the song starts off with a song entitled “Crow.”

Anyway, today seems like a good day. I’m looking forward to whooping ass tonite in laser tag, and as you can see from my staff pic, I had a pretty sick mail day yesterday. I’ve been looking for this HEADCLEANERS 7” for ages it feels like. It feels great to cross one off the want list. (Yes, I have an actual written out want list.) I still desperately seek Extrem P with a green cover… I hope one day I find a copy to cherish and love forever, until death do us part. I got this copy of Disinfection in the mail from the UK alongside a few other new releases. I am here today to talk about one of those new releases, TÀRREGA 91’ on La Vida Es Un Mus. I saw they dropped a few new releases at once recently, and TÀRREGA 91’ instantly grabbed my attention. The cover looked classic, and even the name sounded classic as hell. I went to check it out, and surprise, the first track had my full attention! The band was described to take influence from bands like HHH, MG15, and ARROGANTA AGITATORER. I can definitely hear this, but one thing I hear (and see) is TAMPERE SS. Aside from the cover looking similar to an ‘80s Finnish punk collage, Tàrrega is the name of a city, just like Tampere. For the song structure, I mean of course at the end of the day it’s all DISCHARGE, but they have a few slower songs remind me of classic Finnish bands like TAMPERE SS or RIISTETYT. Speaking of RIISTEYT, the back cover of this TÀRREGA 91’ EP looks similar to Laki Ja Järjestys. The TÀRREGA 91’ discs are white labels, and they have these tiny gold stickers on them. They look just like the stickers Vote Vasko (P. Tuotanto) put on the represses of Laki Ja Järjestys and Systeemi Ei Toimi E.P. Haha, alright… enough of the nerd shit. Aside from TÀRREGA 91’ referencing their city of origin, it’s also referencing the year tons of youth rioted and nearly burned down their town hall. So sick. Per usual I didn’t really explain what the band sounds like but whatever. Overall, this is a killer record, and I would check it out if you have not. Alright that’s all for today. Thanks for reading and thanks for the support!

It’s Thursday and Newsletter time once again. Hi there everyone. Thank you so much for reading and supporting the store. We truly appreciate it. You have more than enough options for your screen time and buying needs, so any of it you throw our way means a lot. Cheers to you all. I always say the same thing each week, but it’s true, records are coming at us (thankfully) at a continued deluge rate. All sorts of stuff: cheap, expensive, rare, common, but all good. At least we think so. This week we worked on a nice collection that had some cool 70s Prog along with a lot of interesting UK pressed 45s from the Post Punk era. Those will be hitting the floor in the weeks to come. I bought another bunch of records the other day from a chap which we had to brush off outside first before bringing them inside due to the heavy layer of dust and fluff covering them all. I spent a couple of days dusting and cleaning them, getting black hands and sneezing constantly, but at the end came out with some nice records. So, although it may seem to some that we’re spending our time taking selfies and eating bonbons, we are working hard to make these records with all this great music available to you at a fair price. Sometimes we may pose on social media holding a record. This apparently annoys some, but guess what? That’s the game and how things work.

One of the rewards for going home with dust in your hair and lungs is that occasionally, as a record store jerk, you get to bring home a cool record. From the bunch of post punk 45s that I mentioned, I did grab a Wire—Dot Dash single. We are all big Wire fans here at Sorry State manors, as are you probably. I won’t front and say that I was hip to them out of the gate. I was just a kid in 1977, but sometime in the mid 1980s or so, I was introduced to their first two records and later the third. During the Brit Pop era of the 1990s, Wire became quite the influencers, to the point that they had to take bands to court for ripping them off. Anyhow, over the years, I have collected those first three albums and surrounding singles whenever I found a copy I could afford at the time. I still need a Mannequin single (don’t we all) but crossing off the Dot Dash one from the ol’ want list does feel good. What a crackin’ tune it is too and not an album track to boot, along with the B-side song Options R. For the last few decades, I have thankfully owned the Wire Play Pop compilation that had Dot Dash and Mannequin on it, so wasn’t without a version, but as all record nerds know, that’s not the same as owning the original singles. Who doesn’t love a picture sleeve with exclusive tracks?

As I said, Dot Dash is a cracking tune. Great catchy chorus—something about not crashing, with the trademark Wire guitar sound over a boppy beat. I had always thought the dot dash was a morse code reference, but now looking at the sleeve and listening again to the lyrics, it’s apparently about car headlights and their fog settings. Fair enough. Genius stuff and all under two and a half minutes. A proper length for a pop song.

Daniel and I were talking about some of the later Wire records and in particular A Bell Is A Cup…Until It Is Struck from 1988, as there was a copy of that one in this one collection. I admit to not being familiar with that one, along with The Drill from the 1990s. Daniel gave a big thumbs up to A Bell and so Jeff and I gave it a spin earlier. Naturally it’s a good record and of course I want it, but might have to be good and spend my money on food or rent or some other waste of finances. We promise we don’t take all the good stuff home ourselves. That’s called getting high on your own supply. Lol. Although I did have to convince Daniel that he shouldn’t feel bad about taking a couple of Prog and Krautrock records for himself.

So yeah, Wire, they’re awesome and you should listen to their records. That’s all I got on that for this week. Get to discovering them if you are new to the group and don’t forget the later albums too, there’s plenty to enjoy.

Cheers -Dom

What’s up Sorry Staters?

Another week, another smattering of records piling up around us here at Sorry State. I’ll be honest, I’m a bit flustered while I’m writing this. I’m the resident diabetic in the Sorry State crew, and I’ve been having a rough go of it for the last 12 hours or so. My insulin pump broke, and all morning I’ve been on and off the phone with both my doctor and customer service for the company who manufactures my pump. I’ll be working at the store today like usual, but keeping an extra close eye on my blood sugar, and sneaking into the bathroom periodically to give myself shots haha. Oh well, such is life. I’m trying to stay positive. Dom is playing “Electricity” by OMD, so that’s helping.

Speaking of music that eases feelings of frustration, I’ve been listening to Eddie & The Hot Rods a whole lot. Specifically, the Life on The Line record. I’m a regular viewer of the Analog Attack YouTube channel, and have tried my best to keep up with the series What Are You Listening To? Mike, the face of Analog Attack, has been cranking out episodes with different special guests every single week. Selfishly, I hope this rate of output doesn’t slow because, as a fellow record nerd, I eat it up. I love seeing dudes bringing good energy and cool records week after week. Should Mike invite me on and give me a chance to be a guest on the show one day, then I’d love it… if I can overcome my deep-seated self-consciousness, that is. Anyway, I digress. Eric Good, Pittsburgh resident and all around cool hardcore dude, talked about Eddie & The Hot Rods when he appeared on a recent episode. This rekindled my interest in the band.

Life On The Line is one of those records that I’ve seen come through the shop a million times, but I’ve never taken a copy home. And it’s not even really an expensive record. Which is weird, because this record is right up my alley. There’s a few bands that I would lump into the category of UK pub rock with a melodic edge that falls right on the heels of the punk explosion. “Do Anything You Wanna Do” is really a song to end all songs in my book. I’ve been listening to that song on constant repeat ad nauseum style. I’ve been in a weird mood over the last couple weeks and the melancholic undercurrent of this song has been striking a real sus-chord with me (get it? I’m such a dork). The song has that perfect blend of early glam a la T Rex, but mixed with a bit Heartbreakers attitude, Stiv Bators Disconnected-era catchiness, and that underlying debt to Mott The Hoople and Bowie. Speaking of which, (they mention this in the Analog Attack episode too) the dude on the front cover of the record kinda looks like Mick Ronson – well, you know, without my face being expertly super-imposed with Photoshop overtop of his haha. The lyrics speak to that feeling of dissatisfaction with your surroundings and desperate yearning for more. Acknowledging feelings of loneliness, but with that hard outer shell of feeling like you’re better off alone. The lyrics are just vague enough to be totally timeless and (for me anyway) relatable. The sentiment is similar on “Quit This Town,” which is also a banger and a bit more of an up-tempo rager than the anthemic opener. And I gotta be honest: the first 2 tracks are where it’s at for me. Eddie and the boys kinda lose me on “Telephone Girl.” That’s not to say there aren’t other great moments on this album. But in my childlike obsessive replay listening habits, I think a single with “Do Anything..” on the A-side and “Quit This Town” on the B would be ideal. Just a damn classic.

Anyway, that’s all I’ve got this week. As always, thanks for reading.

‘Til next week,

-Jeff

Claire Dederer: Monsters: A Fan’s Dilemma (2023, Knopf)

One of my least favorite duties at Sorry State is managing our “banned list,” the list of albums and artists we refuse to carry. This is not a task I am well equipped for. While I think of myself as a morally upstanding person, I don’t have a strong sense of justice. I tend to look at the world more analytically, examining situations from multiple perspectives, and as someone who loves music and art, my curiosity and love for art is apt to outweigh my sense of right and wrong. So, I rely on my colleagues for guidance here, and when they’re offended by something we carry, I trust that it’s the right decision to remove it from the racks. It’s often a difficult decision, though. Some things, such as music that explicltly promotes hateful ideologies, are beyond the pale. However, what about work by artists with stains on their legacy? When I was younger, many people thought it was OK to listen to the first few Skrewdriver records, which they made before they became an explicitly racist and nationalist band. Nowadays, all the band’s releases are taboo, and they’re all banned from sale on mainstream sites like eBay and Discogs. But what about the country singer David Allan Coe, who made at least one album full of slurs and other reprehensible ideas, which he seems to have intended as a joke. Do we remove all his records from the shelves? What about people who have done bad things which don’t show up in in their work? We didn’t have to decide to stop carrying Bill Cosby’s records because people just stopped buying them. But what about Michael Jackson? Morrissey? Miles Davis? Our customers are still eager to buy those artists’ records. Where is the line, and how do you determine what side of it things are on? That is the question Claire Dederer addresses in this book.

Once I started reading reviews of Monsters: A Fan’s Dilemma this spring I was eager to read it, because I realized this is an issue I think about all the time, and I desperately wanted to read an analysis that’s smart, or even (fingers crossed) wise. The problem is that most sane writers don’t want to touch this topic with a ten-foot pole (in fact, I find myself nervous to write this staff pick), because the stakes are high and the dangers of missteps are real. Sympathizing with a monster can get you branded an apologist, putting your own politics and ethics in question. Thus, the discourse around this topic is dominated by people with the most extreme views. Shouts of “burn the witch” play well on social media—I click on them despite my better judgment—and the only people who stand up against the zealots tend to be reactionary dummies. If someone uses the terms “cancel culture” or “woke,” that’s an immediate red flag for me, a signal that they’re an asshole, someone who thinks it’s acceptable to trample on other people’s feelings to protect the “freedoms” enjoyed by the privileged. As someone who cares about art and culture, it often seems impossible to find the middle path that respects the feelings of victims, marginalized groups, and other stakeholders while reserving space for artists to do what artists do… what we love them for doing.

Dederer’s book starts by examining the reputations of Roman Polanski and Woody Allen. These filmmakers make excellent test cases. Both made art that, at least at some point, was acknowledged as great, and both men have done bad things (though, as becomes apparent, there’s much more to be said than that). Dederer analyzes both cases at length, examining the work for evidence of the darkness we see in the bad things the artists did and tracking the discourse around these artists and their work, from the people who think they should be resigned to the dustbin of history to the people who think we should “separate the art from the artist,” and everyone in between. Consistency and easy answers are in short supply. The metaphor Dederer lands on to describe the situation is that of a stain. I find this metaphor apt because it’s so flexible. Stains can be larger or smaller, darker or lighter. Some people can live with stains and keep wearing clothes even after their stained, while others find themselves unable to unsee the stain, or rather to see past it. Whatever your attitude toward the stain, it’s still there.

Along the way, Dederer pulls a bunch of threads related to this central line of inquiry. There’s a fascinating chapter about women monsters, who are rare, but they exist. Unsurprisingly, what constitutes an unforgivable transgression is very different for a woman than it is for a man, as are our attitudes about the women who cross those boundaries. There’s also a great chapter about alcoholics and addicts, who present a more complicated case because the monsters aren’t just monsters; they’re also victims. And what of the addict in recovery? What happens to the stain when the artist commits to mending their ways? Is there any hope of redemption? Dederer also a fascinating reading of Lolita, a book I’ve never read because I am frightened of it. But I am always interested in what people have to say about it, and Dederer’s chapter on Nabokov and Lolita is gripping, a masterpiece of literary criticism. For Dederer, Nabokov is the anti-monster… unlike the bad men who made great art, Nabokov is (by all accounts) a decent person who made a monstrous piece of art, which both illustrates and complicates our feelings about the relationship between art and monstrosity.

If you’re looking for Dederer to provide a list of which artists are and are not beyond the pale, or even a stable rubric you can apply on your own, then you’re going to be disappointed. However, the book still has some substantial takeaways. A big one for me is that capitalism is a big part of the problem. Under capitalism, art is a commodity and the consumption of art-as-commodity is inherently politicized. Viewing art as a commodity complicates the picture in all kinds of ways, in no small part because of the system of celebrity that has built up around the culture industry. Appreciating a Woody Allen film—even if you don’t pay money for it—feels like an endorsement of Woody Allen, one that Allen and the people and businesses who associate with him profit from, if only indirectly. Try as we might, though, we can’t opt out of capitalism, and these problems are likely to remain with us for the foreseeable future. And even if Dederer doesn’t offer a solution to the fan’s dilemma, her book brings the issue into much clearer focus and does a great deal of work to carve out critical space for those of who value art’s ability to question, antagonize, and even offend.