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What’s up Sorry State readers? I hope everyone had a nice week. As some may know, I’m a lover of all things Memphis, whether it be the food, history, or especially, the music. I’ve been listening to a lot of garage stuff lately and I’ve been bumping this copy of The Legs - AAAA the New Memphis Legs ever since I found it in the store. This album is a group of recordings from 2000 featuring members James Arthur, Forest Hewes, and Eric Friedel, AKA Eric Oblivion, founder and owner of Goner Records in Memphis. This record is meant to be played LOUD. I love the fast, fuzzy sound and there’s a lot of hooks on here that’ll get stuck in your head. The late 90s/early 00s scene in Memphis really produced a lot of amazing stuff, with artists like Jay Reatard, who at the age of fifteen, submitted a demo tape to Goner that caught the ear of Friedel and began his recording career and the rest is history. I could go on all day about how cool Memphis is and the rich musical history of it, but the point is you should listen to this killer album. My favorite tracks are Driving Me Insane and Bill Dakota Knows.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6scp0lwHtI

Hey Sorry State readers! Hope everyone is doing well. This week has been pretty smooth, but there’s always a lot of cool shit in the works here in Sorry State land to gear up for.

For now, it’s time to talk about the music I’m digging, and it’s an easy one for me this week. If you follow us on the gram, you saw me post about Liquids: Life is Pain Idiot yesterday. I love the album title and that cool ass sticker on the shrink. A subtle yet effective way to elevate the album art. You also get a surprise flexi disc with four bonus songs, bringing the total to 27 tracks. Don’t panic! The songs are all super short, with some clocking in under a minute.

Anyways, the music. I love the snotty vocals and the super fast-paced and unrelenting energy this album delivers. It has that good old classic punk sound, but messier, and with some interesting surprises thrown your way. There are some cool drum beats and unique guitar interludes to mix things up, which the album kinda needs, as it can sound a bit samesy at times.

My very favorites are the first two songs, When You Were Born (You Should’ve Died), and Don’t Wanna Get to Know You. Very classic punk. I think the album is front-loaded, but it’s also possible that I feel that way because I need a breather by around track 14. I think the solution is to start with the latter half of the album next time to determine if I really do prefer the first half.

Like I said, the cool interludes help to mix things up and add interest. Also, the song Tryin is a perfect song to reset your focus. It provides a welcome change of pace and has a retro feel. It may be one of those love or hate songs, but I love it. Lemon Rice (Doomed to Live) is another one of my favorites, and I can see this one being a crowd pleaser at a show. Major singalong vibes. It’s super fast, and it’s just fun to listen to. Liquids also blesses us with a Meatloaf cover! Bat out of Hell, anyone? Trust me, Liquids manages to make it sound good, and thankfully they chopped about seven minutes off the original.

I think you will really like this record. I realize this is the second staff pick in a row where I mention the Ramones, but this record has a messier and overall more unrefined Ramones feel to it, with some power-pop, a dash of retro, and some weird, yet welcomed, additions. And did I mention a bonus flexi? This album has been a steady seller for us, so join the cool kids and grab one!

Thank you for reading! Until next week…

-Angela

https://liquids1.bandcamp.com/album/life-is-pain-idiot

I remember when the first RASHŌMON record came out, I didn’t know anything about the band. At the time I thought it was silly the release was a single sided 12”. Why not just make a 7”? I was working at Sorry State soon after the repress came out, and I found myself packing up copy after copy. Naturally when this happens, I listen to the record right away. And if I’m lucky, I just discovered a new banger to add to my collection. The same thing happened to me with another one of Iron Lung’s releases, HOLOGRAM. Except I was too late to the party on this one. By the time I finally listened to it we had already sold out of our copies. So anyway, I thought it was silly the RASHŌMON 12” was single sided, but that didn’t matter at all to me once I laid that hot ass slab down onto my player. The intensity blew me away. The sound is pretty chaotic, but the instruments are like totally locked in still. It reminded me a bit of some classic Japanese hardcore bands, but it wasn’t totally on the nose by any means. It doesn’t sound like they are trying too hard to sound like certain “style,” and I think that adds to their appeal a lot.

So I’ve been kind of out the loop with stuff since we were on tour for a month on a different continent. I had no idea RASHŌMON had a new release until last night when Jeff was busting open the parcels. Of course, the first thing I did was jam this motherfucker. And of course, it is yet another single sided 12” haha. I like this record a lot. I listened to it 3 times in a row last night. It has an extra pummeling intensity the first one did not. It kind of caught me off guard. The guitarist’s strumming hand is fucking insane. In contrast with the last record, this record sounds more “focused” to me. Instead of a chaotic sound, the guitar playing seems more intentional or something like that. The leads are more melodic and the songs sound more dramatic, rather than having that “wanky” chaotic feel from the first record. Honestly some parts of the new one reminds me of a lead one might hear on a DEATH SIDE record. Do they sound like a Burning Spirit band? No. They still have their unique, organic blend of song writing. This band is excellent. As far as I know, the band is comprised of people from Washington DC and their vocalist is from Japan, where he currently lives. I saw this band some years ago while the vocalist was living in DC. It was insane. They perform so damn good. It was loud, it was intense, it was unrelenting. I think it may have been one of the most packed gigs at our house too, which of course added to the good times. If you ever have a chance to catch this band, don’t fuck up and miss them. Definitely check this record out, and you should probably buy a copy to add to your collection.

Going back to the single sided 12” thing before I go… Over some time, I realized that yes, the record will probably sound better as a single sided 12” cut at 45rpm rather than a double sided 7” cut at 33. But the main thing I thought, they probably saving a great deal of money on the plating of the record, right? Since it’s only one side being actually pressed. Maybe I am wrong about that though. Anyway, thanks as always for reading! And of course, thanks to everyone for the support. Peace!!

Greetings everyone. How was your week? All well, I hope.

This week I had a good humbling, learning experience with regards record collecting, proving that no matter how much you know, you really know nothing and to never assume the knowledge you have in your head is in fact correct. What am I talking about, you ask? I’ll tell you and make it my staff pick for this week.

So, anyone who has discussed music with me or flipped through the L section on my jazz shelf will know that I love Ramsey Lewis. I probably have several dozen of his albums, not counting singles. I love his early trio recordings from the late 50s and early sixties, his mid-sixties pop period, and the funk and fusion albums from the late sixties and seventies. They’re all great and because they sold well are easy and cheap to find for the most part. Any visit to the bargain bin of most record stores will turn up at least one of his records. If you see his name on the Argo, Chess or Cadet label and later Columbia, you can buy with confidence.

We have several here at the store as I type this. I thought that I pretty much had everything of his that I needed to own bar perhaps one or two titles. I always check for condition upgrade copies or maybe a stereo or mono variant that I don’t have whenever I am in a store. One title that I always see is a collection called Golden Hits from 1973. I have always assumed that it was a straight-ahead collection of his hits from the previous decade and that because I have all those records, I didn’t need it. Oh, how wrong I was. Yes, the album is a collection of older hits, but these versions are newly recorded versions. Normally when you see a “hits” collection and the words “newly recorded with one or more original members” the rule of thumb is to avoid. That’s worse than “electronically recorded to re-produce stereo”. However, with Golden Hits what we have is Ramsey Lewis with his new rhythm section consisting of Morris Jennings on drums and Cleveland Eaton on bass, who together were in the middle of a fertile funky fusion period and releasing some really good records. I can recommend any of the albums Ramsey Lewis recorded, but those between 1968 and 1976 are all particularly good. He embraced the changes in the culture, the switch to amplified and electric instruments and the move to more Afro-centric music. Along with Herbie Hancock and other progressive jazz players, Ramsey fully utilized the sounds capable from the new electric pianos such as the Fender Rhodes, incorporating the use of multi-plex and wah-wah pedals to imitate the funky sounds of an electric guitar. These new sounds are used to full effect on the reinterpretations of the tunes selected here, making the versions of The In Crowd, Hi-Heel Sneakers and Wade In The Water sound quite different to the originals and much more contemporary sounding. Highlights are many, but the version of Hang On Sloopy is good and almost unrecognizable, and the take on Slipping Into Darkness allows the musicians to stretch out and deliver a real gem. I quite like the tracks Carmen and Delilah that close side one and open side two, respectively. These two covers taken from an opera and film musical really show off the bass work from Eaton and with added percussion and effects are nice slow burners.

I really can’t believe that after all these years I hadn’t noticed the true nature of these recordings. I’m such an idiot. All I had to do was read the title correctly and flip to the rear sleeve to the liner notes, and all would have been revealed. As I said at the top, sometimes you think you know something, but in reality, you don’t. I had assumed the wrong thing and that became my truth. It wasn’t and as a result I had deprived myself all these years from a record that I would enjoy. I guess never too late. I’m taking it as a positive. Now I have a “new” Ramsey Lewis album to enjoy. Bonus. You can’t beat finding a new to yourself album by one of your favorite artists, can you? Particularly if it’s good. You also can’t beat a bargain bin record that punches way above its weight. I know I’ve said that many times before, but I’ll preach that until my dying day. There are several records by Ramsey Lewis that if they had come out on a private label by an unknown artist would now be commanding top dollar based on the musical content. These records were hits however, and because they sold millions are now cheap and easy to find. Those already onboard the Ramsey train know what I am talking about, but for the rest of you, do yourselves a favor and scoop these records up when you see them. Some of my favorite albums, in no particular order are, Sun Goddess, Goin’ Latin, Funky Serenity, Back To The Roots, Mother Nature’s Son, Maiden Voyage, Them Changes, Another Voyage, Upendo Ni Pamoja, Wade In The Water, The In Crowd and Hang On Ramsey. I could go on. Even his couple of Christmas records are good jazz groovers. Ramsey was an incredible musician himself and he had the best playing alongside him. His initial trio was Eldee Young on bass and Isaac “Red” Holt on drums, who themselves later formed their own group, Young Holt Unlimited. Their places were taken up by Cleveland Eaton on bass and Maurice White on drums. White later left to form Earth, Wind & fire and the drum stool was occupied by Morris Jennings. Maurice White came back to produce the Sun Goddess album for Ramsey, and Earth, Wind & Fire play on the record. That’s a nice soul jazz record. It reached number one on the Billboard soul charts in 1974.

Anyway, Ramsey Lewis is brilliant. Up there with Herbie Hancock and Quincy Jones, to name two other American icons. You’ll always get a top-notch performance from him, and he is still at it. Over eighty albums along, several of them gold and with three Grammy wins so far, he has had quite a career. Hang on Ramsey!

Thanks for reading. See you next time - Dom

What’s up Sorry Staters?

Slowly but surely, I’m starting to adjust back to my normal routine. While Scarecrow was on tour, it was kinda like I was living in a vacuum. I’m really enjoying being back in the store and just being bombarded on a day-to-day basis by new records to check out and digest. Also, seeing friends pop into the shop and chit-chatting has been cool. I missed everybody.

While I’m sure Daniel will bring some attention to it, this week I really wanna talk about this new tape by Shaved Ape. This moniker is the name for a one-man hardcore project. Before Daniel even had sorted out that we were going to release the tape on Sorry State, the first time I heard the tracks on this cassette, my jaw dropped full-force down to the floor. I loved it immediately. Earlier, I just talked about digesting new music—Shaved Ape plays the kind of hardcore that is undigestible and impossible to swallow; it’s more like experiencing blunt-force trauma. Dead silence, and then those quick sticks count off the first song and you know you’re in for a bludgeoning. Ape being in the name of the band feels appropriate. Super raw, uncivilized, primitive… But underneath that gruff, knuckle-dragging demeanor, you can tell this dude knows how to write a damn good hardcore song. Also, he’s just playing his ass off. While unhinged, the playing is so tight and ripping. In some ways, Shaved Ape reminds of the Deaf Mutations 7” from a few years back. Maybe that’s partially due to it being a raw, catchy hardcore solo project, but something about the spirit seems similar. But man, once you open the j-card and read lyrics… Woooooo dawgy this is savage. I don’t think I’ve read lyrics that feel this genuinely fed up and pissed in a long time. “Punchable faces surrounding me… Primate brain tells me to kill. A few more years and I think I will.” The rage is real.

Anyway, I feel like I can only be so eloquent when describing this ripper. Can’t recommend it enough. FFO… uh, good hardcore? Nuff said.

That’s all I’ve got. As always, thanks for reading.

‘Til next week,

-Jeff

Solunsky Front: Mali Svet 12” (2014, Ne! Records)

When Scarecrow played a gig at the legendary MKNZ club in Serbia, the first person we met was our host and promoter, Simon. We immediately hit it off, as we could tell right away Simon loves punk and is a giant nerd about it just like everyone in Scarecrow is. The show that night was great. Simon took amazing care of us, fed us great food, gave us way too much booze, and showed us a great time, but I want to focus on here is Simon’s distro.

Simon had a few distro boxes on a table at the club, and I flipped through them, as one does. I flip through a lot of distros, and I could tell right away that this was a very good one. Simon had a lot of the same releases we stock at Sorry State, and you could tell this was the kind of distro where everything that was there only got its space because Simon cared about it and wanted other people to hear it. I already owned about 75% of the records in his distro, so I could tell Simon’s tastes were aligned with mine.

About 1/3 of Simon’s distro was dedicated to music from former Yugoslavia, mostly reissues from 80s bands. I knew a few of them like Quod Massacre, Proces, and Tozibabe, but most of the artists I either knew only by name or not at all. Realizing I was in the company of a knowledgeable person with excellent taste in music, I asked Simon what he would recommend from the Yugoslavian section. I grabbed a few records (and maybe I’ll write about the others later), but the one I’m writing about today is this compilation of two recording sessions (and a few live tracks) from 80s Belgrade hardcore band Solunski Front.

Solunski Front never managed a vinyl release during their original 1981-1985 run, only appearing on a handful of cassette compilations. In 1993, a 7” EP came out featuring four tracks the band recorded in 1984, but it was limited to only 200 copies and quickly became impossible to find. The lack of released material has nothing to do with the quality of Solunski Front’s music, and (presumably) everything to do with the social, political, and economic conditions in 80s Yugoslavia. Much like the great, under-documented bands from Poland, Solunski Front continued to hone their craft despite their lack of access to the bigger and more commercial punk networks in the west.

The 1984 session captured on the a-side of this LP is incredible. According to the interview in this record’s insert, Solunski Front never considered themselves a hardcore band. They were inspired by early punk like the Ramones, the Damned, UK Subs, the Clash, and Dead Kennedys. Of those bands’ records, Solunski Front’s 1984 tracks remind me the most of Dead Kennedys’ Plastic Surgery Disasters album. Like that record, Solunski Front takes catchy, classic-sounding punk songs, adds intense musical chops that only come from years of playing, and blasts it out with a hardcore-informed sense of power and concision. Dezerter is another good reference point, particularly in the way the songs are dense with musical detail, meticulously arranged, yet that core of a memorable, anthemic punk track still shines through. The tracks on the b-side of this album, recorded a year earlier, are rougher and more primal, but still showcase Solunski Front’s immense talent.

So, thank you to Simon for sharing his knowledge and passion for punk. Thanks to Ne! Records for getting this brilliant document to a wider audience. And thanks to records for allowing me to have this incredible souvenir from Serbia that will make me think of our amazing night at MKNZ every time I play it.

Horrendous 3D: S/T 7” (Black Water Records) I was looking forward to this EP since Horrendous 3D’s previous EP was one of my favorite records in recent memory. I played that record to death, and I would have been happy with something just as good, but these five tracks are even better. Horrendous 3D leans into their strengths here, pushing the dynamic noise textures I loved on the first EP to even further extremes. What feels new this time around is a similarly meticulous approach to rhythm, the songs twisting and turning with a knotty, staggering quality that reminds me of Gauze. The whole EP is killer, but one track stands out: “Utterly Fucking Useless” is Horrendous 3D’s magnum opus. Starting with a passage of pure noise, a bass riff emerges and you think the song is going to head in one direction, but then the drums and guitar come in and it goes in the opposite direction, knocking me off balance in the best way possible. I’m doing a terrible job of describing it, but this moment gives me chills every time I hear it, and I’ve moved the needle back to hear it again several times. Just like their first EP, this is going to be close to my turntable for a long time. Undoubtedly one of the best records we’ll hear in 2022.

What’s up Sorry State readers, it’s been over a month since the last newsletter, so I hope everyone has been enjoying the end of summer. I’ve been listening to a bunch of different music, but one group I keep finding myself coming back to is Funkadelic. My first introduction to their music was when I was probably around seven or eight and I was watching Good Burger with my older brothers and there’s a scene in it where Kenan and Kel get sent to a psych ward and they meet George Clinton in there and do an impromptu performance of (Not Just) Knee Deep to distract the guards while they escape. I remember loving the song and also wondering who the guy with the rainbow hair was cause he seemed important. It wasn’t till a few years later that I discovered the rest of Funkadelic’s music while trying to find out what the song from the movie was. The specific song I’m talking about is off Uncle Jam Wants You and, unfortunately, I don’t think the album is on any music streaming services, so I would have to listen to it on youtube. That’s why I was excited about snagging a copy at Sorry State a couple years ago one random day when I stopped in. Like all Funkadelic albums, it features some sweet cover art and some even sweeter art on the inside and back of the jacket. As the title suggests, there are some serious jams on here, my favorite being the aforementioned (Not Just) Knee Deep. It’s fifteen minutes of funk that’ll make even the biggest wet blanket get up and dance like they got ants in their pants. I highly recommend this album to anyone who has the desire to get into a funkier state of mind.

Heyyy Sorry State readers! Long time no write! Like the rest of ya’ll, I missed the newsletter too, so it’s good to be back doing a staff pick.

First, a big big welcome home to Scarecrow! Congrats on a super sick and successful European tour and experience! But we’re also glad you’re back!

I struggled with what to pick this week because we’ve received a gazillion killer records that I’ve had a lot of fun listening to, and I found a few in particular that are staff-pick worthy. Ultimately, I picked the Lafff Box S/T EP. This is one of the first newer releases that I got hooked on in the last few weeks.

A tiny bit of background first. Lafff Box is a supergroup of sorts. Hailing from Leipzig, Halle, and Berlin, they’re associated with Lassie, Ex-White, Liiek, and Poky.

This 7” is a short and sweet four song gem. The opener, Master, drew me in immediately. I played it a few times before I even moved on to the second song. That’s my favorite one for sure. I’m a sucker for the classic “1-2-3-4!” intro, because it usually signals that killer energy is right around the corner. And it was. Master is a perfectly constructed song. It’s got a dancy beat, it’s riffy, never repetitive, and no weak spots. It’s catchy as hell.

In general, I love the clean, stop and start style drum beats throughout the whole record. It lays the foundation for the mechanical sounding vocals with vibration. The vocals also become more aggressive at times, and I love when a singer waffles between different vocal styles.

I form my opinions on music very quickly because I’m just impatient to come to a conclusion. As much as I’m in a hurry to form an opinion, I think Lafff Box is in just as much of a hurry to grab your attention and keep it. They make the most of every second they have, and they have a very full sound. I love the riffs, the tempo changes, and the fresh, weird noises peppered throughout the record for additional stimulation and intrigue. Overall, their sound is chaotic, but it’s not sloppy. It’s more like measured chaos. Careful chaos? That works too.

That all said, I think Lafff Box is a fresh take on garage-punk. For lack of a cooler way to put it, it just sounds good. You know when you’re feeling super blah, and then you put on the Ramones and suddenly you’re dancing around? Well, maybe you’re not dancing, but you’re at least moving in place? That’s the type of energy Lafff Box is giving me. Come to think of it, the drums do sound kind of Ramones-y. I’m getting off track. Just try it. Take it for a spin. Or at least a bandcamp spin. I’ve linked it below.

Thanks for reading!

-Angela

https://turbodiscos.bandcamp.com/album/lafff-box-s-t

Hello readers and thank you for reading. As you probably know, the majority of the SSR crew has been away on tour with our band SCARECROW for the past month. I’m sure the updates (and everything else) slowed down a bit from Sorry State, with our beloved skeleton crew holding it down while we were gone. I hope with this newsletter we can pick up right where we left off. A ton of great records have arrived the past month. Rather than bore you with stories of having the time of my life on tour, I will just get right to my Staff Pick. To start off, I want to mention two tapes that are not in the photograph. The first one is NUKIES. While this is a tape, it is going to be an LP sooner or later on Adult Crash. I imagine they made the cassette to get the music out faster since most pressing plants are taking ages right now. I got one of these cassettes from a member of the band when we played in Uppsala. It’s fucking killing me that I cannot find it anywhere... Anyway, NUKIES rules. They play that beat I like, and they’ve got riffs for days. They sound like they are from Sweden, reminding a bit of bands like LARMA or HERÄTYS. I’m not positive who is in the band, but it’s definitely someone from AXE RASH and someone from ANTI-METAFOR. I say ANTI-METAFOR cos it’s the more recent band, but that same guy was in ANGER BURNING. ANGER BURNING is one of the greatest bands of the past 15 years. I first heard them on their Warcharge 7”. The EP is raw as fuck and it rocked my world when it came out. The riffs are very simple and straightforward, but the songs carry so much power. However, their real masterpiece came 4 years later, When. The name is cheesy, and yes they even have songs entitled When and When (Reprise). Don’t be fooled, though. Alright, I didn’t talk much about NUKIES I guess, but do yourself a favor and check out their tape so you’re ready to grab the LP as soon as it’s available!

The next cassette I wanna mention is the Summer Promo tape from INVERTABRATES. Anyone who reads this newsletter surely knows who they are already cos SSR re-released their demo cassette. This promo cassette is an excellent follow-up to their debut, all their best elements are now pushed to the fullest and I can’t handle it. The speed, the riffs... Chubb’s drumming is so fucked up. It makes me just want to quit playing music. I lean towards “Scandinavian” sounding bands usually, but every now and again I hear a band like this that just undeniably rips and it rocks my socks off. A completely unrelated band that had a similar effect on me was CLOSET CHRIST. I know this one came out years ago, but I can never forget it cos it is so fucking good, damn.

Moving onto the LPs, let’s start with BLACK UNIFORMS. We don’t have copies of this, but I am hoping to find us some... this is proving to be a bit difficult since it is a bootleg. I saw some copies on Ebay some months ago as a “pre-order” (for too much money) and I wondered what would come of it. Of course it didn’t say anything about being a bootleg on the listing, but naturally I assumed it was. There’s been no promotion about a reissue and Hard Core Horror certainly did not just repress this out of the blue haha. Eventually I tracked a copy down, and I was happy to return home from tour to it. It is really well done. Almost too well done.. It even has a matching matrix haha. Which is kinda fucked up, but if you look closely, you can see it’s missing the other portion of the matrix. If you didn’t have an original to compare it to, then maybe you could be deceived, which I don’t like so much. The red text is just slightly different in color, and some spacing is just slightly off. Nonetheless, I am happy this killer LP back into circulation. I hope that we can get some copies!

Sticking with reissues we don’t have in stock, I have been so damn excited about the NYX NEGATIV reissue! I think their demo completely smokes. It’s got everything I need from rawness to catchiness. I first heard them on the 2007 “reissue” split with DISCARD and became immediately hooked. It’s a shame I really don’t like their 1986 7" EP, which means the B-side of this reissue doesn’t do much for me. There’s a few compilation songs and an unreleased song on the B-side as well. I had never heard them before, so it was a cool experience. It’s just hard to beat their demo. It was cool to hear the live recordings that finish off the B-side as well, but I would probably rather like to flip it and have DISCARD on this side haha. At least this reissue does come with a nice booklet of cool photos and art. I think this band is pretty obscure, so it’s cool FOAD would do a reissue of it. Definitely check out the link I dropped above if you’ve never heard ‘em and hang tight til we get our copies.

Alright, next is MOCK EXECUTION. This band grabbed my attention with their 7" EP, so I had a lot of anticipation for this one. I have actually been listening to this album digitally for some time, cos I was asked to write a review. But of course, my dumb ass took the privilege for granted and the opportunity passed. At least I’ve been able to jam this beast on repeat. It’s hard to describe what this band sounds like. They have components of what sounds like ‘80s Finnish hardcore, with the riffing and the occasional grooves. But they play wicked fucking fast and the recording is really heavy, yet piercing, so it sounds kinda like crasher crust. In the end, it doesn’t matter, it’s all just hardcore. This one just sticks out quite a bit to me with its blazing, unique hardcore sound. Check it out and grab a copy!

Alright to wrap it up, NIGHTFEEDER. Don’t sleep. Buy one here right now. If that’s sold out, then try here. Their debut 7" was dubbed record of the week, so I’m guessing you’ve at least seen the name before. The 7" is excellent, but this LP is top-notch. They re-recorded two songs from the demo cassette and blast us with 9 new hits. The song “I’m a Letdown” might be my favorite song off this album, but it’s also the one song that sounds drastically different than the rest. Maybe that makes me like it even more? On their debut cassette they covered MISSBRUKARNA and that ruled so fucking much. It was cool to hear them do another catchy one, regardless of having such a gnarly hardcore sound. This band is like hardcore professionals. They know exactly what they’re doing, they know what sound they want. They’ve all been playing in bands together for more years than some of you have been punk, so they’ve got it super dialed in. I can’t wait to catch them live. Keep an eye out for this East Coast tour this fall!! OK, I will wrap this up now as I have other shit to do. Thank you for reading, and thanks to everyone for the support! Peace.

Hey there Sorry Staters! How are you all? It’s been a while. The long, hot summer is almost over. Time has flown past it seems. So much has happened in the world at large and in all our lives, it’s hard to keep up. Of course, the big event here in the Sorry State universe was Scarecrow’s European Tour. I’ll leave Daniel, Jeff and Usman to catch you up on some of their tour highlights. They definitely have stories. We’re all very proud of how well Scarecrow were received and how the tour went in general. They’re so cool. It sure is nice having them back at Sorry State Towers. We missed ‘em.

Even with half the team touring, business kept going back home. Records, new and old, have been flowing through the store at quite a rate. If you follow our Instagram posts, you’ll have an idea and certainly if you have visited the store itself you would be left in no doubt. Through our hustle and blessings from the vinyl gods, all sorts of interesting and cool records have come our way. Collections, large and small, are constantly being worked on to make sure we can bring you not only the rare gems but also the staples that should reside in any decent collection. In addition, all the certified bangers, cool, expensive, and hard to find stuff, we also naturally get in a lot of common and cheap records as well. Our bargain bins are always full of good records for less than $5, so no matter your budget you should always be able to find something. Assuming you have a non-blinkered approach to music appreciation, that is.

Personally, I’ve had another summer come and go without much to report. No vacations or beach trips or much “fun” at all, really. I must say that I do get my fun quota from work, though. Listening to music, dealing with records and the interactions with folks at the store is fun. For the most part. Lol. Anyone who has worked retail, a record store and the service industry know what it’s like. Anytime you deal with the public there’s the x factor that will always keep things interesting. For us in record stores, the x factor is, what will be in the box of records that this person is bringing in? Will there be something cool? The randomness and unexpected are what keeps me willing to get on my knees and dig through boxes of dusty records in the hope of pulling out that something special. Never stop digging, as they say. I’ve found many a great record wedged in between a classical LP and a Chuck Mangione. It doesn’t happen all the time but enough to make me want to check the worst looking, musty smelling, hand blackening pile of records just in case.

The vinyl gods smiled on me recently when they sent in a guy who had a bunch of 45s to sell. They were all pop singles from the late 60s through early 70s, which although not bad songs are hard to sell for very much these days. The modern record buyer seems less interested in 45s, especially without a picture sleeve. Typically, we pass on buying records like that, but they were all clean copies, and I did spy a couple that I knew and wanted, so I made him an offer and he accepted. At pennies on the dollar, it was a good deal, and I snagged a couple that made me happy.

The two that interested me were by Ann Margret, the Swedish American actress and singer who for most rock fans is known for her starring role opposite Elvis in Viva Las Vegas from 1964. That was my introduction to her and in that film, she comes close to stealing the show from Elvis, which not many others can claim to have done. Over the years, I would investigate other soundtracks from movies she was in and check out singles and albums when I found them. Most don’t offer much musically for me, but there are several gems in her catalogue here and there. Notably, the songs she cut with Lee Hazlewood in 1968 that resulted in the album The Cowboy & The Lady released on Hazlewood’s own LHI label the following year. That album has accrued almost cult status in recent years due primarily to the huge interest in Lee Hazlewood and his productions. The album was cut in Nashville and meant as a genuine country record and although it can be argued that Ann Margaret’s vocal style doesn’t quite suit the genre, the songs are decent, and Hazlewood does a good job of trying to recreate the magic and atmosphere of the hits he scored with Nancy Sinatra during the previous two years. For whatever reason, the record buying public didn’t agree, and the planned second record never got recorded. Ann Margret returned to her film and TV career and Hazlewood moved to Sweden for further adventures.

Before the Cowboy & The Lady LP was released, two singles came out and these were the two that I snagged. Across the four sides, Hazlewood experimented with several styles of music, pop, country and psychedelic. It was that last style that produced the winner. The song called It’s A Nice World To Visit (But Not To live In) is a cool fuzz guitar garage psych tune that rightfully has been the song sought after. For a good while, the only way to hear it was from the original 45, but in recent years it has appeared on compilations and expanded album reissues. Light In The Attic, the Seattle based reissue label did a great job a few years back with their handling of the Lee Hazlewood catalogue. They put out his albums and compilations that rounded up all those stray singles. I probably don’t need to tell any of you how cool Lee Hazlewood is. His story is well documented elsewhere but certainly do yourself a favour and investigate if you are not familiar.

Anyway, after years of knowing about this tune, it was great to finally get a copy. It would have been cooler to have found it twenty years ago to include in DJ sets when interest in garage and psych tunes was peaking and I was out spinning more often, but I did get to include it on the Worldy radio show the other week. For those unfamiliar with this record, you can click here to check it out. The title of the tune alone sums up probably how a lot of us are feeling these days, right?

I’ll leave you with just that nugget this week. If it was old hat for you, my apologies, but hopefully it will send you down some rabbit holes of exploring. Side note: if you haven’t watched Viva Las Vegas or the Nancy Sinatra TV special, add both to your viewing queue. Both are fab prime technicolor 60s essentials. I think the music is cool but if nothing else the fashion and cars definitely are. Happy watching. Until next time.

-Dom