REM covering Let's Active

On July 15th, 1984 at the Salty Dog Skyroom Saloon in Buffalo, NY, REM covered "Every Word Means No" by Let's Active.

Peter Hope Richard H. Kirk - Hoodoo Talk - 1988

Benn a long time since I played "Hoodoo Talk", very welcome to these ears like a long lost friend. I should never have neglected such a fine piece of work: demonic vocals over Kirk's programming. Does get slightly weaker as the album progresses.

REM covering The Neats

On November 10, 1983 in San Francisco, REM covered "Lies" by Boston band The Neats who were touring with them. Here's more info on this concert:

This show is particularly unique for the encores - friends Andy Gill and John King from Gang of Four, whom the band had toured extensively with joined the band to cover 'Sweet Jane', and Eric Martin from The Neats, who supported the band at this show (along with Let's Active), came out and sang his song 'Lies' with the band, the only known time this occurred.

New Order ‎– BBC Radio 1 Live In Concert - 1992

Next out of the bin was New Order live at Glastonbury from 1987. Quite good. Could never top the 1981 concert but still very enjoyable.

Pastels covering the Modern Lovers

On June 4th 1988 at the Greyhound in London, the Patesls covered "Pablo Picasso" by The Modern Lovers.

Daviess County Panthers ‎– Je N'Aime Pas Beaucoup Ma Gamelle - 1997

I was handed a stack of Sonic Bubblegum CD's by a friend and sadly I never go too far with them. This one "Je N'Aime Pas Beaucoup Ma Gamelle" was still sealed! I opened it up and put it in the player finally and was surprised how experminental it was. I can sense a lot of Bush Tetras and Pylon influences, at least those are my touchpoints. Steve Albini was one of the engineers! Crazy what I've been sitting on!

Cabaret Voltaire - Micro-Phonies - 1984

I think I never knowningly listened to the Cabs until 1986 sadly. Around that time "Sensoria" was heard fairly regularly on the radio. I rebought "Micro-Phonies" on CD pretty soon after I got my player. I played this CD a lot. I have almost played it too much. But it is also nearly a perfect album.

Artificial Intelligence II - various - 1994

Ah, the completist, it leads to purchases like this which isn't a bad listen at all. I can imagine popping it in during a dinner party and chilling. Was the Kirk mix worth it?

The Wedding Present - Hit Parade 1 - 1992

"Hit Parade 1" a compilation of 6 singles (one per month Jan-Jun) plus their B-sides. The A-sides are all great: dark, moody. I'm not a fan of the B-sides. Just not a fan. Takes off where "Seamonsters" left off but nothing interests me on the B-side.

Lush covering Blondie

On June 28th, 1994 in Paris (Black Session), Lush covered "Sunday Girl" by Blondie. There was an earlier aborted take as well.

Thousand Yard Stare - Hands On - 1992

Hands On by Thousand Yard Stare - sort of a disappointment, produced by Stephen Street but I think my ears are more tuned to the single versions. There are many great tracks on the disk, especially the last two.

Al Jabr - One Million and Three - 1998

Next random selection was "One Million and Three" by Al Jabr (Richard H. Kirk) on the Alphaphone label. Pretty sure this was my second Kirk solo CD (the first being Trafficante). This has some great grooves, expecially tracks 1, 2, 4 and 5, quite an enjoyable CD but without a real standout I feel.

The Undertones - Cher O' Bowlies - 1986

Must have picked this up in the haste to reproduce my vinyl collection on CD. "Cher O' Bowlies" traces the Undertones career from punksters to popsters, and it certainly doesn't disappoint. When the first track is John Peel's favorite track you can't go wrong!