The Most Mysterious Song on the Internet has been found

 FEX [Germany] - Subways of Your Mind (demo tape 1984)

 

Cum grano salis, of course.

 

Here's a live version from 1985.  

Plaid Cow - Sunshine of Your Love 12" (1988)

 Female-fronted new wave cover of the classic song. My record sucks as far as pops are concerned but it's not unlistenable.

I don't only collect music but I collect books as well. I know 'reading' is one of the most common and most boring of all hobbies but I aim for rare and forbidden books whose topics sometimes bleed into the mainstream. I don't see how the term "conspiracy theorist" is an insult in any way. 

That being said, I had a copy of "Weird Scenes Inside the Canyon" by David McGowan for years but I never got around to reading it. So recently I cracked it open. A bit more mainstream than what I normally read but it was good. I grew up around that area. I have stories to tell myself. 

 The Internet Archive is down and may be down for a while so I included a PDF copy of this book in this download. This record and the book go well together.

 Enjoy the music. Read the book. 

You'll laugh. You'll cry. It'll change your life.

 (Yes, this is a Dylan Moran quote from Black Books)

 

 

A1 - Sunshine of Your Love

A2 - Softly I Stand

B - Sunshine of Your Love (Tired Eyes Mix)

 

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The False Friends - The False Friends (1994)

 This was a band from Poland who played harder alternative rock with the shadow of 80s heavy metal cast over them. They never really reached a true heavy metal sound and they had a horn section. The song "Love You to the Bones" is a ska song with hard rock vocals. 

The A-side is 6 studio tracks while the B-side is six live tracks.

 1 Parasite

2 Advantage of the Average

3 And B.Y.E.

4 Love You to the Bones

5 Eastern Cowboy

6 Never to Slow

7 Asses High

8 Hard Hop

9 Another Day

10 Ears of a Frog

11 Evil

12 CO 2  

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Chemicals Made From Dirt [Complete Recordings]

 Chemicals Made From Dirt 7'' (1981)

1 Oriental Television

2 Bachelor Party

3 Beatniks

4 Uh Oh'

 

Chemicals Made From Dirt Flexi (1982)

1 Rapula

2 Claus Von Bulow

 Chemicals Made From Dirt - Ike 

1 Manikin

2 M

3 Hard

4 Beatniks Looking for Tourists

5 Protein Pants

6 Another Dinner

7 Chemicals Made From Dirt

8 Panic - No Fusion

9 Girls My Age

10 17th Century

11 Communist Calendar Girls

12 Air Raid Drill

13 Medicated Elvis

14 Uh-Oh

15 Homeless Men

16 Fast Ocean Puppet

17 Fly to Work

18 Multiple Station Wagon

19 Claus Von Bulow

20 Dr. Shockley

21 Lost in the Cave of Flying Dogs

22 Barney

23 Hiding from Bozo

24 Show World

25 Rapula

The compilation is called "Ike" but there was one song that was not included. That song is called "Ike" and I have included it in this download.

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All She Wrote - All She Wrote EP (2004)

 This was a surprising thrift store find. This is a female fronted band from Riverside California who only ever released one album in 2005 called "Coshade".

There is no mention anywhere online about this EP but from what I have heard  from the vocalist's YouTube channel the song "Liar" from this CD is the same song that appeared on the album but I think it's a different mix. At least the tempo is different. 

This is for those 90s punk/post-punk fans who still longed for the female fronted grunge bands like Letters to Cleo. That's not an insult. I love Letters to Cleo and I love this band here. 

Incredible songwriting. Great lyrics. They edge on poppy without going over and I'm surprised they never had commercial success. They had it all figured out and were self sustaining. Any record label who knew of them and didn't sign them were foolish. 

1 Distracted

2 Rescue Me

3 Grass

4 Liar

 

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Kevin Zed [Vancouver] - Double Dutch EP (1985) [NEW LINK 10-06-2024]

 

1 Saigon Orders

2 UR

3 Dead Boots

4 Moral Support

5 Somewhere Else

 

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Zootcase - We Make it Happen (1996)

 How to describe this one? It's perched on the edge of those early 90s white funk bands but the vocalist and possible band leader is black so "WHITE-funk" doesn't work. They have a slight heavy metal vibe but all of their songs are mellow paced. They do have one blues song but they don't come across as a blues band despite what this eBay seller says. ($168.99? Come on now.)

They're a three-piece rock band with a familiar style that eludes description. 

The one band I can think of that they sound closest to is King's X. That might be a lazy description but that's all I got. 

1 We Make it Happen

2 The Moon is Full

3 Alice Don't Cry

4 Since You Left Me Baby

5 Where is My Heart?

6 Could This be True

7 Tell Me

8 Alicia

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va Commercial (2002)

  Hardcore punk compilation from the New York label Traffic Violation Records. 

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At the time I got this CD I was playing the Recess Records compilations Hot Curly Weenie volumes 1 and 2* and I was looking for something similar. This didn't live up to being what I wanted it to be but there are a couple noteworthy tracks.

 

The inlay was printed on, what we called back in the 20th century, "typewriter paper" which wasn't made for computer printer ink so the scans look like the inlay is water damaged. It's not. A lot of things from back in the days look like this. That's why it's important for them to be preserved.

* Hot Curly Weenie vol 2 is my favorite. How do you not love beautiful songs like this?: 

va Class of 81 [UK] (1981)

 I'm too lazy to type out the track listing so, here, have this. 

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The Donors - Take Whatcha Want (1992)

 This is one of those "white funk" bands from the early 90s. They were from New York and I don't know if they ever released anything else.

They were way more "alternative rock" than they were funky but the sound is still recognizable.

The high pitch yodeling vocals are hard to get used to.

1 Tearjerker

2 Positive People

3 My Brain

4 Not Gonna Worry

5 Half a Man

6 Perfect Thing

7 Get Down

8 Genie Says

9 Assistance

10 Temptation

11 Bulletproof

12 What I Do

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Les Chaplinns - demo tape (1992)

 Les Chaplinns was an alternative band from France who released one 7" in 1993. I was lucky enough to find a copy of their demo tape. I know these songs were available for download several years ago but this download is from my own rip of the original tape.

1 Mute

2 Wake Up

3 Sunny Day

4 Who's

5 Run, Turn, Sum

6 Lost

7 The Fool

8 Jesus 

 

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va STV Sessions Vol. 1 (1998)

 Punk / Hardcore / Ska compilation from the 90s. 

 There are lots of good songs and lots of shit songs (like most compilations). I won't say what I think are the shittiest songs on here because I try not to bad-mouth any band on my blog, but I will say that my two favorite songs are right next to each other - tracks 13 and 14. 

Backwash - "Pirates" has that great late 80s/early 90s So. Cal. hardcore punk sound when the hardcore band lightened up and played a quirky song.

This is a demo version. The version on the comp is different. 

...and Impossible 5 - "Anti" (I couldn't find a video for this one).

I have the Impossible 5 CD that this song came from. I'll post it if anybody gives a shit. Just ask. 

They have a second CD that I don't have. 

 

 

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Jump Vision [Australia] - Can't Get Used to You 7" (1981)

 

A - Can't Get Used to You

B - The Jump

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The Reign Makers - Reign Makers Demo (1986)

 This was a mod/power pop band from San Diego California and I believe this is their only release.

When I say mod/power pop that is just the core of their sound. There is a prominent saxophone in most of their songs and their overall sound has blurred lines that fade into blues rock and new wave and even into the paisley underground scene that was popular in California at that time.

For being a demo tape every song is incredibly well-written and the sound quality is extremely professional. There's not a filler song on this tape. One would think that these guys had experience in songwriting, performing, and recording in a studio. Personally I think this band is made up of members of the San Diego band N-E-1. 

The only foundation I have to propose that assumption is that they are from the same area, N-E-1 stopped recording around this time, they look like the same band, and the song "One Two Three" is a cover of N-E-1's song "1-2-3".

 

1 Willy the Elephant

2 Two People*

3 One Two Three

4 Precious Friend

5 Feed the Fire

6 The Possession 

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*If you have ever written a song in your life you have an appreciation for great songwriting. Listen to this song. You can learn something from it. 

...

va Blind Herd of Sheep (1999)

 

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The Red Squares - Oh! Girlie Girl! (1999)

 Is this post-punk? Post-grunge? Power pop -inspired alternative rock? I don't know what to call it but it's decent guitar music.

The second song is a Violent Femmes cover and although the vocals are spot on they added their own flavor to the music and I applaud them for it. 

1 Oh! Girlie Girl!

2 I Held Her in My Arms

3 All Around the City

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Impact - Foodstamp (1996)

 

This was sold to me as a punk-ska CD but it's not punk at all and there is only one ska song that doesn't remain ska all the way through.

This is a funk rock CD.

 

Not my thing but it's very rare and expensive.

Let me save you a few dollars if you ever see this CD for sale. 

 

1 Introduction

2 Pickle Wagon

3 Elastica

4 Go Cornbread Go

5 Esclavo Del Sol

6 For the Love of Children 

 

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Maude - The Birdhouse EP (1992) -and- Grace Beats Karma 7" (1996)

 Maude was a well-known punk band from Connecticut. They released one 7" in 1992 and immediately recorded a second 7" which wasn't released until after the band dissolved. 

 

Maude - The Birdhouse EP (1992)

1 Fault

2 We've Ignored

3 Nothing Left

4 Bully

5 The Sprag

6 Toilet Stall Wall

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Maude - Grace Beats Karma 7" (1996)

1 Wooden Nickels

2 Exercise in Futility

3 Lather, Rinse, Repeat *

4 Bitter Adolescent Love Song Rejection

5 Act of God

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* Lather, Rinse, Repeat is a re-worked version of Toilet Stall Wall

Long Beach Unified - Bipolar Express (2005)

 If you like pop-punk, funk, acoustic white boy rap with reggae spread out gracefully and not all mashed together you might appreciate this very rare release from this California band.

If you were part of that 80s/90s Southern California skater scene you might find this band right up your alley. They were a bit late to the party but they brought the sounds you wanted. If the 90s had a scent this band would reek.  

 

1 Long Beach Unified

2 Money in the Bank

3 Shiva Shante

4 The Interlude

5 Another Strain

6 Up Near a Lake

7 Lying on the Floor

8 White Trash

9 Rent a Cop 1

10 Rent a Cop 2

11 Super Mex

12 S. O. G. 

 

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Ameba - Ameba (2001)

 You know how there's goth music that's like guitar driven and teeters on the edge of punk or metal but then there's also goth music that's more electronic dance-oriented? This band is a bit of both. Not goth in its truest form but too much guitar (even acoustic guitar in one song) to be considered dance music but too much electronic dance beats and synth to be considered rock music. 

This band is from Huntington Beach, California and they put out this one CD in 2001. I don't know if they ever released anything else because they have no online presence. I can't even spell their name properly because I can't find a way of putting a tilde over an E. 

Anyway, there is no track listing anywhere on this CD. Not on the covers nor on the CD itself. There are seven songs and I couldn't tell you the titles of any of them.

If you like electronic dance music/distorted guitars/goth/post-punk/with female vocals you might appreciate this.

 

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Bedroom Walls - Do the Buildings and Cops Make You Smile? 7" (2005)

 Anytime I go to an independent record store I have to buy something. It's very rare that I ever find anything that I'm actually looking for but I like to support the few remaining record stores so I make it a point to buy something whatever it may be. I never buy anything I'm familiar with so I aim for anything that seems obscure, independent, and little-known.

The last time I went to a record store I bought 5 records that I had never heard of before. This is one of them. I think I played it once and decided it wasn't for me and I never touched it again until today. It's on clear vinyl that looks brand new and in absolutely perfect condition like it was never touched by human hands but it sounds like complete shit. 

Surprisingly I really appreciated the A-side. It's standard dream-pop with twangy guitar but I thought it was really well-written and well-performed. The B-side isn't bad but I really like the A-side and I think the horrible vinyl crackling and popping somehow goes well with it. 

This band put out two albums and both songs from this single are on the albums and I don't know if they have been re-recorded or not but I'm guessing that no matter what I'll prefer to listen to my crackling version over the cleaner CD version. Of course I don't have their albums but they are now on my wantlist.

 

EDIT: This single and both albums are available on YOUTUBE. 

Oh well. I spent all that time doing the rips and scans so I'm posting it anyway. And I do like my crackly version better than the clean version. At least you get the full scans of the covers and the beautiful vinyl itself so there's that.

 

A - Do the Buildings and Cops Make You Smile?

B - Kathy in Her Bedroom 

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(It has already been blocked by Mediafire so that link is DOA)

 

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X-IT - Wife Sentence 7" (1997)

 All-girl punk band from California. I think this is their only release. 

1 The Hole

2 Livin' it Up

3 What Happened to Mary

4 Heart Attack Man (Beastie Boys cover)

5 RAS

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va Ståkkålmsjävlar 1978-1981

 

This CD compilation was released in 1989 and it is a compilation of Swedish punk/post-punk music from 1978 - 1981. 

The first song "Solglasögon" by Docent Död is probably the most well-known but my favorite song on this comp is "Sextiofem" by Grisen Skriker.  

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Pou Piam - The 13th Evening (2008)

 Very rare release from this artist. I say "artist" because I don't think this is a band. I think it's one person. 

If you ask me what it sounds like I would say this:

I could tell people I found four unknown songs from Alice In Chains from their "Facelift" era and even the most die-hard Alice In Chains fans might believe it. 

1 Falling Apart

2 Breakaway

3 California

4 The 13th Evening

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Solidarity - Disarm / Destiny 7" (1982)

 This was a band from Long Beach California and I don't know if they had any other releases aside from this one. 

The A-Side is a kindergarten-political song driven by bass guitar with lots of guitar effects throughout. The B-side is a great 77-style punk song. 

 

A - Disarm

B - Destiny

 

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va Hostage Records - Cuts Vol.1 (2002)

 

Lots of good punk from the late 90s/early 2000s California punk scene.

My favorite song here is The Main - Scene Killer. The Main was started by Spencer Bartsch from early California punk band Shattered Faith. The Main released only one single but in 2021 they put out a record limited to 150 or so copies that had all of the songs that they recorded that weren't on the single. (I do not have this record.)

The song Scene Killer is about how the punk crowd itself is responsible for killing the punk scene. They make fun of ska and pop punk:

"They took my punk rock and they turned it into jazz I think / But then again they think that punk rock is Blink"

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Mark Houston - Mighty Biker Nation (1999)

 I saw this CD in a thrift store and I thought it was going to be some ridiculous cheesy hard rock but I was surprised to hear some legitimate country music.
This guy was from the "low desert" of Murietta California and his music is full of all of the cliches of the country music genre.
America. God. Texas. Nashville. He calls grown men "mister" and, alternatively, "son" at appropriate times.
He does a weird song about being in love with his guardian angel.

The best song musically and lyric-wise is "Burnin' Down the Bridges".
It's a little bit country and a little bit rock-n-roll.   
These lyrics: "You offer no use I've got nothing to say
I'm cutting you loose now get out of my way"
That's good stuff.

But these aren't my favorite lyrics.

 From the song "She's a Babe!!"

"She can make a freight train take a dirt road just to watch her passin' by..."

I'm no fan of country music. The only country music I can tolerate is the band Slim Cessna's Auto Club.
Check them out. I saw them live and I was blown away. I have seen many country music bands live and I never felt any kind of allure.
I just don't like country so don't worry...you won't see much more country music on this blog. If I happen upon some rare obscure country with no real online presence I will post it
to keep the rare stuff alive but I ignore country music when I go on music hunting missions.  


1 The Truest Love I Knew
2 Mighty Biker Nation
3 Nothin's Changed
4 She's a Babe!!
5 Proud to be an American
6 Father's Heart
7 Loving You
8 The Ride
9 Guardian Angel
10 Remember Me
11 Burnin' Down the Bridges
12 The Word
13 Dying for Your Love

 

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Archita - TNT (2001)

  Archita (are-KEE-tuh) was a ska band from Torino, Italy. They released their one and only full-length album "Barrio Ska" in 2004 and you can hear it HERE but this is their
demo CDR from 2001. There are 8 tracks on this one and only one was on their album. This was released in very limited numbers and quite hard to find.

All Lyrics are in Italian. "A Casa di Mil" is an instrumental with a catchy piano refrain
and "Puzzle Mix", well, I thought there was something wrong with my CD rip so I ripped it a few times on different devices and it seems that's just how it sounds.  


1 Skatafascio
2 Waiting For
3 TNT
4 Everything's Alright
5 Puzzle Mix
6 Babylon Style
7 A Casa di Mil
8 Bikini
9 Skatafascio (Remix)

 

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