my knees are shakin' and I hurt a lot

Ain't that the way of things -- just when you think everything is going to be all right, the fates take a carefully aimed Parthian shot just to keep things interesting. If there is a higher power, I suspect that it's a really big fan of William Sydney Porter.

Even if my present setback amounts to a inconvenient short-term prelude to better days, I'm having a hard time looking past looking past the excruciating now...mainly because it's difficult to see the grand horizon when one is bent over the bathroom sink in a state of intense pain.

Teenage Head - Bonerack (from Teenage Head, 1979) - A repost, but this masterpiece of Canadian punkabilly is always worth hearing.

it's never changing

Last October, I attended a Temple sale with my wife, who lives for such events and the opportunities they provide to fill our little house with even more bizarre knickknacks. The only reason I attend these sales with her (apart from that "loving and supporting husband" jazz) is in the vain hope that one of the vendors has a set of SSP Smash Up Derby cars to sell at a reasonable price.

While I didn't find that particular personal Holy Grail, there was something that caught my interest -- a small crate of 7" singles being sold by a middle-aged woman whose other offered wares consisted of the finest non-essential kitchen furnishings 1975 had to offer. (Think avocado and earth tones.)

I always make a point of checking out the used vinyl I run across in these places, even though usually consists of Top 40 pap from the late 70's or the usual Ray Conniff/Herb Alpert/Al Hirt easy listening material. On this occasion, I was glad I made the effort as a quick flip through the singles turned up some surprises -- Depeche Mode's "Dreaming of Me," Devo's "Be Stiff," the UK release of the Clash's "Complete Control," and many other punk/postpunk/wave gems.

"They belonged to my son," said the woman behind the table. "He went to Emerson. He was going to be a dee-jay, but he ended up marrying some holy roller chippie. I was cleaning out his room the other day and found those. I asked him if he wanted them, but he said he didn't listen to the 'devil's music' anymore."

I gave the standard non-committal nod I usually use when small talk takes an uncomfortable direction and asked "how much?"

"I dunno. I don't know much about records. How about fifteen for the lot?"

I didn't even bother haggling. I forked over the dough and carted the box away.

It wasn't until after Maura gave me a turntable for Christmas that I sat down and did a proper assessment of the crate's contents. Most of the singles were easily placed, but there was one that defied identification -- while sleeve, blank label, with some curious etching, "JD-42680," on the edge of the vinyl. After a long bout of Googling and consultation with Kevin Church, whose knowledge of such matters rivals my own, I finally managed to determine exactly what it was I had lucked onto.

My jaw fairly well dropped at the revelation. I had come into possession of a bootleg release of a rumored, but unconfirmed Joy Division track recorded shortly before Ian Curtis's suicide. The unofficial title of the song is "Eternity" and it hints at the new direction the band was heading towards even as Curtis's personal demons bore down upon him with irresistible force.

A remarkable track and an incredible find, though I'd still have preferred finding a complete set of Smash Up Derby cars. Providence works in mysterious ways.

Joy Division - Eternity (?)

portents dark and shining

The stretch of time between Thanksgiving and the first week of December has traditionally been when Providence sees fit to make with the life-changing events. My mother’s death, my grandfather’s death, the worst break up I’ve gone through, my first date with the woman who would become my wife – that two week period is apparently my rollout date for heavy personal developments. Although the past few years have been blissfully uneventful, it’s hard to shake the feeling that something’s going to happen…

Ribzy – Why Did It Happen? (from The Valley Within compilation, 1983) – It’s always nice to discover a piece of hardcore punk that tries to reach past the louder-faster-harder assembly line template.

The Undertones – It’s Going to Happen (from Positive Touch, 1981) – Northern Ireland’s The Undertones crafted some really fine punk pop material in the late 70’s and early 80’s. That said, I really don’t understand the extreme reverence and awe that music critics hold for the band.

Oingo Boingo – Nothing Bad Ever Happens (from Good for Your Soul, 1983) – This is from my wife’s collection. She likes this track for it’s eighties apocalypticism; I think it’s a bit hollow, the pop equivalent to vacuformed plastic.

Salvation Army – Happen Happened (from the Mind Gardens EP, 1981) – LA punk pop with leanings toward the Paisley Underground 60’s revival movement. It reminds me a bit of Hüsker Dü, circa Candy Apple Grey, but I can’t put my finger on why.