Mutant Pop 78/79

Format: LP

Label: PVC/Fast Product 

Country: US 

Year: 1980 

Price paid: $8

Purchased at: The Bop Shop, Rochester NY

As far as I know this is the only album in the series, although the '78/79' implies that they had plans for future releases. Early post-punk UK tunes flung at the US market in hopes that some would stick. Or not.

Track listing:

Mekons 

• Never Been in a Riot
• 32 Weeks
• Where Were You

Scars 

• Adultery
• Horror Show

The Human League 

• Being Boiled
• Circus of Death

2-3

• All Time Low
• Where to Know?

The Flowers 

• After Dark
• Confessions

Gang of Four 

• Love Like Anthrax
• Armalite Rifle
• Damaged Goods

Adam and the Ants: Kings of the Wild Frontier / Press Darlings

Format: 7"

Label: CBS

Country: UK

Year: 1980

Price paid: $4

Purchased at: My Mind's Eye, Cleveland OH

 
The album 'King of the Wild Frontier' was a turning point for Adam and his ants. Previously the band had had little success chart-wise, but that all changed with a forced band lineup brought on by Malcolm McLaren. McLaren, in a brilliant and extremely douchy move, stole Adam's band and put them to work as the group Bow Wow Wow- with the then jailbait Annabella Lwin on lead vocals. But that's a different story.

Suffice it to say things started to go really well for Adam and the Ants shortly thereafter...

This is fourth single released by the band, the first with the new lineup and also first in support of 'Kings of the Wild Frontier' LP. It reached #48 on the UK charts (their first chart appearance.)

I love the sleeve art on this one. The black/red/white color scheme is rather potent and must have made a dramatic impression on store shelves back in the day; it certainly would have caught my eye! Very intimidating, like a horror movie poster. Potent and primal.

Cristina Monet: Cristina

Format: LP

Label: ZE

Country: US

Year: 1980

Price paid: $5

Purchased at: The Record Archive, Rochester NY

When I first picked this LP up from the bargain bin I was amused by the cover, but not overly impressed. When I saw it was on the Ze label I quickly held it close to my chest. It's not so much about the 'music' in this case; this one's dripping with history... and valued in the $20-30 range.

Ze is the seminal New York 'No Wave' label that gave Lydia Lunch her big break. Cristina has the distinction of being the FIRST artist to release material on Ze.

Cristina herself was a Harvard dropout who met Ze Record's founder Michael Zilkha while working for the Village Voice. She put out a few low-key LPs and disappeared from the scene. And that's about it. Oh, there's more if you're into minutia:

Everything you could possibly ever want to know about 'Christina', the album

Cristina's backside...

Blotto: Hello My Name is Blotto, What's Yours?

Format: 12" EP

Label: Blotto 

Country: US 

Year: 1980 

Price paid: $2.50 

Let's hear it for upstate New York! Arguably one of the best New Wave bands to come out of my neck of the woods, certainly the best to hail from Albany.

Honestly, before researching this just now I thought they were Canadian. They just have that sound. Originally known as the 'Star Spangled Washboard Band.' Blotto dissolved in '84, but still reform on occasion for local Albany events.

You may remember this song, a classic of the period. Delightful synth work. Supposedly this video was produced at SUNY Albany and played on the first day MTV went on the air:

Blotto- 'I Wanna be a Lifeguard'

The sleeve itself is simple, but get's the job done. I dig the crude/punk DIY feel to it- copyright-free clip art, typewriter font (probably from a real typewriter), and ink stamp designs. Honest and low tech. This was a local/regional release EP, but I'm thinking they made a ton of them based on the reasonably low value this can be had for today. This example is still sealed.

Lene Lovich: 1980 Global Assault

Format: 10" 
Label: Stiff/Epic 
Country: US 
Year: 1980 
Price paid: $10
Location purchased: Exchange, Kent Ohio

Lene Lovich is one of my 'top ten' New Wave artists. The poster child for Stiff Records who cultivated a dark, mysterious, and for the most part bogus slavic proto-goth image.

This ten-inch is a bit of a mystery to me. I don't use the word 'rare' lightly, but IMO this piece of vinyl certainly fits the bill. I'd never heard of it, even after a quarter century of collecting. Granted I've never sat down and pulled out a comprehensive Lene Lovich discography looking for holes in my collection. Information online is scant. Every copy I can confirm (three total) is marked 'Demonstration Not For Sale' with gold embossed 'promotion' and 'plug' markings on the back. Mine has the same markings. Did this ever see a legitimate release, or was it truly a promo-only item?

Either way this was obviously an attempt by Stiff to push their flagship artist onto the American public. A 'global assault' if you will. I think it goes without saying that this disc failed to inspire 'Lene craze' in the Yanks. She made nary a blip on the US charts during her entire career. God bless her!

When I first saw this one on the wall at a record store in Ohio it didn't register. The generic white sleeve was off-putting. After being initially drawn to the 'Stiff' label I was repelled by the 'Epic' on there as well, as that means it was intended for the US market and not a 'pure' British product. (joke)

The sticker makes all the difference though.

Design-wise there's not too much to talk about. Generic white sleeve with a sticker on it. I will say though that the sticker itself is well designed- minimal in a Russian Constructionist sorta way that manages to convey Stiff's style, the 80s aesthetic, and Lene's sham Slavic roots all in just a few lines and one color. The sticker placement isn't as haphazard as it looks either; every example I can find has the exact same sticker placement with the 'mock chance' tilt to it.

Tracklist:

Side A-  Monkey Talk, The Night, Too Tender (To Touch)

Side B- Angels, Lucky Number, Home

A-side recorded live at London Lyceum, 2/3/80
B-side recorded live at Paradise Theatre, Boston, 3/15/80

Lene and Les Chapell getting tipsy.