The Paisley Underground: 1981-1990

Hey folks, thought I'd celebrate the Fourth of July with a compilation covering a very American Scene. I've heard the term "Paisley" used to describe a number of bands from all over, but I went with a pretty strict definition here.

I tried to stay close to Los Angeles or at least bands that were associated with LA. Green on Red were really from Tucson and Game Theory were from Northern California-- but they are generally lumped in with the Paisley scene. A couple of bands that aren't normally given the Paisley tag that I've included are the Plimsouls and the Gun Club. Not sure why that is. They were both doing a similar kind of thing. Of course that begs the question, where do you draw the line? Was X Paisley? How 'bout the Minutemen or Circle Jerks or Black Flag?

There are a couple of excellent articles on the internet that are good overviews of the period/scene I'm covering if'n yer interested: One Nation Underground (Magnet) and Paisley Primer (by Jim Derogatis). This last one is actually an excerpt from a cool book by Derogatis on Psychedelic music in general, called Turn on Your Mind: Four Decades of Great Psychedelic Rock. I read this years ago, under a different title and I'm currently rereading it. As you can imagine it has me listening to tons of great psyche music. Be on the look out for some more psychedelic comps here at Burn and Shine soon!

As for the Paisley comp, there are a few tracks on here that have not seen digital reissue (or at least that I'm aware of)-- the Clay Allison transfer is not the greatest, but I love the song. Speaking of which, Kendra Smith (pictured above) is pretty cussing underrated isn't she? Smith is the star of this disc singing three songs, not the least of which is the brilliant cover of "Flying on the Ground is Wrong".

Happy listening!

The Paisley Underground: 1981-1990

01. The Bangs, "Call on Me" [1981]
02. Green on Red, "A Tragedy" [1981]
03. The Salvation Army, "While We Were in Your Room Talking to your Wall" [1982]
04. The Gun Club, "Carry Home" [1982]
05. True West, "Hollywood Holiday" [1983]
06. Rain Parade, "Saturday's Asylum" [1983]
07. The Last, "December Song" [1983]
08. The Plimsouls, "Inch by Inch" [1983]
09. The Dream Syndicate, "Still Holding on to You" [1984]
10. The Long Ryders, "Ivory Tower" [1984]
11. Rainy Day, "Flying on the Ground is Wrong" [1984]
12. Wednesday Week, "You Wanted Me To Hang Around" [1984]
13. The Leaving Trains, "Leaving Train" [1984]
14. The Prime Movers, "Museum" [1984]
15. The Pandoras, "I Live My Life" [1984]
16. Clay Allison, "All Souls" [1984]
17. The Three O'Clock, "Mrs. Green" [1985]
18. Danny & Dusty, "Bend in the Road" [1985]
19. Game Theory, "Girl With a Guitar" [1986]
20. Pontiac Brothers, "She Knows It" [1986]
21. Broken Homes, "Yes, It's All Over Now" [1986]
22. Thin White Rope, "Thing" [1987]
23. Viva Saturn, "Old World" [1988]
24. Opal, "Empty Box Blues" [1989]
25. Mazzy Star, "Halah" [1990]

Total Time: 1:19:30

Download it here: The Paisley Underground: 1981-1990

June Salutes You, Robert Pollard #2!

Hey Folks, here's part two of my three part series on Robert Pollard. I'm already late, and I don't have the energy to do the track by track commentary. Instead, I've just tried to jot down the relevant info for you, just in case you want to do some further investigating. Disc One in this series was one of the most downloaded comps here at Burn and Shine last year, so if you haven't yet checked it out please do.

Before we get to the new comp, though, I've got a little added bonus this year. I've finally converted an old NPR story that I had recorded on cassette, and I thought I'd share it here. It probably dates from about 1995. The sound quality is not great: I'm pretty sure that my original copy was a second or third generation recording. It was also my first time using the Audacity software to covert the recording to mp3. Still, it is well worth a listen if you are at all interested in Pollard's back story. It really gives you a great overview in under seven minutes! I used to put this at the beginning of primer tapes when I was trying to covert my friends to the brilliance of Guided by Voices. Check it out:



Okay, onto the new comp. Same rules as last year. Nothing off of Bee Thousand or the The Best of Guided by Voices compilation released on Matador Records in 2003, and very little from the 21st century (nothing recorded post-2002 on this one). I'm not a huge fan of Pollard's recent work, but if you'd like to sample some of the newer stuff, my friend and blogger People are Leaving, has put together a couple of good comps recently which would fill in the gaps: Boston Spaceships Collection and Best of Robert Pollard 2006-2009.

Happy Listening!

Your Trail is Quite a Puzzle – A Robert Pollard Primer (Disc 2)

01. “Deaf Ears” by Guided by Voices, originally released on “The Official Ironmen Rally Song” single, 1996.

02. “Wondering Boy Poet (Piano Version)” by Clinton Killingsworth, originally released on Suitcase: Failed Experiments and Trashed Aircraft, 2000 (recorded circa 1993).

03. “Eureka Signs” by Guided by Voices, originally released on Universal Truths and Cycles, 2002.

04. “They’re Not Witches” by Guided Voices, originally released on Alien Lanes, 1995.

05. “As We Go Up, We Go Down” by Guided Voices, originally released on Alien Lanes, 1995.

06. “Jane of the Waking Universe” by Guided Voices, originally released on Mag Earwhig! 1997.

07. “Your Name is Wild” by Guided Voices, originally released on Under the Bushes Under the Stars, 1996.

08. “Flat Beauty” by Robert Pollard, originally released on Not in My Air Force, 1996.

09. “Now To War” by Guided Voices, originally released on Mag Earwhig! 1997.

10. “Choking Tara (Creamy Version)” by Guided Voices, originally released on Everything is Nice: The Matador 10th Anniversary, 1999 (originally recorded circa 1997).

11. “The Terrible Two” by Styles We Paid For, originally released on Suitcase: Failed Experiments and Trashed Aircraft, 2000 (originally recorded 1993).

12. “Child” by Leon Lemans, originally released on Suitcase 2: American Superdream Wow, 2005 (recorded circa 2002).

13. “Top Chick Silver Chord” by Guided Voices, originally released on Tonics and Twisted Chasers, 1996.

14. “In Previous Trials (Stingy Queens)” by Guided Voices, originally found on the fan-made rarity compilation, 30 Songs, 2004 (recorded circa 1995).

15. “Stifled Man Casino” by Airport 5, originally released on Tower in the Fountain of Sparks. 2001.

16. “There Are Other Worlds” by The Constant Going Forward, originally released on Suitcase 3: Up We Go Now, 2009 (originally recorded for the film The United States of Leland circa 2001).

17. “Long Distance Now” by Guided Voices, originally released on Sandbox, 1987.

18. “Captain’s Dead” by Guided Voices, originally released on Devil Between My Toes, 1987.

19. “Wrecking Now” by Guided Voices, originally released on Do the Collapse, 1999.

20. “Like I Do” by Guided Voices, originally released on Forever Since Breakfast EP, 1986.

21. “Class Clown Spots a UFO” by Royal Canadien Mustard, originally released on Suitcase 3: Up We Go Now, 2009 (recorded circa 1988).

22. “Red Gas Circle” by Guided Voices, originally released on Propeller, 1992.

23. “Fly into Ashes by Guided Voices, originally released on Hold on Hope EP, 2000.

24. “If We Wait” by Guided Voices, originally released on Sunfish Holy Breakfast EP, 1996.

25. “Paper Girl” by Guided Voices, originally released on Self-Inflicted Aerial Nostagia, 1989.

Total Time: 57:06

Download it here: Your Trail is Quite a Puzzle: A Robert Pollard Primer (Disc Two)