Just dropping in for a quick collection update – My holy trinity of 1987. The two singles were featured prominently on mash-up culture mixes and retrospective surveys of early hip hop / dance music. The full-length LP is the rare debut album by The KLF, (Kings of the Low Frequencies / Kopyright Liberation Front), then performing as The Justified Ancients Of Mu Mu, and would be impossible to release in today’s litigious music market.
They faced similar challenges in August of 1987, when The Mechanical-Copyright Protection Society ordered The JAMs to recall and destroy all unsold copies of the record. The JAMs made a bonfire in the Swedish countryside and burnt the LPs.
Pictured:
Eric B. & Rakim – “Paid In Full (Seven Minutes Of Madness – The Coldcut Remix)”
The Justified Ancients Of Mu Mu (The KLF) – 1987 What The F***’s Going On?
Bomb The Bass – “Beat Dis (Extended Dis)”
Interestingly, both “Beat Dis” and “Seven Minutes” contain samples of “Train Sequence” by Geoffrey Sumner (1958) and “Pump That Bass” by Original Concept (1986). And all three of these releases were first issued in 1987. Furthermore, M | A | R | R | S’ hit, “Pump Up The Volume,” also released in ’87, shares its namesake titular sample with the Coldcut “Seven Minutes” mix, each lifting the spoken-word vocal from Eric B. and Rakim’s “I Know You Got Soul” from their debut Paid In Full LP released earlier that same year. Whosampled dot com cites no fewer than 437 songs that went on to sample the classic hip hop track.
The Coldcut Remix is filed under Hip-Hop, “Beat Dis” is House/Breaks, and 1987 is Leftfield/Plunderphonics. Each is a milestone in the history of DJ culture.
Just a quick check-in today. I’m grateful to have received an incredible gift this weekend of several UK import KLF and related singles from a wonderfully generous friend who was thinning out their personal record collection. He knew that no one in the city would appreciate them more than I. With the new titles added, it seemed fitting to take an updated photograph of the collection to date. Here’s what I have so far, including Drummond’s Silent Protest deck of cards, (the tiny black item toward the lower right), a rare first-edition of The Manual, the Stadium House Trilogy VHS, and several titles from the exquisite Recovered & Remastered series, (highly recommended!)
My KLF collection now comprises 45 physical LPs, CDs, books, and other ephemera. The digital portion of my KLF library includes 164 albums, EPs, and other releases totaling over 109 hours of music and 93 films clocking in at 19 hours of rare video footage and interviews.
I understand that there are collectors with far larger KLF libraries, but I’m pleased with what I’ve built so far. Special thanks to my very generous friend!
I have a decent collection of novelty records, from the first “break-in” 7-inch, Buchanan and Goodman’s “Flying Saucer Pts I & II,” to a fish-head-shaped picture disc of Barnes & Barnes classic, “Fish Heads,” to the full-scale replica of “Weird Al” Yankovic’s accordion housing vinyl remasters of his entire 40-year career in the industry. (I even had the good fortune of getting Dr. Demento, himself to sign my 1953 debut 10″ of Songs By Tom Lehrer!) So when I discovered that the hilarious Bongos, Bass, and Bob had put out a record featuring many of my favorite Demented hits, I tracked down a copy right away.
The band recorded one album with Penn Gillette and produced by Kramer in 1988 titled, Never Mind The Sex Pistols, Here’s Bongos, Bass, and Bob (What Were They Thinking???) on Jillette’s label, 50 Skidillion Watts, (written out as 50,000,000,000000,000,000,000 Watts Records), Catalog # 50,000,000,000,000,000,000,003.
The album includes favorites like:
Oral Hygiene
Walkin’ in the Park
What’s Your Name, Babe?
Clothes of the Dead
and Thorazine Shuffle (a cover of the single by Modern Entertainment)
The album is a comedic mishmash of genres, including folk, world music, country, jazz, rock, doo-wop, punk, and calypso, as well as lo-fi, noise, and avant-garde musical styles.
The trio is a self-proclaimed “speed Mariachi” band composed of Penn Jillette on bass, Dean Seal on bongos, and Rob Elk on guitar. Several tracks were featured on The Dr. Demento Show, and an alternate sans-Jillette take of “Oral Hygiene” recorded under the name “Mr. Elk and Mr. Seal” was featured on WITR’s Friggin Here radio show in the 90s. It also appeared as track #2 on Dr. Demento’s Basement Tapes Volume 01.
I’d spent those halcyon summers painstakingly taping 27 weeks worth of broadcasts of Friggin Here and entering the complete set lists into a word processor to print on my dot matrix printer, (this was 1995 after all), so it was a real treat to claim the songs I so fondly remembered on wax.
It’s offbeat, humorous, and original stuff.
From Allmusic:
The bongos come courtesy of Dean J. Seal, the bass is via Penn Jillette (of Penn & Teller fame), and the Bob is derived from guitarist Rob “Running” Elk on this funny, eclectic record overseen by producer Kramer. There are 16 songs on Never Mind the Sex Pistols, Here’s Bongos, Bass, Bob! (What on Earth Were They Thinking?), and about as many musical styles, including punk, calypso and doo-wop; the acute and amusing lyrics target oral hygiene, Thorazine, girls with guns and thrift shopping (“Clothes of the Dead”). Much more musically competent than expected, this is a superior musical-comedy record, and one that holds up to repeated listenings.
And Wikipedia notes:
Kramer is a musician, composer, record producer, and founder of the New York City record label Shimmy-Disc.
Kramer played on tour with Butthole Surfers, Ween, Half Japanese, The Fugs, and John Zorn and other improvising musicians of New York’s so-called “downtown scene” of the 1980s.
Kramer produced Galaxie 500’s entire oeuvre, and discovered and produced Duluth slowcore band, Low. He also produced for White Zombie, GWAR, King Missile, Daniel Johnston, and Urge Overkill.
Rutlesriki.fandom.com adds that the group also recorded a cover version of The Rutles’ “Number One” for the tribute album, Rutles Highway Revisited, released in 1993.
Of “Thorazine Shuffle,” G Zahora writes:
“Thorazine Shuffle” is a Modern Entertainment piece, but BB&B’s rendition is particularly brilliant; the bass and bongo arrangement is ultra-spartan jazz-via-Velvet Underground, the vocals quiet and businesslike (except for the freakout choruses, where Penn goes a bit nuts himself).
Zahora closes their review noting:
It’s not for everyone, but if you dig slightly dated New York weirdo hipster novelty humor, are a rabid Penn and Teller fan or just a colored vinyl lover, Never Mind the Sex Pistols…Here’s Bongos, Bass and Bob is worth tracking down.
There’s an incredibly exhaustive write-up on the record archived on Popsike herefor anyone interested, which includes transcripts of articles on the album from Playboy in 1996 and the rest of G Zahora’s album notes.
Related projects of note include John S. Hall & Kramer (Hall is the vocalist from King Missile)’s Real Men LP and Captain Howdy (Penn Jillette w Kramer) who produced “The Best Song Ever Written” b/w “Dino’s Head” which I own on 45. But Bongos, Bass, and Bob remain a stand-out favorite from the best of the Dr. Demento era.
There is a playlist of a vinyl-rip of the album on YouTube, though a few tracks are cut in the wrong places, (track 2, “Clothes of the Dead” for example is mistakenly cut short at a moment of silence before the final chorus which resumes at the beginning of video #3). Still, it provides a taste of the comedic madness and irreverence of this record.
Anyone who knows me knows that I’m a tremendous fan of the electronic duo Underworld.
At age 15, their album Dubnobasswithmyheadman was my very first exposure to the world beyond Top 40 radio pop, and its award-winning typographical packaging created by the band’s critically acclaimed Tomato design collective directly inspired my pursuit of a design degree and an 18-year career in the field.
Checking my latest stats, my Underworld collection now comprises 77 physical releases and artifacts, memorabilia, subway posters, books, prints, magazine articles, DVDs, VHS tapes, etc, as well as over 600 digital albums, EPs, mixes, concerts, and other materials – over 8100 tracks including concert videos. With new material being released every week, they’re showing no sign of slowing down, and they continue to expand my scope of musical appreciation with each new release.
Here is the physical portion of my collection to date. (For scale, the green print at the center is a subway poster from the UK measuring five feet in height.)
Below is an itemized inventory of the physical collection. The 8100-track digital library is too large to post here but is itemized in the Innerspace Labs Workbook previously published in this journal.
Artist
Title
Format
Screen Gemz
Teenage Teenage b/w I Just Can’t Stand Cars 7″ single (sleeve reproduction)
7″, Single
Freur
Matters Of The Heart
7″
Freur
Get Us Out Of Here
LP, Album
Freur
Look In The Back For Answers
12″
Freur
Doot Doot
CD
Freur
Doot-Doot
7″, Pic
Freur
Doot-Doot
12″
Freur
Doot-Doot
12″
Freur
Runaway (Dun Difrunt)
12″
Freur
Doot-Doot
LP, Album
Underworld
Going Overground Melody Maker Magazine January 22, 1994
Magazine
Underworld
Barbara Barbara, We Face a Shining Future
LP, Album
Underworld
Spikee / Dogman Go Woof
12″, Single
Underworld
Beaucoup Fish
2xLP, Album
Underworld
A Hundred Days Off
2xLP, Album
Underworld
A Hundred Days Off
2xLP, Album
Underworld
Born Slippy
12″, Single
Underworld
Dark & Long
12″, RE
Underworld
Two Months Off
12″
Underworld
Second Toughest In The Infants
2xLP, Album
Underworld
Rez / Cowgirl
12″
Underworld
Stand Up
12″, Maxi
Underworld
Glory! Glory!
12″, Single
Underworld
Underneath The Radar
Cassette
Underworld
Underneath The Radar
7″, Single
Underworld
Change The Weather
LP, Album
Underworld
Long Slow Slippy / Eventually But
12″, Ltd, S/Edition
Underworld
Barking
2xLP, Album
Underworld
Dubnobasswithmyheadman
5CD Box Set
Underworld
Underneath The Radar
LP, Album
Underworld
Underneath The Radar
LP, Album
Underworld
Cowgirl / Rez
12″, Ltd, Whi
Underworld
Pearl’s Girl
12″
Underworld
Jumbo
12″, Single
Darren Emerson
Global Underground 020: Singapore
2CD
Darren Emerson & Tim Deluxe
Underwater, Episode 1
2CD
Underworld
Videos 1993-97 Footwear Repairs By Craftsmen At Competitive Prices
Limited Edition Barking Art Print (Hand numbered #64/650)
Art Print
Underworld
Dubnobasswithmyheadman A2 sized Promo Poster
Poster
Underworld
Dubnobasswithmyheadman Concert Tour Memorabilia Keyring
Keyring
Underworld
Dubnobasswithmyheadman T-Shirt (unofficial)
T-Shirt
Underworld
Dubnobasswithmyheadman Coffee Mug (unofficial)
Coffee Mug
Underworld
Dubnoboasswithmyheadman Custom Chromebook Skin and Keyboard Inlay
Laptop Skin (Custom)
Underworld
Everything Everything 150cm x 100cm UK Subway Poster
Poster
Underworld
Underworld Press Photo
Photo
Underworld
Rowla/Juanita
12″
Underworld
Oblivion With Bells
2xLP, Album
Underworld
Dubnobasswithmyheadman
2LP, Album
Underworld
Second Toughest in the Infants Remastered Super Deluxe Edition
4CD Box Set
Underworld
Beaucoup Fish Remastered Super Deluxe Edition
4CD Box Set
Underworld and Iggy Pop
Teatime Dub Encounters
LP, EP, Limited Edition, Clear
Underworld
Drift Series 1
7CD+Blu-Ray DVD Box Set
Tomato
mmm.. skyscraper i love you: A Typographical Journal of New York
Art Book
Tomato
Process: A Tomato Project
Art Book
Eno • Hyde
Someday World
2xLP, Album, S/Edition
Eno • Hyde
Someday World
2xLP, Album, S/Edition
Eno • Hyde
High Life
2xLP, Album
Eno • Hyde
Someday World 12″ x 12″ Art Print
Art Print
Eno • Hyde
Brian Eno and Karl Hyde with Flowers in Vase Against White Background Postcard
Postcard
Eno • Hyde
Brian Eno and Karl Hyde on Stage Before a Concert
Postcard
Karl Hyde
Edgeland
2xLP, Album, 180
Karl Hyde
Personal Live Photograph
Photograph
Supplemental Note:
Following the acquisition of the final four Underworld multi-disc super-deluxe box sets for my archival project, I found that my collection had outgrown its space in my record room and I wanted a storage solution which would blend seamlessly with my vintage decor. I took careful measurements and trekked to my city’s antique mall and found a large antique wooden crate the exact dimensions (to the very inch!) that I was hoping to find.
It’s a perfect vintage solution to house my collection of nearly eighty Underworld releases! The sturdy wooden crate features weathered stamping for 120lbs of (Ben) Franklin brand sugar. Here it is in my home, fitted appropriately beneath a framed promotional print of my favorite album by the duo.
I’m quietly celebrating the holidays with a new addition to my vast Jim Henson library – this is the Record Store Day exclusive limited edition picture disc of the music from Henson’s 1977 television special, Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas. The soundtrack was issued for the very first time for Record Store Day in 2018 and was limited to 2000 copies worldwide. This year a picture disc version was issued in a run of 2,500. Both editions were issued by the soundtrack record label, Varèse Sarabande.
All versions of the soundtrack feature 15 tracks from the TV special, a previously unreleased song called “Born in a Trunk” that didn’t make it to air, as well as extended liner notes featuring interviews with the film’s puppet performers, and more.
The film was Jim Henson’s most complex endeavor to date. As Dave Goelz reflected in 2011:
“We built a 55-foot-long river that was about 10 feet wide and went all the way across the stage, and they built a radio-control rowboat for Emmet. It was so lovely and lyrical to see Emmet rowing his mom down the river. The idea that there was life along the river and that it was all interconnected was a great metaphor for people.”
The soundtrack features all of Paul Williams’ music from the special, including the fan-favorite, “Riverbottom Nightmare Band” and the heartwarming, “Where the River Meets the Sea,” the latter of which was featured on the classic John Denver & the Muppets: A Christmas Together LP in 1979.
Though I was too young to have seen the original television broadcast in ’77, I had the great pleasure of seeing Emmet Otter along with The Bells of Fraggle Rock together in the theater when they were featured by Fathom Events on December 16, 2018.
Now I’ve added the picture disc to my library of 60+ Jim Henson-related LPs. (There’s one more Henson holiday disc I hope to secure, but as it has almost never surfaced on the resale market I’m going to keep it under wraps until one appears or a reissue is released.)
I was recently promoted at work and given the largest desk on the floor which is affectionately referred to as “The Fortress of Solitude” by my team. It’s off by itself with four enclosed walls making it an incredibly quiet and private space which is a dream for an introvert like myself. My supervisor was confident placing me there because he knew I could work independently but would also continue to supervise and interact with new members of the team to assist them as needed.
I wasted no time in making the space my own – a home away from home. I ordered a few antique art pieces, a Persian style rug, I printed custom posters and had them framed, ordered limited edition lithographs, and had a second bronze bust of Beethoven cast to match the one I use in my home office for use as headphone stands in each space.
To ensure that each of the pieces would function well in the space, I took a moment between tasks at work to sketch out a rough template of the work area’s measurements and where I planned to place/hang each artifact. Here’s the (very) rough layout.
It took a few months for all of the art works to be created, printed, or to ship from their nations of origin, but it’s all come together. The final step was to replace the boring wheeled plastic desk chair with something more my style. Thankfully I scored a vintage red armchair for just $7 at a local garage sale.
Here are a few shots of the results.
The last item has just arrived and is now handsomely framed on my office wall. This is the limited edition bonus A2 lithograph from Brian Eno’s new Extended Edition of Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks, exclusively shipped to the first 250 persons worldwide to submit their orders upon the announcement of its release last May.
The print showcases the lunar surface depicted on the original album cover from 1983. The piece is a perfect complement to the official Hearts of Space nebula poster I ordered from the ambient radio program that has been wishing space fans safe journeys for nearly forty years.
The Beethoven bust turned out fantastic and really adds a refined touch to the space –
My dual desktop wallpaper is a photo of the century-old chalkware “Nipper” statue and 1911 Monarch gramophone proudly displayed in my dining room in celebration of “His Master’s Voice,” the legacy of RCA, and the history of recorded music, and a small cast iron figure of Nipper sits humbly between the two monitors.
Here’s the actual statue in my home –
and the cast iron figure –
Also on display is my recently-acquired “His Master’s Voice” antique art mirror –
a portrait of James Joyce, mantel clock, and I found a vintage lamp and shade to complement my burgundy-and-brass theme –
a collage I assembled of influential figures in the history of experimental music titled, “The Rest Is Noise” –
DJ Food (Strictly Kev)’s poster of all the releases from the late Pete Namlook’s ambient FAX +49-69/450464 record label –
an engraved tea chest –
and a limited edition t-shirt graphic I framed of post-rock legend Godspeed You! Black Emperor’s Faulty Schematics of a Ruined Machine from their majestic F# A# ∞ LP –
There is also a fun antique style console radio clock –
and I produced a high-res scan of Brian Eno’s sheet music for his seminal Music for Airports LP and formatted the layout to frame beautifully in a 10×13 frame above my desk.
And on the far wall behind my desk I’ve framed the Apollo print and a classy 24” x 36” portrait of Miles Davis taken in 1948 in NYC from the Herman Leonard Collection.
The Persian style area rug finishes off the space nicely, and makes it feel extra cozy.
It’s a serene work space and really makes me feel at home.
Another Underworld classic has arrived at Innerspace Labs! “Glory! Glory!” is a single from the Mk1 era before they changed their sound and released their epic Dubnobasswithmyheadman LP.
Their singles from this period were released between 1988 and 1989, and the Sire label singles featuring b-sides not found anywhere else in their catalog were issued exclusively in Germany and Australia.
I’ve researched all 53 variations of these single, compiled a list of all edits and b-sides and have been collecting them for years.
The Sire Singles b-sides include the following:
Glory Glory (7 pressings)
Shokk The Doctor
Glory! Glory! (Live – Full Length Version) – same as “Glory! Glory! (Live)”
Underneath the Radar (17 pressings)
Big Red X
Underneath the Radar (Edit)
Underneath The Radar (Instrumental Version)
Underneath The Radar (12″ Remix)
Underneath The Radar (7″ Remix) – 4:43 and exclusive to the Sire – PRO-CD-2942 US CD Promo Single
Underneath The Radar (Dub)
Underneath The Radar (8:00 Remix) – same as 12″ remix
Underneath The Radar (6:00 Dub) – same as “(Dub)”
Underneath The Radar (Edit From Shep Petitibone Remix) – 4:40 and exclusive to the Sire – 927 937-7 European 7″ single manufactured in Germany – NOTE: This version has the same runtime as the track listed on Sire – PRO-CD-2942 called 7″ Remix issued as a promo CD in the US and the Discogs entry lists it as being “Edited By – Shep Pettibone.” They are very likely the same track.
Show Some Emotion (7 pressings)
Show Some Emotion (Remix)
Shokk The Doctor – also featured on some of the “Glory! Glory!” singles
Stand Up (14 pressings)
Stand Up (Extended Dance Mix)
Stand Up (Edit)
Stand Up (Ya House Mix)
Stand Up…(And Dance)
Outskirts
Thrash (3 pressings)
Thrash (Dance Pass)
Thrash (Extasy Pass)
Additionally, “Change the Weather” (3 pressings), “I Need a Doctor” (1 pressing), and “Pray” (1 pressing) were also issued as singles but only contained standard A-sides from the two full-length LPs released during the Mk1 era, Underneath the Radar (1988) and Change the Weather (1989).
Of these 53 releases I am missing four tracks –
Underneath the Radar (Edit) – 3:59
Underneath The Radar (7″ Remix) aka (Edit From Shep Pettibone Remix) – 4:43
Thrash (Dance Pass) – 6:25
Thrash (Extasy Pass) – 5:46
At the present moment my Underworld collection presently comprises 62 physical releases and artifacts, memorabilia, subway posters, books, prints, magazine articles, DVDs, VHS tapes, etc, as well as 589 digital albums, EPs, mixes, concerts, and other materials. With new material being released every week, they’re showing no sign of slowing down.
A visit to the legendary Bop Shop in my old home town of Rochester, NY yielded two delightful surprise acquisitions. The first was one of the three of Harold Budd’s 1970s and 80s classic output missing from my vinyl collection – Abandoned Cities. (I now need only The Pavilion of Dreams and The White Arcades to complete my collection.)
The other was an equally unexpected but similarly important work of early ambient music – a German import from Grönland Records combining two classic recordings of Can’s co-founder, Holger Czukay with the great David Sylvian.
Plight & Premonition / Flux & Mutability is a double reissue and remaster of their late-80s collaborations experimenting with abstract ambient soundscapes which are sparse, sombre, and atmospheric. Pitchfork contributor Robert Ham remarked that these recordings laid “the groundwork for years of ambient music that would follow.”
“Each feature two long instrumental works built around drones from a synthesizer or guitar interrupted by random shortwave-radio intrusions and occasionally disorienting tape edits.”
The first disc, Plight & Premonition, originally released in March of 1988, comprises drones of harmonium, synthesizer, piano, and guitar. The second disc, Flux & Mutability followed in 1989. Allmusic describes its ambience as “deep, expansive atmospheres with eerie samples and vacuous walls of sound” and calls the album “an important selection for fans of electronic minimalism.”
Both the Budd classic and this new remaster from Grönland are exquisite additions to my library of pioneering early ambient music. My next ambition is to secure a copy of the Editions EG 1981 reissue of Budd’s debut on Eno’s magnificent Obscure Records label in 1978. The Pavilion of Dreams is ethereal, holy, and exquisitely beautiful and has been a long-standing favorite recording of mine in the realm of the genre’s origins.
Ever-striving to improve upon the organizational standards of The Innerspace Labs library, I finally set myself to the task of creating custom genre-labeled PVC dividers for the genre sections of my collection.
I began by assessing the key genres which would most effectively and productively be represented with tabs and compiled a list of 21 primary genres. Next, I surveyed various marketplaces for materials and determined that Rochester, NY’s classic Bags Unlimited collectors’ supply store had the best supplies available and at the lowest price compared to eBay and Amazon. (A tip – phoning in your order to BU will expedite the shipment as they do not have to transfer the materials from their web system!)
While their site is well-organized, they did not specifically provide dimension information for the tab area of their dividers nor the character width of their standard 0.5″ adhesive lettering. But with some simple importing and scaling in Gimp I was able to derive those dimensions and determine the maximum number of characters per 6″ tab, (which is approximately 12-15). I then adjusted all my genre labels, simplifying them to twelve or fewer characters.
Counting the number of each letter per sheet I dumped my list into a web-based character frequency counter and determined that I would need 9 of the shop’s sheets to complete the project. I ordered a pack of 10 to be safe. Shipping was free and they arrived in just 48 hours so I got right to work.
I had read on a scrapbooking site about the technique of using a flat acrylic ruler to aid in typesetting and in keeping the lettering centered and on a uniform baseline. Not having a typesetter’s ruler handy, and seeing that all suppliers in my area were out of stock of them, I produced one myself using a spare heavy sheet of acetate I found and trimmed down in my workplace’s mail room, added a few 1/2″ incremental markings to aid in centering, and dove into the project.
It took just two hours from start to finish, and I photographed the results. Here are the completed set of 21 dividers just as I finished setting them.
I pre-measured my various storage systems to ensure that these standard dividers would fit and function in each space. They worked perfectly. Here they are in action. I think they add a touch of professionalism to my listening room and hope that years from now when I retire and bestow my library upon a foundation or organization of my choice that these will make the work of the recipient far easier to bear.
It was a fun accomplishment!
(The box sets shelf seemed sufficient on its own so I didn’t include a divider here.)
The whole project was very affordable and really enhances my library’s organization. Highly recommended for anyone looking to spruce up their listening room!
It’s been another productive evening! I realized that I’d never cataloged my Jim Henson / Muppet / Sesame Street / Fraggle Rock / Labyrinth / Dark Crystal vinyl collection so I dedicated some time to keying in all their matrix numbers and entered condition details and notes of the media, sleeves, and all included posters into Discogs.com.
I had to photograph and submit all release data for a few 6LP box sets that no one had ever contributed to the site before, entering all track and catalog data in addition to the images so it took some work but I’ve now got all 65 discs neatly organized with complete release data for reference whenever I’m crate digging in the wild.
The Innerspace Connection 