Bort’s Compilation Collection

Not to be confused with what goes on in the mix forum. Drinky’s 2009 “I better start now” thread has motivated me to get this going. Good comps these days are few and far between, so I figure if I complete this, everyone will all be caught up. Comps, label samplers, and stuff from a series of discs are all fair game, but boxed sets, magazine comps, and soundtracks are right out. Depending on the cooperation of my mac, i'll upload anything upon request.



Afternoon Delight (Sub Pop, 1992)
Maybe this just keeps getting better, or maybe I just forgot how good it was back in the day. The disc is a mish mash of exclusive stuff, 7” single stuff, and cuts from albums, all with a common theme of “love” – for better or worse. The Sebadoh demo of “It’s So Hard To Fall In Love” is nice, though not surprisingly they’ve sounded better. Beat Happening is just one of those bands that sounds great in warm, sunny weather. Unrest were underrated. Codeine were never my bag but they were good at the slowcore they did. The Smashing Pumpkins song “La Dolly Vita” isn’t anything spectacular (something that can be said about many, many Pumpkins b-sides – Corgan at least knew enough to cut the weaker stuff in his early days) but the guitar sound is still awesome. Seaweed put forth the best song on their weak Weak album, “Clean Slate” and the Reverend Horton Heat do their country bar ballad “Where In The Hell Did You Go With My Toothbrush,” which I think was exclusive to this comp until the RHH did a singles/rarities collection years later. The Vasalines are classic. Decent swings but misses from: Come, Green River, Afghan Whigs.
Batting Average: 7 for 13 (.538)

post links or stfu.

was that a request?

AK Press Presents: Better Read Than Dead and Return of the Read Menace
(AK Press/Epitaph, 1996 and AK Press/G-7 Welcoming Committee, 1999)





A two-fer this time. I’ve found that benefit cds usually produce better material than tribute albums. The both comps have two things going for them: exclusive cuts and a variety of material. The original, BRTD, not only gave me non-album treats from NOFX, Snuff, and Pitchshifter, but also has the honor of introducing me to Spazz, whose track “Mighty Morphin Power Violence” is the penultimate song of that genre. That, however pales in comparison to the fact that this comp introduced me to one of my favorite bands of all time – Chumbawamba (Tubthumper wouldn’t come out until a year later). And the track “Safety Pin Stuck In My Heart” is such a sweet one. The disc also contains cool stuff from Zoinks, Blaggers Ita, and the Levellers, all of whom I enjoy but never dug much deeper into their catalogs. BA: 12 for 22 (.545)

The sequel is even better (usually that’s not the case – especially with 90s punk comps). Basically this collection has music that falls into 3 categories: Well written, well sung tracks (Ron Hawkins, Randy, Propagandhi, Weakerthans). Well written, poorly sung tracks (Screeching Weasel, Atom & His Package, Hot Water Music), and tracks from bands that aren’t putting forth their best, but still outshine a ton of other shit that plopped on us back in 1999 (J Church, Chumbawamba, Robb Johnson, Discount). I guess there’s a 4th category of filler but overall this one bats a respectable 15 for 25 (.600)

All The Punk… fit to print (Newspeak, 1995)

Well, I guess this one is kinda embarassing. First of all, I now “get” the cover (old people at an old printing press, captioned as Mr. B., Tim Yo, and Ben Weasel at MRR HQ). Ah, what a scene. There’s a bunch of 90s punk stuff from Nonsese, Rhythm Collision, Bankshot, …the list goes on. The Gotohells at least bring some decent rock’n’roll with “Back In FLA.” Lagwagon provide “Wind In Your Sail” which is a pretty decent track, but the best song here is by a band that I’ve never heard of before or since (mostly due to never bothering to search them out): Sidecar’s “Everywhere” is perfect. The song rips like 90s melodicore (though it’s a tad lo-fi, I wouldn’t necessarily call it Fat Wreck cheese), but it’s poppy enough to be called “pop punk” by people who don’t know what they are talking about. But the best part is Sidecar had two singers – one typical punk singer, and the other guy that sounds like he’d fit right in on a Mutant Pop 7”. Sadly, that’s about it. I’m left with trying to decide which band has the worst vocalist: Skankin’ Pickle, Against All Authority, or Fury 66. I believe it is AAA.
BA: 5/16 (.313) ((Bollweevils cover Naked Raygun, and all the other crappy bands combine to make one nostalgic hit.))

Alright, This Time, Just The Girls
(Sympathy For The Record Industry, 1999)

Another comp I’m glad I revisited. SFTRI has released a lot of stuff. Like, A LOT! They’ve released some garage punk paint-by-numbers stuff like Sacred Miracle Cave and the Honeymoon Killers, and they’ve released some “indie” classics by the Muffs, the Shitbirds, Thee Headcoatees, Supersnazz, Electrocutes, April March – the list goes on. They also struck gold with the White Stripes (who don’t appear here) and possibly another precious metal with Hole (who do). Anyway, this DOUBLE disc comp collects the best of the female-fronted acts the label has had to offer since it started in 1988. Aside from the aforementioned acts and some other “bigger” names like The Revillos and the 5, 6, 7, 8’s, there’s plenty of other great tunes by bands you’ve heard or heard of: Banana Erectors, Detroit Cobras, Lunachicks, Eyeliners, Buck, Neptunas, and the Chubbies to name a few. One of the highlights is a track from Candypants, who just released one album on SFTRI and moved on. “Dishy” is a perfect tune that walks the line between jangle punk and cutesy girl pop. Do I even need to go on? I didn’t even get to Free Kitten (aka Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon) covering “Oh Bondage, Up Yours!” or the Stool Pigeons (aka Lisa from Candypants) covering Herman’s Hermits.
BA: 29/48 (.604)

Do you have this one?

I CAN'T SEE PICS AT WORK!!!!

Theodore: An Alternative Music Sampler
(From about 1990 or so. Cover has a pic of a teenager holding up a baseball glove, but he's about to get hit in the face with a baseball, anyway.)
Has some major label "alternative" stuff like The Rave-Ups, Social Distortion, Nuclear Valdez, Indigo Girls, Shawn Colvin, Kate Bush, Poi Dog Pondering, Living Colour, and some others that would most-likely be mocked around these parts. I remember liking some of it at the time.

i remember that one but i don't have it. saw it in the dollar bins all the time back in the day, never pulled the trigger on it.

I've got that one somewhere, Todd....it's ok, nothing special. I think most of the tracks were direct from albums, so you're not gonna come up with any new treasures looking at it now.

Though I do like the inclusion of O Positive "Overflow" and Big Dipper "Another Life" Must be the fact that I was in Boston at the time.

I have one old sub pop compilation but I can't find the cover art online or any other information. on the front is a letter:

"sub pop,
this is a request. I'm working, slaving at a pit stop in lewiston id. I need something to read. may I please have a mail order catalog? how about a sticker for my subaru wagon?
love
me me ma"

Anakin (4AD, 1998)

This is great compilation. Technically it’s a label sampler and was a preview of forthcoming albums on 4AD that year, but I’m not making a distinction in this thread. His Name Is Alive does “Ain’t No Lie” which has always been a Libby Cotton song to me (though it’s older still – usually tagged as “traditional”). Someone told me the Grateful Dead did it too but I never looked into it. Anyway, the song is soft and sweet and acoustic – one of my favorite formulas of sound. Plus the track only came out on HNIA’s rare Emergency LP so that was a nice bonus (not until many years later did I track down the album – it’s great). Mojave 3 can do wrong in my book. Lisa Germano was probably the most underrated singer on the label, and her track here is one of her best. Kristin Hersh throws in a solid track as well. The only other appearance of note is Starry Smooth Hound – who contributed this one track on 4AD before changing his to real name – Vinny Miller.
BA: 7/11 (.636)

Another Year On The Street
(Vagrant, 2000)
This is one of those comps/label samplers (and there will be many more) where one has to consider the bang you get for your buck. Pretty weak overall, but for 5 bucks, will I complain? The fact that many of these tracks are exclusive is nice. I always appreciate a compilation that can give me something new rather than rehashing album material. However, the songs themselves don’t really hold up. Never cared for A3 and the Get Up Kids, and these tracks here aren’t helping the case. Face To Face are well past their prime by this point. Even Saves The Day, whom I normally like, put forth a song that’s a bit drawn out. I don’t like GUK, why would I want a more boring version of them with the New Amsterdamns? Throw in some 3rd tier shit like Automatic 7 and this whole thing hardly seems worth it. BUT WAIT. This comp has some ripping songs by Rocket From The Crypt (and to a lesser extent, the Gotohells – remember them? From like, 2 comps ago?) It also has “D In Detroit” by the Anniversary, which is probably the best thing this label ever released. There’s also a song by No Motiv on here called “Get A Life” which sounds like something Rally Records would release (and yes, that’s a compliment). No, I guess I won’t complain.
BA: 6/20 (.300)

A Slice Of Lemon
(Kill Rock Stars/Lookout, 1996)

In teeeeny tiny print it says this comp was created by Slim Moon, Chris A, and a few other people who aren’t Larry Livermore. Perhaps they were embarrassed by the outcome here? Anyway, this double disc collection is …strange to say the least. It’s got some great notable acts from both labels - unsurprisingly Elliott Smith, Pansy Division, MTX, Bomb Bassets, Go Sailor and Cub turn in some of the best tracks here. It’s got some bands I’ve never heard or heard of before or since – Delightful Little Nothings and Sunnychar in particular are favorites. There’s also some good stuff from Excuse 17, Mary Lou Lord, and the Potatomen. However, this release also contains some of the worst shit I’ve heard in my life. Men’s Recovery Project, the Frumpies, and a bunch other bands that I’ve purposely forgotten simply to rid them from my memory. Why anyone would want to make that music, release that music, and listen to that music is beyond me. Could’ve been a great single disc comp, instead it kinda got ruined, like when douchebags play football in the outfield of a Punk Rock Softball game.
BA: 15 for 40 (.375)

Asphodelic
(Asphodel, 1999)

One of those comps that no one but me will care about. Asphodel was a great label in the late 90s, and primarily focused on two sub-genres of music. The first was bubbly, electronic beat busting from the likes of Tipsy, We, and especially DJ Spooky, whose track here “Synaptic Dissonance” is one of his best. The label also was a great promoter of turntablism and abstract hip-hop, putting out great stuff from boundary pushers like Mix Master Mike, Rob Swift, and the X-ecutioners. The songs here are mere tastes of what they accomplished on their albums (I try not to hold that against any comp) and in fact are probably the most accessible works of the artists (again, can’t blame the comp for doing it’s job). If anyone wants to argue that hip-hop is boring and uncreative I’ll happily point them to the Asphodel catalog.
BA: 9 for 13 (.692)

Astralwerks New Music 2010
(Astralwerks, 2010)

I’m kinda just throwing this in here because it was a pleasant fucking surprise. This was the only freebie I deemed worth grabbing at Record Store Day, and even though the price was right/non-existent I didn’t have high hopes. I haven’t kept up with the label since the 90s so I figured this would just be some tired electronic stuff. Nope! “Free Energy” by Free Energy is a contender for rock/pop song of the summer. The 60s pop-esque Revolver and the acoustic songstress Laura Marling tell me the label has really stretched their boundaries, and their signing of the Albert Hammond-backed, NYC hipster sounding Postelles tells me they want to keep up with the times. Hot Chip and Doves are enjoyable as usual, but (ok, so here’s the swing and miss) I find Air and Royksopp a tad tiring. Do I consider the Pet Shop Boys a guilty pleasure? No, not really, they’re great. Also I’ll always welcome a Kraftwerk track (even if it’s a reissue) with open arms.
BA: 8 for 13 (.615)