Some stuff that should be fairly well-known around here:
Game Theory - Real Nighttime
This was Scott Miller's (not the same Scott Miller from the V-Roys) entry into the hazily defined '80s paisley underground scene, and Game Theory pretty much treads the same path as his current outfit the Loud Family. If you're not familiar with either band the formula can be described thusly: create a perfect pop confection, then do everything in your power to fuck it up. In almost every song Miller's airy soprano swoops around the melody while the instrumentation crams two pounds of ideas into a one pound bag. The approach means everything is at the very least interesting, and, in the case of "Waltz The Halls, Always", quite a bit more than that.
Poisoned s/t (ep)
After the Young Canadians, after Los Popularos, and before his solo career, Art Bergmann fronted Poisoned. This is an era that's not well preserved in terms of Bergmann recordings - there's a collection called
Lost Art Bergmann that tries to rectify the situation - and really the only thing that captures the band as they sounded in the day is this EP. Features two of my fave Bergmann tracks in "Yeh, I Guess" and "Guns and Heroin".
Tex and the Horseheads - Life's So Cool
Produced by John Doe, this is interesting, if not entirely successful, glammy cowpunk. Tex and the Horseheads were Mike Martt's band before teaming up with Bob Forrest and launching Thelonious Monster. The weak link here, unfortunately, is the voice of Texacala Jones, which squeaks and pouts and mugs but seldom finds the tune.
