Compact Discoveries

Just in case anyone stumbles upon this

2006-12-01T23:19:00.000+11:00

...this blog is dead - having done CD's, I've moved on to another blog about stupid novelizations and other trash fiction called Bringing Paperback. Also check out my radio show's blog, Public Transport. See you round.

"An Evening With... The Core"

2005-07-23T22:29:00.000+10:00

cover, inside cover

Picked this up for 25c today. Here is a dodgy CD-R in a broken case, with track titles like "Move That Muscle" and "Hide Your $$$ (Wherever Appropriate)", and the promise of a live recording from an obscure band. I just couldn't resist the total WTF factor. But it turns out this is in fact an awesomely fun party mix tape, compiled probably around the year 2001. For some bizarre reason, the tracks have been renamed obscurely -- Dee-Lite's "Groove is in the Heart" has the title "Song For Lobster", and the theme from "Footloose" goes under "Song For German Shepherd". And the guy must've had a sense of humour -- a Madonna track is labelled "Song for Beaver Fellow", and U2's "With Or Without You" says "Interpretive Dance". I'll leave you to be surprised by the rest of the tracks. Seriously a really fun CD to listen to, with some great songs you haven't heard in ages.

01. The Start of the Evening, Part 1
02. The Start of the Evening, Part 2
03. The Start of the Evening, Part 3
04. Move That Muscle, Part 1
05. Move That Muscle, Part 2
06. Song for Ms. Gorgeous
07. Song for Evil Wife
08. Song for German Shepherd
09. Song for Beaver Fellow
10. Song for Sexy Mother Fucker
11. Song for Lobster
12. HGS Stomp
13. Hide Your $$$ (Wherever Appropriate)
14. Interpretive Dance
15. New Haven Dance Party, Vol. 3, Part 1
16. New Haven Dance Party, Vol. 3, Part 2
17. The End of the Evening
zip (soon)

This week I'd also like to direct you to "Happy Meal", an album by The Hamburglers, available for legal download courtesy of our friends at the Internet Archive. These guys are an anonymous group of DJ's who made this record entirely out of samples from McDonalds' commercials and training videos from the 1970's. The result is interesting and at times quite unsettlingly creepy manipulation of corporate propaganda.

Compact Discoveries Shall Return Soon!

2005-07-19T08:07:00.000+10:00

Apologies, I've been on a bit of a hiatus recently due to a bunch of shit I've had to do and the lack of a cool, weird CD find. I'm back at school this week but I guarantee you there will be a new CD up for your listening pleasure by the end of this weekend. Promise. In the mean time check out "Soul Dracula", an awesome song I've dug up courtesy of The Essential Ghoul's Record Shelf, my favourite new sharity blog. See ya soon!

"Sydney The Sporting City" - Jennifer Ramos

2005-07-07T18:53:00.000+10:00

Officially the weirdest compact discovery yet.

Sydney The Sporting City has no artist credit, but is apparently composed by "Jennifer Ramos". Australians are a very sporty people by nature, and in 1994 we were absolutely jubilant when the news hit that our 2000 Olympic bid was successful. This CD came out in 1998, as anticipation was rising. When I picked it up I expected some kind of cheesy ballad about how proud we are to host the world's athletes, etc. Instead, I found really bizarro 80's wobble-techno drenched in Casio. Where are the vocals? "Radio Edit" as if it'll get airplay? And is that gunfire on the track?

01. Sydney The Sporting City (Inst.)
02. Sydney The Sporting City (Radio Edit)
03. Sydney The Sporting City (Inst. - Second Version)
04. Sydney The Sporting City (Radio Edit - Second Version)
zip

Printed on the inside cover is what was apparently supposed to be the lyrics, including such golden poetry as "Everybody sings your name, Sydney city of Olympic Games/Sydney city of sweet dreams, we remember Harbour bridge." I've transcribed the full text here - you can almost sing along. Weird!

MP3(s) of the week: If there's one thing I love, it's a dope laid-back hip-hop groove, and this week we have two of them. A Tribe Called Quest with ''Same Ol' Thing'', and Will Smith with ''So Fresh'', a track from 1999's "Willenium" which sees him reunited with DJ Jazzy Jeff, as well as featuring guest MC Biz Markie amongst others. Smoooooth.

"Clicking With Quizby" - Jazzoo

2005-07-03T18:52:00.000+10:00

This is a band with a lot of ideas and potential who really could do with a better vocalist, a bit of consistency, and louder, stronger production. The track Jazzoo Twist, once it gets started, is an excellent attempt at the B-52's unique wacky sound. Radio Dunlop sounds like a demo of a Beastie Boys song without verses written yet, and is unforch watered-down just enough not to hit it's potential punches. There's a lot of weakness - for example, you can almost hear them say "Hey, let's do a blues song" on Daddy's 7 Wood, with it's cliched piano stabs and harmonica that leave you no richer. But there's some substance to be had too. Interesting disc by a band that might have gone somewhere.

The liner notes on this one say it all:

"Sydney based band consisting of Guitar, Bass, Drums, Percussion, Keys & Dj, JAZZOO is a fun loving outfit who pride themselves on being handy around the kitchen. JAZZOO sprung in the spring of '98 & quickly morphed from a 3 to a 6 piece. The reocrding of this debut album is a testament to the enthusiasm & determination of their DIY attitude. These days it is possible to get a CD out there with minimal cost & with technology how it is, you can spread it world wide if your keen."

01. Jazzoo Twist
02. Radio Dunlop
03. Y2KOI
04. Give Me Some Chords & I'll Write You A Song
05. Daddy's 7 Wood
06. Reflections & Goodtimes
07. Puppet Starker
08. Readily Relaxed
09. Forcast Ride
10. Itchy Terry
11. Why Did
12. Till Next Time...

My MP3 gem of the week: ''Mama Made Me A Pimp'' by Kennedy. I found out about these guys after information leaked that they'd been produced by the legendary Gregg Alexander (the guy from the New Radicals). But you'd never be able to tell from the slick bittersweet housey sound. And oddly enough their other songs sound nothing like this at all. In any case, this is their official site.

I was fortunate enough to be able to watch Pink Floyd's Live8 performance as it happened via AOL stream, and you can catch it on-demand here. Was absolutely beautiful to watch. Note that Gilmour's voice is nearly untouched in thirty years, while Waters has lost much to old age - when he first sings in "Wish You Were Here", Gilmour and Mason exchange this priceless look like "We showed him.". Gilmour has confirmed that there will be nothing further under the name Pink Floyd, apparently comparing the performance to "sleeping with your ex-wife again". Probably a good thing too. Nice to see they wrapped up the saga with a display of international goodwill, however brief.

More CD's in the next few coming days.

Kirk and Magoo - "I Don't Want To Keep My Room Clean"

2005-06-25T17:16:00.000+10:00

HMV have these massive sales every now and then that declare "CD's FROM $1!". Of course, they're all garbage, and it's funny to watch the tightasses root through massive bins of forgotten crap looking for a gem that never arrives. Today I thought I'd actually buy one.

This is a 1997 release from a well-intentioned but nevertheless pretty awful kiddy act from Ontario, Canada. It's also the first CD on this blog that I've bought retail. For kids music the tracks run ridiculously long - track 4 is 11:43! Don't know how they expected to hold their demographic's attention. Also how did this CD end up down under? Props to Kirk, though, for apparently playing 11 instruments on the album, including keyboards, banjo, bass, guitar, sitar, and violin.

The liner notes read "A great deal of time and effort went into the creation of this CD. Please do not copy or we'll mess up your room." Funny that for a '97 release they pre-empted MP3 paranoia. Sorry guys!

01. Riding In My Car
02. The World At Your Door
03. You Gotta Be Brave
04. I Don't Want To Keep My Room Clean
05. The Seasons
06. The Pancreas Aria
07. Schoolbus Sailors
zip (soon)

In the spirit of sharity, I'd also like to link you to an absolutely gorgeous 25-minute mix by sample kings The Avalanches. For the first few minutes they play extracts from ~~obscure reggae~~ well-known calypso (see comments) records and leave them untouched, almost like an eccentric friend excitedly showing you gems he's dug up in vinyl bins. Then about eight minutes in they beautifully phase the familiar Ventura Highway riff into the mix, and it all goes on from there. You'll have to listen. (Links fixed.)

Little reminder that if there's anything you missed from a previous week, you can email me and I'll be happy to send it to you. The links to zip files are hosted on a dodgy German server, but they work permanently or until they aren't used for 30 days.

Welter - "Cleaver"

2005-06-19T18:21:00.000+10:00

back, inside cover, disc

Total running time of 15:14 on this 1995 EP by a band from Newtown, Sydney's famous youth district. (Think Australia's Harajuku.) Dug up for $0.98. The good thing about this blog is not only that I get to hear music that I would never have heard otherwise, but also that often it's actually very good. Welter's satisfactory lyrics, springy little riffs and moderately gruff vocals, while nothing special enough to hit the big time, are highly acceptable to the ear. Crazy's almost but not quite funky rock distantly hints at The Who and Jamiroquai. The 0:06 in-joke Dave's Spaceship is a good example of what not to do in a segue. The best tracks are the first two. Apologies for the blurry photos. Enjoy!

01. Cleaver
02. Lindis Farne
03. Swim
04. Dave's Spaceship
05. Zoo Train
06. Crazy
zip

Tune In To Public Transport Radio

2005-06-15T21:47:00.000+10:00

My new radio station Public Transport Radio is up and streaming. Give it a listen. Every Friday at 11pm Sydney time (09:00 US Central, 13:00 GMT), I'll be broadcasting my new radio show The M.C. Brown Shoes Variety Hour, featuring curiosity mp3's I dig up on the net, songs from this blog, and good old-fashioned quality music. Tune in if you can, it should be a delightful amateur affair.

Unknown Taiwanese CD

2005-06-14T16:57:00.000+10:00

Found in Rong Bao Tang, Chinatown's most infamous and popular store for cheap pirated audiovisual. It was out the front on top of a big pile of coverless CDs marked "FREE". How could I resist? The mystery disc leans towards Shanghai piano muzak a little too often, but there are some standout moments that unexpectedly dabble in contemporary pop sounds. Track 4, for example, is like a Taipei clone of Ronan Keating, with a laidback feel and Gregg Alexander-esque production.

Track 11 has nicely subdued beats, Track 8 sounds like Linkin Park on anaesthetic, and Track 9's surf rock influence and girly vocals come out of nowhere. From the little English on the back, I can tell it originates from "Cosmo Music", Taiwan. The catalogue numbers seem to have been copied from a Mariah Carey remix album.

Track 9
Track 8
Track 4
Track 11
zip

Thank you to the kind readers who have left comments. Y'all readers drop me a comment and let me know you're out there, okiday? More CDs to come next weekend!

By the way, I hate to be off-topic but I simply must celebrate the reunion of Pink Floyd, some of my childhood heroes. Should be very interesting to see what happens, as Roger Waters hasn't spoken to Gilmour in over 20 years. Let's hope they record something and maybe tour. I never thought I'd have the prospect of maybe going to a Pink Floyd concert.

Equinox - "Just A Little Thing..."

2005-06-12T11:33:00.000+10:00

back, inside, disc

Bizarre artwork on this 18-minute EP of two hippie chicks with a guitar. Burnt on a printed CD-R, apparently #60 of a run of 100. Actually suprisingly good, with some pretty harmonies and lyrics. Swimming in the Dark is rather cute. It's Black feels rushed, and When A Woman Says NO stumbles on its preachy chorus, but overall it's a nice Alanisesque coffee-house listen. Another interesting find. I wonder what happened to these girls.

01. Swimming in the Dark
02. Little Things
03. D.A.G.
04. Coming Home
05. When A Woman Says NO
06. It's Black
07. [Hidden Track]

zip file with all tracks

Note that from now on all MP3's will be up on the reliable, however temporary YouSendIt service. I'll also put up a permanent (kinda) link to a .zip archive with all tracks. Let me know if you miss anything and I'll be happy to send it to you.

Welcome!

2005-06-10T16:36:00.000+10:00

My name's Art, I'm a 15-year-old who frequents Sydney's secondhand music scene. Recently I've noticed and enjoyed a subcultre of a great many blogs sharing MP3's of bizarro vinyl, ephemera, obscure cassettes and such. I wanted to get on this action but I have absolutely no idea how to rip from vinyl/tapes. Also it seems nobody has done a CD sharity blog yet.

So in the forthcoming weeks I'll be posting MP3 sharity of forgotten CDs I find in my trawls through Sydney's thriving market/second-hand/charity store scene. I thought I was reallll clever coming up with the name "Compact Discoveries", but turns out it's already the name of a radio show in Florida. Meh. Watch this space!

In the meantime you may want to check out such excellent sharity blogs as One Man Safari, April Winchell, and Hepcat Willy.

(By the way, if you think you own the copyright to any of the obscure gems I post, and you're a total tightwad who would prefer not to have your music heard by many more people, let me know and the files will be cheerfully removed.)