David Bowie - Beauty And The Beast [7"]

This is a peculiar version of DAVID BOWIE's single of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. I came across it in a secondhand store where they had a couple of other similar singles from the same source where this 7" came from. It originates from the archive of Dutch national radio, apparently. It's modified in a way that they've put it in a generic sleeve with the Dutch Top 40 Foundation logo on it ("Stichting Nederlandse Top 40"), and put an address stamp and a numbered sticker on the centre label. The disc looks like it has almost never been played. And if this single was only meant for airplay on the Top 40, that could very well be the case: it failed to chart in Holland and never made it any further than #21 in the so-called Tip Parade. So this single was very likely only played a handful of times around the time it came out in Holland - and when it was, it'd be broadcasted nationwide. Quite a unique copy.

Label: RCA
Cat.nr.: PB 1190
Year of release: 1977

SIDE A:
01. Beauty And The Beast

SIDE B:
01. Sense Of Doubt

Brian Jonestown Massacre - One [12"]

ONE is a 4-track EP by the BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE. To be honest, not everything that this band did (especially their older stuff) is really my cup of tea, but i do like this EP quite a lot. The title track The "One" is an uptempo psychedelic rock song with a dominating beat and distorted guitars. Then there are two versions of the song This Is The First Of Your Last Warning (an Icelandic version and an English version). A very danceable tune that wouldn't have been out of place during an early nineties' indie dance rave. It's got that Madchester vibe, you know. The highlight for me however is Bruttermania. Again an uptempo tune, with a wall of guitars (MBV/Jesus And Mary Chain-style) and some Russian (?) lyrics. Awesome song.

Label: A Records
Cat.nr.: Auk017LP
Year of release: 2009

SIDE A:
01. The One
02. This Is The First Of Your Last Warning (Icelandic Version)

SIDE B:
01. Bruttermania
02. This Is The First Of Your Last Warning (English Version)

Revolver - Crimson [7"]

CRIMSON is a gorgeous early 90's indie rock song by REVOLVER. The single has the song Don't Ever Leave on the B-side, and there's a sticker on the front saying limited edition 7" gatefold. On the back there's another black sticker. Why a sticker? That made me curious. I found out that both of them hide two titles of songs that were originally planned to be on a second disc apparently: Drowning Inside and Further Away. Hence the gatefold cover. The stickers can't be removed without damaging the sleeve, but holding them against a bright light did the trick as well. This is the only vinyl release i have by this band so far (would love to have the song Heaven Sent An Angel on vinyl someday, by the way) but i did a little research and found out that both those songs were featured on the 12" and cd-maxi edition of this single. It's a numbered edition; my copy is #2780.

Label: Hut Recordings
Cat.nr.: HUT 9
Year of release: 1991

SIDE A:
01. Crimson

SIDE B:
01. Don't Ever Leave

Death In Vegas - Scorpio Rising [12", 2LP]

As far as i'm concerned, SCORPIO RISING is by far the best DEATH IN VEGAS album. Been looking for this album on vinyl for a long time and only recently i found it at a German online store. Fairly priced, so i couldn't resist buying it. And if only for just the last two songs totally worth the purchase. Diving Horses - sung by Dot Allison - is of extraterrestrial beauty. Almost dreampop with a rough edge. And Help Yourself is such an epic track in all its 10+ glorious minutes. Starting with Hope Sandoval's soft lyrics over background music, then slowly getting shape as a song and building up to a climax in full cinematic orchestration. And finally ending as a true psychedelic trip. But the other songs on the album are pretty fine as well. The title track (sung by Liam Gallagher) and So You Say You Lost Your Baby (with Paul Weller on vocals) are simply damn good britpop songs, while Hands Around My Throat (vocals: Nikola Cuperus of ADULT) is right up there with Death In Vegas' biggest hit Aisha. Also, the song Girls is near electronic shoegaze. It's not without reason that it was featured on the soundtrack of Lost In Translation.

Label: Concrete
Cat.nr.: HARD5312
Year of relase: 2002

SIDE A:
01. Leather
02. Girls
03. Hands Around My Throat

SIDE B:
01. 23 Lies
02. Scorpio Rising
03. Killing Smile

SIDE C:
01. Natja
02. So You Say You Lost Your Baby
03. Diving Horses

SIDE D:
01. Help Yourself

The Telescopes - Celeste [7"]

CELESTE by THE TELESCOPES is a nice little shoegaze gem from the same year as their Flying 7" single, however this song didn't make it to their album the following year. A cool song though. The B-side, All A Dreams, sounds a bit like those early Slowdive songs. Definitely worth the purchase if you ever run into this single!

Label: Creation Records
Cat.nr.: CRE 103
Year of release: 1991

SIDE A:
01. Celeste

SIDE B:
01. All A Dreams

Jacco Gardner - Cabinet Of Curiosities [12", LP]

I'd be surprised if JACCO GARDNER won't get a very busy 2013, because his debut album CABINET OF CURIOSITIES totally lives up to the high expectations. During the past year, authorities like The Guardian, NME and Pitchfork already praised his songs that were released on sites like Youtube. It's pretty unusual for a Dutch artist these days to get so much attention and exposure (unless you're called Armin van Buuren or Afrojack); and not just from hobby-blogs like the one yours truly is doing, either.
And because of all that (totally deserved) press attention I'm not going to write too much here about his neo-psych/baroque-pop music, other than that Holland can be proud of such a talented guy who not only brings back memories of the obvious Syd Barrett and The Zombies, but also the Golden Age of the Dutch pop music history with bands like Shocking Blue, the Outsiders and Group 1850.
Like said, it'll be probably be a busy year for him. Currently he's playing some shows in Holland, Belgium and France. After that he'll be on a USA tour and when he comes back to Europe, the festival season has started. Motel Mozaique (NL) and The Great Escape (UK) have been booked already. I'd strongly advise to go see him if you get the chance. Saw him at the Le Guess Who festival some time ago, and he and his band are really good.
Back to the album: it's out on Trouble In Mind worldwide, except for the Benelux where Excelsior has released it. That's the version i have. There was a limited quantity on red, but my copy is on good ol' black vinyl. We all know that vinyl is way cooler than CD and i probably don't have to convince the people reading this, but an extra reason to buy the vinyl edition is the sleeve. Only on 12" format you can really see how cool it is. Try to look for the animals and see how many you can find. You'd be surprised. Oh, and this Excelsior version has the CD included anyway. Totally cool.

Label: Excelsior Recordings
Cat.nr.: EXCEL 96322
Year of release: 2013

SIDE A:
01. Clear The Air
02. The One Eyed King
03. Puppets Dangling
04. Where Will You Go
05. Watching The Moon
06. Cabinet Of Curiosities

SIDE B:
01. The Riddle
02. Lullaby
03. Help Me Out
04. Summer's Game
05. Chameleon
06. The Ballad Of Little Jane

The Flaming Lips - Embryonic [12", 2LP]

EMBRYONIC was the first record i bought on vinyl by THE FLAMING LIPS. It's not their best album (i would say either Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots or The Soft Bulletin would qualify for that status) but nevertheless a very good one, with songs like The Sparrow Looks Up At The Machine, Silver Trembling Hands, Watching the Planets and the amazing Worm Mountain. And besides that, their albums always look amazing. Weird artwork and beautiful coloured vinyl. This one had the album on CD included as well. Groovy.

Label: Warner Bros.
Cat.nr.: 1-520857
Year of release: 2009

SIDE A:
01. Convinced Of The Hex
02. The Sparrow Looks Up At The Machine
03. Evil
04. Aquarius Sabotage

SIDE B:
01. See The Leaves
02. If
03. Gemini Syringes
04. Your Bats
05. Powerless

SIDE C:
01. The Ego's Last Stand
02. I Can Be A Frog
03. Sagittarius Silver Announcement
04. Worm Mountain

SIDE D:
01. Scorpio Sword
02. The Impulse
03. Virgo Self-Esteem Broadcast
04. Watching The Planets

The Telescopes - Flying [7"]

The song FLYING was the first thing i ever heard from THE TELESCOPES. It was featured on an Indie Top 20 compilation CD and i played it a lot back then, although it never really crossed my mind to look for their singles or albums, for some reason. So i'm catching up with that now :) I already bought the s/t album, from which this single and its B-side originate, some time ago at the very same store in September. But i couldn't let it lie when i recently came across this little gem on Creation Records at 33|45 Vinyl Records, the awesome collector's shop in a backroom at the Velvet Vinyl Outlet in Leiden.

Label: Creation Records
Cat.nr.: CRE 108
Year of release: 1991

SIDE A:
01. Flying

SIDE B:
01. High On Fire