Seven 7”s With Joel
As I continue digging back through the stacks, here’s another round pulled straight from the personal collection. No algorithms, no Discogs rabbit holes mid pull, just records that stuck for one reason or another.
Beck – “Steve Threw Up”
The only place you can find this truly unhinged song about a guy taking acid and puking at a fair. Beck spends what feels like two full minutes listing the things he threw up, and somehow it works. The B side is “Motherf***er,” which is also completely whacked, but that one at least made it onto Mellow Gold. This 7” is pure early Beck chaos and that’s exactly why it rules.
Rage Against the Machine – “Sleep Now In The Fire”
SNITF will always be my favorite RATM song. Part of it is how different it feels from the rest of their catalog, and part of it is watching the video on MTV when it first dropped. These were numbered UK pressings. Mine is number 3664. I’m not sure if we ever got an official pressing total, but let’s say around 5000. The B side is “Guerrilla Radio” live in Mexico City, which was unavailable at the time. Now that the full set has been released on vinyl, it hits a little different looking back.
The Lemonheads – “Luka”
A necessary 7” for any Lemonheads fan. Not really for the “Luka” Suzanne Vega cover, which you can also find on Lick, but for the B sides. “Strange” is a Patsy Cline cover, and “Mad” is the real standout. You could easily mistake “Mad” for an early Nirvana song with how raw it is and the vocal delivery. That whole association is a rabbit hole for another day.
The Goo Goo Dolls – “Only One”
This promo 7” contains what I still think is the best song they ever wrote, and easily the best track on A Boy Named Goo. This was the first single they pushed from the album. The promo also includes “Disconnected” and a Lime Spiders cover of “Slave Girl.” It dropped a month before the album came out and seven months before “Name” turned into a massive hit. Wild to think about in hindsight.
Madder Rose – “I Want to Sleep in Your Arms / Nicky Hoeke”
Released in 1992 on Seed Records. Madder Rose actually has a pretty large catalog for a band that still flies under the radar. “I Want to Sleep in Your Arms” is a Modern Lovers cover, but the Madder Rose version is slightly faster and a little more jangly. Imagine Candy Apple Grey era Hüsker Dü with Juliana Hatfield on vocals. Solid cover and a discography worth digging into.
Rites of Spring – “All Through a Life”
What can you say about Rites of Spring that hasn’t already been said. They’re the originators of emo and screamo, but more importantly, the songs still hit today. This 7” is essential. “Patience” is easily in my top three Rites of Spring songs and never loses its impact.
Choking Victim – “Squattas Paradise”
Broken down, the Choking Victim catalog is a collection of nihilistic anthems written by very unlikeable people. Were we assuming the people making songs about killing cops, smoking crack, and stealing were saints. No. But that didn’t stop us from listening, and listening a lot.
I worked backwards with this band when I was younger. “Infested” was most notably on Hellcat Records’ Give ’Em the Boot comp, which was a lot of people’s introduction to Choking Victim. By the time I had that comp, I already owned No Gods No Managers, so I was trying to piece together the release order.
We didn’t have the internet or Discogs chronology. You had to ask an older punk who was probably going to call you a poser for not knowing. You just ate that for the information. Do I support STZA Crack’s current endeavors. No. Am I going to lie and say I didn’t listen to this 7” a thousand times and that it isn’t permanently wired into my brain. Also no.