90's grunge Archives - Vinyl From The Vault

Gut Flower “Think So”

sfilzen — Wed, 11 Apr 2018 16:57:55 +0000

Gut Flower “Think So” b/w “Maple Leaves” 1990. Blow Valve Records, blue vinyl. Obscure early 90′s Seattle grunge on an equally obscure record label. This 45 is the only output by Gut Flower and Blow Valve Records’ only recording release. There isn’t even any information about the band members beyond their bland first names (Greg on guitar and vocals, Kevin also on guitar and vocals, John on bass and Ray on drums). The only contributors associated with Gut Flower who have any historical presence are cover photographer Lisa Haugen (who is/was married to DJ Shadow, hiphop artist who wrote the song “Lost and Found (S.F.L.)” which is dedicated to her) and recording engineer/producer Rich Hinklin who produced a couple of other early 90′s grunge singles and albums including Gruntruck’s Inside Yours. Both “Think So” and “Maple Leaves” are very Seattle grungy in the vein of Soundgarden, Mudhoney, etc. but a little more whiney in the vocals. This has been in the pile of stuff to listen to and decide to keep or sell for awhile now (I keep finding other things I’d rather listen to and write about). Unless someone out there has some amazingly cool insight into Gut Flower to share, this single will find itself back in a second-hand record bin again soon.

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Nirvana “Nevermind”

sfilzen — Mon, 20 Feb 2017 15:48:40 +0000

Nirvana “Nevermind” 1991. Today, February 20th, would have been Kurt Cobain’s 50th birthday (b. 1967, d. 1994). Nevermind is probably the most iconic record of the 90′s, selling 30 million copies and counting, and I still find it a bit difficult to listen to, 26 years later, not because I don’t like it but because I played it to death my junior and senior years of college at Madison (unbeknownst to me at the time Nirvana was there, too, recording part of the record at Smart Studios with producer Butch Vig). Grunge was an easy embrace: though I had just been in a hippie phase (complete with multiple Grateful Dead shows), punk was my recent past and the heavy fury of grunge clicked. My Madison social circle’s look evolved quickly from one of ripped jeans, Birkenstocks and long hair to one of ripped jeans, Doc Martens and long hair (really, all we did was change our shoes).

Nevermind hit #1 on the album charts in the US and the top 10 in many other countries, with four charting singles: “On a Plain” (#25), “Lithium” (#64), “Come as You Are” (#32) and the monster “Smells Like Teen Spirit” (#6). Probably my favorite song on Nevermind is the non-single acoustic “Polly” (originally written in 1989 and titled first “Hitchhiker” and then “Cracker’), which is a truly disturbing track inspired by a 1987 rape and abduction of a 14 year old girl. It’s one of the few tracks on the record that I can parse all the lyrics, despite a million or so listenings to the album, due to Cobain’s famous mumbling delivery (perfectly lampooned by Weird Al’s “Smells Like Nirvana”). My brain doesn’t retain lyrics like it used to so I’m still following along, this 1,000,001 time hearing “Smells Like Teen Spirit.”

Load up on guns
Bring your friends
It’s fun to lose and to pretend
She’s overboard, self assured
Oh no I know, a dirty word

Hello, hello, hello, how low
Hello, hello, hello

With the lights out, it’s less dangerous
Here we are now, entertain us
I feel stupid and contagious
Here we are now, entertain us
A mulatto, an Albino
A mosquito, my libido, yeah

Hey, yay

I’m worse at what I do best
And for this gift, I feel blessed
Our little group has always been
And always will until the end

Hello, hello, hello, how low
Hello, hello, hello

With the lights out, it’s less dangerous
Here we are now, entertain us
I feel stupid and contagious
Here we are now, entertain us
A mulatto, an Albino
A mosquito, my libido, yeah

And I forget just why I taste
Oh yeah, I guess it makes me smile
I found it hard, it was hard to find
Oh well, whatever, nevermind

Hello, hello, hello, how low
Hello, hello, hello

With the lights out, it’s less dangerous
Here we are now, entertain us
I feel stupid and contagious
Here we are now, entertain us
A mulatto, an Albino
A mosquito, my libido

A denial, A denial, A denial, A denial, A denial
A denial, A denial, A denial, A denial

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SubPop Singles Club “Smells Like Smoked Sausages”

sfilzen — Tue, 12 Apr 2016 21:45:48 +0000

SubPop Singles Club “Smells Like Smoked Sausages” 1992, double 7″ on pink vinyl: Tar “Deep Throw,” Cows “My Girl,” Helmet “Oven,” Surgery “Our Demise,” Boss Hog “Fire of Love,” God Bullies “Bullet,” Vertigo “Dynamite Cigar” and Helios Creed “Hideous Greed.” All the bands were “on loan” from Amphetamine Reptile Records.

Noisy, garagey early 90′s post-punk and hopelessly mislabelled, on the back cover and on the record label too. You really need to know the songs/bands or cross-reference to figure out what track is actually being played. Three of my favorites: the Cows “My Girl” is a heavy cover of the traditional folk lament “In the Pines” aka “Where Did You Sleep Last Night” (first made commercially popular by Bill Monroe, then Lead Belly and even more so by Nirvana with their performance in ‘94 on MTV Unplugged). As I love all things Jon Spencer, I especially enjoy Boss Hog’s “Fire of Love,” a cover of Jody Reynolds’ 1958 spooky rockabilly single that peaked at #66 (and was also later covered by MC5 and the Gun Club). Pulling away from the dirge-beat of those two tracks is Surgery’s almost danceable, hip-shaking mosh-pit ready song (with standard 90′s grunge guitar solos) “Our Demise.”

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