Spider Bags and The Love Language cover JAY REATARD! on Tangible Formats Records

Holy crap, just found out about this yesterday on twitter of all things, mostly I'm just scrolling away down a huge list of weird pointless junk that never ends, let's face it, it's a time killer and it fits my 7" vinyl ADD disease. If you can't say it in a couple of sentences, it's probably not going to get me to check it out, but I happened to just catch Mr. Reatards name in a post from Tangible Formats that stopped me dead in my tracks. I had to reread it a few times...covers?...of Jay Reatard?....I can't think of a vinyl release...really any release with Jay covers, and from such respected bands, this wasn't just a weird gross cashing in, it's a tribute in the best possible way. It's also crazy I just happened to mention the Spider Bags single from Sophomore Lounge just the other day, so to see Dan involved with this makes this as close to a serious memorial as you could ever hope for. Complete reverence for the material and a real personal connection, in fact Wes even says "Jay was a friend of his and Dan was hesitant to release a Reatard cover. Later in the week, Stu, (from The Love Language) back from tour, played Dan his cover. Dan thought it was great and said he'd do it.Spider Bags used to play The Reatards song "Out Of My Head Into My Bed". So they dusted it off and recorded it in one session". Then Wes took it a step further putting these onto handmade, one at a time, lathe cut picture discs. Out of control. It's one of those amazing objects that I would drool over...and I'm just glad I got a chance to pick one up for freaking nothing!

The Spider Bags "Out Of My Head Into My Bed" has that blown out Spider energy all over this, even getting that off kilter melody spot on, the messy guitar, that power chord harmony. It gives me a huge smile to think about Jay maybe hearing this and being as psyched as I am hearing this. They blow this out, real live sounding, it must have been just hitting the right moment, feeling it, having already played it a million times live. Any more takes and you'd be in danger of second guessing the intention of this...and it's perfect.
The Love Language, (even better I know nothing about these guys, because a perfect split also exposes you to new stuff of course), get it on with a garage prom slow jam version of "Nightmares", which is fantastic, changing the original serial killer minded track into almost a sensitive love song. Reduced and distilled into that slow dance track, perfect chorus vocal floating alongside this huge reverb. Plenty of harmony, tambourine and triangles...dammit. I'm getting all emotional.

Oh god, please go watch the video of this picture disc spinning, that pretty much pushed this over the edge. An early god damn christmas gift from heaven. The first 50 are picture discs, but you better thank Wes that he pressed some regular ones on black vinyl or not only would this hurricane thing be getting on your nerves but now you CAN"T EVEN HEAR A DAMN AWESOME SINGLE! GET IT!...(and throw him a couple extra bucks....(he's only asking for a minimum of $5, but you go ahead and change that number in the paypal thingy)

Don't forget this Jay site endorsed LP based on that movie that was out a little bit ago, I think it has unreleased tracks? But honestly I already paypal'd. Just mention Jay and I'll throw money at you...I'm that broken up about it. Anything in a sad attempt to bring him back.

Spider Bags on Sophomore Lounge Records

Here comes Sophomore Lounge with a new single, seem like those guys were all about the full length's lately, but Spider Bags walked in with a couple of pouches full of tracks that Sophomore had to press into vinyl. Right or wrong, I have pieced together into some kind of weird narrative. Spider Bags are based in Chapel Hill, NC headed up by Dan McGee of DC Snipers fame with deep roots and connections to virtually everyone....Shawn from The Limes, John Wesley Coleman III??!!!, and Jack Oblivian among others have had something to do with their records...and vice versa I'd imagine. It's all incestural.... you know if this is anything you're interested in, and then you've got a whole lot of guys to keep tabs on, and Spider Bags has always been one of them.

"Papa was a shithead" has a big power pop sound, pounding this title lyric right down your tiny throat, Dan barely catching his breath from verse to verse, ending up as a somewhat restrained or matured? kind of punk though.... "gave mom syphilis"? It's a pretty scathing account but with the catchiness that keeps it interesting and not in that snotty fuck-off way, it's a jangle reverb tearing across the minute or so this song briefly exists. "Emotional security!" over and over, a pinging snare popping leads to this crazy breakdown... all the voices!!! In your head!!!!!

"I Wish That I Never Had Fed You" is from the dad's side of things? It's a slow country ballad, slide guitar. Sweetly high and soaring all over this authentic dust roller. I can't help but put these two together... that violent, emotional, adolescent A-Side pissed at Dad and then the B-Side about the responsibility the measured abandonment.... plain and simple put it out there. If I didn't make any effort I bet you would have just left. Big distortion comes rolling in and solos building up with pounding toms, driving this point home, the inevitable manic sing a long crescendo. A real drinking song with no love lost. Made for each other.

Get if from Sophomore Lounge Records on clearish light purple vinyl...a weird shade, like an old jolly rancher that clouded up...looks delicious.

Check out some tracks below from their 3rd full length on Odessa Records