7Inches - Singles awards of 2010 extravaganza- PT 2

The Already Overpriced Single award goes to Best Coast, there have been plenty of repressings of this on Art Fag, but they keep flying off the preverbial ebay shelves at ludicrous prices...kind of reminds me of the old Vivian Girls singles, it's like people wanted them to be rare already or something. It's nice to know there are super fans checking this stuff out and willing to shell out serious money for them, so I'm not complaining. $82 for this Best Coast single is very tempting sometimes...that's almost 1/10th of pressing your own!



Winner of single 7" that has no business being pressed, but I'm so glad they did:

Portal 13 Globes on Chrome Leaf Records. Of course they are better live. I was actually a little scared they were going to sacrifice something on stage, or hang themselves...like a snuff film amusement park. Extreme is always good, they do it the best. When these two worlds came together at the merch table I was seriously protecting this thing in my bag the whole way home.


Least wanted single (two years running): Brian Jonestown Massacre, not only that it's always listed for 9.99 or some nonsense. It had to be listed at least every week for the entire year, not selling once. Haven't you spent at least 10x that in listing fees? Throw it away already.
Dig! is the worst documentary.... not the way it's made...but both of those terrible bands make me sick...and of course the Dandy Warhols would be successful over BJM. Indie Rock? Get lost. Overrated creeps. The worst pathetic druggies with delusions of grandeur...sadly full of themselves. I might have even liked the part towards the end when they fight with each other in front of 10 fans...but then they probably staged it thinking that anyone gives a shit.



Best packaging for a single: It's a tie between PIAPTK's wedding album of handcut picnic plate lathe singles in the shape of hearts, his letterpress plate series and the Records Digest book/lathe cut series that all came out this year and Sonny Smith's 100 singles art show and boxed set.
Both of these are so insane/amazing that I couldn't choose. An amazing amount of work all for the love of the single. We don't deserve it and I hope you get over to their sites and pick these up because I'd like to see both of them continue their unique brand of sadomasochism.



Best new 7" label: Olde English Spelling Bee, congrats guys, there is no way I can even keep up with your releases let alone research all of these insane bands. I'm officially overwhelmed. The tip of the iceberg was the Big Troubles single, and they've been around since 2009. Still the best.


Special award this year for the longest band name with a single: The world is a beautiful place and i am no longer afraid to die on Top Shelf Records, I like their massive instrumental, emo, post sound, they do it right. You can't even abbreviate that.



Noisiest split single goes to (split decision): Mucky the Ducky and Hexlove and Aids Wolf and Satanized on badmaster Records, two singles that push the limits of what is even music, and that's a good thing.


Most obvious sign of the 7" apocalypse: Scion is not only promoting live garage shows at the Knitting factory but pressing records, which are unbuyable...it's one thing someine there has crazy taste and puts together shows, have free streaming songs from these bands on their 'radio' station but then to go and press records, you have no chance of getting? Thank god for ebay.

Big troubles on Olde English Spelling Bee

God damn, who doesn't love that sleeve...just a bunch of crazy bullshit from a childhood...vaguely recognizable...but they're things that could possibly cross over into present day. Those items could actually be useful musically, in the right hands. I think that's some of the best art, reusing common everyday things in new ways...in unexpected, serious ways. Like trying to seriously compose music with a guitar hero controller.
Not that Big Troubles is a gimmick band playing on kids toys or something, they just might be trying to reclaim a little of that nostalgia. It's a pretty nice time in your life, the pre-thirteen years and not because of the ninja turtles or go-bots, but more because you really don't care what a lot of the world is doing or thinking about you. You're self aware enough to be semi-independent, but you have no fashion, or music taste...you're a blank slate. It seems like if you want to be an astronaut, or play the guitar, you can.

The A-Side 'Bad People' has a snappy plate delay unrecognizable instrument sound that pings around over the murky synths. This is definitely going pop. I was always kind of missing the peppier tracks on that Gary War self titled album...it can be real meditative, not good for driving late at night long distances if you know what I mean. But this has a tapping along tempo, and the sounds are all in the family of Gary's brand of manipulations, it's just harsher, trying to get your attention...demanding it more...unlike Eno and War, who just want you to barely notice what's happening. Big Troubles is a little bit looking for attention and throwing everything into the ceiling fan.

The first track from the B-Side side: 'Drastic and Difficult' has a real harsh cheap electronic percussion track doubled on itself that set it off in a dark glitch direction...sort of like Cold Cave or something and then the layers of guitar echo pile on. A little bit No Age, the overall volume doesn't get past 8, even though the audio waveform is almost a straight horizontal bar of distortions...maybe this is a reaction against the Pixies loud quiet loud, there is a sort of constant drone of sounds that change frequency developing a melody, but that volume level as a sort of emotional signifier for the listener is gone. The aural climax is missing. The shock of a barely audible verse against the crash of all guitar distortion isn't there...did we get tired of this roller coaster of rock? Maybe it's back to an even steady ride from JAMC, or abandon guitars all together and just add layers while bouncing it back on to itself over and over, like a xeox machine feeding the last thing copied back onto the glass...

Actually this track (from the myspace) 'Modern Infancy' sounds a little like the Swirlies and their untuned guitar whammy chord bending...the off tune strumming that finds it's way back in tune by the beginning of the next verse.


Checkout the Olde English Spelling Bee blog for ordering info and a special edition Big Troubles SXSW version of this single, with a more improved collage sleeve. They'll be playing the Glasslands on July 30th...consider this my RSVP.
Big Troubles also has the best angelfire website ever.

Artist: BIG TROUBLES Title: Drastic & Difficult Format: 7" Label: Olde English Spelling Bee Country: USA Price: $6.50 "Kicking off the new OESB 7" series with a 4 track single by Big Troubles. International playboy Matt Mondanile (Real Estate, Ducktails) discovered Big Troubles and urged Olde English Spelling Bee to sign these guys on the spot for their fresh industrial shoegaze pop sound. Done and done. Features home recordings by Alex Craig and Ian Drennan who split songwriting and vocal duties down the middle. They are joined live by Luka Usmiani (No Demons Here) on bass and Sam Franklin (Fluffy Lumbers) on drums. Their debut full-length album, Worry, will be out on OESB in July." - Olde English Spelling Bee.