"Name Your Own" Sampler

This is a Warner Bros. Records in-store sampler from 1995. Unlike the Trademark Of Quality promos and some of their other unique releases, this one doesn't have anything unreleased on it, though it is rather unique nonetheless. The cover image is actually a sticker and contains the rather amazing phrase, "Fuck 'em in the ear", as an option to name the CD. I suppose whomever approved the cover figured wherever this was getting played, the store wouldn't put the case up front for customers to see, though that seems rather naive. On top of that, the CD features the Deftones' 7 Words, a song which certainly sounds like someone is screaming "fuck" repeatedly in the chorus, as well as Backstrokin' from Mr. Bungle's Disco Volante, one of the most uncommercial albums Warner Bros. has ever released and also features some mumbled obscenities at the end. Overall though, the CD is actually a really great representation of WB's alternative themed releases from the mid-nineties. You've got appearances from Cibo Matto, Soul Coughing, Cornershop and many more. The Mouse On Mars and Long Fin Killie tracks are particularly good.

If I heard this disc in a store today I'd probably be asking about several of the releases, although I'm glad I already know the majority of them. That said, while I know Soul Coughing's The Brooklynites rather well, John Lurie's Let's Get Ready To Rhumba is rather excellent and I'm probably going to have to hunt down the Blue In The Face and Smoke soundtracks. Never seen either movie before, though I always wanted to. Guess I've got some research to do. Enjoy!


"Name Your Own" Sampler

01 Deftones - 7 Words
02 Mr. Bungle - Backstrokin'
03 Mouse On Mars - Bib
04 Long Fin Killie - Homo Erectus
05 Lisa Gerrard - Sunvean
06 The Flaming Lips - Psychiatric Explorations Of The Fetus With Needles
07 Son Volt - Drown
08 The Jesus and Mary Chain - I Hate Rock 'n' Roll
09 Cibo Matto - Know Your Chicken
10 Built To Spill & Cuastic Resin - Still Flat
11 Pedro Ramos - Luis di Kandinha (Luis, Kandinha's Son)
12 You Am I - Jewels and Bullets
13 Cornershop - Call All Destroyer
14 Soul Coughing - The Brooklynites
15 John Lurie - Let's Get Ready To Rhumba

Important Information/Liz Phair - Phairities

Hey folks, just wanted to drop you a line and let you know some things that are kinda important that I've hinted at here.

First off, the thing I mentioned a few days ago, the first (maybe?) annual Unheard Music get-together thing, I want to re-create the Flaming Lips' Parking Lot Experiments. I didn't get a lot of responses, which is probably because I didn't come right out and say what I was talking about, but what I got was very promising. I really want to try this and hope to pull it off in early June if I can get an appropriate number of people to participate. There will be no fee to participate and I am not asking for funds or donations of any sort, just to be 100% clear. I don't have all the details about where this will occur worked out yet, and I'm trying to contact the Flaming Lips to get their permission to use tracks from Zaireeka for the event. Hopefully, since there is no money involved, it won't be a problem, but until I hear back you never know. So, if anyone is interested in participating, let me know and we can discuss adding you to the list of participants. Apart from that, this project has quite a ways to go before it's ready for prime time. I'm going to post flyers at several of the colleges in my area, try to hype the event to college radio stations in the area, and there will be a website for further details when they start to solidify.

Second, Imaginary Records, the "sister" site to the Unheard Music, is going on hiatus after four posts. Yeah, I know, kinda lame, but it's not working out. It may eventually return, but for now it will no longer be updated.

Third, I haven't actually gotten around to posting any videos like I talked about at the beginning of the year (or was it the end of the year?), but I still hope to do that, I've simply been very busy, so don't give up hope, it will happen!

Fourth, lots of things I've been holding back will appear in March, including Beck, the last Zappa post for a while, a WaxTrax! Records retrospective, and the triumphant return of Miles Davis! The Miles post is going to be crazy as it contains the near-complete sessions for one of the greatest jazz recordings in history and some interesting details surrounding the pseudo, incomplete, and totally unneccesary reissue of them since it's missing TONS of content, but at least it didn't claim to be "COMPLETE" this time! There are a bunch of other things I'll be posting, but those three are pretty cool so be on the lookout!

Finally, this is the last Liz Phair post, at least for now. I have exhausted my findings so now we have to wait until some lucky soul (hopefully me!) gets to interview Liz and ask her about the third Girly-Sound tape. This collection though features lots of rarities and non-album tracks and has been named Phairities by some clever collector(s). Unfortunately, my copy, which I've had since who knows when, comes with little information about the track sources, so apart from what I know and can confirm, some of the stuff here is a bit of a mystery, but I'm sure you'll find it quite enjoyable regardless. You know, this might not be the definitive last Liz post for now as I have an upgrade of two tracks from this collection that I should post, and I may post that in March, but this will most likely be the last CD-length post for the known future. And hey, it's always a good excuse to post more sexy photos of Liz!


Liz Phair - Phairities

01 White Babies (Answering Machine Version)
02 Rocket Boy (from the Stealing Beauty soundtrack)
03 If I Ever Pay You Back (Live)
04 Hurricane Cindy (Live on KCRW)
05 Wasted (Live)
06 Carnivore (a-side of the Carnivore single)
07 Never Said (Live, 120 Minutes)
08 Beginning To See The Light (Live)
09 Don't Have Time
10 Oh My God
11 Shirley MacLaine (with Ashtray Boy)
12 Infidel (with Ashtray Boy)
13 Divorce Song / Emotional Rescue
14 Six Dick Pimp (from the Kids In The Hall: Brain Candy soundtrack)
15 Sometimes A Dream (Live)
16 Ride (Live)
17 Mesmerizing (Live)
18 6'1 (Live, 120 Minutes)
19 Away With The Pixies (Ben Lee cover)
20 I'll Get You High (Live)
21 Support System (Live)
22 Fuck and Run (Live)
23 Carnivore (Raw) (b-side of the Carnivore single)
24 You Have No Idea (Live)
25 Wasted (Live on KCRW)
26 Combo Platter (Girlysound) (b-side to Supernova)


And now for more sexy photos of Liz!












Okay, now I do feel a little perverted. Too many hot pics of Liz? Promise, this won't become a standard of the site! Enjoy the music!

Warner Brothers Records: Trademark Of Quality (1993)

So I was recently contacted by a reader of this blog and we struck up a nice conversation. This individual, an extremely generous fellow named Nathan, explained to me that he had purchased the 93 edition of the Trademark Of Quality compilation off of ebay and would send me a copy. Well, to my surprise he didn't just send me a copy, he sent me THE copy! He mailed me the original disc! I am so thrilled by this and words simply cannot express my gratitude! So, I want to start this post by thanking Nathan a few more million times over for his generosity! You have no idea how happy this has made me! And Nathan, watch your mail for those Prince DVDs! Some good stuff coming your way!

I also want to thank everyone who reads the blog regularly! I started this page with no purpose in mind other than to share the wealth and I'm blessed to have such fine readers visiting me regularly! I'm going to keep this page going as long as I can, which should be quite a while. Also, please feel free to ask about requests and such. I can't guarantee I'll always have something to post but, if I have it, more often than not it will show up here shortly after being requested.

In the near future I'm going to be posting some more Miles Davis seventies sessions, that additional Neil Young album and some interviews. I'm waiting for word back from some people I've contacted, one of which will hopefully answer some more questions about the Jungle Brothers' Crazy Wisdom Masters. Another will be discussing their excellent label which focuses on electronic music in the vein of Warp Records and their more abstract leanings. I'm also going to be speaking with Sean Carlin of Dink soon. For those unfamiliar with the almighty Dink, they were a band from Kent, Ohio that had a hit with the song Green Mind in the early nineties. They were associated with Dave "Rave" Ogilvie of Skinny Puppy fame and the Cleveland industrial scene. Great band that unfortunately got screwed by their label, and Sean is a ridiculously nice guy who will share some stories with us.

Back to today's post, this is what Nathan sent me, the 1993 Trademark Of Quality promo CD which features the only official release of any tracks from the unreleased Crazy Wisdom Masters album. This disc is filled with goodies and while some of them sound a little dated, I'm sure you'll agree that the good stuff outweighs the bad! enjoy!


Trademark Of Quality 1993
NOTE: By now I'm sure you know what to do, but just to be safe, make sure you download both parts otherwise you won't get the complete album.
Part One
Part Two

01 Intro
02 Boredoms - My Mum Is Car
This features a short intro from EYE
03 Biohazard - Five Blocks To The Subway
Mr. Tara Patrick's old band. No disrespect Evan, but I can't be the first guy who mentioned your wife. Regardless, you rock!
04 Wayne Coyne - Intro To Waterbugs
Long spoken introduction by Mr. Flaming Lips himself. He messes with the tape at specific points.
05 The Flaming Lips - Waterbugs In The Policeman's Ear
Pretty song from the fearless freaks.
06 Uncle Tupelo with Joe Ely - Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way
Shortly before the Wilco and Son Volt feuds began...
07 Kristin Hersh - Your Ghost (Demo)
08 Suddenly, Tammy! - Funky
09 The Muffs - You Lied
10 Green Day - 409 In My Coffeemaker
Don't get me wrong, I like old Green Day, I just can't stand the new, politicized Green Day. They're still a decent band, as evidenced by their Foxboro Hot Tubs side-project, but what happened to stuff like this?
11 Gallon Drunk - All Mouth, No Trousers
Features a little dialogue prior to the song.
12 American Music Club - In My Role As The Most Hated Singer In The Local Underground Music Scene
With a song title that long, I'll have to take your word for it Mr. Eitzel.
13 Bluescreen - Batperson
Who the hell are these guys? This is some weird shit! I want more!
14 Jungle Brothers - Troopin' On The Down Lo
This actually sounds a little different from the version I heard on the actual album. The performance is the same, but the mastering job may differ.
15 Justin Warfield - Dip Dip Divin' (New Version)
I wish I knew who did this remix. It sounds like Biohazard with Justin on vocals. It doesn't beat the original version but it's still damn tight! One Inch Punch coming soon!
16 Daniel Lanois - Rain Weather
Short dialogue intro in a foreign language. Could someone decipher this please?
17 Not Drowning, Waving - Ascending (Me and You)
18 Geggy Tah - Who's In A Hurry
Man, these guys were so great! They kind of disappeared when Luaka Bop left WEA Distribution. Their first two albums are excellent. Future post? For now, this excellent track!
19 Adam Schmitt - I Know You're All Mine
I hope no one is mad at me for saying this, but this guy sounds like such a pussy. I'll have to see if his album came out, not because I want to hear it but I want to know if anyone listened to more of his whiny-ass shit.
20 Kerosene - More Than You
21 Unrest - So So Sick
Mark Robinson for the win!
22 Mudhoney - Please Don't Forget About Us
This was probably written just as fast as it sounds like it was recorded. Great tune with tongue firmly in cheek!
23 Outro
24 UNLISTED BONUS TRACK!!! Julee Cruise & David Lynch - Pinky's Bubble Egg
This kinda got released eventually as part of a "play" that Lynch did with Nicholas Cage and Laura Dern sorta reprising their roles from Wild At Heart. Badalamenti is of course responsible for the music. Ms. Cruise provides a funny intro and Mr. Lynch adds an expectedly bizarre explanation of the piece's origin at the end.

Warner Brothers Records: Trademark Of Quality (1992)

The problem with major labels is that everyone remembers the bad things about them and never the good things. That said, these days the good things are rather scarce, but there was a time when the major label was quite the asset and a career could be jump-started, deservedly or not, by hard work and promotion on the labels' part. I've bashed Warner Brothers in the past for issues surrounding the non-releases of albums by the Jungle Brothers and Juliana Hatfield, but for every sad story like those there is an incredible story for artists like Cibo Matto, Soul Coughing and others. I don't know if it comes down to being in the right place at the right time or having the right friends, but it's a shame when something goes right for an artist but it completely fails for an equally deserving one.

I've always wondered how much of the failures goes back to their promotional pushes. I remember lots of great samplers that would get sent to record stores in the nineties. Sometimes they wouldn't get played, but you'd find them really cheap in the used bin and there would be a song or two you knew and liked as well as a bunch of stuff you'd never heard of. I heard a lot of great stuff that I never would have heard otherwise because of those samplers, and practically no one gets that kind of treatment anymore. A lot of labels get the impression that people find out about everything online, but despite how easy it is to download an MP3, if you don't know to look for it how are you gonna get it? That's why it was great to get free samplers in your bag with a purchase or find a bunch sitting by the door for you to grab while leaving. I really miss stuff like that.

In regards to samplers, Elektra, a Warners subsidiary, always had great ones, and Atlantic had some good ones too, but Warners as a whole did some really classy releases from time to time. In particular, I found out about their Trademark Of Quality series when researching the Jungle Brothers' Crazy Wisdom Masters, as the 1993 compilation featured the only official release of the otherwise unavailable Troopin' On The Down Low. Now I knew where to look for that track, but I also found a ton of other awesome stuff which was unavailable elsewhere too. On top of that, for a few years Warners would issue a new Trademark comp every year and give them away at music industry events like the CMJ showcases. Most of the tracks contained therein have never been reissued making the releases very collectable. A very kind reader of this site is sending me a copy of the 1993 comp which I'll post after receiving in a few weeks, but here is the 1992 edition which holds just as many oddities for all to examine.

One more thing before I go the link..., how is it the Flaming Lips can have a continued career with Warners? I'm sure their record sales are okay, but they can't be THAT GOOD. Are they just a heluva lot more realistic about their business plans than a lot of other bands? I'd love to hear the inside story as to how Zaireeka got approved, although I heard that it was by figuring out the numbers completely in regards to sales. Still, that had to be quite the hard sell. Okay, enjoy the album!

Warner Brothers Records: Trademark Of Quality (1992)
NOTE: You must download both parts to get the complete album.
Part One
Part Two

01 The Carl Stalling Project - Intro
02 Mudhoney - Fix Me
03 Babes In Toyland - Bruise Violet (Alternate Version)
04 Poster Children - Isis
05 The Muffs - Lucky Guy
06 Jane's Addiction + Body Count - Don't Call Me Nigger, Whitey
07 The Flaming Lips - Jets Part 2 (My Two Days As An Ambulance Driver)
08 Gallon Drunk - Ruby
09 American Music Club - Love Connection N.Y.C.
10 Daniel Lanois - Collection Of Marie Claire
11 Bomb - Nineteen
12 David Lynch - The Pink Room
13 R.E.M. - Half a World Away (Live)
14 John Wesley Harding - Your New Clothes
15 Brian Eno - Tutti Forgetti
16 Scorpio Rising - The Strangest Things Turn You On
17 Sister Double Happiness - Tough
18 Medicine - The Power
19 The Wolfgang Press - Birmingham (Howard Grey Remix)
20 The Carl Stalling Project - Outro