Artists starting with V

Bad Syd”/”Falling to Pieces

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Vertigo, “Bad Syd”/”Falling to Pieces” (Amphetamine Reptile, 1989)
Great band at their early best, tonal fray-screech in the AmRep style but with a Velvetsish drone-guitar-pop aspect and a dead-end Midwest punk classicism (think Pagans) that make them distinctive among the works of their label-mates. A-side churns ominously, B-side just launches full-throttle off the runway and through the sound barrier.
A/1, B/a, YES!!
6/9/19

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Squeeze

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Velvet Underground, “Squeeze” (Kismet, 2012, originally released 1972)
Back in print at last, this unfairly maligned no-original-members LP is really a mistitled Doug Yule solo LP; its fine songs closely resemble the songs he sang on “Loaded,” with the same warm-yet-distant, rolling rock pulse, like being run over by a cloud. Start with 1/1.
11/12/12

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Rotting Corpse Au Go-Go

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Velvet Monkeys, “Rotting Corpse Au Go-Go” (Shimmy Disc, 1987; original recordings early 1980s)
This group was “Indie-rock” before the term was invented, and thus their cool, pulsing, crisp, stripped-down sound fell between several chairs – organ-driven new wave, jangly garage-punk, hard-driving Stooges-esque guitar blasters. Well ahead of their time, with consistentl great songs, this band is way past due for a revival.
Try A/2, A/5, B/3, B/5.
2/14/13

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Futuro

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Velvet Monkey, “Futuro” (Fountain of Youth, 1983)
Weird stuff from early ‘80s DC, like some kind of missing link between the Stooges and synth-inflected but rockin’ New Wave à la Missing Persons or the Cars, but more “Nuggets”/garage-psych oriented than any of the above.
Try 1/ 2, 1/ 4, 2/2, 2/5
1/12/11

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Ssss

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VCMG, “Ssss” (Mute, 2012)
This is Vince Clarke and Martin Gore, founding members of Depeche Mode, together again for the first time since Clarke split after DM’s first album to form Yaz, then Erasure. And while this isn’t synth-pop, it is seriously excellent—throbbing minimal-electro as a platform for quicksilver slashes and waves of shimmering, twisted sound, like a gay-cyborg version of Prodigy at their most relentless.
Try 2, 4, 8.
4/3/12

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Shut Down

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Various artists, “Shut Down” (Capitol, 1964 [?])
Label cash-in on the title track with a variety of drag-racing songs that actually kick serious ass. Fast-talking gearhead lyrics, and music that blows past in a stripped-down blur.
Try A/1, A/4, B/1, B/3, B/6
5/5/12

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Natures Mortes – Still Lifes

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Various artists, “Natures Mortes – Still Lifes” (4AD, 1997; originally recordings early 1980s)
Some of 4AD’s earliest stuff, in a fine morbid/intense post-punk vein – razor-shard guitars, claustrophobic bass, inexorably steady drumbeats.
Try 4, 8, 11, 13.
2/14/13
[Track listing inside booklet.]

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Teen Expo: The Cleopatra Label

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Various Artists, “Teen Expo: The Cleopatra Label” (Numero Group, 2018; original recordings 1960-70)
So this guy ran a tiny indie out of northern New Jersey, and he put out examples of pretty much every happening pop style of the ‘60s – girl-group, garage-punk, folk-psych, dance-floor r&b, even post-doo-wop crooning. But it all feels of a piece. He wrote and produced a lot of it himself, and there’s a distinctive ear/feel at work – gauzy, eerie, sweet, enchanted.
Try 1/1, 2/4, 2/7, 3/3, 3/7, 4/1, 4/3
10/2/18

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Stage Diving To The Oldies

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Various Artists “Stage Diving To The Oldies” (Restless, 1995; original recordings 1978-82)
Release date indicates attempted cash-in on the post-Nirvana commercial breakthroughs of the Offspring and Bad Religion, but whatever – this is a snazzy set of vintage L. A. hardcore. This really gets the signature sound and sensibility of its subject – the suburban nihilism, the late-night visionary flash, the revved-up surf-beat with snarling guitars and razor-edged hooks. Crucial shit.
Try 1, 3, 5, 10, 12, 13, 16
8/16/15

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Sing Along with Millard Fillmore

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Various Artists, “Sing Along with Millard Fillmore” (Time/Life Records, 1964)
A retrospective of U. S. Presidential campaign theme songs going back to William Henry Harrison in the 1829s (two of the best!), as performed by studio musicians who sound like they had a good time. Kinda neat to hear it go from a kind of marching band/Appalachian folk hybrid to incorporations of ragtime/jazz motifs. All of it has an aggressive earnestness (and earnest aggression) that would be hard to reproduce in our more self-conscious era, but the flashes of (surprisingly) hit-‘em-below-the-belt humor should be plenty relatable (tho they did it better).
Try 1/ 2, 1/ 5, 2/ 1
10/15/16

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