Car Crash
“Execution”, “I Don’t Care” b/w “Bright Future”
scum stats: 200 copies on black vinyl
I am shocked to see that this record was released in 2015. That feels like eons ago. I’m pretty sure I was hipped to this by the K Records email list but instead of buying it straight from the source I put it on a running list of “need to purchase” items that I kept in my pocket for a few months. This copy came straight from Grimey’s, the record store down the street from TMR that is always happy to special order items of this nature when I request them on the regular. These three tracks have been sitting contently in my “to listen to” pile for at least a year. I’ll get better, I promise.
Jams here are gems, all high energy punk ’n’ roll, a vibe that feels properly updated from the mid-90’s heyday when Rip Off Records was king. Tight, lockstep, there is absolutely nothing wrong or out of place on this record. I could (and should) listen to shit like this for days without ever tiring. I feel like my tastes exist in a previously undefined ether-region where something of the approach/style/tone needs to be vaguely familiar, yet anything slavishly rehashed or redundant throws up immediate red flags and shade. Such a fine line and Car Crash is on the proper side of it. Sold out from the label, it’s worth the troll around to find one elsewhere in the bottomless pit internet. I believe the band is Japan and that should only further your appreciation.
I love 45’s existing as 8 minute time capsules into an exact period. No fussing about, make a statement, make it quick and leave it behind for the rest of the world to uncover. I’m STILL turning up wonderfully brilliant 45’s, forgotten for decades, quite regularly. Outside of love for my family and time spent with them, it is no doubt my absolute favorite thing to do.
I’ve no indication that this band is not absolutely killing it live. In my mind, they do. Highly recommended you search this one out..
SIDE NOTE: I guess I’ve been writing about records here for just about 52 weeks, only missing a handful of times when travel or fatherhood became prohibitive. Hooray for me, hooray for you. I’ve got an extra copy of a wonderful book called “Why Vinyl Matters” by Jen Otter Bickerdike that features stellar interviews with all sorts of folks in the “biz” speaking about vinyl. Including yours truly. So in the comments here, in the spirit of the book, these weekly missives and everything we do at Third Man, let us know your thoughts on WHY VINYL MATTERS. I’ll pick the winner, as objectively as possible, and they’ll get the book mailed right to their door. How cool is that?
Thanks for reading for the past year and here’s to another 52 weeks.
Vinyl matters because it makes us appreciate life’s little imperfections. They are what makes the world special. The crackle, the noise you can only get from listening to lp that gets buffered out on cd/download. The tiny clicks that usually get edited out. Vinyl is unfiltered & pure in a photoshopped/auto tuned world.
’Don’t leave your records in the sun. They’ll warp and they won’t be good for anyone.’
John HartfordOK— after reading all of these comments, I have to say that Julia Lank and I are on the same page, and Robert Gibson and I DEFINITELY are, HA! P.S. Thanks, Ben, for a year of these posts. You’ve reminded me of some gems & turned me on to some wonderful new stuff. Mazel, everyone!
(Comment below amended to add “…few physical objects that can evoke memories for me.”) ;)
Vinyl records are among the few physical objects that can evoke memories. From the satisfying size of the album art & through the multitude of audio possibilities, vinyl matters because it’s a time capsule, in and of itself. I can look fondly upon my childhood blanket, for instance, but when I put on Elvis’ “Elvis” album, I am transported immediately back to naptime, listening to each song my mom played for me as I drifted off to sleep, wrapped not only in my blanket but also in feelings of safety and security and happiness. Whether it’s a cathartic album that helped you through a breakup or the album you put on when you fling the windows wide on the first day of Spring, vinyl is right there with you, gathering more sense memories with each spin. Without the tangibilities of art and music that accompany vinyl records, it’s harder to contemplate or keep comapny with the beautiful INtangibilities of life.
Vinyl matter because they remind us that things mustn’t be perfect to be loved. Plus you can stare at the cover while you listen to it, making your mind and imagination work.
Vinyl matters because modern day mastering aka volume wars makes listening to music in any other format unbearable. thank god for the limitations vinyl has for mastering. When I put on a record it sounds like the band is right there in my room. That is how music is meant to be heard!
V is for Vanquishing silence …….. I is for Intuitive design…….. N is for Now happens when you listen to a record …….. Y is for the Years that vinyl brings us back to in the Now and L is for lifestyle …. Vinyl is a choice
Vinyl lives. It can get scratches and bruises that add character. It gets old with use. It last longer if treated better but in the moment, sometimes the events that age it are worth the damage.
When the apocalypse happens you can help rebuild society with a hand crank victrola.