V/A feat. HONEYMOON KILLERS - ALRIGHT, THIS TIME, JUST THE GIRLS (2xCD, US) DATE: 29.JUNE.1999 LABEL: Sympathy For The Record Industry CAT NO.: SFTRI 576 DISC 1: 01. The Muffs - I Don't Like You 02. Banana Erectors - Fed Up With Highschool Days 03. The Grown Ups - Nick And Nick 04. Detroit Cobras - Ain't Hittin' On Nothin' 05. Candypants - Dishy 06. The Friggs - Shake 07. Supersnazz - Baby Love 08. The Chubbies - When I Was Your Girlfriend 09. Sacred Miracle Cave - The Ghost Of Elizabeth Shaw 10. The Barbarellas - Happy Days 11. Lunachicks - Shit Finger Dick 12. The Eyeliners - Six Years 13. Lo-Hi - Put A Sock In It 14. Holly Golightly - Anyway You Like It 15. April March - Cet Air-La 16. Buck - My Fascination 17. Hole - Retard Girl 18. The Bags - Survive 19. Starpower - I'm Sorry 20. The Revillos - Your Baby's Gone 21. April March/Makers - Sad Little Bug 22. The Neptunas - Davy Jones Liquor Locker 23. The Red Aunts - Terri Man 24. Calamity Jane - My Spit DISC 2: 01. The Shitbirds - I Want You 02. The 5.6.7.8's - Bomb The Twist 03. Trinket - Happy Right This Second 04. Fur - I'm Not Coming 05. Thee Headcoatees - Ca Plane Pour Moi 06. The Haves - Coal Black 07. The Trip - Help Me 08. Inger Lorre/Motel Shootout - Burn 09. The Geraldine Fibbers - Toybox 10. Phenobarbidols - Theresa 11. Third Grade Teacher - Fear Of A Boy 12. Free Kitten - Oh Bondage Up Yours 13. The Stool Pigeons - I'm Into Something Good 14. April March/Los Cincos - Some Things Just Stick In Your Mind 15. The Cougars - Brain Cactus 16. The Honeymoon Killers - Mad Woman Blues 17. Electrocutes - Eggnog 18. Dark Carnival - Heaven Can Wait 19. Little Porkchop - Mean, Mean Man 20. The Pebbles - Sitting By A Window 21. Earl Lee Grace - Together 22. Pussy Crush - Burn Your World Down 23. Candy 500 - Keep It In The Hole 24. Satan's Cheerleaders - I've Got Levitation   NOTES: Double CD collection of tracks by 'girl groups' who have all had records released by Sympathy For The Record Industry (see the entensive sleeve notes for a full explanation). The Honeymoon Killers track features Russell Simins and Jon Spencer and was also issued on Sing Sing (2xCD, US), Live (7", SPAIN) and the Hung Far Low album (on the latter two the title was written without the space as Madwoman Blues). VIEW: Honeymoon Killers releases featuring Judah, Russell or Jon SONG CREDITS: Mastering: John Vestman Spiritual Guidance: Shambles [no individual song credits given] 2.16. The Honeymoon Killers - Mad Woman Blues Writers: Wells/Teel/Spencer/Simins Vocals: Lisa Guitar: Jerry Guitar: Jon Drums: Russell Recorded: The Old Miami, Detroit, Michigan Mixed at Bair Tracks, NYC, by Ed Bair and The Killers SLEEVE NOTES: "Alright, this time just the girls Awww, they’re just a bunch of girls… Well, first, since there appears to be several different schools of thought on matter, I figure, I best let you know what it is that I feel makes a group a ‘girl group’ …seems to me a girl group needn’t consist entirely of girls, that is of course the ideal scenario, but perhaps just a bit too stringent of a criteria… a group that contains among it’s members a drummer, guitarist, keytboardist or bassist of the female variety isn’t necessarily a girl group, but if she is also in addition the lead singer or if she is just the lead singer then that is most likely a girl group…if a girl shares lead vocals or sings only a couple of songs in a live set or on an album that is not satisfactory requirement to be tagged a girl group and therefore from henceforth can never be considered as such…(is this anal enough yet?) Back during the advent of girl groups, in the swinging 60’s, girls were almost exclusively vocalists with studied da doo ron ron’s and an unending barrage of sha la la’s wearing matching outfits as they cautiously balanced on the tightrope between being a stereotypical, girl next door kind of sweetheart and an intriguing, painted downtown harlot…they performed carefully choreographed dance steps complete with the increasingly popular finger snaps…nothing was wrong with that, but then evolution began to rumble and girls no longer content to just sing started picking up instruments and writing their own songs… Testosterone levels may be threatened when male members (that sounds a little lewd) find themselves in bands lumped into the girl group category, but that’s just tough shit and if that’s the case they’d be well advised to go back to playing with their own kind…hey! Don’t get me wrong, there are guys on this record, actually quite a few, and some of them provide extremely important elements to the music, but they are all in my mind still just playing second fiddle, well, figuratively speaking anyway… You may be thinking, great, just what we need, another girl compilation and I happen to agree with you 100 percent! There has been quite an overwhelming deluge of them lately and with very few exceptions, they’ve all been crap…okay, in my defense, “alright this time just the girls” isn’t a compilation…I detest compilations…they’re lame, they have no vision and basically they are totally useless…they normally consist of leftover lp tracks, practice studio drivel or absolute bottom line, budget recordings executed at the artist’s expense and provided to fledgling labels as a stab in the dark at ever elusive exposure or by a band already receiving some notoriety and tring desperately to retain that ever so desirable indie cred…this is not a compilation! Repeat, this is not a compilation! Sympathy is much more sophisticated than that…this is a collection… “what’s the difference fuckhead?” you may say…well, aside from my earlier comments about compilations, I did not run around asking bands for any old scraps, I have a wealth of material to choose from and I am not interested in anything short of brilliance in determining a track’s ultimate value and subsequent inclusion on this release…of course, I have considered that mine and your opinion of brilliance will surely vary, and all I can say to that is, tough shit roscoe! Okay, having said all of that, and full realizing I seldom follow my own logic very closely, I now reserve the right to contradict everything I’ve just said…I’m funny that way…you can talk about me behind my back and call me what you will, I’m hard as nails and cheap as dirt, and I really don’t care… They say (whoever they are) that the charts are presently dominated by women and that the time for girls in music has never been better of the chances of being noticed greater than it is right now…I say (whoever I am) that it’s about fucking time! I hope this isn’t a trend…a trend would signal that it is not here to stay and that would of course be an incredible shame… I love girls, be they either soft and sweet or overtly tough and sexy and every single conceivable variations in-between…from patsy cline to patti smith and from the ronettes to joan jett, there has always been a special place in my heart for girls with guitars or girls without guitars for that matter like nico, julie cruise and marianne faithfull… I’ve always embraced the fairer sex in rock n’ roll, my third release was with a female fronted band…there have been many, many girl groups on sympathy and if my current projects in differing stages of limbo are any indication, there’s gonna continue to be a whole lot more in the future…unfortunately, not everything I’ve released associated with girls has made it into this collection, there were just too many to consider and time constraints simply wouldn’t allow it, but by no means are the ones that aren’t included any less important, rather they have been omitted by an act of fate (sometimes literally by the flip of a coin) also, I wanted to include a few tracks from bands that have upcoming projects on sympathy as a glimpse of what’s around the proverbial corner…ah yes, the proverbial corner… This collection is dedicated to ‘the brill building era’ carole king, the queen from which this unending fountain of girl singer/songwriters seemingly sprang and to the girls that one of these songs will inspire enough that they’ll be driven into battle against the mighty rock gods and overcome all obstacles and adversity and create a place for themselves in the annals of girl group history of the future… < Charms, sweet angels, LONG GONE JOHN xx (anti-mogul/fat cat/accidental c.e.o.) The Muffs - I Don't Like You (sfti 121) 7” released october 91 After eight or so years, the pride and joy of los angeles seem poised to become the next overnight sensation…with astonishing talent and songwriting ability, the muffs defy all convention and still retain all the essential elements to devastate an unsuspecting listener every single time… Banana Erectors - Fed Up With Highschool Days (sftri 571) 7” released february 99 From japan with love…what you get here is phil spector era ramones bop graciously infused with a dizzy / quirky female vocal that works in perfect contrast to her band’s no frills ’77 style buzzsaw punk rock assault…they are as genuine as their name is peculiar…this is pure unadulterated bliss The Grown Ups - Nick And Nick (sftri 516) cd released november 97 These six 15 year old girls were rescued from the sunset strip by hole’s eric erlandson and were then cut loose in a studio where they refused to allow small matters such as inexperience stand in their way of creating original and exciting music…they could’ve been contenders, they had the potential of being a sincere threat to the youth of america… Detroit Cobras - Ain't Hittin' On Nothin' (sftri 525) cd/lp released february 98 From the motor city comes this hard rockin’ sweaty, sex-charged garage r & b for the people….complete with big nasty guitars, a stompin’ rhythm section and fronted by a notorious wildcat, rachel nagy who shakes, moves and grooves with old school style soul charged vocals…a guranteed sure-fire soundtrack for the best party in town… Candypants – Dishy (from imminent release) This tasty debut offers an intriguing analogy drawn between the joys of boys and food featuring lisa (quite dishy herself) from the irrepressible stool pigeons being joined by various l.a. luminaries…this is a pleasing, teasing, carefree romp through a calorie infested dr. seussish, calypso dreamscape… The Friggs – Shake (sftri 180) released february 93 The friggs are four girls from new jersey that effectively capture the spirit and sensibilities of early rock n’ roll without sounding hopelessly retro…sounds to me like they’re having lots of fun and I like it when it sounds like people are having lots of fun and it sounds like they’re having lots of fun…oh, sorry, I already said that… Supersnazz - Baby Love (sftri 568) lp/cd released february 99 Seven years after debut on “that” seattle label, everyone’s favourite oriental dolls delivered this hot, little slice…it’s taken from their devastatingly cool “diode city” album which of course you’ve bought and have treasured since the day it was released…right? Domo arigato… The Chubbies - When I Was Your Girlfriend (sfrti 563) 10”/cd released february 99 There may be a bit of truth in the accusation that I’ve always favored the chubbies…they somehow always seem to strike just the right chords and I think jeanette is an amazingly talented songwriter and very gifted vocalist (how’s that, jeanette?) foolishly biased or blinded by infatuation, I love the chubbies… Sacred Miracle Cave - The Ghost Of Elizabeth Shaw (sftri 61) 7” released august 90 With references to both peter pan and withering heights this is one of the prettiest songs in this collection… it is a haunting ballad that revives memories of loneliness and unrequited love…the blending of the lush vocal and banshee guitar personifies the brilliance that was sacred miracle cave… The Barbarellas - Happy Days (sftri 560) 10”/cd released march 99 From their debut u.s. release, “queen of the galaxy,” these five presumably harmless young girls from the planet temptation (oslo, norway) play interstellar beambop (garage / punk rock) and are out to spread their message of an intergalactic love supreme to turn on this entire romantically challenged planet… Lunachicks - Shit Finger Dick (sftri 262) 7” released september 93 Just when you thought that girl bands were much too soft and subtle, new york’s incrdedibly fashion-unconcious, wild bunch, the lunachicks pummeled through all those stereotypes with the intensity of a runaway scud missile…this is eye-poppin’, hair-bangin’, butt-gyrating’ rock at its best… The Eyeliners - Six Years (sftri 484) cd released may 97 When something rocks, it rocks…it’s just that simple…the eyeliners are sorta like the go-go’s pumped full of amphetamines…bursting with frantic guitar and pop/punk vocals, they unleash their stipped down, high energy, fast and furious version of rock n’ roll…these three sisters kick serious ass and still manage to charm the pants of everyone around… Lo-Hi - Put A Sock In It (sftri 551) cd/lp released october 98 A new york twosome featuring the dulcet tones and guitar mutations of boss hog’s hollis queens with martin of speedball baby on drums…this drives home the proof that some artists still have original ideas and some of them are even kinda cool… lo-hi calls their sound “simplicity with depth,” but they don’t want you to forget to shake your booty to the groovy beats… Holly Golightly - Anyway You Like It (sftri 474) lp/cd released august 97 Aside from being a member of the world’s premier all-girl punk/garage combo, thee headcoatees, holly is a show-stopper independantly and has been recording her own records for years…already a treasured fave rave in the u.k., europe and japan this is from her inspired and widely praised debut u.s. album, “painted on”… April March - Cet Air-La (sftri 456) lp/cd released october 96 One of sympathy’s few success stories, this one with a near fairy tale ending as mademoiselle march is currently kicking up some major dust…this offering provides the perfect soundtrack for cruising in your citroen en route to your hideaway chalet…so, fire up a gitane, pop the beaujolais and have something with way too much cheese sauce…bon appetit!” Buck - My Fascination (sftri 553) cd/lp released september 98 Featuring cub’s two lisa’s and the mighty pepper berry, buck became l.a.’s hot shit upstarts of 1998…they mix volcanic rage rock with the sort of pop that would make petula clark twirl out of her polka dotted house dress…this is a catchy, endearing, infectious love song and buck is everything they’re cracked up to be… Hole - Retard Girl (sftri 53) 7” released april 90 I could say I recognized a unique talent in hole while they were still in their infancy, but where would it get me? Seems there is no middle ground where they are concerned and this is of course wherein their charm lies…they have more than their share of zealots out to crucify them, but even in feeblest of minds “retard girl” is an undeniable classic… The Bags – Survive (sftri 497) cd released august 97 In 1978 when there was a holy war for notoriety and pole position, too many bands formed/deformed and just as quickly became cliché and vapid…the bags stood out like mohammed ali at a kkk rally and were the epitome of l.a. cool…this punk classic comes from the soundtrack of “desperate teenage lovedolls” which chronicles the rise and fall of three runaways who form a (yep, you guessed it) rock group… Starpower - I'm Sorry (sftri 363) cd/lp released may 95 From the aches of calamity jane and crackerbash came this imaginative project knowingly striding the line between melodic sonic rock and classically, quirky, indie sound…after their great debut on kill rock stars they released a wonderous album on sympathy…the dynamic vocal by gilly ann hanner is icing on the cake… The Revillos - Your Baby's Gone (sftri 549) cd/lp released august 98 Critically acclaimed and universally revered, the revillos were the seminal trash/glam/punk band of the late 70’s and early 80’s…this blistering ballad featuring faye fife on vocals has been lifted from the “totally alive in london” album which documents the band’s, legendary, farewell performance… April March/Makers - Sad Little Bug (sftri 434) lp/cd released april 97 Pop quiz: what do you get when you cross the manic-aggressive punk stylings of the makers with the sultry and swinging vocalizations of pop-siren april march? Answer: you get a historic alliance guaranteed to rake your soul good and proper over the blazing coals of rock n’ roll…this one is a slow burner… The Neptunas - Davy Jones Liquor Locker (sftri 536) cd released june 98 Having set out to rid the world of the boring and pretentious instrumental scene, the neptunas are the aural equivalent of gidget coming home drunk after the prom and barfing in the bushes…these frisky felines of surfdom know first hand how fun fucking things up can be… The Red Aunts - Terri Man (sftri 283) cd/lp released march 94 With their foundations in long beach, I watched these girls go from zero to 160 miles per hour in record time…they are the antithesis of revolt…with distorted vocals and lotsa feedback they found a chaotic new way to recreate a tired, old racket… they will always be very near and dear to my decrepit, ailing heart… Calamity Jane - My Spit (sftri 107) 7” released july 91 Before the riot grrrrls, this trio from portland, oregon had a little more attitude, a little more aggression, a little more frustration and a little more knowledge about things like song structure and dynamics…oh yeah, and a little more spit… Disc two The Shitbirds - I Want You (sftri 421) cd released february 96 An east coast attitude with a west coast flair…the shitbirds are the stuff of legends…here they are in all their stupefying, no holds barred, girlie rock glory…during their short existence the questions could be heard throughout l.a., “have you heard them?”. “have you seen them?” all that is left now is damaged eardrums and treasure recollections…shitbird is the word! The 5.6.7.8's - Bomb The Twist (sftri 371) 10”/cd released january 96 Wilder than the cramps and way cooler than shonen knife, the 5, 6, 7, 8’s have been walking that walk and trashing that beat since 1989…they ooze cat-like sexuality and deliver the musical goods in spades…these japanese dolls possess more spirit and drive than most bands could muster in a wet dream... Trinket - Happy Right This Second (from imminent release) A horse of a way different colour, trinket is in a world of their own device…it is a quirky joyous place that I visit it at every single opportunity…this track features heather (stool pigeons) on vocals and it signals a drastic change in the earth’s rotation…you too, soon will be watching high school drill team routines and will be happy for at least 3 minutes and 19 seconds… Fur - I'm Not Coming (sftri 243) 7” released decemeber 93 In the tradition of the max’s kansas city bands in the late 70’s, this single was cooked to perfection in a sweltering new york city studio… it was then handsomely packaged and released to an incredibly uninterested, jaded public, it is cute, energetic and extremely snotty all at one and I guarantee it won’t be overlooked again… Thee Headcoatees - Ca Plane Pour Moi (sftri 463) lp/cd released march 97 The personification of cool, these girls are everything other bands aspire to be…okay, so the instrumental duties are performed by billy childish and company and that’s a considerable advantage, but thee headcoatees possess an incredibly rare, unique talent and the end result is wild, raw and unparalleled rock n’ roll… The Haves - Coal Black (sftri 370) 7” released october 95 In this, the haves only recording. we find april march finessing the “garage” thing surprisingly well with crummy white trash vocals atop a decidedly vulgar guitar sound…it’s got that “hey, what’s wrong with my speakers?” sensibility…it is dirty, gritty and as you may suspect, distortion reigns supreme…the kids love this shit. The Trip - Help Me (sftri 408) 7” released february 96 The trip was a young group with varying influences led by 17 year old vocalist, maria and her brother, paul on guitar…this track was recorded in the basement of their parents house and the vocals were all done in maria’s bedroom…after this blaring, pleading debut they went on to a big, exclusive, hotshit deal with the abyss that is columbia records and were never heard from again… Inger Lorre/Motel Shootout - Burn (sftri 361) 7” released september 95 Starring notorious scene stealer/heatbreaker, inger lorre, this was unfortunately a short lived project…this song was written for rob ritter (45 grave, gun club, nymphs) after his untimely demise… “burn” appears to have been a person exorcism of sorts for our gorgeous leading lady… The Geraldine Fibbers – Toybox (sftri 507) double lp released july 97 The fibbers merged the spirit of the avant garde with the gut level deviousness of genuine rock n’ roll…on the verge of worldwide acceptance and a well-calculated musical meltdown, this incredible los angeles assemblage jumped their track and sadly took off for parts unknown… Phenobarbidols – Theresa (sftri 348) 10” released december 94 They go to clubs…they drink beer and break hearts…after closing they go back to barbie’s house and drop acid…they’d order pizza if they could only find the phone…”theresa”? oh yeah, it’s a very pretty song, with a glorious arrangement and lush harmonies worthy of a bangles comparison, but not nearly as safe and sanitized… Third Grade Teacher - Fear Of A Boy (self-released cd) This song reflects the gentler side of third grade teacher…sabrina says “it’s a sad anecdote of a school marm who fell in love with a young man who didn’t return her affections.” Besides being a singer/songwriter she is in fact a third grade teacher in east l.a…. someone recently called them “a distorted fleetwood mac,” they took it as a compliment… Free Kitten - Oh Bondage Up Yours (sftri 256) 7” released august 93 The culmination of a meeting of fine feline minds…members of the discrete elite plundering the x-ray spex tomb and walking away with a glistering corpse…their heroic version of this jazzy punk rock classic is raw, shrill and perhaps even just a little bit scary, but that’s okay…radio airplay was definitely never a consideration anyway… The Stool Pigeons - I'm Into Something Good (sftri 502) cd released october 97 This track is amazingly cool updating of english pop at its finest…it is lovely song from “rule hermania,” the first volume in the stool pigeons’ british inversion trilogy…the instrumentation has been stripped bare with only the essentials remaining to provide the backdrop for chilling and engaging harmonies… April March/Los Cincos - Some Things Just Stick In Your Mind (sftri 491) lp/cd released may 98 Okay, this is cheating a bit, but featuring april several times in this collection is far from a punishable sin…this exotic cover of an obscure rolling stones track comes from an album that was well over a year in the production and boasts the largest budget in sympathy’s history and it was worth every single, solitary, misallocated red cent… The Cougars - Brain Cactus (sftri 395) cd released march 96 Curiouser and curiouser…this is the bastard child of a couple red aunts and claw hammer’s jon wahl…this was what you call a recording project…this unholy gathering never played a live show…it is, none the less a brilliant and unnerving concoction and you can no doubt find it in a cut-out bin near you… The Honeymoon Killers - Mad Woman Blues (sftri 369) cd released january 97 Formed in the summer of 83 in new york’s lower east side…this is a story about jerry and lisa and their love for each other, whiskey and rock n’ roll…they rallied around excessive partying and full-blown organized mayhem and anything went, usually straight out the window...this is from the 55 track double cd, “sing sing”…. Electrocutes – Eggnog (sftri 566) lp/cd released january 99 Inexperienced, incoherent, pseudo speed metal from the band that time forgot (or tried to anyway) this is the donnas years before they stole everyone’s punk rock hearts…this is a typical high school high drama and all the young boys go absolutely apeshit for the electrocutes and so do i… Dark Carnival - Heaven Can Wait (sftri 431) cd/lp released january 97 Once upon a time there was peace and happiness on our little planet…that was before ghostly chanteuse, niagara arose from the depths of hell with her tough shit / doomsday gospel…this aberration also features legendary stooges guitarist, ron asheton in a glorious attempt to keep the detroit spirit of rock n’ roll alive… Little Porkchop - Mean, Mean Man (sftri 544) cd/lp released june 98 A too short lived n.y.c. combo featuring lonesome jerry teal and miss lisa jayne (the honeymoon killers) and the mean, mean vocal stylings of the equally semi-legendary, miss lazy susan delivering a faithful yet viscous take of this unforgettable wanda jackson classic… The Pebbles - Sitting By A Window (sftri 498) cd released july 97 This all-girl tokyo understands all too well the true cornerstones of american culture: go-go boots, miniskirts and rock n’ roll…when their album was released, this track became a WFMU chart-topper…the pebbles soared in infamy and the interest was immediate and overwhelming…what else do you need to know? Earl Lee Grace – Together (sftri 317) cd released august 95 This selection may cause problems, but as they say in the vatican “who gives a fuckin’ shit?” earl is blag dahlia’s alter ego and this is the only track on his album that he didn’t sing…divine intervention assured its appearance in this collection… I luv country music (of the female variety) and this ‘n here’s a good’n pardner… Pussy Crush - Burn Your World Down (sftri 430) cd released september 96 They wanted to be the undertones, but they weren’t irish…they wanted to be blondie, but they weren’t blonde…they wanted to be the heartbreakers, but they were afraid of needles…in a last desperate attempt to overcome their limey handicap, they blackmailed me and with the fear of prison hanging over me, I reluctantly released their album…this is one of the tracks… Candy 500 - Keep It In The Hole (sftri 354) 10” released march 95 At this point in banging out these capsule descriptions I’m horribly cliché worn and more than a just a bit unconcerned…I’m not sure what I think anymore…I heard that someone said that this track was reminiscent of paul stanley on a blind date with iggy pop and peggy lee…fuck me! It sounds like trouble… Satan's Cheerleaders - I've Got Levitation (sftri 308) cd released july 94 I have the displeasure repulsive…occasionally a few show merit, but rarely prove to be as exciting as satan’s cheerleaders…through the years they have earned a reputation for their unfailing politeness, professionalism and punctuality…this is the last song in this collection…can I go home now?" DETAILS: ARTWORK: COVER PAINTING: Mark Ryden BACK COVER PHOTOGRAPH: Joe Negro BARCODE: 7 90276 05762 3 [but no barcode featured on artwork] MATRIX: DISC 1: "3274-SFTRI576DISC1 C2 505257-01 IFPI L892" DISC 2: "3274-SFTRI576DISC2 C2 505258-01 IFPI L892" RELATED LINKS: sympathyrecords.com / markryden.com