I got a bit depressed and fed up looking at the Landfill Indie contenders, albeit there were some I was prepared to talk up. The very mention, however, of Toploader by a few of you in the comments section last week brought the sobering realisation of there being even greater depths of despair awaiting me if I kept the series going, albeit I’ve never thought of that particular band as being indie. They are more, on the basis of the one hit single which everyone knows, an MOR pop band who just happened to have indie band haircuts….
So, I’m going back to the series of late 2020 in which I pull out a piece of vinyl from the collection, give it a fresh spin and record it at 320kpbs so that I can offer a hi-quality rip for your pleasure. The previous nine efforts, in chronological order, were:-
1. Paul Haig – Blue For You
2. Kirsty MacColl – A New England
3. Associates – Party Fears Two
4. New Order – Blue Monday
5. Go-Betweens – Cattle and Cane
6. Buzzcocks – Ever Fallen In Love….
7. Bourgie Bourgie – Breaking Point
8. The Wedding Present – Kennedy
9. Spiritualized – Anyway That You Want Me
The last of these was a guest posting by flimflamfan, and to be honest, I could do with a few more suggestions from regular/irregular readers as to what you would like to have a listen to on a Monday…you don’t even need to write up a guest piece, just make the suggestion and I’ll go dig out some words to accompany it. The only proviso is that I’ll need to have the song in the collection on vinyl as otherwise I can’t do the fresh rip.
Today’s offering is one of the ‘newest’ bits of vinyl to land at Villain Towers in that it was part of a ten-record purchase via Discogs. I’ve been shying away a bit from on-line activity when it comes to second-hand vinyl, partly as it has become hard to find value-for-money, but mainly as too many sellers’ description of their items are so far off the mark that I’ve found myself angry/disappointed that I’ve overpaid for something. I’m pleased to say that I wasn’t let down on this occasion – I went in specifically for one and came out with a large bundle (as I inevitably do!!), with the descriptions ranging from Near Mint to Very Good Plus, with prices to match the quality.
From the 7″ single on green vinyl, released jointly by Slumberland Records and Fortuna Pop in 2008, a band who might really only ever have had one tune, but it was a great tune to listen and/or dance to, no matter how often they released a very slight variation on it:-
mp3: The Pains of Being Pure At Heart – Come Saturday
mp3: The Pains of Being Pure At Heart – Side Ponytail
The Pains of Being Pure At Heart were from NYC, forming in 2007 and breaking up in 2019. There were five albums, although I have to confess that I have nothing beyond the time of the second album, Belong, released in 2011. There had been a great deal of energy and momentum over those first four years, with a batch of excellent sounding singles being matched by very listenable LPs and, by all accounts as I never did get to see them, highly enjoyable live sets, but then something of a lull in that having left Slumberland/Fortuna Pop for a different label after the second album, there would be no new material until 2014 with Days of Abandon, a quite prophetic title given it turned out to be received less favourably by the critics and fans alike.
Having said all the above, there may well be some of you out there who think this lot should be consigned to the landfill site……..
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 
I accept the challenge and have a song in mind. It’ll make it’s way to you soon.
I really enjoyed TPOBPAH but disliked the hype. The earlier songs including Come Saturday seemed to me (and many others) to pay homage to earlier bands. It was derivative but it was also fresh in its own way – if that makes sense?
I’m glad you have returned to this series. I would perhaps suggest that if other contributors have a ripped vinyl copy of the song they want to submit, that they send you a 320kbps – if you don’t have it and they have the facilties. Ironically, my own turntable isn’t set up for such modern usage. I did buy an Ion turntable many years ago but rarely used it. It transpires I didn’t have the space for a 2nd turntable – no forward planning whatsoever.
As for online vinyl quality descriptions – there’s a good deal of ‘optimists’ out there.
You don’t have nearly enough R.E.M. on this site, so I suggest something from them for the next 50 or so weeks…