When I lived in London, I visited Rough Trade Records a bunch of times. The store drained my wallet and killed my Saturday afternoons, but the trip to Covent Garden was always worth it. I definitely picked up The Strokes' "Last Night" 45 there for .99p. They sat in a large pile by the register, insuring that most record nerds picked one up on the way out. That's what you call smart marketing.
Well, 2006 means that the Rough Trade shop is 30 years old, as is the label of the same name. Do not underestimate the importance of Rough Trade; from Cabaret Voltaire to The Smiths to The Fall; the list of arists that got their start on the label is a veritable who's who of British indie music.
To celebrate the shop's milestone, Rough Trade will be releasing a double-disc compilation on September 25. Not unlike the All Tomorrow's Parties compilations, all of the tracks on the two-disc set were chosen by various customers. Who? Jarvis Cocker, Bjork, Thurston Moore and designer Paul Smith, to name a few. Each "curator" also contributes liner notes to make the package complete.
To say the track list is impressive is an understatement. Next to each track is the name of the person who chose it for the collection.
Disc 1
The Modern Lovers - 'Pablo Picasso' (Paul Smith)
Swell Maps - 'Read About Seymour' (Laurence Bell)
Kleenex - 'Hedi's Head' (Mark Moore)
The Rezillos - 'I Can't Stand My Baby' (Seymour Stein)
Adam And The Ants - 'Zerox' (Youth)
Holger Czukay - 'Persian Love' (Don Letts)
The Mekons - 'Kill' (Ana Da Silva)
The Soft Boys - 'I Wanna Destroy You' (Derek Pringle)
Boyd Rice - 'Track 1, Side 1' (Daniel Miller)
The Blue Orchids - 'Work' (Stewart Lee)
Afrika Bambaataa and the Soul Sonic Force - 'Planet Rock' (Geoff Travis)
Mighty Mighty - 'Night After Night' (Tarquin Gotch)
Bongwater - 'His Old Look' (Jon Savage)
Lard - 'The Power Of Lard' (Erol Alkan)
Pixies - 'Here Comes Your Man' (Luella Bartley)
Disc 2
Joe Strummer - 'Island Hopping' (Luce Mellor)
Skinned Teen - 'Pillow Case Kisser' (Thurston Moore)
Bikini Kill - 'Capri Pants' (Gary Walker)
Stock, Hausen and Walkman - 'Belly Up' (Jarvis Cocker)
Stereolab & Nurse With Wound - 'Simple Headphone Mind' (Michel Gaubert)
Lal Waterson & Oliver Knight - 'At First She Starts' (Peter Christopherson)
Karen Dalton - 'In The Evening (It's So Hard To Tell Who's Going To Love You The Best)' (Jeff Barrett)
Mulatu Astatke - 'Yakermo Sew' (David Adjaye)
Matmos - 'Stupid Fambaloo' (Bjork)
The Frogs - 'Sailors Board Me Now' (Savage Pencil)
Schneider TM vs Kpt. Michigan - 'The Light 3000' (James Murphy)
The Carter Family - 'No Depression In Heaven' (Bobby Gillespie)
James Luther Dickinson - 'O How She Dances' (Sean Rowley)
Bjork - 'Where Is The Line' (Richard Russell)
LCD Soundsystem - 'Losing My Edge' (Spazom)
Outstanding, no? This is a no-brainer. An easy addition to all back-to-school shopping lists, like a printer cartridge and looseleaf paper. Get on it.
B_Werner
Philadelphia, PA
February 2006
JUL 19, 2006 06:48 AM