#The Ladybug Transistor

[bandcampsnoop]

9/2/24.

Gary Olson. He's been a part of many of my favorite bands - mostly as a producer (he's always working with Phil Sutton). Sometimes I forget that his band, The Ladybug Transistor (Brooklyn, New York) was magical in its own right.

"The Ablemarle Sound" is being reissued by Happy Happy Birthday To Me (HHBTM Records) with bonus tracks. I hear so many great things in this record: The Kinks, The Four Seasons ("The Genuine Imitation Life Gazette), or The Heavy Blinkers come immediately to mind. This album almost sounds Scottish - I just can't help but think of later era Pastels or BMX Bandits when I hear the lush arrangements.

Members of the band went on to form other great bands such as The Essex Green and The Garment District.

[stevepasztor]

[balleralbumcovers]

EPIC ALBUM COVER #94

The Ladybug Transistor - The Albemarle Sound

Released: 1999 (Merge)

Chamber pop, psychedelic pop, chamber folk

[kipskiptrip]

WHY IS EVERYONE DROPPING ALL AT ONCE????? FUCKING GREAT AMAZING NEWS FOR MUSIC FANS.

[doomandgloomfromthetomb]

Sloppy Heads Present HEADS HAPPENINGS (2024)

I was in NYC earlier this summer, but alas, my time there did not coincide with any of the Sloppy Heads Heads Happenings out at Mama Tried in Brooklyn. Curses! They all looked amazing, with many longtime leading lights of the underground popping up to play alongside the Sloppy ones. Maybe next year?! But since we mentioned longtime friend of the blog Jesse Jarnow yesterday, we should at least get caught up with a few of the tapes/videos that have emerged from these sweet summer nights.

Like Roolin's nice capture of Lambchop's Kurt Wagner backed only by Yo La Tengo's James McNew (and the occasional roar of the BQE)! What a beautiful set, laid-back but intense in the way that only Wagner can be. Kurt is so nice — "For all the tapers out there, I'll provide you a list of the titles," he says at the end. McNew wasn't the only YLT member to show up; Georgia and Ira made a rare appearance as Little Black Egg, taking things into the outer regions during a long guitar/keys improv. Thanks to Richard Wolf for recording.

And what about Sloppy Heads themselves!? Check out two excellent tapes over on the Archive (get it while you can?) — May 9 and June 13! I'm especially fond of the totally sprawled out rendition of "Doubt Yr Eyes" from the May show. Thanks to Noah S for uploading! There is one last Heads Happening taking place — September 12, featuring a whole slew of folks from the beloved Ladybug Transistor, a band I last saw ... 25 years ago? Jesus Christ. If you're in Brooklyn, you've gotta be there. Do it for your Uncle Doom & Gloom!

[yourworldiseternallycomplete]

rediscovering my favorite music from like middle school/early high school i was kinda onto something

[kaoinim]

sometimes you dont realise how random and obscure a song is until you google it and there's no lyrics ANYWHERE

[noloveforned]

i'm back from my long weekend in chapel hill and ready to hit wlur at 8pm with a new show so tune in if you're around tonight!

last weekend was all about celebrating 35 years of merge records. i joined in on the fun with a three hour restrospective of merge releases (stream it on mixcloud) in (mostly) reverse chronological order. as always some stuff got left out so my apologies go out to polvo, sacred paws, and the others i would have liked to squeeze in!

no love for ned on wlur – july 26th, 2024 from 8-11pm - merge records 35th anniversary show

artist // track // album // label superchunk // everybody dies // everybody dies 7" // merge quivers // apparition // oyster cuts // merge rosali // my kind // bite down // merge mhaol // bored of men // attachment styles // merge carson mchone // hawks don't share // still life // merge hiss golden messenger // hardlytown // quietly blowing it // merge the mountain goats // last gasp at calama // songs for pierre chuvin // merge cable ties // hope // far enough // merge archers of loaf // raleigh days // raleigh days 7" // merge gauche // flash // a people's history of gauche // merge swearin' // oil and water // fall into the sun // merge waxahatchee // silver // out in the storm // merge h.c. mcentire // quartz in the valley // lionheart // merge teenage fanclub // the darkest part of the night // here // merge twerps // back to you // range anxiety // merge ex hex // waste your time // rips // merge mikal cronin // weight // mcii // merge mount moriah // lament // mount moriah // merge wild flag // romance // wild flag // merge times new viking // it's a culture // dancer equired // merge superchunk // digging for something // majesty shredding // merge jay reatard // pull down the shades // stroke - songs for chris knox tribute // merge telekinesis // coast of carolina // telekinesis! // merge big dipper // wrong in the charts // supercluster- the big dipper anthology // merge shout out louds // normandie // our ill wills // merge camera obscura // lloyd, i'm ready to be heartbroken // let's get out of this country // merge robert pollard // dancing girls and dancing men // from a compound eye // merge tenement halls // plenty is never enough // knitting needles and bicycle bells // merge arcade fire // neighborhood #1 (tunnels) // funeral // merge richard buckner // a chance counsel // dents and shells // merge crooked fingers // big darkness // red devil dawn // merge destroyer // this night // this night // merge the essex green // the late great cassiopia // the long goodbye // merge the rosebuds // kicks in the schoolyard // make out // merge spoon // small stakes // kill the moonlight // merge the clean // drawing to a whole // anthology // merge annie hayden // red lines // the rub // merge the ladybug transistor // perfect for shattering // argyle heir // merge the rock*a*teens // car and driver // sweet bird of youth // merge superchunk // hello hawk // come pick me up // merge neutral milk hotel // two-headed boy // in the aeroplane over the sea // merge lambchop // your fucking sunny day // thriller // merge butterglory // she clicks the sticks // are you building a temple in heaven? // merge east river pipe // hey, where's your girl? // poor fricky // merge the magnetic fields // born on a train // the charm of the highway strip // merge 3ds // beautiful things // the venus trail // merge seam // granny 9x // granny 9x 7" // merge erectus monotone // vertigogo // vertigogo 7" // merge finger // everywhere // everywhere 7" // merge chunk // my noise // what i do 7" // merge

[daggerzine]

The Ladybug Transistor- The Albermarle Sound (25th Anniversary Expanded Edition- 1999- Merge/ 2024- HHBTM)

I am so glad that this record is getting the 25th-anniversary special edition. It’s definitely my favorite record by the band and I think it’s their best one, too. I first became a fan of the band in 1997 on their sophomore effort, Beverly Atonale, but that record seemed more like a Gary Olson solo record. It seems like this record is where they became a real band.

The band, especially this record, is all about beautiful, organic chamber pop. Horns sneak in at any given time, as well as strings and woodwinds (guitar/bass/drums also, of course). Gary Olson’s vocals are beyond low-key, but they fit the music perfectly. And the songs are absolutely top-notch.

The rest of the band including Jennifer Baron, Jeffrey Baron, and Sasha Bell really work the whole sunshine pop angle (a seriously talented and creative bunch here!). There's a definite influence of bands like The Left Banke, The Bee Gees, and probably even some experimental stuff, too, like The Silver Apples, as well as some other 60s psych.

Songs like the absolutely unique "Six Times," the swooping "Meadowport Arch," the sweeping, beautiful "Six Times," and the sweet pop of "Like A Summer Rain" and several others are among the band's best. I honestly think this is a record the future generations of music fans will discover in decades to come (kind of like how I found out about a band like The Millennium in the 90s).

This edition is on beautiful silver vinyl and is absolutely well worth your hard-earned money.

www.theladybugtransistor.bandcamp.com

www.hhbtm.com

www.mergerecords.com

[grouperhq]

sparklehorse

the high llamas

the ladybug transistor

gorky's zygotic mynci

[bandcampsnoop]

9/3/24.

Following up on The Ladybug Transistor post was easy. Frequent Gary Olson collaborator, Phil Sutton, is releasing "another "Blue" by Love, Burns (Queens, New York). This band sound remarkably like Pale Lights, but the lineup is sort of an all-star one: Kyle Forrester (Crystal Stilts), Hampus Öhman-Frölund (drummed with many including Jens Lekman) and the aforementioned Gary Olson.

There have been many Love, Burns/Pale Lights posts over the years but I will repeat my RIYL: Felt, Lloyd Cole, Edwyn Collins, and many many more.

This is being co-released by Kleine Untergrund Schallplatte (KUS) and Jigsaw Records.

[morawcrumb]

Tagged by @batteriesandflashlights thank you!

put your on repeat/favorites playlist on shuffle & post the first 10 songs you get.

1.) Around the Lion legs - DM Stith

2.) If I Did, Would you? - Orbiting Human Circus

3.) What the Single Made the Needle Sing - The Music Tapes

4.) Aleida’s Theme - The ladybug Transistor

5.) Who you are - 0 Stars

6.) To Be Alone - The Galactic Heroes

7.) Thing for Ugly - Caspers & The Cookies

8.) Maria Pt.2 - Orbiting Human Circus

9.) Can’t Recall the Good Times - The Cradle

10.) Into the River Thames - Quartet Version - Orbiting Human Circus

I really like… Koster projects…

Tagging: @samzier , @stradiivarrii , @waterfishlol0 , @ray-theoretical-trucker

Apologies for the tag :)! You dont have to do it!

[rpfisfine]

@vzajemnik tagged me to post my 9 fav album covers THANK U SM <333

1) all my heroes are cornballs by jpegmafia 2) atrocity exhibition by danny brown 3) cullah the wild by cullah 4) everything you've come to expect by the last shadow puppets 5) the phosphorescent blues by punch brothers 6) skinty fia by fontaines d.c. 7) the albemarle sound by the ladybug transistor 8) the car by arctic monkeys 9) pom pom by ariel pink

tagged some ppl recently so in order not to overwhelm them ill try to tag someone different UMokay. @startreatment @kalaharidown @intheblackofmyroom @smokinnicsuckindic @thesituation @scarebeast @insectbitch and YOU 🫵🏻 (if you want to)

[doomandgloomfromthetomb]

Sloppy Heads - TV Eye, Ridgewood, New York, January 27, 2023

Is there a new Sloppy Heads record out? Yes, there is a new Sloppy Heads record out! Sometimes Just One Second just dropped on the Shrimper label and — dare I say it — it's the best Heads yet! Ariella Stok, Bill the Drummer, and Jimmy Jumpjump (AKA your friend and mine Jesse Jarnow) have crafted a sprawling masterpiece this time around: 75 minutes of sweet jams, fuzzed-out pop, cracked balladry and even a delicious Dead boogie.

Extra props to Yo La Tengo's James McNew, Ladybug Transistor's Gary Olson, Pee Wee's Playhouse artist Gary Panter and legendary animator Al Jarnow for making this a truly special collection. For a little more detail, check out this recent Jarnow + Jarnow Q&A on Aquarium Drunkard.

I like the RIYL that came along with the Sometimes Just One Second promo, so I'll just reprint it here:

RIYL: WFMU, Mutant Sounds blog, Half Japanese, Yo La Tengo, The Fugs, Seastones, Kluster, Crazy Horse, The Godz, Yoko Ono's Approximately Infinite Universe, Bonzo Dog Band, Pep Lester, Spotted Dick, X, Jefferson Airplane, The Vaselines

You like all that, don't you?! I do. I also like this short live video via the great Roolin YouTube channel of Sloppy Heads out in Ridgewood. Loose as a goose, right as rain.

[ringmodulation]

GLITCHCHRIST

cold suction sweat, arms abandoned, bouquet of nightmares assemble delicately, dragged, face in flames, metallic the soil, nameless bits, suggestions interconnected, natural void, deformation front, flesh a hole in air, one obliterated, inevitable collapse, soup, dog, knives cyclone, windows stained blood, leaf litter, old form foam, melt away in cleansing fire, singularity, viscera etcetera, octahedron of teats, bug gallery, mucks muddle middle, cascading everything away, tipping point, irredeemable, million deaths, feedback falls apart, burnt hole in sky, stark, twisted of wish, drip acid down, cut away, heat death, complete total nothing, impotent god, consciousness cancerous, eggs of world, metal shell, experimental percussion, hot and bright burns, bugs everything, euthanasia, reality used, before without, interior melted dirt, now and was then, ring modulation, rainstorm, necropolis, three one tool, crumbling apart, soft as avocado, unzip the sky, spectral abomination of sleep, giddy fissures eruption the dust, flesh cut, flesh wound, fresh unchanging stasis in seven, shattered lens bent, sever no ate, tilted, unholy aberration, time cease and shudder, nothing else, nothing ever will, leaking ash, pouring viscous pitch, all orifices on exit, true dark empty fills, grand unification, soap lake, hot lake, something holds all, acquisition of time space, acoustic simulation, hospital southern sound, dust delivery, removal, delivery, removal, intake, output, destruction, ultimate are tiees seeing what would happen, ovipositor, oceans opening, the veil, corn corn corn corn corn flake, tap sniff click, hate love, hate joy, micro-plastics, who built angel, discs, tubes, mud-filled bags, quilted mattresses, whale falls, like it all flesh one, new world, nightmare control, provider, ladybug transistor, existential dread decision paralysis feedback loop, endless fluid pouring, the great deceiver, journal of empty things, firstborn, shredded, speckling as it were, eleven year cycle, extremophile, reniform, a forest fire, staple gun, what remains, blood falls, europa, portal inward, splattered in the face of heaven, distortion wall, distortion seed, ripen feedback fruits, reverence upon crumbling decay, desecrated shrine to holy noise, upside down and back to front, nicknamed mothership, vacuum cleaner hose, hair’s fallacies, i’m not like other shrimp, shield canada, dawn scythe with bristling hair, self-medication, the end of nearly 300 million successful years, inharmonic infinity, nothing level, nothing square, fractures outward growth, dustpan, epoxy, fists like pendulum, fingers hands, black denim padded room, maximization, taken away inside, shelter in place, hide, specter, seeking, void never filled, rough edged despondency and desperation, entropy drips from tusks, spew etch drip, pyroclastic flow, entangled intermittent, think not feel never, chunks of skin, chunks of bath, regurgitation, self-immolation, ringing, paper poison crimes, crumple teeth, winged spire obsidian, all others itself, paradox of truth, serpentine nest, opposites adjoined south south, avoidance, deny nothing everything, inconsequential belief, feedback, non-sequential time stretched death eternity, framework never construct, reference lost, cycles, irregularity within ceaseless pause, unthinkable, sirens hyperprismic construction, interlace, color offset distance, separation impossibility, charred skeleton of futures, crushed lens hope, whirlpool, car with beating human heart, dialectic, lends heavy near, cracking, hallucination, sleeps gravel bed, half and half broken, fronds pulsating, to dirt to dirt, originating flame, body cease, meat turmoil, churning, antimatter, resuscitation, extraction, open flow, unrelentless, blood red sky, eating tuesday, immune, hair cut new, floods the back seas, snail plates, particulate inhalation, it swallows, loop, warning, dependent, thesis, formulation, grasping, apparatus and method,

demodulated waveform, black hole radiation, falsify, bark trail, circuit bending, new growth, scrap capture parentheses, sniffle scrub, other worlds awake, other aways, take utterly deranged, breathe apart, connections all, baryogenesis unconfounded, sparking, patchable, rare capture of happiness, imprisoned spark of divine, bleeding shard of infinity, cool handsome, cumulatory, heart spinning of reality, societal death industry, boyflesh, cemetery, up shields, something bubbling boil, burst forth animated corpse, purple bell possibility, harsh, make content, produce, corrupted relic, demise of condition, risk absence, prophecy death, endless plagues of wars, asteroid, sleep shift passage dreaming, sweet sanctity, entrails, in past life former death, gore of nothing, quasi-unrealistic ineptitude, speak freedom bones, formality, overdose, saturation, informator, attempt, stipple, speculative hypocrisy, brain leak unchanged unchecked, spirit denial, negative matters, triangulation, time falls, nothing changes, cone of eras, hands within itself, bolted marionette, four folding billowed gown, desperate unconsciousness, precision, genre, dead clock sputtering, glow sepia spiraling trails, bleed of none, truth beyond real, copper smell, ten rots squeal, splintering illusion, bewildering feverish salt fountain of youth, unbearably abstraction, cease mortal form for noise, caught ribcage, to consume stars, prismatic quivering needle folds, jelly puncture siphonophore scream, enceladus indents sharpened cherry ruptures, seen in scars, non-octave repulsion of spines, hairless table hurried shark, symphonic siren metamorphosis in eyes of pale, transducer, reduction, something follows, influx chittering chasm crawlers, abyssal gigantism among stars, shudder inbound virtue resurrection, environmental poisoning, virus, mind control conformity, medicated incidental ideation, trapped white sheet addiction prison, rainfall fall three stories, furniture heavied upstream down, uphill, escape, casual death, underseas cold blanket, cracking shadow, mnemonic, sessions, televised assimilation, mandatory continuous submission, quantified reduction, empty, pure ghost blood-white meat, tough swallow, up hot ache, slow withering, cambrian explosion, deep failure rusted organ, pounded hollow chest, circular, wavering, time loop, sterilize, anesthesia, inverting parallel, unbelonging, interpolation, all time awaits, secret sounds beyond, removal self, waiting, improvement lost, pills pulling, sarcophagus sentry, beyond light refraction, relativity, awhile, ethanol, estradiol, exacto, hopeless need, purple midnight sunshine, snow bagel stillness, burdensome unknown secret loathing regret, downdraft sleepless semblance, pathetic attempt, shudder, exhaustion, overdose, infinity, bone nails, chemically dampen overwhelming awareness, six hundred individually sorted pocket orbs, skinless armory, hour chimes sanctimonious, conceptual advancement, offset, rusty, uncaring void, tingling nerves disentangle, dyson sphere, cure of functioning, inherent breakage disavowed, toxic consumption brain nullification, in chrysalis reborn as light, seven million worms, mismanaged institutions corrupt of power reduce, computational consciousness, fiction community semblance, rupture, interaction, unbeknownst insomnia, hovering reflection and absorption, inside all something sinister, tapering, terror, nothing, the everything, infinitely far and near, complex oscillation in opposite adjoinments, unceasing, never one in life, resolution eternity in death, all belongs to the everything, all mutual annihilation its opposite,

[elefant-records]

ALPACA SPORTS might be the group that currently best represents the crystalline pop sound of C-86 or of the first songs by AZTEC CAMERA, EVERYTHING BUT THE GIRL, MOOD SIX, Bill Pritchard, ORANGE JUICE, THE SMITHS… Their albums are played all around the world, and the adventurous, global spirit of Andreas Jonsson, Amanda Åkerman and Lisle Mitnik (TINY FIREFLIES, FIREFLIES, VERY TRULY YOURS...) is reflected in these songs born between the sun and the snow. That’s why the arrival of new songs is such big news, and that once again Elefant Records is the label they have chosen to release them on.

They begin with “Tomorrow I’ll Be Fine”, the first advance single of their upcoming new album, and it makes all the good things about the band clear: their sensitivity, crystalline sound, exquisite vocals, jangling guitars, unforgettable choruses, and a mix of drum machines and live drums by Hampus Öhman-Frölund (which, by the way, were recorded in New York by Gary Olson of THE LADYBUG TRANSISTOR again). The production work was once again handled by Ian Catt (ANOTHER SUNNY DAY, THE FIELD MICE, SAINT ETIENNE, TREMBLING BLUE STARS, SHAMPOO...) and the cover art is another gem brought to us directly from Japan by Ray Kimura. Carl Jirestedt is responsible for the music video, which reflects the distance ALPACA SPORTS usually works with: Andreas is in Fuerteventura and Amanda is in Japan, and they send messages in bottles that never reach their destination. The cherry on top is our beloved Cristina Quesada, who sings backing vocals in the chorus.