Record Shopping at Amoeba in Hollywood, Part Three.

The 7" section at Amoeba is insane. Meticulously organized, reasonably priced and, as far as 7" sections go, huge.

I spent a lot of my time is this little nook of the store. As you can see in the picture, there's bins on top, but there's also boxes underneath. Opposite this spot, there's table space where you can set your selected box and comfortably flip to your heart's content. If you're lucky, you might not have to do it next to a stinky dude with face and hand tattoos. If you're lucky.

Here's the first part of my 7" haul, in no particular order. NSFW Dwarves cover below, if that matters to you.


Dwarves - "Anybody Out There" (1993)

Certainly one of the more tame covers for any Dwarves release. This is a Sugarfix-era single, and one of their last releases on Sub Pop before the label booted them for faking their guitarist's death. The title track was one of their longest songs up to this point, clocking in at a whopping three minutes. The b-side, "Who Cares," more than makes up for it, both by being super-short and by barely being a song. This is slightly rare and I was happy to find it.


Dwarves - "Drug Store" (1990)

Now there's the cover art you'd expect to see from this gang of hooligans. Not sure if this came out before their Sub Pop debut or not, but it features four tracks lifted directly from Blood, Guts, & Pussy: "Drug Store," "Detention Girl," "Astro Boy," and "Motherfucker." The whole thing probably clocks in at about five minutes. But the classiness that is displayed here - well, that can never be measured.



Hazel - "Jilted" (1993)

My wife saw me admiring this after I had unpacked my records and she said, "Don't you already have that?" And I said, "Well, yes and no. Technically, yes. But I don't have the ultra-rare black vinyl version. Mine is the more common grey marbled copy." She was not impressed. But what I said is strangely true. You don't often see this record on the usually-standard black wax. Me and the other four Hazel collectors out there know this.



Crackerbash - "Nov. 1" (1992)

I was hoping I'd find this while I was down there. Not that it's some crazy rare single, but I haven't come across a copy up in these parts, and this was one of the few Crackerbash singles that I hadn't tracked down yet. I think there's still one or two more out there that I don't have, but I'm getting closer. This one's from the Sub Pop Singles Club (August of '92), and it's pressed on sweet purple marbled vinyl. Cost: one dollar.



Teen Angels - "Teen Dream" (1995)

I originally bought the Teen Angels LP, Daddy, because Eddie Spaghetti from the Supersuckers does vocals on it and has a co-writing credit or something. I still know nothing about these ladies, except that I think one of the girls from Dickless is in the group. Also, I am actually starting to like their music. It's pretty rough, and I can get with that. This single contains an alternate (different than the LP) version of the title track, as well as the non-album cut, "Julie's Jazz Odyssey," which ends with a phone message from Jonathan Poneman. Good stuff.


Love Battery - "Foot" (1991)

More 90's Sub Pop - are you seeing a trend here? It shouldn't be a surprise. This is a very un-rare single by a band that I really wish I would have gotten into 20 years ago. But, it's never too late, right? Sure. The title track would end up on their Dayglo LP, but I'm fairly certain the flipside, "Mr. Soul" (a Buffalo Springfield cover) was exclusive to this release. Sub Pop Singles Club November of '91. Green marbled vinyl. Cover art by Ed Fotheringham. Those are all awesome things.


Velocity Girl - "Crazy Town" (1992)

Is this my first Velocity Girl 7"? I think it is. That's sad. But this is a great one to start with. The title track would go on to be one of the standout cuts on their Sub Pop debut, Copacetic, and I believe the b-side, "Creepy," is exclusive to this single. But I don't know that for sure. My copy is on blue vinyl, which, according to the greatest Sub Pop collectors site ever, is one of the rarer colors to score of this thing. And I didn't have to pay anywhere near the price that he's got listed there.


Skin Yard - "Start At the Top" (1989)

Now this is Seattle rock. Jack Endino's former band never really hit it big, but I always thought they had a sweet name and I've passed this single by a few times. No more. I finally decided to snatch it up because the price couldn't be beat, and these old Sub Pop singles with the classic covers are just too good. This one's on white vinyl and is extremely grungy. And if it wasn't I'd be pissed.



Gas Huffer - "Hot Cakes" (1992)

The lone Gas Huffer release on Sub Pop, if you can believe that. My Gas Huffer collection is sad, and though I don't plan on getting nuts about remedying that, I thought this cool-ass single would at least give me a little more cred in the Huffer dept. The title track is about pancakes, and the b-side is called "Beer Drinkin' Cavemen from Mars." Of course it is. Clear green vinyl with a foldout insert on the inside that has a picture of the guys eating huge stacks of hotcakes. Nice.

That's enough for now. More soon.