Seven Ten Twelve

Transmission 7″
a: Transmission
b: Novelty

Factory Records Sampler 2×7″
a1: Digital - Joy Division
a2: Glass - Joy Division
b1: No Communication - The Durutti Column
b2: Thin Ice (Detail) - The Durutti Column
c1: Acne - John Dowie
c2: Idiot - John Dowie
c3: Hitler’s Liver - John Dowie
d1: Bader Meinhof - Cabaret Voltaire
d2: Sex In Secret - Cabaret Voltaire

I got this email the other day from the eBay seller that I bought my Sordide Sentimental 7″ reissue telling me that they had these in stock (both singles combined for $25+shipping). I am a little skeptical that they are bootlegs (for no other reason than the fact that I can’t find any other mention of them anywhere), though I will admit that these do look very nice. The Transmission 7″ comes in red vinyl, and the Factory 2×7 sampler being done up on “silver rice paper” and it comes with the same stickers that the original issue had. The eBay seller is apparently importing these from the UK, which should explain the price.

Of all the Joy Division standards, “Transmission” was one that I only came to appreciate later on in my twenties. When I used to rock Joy Division in my walkman as a lad, I always thought that compared to their other songs, “Transmission” was lyrically uncompelling (”DANCE DANCE DANCE TO THE RADIO!”). I finally “got it” when I was in California taking a tour of a relative’s bronze-sculpture foundry. I heard it come over the radio, set against these two dudes wearing hazmat suits (or something) standing over this molten-fire-pit-thingy, with “Transmission” blasting over them.

For Christmas this year, my lovely girlfriend got me that artsy/pricey Joy Division vinyl box set that Rhino put out last year. Comes in this beautiful cloth-covered box designed by Peter Saville (the original Factory records artist - she got me the Saville art book for my birthday last year as well). This thing is really expensive ($200?), I would hold off on rushing into this unless you can get a good deal on it. Inside the box is a copy of Closer, Unknown Pleasures and Still, but they come in “original art” (designed by Saville), which is essentially a plain white, black and grey cover (for each of the records respectively); none of the albums are labeled or have any writing on them, and there is no other information inside the box aside from a small piece of paper with a list of songs. When I opened it, I thought it was a mistake, and actually emailed Rhino that the “original” art was missing; they told me that it was “original” as in “new” and not original as in “the same”.

a1: Needles Drop
b1: Frustration Rock
c1: Give it Up
d1: Air Conditioner

Label: What’s Your Rupture
Buy: MidHeaven
Listen: Myspace

This Tyvek single is old in 7″ years (it came out last summer), but I was listening to it and remembering how awesome it is. If you don’t have any Tyvek in your record collection, this is a decent place to start. This action packed double 7″ contains  two of my most essential Tyvek songs, “Frustration Rock” (which sounds like The Fall at their messiest) and “Air Conditioner,” though everything is good here.   I  can’t believe that you can still buy this at cost.

Purchase from www.free103point9.org/dispatchseries/

So this is one of those things that I will just order on spec - I read about it on Dusted, about which Doug wrote:

Four sides of radio static with Conet-style vocal recitations peppering the mix. The real TV ghosts; captured sounds of electromagnetic haunt from out of nowhere. One Tom Mulligan is responsible for this offering. It’s something you either know you must own, or will never need to hear. Locked grooves on some, maybe all of the sides. Good right before bed, when you’re so tired you don’t know what’s up. Classy silkscreened sleeve.

I saw “conet-style” and that was it for me. I used to be absolutely obsessed with that Conet box-set, which for the uninitiated is a four cd set of recordings of numbers stations, which are short-wave radio stations that openly broadcast impenetrable codes to secret agents. Most of these were active during the cold war, but to my knowledge some of them are still operating today.

The Conet recordings have a really haunting quality to them, and I can clearly remember the first time I listened five years ago or so and being absolutely terrified. Seriously - nothing is more haunting than a German woman reading in monotone a sequence of numbers in German. If you have heard the weird “YANKE… HOTEL… FOXTROT” at the end of the Wilco album, you will have some idea (Wilco actually sampled from the Conet box without permission and were sued). Looking forward to this one (even if I am not clear on what this even entails).