Press Play And Record
Cover featuring Patti Smith for the week of 21...

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I just stumbled on a great blog — I guess it’s been around for a while, but only recently updated with a big batch of stuff.  And what a cool batch:  Press Play & Record has posted all (but one — they’re still looking for 1984’s “Neon West” tape) the cassettes that came with NME in the 1980s.  It seems that the tapes (and now CDs) that come with NME (and Q) seem to be way cooler than their American counterparts.  I’m not really necessarily sure why that is, but hey.  Perhaps it’s just that it’s artists I don’t know versus ones I do know (and tend to know suck).  It’s all about the UNKNOWN.  But there are some really great gems here — lots of Billy Bragg, some Elvis Costello (including a demo of “Watching the Detectives“), The Freshies‘ “I’m In Love With The Girl On The Virgin Megastore Checkout Desk” and “Shellfish Bamboo” by Frank Chickens.  Not to mention quite a bit of cuts from Cabaret Voltaire, the Fall and Television Personalities.  And a whole mess of stuff I don’t even know.  (Also some stuff I’m kinda “ugh” on, like some U2 and stuff like that… but, then, I threw my lot in with Negativland long ago.)  So, yes.  Check it out.  It’s around 48 cassettes’ worth of music… all properly tagged no less… and most of those tapes are C-90s.  So… yeah.  ENJOY.

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