BOO HOO, NOBODY WANTS US
Bloody Mannequin Orchestra, 1983. Behind guitar: Sharon Cheslow. Under snare: Colin Sears.
When does a record become collectable? In punk/HC, it's a combination of rarity, the right timeframe (1977-1983), reputation...oh yeah, and quality (sometimes). Here's two records I recently sold, that score on all points and yet they fetched no more than $5 each.
I bought The Bloody Mannequin Orchestra Roadmap To Revolution LP sometime in 1986 at a Boudisque sale; this was in my Dischord-phase, when I bought anything remotely connected to that label. I really liked this record (and still do); it's not hardcore but a sort of geeky punk (singer Alex sounds a bit like Doc Dart of the Crucifucks) with a bit of Contortions-style no wave thrown in courtesy the scratchy guitar of Sharon Cheslow (who later helped put together the Banned In DC book) and a skronking yet melodic sax. Their rhythm section of Colin Sears and Roger Marbury would later show up in the first line-up of Dag Nasty, whose debut LP I also bought around that time; I recall playing those 2 records back-to-back, making Dag Nasty's humorlessness stand out even more. (Tho' I gotta give their later singer, Peter something, credit for doing that "We used to be like brothers..." part using a Kermit doll!)
So, if B.M.O. weren't strictly hardcore, how about the brilliant 1983 He-Ho LP by Philly punks Ruin? I scooped this one up at the same time, same cut-out bins, and regarded this a vintage hardcore masterpiece ever since. Ruin were one of the few bands that could play slower and still retain HC power, sorta like SS Decontrol did on Get It Away... Yup, it's (almost) that good! But it seems like nobody from outside Philadelphia has ever heard of them. I think there's something weird going on with this release, because it's a Dutch pressing, and everything from the typesetting to the catalogue numbers points to some sort of "big label" release. Can it be this LP was only pressed in Holland? And if so, by who? Has it got anything to do with the fact there was a Dutch guy called Tristan Reignier in (fellow Philly-ites) McRad, whose great Dominant Force 12" was licensed and pressed in Holland in the same way? Questions, questions...
Bloody Mannequin Orchestra - Cauldron Of Fright
Bloody Mannequin Orchestra - Streets Of Saigon
Bloody Mannequin Orchestra - Ritual
Ruin - Dionysian
Ruin - Proof
Ruin - Altar
posted by Niels at 11:33
11 Comments:
Man, I'm not from Philly and a huge "THANK YOU" for the Ruin mp3's. I sold all my vinyl in the early 90's in Seattle, I haven't heard anything by them since. Gotta run, need to put "Alter" on the Ipod (my fave song by them, the others are great, too....
Skummie, nice to hear from someone who's heard (of) them... Sorry 'bout the scratches though!
I'm one of the peeps that would rather have a song, no matter how scatched up, than not having it at all. I couldn't find the cover art online nomatter how hard I tried, though. Someone needs to re-release that rekkid on CD. skummie
The Ruin links are down. I heard one song by Ruin on a seven-inch comp of Philadelphia bands called "That Was Then, This is Now." I can't remember the title, but the song alternated between crunchy bits (tension) and softer bits (release) and had some spacey, philosophical lyrics. A good song. I always wanted to hear more.
WOW! That BMO stuff is amazing!! Thanks Niels. Totally forgotten to visit you site for awhile. Sorry! A link comin up too.
Your are Excellent. And so is your site! Keep up the good work. Bookmarked.
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Looks nice! Awesome content. Good job guys.
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Goodness, I've been looking for the BMO album for years-thank you so much for the posts.
Thanks for posting BMO mp3s!
damn !
If I still have my Bloody Maniquin Orch LP maybe I can sell it for
a gazillion dollars on thee web
wow niels, it's pretty funny... i was starting a post about "weirder oriented" harDCore bands like nuclear crayons, 9353, united mutation, chumps and yep, bloody mannequin orchestra/chalk circle... when i realized you already had a post about them :D wow, your blog is AMAZING.
anyway, just say i love their lp as well. and it would be great to see a reissue of it!! and hey, did you already notice there are chalk circle demos never released yet? can't wait to listen to them someday!
best regard and nice 2008.
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