Crimpshrine: Sleep, What's That?
1988
Lookout Records
Format I Own it on: Vinyl
Track Listing: 1. Bricks 2. In My Mind 3.Sleep, What's That? 4. Tomorrow
Jens and I went to Eastside Records recently after they had advertised on their facebook page that they got some Crimpshrine vinyl in...
We went straight from work to the record store and as we were paying for the albums, Jens asked the owner if they ever got any albums by Fifteen (Jeff Ott's band after Crimpshrine). The owner smiled and pointed at the guy ringing up our purchase and said, "No, but he used to be in Fifteen!" We were pretty floored, apparently the guy had played on two of their albums, and now here he was selling us Crimpshrine albums...No shit...
Crimpshrine and Fifteen were huge bands for me...I can remember one night I was driving around Michigan and a cop pulled me over to inquire about the meaning of the Fifteen sticker on my back window...Wha-?
Anyway, "Sleep, What's That?" is a 4 song EP that was one of the Eastside purchases that day...Classic Lookout Records release...Righteous, ragged punk with socially conscious lyrics, but really no words do it justice...You have to hear Aaron Cometbus' tumbling drums and hear Jeff Ott's heartfelt growl for it to really mean anything...But trust me, these guy's had something special...
I love the cover on this...Printed on yellow paper and it includes a big, fat book (indicating it's the eight pressing) containing lyrics, art, and tips on helping homeless folks...
Boy, I miss shit like this...Substantial inserts...I think I'm going to do this type of thing with our next record...I almost did it on the last one, but didn't go through w/ the idea...Oh yea, I should probably mention the Chef guy on the cover appears to be some variation of the mascot for Biff's Coffee Shop...
I've never been there, or anything...I just know that cos I read it on the cover...God...I just realized how lame and boring these posts are...I usually just talk about other people doing stuff...Why don't I do anything? You know what? I'm gonna change all that! I'm going to do something about my life right now...
"WHEEEE!!! Lookit me! I'm skydiving! Nothing makes me feel more alive than when I'm about to die!!!"
"LOOKIT MEEE!!! I'm on toppa the world!! Can you see me giving the world the middle finger?!?!! They said I couldn't do it and I did it so the haters can SUCK IT!! Y'now, "it?!?!!!" (grabs groin)
The Tao of eating a simple Strawberry...
There, I virtually did something today...Can I talk about records now?
"Sleep, What's That?" is a 7 inch by Crimpshrine...This is where "In My Mind" first appeared, which is a flat-ass classic...If you ever run into someone who's heard it, just sing that strained, raspy "AM I A WHITE MAAAAAAAN?!?!" and they'll have no choice but to shout, "NO!!!!" back at you...It's just punk rock etiquette...What a song! Everything you need to know about Crimpshrine is here...The optimistic, yet realistic lyrics that try to make the world a better place, the tripped-up playing that wins you over with its raw passion...Get into this stuff and all that radio punk starts to sound awfully inconsequential and hollow...
This ep also has the excellent "Tomorrow" where the boys put on their frizzy red wigs and let some of their inner Broadway out, which is a good thing to do from time to time...
All four of the songs on this release also appear on "The Sound of a New World Being Born" compilation, which we'll get to later down this page...
In the meantime, here's "In My Mind" by Crimpshrine...Enjoy...
Crimpshrine: Duct Tape Soup
1992
Lookout Records
Format I Own it on: Vinyl and Compact Disc
Track Listing: 1. Trying Too Hard 2. Summertime 3. Caught Up 4. Left Outside Again 5. Safely Wasting Away 6. Wake Up 7. Pick Up The Pieces 8. RDC 9. Construction 10. Closed Doors, Closed Minds 11. Pretty Mess 12. WNWSFK 13. Can You Feel That? 14. Along The Way 15. Free Will 16. Fucked Up Kid
A 1992 compilation from Lookout Records, compiling a bunch of tracks from various sources...More gritty, grainy, xeroxed East Bay punk...This was another one of the Eastside Records purchases and contains a couple of my favorite tracks by the band...
"Pretty Mess" being their all-time best...A sweet, punk love song where the narrator falls in love with a homeless, drug-dealing girl:
"On the fire escape while the junkies inside
worry about their next fix.
Chewing gum and holding hands,
My friends would never understand
Why I fell for you..."
Is it sung in tune? No. Does the band stay in time? No...It's all over the place, but Christ almighty, that shit doesn't really matter...Does it make you feel happy to be alive? Yes. Does it hit you right in the guts? Yes. Is the guitar playing brilliant? Yes. The verdict is, it rules...
Pow! Case closed.
My other favorite is "Summertime" and if you've heard the album, this choice probably isn't too surprising...It's just a great song...From that intro that always sucks you in, to Jeff Ott's trademark guitar harmonics, and that moment it breaks into that joyous, chorus:
"I'll be back in the summertime
With a handful of flowers and a bottle of cheap wine..."
The rest of the album is high quality, but those are definitely the stand-outs..A lot of the songs on here had the tendency to run together for me, but over time, a few others revealed themselves to be gems ("Free Will," "Safely Wasting Away," "Caught Up")...
Still, I'd check out "The Sound of a New World Being Born" compilation first, and when you've taken that in (and frothing at the mouth for more) then pick up "Duct Tape Soup"...
Here's "Summertime" by Crimpshrine...Enjoy...
Crimpshrine: The Sound of a New World Being Born
1998
Lookout Records
Format I Own it on: Compact Disc
Track Listing: 1. Another Day 2. Rearranged 3. Over The Years 4. Walk Away 5. Bricks 6. Sleep, What's That? 7. MSFMB 8. Second Generation Junkies 9. In My Mind 10. Tomorrow 11. Butterflies 12. Situation 13. Direction Of Things To Come 14. Sanctuary 15. My Friend 16. Tour 17. Easy Answers 18. Inspiration
If you're looking to get into Crimpshrine, this is the place to start...It's another compilation of songs from various sources, and you'd think the second trip to the well would be second rate, but it's the exact opposite...All of their best stuff (minus "Pretty Mess" and "Summertime" ) is here..
I don't even know where to start with highlights...It's really anthem after anthem here..."Another Day" gets your blood pumping immediately, and you think it can't get any better, then "Rearranged" comes on and so forth...Plus, this has "Direction of Things to Come," which is on my short-list of the best punk songs ever written...The vocals are so perfect on the track...The high, strained "Where's" set against the out of tune backing vocals is what makes the song for me...It sounds like they're straining as hard as they can against a world that just doesn't care...If you're a punk aficionado, you need this immediately...Especially if Operation Ivy has ever had a heavy place in your rotation...
The raw recording quality might be a bit too much for some, but those people are wussies anyway and have plenty of fine Good Charlotte albums to choose from...
Like their classic "Greatest Remixes" album, for example...I'm sure this is one is a real treat! It's got a skull on it, though! Watch out!
Readers Comments:
Showing (1 of -5):
Wussy Punkington (5 Minutes ago): "Just because you like Crimpshrine doesn't mean you have to put down Good Charlotte! There's plenty of room in the world for both bands! It just makes you look bitter and close-minded."
As long as what I'm being bitter and close-minded about is Good Charlotte, I think I can live with myself..
Mr. Here and Now: (0 minutes ago): "Why are your panties still in a twist about Good Charlotte? Isn't that an old reference? They don't even exist anymore!"
I believe I've already established elsewhere that this blog is being written in the year 1998 on a magic iMac that's transmitting the information into the distant future world of 2014..."The Sound of a New World Being Born" was just released yesterday and I'm the first guy online to review it...And Good Charlotte is still an up and coming band who hasn't even released their first album yet! So if you think about it, I'm actually quite cutting edge...
Here's check this out!
So, go to your local Tape World, go straight to the "New Releases" section and purchase a copy of "The Sound of a New World Being Born." I can't imagine a decent punk collection without "Walk Away" "Direction of Things to Come" or "Situation" in it...(While you're there you might want to pick up the first two Fifteen albums too)...
Here's "Direction Of Things To Come" by Crimpshrine...Check it out...
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