NME's 'C86 Compilation'.... C&D, S&D, Say Something Interesting About, etc etc etc...

Yes, in the United States compilations are going to be mostly label-specific in this era. Sub Pop 200 and The Wailing Ultimate capture a good segment of it.

So why not a slight backtrack?

https://www.cherryred.co.uk/product/c85-3cd-clamshell-box-set/

They should give the C86-era stuff a rest and do C81

Not that I'm not grateful, mind, I'll buy this eventually. I think I've gone off box sets for a while because I've found going through Grapefruit's psych/prog-pop boxes exhausting and I just want things to arrive in smaller chunks :(

They definitely have a model they follow it's true.

I put on C96 the other day, some good stuff on there, also some not so good stuff.

Thought the revive would be about this new book by some bloke who's tracked down all the members of the C86 bands and what they're doing now:

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/aug/08/reel-lives-how-i-tracked-down-the-class-of-nmes-c86-album

There appear to be two current C86 threads. Unlikely as that must seem.

Giving C85 a spin, a LOT of this got airplay at my college radio station at the time. As with all of these comps, some I still rate, some I've moved on from, and hopefully some I passed over grab me now. I'll settle for one revelation, really.

I've been listening to C87 (3CD), CD3, a lot. The first 8 tracks on the disc are experimental / noisy garbage that I have to skip. But then there's a quite strong run of tracks including Jesse Garon & the Desperadoes, the always good Siddeleys, and others.

The thought that strikes me and I wish to relay is: we all know of an association between 'C86' and 'twee', implying things like androgyny that have been talked to death already. What I hear in most of these bands, especially the ones with male singers, is something else. Defiance. A shaky swagger. A precarious pomp. There's a note of almost macho, certainly male, confidence, but one that's also undercut by the smallness of the whole enterprise.

> The first 8 tracks on the disc are experimental / noisy garbage

1. DOG FACED HERMANS – Catbrain Walk
2. STUMP – Tupperware Stripper
3. GAYE BYKERS ON ACID – Everything’s Groovy
4. BOG-SHED – Tried And Tested Public Speaker
5. A WITNESS – Red Snake
6. MACKENZIES – New Breed
7. THE SHRUBS – Edith
8. STITCHED-BACK FOOT AIRMAN – Tears In The Gutter

there's a great compilation that focuses on this kind of stuff (and a book) - Death to Trad Rock (although oddly it also includes the wedding present).

i'd also like the ron jonson stuff to be more wildly availably (maybe it is, but last time i looked there was one compilation, lp only, not re-pressed)

It does seem like a neglected area of music but then I suppose it wasn't exactly popular!