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:: I Love You Laurie ::

:: Joyce ::

This will probably be the only time I ever intentionally put up a warped record. I have my reasons, you see. Years ago, when I was first making compilations of odd and forgotten 45's for my small circle of friends who appreciated that sort of thing, "I Love You Laurie" was always one of our favorites. I have no doubt that even without the whimsical wooziness, I would have put this on those comps, but there's something magical about the song in this flawed condition that puts it over the edge. I mean, yeah, it made us laugh a lot, but it also sounds somewhat charming; an already (I'm sure tongue-in-cheek) sappy song, spinning retardedly along.

Hell, I already listen to some bands that purposely affect their instrumentation to get that hazy, woozy sound -- Boards of Canada, Freescha and Black Moth Super Rainbow are some of my favorite things to listen to. I don't expect most of you to understand the attraction, but then again maybe you will. I associate the imperfect sound with my childhood, maybe because the records I played as a kid were slightly warped, maybe because the eye of memory often distorts things as it sees fit. If sepia equals old pictures, maybe the wobble of a warped 45 equals old songs, if for no other reason than to stamp them as memories in our subconscious. Of course, all of this is going to sound like bullshit if you are an audiophile with no room in your life for records that don't play as they were intended.



And what about Ken Kaiser? Well, he's a little warped himself. When I first tried to learn more about him, I found very little. It appeared he had a connection with the NY/NJ punk scene in the late 70's, and it seems plausible that Kleen Kut Records was his baby, since they share the same initials. A little more snooping led to me to the discovery that his real name is Ken Highland, and that you can read a lot about him online. He was in the Gizmos, and scads of other strangely named bands, and it seems like he's still doing this thing to this day. But who cares what else he did? He's carved a niche in my music listening life as the guy who put out this 45, and I don't ever want to hear what a kleen kopy of this would sound like.

Tony <--- if there was a wobbly lookin' font available, I'd have used it here.

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 29, 2006 at 5:52 AM. You can skip to the end and leave a response.