(CD spine 1, spine 2, "bone" sticker, hype sticker, back in plastic with barcode sticker, front, back, CD itself, 5 pics of the play-side info, outside cover foldout, inside cover foldout)
Song Islands CD
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-Recorded at various dates and places and featuring many different players. The complete info of persons involved and dates/info of recording is viewable on the pictures I've included if the liner notes. I am usually not lazy in this way but it feels redundant to type it all out here when it's right there, written by the man himself.*
*This is a collection of rare and out-of-print 7"s and compilation tracks
-Released August 20th, 2002 on K Records (http://www.kpunk.com/) (KLP125) and 7ep (7ep.net) (ep002) in Japan
-CD version is the only one available to date.*
*It always bummed me out, especially at the time, having not heard many of these tracks, that this was not released on vinyl, though I guess there is something of an idiosyncratic hang-up there, re-releasing out-of-print vinyl tracks on vinyl... Phil's take on this can be read in the PW site listing for this cd:
There was also a Japanese import version of this CD (not pictured above, BUT, pics coming soon) on the 7EP label (http://www.7ep.net/onlinestore/home.html) who, alas only ship within Japan (I found out after a long and arduous process of translating the text on the site, piece by piece). After a long night of scouring the internet I finally came up with a source, I think, fingers crossed, for this version, as well as the many other Japanese and other country imports (http://www.hmv.co.jp/en/music/). This version was actually called "Island Songs", which I find to be very charming. It somehow changes the entire tone of the CD or me. This version did not have "Lanterns" or "Antlers" on it and, in their place, featured the song "Buzz, Buzz" which was one of the two Microphones songs (the other was a version of "Pre Amp") inexplicably included (along with two Karl Blau songs as well) as extra tracks on the D+ "Dandelion Seeds" CD (on K Records, KLP084). (D+ is the band that Phil is in along with Karl Blau and Bret Lunsford.) The "Dandelion Seeds" LP (which, unlike the CD, is on Knw-Yr-Own Records, KYO032) featured only the original eight tracks.
UPDATE, HMV turned out to be a reliable source for Phil's overseas releases and thus I am proud to present pics and info for "Island Songs":
(Spine 1, spine 2, spine with obi strip, front and back in plastic with obi strip and barcode, obi strip alone, plastic and barcode alone)
Love, love, love obi strips. For those unfamiliar with the term, these are the paper wraparound ends that are on all Japanese media, DVDs, CDs, Books, etc... It's really just an extra bit of paper on the spine that gives all the relevant information about the product. As far as collectability they tend to be the types of things that up the value to collectors and dorks, such as myself. I consider them to be in the same vein as a record insert. It's part of what makes a particular release complete. A friend of mine from years ago, who bought many, many Japanese CDs, used to make a habit of "laminating" them in packing tape and then attaching them to the end of the CD. I myself became a fan of this, though I am refraining from it for the sake of trying to preserve these CDs in as close to as-they-came states as I can. If anyone out there was not already picking up what a loser I am about this blog I am certain it's coming through loud and clear now. Go me.
(Disc itself and play-side info)
Insert fold out, has a number of slight differences than the US version, they are as follows:
-Liner notes are oriented upside-down compared to the US cd. Which is to say that, for example, the panel with the front cover of the cd on the US version is on the flip side of the top of the liner notes, where they begin. On the Japanese version the front cover panel is on the opposite of the end of the liner notes.
-The liners notes have all obviously been re-written by Phil, some of the spacing and sizing of the words is slightly different.
-On the listing for "Where It's Hotter parts 1, 2, 3"... On the US version he uses the word "parts" on the Japanese he uses the abbreviation "pts." Alson on the US it lists it as "1, 2, & 3" the Japanese version has no "&".
-Release info for the "Bass Drum Dream" 7": On the US cd it simply lists the address of UP Records as Seatle, Wash., on the Japanese he goes on to list the PO BOX info (21382, Seattle, Wash. 98111). Also the year of release is listed next to the address on the US, on the Japanese is is on the same line as the artwork credit.
-Release info for the "Feedback (Life, Love, Loop)" 7": On the US version The Bedtime Record is in quotation marks, not so on the Japanese. The US version lists "art by Pogue and Elvrum", the Japanese reads "artwork by P. Elvrum".
-Release info for the "Moon, Moon" 7": The Japanese version includes an address for K Records (Box 7154, Olympia, Wash. 98507) as well as an artwork credit for P. Elvrum. These are not on the US version.
-Release info for the "I Can't Believe You Actually Died" 7": The US version has quotation marks around the record label, Coming In Second. Not so on the Japanese version. The Japanese CD includes an artwork credit to P. Elvrum which is absent on the US cd.
-Release info for "The Moon" 7": The US version says it was "released by", the Japanese says "released on". The US version lists an "art" credit. The Japanese lists an "artwork" credit instead.
-"Deeply Buried": This track has a different drawing on each version. The US version reads "was on a compilation in Italy supposedly". The Japanese reads "appeared on a compilation in Italy maybe. The US version says "recorded in early 1999". The Japanese only says "recorded early 1999".
-Wake Me Up": The US version says it "was on". The Japanese version says it "appeared on". The US version says it was "recorded in April 1999". The Japanese just says "recorded April 1999".
-"I Listen Close": US version says "was on". The Japanese version says "appeared on". The US version says "recorded to Mirah for her birthday, Sept. 1999". The Japanese says "recorded for happy-birthday-Mirah Sept. 1999".
-"The Glow pt. 4 (version)": The US version says "was on". The Japanese says "appeared on". The US version lists the label as " 'LOVE TAPE LOVE' or 'WAXWING' or something". The Japanese only lists LOVE TAPE LOVE.
-"You're Standing On The Ground": The US version says "was on". The Japanese says "appeared on". The US version says "Red Square is the label" and gives no contact info. The Japanese simply says "RED SQUARE" and then lists contact info (jenturrell@hotmail.com).
-"Phil Elvrum's Will": The US version says "was on". The Japanese version says "appeared on". The US version says only "recorded June 2001". The Japanese says "recorded in June 2001".
-"There's No Invincible...": The US version says "was on a compilation in Scotland maybe". The Japanese version says "appeared on a compilation in Scotland"
-The credits for who appears on the CD differ quite a bit. The Japanese cd lists, in addition to those on the US cd: Chris Takino, Jake Cunningham, Jeremy Jensen, Aaron Cohen, Bernardo Saurtarelli, Pat Maley, Chris Adolf, Hugh Holden, Carrie Brown, Jen Turrell, Jef Logsdon, Alex Botten. On the US version Khaela's name appears as "Mikhaela". All those not listed on the US version appear after the last name on that CD on the Japanese version. Some of those people included on the Japanese version are no doubt due to the inclusion of the slightly different track list on the Japanese CD, the D+ song. Outside of that I have no idea about their omission.
-The artwork credit on the Japanese version simply says "PAINTINGS BY KYLE FIELD, 2001 used by permission". On the US cd it reads "COVER PAINTINGS: 'untitled' 2001, ink on record jackets by Kyle Field, from the collection of the artist."
(Please refer to the included pictures if you'd like to see visual coverage of all of the above discrepancies.)
-And, as usual, all Japanese CDs tend to come printed on much, much nicer paper, almost like card stock, thicker, heavier, more tactile, very nice.)
(All Japanese CDs come with these. An additional insert which folds out, giving the track info, lyrics in Japanese and English [just in case any of you wanted to know what "I Can't Believe You Actually Died" looks like in Japanese] and sometimes a brief statement from the artist.)
-Footnote to the saga of me trying to find a place to buy Phil's Japanese releases on 7ep: In an act of supreme frustration after spending quite awhile trying to find a source for these, finding them, and then realizing they only ship in Japan, not overseas, I decided to go right to the source, against my better judgment. I email Phil himself and explained the situation and apologized profusely for being so presumptuous as to email him with my trifling problem. Did not expect to hear back. It was the highlight of my month when I checked my mail one day and saw a reply. He kindly said he would email the folks at 7ep and ask them to tell me how to get ahold of their releases. Luckily for me I figured out the HMV thing shortly thereafter as I never heard from the 7ep folks. Oh well, it was worth it to go into my inbox from time to time and see this...
-IFPI number: 6000 (US), IC86 stamped into the plastic inner groove and L603 in the silver (both Japan)
-Barcode info: 78956112524 (US), 5000006030198 (Japan)
-Cover Paintings: "untitled" 2001, ink on paper by Kyle Field (Little Wings) from the colleciton of the artist.*
*The cover is a collection of typical drawings/paintings, very similar to the unique, hand-painted covers to some of his limited releases, the "Blood" LP, "Little Bird Flies Into a Big Black Cloud" LP etc... The liner notes are Phil's hand-drawn approximations of the originals and attendant liner note info. The CD itself is, as usual, a black and white drawing by Phil.
-Also of note, when this was first released it came with a "hype sticker" on the outer cellophane which simply said "Song Islands" By The Microphones.
-Decent review here from our friends at Pitchfork: http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/5266-song-islands/
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And, at long last, rounding out the "Song Islands" section of this blog is "Song Islands" itself. Released on CD by K Records in 2002. This was to be the catchall collection for all the odds and ends of Phil's output throughout the late 90's and early 2000's, the very early ages of The Microphones.
In its way, this has long been my favorite Microphones "album" though it can really not be considered in that light, since it's just a collection of singles and whatnot. But, outside of that fact, it is a very compelling collection of material. It spans the earliest feelings of the Microphones, samples, people talking about the actual equipment they are recording on, passages of sound as song, noise, massive percussion for its own sake, heartfelt sentiments sometimes laid sparse, sometimes lost under thunder and fluorescent lights, all the way up to the Appalachian folky sing-alongs, the sad resignation, the hip-hop elements, the dub elements, the sea shantys and everything thing in-between.
The cover is really, perfectly executed, featuring some drawings by Phil, made to look just exactly like the hand-painted, ultra-limited records just narrowly preceding this ("Blood", "Little Bird Flies Into A Big Black Cloud"), and liner notes, hand-written, accompanied bydrawn approximations of the original source material.
I remember this one coming out in one of Phil's patented gluts of record releases. It was like, this one, the "Mount Eerie" LP, "The Drums From Mt. Eerie", "The Singing From Mt. Eerie" and I think a couple other more minor releases. I was just trying to keep up.
So, this post pretty much draws to a close this opening movement of the blog, the "Song Islands" movement. I picked this slew of stuff first since so many of the earliest mixes came from these singles/this CD (six of the original "Holy 8" come from this CD and its antecedents). I have gone to great lengths to put together a physical collection/representation of all the songs on this CD. Alas, there are a few outstanding that I fear I will never see the source material of. Two of which come from insanely obscure little compilations and, even more frustratingly, two that Phil himself doesn't even know if they ever came out or what releases they are on. Wonderful. I guess we should be thankful to have them at all. And, really, what would an endeavor like this be without a few holy grails.
(--029, --125, --123, --056, --016, --049, --006, --005, Figure 8 PLUS, --032, --004, --126, --001, --002, --033, --040, --260, --022, --014, --268, --269, --272)
Tracklist
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Bass Drum Dream
The Storm
Where It's Hotter, Parts 1, 2, and 3
Feedback
Weird Storm
Heavy Eyes
Moon Moon
I Can't Believe You Actually Died
I'm a Pearl Diver
The Moon
(version)
Lanterns
Antlers
Deeply Buried
Wake Me Up
I Listen Close
The Glow, Part 4
You're on the Ground
Phil Elvrum's Will
There's No Invisible Disguise That Lasts All Day
(something)*
*Extra track, uncredited in the liner notes, which appears labeled this way when the CD is placed into the computer
Tracklist (Japanese Version)
---------------------------------
Bass Drum Dream
The Storm
Where It's Hotter, Parts 1, 2, and 3
Feedback
Weird Storm
Heavy Eyes
Moon Moon
I Can't Believe You Actually Died
I'm a Pearl Diver
The Moon
(version)
Buzz, Buzz
Deeply Buried
Wake Me Up
I Listen Close
The Glow, Part 4
You're on the Ground
Phil Elvrum's Will
There's No Invisible Disguise That Lasts All Day
xo
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