It's been a couple of weeks since I returned from my European vacation, we spent a week in Prague in the Czech Republic and almost a week in Barcelona, Spain. The main idea of the trip was originally revolved around the NHL Global series game between the Blackhawks and Flyers in Prague on October 4th. We extended our vacation to Barcelona for another week of sightseeing and more tropical-type weather before I returned to my snow covered city in Canada where the two previous days before our return was declared a state of emergency because of heavy snowfall, fallen trees and citywide power outrages. Needless to say, I wasn't thrilled to return.
Prague was beautiful and quite historically fascinating, while Barcelona was crowded, dirtier, exciting and just as fascinating. We did the usual rounds of tourist attractions, but I was anxious to visit some record stores. It was easy to navigate, as many of the stores fortunately seemed to be clustered in a small area downtown, off the La Rambla branched off onto small backlane-like streets. Before leaving on my trip I read an article at the Vinyl Factory.com,
The definitive guide to Barcelona's best record stores, which gave me a preview of some stores I should check out. I managed to visit Daily Records, Wah Wah Records, Discos Revolver and Revolver Records. I should note if you visit stores in Spain to check their hours ahead of time because some stores close during some of the afternoon (e.g. 1:00-4:00 or 1:30-4:30?) and I missed a couple stores because they were closed. At the
Discos Revolver store I bought 3 lp's and a 7" er. Ironically, two of the records (Bum- Shake Town! and Stand GT- They're Magically Delicious) are Canadian bands, but Spanish label vinyl releases. This store is so cool, they wrote a
nice post about me on their
Instagram page.
At Wah Wah records I bought this nifty orange record carrying bag to transport my vinyl on the airplane. I picked up record from the
Dishrags, an almost forgotten punk band from Vancouver (formed in Victoria, BC), circa late 70's. It's a loud, fast and smokin' record that was well worth the huge Euro price. I also bought a reissue of France Gall's,
Baby Pop a fine ye-ye French pop singer from the 60's.
When I was in Prague during the first week of vacation I was shocked by the news that
Kim Shattuck of the Muffs had passed away. She died at her home on October 2, due to complications from ALS. Personally, I've been a fan of the band since their first album,
The Muffs released in 1993 and frequently listen to their live recordings and most of their records. One of my fav albums is
Hamburger, released in 2000, that compiles demos, outtakes, covers, singles and compilation appearances up until that time. Of interest, is their earliest material recorded on 4-track and their first releases. Two weeks following Shattuck's death, the Muffs released their final album,
No Holiday that compiled songs written from 1991 to 2017. I've always felt Shattuck's writing was underrated and that the Muffs deserved more commercial success, but then again I may have not liked them as much if they made it huge. I was always attracted to Shattuck's oversized, sometimes snarky attitude, but sweet personality. I found her funny, hilarious even at times and I always admired and respected the talent she had and she could rock with the best of them.
I have several live Muffs shows I could share, but one of my favourites is still a show
I shared in 2011 from a CBC-FM radio broadcast from 1995 in Toronto. This is sort of a re-seed, but back then I posted the lossy mp3 version on the blog, but this time I'm posted the lossless FLAC version in case it matters to anyone. If you haven't heard this concert yet with fresh ears, it's a good one! Excellent sound quality and as usual an amazing Muffs concert. A fitting tribute to Kim Shattuck and the mighty mighty Muffs!
Enjoy!
Please do NOT sell!
#13yearsoftrouble
THE MUFFS
Lee's Palace
Toronto, Ont.
Aug. 30, 1995
FM Broadcast
01. intro
02. Agony
03. Lucky Guy
04. Saying Goodbye
05. Ethyl My Love
06. Sad Tomorrow
07. Laying On A Bed Of Roses
08. What You've Done
09. Beat Your Heart Out
10. Red Eyed Troll
11. End It All
12. I Don't Like You
13. Right In The Eye
14. Big Mouth
15. I Need You
16. Oh Nina
17. encore break
18. Just A Game
19. From Your Girl
20. New Love
21. outro
THE MUFFS- Lee's Palace, Toronto, ON Aug. 20, 1995 FLAC. rar
Original post link for lossy mp3 version:
THE MUFFS- Lee's Palace, Toronto, ON Aug. 20, 1995 mp3. rar
