Matt Brignall
@mattbrignall.bsky.social
420 followers 250 following 1.6K posts
Record collector, jazz student, primary care provider. Think I am funnier than I am.
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mattbrignall.bsky.social
Scene: summer 2027, me standing on a hill overlooking another US city burning to the ground. Speaking to no one in particular as the gun battle inches closer.
"You know, the world was a much better place when we had a mainstream media that most people accepted as truth."
mattbrignall.bsky.social
Dang flu shot kicking in. Might pick up here tomorrow.
mattbrignall.bsky.social
This one is flawed, but cool. Kinda like Les Razziles Denudes, but females fronted and more chill. The heaviest vinyl pressing ive ever owned. Not an everyday go-to, but worthy.
Verdict: make it
Shizuka, Heavenly Persona. Heavy vinyl reiss
mattbrignall.bsky.social
I was gonna dump for space, but I keep seeing it name checked around. Aquarium Drunkard featured it this week. New age mostly acoustic guitar LP. Its fine if you like that sort of thing.
Verdict: make it
Bill Connors, Swimming With a Hole In My Body. 1980 ECM promo cheapie
mattbrignall.bsky.social
Super dorky thrash metal. I've got maybe 10 80s metal LPs. This sounds like the others, maybe a little more basement.
Verdict: make it.
Exodus, Pleasures of the Flesh. Picture disc, 1987
mattbrignall.bsky.social
This is a strange one. Sounds like Diz fronting Gil Scott-heron's band of the time. Uncredited guitar player takes up a lot of solo space. I'd probably keep an original, but....
Verdict: break it, by a whisker
Portrait of Jenny, Dizzy Gillespe. 1971, Perception (reissue)
mattbrignall.bsky.social
Has a small skip, which usually is a ticket to the bins or beyond. But dang this rules. I'll keep it for the 19 1/2 mins that play well.
Verdict: make it by a mile
Humble Pie, As Safe As Yesterday Is. 1969 Immediate.
mattbrignall.bsky.social
There was a style just before grunge that never got a real name, but you can find all sorts of examples on Touch and Go and AmRep. Sludgy, twitchy, and lacking in technical skill. I dont need to keep this, it doesnt give me any excitement.
Verdict: break it. Gotta find a keeper soon.
Feedtime, Mini-S. Rough Trade.
mattbrignall.bsky.social
One of my unifying theories of record collecting is that new bands who are too rooted in the past age poorly. This is fine, except that it lacks memorable songs.
Verdict: break it.
Brand New Heavies, 1991. Delicious vinyl
mattbrignall.bsky.social
This one is as much Carla Bley as Mantler. The idea of Kevin Coyne on a Bley record got my attention. Some sort of stage play concept, I can't be arsed.
Verdict: break it
Silence, Michael Mantler. Watt c 1977
mattbrignall.bsky.social
Brisk night, first fire of season. Time for another round of make it or break it, a game where an aging pillock decides which records stay on his shelf vs go back to the used record pile. Please stop me from bad mistakes
Fire in fireplace, where it belongs.
mattbrignall.bsky.social
Both me and Donald got our COVID and flu boosters today. The difference between us is that I'm not working daily to undermine the program..
My ECG shows that I am a superhuman with a you know what the size of a empty fifth of Kessler.
ronfilipkowski.bsky.social
Trump got a Covid vaccine today.
mattbrignall.bsky.social
But the prompt is what you regretted at the time. I was 18 when I bought DN, 19 for Goo. My T levels were likely not the reason they seemed different to me.
mattbrignall.bsky.social
The moves that took bands from 1000 seat theaters to Lollapalooza (or from SST to Geffen) weren't uniformly awful or great, but they were big moves.
mattbrignall.bsky.social
Or maybe Kool Thing was a tossed off turd on an album with a lot of them.
The Fall's 90s and Sonic Youth's were different. Its fine if you disagree with my take, but making assumptions about my hormones is kinda weird.
mattbrignall.bsky.social
Now do boner pills
davidho.bsky.social
Oh, so now these sociopaths trust science and our ability to measure trace amounts of chemicals.
Under Trump, E.P.A. Explored if Abortion Pills Could Be Detected in Wastewater
www.nytimes.com
mattbrignall.bsky.social
Oh sure, too many to remember all, but if you look at my follows, you'll find em.
@queencityjamz.bsky.social is the boss hoss though. From there, you'll find the rest of em.
mattbrignall.bsky.social
BTW, ain't exactly the selling out as much as not being surprising. That Swans Burning World LP from the same time cleaned up the band, but was a banger.
mattbrignall.bsky.social
They do seem like the hipsters from the college radio station who were into your favorite band from the first demo tape etc etc.
mattbrignall.bsky.social
Related: I was personally offended at the time by Don't Tell a Soul, and record which has aged gracefully to my ears.
mattbrignall.bsky.social
I may be an outlier here, but the shift from Daydream to Goo kinda summed up my disappointment with dozens of my faves as 80s->90s.
mattbrignall.bsky.social
Goo by Sonic Youth. That was the minute the underground started to curdle.
mattbrignall.bsky.social
Post you from a different era (1985).
Note, im rocking a similar cut for 2025.