Single Gun Theory - Surrender EP

One of the many "one-shot" purchases I've made over the years, when I would purchase a band's entire album or EP just for the one song that I liked or thought was cool (I'm very glad those days are gone - thank God for iTunes).

I bought this disc in Washington, DC (good ol' GWU Tower Records) in the winter of 1992, solely on the strength of "From A Million Miles", a song that was then getting serious play on DC's alternative station WHFS. I had scant interest in "Surrender", the song for which the disc is titled - to my ears, that tune was nothing more than the standard shimmering ethereal gossamer electro-pop being put out ad nauseum back in the early '90s. But I thought "From A Million Miles" was amazing then . . . and still think so today.

Australia's Single Gun Theory recorded for nearly fifteen years, releasing four albums (including a movie score soundtrack) and more than half a dozen singles and EPs during their existence. But since their demise in 2000, any mention of or information about the band is exceedingly difficult to come by. All of their music has long been out of print, and their old recording label carries no reference to them on their website. It's a shame, really - perhaps what Single Gun Theory put out wasn't exactly timeless and universal, but the band made an effort to produce some appealing music to leave to the world, and at the very least that should be acknowledged. A lot of their sounds, as I said above, might have been boring and synthpoppy to me and a lot of others. But to paraphrase Anton Ego: "The average piece of junk is probably more meaningful than our criticism designating it so."

Therefore I leave to you all what is, in my mind, one of the band's finest moments - Single Gun Theory's Surrender EP, released by Canada's Nettwerk Records on January 28th, 1992, featuring one of my favorite songs from back then, "From A Million Miles":

I've been dragging my ass on postings over the past couple of weeks, if you haven't noticed. I will probably be backdating a couple for this month in the coming days. Until then, I hope this one tides you all over for a bit. Enjoy, and as always, let me know what you think.

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Severed Heads - Rotund For Success

Severed Heads was an Australian band formed in Sydney in 1979, and as such, they were one of the longest-lasting Aussie post-punk bands, not really calling it a day until 2004. Despite their longevity, this band has always been sort of roundly hated in certain music quarters. Why? Well, I believe mostly because for most of their existence, Severed Heads was categorized as an industrial band, although their music started off more appropriately thought of as "experimental", utilizing found sounds and tape loops. Later in their career, they drifted into more commercial and dance music territory. But the "industrial" tag never really went away, and I suppose that with that, a lot of people categorized them as frauds and sellouts.

This is my favorite Severed Heads album, Rotund For Success, released on Nettwerk Records in 1989. I recall seeing a video for the song "Big Car" (off of the album) on MTV in the States (back when MTV not only showed videos, but occasionally put a semi-cool/off-kilter one on once in a while) and liking what I heard:

Have a listen, and see what you think. Just keep an open mind, and try not to think of them as "industrial".

The DCMA jerks pinged me on this one, so I've modified the message here - they can suck my balls; no 'infringment' here! Please use the email link below to contact me, and I will reply as soon as possible:

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