A Head Full of Wishes

My record collection: [359] - Angel Corpus Christi with Dean Wareham - You / I Want Everything

Andy — Mon, 08 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Another beautiful little 7” gem - this one is a lovely red vinyl affair with Dean Wareham guesting with Angel Corpus Christi on her own track “You” and on the flip Angel doing a wonderfully sweet take on Luna’s I Want Everything.

Angel Corpus Christi with Dean Wareham

Having gushed a couple of weeks ago about my absolute favourite 7” single in the series we come across a contender for that crown!

You has guitar by Dean and he’s also credited as having mixed it (something that he leaves entirely to Britta these days). Dean isn’t on the b-side but that doesn’t make it any less perfect. The cover of I Want Everything turned up on Angel’s Bewitched: A Tribute to Luna a couple of years back - and def worth tracking down if you can’t find a copy of this beauty.

The single was released on Manchester indie Emma’s House Recordings which had a short run in the early part of the century. I bought the single direct and bought a couple of other releases at the same time… maybe there was an offer?

Angel Corpus Christi - I Want Everything (play on YouTube)

Here’s a pic of Angel Corpus Christi with Dean Wareham (and Alan Vega) - pinched without asking from Howard Thompson an age ago. By the way Howard’s Insta is an absolute goldmine… as well as Dean and ACC turning up regularly it also regularly pushes my Sugarcubes and Motorhead buttons!

Dean, Angel, Alan (photo: Howard Thomspon)

I think this is Angel’s last appearance in this series unless I can track down a missing single without having to pay twice as much again in postage!

I’d guess that Emma’s House was named after the debut single by The Field Mice, released by Sarah Records in 1988.

I was lucky enough to see Deerful doing a beautiful cover of Emma’s House in the church at Indietracks in 2016. I miss Indietracks!

Deerful - Emma's House (Indietracks, 2016) (play on YouTube)

Catalogue Number: AHFOW 11/044
Artist: Angel Corpus Christi with Dean Wareham
Title: You / I Want Everything
Notes: Limited to 200 numbered copies - mine is #94
Format: 7”
Bought direct from Emma’s House for whatever three singles cost back then.

Previously in my record collection:

My record collection: [358] - Luna - Rendezvous (2016 Pledgemusic LP)

Andy — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Luna’s final album Rendezvous had originally only been released on CD, it got a RSD release in 2012, and then was reissued as part of a Pledgemusic deal along with Romantica in 2016. This is my Pledgemusic copy and has been signed by the band.

Luna - Rendezvous (LP)

The first announcement about the release of Luna’s final album was in January 2004 when Luna’s emailing list kicked briefly into life:

Luna Update -- January 20, 2004 If you are wondering why there are no Luna live shows scheduled at the moment, well that’s because we are busy in the studio recording our next album. Bryce Goggin (Pavement, Lemonheads, Ramones) is producing at his studio in Brooklyn, NY. Tentatively titled Rendezvous, songs include Malibu Love Nest, Eyes Get In Your Smoke, Speedbumps, Rainbow Babe, and Broken Chair... we hope to be finished making the record in February, and it will likely be released by Jetset in the late Spring or early summer.

Luna mailing list - 27th January 2004

“Late spring or early summer” eventually turned into autumn and its release coincided with the announcement that it would be Luna’s last album and that the tour in support of it would be the band’s last.

On October 26, we will release our seventh studio album, Rendezvous, on Jetset Records. This will be Luna’s final record. We will tour the United States and Europe over the next six months, playing our last shows in 2005.

Rendezvous release announcement (Fuzzywuzzy, 23rd September 2004)

In my memory the announcement wasn’t too much of a surprise although reading back over the Mailing List archives it was taken quite hard by the fans… me included.

Can I just say - ten years of my life has gone into the website and this mailing list - TEN YEARS - they don't think of the children when they get involved in a divorce.

Good luck to all of Luna (past and present) and I hope Dean has some rock and roll plans to keep me in a job!

Andy Aldridge - Galaxie 500 Mailing List, 23rd September 2004

Fortunately Dean did have “rock and roll plans” … as did, eventually, Luna.

Catalogue Number: AHFOW 12/056
Artist: Luna
Title: Rendezvous
Notes: Signed 2016 Pledgemusic re-reissue
Format: LP
Bought from Pledgemusic along with Romantica for $60 plus postage.
Buy ‘Rendezvous’ on Bandcamp

Previously in my record collection:

My record collection: [357] - Jule Brown - Soldier in the 9th

Andy — Mon, 01 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

While posting about Jule Brown’s Smoke and Mirrors back in April 2024 I discovered, rather belatedly, that Dean also contributed to the next album by Mark Holland’s Jule Brown project and found a CD copy on Amazon for £5.68.

Jule Brown - Soldier in the 9th

Dean is once again listed as a co-producer along with Rick Miller and, this time, Mark Holland. Dean also plays guitar.

The website I had dissed back in 2005 had been ditched and gets no mention on the sleeve - we just get pointed at MySpace… it was a sad time for music on the web when MySpace became too many bands “official” site.

There was also a link to the Enabler Records website and thankfully the Wayback Machine allows me to find out how Soldier in the 9th was plugged back in 2007:

On his latest release, Soldier in the 9th, this core structure to the "Jule Brown sound" is continued, but the inclusion of keyboards into Soldier in the 9th has expanded his sound greatly and widened its appeal to a larger audience (as witnessed by his increasing draw live and gigs opening for large acts like a recent show at Durham's Carolina Theatre with Robert Randolph and the Family Band). On the new LP, you can hear Hammond B-3, Wurlitzer and Fender Rhodes. Jule displays his impressive keyboard skills (along with his standard harmonica, guitar and vocal treatment) to take the music and sound to a deeper level that conjures up images of reggae greats. '60s stalwarts Procol Harum, Dylan and a host of other influences, while continuing his wry commentary on life in America.

Enabler Records - Jule Brown - Soldier in the 9th (Wayback Machine 2007)

Soldier in the 9th appears to have been the end of Jule Brown but it’s a good finish, an enjoyable muddle of styles.

Jule Brown - Clear Tone Blues (play on YouTube)

Britta also guests on “Clavinova”.

Catalogue Number: AHFOW 10/168
Artist: Jule Brown
Title: Soldier in the 9th
Format:
Bought from an Amazon seller for £5.68 in April 2024.

Previously in my record collection:

[133] Jule Brown - Smoke and Mirrors (CD)

My record collection: [356] Damon & Naomi & Batoh & Kurihara - It's All Over Now Baby Blue / Yoo Doo Right

Andy — Thu, 28 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This beautiful live single features Damon & Naomi with Batoh and Kurihara performing covers of songs by Bob Dylan and Can and was released on Grimsey Records in 1999.

d&n&b&k - it's all over now baby blue/yoo doo right

This is probably my absolute favourite 7” single in this series† everything about it is perfect: the sleeve, designed by Naomi; the label illustrated by Yumiko Yada; the clear vinyl; the choice of covers, and their performance; the way the label credits them as d&n&b&k; even the fact that despite running for over seven minutes the a-side was cut at 45rpm.

Grimsey was the baby of Andrea Troolin, who was also, while working at Rykodisc, the person who piloted the Galaxie 500 box set through to release.

I bought the single direct from Andrea on release for, as far as as I remember, pennies. The single arrived with a postcard promoting Damon & Naomi’s tour of Japan in October 1999.

I don’t think this has had a digital release, it was for some reason missed off the Spirit of Love compilation, although you can find both sides on YouTube A/B.

Catalogue Number: AHFOW 11/028
Artist: Damon & Naomi & Batoh & Kurihara
Title: It’s All Over Now Baby Blue / Yoo Doo Right
Packaging: Wrap around paper sleeve
Format: 7”
Bought direct from Andrea/Grimsey on release

† with one obvious exception of course.

My record collection: [355] Dean & Britta - L'avventura

Andy — Mon, 25 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This is the sixth and last entry for Dean & Britta’s first album L’avventura and is the CD version that was released when the LP version was first issued in 2008.

Dean & Britta - L'avventura (2008 reissue CD)

To be honest I’m not sure when or how this came into my possession. the barcode has had a hole punched through it (before the digipack was glued together) so I suspect that Dean sent it to me at some point, probably around the release… although the LP came with a CD copy of the album so maybe this was that, although that does cast doubts on the second promo I had which I assumed was the one that came with the LP.

Anyway… it’s in a nice digipack case, I’ve always preferred a digipack to a jewel case because they age more authentically, although I prefer a card sleeve even more.

Since I’ve already posted five times about this album I’ll pad this post with a couple of videos that were made for tracks from the LP.

Night Nurse:

Back in 2003 when this video was released I wasn’t sure whether the stuttering video used extensively in the clip was intentional or caused by my dial-up connection and low-powered computer. I’m still inclined to think that in the days when the internet was struggling with media display (this was two years before YouTube when we were dealing with crappy FLash videos) it was ill advised to intentionally include that effect! I’m still not happy with it. I do however love the hair-cutting sequence!

Dean & Britta - Night Nurse (play on YouTube)

Knives from Bavaria:

Dean & Britta recorded this clip for La blogotheque in 2009. I have an issue with this one too - at the beginning of the clip there’s an announcement by a MTA staff member announcing that “no video taking at the station” - now, I don’t know the by-laws that apply to the New York Subway but… if the law is that you’re not allowed to take video on the system then there is rule breaking going on and Dean’s “we really look like terrorists” is irrelevant! Perhaps being closely related to soneone who’s job it is to look after customers on the London Underground I have sympathy with the poor folk trying to do their job!

I did check the MTA website and it seems that videoing is allowed although I suspect the La blogotheque set-up might have pushed the boundaries of what’s permitted (also the by-laws have been re-written in the age of social-media so are probably quite different from the ones that applied in 2009). But… maybe it was just a jobsworth!

Anyway… still a lovely video!

Dean & Britta - Knives from Bavaria (La blogotheque) (play on YouTube)

One other thing about L’avventura - as someone trying to maintain a database of recordings and performances the decision to record a song called Indian Summer that wasn’t that Indian Summer was a headache I could have done without.

Catalogue Number: AHFO 10/068
Artist: Dean & Britta
Title: L’avventura
Packaging: Digipack
Format: CD
Buy ‘L’avventura’ on Bandcamp

Previously in my record collection:

My record collection: [354] Luna - Lunafied (2xLP)

Andy — Thu, 21 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

I have previously written about the CDR Lunafied that Dean sent me back in 2006 that actually stemmed from a desire to see the album’s artwork on a proper release. That finally happened in 2016 with this absolutely gorgeous double LP from Run Out Groove records.

Luna - Lunafied (front and back)

I wrote about the sleeve in a Substack post a few months back so forgive me re-posting that here:

The cover of Lunafied is by artist and photographer Abelardo Morell and is one of a series of astoundingly beautiful photos taken by turning various rooms into a camera obscura.

When Lunafied came out digitally in 2006 I wrote to Dean about the sleeve:

4th July 2006 00:43
From: Andy Aldridge <andy@grange85.co.uk>
 
Hi Dean,  

I love the "sleeve" of the Lunafied album - particularly as I've been sucked into the pinhole-camera thing of late* so camera-obscura's are very exciting - I keep wanting to turn our bedroom into a camera obscura but Hazel rightly points out that the row of Victorian terraced houses on the opposite side of the road isn't quite the Empire State Building!

Does Lunafied exist as a "real" CD (maybe as a promo???) I'd love to own a proper CD with that sleeve! (sorry for the unsubtle attempted scrounge there!).

Any news on the Beggars covers album?

Have a nice summer,

-=Andy=-

4th July 2006 14:52  
From: Dean Wareham
            
Hi Andy,

the lunafied image is by Abelardo Morell, but perhaps you knew that already. His photos are great.

http://www.abelardomorell.net/

But there is no CD with that image, not even a promo. Rhino wanted it to be exclusive to the iTunes store. They have said that they might get around to releasing it on CD one day, but frankly I don't think it's going to happen. I can burn you a disc of Lunafied (from the master that was prepared).

Dean

Thirteen years on we finally got a Lunafied double album with Abelardo Morell’s beautiful Camera Obscura; The Empire State Building in Bedroom, 1994 that was used on the front, and the also beautiful Camera Obscura: Late Afternoon View of the East Side of Midtown Manhattan, 2014 and Camera Obscura: Early Morning View of the East Side of Midtown Manhattan, 2014.

On his website Abelardo explains how he makes these astonishing pictures (and cleared up how the inside and rear pictures are the right way up).

I made my first picture using camera obscura techniques in my darkened living room in 1991. In setting up a room to make this kind of photograph, I cover all windows with black plastic in order to achieve total darkness. Then, I cut a small hole in the material I use to cover the windows. This opening allows an inverted image of the view outside to flood onto the back walls of the room. Typically then I focused my large-format camera on the incoming image on the wall then make a camera exposure on film. In the beginning, exposures took from five to ten hours.

Over time, this project has taken me from my living room to all sorts of interiors around the world. One of the satisfactions I get from making this imagery comes from my seeing the weird and yet natural marriage of the inside and outside.

Several years ago, in order to push the visual potential of this process, I began to use color film and positioned a lens over the hole in the window plastic in order to add to the overall sharpness and brightness of the incoming image. Now, I often use a prism to make the projection come in right side up. I have also been able to shorten my exposures considerably thanks to digital technology, which in turn makes it possible to capture more momentary light. I love the increased sense of reality that the outdoor has in these new works. The marriage of the outside and the inside is now made up of more equal partners.

Abelardo Morell - Camera Obscura

Luna - Lunfied (inside)

As well as the cover, the release itself was brilliant. The two previous releases of Lunafied were both incomplete but this release managed to include everything.

US digital release	Run Out Groove	UK Best of
Bonnie and Clyde (Clyde Barrow version)	Bonnie and Clyde (Clyde Barrow version)	Bonnie and Clyde (Clyde Barrow version)
Indian Summer	Indian Summer	Indian Summer
Ride Into the Sun	Ride Into the Sun	Ride Into the Sun
That’s What You Always Say	That’s What You Always Say	That’s What You Always Say
In the Flesh	In the Flesh	In the Flesh
Dream Baby Dream	Dream Baby Dream	Dream Baby Dream
Seasons Of the Witch	Season Of the Witch	Season Of the Witch
Thank You For Sending Me an Angel	Thank You For Sending Me an Angel	Thank You For Sending Me an Angel
No Regrets	No Regrets	No Regrets
Outdoor Miner	Outdoor Miner	Outdoor Miner
Happy New Year	Happy New Year
Everybody’s Talking	Everybody’s Talking	Everybody’s Talkin’
Fly Into The Mystery	Fly Into The Mystery
La poupee qui fait non	La poupée qui fait non	La poupée qui fait non
Bonnie and Clyde (Bonnie Parker version)	Bonnie and Clyde (Bonnie Parker version)	Bonnie and Clyde (Bonnie Parker version)
	Jealous Guy	Jealous Guy
	Neon Lights	Neon Lights
	Sweet Child o’ Mine	Sweet Child o’ Mine
	Only Women Bleed	Only Women Bleed
	Dance With Me

Catalogue Number: 12/061
Artist: Luna
Title: Lunafied
Format: 2xLP
Bought from Run Out Groove for $34.98 + postage

Previously in my record collection:

Luna playing dates in the US and Canada in the Autumn

Andy — Wed, 20 May 2026 20:01:00 +0000

Luna have announced a tour of “Select towns in the Midwest, Canada, East Coast and Southeast” in September and October - tickets go on sale this week and some have pre-sale codes. Ticket links and codes, if there are any, can be found if you follow the links below.

Luna

16th September 2026	Lincoln Hall, Chicago, IL, USA Luna
18th September 2026	Sony Hall, New York, NY, USA Luna
19th September 2026	Crossroads, Garwood, NJ, USA Luna
20th September 2026	Ottobar, Baltimore, MD, USA Luna
22nd September 2026	Wilbur, Boston, MA, USA Luna
23rd September 2026	Montreal Pop festival, P'tit Ours, Montreal, Canada Luna
24th September 2026	Higher Ground, Burlington, VT, USA Luna
25th September 2026	Center for the Arts, Homer, NY, USA Luna
26th September 2026	Asbury Hall, Buffalo, NY, USA Luna
28th September 2026	Lee’s Place, Toronto,, Canada Luna
29th September 2026	Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, PA, USA Luna
30th September 2026	Grog Shop, Cleveland, OH, UDA Luna
2nd October 2026	City Winery, Nashville, TN, USA Luna
3rd October 2026	Grey Eagle, Asheville, NC, USA Luna
4th October 2026	Haw River Ballroom, Saxapahaw, NC, USA Luna
6th October 2026	Terminal West, Atlanta, GA, USA Luna
7th October 2026	40 Watt, Athens, GA, USA Luna

My record collection: [353] The Pastels - Illuminati (CD)

Andy — Mon, 18 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Illuminati is an album of remixes of tracks from The Pastels 1997 album Illumination that Dean guested on. The remixes are by the likes of Stereolab, My Bloody Valentine, John McEntire, and other such folk in the band’s orbit.

The Pastels - Illuninati (CD)

Given that, as mentioned in the two previous posts about Illumination, I’m uncertain of where Dean turns up on the album, I can’t even be sure whether his contributons have survived the remix process!

Most are OK, some are just annoying and there are some gems in there but I’d have to say it’s not essential. I prefer remixes to add, whereas a lot seem to take away too much.

The Stereolab remix of One Wild Moment however is so gloriously Stereolab that makes it probably my favourite track on the album:

The Pastels - One Wild Moment (Stereolab remix) (play on YouTube)

The Future Pilot AKA remix of Rough Riders is another favourite (but maybe because it’s one of my fave tracks on Illumination).

But… I did make liberal use of the skip button.

Catalogue Number: AHFOW 10/150
Artist: The Pastels
Title: Illuminati
Format: CD
Bought on Discogs for £2.99 a few years back as a collection filler.

Previously in my record collection:

My record collection: [352] Luna - ROUNDUP (signed CD)

Andy — Thu, 14 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

As promised back when I first wrote about ROUNDUP a couple of years ago here’s a second copy.

Luna - Roundup (signed CD)

As I mentioened before, Dean actually sent me a few of these but I gave away all but two. The first because it was pristeen… the second because it wasn’t. Signed in black pen on the black and blue sleeve if you squint in that photo you can probably just make out “For Andy! Dean Wareham”… and, on the disc “Dean Wareham”

The postcard was a promo for Luna’s 1998 New Year’s Eve shows.

I’m not entirely sure why I decided that this release was called ROUNDUP and not Roundup. It is in capitals on the sleeve, but that doesn’t mean anything, it’s not like I write Galaxie 500’s three albums as TODAY, ON FIRE, and THIS IS OUR MUSIC.

Catalogue Number: 10/020
Artist: Luna
Title: ROUNDUP
Packaging: Card sleeve
Format: CD

Previously in my record collection:

[187] Luna - ROUNDUP (CD)

My record collection: [351] Galaxie 500 - Copenhagen (CD)

Andy — Mon, 11 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This is the CD of Galaxie 500’s Copenhagen that I bought on first release in 1997. It was released by Rykodisc but is no longer in one of their trademark green jewel cases since they fall apart.

Galaxie 500 - Copenhagen (CD)

I remember we discussed the release of Copenhagen at length on the Galaxie 500 Mailing List but sadly none of that discussion is in my archive. although I did find a post from later where a list member wasn’t happy with Dean’s vocal performance. I think this was just Dean’s Galaxie voice - although this was recorded at the end of what was probably a pretty exhausting European tour so I can understand the strain. But I love it and to be honest that’s what a live album ought to be (and many aren’t) - an authentic record of a live performance, with all the quirks that entails.

I suspect the issue was more likely that Dean’s Luna voice was different from his Galaxie voice and, almost certainly less of a vocal strain. I wouldn’t be surprised if Dean wasn’t a little bit relieved to be able to adjust his voice after Galaxie 500. So the list member just wasn’t used to Dean sounding like he does on Copenhagen.

Before the release of Copenhagen we’d had to make do with bootlegs of live performances, some admittedly quite good, but normally on much-duped media, so when Copenhagen arrived it was such a treat. It is however funny to think that the album was released just six years after the band broke up - at the time it seemed an age but 30 years on it feels like a heartbeat.

The disc came with a booklet with Byron Coley’s sleeve notes and a picture of each member on stage from three different shows. It also came with one of thise wraparound promo things across the top of the disc (like an obi but not an obi) that I folded up and kept in the jewel case. On the outside it had a quote from the Melody Maker…

Galaxie 500 are anything BUT boring live. The critic who says this or thinks differently should be taken outside and shot... Galaxie 500 transcend transcendence.

Inside the wrapper plugged the box set and the three individual albums.

Copenhagen promo

I never get tired of listening to Copenhagen - it is an outstanding record.

Catalogue Number: 10/025
Artist: Galaxie 500
Title: Copenhagen
Format: CD
Buy ‘Copenhagen’ on Bandcamp

Previously in my record collection:

My record collection: Progress report #7 (301 - 350)

Andy — Fri, 08 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This will most likely be the last progress report since the current estimates for the series are:

Total posts: 387
Current predicted end date: 14th September 2026

… although I still expect that to change!

Entries 301 to 350

Total number of posts: 330
Total word count: 134,515 this is up 21,467 since post 300 - I have changed the way I count words so this is more accurate which is why it’s only 11,857 higher than the count in progress report #6. This does however mean that it’s overtaken
- Tales from Earthsea - Ursula K. Le Guin
- Atonement - Ian McEwan
- The Silmarillion - J. R. R. Tolkien
… and is still heading for
- The Return of the King - J. R. R. Tolkien
- A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
- 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea - Jules Verne

It seems that Damon & Naomi have been punching above their weight during the last 50 posts, being the primary artist in 15 of them - so 30% of the posts, whereas over the whole 350 they are closer to 17% of total posts.

Primary act	% of 301 to 350	% of 1 to 350
Damon & Naomi	30	17.7
Dean & Britta	10	12.6
Dean Wareham	20	23.1
Galaxie 500	14	18.6
Luna	24	26.6
n/a	2	1.4

Primary artists 301 to 350

The “n/a” are the posts that technically shouldn’t be in the series if I followed my rules. But… my rules!

Those five are:

Since I started the series there at the beginning of 2023 there have been 543 posts to AHFoW. 360 have been related to the My record collection series which means there have only been 183 regular posts which I guess brings up the question… what will I do with all the time I have after September!?

My record collection: [350] Damon & Naomi - Song to the Siren (CD/DVD)

Andy — Thu, 07 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This is the first release of Damon & Naomi’s fraudulent live album and I think I have moaned about that enough over the last few months so it’s time to talk some more about the other disc in this double disc set.

Damon & Naomi - Song of the Siren (DVD)

I must admit that when I talked about 1001 Nights back in February while I dipped into the videos included I never sat through them all… I had other things on my mind.

To be honest I’m not sure when the last time I sat down and watched Song to the Siren all the way through and I decided to do it this time with Damon & Naomi’s commentary which I guess I probably did when the release first arrived in 2002 but certainly haven’t done since.

A few random notes based on this viewing:

This was Naomi’s first time making a film, she points out a couple of times her inexperience. Since then film/video making has become quite an important part of her cv.
This tour was the first time that Damon and Naomi had encountered The Clientele, a band that would loom large in the coming years.
They turn the camera on to journalist Carsten. Carsten as well as being a journalist was a keen and active member of the Galaxie 500 Mailing List - after the shows he was at Carsten sent me his review in English to publish on AHFoW (I think it had only been published in German before).

Another special treat - very much in the same way that “Blue Moon” had almost moved me to tears at the show in 1998 - was “Song To The Siren” by Tim Buckley. A great tune that sounded quite perfect in this sparse arrangement. Even better though was the discussion that followed. Damon pointed out that he used the early lyrics of the song (“I was puzzled like the oyster I’m as troubled as the tide”, and not “troubled as the newborn child”) and then was trying to make the connection to the Odyssey, which got him in big trouble, as Naomi couldn’t see the connection and told him that he didn’t get it right. Not knowing that my major is sociology and not literature she even asked me to back up her theory (I couldn’t) but I suppose it would be fun to find out who’s right.

Carsten Wohlfeld - Review: Something for your musical education (AHFoW, 29th May 2001)

Here’s Carsten being interviewed and Damon & Naomi playing Song to the Siren:

Damon & Naomi - Song to the Siren (play on YouTube)

The camera had been handed to photographer Stefan Claudius, whose gorgeous photos taken in Utrecht were used in the CD/DVD packaging and had also been sent to me to post on AHFoW by Carsten:

Damon & Naomi in Utrecht - photos by Stefan Claudius

The tour then reaches spain and the DVD includes a clip from the Spansih TV show that likely caused all the problems that led to the (not-) live album. Damon & Naomi with Kurihara play four songs and the presenter’s intro is hilariously sweet. You can see the whole show on YouTube:

DAMON & NAOMI feat. MICHIO KURIHARA - Live Radio3 (play on YouTube)

The film ends in Barcelona with frolicking on the beach and sunset in Parc Guell.

There’s no footage from the show in San Sebastian!

Catalogue Number: 10/028
Artist: Damon & Naomi
Title: Song to the Siren
Notes: Contains a CD and a DVD of tour diary.
Format: 1xCD / 1xDVD
Bought from wherever I bought records when it was released.
Buy ‘Song to the Siren’ on Bandcamp

My record collection: [349] Luna - In The Flesh (radio promo)

Andy — Mon, 04 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This is a radio promo copy of Luna’s In The Flesh single that I guess I picked up on Discogs or eBay at some point although I can’t see the evidence of that in my email.

Luna - In The Flesh (radio promo)

The single has no label, just the bare vinyl and a small square sticker with the letter A to tell the radio stations which side to play… I can’t imagine that (m)any played it though. The single is in a card sleeve with Luna “In The Flesh” written on it in felt tip pen and a sticker that reads…

ERIC, PAM, POLLY
RADIO PROMOTIONS
0181 910 3333
RELEASE DATE
21.4.97

The release date is written in (a different coloured) felt tip pen, and below is the Island logo (Trade 2 who released the single was part of Island Records). A Google of “Eric, Pam, Polly” brings up only one result which is a casette promo of second album by Salad from RELEASE DATE 19 MAY 1997, although a Google of their phone number reveals that it seems to be the London office of Island.

I must admit that I haven’t thought about Salad for years but did have their first couple of albums (although I can’t find them) and a few CD singles/EPs (the one of which I can find that I apparently paid 30p for). A surprisingly annoying amount of my records and CDs seemed to go AWOL on our move from London to Whitley Bay… I don’t think it was anything sinister, I suspect some of the wrong boxes went to a charity shop, and I’m still convinced that there must be a box (or more) that my sister stored for us still in a garage somewhere!

Anyway… since most of what I know of this single was covered when I wrote about my proper copy, and what I know of the original in my ‘originals’ post about In The Flesh, here’s Salad’s Motorbike to Heaven:

Salad - Motorbike to Heaven (play on YouTube)

Catalogue Number: AHFOW 11/002
Artist: Luna
Title: In The Flesh / Early Morning
Notes: Radio promo
Packaging: Card sleeve
Format: 7”

Previously in my record collection:

[161] Luna - In The Flesh

My record collection: [348] Luna - Bewitched (LP)

Andy — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This is my second copy of the 2012 LP release of Luna’s Bewitched, the previous copy was sent to me, and signed by, Dean, so I guess I bought this one, although can’t find any email evidence of that.

Luna - Bewitched LP (and Trudy)

It’s funny, I never voted for Bewitched as my favourite album in the annual survey but invariably the songs I’d pick for favourite song would be tracks off Bewitched. It is chock full of absolute Luna classics! Four of Luna’s top ten songs they’ve played live are from this album.

Since the album never had an LP release until this release most people wouldn’t have heard the album with an A and a B side (although it had been released on cassette so some had) and as such wouldn’t have noticed that the A-side was probably one of the strongest sides of vinyl Luna would ever release (and had all four of those top ten live staples).

California (All The Way) - 10th most played live
Tiger Lily - 6th
Friendly Advice - 2nd
Bewitched - 8th
This Time Around - 23rd

Not that the B-side is that shabby! Here are a coupld of clips of the other side of Bewitched

Luna - Into The Fold (Alexandria, 2021) (play on YouTube)

Luna - Sleeping Pill (Seattle, 2020) (play on YouTube)

And of course Great Jones Street featured a guitar solo from the late, great Sterling Morrison and you can hear him and Dean playing it for a radio show over here:

Audio: Dean Wareham and Sterling Morrison play Great Jones Street

Catalogue Number: AHFOW 12/053
Artist: Luna
Title: Bewitched
Notes: 2012 release
Format: LP

Previously in my record collection:

My record collection: [347] Dean & Britta - L'avventura (CD)

Andy — Mon, 27 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This is the fifth copy of Dean & Britta’s first album L’avventura in this series and there’s still one more to come! This is the copy bought the week of release in 2003.

Britta Phillips and Dean Wareham - L'avventura

News of the album’s release was announced in January of that year:

Britta and Dean have completed work on an album that will be released on Jetset in May, under the name Britta Phillips and Dean Wareham. The album, titled LAvventura, was produced by Tony Visconti, who also contributed a number of string arrangements. Britta and Dean trade vocals on a handful of original songs, plus covers of songs by Madonna, the Silver Jews, the Doors, Buffy St. Marie, Opal and Angel Corpus Christi.

Post on Fuzzywuzzy (January 2003)

This next bit is a re-hash/repeat of some of the things I wrote for the AHFoW Substack a couple of months back - I apologise!

I’ve recently started trying to get the Galaxie 500 Mailing List archive into some sort of order so that I can start doing some more in depth looking at how releases were received and discussed on the list. Since 2003 is fairly well represented, and in moderately good order, my first test was with L’avventura. So, here are a few insights I’ve managed to pull from the data.

The album was released in early June of 2003 although it seems that Jetset had distribution problems so there was quite a lot of on-list discussion of members struggling to get a copy. This was somewhat exacerbated by the uncertainty of just where to look in the racks. Since the album was by Britta Phillips and Dean Wareham would it be in the Ps, or the Ws or, since we all called them Dean & Britta (even their own website) would it be in the Ds?

Now of course there is the issue that this is discussion on a fan forum, and as such opinion was likely to be skewed to the positive, and it’s no surprise with L’avventura:

“G500 was great, Luna is even better and L’Avventura works beautifully” - Darren
“I know I’m unlikely to be the most objective reviewer on this list - but really L’Avventura is well worth the very little “hype” that it has received - it will certainly make my top 10 - Andy
“I am hooked on the 1st 2 tracks. I can’t seem to hear Night Nurse and Ginger Snaps enough - I think Ive listened past that point only twice - I am sure will get to “get into” the rest of L’Avventura soon enough” - Elisa
“Some of the songs on the album do sound a lot like Luna… I do enjoy hearing Britta sing, and I wish she was showcased on more of the songs. I thought that was the point of the album. Some songs she hardly shows up at all.” - Richard

It also turned up in quite a few users end of year lists… obviously! Here’s mine (posted in no particular order) which shows just what a good year 2003 had been!

Clientele - The Violet Hour
Nina Nastasia - Road to Ruin
Movietone - The Sand and The Stars
Dean & Britta - L’Avventura/Sonic Souvenirs
The Shins - Chutes Too Narrow
British Sea Power - The Decline of…
Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci - Sleep/Holiday
Tacoma Radar - No One Waved Goodbye
The Zephyrs - A Year to the Day
Saloon - If We Meet in the Future

I haven’t listened to The Shins for a while (listening now) but the rest still get regular needle time (and of course the Tacoma Radar album got a lovely vinyl release last year).

Dean & Britta did some radio and played some live shows around the time of release - here they are playing Ginger Snaps at The Village Underground in NYC in June 2003:

Dean & Britta - Ginger Snaps (The Village Underground, 24th June 2003)

Source: Dean & Britta - 24th June 2003 - Village Underground, New York, NY, USA

Full disclosure: AI was involved in trying to clean up the data, and in the probing of the content - I wouldn’t have had the time, skills, or patience without it - but it’s still far from perfect, and I don’t have everything! If anyone has any Galaxie 500 Mailing List posts, particularly from the very early days - 1995 to 1998 - please do get in touch.

Catalogue Number: AHFOW 10/034
Artist: Dean & Britta
Title: L’avventura
Format: CD
Buy ‘L’avventura’ on Bandcamp

Previously in my record collection:

My record collection: [346] Damon & Naomi - The Navigator / Awake in a Muddle

Andy — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This is a lovely seven inch single released by Earworm Records in April 1997 and contains two Damon & Naomi tracks that would later appear on Playback Singers, their own The Navigator and their cover of Ghost’s Awake in a Muddle.

Damon & Naomi - The Navigator (Earworm, 1997)

The sleeve is a gorgeous green concoction designed by Naomi and another of my favourites.

I’m not too sure where I bought this… but I do know exactly when since I posted to the Galaxie 500 Mailing List that “I picked up the new Damon & Naomi single yesterday” on the 12th April 1997. I also mention that the single can be bought mail order from Earworm for £2.50 and that their next release would be by Yo La Tengo - it was their Blue Green Arrow single and I own that as well.

I saw Damon & Naomi twice in 1997 - the first time shortly before the single was released at the tiny 12 Bar in Denmark Street. When I wrote about the show on the mailing list I described the a-side as “a new song that’ll be coming out as a 7” on Earworm soon”. The second time in October, also at the 12 Bar, and they opened the set with The Navigator.

I just read back my review of that first show and I was very rude about the support act, I hope they never saw it.

Here’s my abridged(!) review:

From: Andy Aldridge
Date: 20th March 1997
Subject: A night in with Damon & Naomi

I sometimes hate how much of a fan I sound at times - I decided this as I stood "chatting" to Naomi afterwards "you're wonderful...you're great...I love everything...etc." I cant help it - that's the way I am, and they WERE wonderful AND great, and I do love everything...

The 12 Bar is a tiny venue - the stage takes up a quarter of downstairs - and the table Jonathan had reserved for us was right at the front of the stage - I fumbled my way in as Damon & Naomi where half way through their opening number and rather embarrassed sunk down into the tiny wooden chair.

Damon & Naomi sat on stage, Damon playing acoustic guitar and Naomi alternating between bass (what beautiful noise she got from that bass - it's so nice to hear a bass as a melodic instrument!) and a fascinating Indian squeeze box which made an incredible controlled drone (a sort of Stereolab box - all that lovely drone without having to plug it in).

The first set - I didn't make notes so this is of the top of my head - included (in no particular order):

This Car Climbed Mt. Washington
How Long
New York City
Information Age
Forgot To Get High
...and a couple of others

...and off they went - in the bar between sets I ineptly introduced myself "Oh we're afraid of you" said Damon - which I found amusing because I was scared stiff of them (it's traditional for me to be scared of my heroes) - after some fumbling words from me off went our heroes to be entertained elsewhere while I slunk back to my seat red-faced and settled down to [the support act].

Damon and Naomi returned and announced that they were unprepared for two sets and proceeded to repeat a lot of the first set - they did a new song that'll be coming out as a 7" on Earworm soon - they did a cover of Colin Palmer's (ex-Incredible String Band) "Spirit Of Love" - they smiled and joked (and had a moan at the people on the balcony who insisted on talking through the set!) - and on the whole made my night - it was all too beautiful - exactly what I hoped it would be - only more so.

At the end this inarticulate fan chatted with Naomi for a short while "you're wonderful...you're great...I love everything...etc. etc." - it was nice for my ego to know they knew of me - we talked of upcoming events - a long interview in the Ptolemaic Terrascope ("probably the longest ever") a track on a Pearls Before Swine tribute album and a single on Blue Rose Records, the Earworm single featuring a cover of a Ghost (Japanese Krautrockers) track on the flip side (I didn't catch the name of the a-side). More Sad Hits will be re-released by Sub Pop at the beginning of May. Damon was very pleased about the live Galaxie 500 album getting released ("I always liked that tape").

I shook their hands (again) told them they were great (again) and told them to come back soon (god did I really say that) - and lamely walked away. I'm so pleased that these two of my heroes were really nice people - I just wish they'd play here more often.

- Andy

The release on Blue Rose that Naomi mentioned was supposed to be a split single with Neutral Milk Hotel containing Kinetoscope but it never materialised. Kinetoscope arrived on Playback Singers.

The “live Galaxie 500 album” was, of course, Copenhagen.

Catalogue Number: AHFOW 11/031
Artist: Damon & Naomi
Title: The Navigator / Awake in a Muddle
Format: 7”
Both tracks are on Playback Singers which can be bought on Bandcamp.