A Head Full of Wishes

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.

My record collection: [345] Various artists - Rutles Highway Revisited (LP)

Andy — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

My previous post for the CD version of the fabulous Rutles Highway Revisited was mostly a love-letter to the late and still much missed Neil Innes so I’ll try and keep on topic this time.

Rutles Highway Revisited (LP)

I do love most of the tracks on this album but, like The Beatles, The Rutles were better when they were being sweet, so it’s the sweet songs that work better for me. So… here are what are probably my favourite three tracks on the album (that aren’t Galaxie 500), although that does involve leaving a lot of ones I also love off the list.

The Pussywillows - Hold My Hand (play on YouTube)

pic lifted from April March’s Instagram

Syd Straw and Marc Ribot - I Must Be in Love (play on YouTube)

pic lifted from this page with a 1990 session the duo played for KCRW which opens with a lovely version of I Must Be in Love.

Shonen Knife - Goose Step Mama (play on YouTube)

OK, maybe that’s not conventionally sweet but it’s effing Shonen Knife so… it is unconventionally sweet! Here’s a fantastic video of them playing Goose Step Mama in London in 2013.

Shonen Knife - Goose Step Mama + Burning Farm (Live @ Dingwalls, London, 29/09/13) (play on YouTube)

I bought the LP in 2018 as a collection filler having had the CD since release.

Catalogue Number: AHFOW 12/080
Artist: Various artists
Title: Rutles Highway Revisited
Format: LP
Bought from a Discogs seller for £6 in 2018.
Galaxie 500’s track can be found on ‘Uncollected’ on Bandcamp.

Listening party for Damon & Naomi's live album of Galaxie 500 covers

Andy — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 21:06:00 +0000

Damon will be hosting a Bandcamp listening party for What’s Past is Prologue, Damon & Naomi’s live album of Galaxie 500 covers. The party will be on Friday 17th (tomorrow) at 12:30pm Pacific, 3:30pm Eastern or 8:30pm BST.

What's Past is Prologue

The album was recorded over three wonderful nights at Cafe Oto in London and featured a number of guest appearances.

Here’s Damon’s invite:

I'm going to host a Listening Party of our Bandcamp-exclusive release What's Past is Prologue on Friday April 17 at 12:30pm Pacific / 3:30pm Eastern / 8:30pm UK time. Come listen to the album with me and chat about it - this is a live recording of Galaxie 500 songs Naomi and I played as encores during our recent residency at Café Oto in London, with friends Laetitia Sadier, Mark Webber, Richard Youngs, Jess Hickie-Kallenbach, Alabaster DePlume, Gina Birch, Marie Merlet and Stewart Lee. There's lots to discuss!

Damon Krukowski on Bandcamp

Head over to Bandcamp to RSVP.

Night three at Cafe Oto

I wrote about the shows back in January.

Fingers crossed that there’ll be a physical release at some point!

My record collection: [344] Decomposing the songs of Galaxie 500 and Luna

Andy — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Back in 2004 some discussion on the Galaxie 500 Mailing List turned to the idea of making a fan-tribute album and I volunteered to co-ordinate the efforts. It took a couple of years since the volunteer co-ordinator was a bit rubbish, but this finally saw the light of day some time in 2006!

Decomposing fan tribute CDR

The project started with grand ambitions but eventually ended up with me burning a bunch of CDRs and laser-printing sleeves and selling them to whoever wanted a copy for $5 including postage. It deserved better. There are a bunch of lovely contributions, some faithful, some interprative, but all made by people who loved what they were doing enough to give it a go.

One of the reasons for the delay was that I wanted to be a part of it and was hoping that some talent would be bestowed upon be by some higher being. Thankfully lost are my efforts at covers of Blue Thunder and I Want Everything!

The album is available to download here and is worth it - it’s lovely to have an album made by friends (even if the internet becoming less social means I’ve lost touch with most of them).

For the later AHFoW tribute albums I had invaluable help from Hannah and John and Miguel that meant they took only months instead of years to see the light of day. A couple of the tracks on Decomposing made it onto other releases:

Watoo Watoo’s lovely loungey Chinatown was released on their second (I think) album La fuite which can be bought on Bandcamp.
Ron Harrity’s cover of Cold Night was included as a bonus-track on a better organised tribute album On Fire | 30.

The Apollo Generation, whose cover of This Time Around was included on the release, put out an album a few years ago that I’ve only just come across and is being played right now and is sounding good!

I just noticed that the sleeve in my copy was on second-hand paper… that’s how cheap/rubbish I was!

Second-hand paper!

This of course is another entry that doesn’t pass the criteria for inclusion but since it was a child of the Galaxie 500 Mailing List it seemed a shame not to include it. I wrote about the mailing list in a Substack post last year - you can read it for free (as all my Substack posts are).

Catalogue Number: AHFOW 10/091
Artist: Various artists
Title: Decomposing the songs of Galaxie 500 and Luna
Format: CDR
Download for free

My record collection: [343] Galaxie 500 - On Fire (orange vinyl LP)

Andy — Mon, 13 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Back in February 2019 Newbury Comics started releasing limited edition coloured variants of Galaxie 500’s LPs - the first of these was On Fire that was released on orange/gold vinyl.

Galaxie 500 - On Fire (orange LP)

Of course I already had many copies of On Fire but… I couldn’t help myself and bought a copy for $25 plus $15 postage (which is twice the postage I had been charged for an LP from the US just two years previously. They then released a maroon (with a black smudge) Today and a Blue (with a grey smudge) This Is Our Music… I bought both of them.

Later came a pink On Fire and a purple This Is Our Music but I had decided to draw the line!

Catalogue Number: AHFOW 12/042
Artist: Galaxie 500
Title: On Fire
Notes: Orange vinyl
Format: LP
Bought from Newbury Comics for $24.99 plus postage.
Buy ‘On Fire’ on Bandcamp

Previously in my record collection:

My record collection: [342] The 6ths - Wasps' Nest (LP)

Andy — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

On first release in 1995 the only vinyl release of Wasps’ Nest was a box set containing four seven inch EPs with all the tracks (and one bonus one) across them. Mean-ness and my full embrace of CD media meant that I didn’t buy that but bought the CD that I’ve already posted about, In 2017 Captured Tracks released the album on an LP - this is that.

The 6ths - Wasps' Nest

The LP came in white vinyl and sadly didn’t include the extra track it did howver have a larger booklet than the CD which meant that it could include the artist self-portraits that had been included in the box set but were missing from the CD package. Some were lovely and detailed, some were realistic, some were cartoon-y, some minimalist, some impressionist… and then there was Dean’s:

Dean Wareham self-portrait

I think I said before how much I love this album and it really is a very beautiful thing, and doesn’t have a dud on it!

Catalogue Number: AHFOW 12/073
Artist: The 6ths
Title: Wasps’ Nest
Notes: White vinyl. Includes an 8” square booklet
Format: LP
Bought direct from Captured Tracks in 2017 for $25.00 (plus postage which was tolerable back then!)

Previously in my record collection:

[268] The 6ths - Wasps’ Nest (CD)

My record collection: [341] Galaxie 500 - CBGB 13th December 1988 (black vinyl LP)

Andy — Mon, 06 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Back at the beginning of the year Damon & Naomi played three genuinely sensational shows at Cafe OTO in London (I wrote about them here but it deserves a re-write), this copy of Galaxie 500’s recently released live LP was acquired at the second of those shows.

Galaxie 500 - CBGB 13th December 1988 (black LP)

After the show was finished I was loitering by the merch desk, chatting with Naomi and lending my pen out for signings. I mentioned to Naomi that the “ultra clear and black cloudy” vinyl copy I had bought on release was horrid and looked like a five year old had scribbled on it† and said I wanted to buy one of the black vinyl copies they were selling at the show.

records should never be this ugly

Naomi insisted on giving me a copy.

OK, it doesn’t come with a poster, and a single, and doesn’t come in a fancy fat, card sleeve (that’s too big) but it looks so much better sitting on my record player.

I love the photo by Macioce used on the cover - a couple of years ago Macioce was kind enough to send me an 11x14” print of the photo which is hanging in “the museum”.

Catalogue Number: AHFOW 12/112
Artist: Galaxie 500
Title: CBGB 13th December 1988
Notes: Black vinyl copy
Format: LP
Buy ‘CBGB 13th December 1988’ on Bandcamp

Previously in my record collection:

[276] Galaxie 500 - CBGB - 13th December 1988

† - to be honest too many of these mixed colour, splatter, splash, burst, swirl, vinyl releases are horrible… it’s time to stop and stick to single colour vinyl… and maybe more in black… I mean. when did black stop being the coolest colour?

My record collection: [340] Luna - Penthouse (MC)

Andy — Thu, 02 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This is the fourth and final appearance of Luna’s Penthouse and is a cassette copy that I bought (online) from Sound it Out Records back in 2013 at the same time that I bought the cassette copy of Lunapark.

Luna - Penthouse (MC)

Since this is the last appearance it’s probably time to look at the tracklisting, not it any way in-depth just with some little snippets that pop into my head… I can’t guarantee that these are actually all correct or true.

Chinatown was written “at least partially” about Terry Tolkin the A&R man who signed the band to Elektra and released Dean and Luna tracks on his own No.6 Records.

He enjoyed his new life. He drank and partied and showed up late to work most days, or worked from home. His new life inspired the lyrics I wrote for "Chinatown".

Dean Wareham - Black Postcards (2008)

Sideshow by the Seashore was a venue in Coney Island - the song contains Justin playing a theremin.
Moon Palace is named after a Paul Auster book and also references “Christopher Boyce” who was The Falcon in the film The Falcon and the Snowman.
Double Feature gave it’s name to Dean and Britta’s record label.
23 Minutes in Brussels is probably Luna’s most popular song - it consistently topped the annual survey, and a lyric was used as the title of their farewell tour rockumentary, and was played over the end credits. They first played it live in late 1994 although it changed quite a lot before it reached Penthouse. There’s an mp3 on the post about the 23 Minutes single.
Lost in Space opens side two of the LP although Dean admitted in the Life of the Record podcast that they “didn’t plan this as side one and side two because this is the CD era, the compact disc era. We just thought of it as sequencing the ten songs.”
I’m not sure I have a smippet of trivia about Rhythm King so here are Luna soundchecking it in 2016:

Luna (play on YouTube)

Kalamazoo’s origins are in a short film made by Dean’s then wife Claudia that I’ve not managed to track down but has Wally Shawn and (the late) Adrienne Shelley in it.
Hedgehog was picked to be a (radio) single and a one-track CD single was made as a radio promo… I don’t have a copy… but it was also coupled with 23 Minutes in Brussels for the proper single on Beggars Banquet.
Freakin’ and Peakin’ is a great finish to the album… but most people probably didn’t hear it as a finish since the CD has a bonus track… but since I’m listening to the cassette this is where I’ll finish!

Here’s Luna playing Freakin’ and Peakin’ in Atlanta in 2015:

Luna - Freakin' and Peakin' 2015 10 02 Atlanta GA (play on YouTube)

Catalogue Number: AHFOW 16/004
Artist: Luna
Title: Penthouse
Format: MC
Bought from Sound it Out Records in 2013 for £5.99.

Previously in my record collection:

My record collection: [339] Dean Wareham - Dean Wareham (test/promo LP)

Andy — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This is a test pressing of Dean’s eponymous album released in 2014 and was sent to me by Nat at Sonic Cathedral, slipped in with the copy of the Lorelle Meets The Obsolete LP “Chambers” that I had ordered.

Dean Wareham - Dean Wareham (test pressing)

The LP came in a plain white inner sleeve stamped with the manufacturer details and with the catalogue number written on it in biro. It had plain white labels with the words “Only for Promotion” stamped onto it… which suggests it’s a promo rather than a test pressing?

There are a lot of nice performance clips of Dean and his band from this time doing the promo rounds.

Dean Wareham - The Dancer Disappears (KCRW) (play on YouTube)

Dean Wareham - Happy and Free (KEXP) (play on YouTube)

Dean Wareham - Heartless People (WFUV) (play on YouTube)

Dean Wareham - Holding Pattern (Amoeba) (play on YouTube)

As much as I love Dean’s more recent albums this is the one that I go back to most.

Catalogue Number: AHFOW 12/022
Artist: Dean Wareham
Title: Dean Wareham
Notes: Promo/test
Packaging: Plain white sleeve
Format: LP
Buy ‘Dean Wareham’ on Bandcamp

Previously in my record collection:

My record collection: [338] POT 31 - Get Yer Pots Out (CD)

Andy — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

By the Winter 2001/2 issue of Ptolemaic Terrascope the magazine had reached the point where it had a CD covermount rather than the 7” EPs of previous years and this CD came with issue 31 of Ptolemaic Terrascope and includes a Eye of the Storm with Michio Kurihara.

POT 31 - Get Yer Pots Out

Eye of the Storm is on the CD to represent Michio Kurihara who has a lengthy interview in the magazine that exposes just how many musical pies he has his finger in. The interview was conducted shortly after the Damon & Naomi tour of Europe that was documented in the Song to the Siren DVD:

For me personally, that was the most satisfying tour I've been on in years. We toured the States together last our autumn, but this time communication through sound was so much deeper. Their live sound is extremely delicate and it already feels very complete in itself. I was worried about adding anything to it that would damage their original sound, so the first few times we played together were very much trial and error. It took a bit of time before I could accommodate my sound to theirs. But during the tour I was gradually able to grasp their unique sense of timing and breathing. Particularly from around the middle of the tour on there were a number of amazing moments when we got this real synergy between the vibrations of the audience and the vibrations that we on stage were putting out. I guess that's what people mean when they talk about "magic". These kinds of experiences are irreplaceable. On the best things about long tours like that one is that you can feel the quality of the band's sound getting better and better with each performance. I liked Damon & Naomi's music before, but on this tour I was reminded of just what is great about them. I don't think that they're technical players, but they've transcended that and they have a deep sense of song. That's what this tour showed me again.

We were fortunate in the choice of support acts on the tour they were local groups, but all were individual and amazing. In London we had Clientele; Richard Youngs in Glasgow, Paloma in Paris, all were striking. This was the first tour I'd been on where we had to haul our amps and other equipment around, jumping on and off trains all over Europe. It was a bit tiring at times, but still a good experience. I was especially struck by the scenery we saw from the train window: pastoral in the UK, and the desolate mountains in Spain.

Michio Kurihara - Ptolemaic Terrascop 31 (winter 2001/2)

The version of Eye of the Storm is the one that was later released on the Live in a Living Room in Cambridge, MA album, and interestingly it is a clean version without the applause added to it which I guess makes it a bit of a lost track.

Damon & Naomi with Kurihara - Eye of the Storm (the living room sessions)

The insert with the CD completely forgets to mention anything about Eye of the Storm, I wonder if that’s because of it’s imminent use in the fake live album. If you’re unaware of the deception you can read about it in the post on 1001 Nights from a couple of months back.

Catalogue Number: AHFOW 05/032
Artist: Various Artists
Title: POT31 - Get Your Pots Out
Notes: Released with issue 31 of Ptolemaic Terrascope
Packaging: CD in a plastic sleeve with a printed insert.
Format: Magazine and CD

Previously in my record collection:

My record collection: [337] My Robot Friend - Soft Core / 23 Minutes in Brussels

Andy — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

In 2008 Dean & Britta re-issued their debut album L’avventura on their own Double Feature Records, the second release the following year was the excellent Sand Pebbles compilation A Thousand Wild Flowers and Soft Core by My Robot Friend was the third.

My Robot Friend - Soft Core

The album was released on CD on the 13th October 2009 and Dean added guitar to two tracks By Your Side, and Astronaut. It also includes My Robot Friend’s cover of Luna’s 23 Minutes in Brussels that had been released a couple of years before and that I have two copies of - one a 12”, and one 7” on pink vinyl - both were bought on Discogs the 12” for £1.80 in 2016 and the 7” for 99p a couple of years ago.

As well as two copies of the 23 Minutes single I also have two copies of Soft Core, or at least I should have. I bought it when it was released (I think direct from Dean probably at the same time as A Thousand Wild Flowers) but that copy has gone AWOL - either misfiled, or perhaps found its way into a charity shop box when we moved, so I bought a replacement a couple of years back.

I don’t listen to the album much but every time I do I like it much more than I expect to.

My Robot Friend has turned up elsewhere having done remixes of…

Dean & Britta - Say Goodnight released on Variations.
Dean Wareham - Emancipated Hearts on the CD release of Emancipated Hearts.
Dean & Britta - Not a Young Man Any More on 13 Most Beautiful.

There is also a My Robot Friend release from 2016 called Open the Book that has Emancipated Hearts, Not a Young Man…, and also has Dean guesting on “Gone” - this was released on CD but I only have the download so won’t be in this series.

Catalogue Number:
- AHFOW 10/171
- AHFOW 12/070
Artist: My Robot Friend
Title:
- Soft Core
- 23 Minutes in Brussels (x2)
Packaging: Digipack
Format:
- CD
- 12”
- 7”
Soft Core was bought on Discogs for £6.99
Buy ‘Soft Core’ on Bandcamp

My record collection: [336] Dean Wareham - Live at St. Pancras Old Church (green cassette)

Andy — Thu, 19 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

So this is my fourth post covering the six copies I have of recordings from Dean’s shows in London in 2013 so I guess there’s not a great deal more for me to say!?

Dean Wareham - Live at St. Pancras Old Church

The original release was on cassette and came in two flavours one in a green shell and one in a red shell. The cassette j-card was the same for both but since it was printed on diaphanous paper it gives the impression that the difference is more than just the shell of the cassettes, and to reinforce the eye for detail the green ones came with a download code on red paper, and the red one on green.

There’s a fair chance that the download code in the picture above hasn’t been used so if you’re quick (and interested) you can grab yourself a free download!

Dean gave me a copy of both cassettes after his show at The Prince Albert in Brighton in May 2014… so I guess I can pad out this short post with a clip of Dean and band playing Tugboat at that show… and discussing air-conditioning!

Dean Wareham - Tugboat (Brighton, 2014) (play on YouTube)

Catalogue Number: AHFOW 16/006
Artist: Dean Wareham
Title: Live at St. Pancras Old Church
Format: MC with green shell
Buy ‘Live at St. Pancras Old Church’ on Bandcamp

Previously in my record collection:

Dean Wareham on songwriting

Andy — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 17:35:00 +0000

Over on the AHFoW Substack this week there’s a guest post from Scott Douglas where he asks Dean Wareham about songwriting.

Dean Wareham on songwriting

A couple of weeks back Scott commented on a Substack post…

Speaking of songwriting: Have you asked Dean why his songs never have bridges? Seems weird to never use this element, especially given his taste for 1970s radio-friendly tunes.

I must admit that the lack of a middle eight in Dean’s work hadn’t really occurred to me but, listening back Scott did seem to have a point.

He decided the best way to address this question was to head to the source and so if you head over to the AHFoW Substack you can find out how Dean responded to the question “It seems like you’re a connoisseur of late 60s/70s high-quality radio-friendly rock, where a bridge is common. Why not make use of this element?”… and a few other songwriting enquiries.

Dean Wareham talks songwriting

My record collection: [335] Luna - California Blue / Rock Yr Baby

Andy — Mon, 16 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This is my second copy of Luna’s California Blue / Rock Yr Baby seven inch released by Feral Child in 2017, last time out I spent most of the post talking about the AA-side.

Luna - California Blue / Rock Yr Baby

So, while I had a full post about the AA-side the A-side is just going to get one sentence!

The A-side is Luna’s cover of Roy Orbison’s California Blue which was recorded in the sessions for A Sentimental Education - the original dates from Roy’s late period and was written by Roy with Jeff Lynne and Tom Petty.

When this single arrived the thing that grabbed me most wasn’t the A or the AA side but the sleeve which looked very familiar and then I realised why - the picture used on the front was the same used on my paperback copy of Geoffrey Fletcher’s The London Nobody Knows.

Geoffrey Fletcher was an artist and author whose drawings, mostly of London, appeared in many books, magazines, and newspapers during the 1960s and 70s. The London Nobody Knows is his best known work because in 1967 it was made into a short film featuring James Mason walking around some of the locations featured in the book and is a glorious look at disappearing London. The film was released on a DVD in 2008 which was my introduction to the work of Geoffrey Fletcher (although I suspect he had long been seeping into my unconscious).

I have still been known to take visitors to see the sewer lamp in Carting Lane. In this pic on the left is Fletcher’s sketch from the book, in the middle is James Mason from the film, and on the right is my boy posing with it a few years back.

The Carting Lane sewer lamp x 3

Around that time I had gone back to drawing, something I hadn’t done much of in years, and Geoffrey Fletcher’s style and choice of subject matter was a great inspiration to me. My second book by him was his Elements of Sketching which became my sketching bible - even if I didn’t really follow its rules and I’m not sure I improved as a result of it. I then followed it up with quite a little library of his books - here are some.

Geoffrey Fletcher library

… and here are a few examples of me desperately trying to be like him!

My Geoffrey Fletcher wannabes

I suspect the choice of sleeve was made by whoever is behind Feral Child?

Here’s Luna playing California Blue for Paste in 2019:

Luna - California Blue (play on YouTube)

Catalogue Number: AHFOW 11/068
Artist: Luna
Title: California Blue / Rock Yr Baby
Format: 7”
Bought via Great Pop Supplement in 2017

Previously in my record collection:

[210] Luna - California Blue / Rock Yr Baby

My record collection: [334] Luna - Inside Your Heart (lathe cut single)

Andy — Thu, 12 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Inside Your Heart was recorded by Luna in the sessions for A Sentimental Education and originally released as a bonus download with the Pledgemusic release of that album. This single was released a couple of years later by PIAPTK.

Luna - Inside Your Heart

The single is a cover of a song by The Monochrome Set and is another example of Dean digging deep for his choice of covers - the song only really surfaced in ~~2010~~ 1995 (thanks Vincent for pointing this out) on an LP of early recordings, and possibly dates from before they were actually called The Monochrome Set. Here’s a clip of them playing it in London last year:

The Monochrome Set - Inside Your Heart (London, 2025) (play on YouTube)

Now, I love an artefact, particularly a beautiful artefact and it can’t be denied that this single is a beautiful artefact. It’s a single hand-cut into a plastic disc which, when spun in the correct lighting conditions, shows lovely and hypnotic patterns…

Luna - Inside Your Heart spinning (15 secs) (play on YouTube)

However… this is written on a PIATPK insert with the single:

Please note that this lathe cut record was made one-at-a-time, in real-time, by a real person, from plexiglass using an experimental process and 70 year old machines. It is NOT a pressed record and may have slightly more surface noise or an occasional light distortion in some frequencies, and will sound somewhat different than the original master. The volume will also be a little lower than a modern "post-loudness-war" record, so pump up the volume. It won't be audiophile, but it ought to be listenable and sound pretty good considering the circumstances of its' birth. It might also require tonearm and anti-skate adjustment in order to track correctly due to the hard plastic having slightly shallower grooves than a traditional record.

Which does raise the question of whether something that doesn’t perform its primary function well is really something that is sensible to produce? Unless of course its primary function is to look beautiful? They also obviously cost much more to produce and so they end up costing the fan a lot of money for a one track single that doesn’t sound that great.

To be honest I think my love of “the artefact” wins over the “primary function” argument - although it does help that Dean was kind enough to send me a copy for nothing!

It also helps that for a fiver you can buy a digital release of Inside Your Heart and five other post-reunuion rarities in high quality so, the artefact can be a visual treat while you listen to the song the way it should sound!

While Luna were making A Sentimental Education they released a number of videos as part of the “campaign” including a clip of them in the studio recording Inside Your Heart:

Luna - recording Inside Your Heart (play on YouTube)

Catalogue Number: AHFOW 11/074
Artist: Luna
Title: Inside Your Heart
Notes: One-sided lathe-cut
Format: 7” single
Bought…
Buy ‘Inside Your Heart’ as part of ‘Postscripts’ on Bandcamp