A Head Full of Wishes is a site for Galaxie 500, Luna, Damon & Naomi, Dean & Britta and Dean Wareham. With news, articles and lists of releases and past and future shows.
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A Head Full of Wishes newsletter #48
My record collection [339] Dean Wareham - Dean Wareham (test/promo LP)
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.
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.
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 [340] Luna - Penthouse (MC)
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.
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:
- 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:
- 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:
- [018] Luna - Penthouse (deluxe 2xLP)
- [274] Luna - Penthouse (CD)
- [311] Luna - Penthouse (2xLP deluxe test pressing)
This week in AHFoW history
35 years ago… 5th April 1991: Galaxie 500’s last show…
… and within the week the band was no more :( - I’ll have an oral history of sorts in Tuesday’s post so be sure to subscribe!
https://aheadfullofwishes.substack.com/p/galaxie-500-have-split-35-years-on
5th April 2025: Dean Wareham in Leeds…
… and thirty four years later I was treated to a personal live performance of Galaxie 500 obscurity Shout You Down:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qu50rKTtFKM
I wrote about that show for AHFoW so, more pics, and more fanboy gushing here!
Originals: This Changing World covered by Damon & Naomi
This week’s Substack post led me down a Eurovision Song Contest rabbit hole!
https://aheadfullofwishes.substack.com/p/originals-this-changing-world-by