Various Artists
Columbus Discount Singles Club Year One (CDRSCY1!)

Our first single of the month club. It ran from August of 2008 until September of 2009.

It is sold out, but there are subscriptions avaliable for CDRSCY2!

TV Ghost
The Fiend b/w Prodrome

What I’d hoped would have happened with Lafayette, Indiana’s TV Ghost, has. They’ve tightened up enough to bring some menace, precisely what their UHF Saturday afternoon horrorshow needed. “The Fiend” bops along with panicked sine waves, frenetic vocals, fast tribal drumming and surf licks, an unsightly hair projecting from Ed “Big Daddy” Roth’s eternal nose. “Prodrome” is the slow cooker, seasick reverb beset by air raid guitars and a whole lot of low end. Produced by Cheater Slick Tom Shannon, this one owns up to the promise I was always told of with this young Indiana bunch, but rarely witnessed myself. still single

Guinea Worms
I Know Where Will Foster Lives b/w C.H.U.D

If you’re a fan of the scuzz and skewered Midwestern crud-punk of Columbus Discount, then there’s been little complaint with each installment, especially these last two. We’ll start with March and the Guinea Worms’ addition, “I Know Where Will Foster Lives” b/w “C.H.U.D. The A-side is the clear winner here, not in that Will Foster has succumbed to his ego. It’s not about ego with this guy. It’s more how he’s now past embracing his role as Central Ohio’s definitive Mark E. Smith figure. The song (as is the whole of the Worms catalog) is based in that Fall theory of repetition, with a garish horn skronk accenting the rubber razor-blade guitars. I’ve been listening to Extricate quite a bit recently, and if I had to place Foster at this moment, he’s probably been doing the same. Foster, like M.E.S., is rambling in similar anti-ego quotidian screed, only it’s the dialect of High Street. I’m sure lines like, “I know how small his penis is,” sounds as incoherent to British listeners as Smith’s lines translate for us. “C.H.U.D.” is even more self-deprecating, a downer cave-punk stomp with phallic intent. Like the A-side, “C.H.U.D.” is repeated till it’s deconstructed to base elements, even spelling the title out right before losing the marbles. And in the same fashion as the A-side ends in a relentless psycho-blare, the B-side quickly coagulates in uncomfortable angles to finish off this aural hand-job. the agit reader

Little Claw
Prickly Pear b/w Crawl Around Inside

The idea was to snake the 4-piece LC line-up on their fall tour last year, take them into the CDR studio and roll the tape for The Rep. The studio ended up being booked in advance so the band was taken to Columbus venue, The Summit, in the wee hours of the mid-afternoon. Just as Rep was about to hit Rec, a monstrous fucking wind storm hit Columbus, knocking out power all over town, causing the band to flee to the relative safety of Cleveland!? Thusly, that idea was doomed. In lieu of live Little Claw, we've got some bedroom moves a la Luxury Prevention (as heard previously on Die Stasi's XXperiments comp). Mmmmmmmmm. Mmm.

Mike Rep
Donovan's Brain pt.1 b/w Donovan's Brain pt.2 and The Ballad of Jim Croce

I remain in awe of the Columbus Discount Records singles club. The label has not only assembled a roster of new releases to die for, but they’ve done some digging and have been able to unearth some seriously great archival material. There has always been a heavy dose of cassette-culture in the city, so there’s plenty to choose from and the selection thus far has been well-rounded and extraordinary. Actually, I’m not sure that “Donovan’s Brain,” which is spread across both sides of this record, has ever been released in any form, though it’s older than a third grader (“Ballad of Jim Croce,” which completes the B-side here, was plucked from an Old Age/No Age cassette). A classic sounding Rep/Jay collaboration, this sounds as though the boys could have spewed it out in any era as they’ve been strumming these psychedelic pop Nuggets since before the capital N back there meant anything. Terminal-Boredom

Dan Melchior und das Menace
The Post Office Line b/w Tourists

Dan Melchior is easily one of the most prolific songwriters on this stupid Earth. Just over the past couple of months, the dude has come out with a handful of singles (two on Columbus Discount, one on the new Convulsive Records imprint, and another on Dullknife Records), and a double album on SS Records, and to date he has released over forty records since the mid-90s, far more than any other artist that comes to mind, save for Billy Childish. And he does it without hardly a dud in the mix, it's crazy––The guy is like some kind of song factory freak. As part of Columbus Discount Records Singles Club, Dan Melchior's new incarnation, Dan Melchior und das Menace came out with one of his most interesting singles so far. As a man known for digging on the old blues, folk, and gospel tunes and injecting his sharp edge of modern punk and garage serum, it's when he ventures outside of his tender and venomous musing that his songwriting brilliance really shines the brightest. Here on the new single on Columbus Discount Records (available only through the exclusive, pre-booked singles club and directly from Mr. Melchior himself), Melchior takes his song sack out and slaps a couple of doozies on us. On the A-side's "Post Office Line," he spews his profound mastery of the downtrodden antisocial viewpoint in a whirling nightmare of cheap organs and drums that sound like rust-fucked machinery pulsating in a coagulation of self-defining social angst, that, for some of us, shows itself inwardly in such aggravating and monotonous tasks as stand in line at the post office. On the flip side, in a song titled "Tourist," Melchior posts his usual "them vs. him" scenario in a gut-twisting song that breaks between bursts of now-wave noise and softly sung stanzas tormented from the numb empathy of out-of-town house guests, to the snagging coils of urban living that will have you shaving your eyebrows and drooling for some kind of no-wavy jazz weirdo shit. This is such a great single. victim of time

The Unholy Two
Altamont 1969" b/w "Beirut 1983

Ett av fšrra Œrets mest angenŠmna bekantskaper var Ohio-bandet The Unholy Two. Stškig, distad och primitiv riff-rock. Like a riff-crazy bat out of hell eller kanske som ett švertŠnt The Stooges anno 1969. Bandet har precis slŠppt en ny singel pŒ Columbus Discount Records som helt klart Šr vŠrd att plocka upp om du inte har nŒgot bŠttre fšr dig. Det Šr klart, en fšrutsŠttning Šr fšrstŒs att du mŒste gilla bredbent muskulšs arbetarrock. Det gšr inte heller nŒgot om du Šr lite efterbliven eller har ambitionen att aldrig nŒ lŠngre Šn till nŒgon hejarklack pŒ nŒgon stŒplatslŠktare runt om i detta land. "Altamont 1969 Šr fšrvisso inte riktigt i klass med fjolŒrets mŠsterverk "Kutter" men det Šr onekligen en fin start pŒ det nya Œret. Bombastiska och genomlortiga trummor tŠcks av en vackert nedstŠmd och hŒrt lo-fi-erad gitarr och sedan mal det bara pŒ. PŒ sina stŠllen pŒminner det hela en hel del om tidiga UT eller kanske ett lite mer sparsmakat och knastertorrt Killdozer. The pig was cool och det Šr precis vad The Unholy Two Šr. Oh by the by, "Kutter" har precis kommit i en andrapress vilken du givetvis ocksŒ kan plocka upp hos Columbus Discount.

Sandwich
Assisted Living b/w I've Had A Few

Holy shit, Ron House has a new band. Dramatic, glamorous rock, like Columbus, OH taking on Roxy Music, with all the rust and ugliness you would come to anticipate from such an endeavor. Not being familiar with the other members of the band (playing guitar, bass, drums and synth – Ron plays himself, as usual), I can’t recall ever being disappointed by the works of the American genius up front, so I say go for it. Columbus Discount Singles Club record #4, 300 copies. Must-hear music for those of us who spent time on the barnacled side of the ‘90s. still single

Cheater Slicks
Erotic Woman b/w Can't You Hear (My Heartbeat)

The Cheater Slicks have been around for 20 years, have released 13 LP's and 10 or 12 singles and have been directly or indirectly responsible for some of the best things that have happened in underground rock and roll in the last two decades, maybe ever. This year, they released the fantastic, all improv, instrumental LP Bats In Dead Trees, a record that proves, again, these guys can do about anything and it will be great. This single is a return to the traditional Slicks form. The A Side is a hilarious Dana Hatch penned punker called Erotic Woman. The B-Side is Tom Shannon fronting the band on Can't You Hear (My Heartbeat) by obscure-o Garage band the Outcry. Both songs were recorded exclusively on mics and gear from the 50's and 60's at Columbus, OH's historic Mus-i-col recording. It's a real honor for us to present this record.

Various Artists
The Harrisburg Players Vol. 1

The first in what will apparently be a long line of releases on CDR by the Harrisburg Players (whom I Believe should be declared a state treasure by the Ohio government), a loose organization comprised of Columbus scene stalwarts Tommy Jay, T.A. Lafferty, Nudge Squidfish, The General, and Mike "Rep" Hummel, along with a handful of friends and associates.  These recordings were made in 1978 in what sounds to be some of the most fun sessions of all time.  The record opens with "No Place," a tribute to music in the vein of Lou Reed's "Rock n Roll" (even going so far as to conjure "RnR"s hymn-like soulfulness), lamenting indifference to "new wave music" in a flyover state.  It closes with another hymn, "Take It To The Father," propelled heaven-ward by Mike Rep's organ and a drunken choir taking it home a capella.  In between, there's The General's wild-eyed confession "I Did It" ("it" being stabbing a girlfriend to death with a knife, and yes, I think he did it).  Nudge Squidfish's "Jess" is the standout, though-a brief and painful crawl through the bottom that unconvincingly insists "you love can't hurt me again."  The devastation is palpable.  "Who's gonna change the way that we feel?"  It just gets sadder every time I listen to it.  This gets said all too often of too many unworthy records, but seriously: this one is essesntial. the z gun

El Jesus De Magico
Unclean Ghost b/w Pirate Utopia

This is the second Columbus Discount Singles Club release, and it’s a belter. I can’t figure out what it is about El Jesus de Magico; maybe they hit all of my familiarity buttons in the right sequence. But their take on grotty, noise-caked rock dirge recalls both GBV and the Grifters in a way that no band has successfully accomplished since … well, since GBV or the Grifters. “Unclean Ghost” surges forth with a tired determination that really makes it work, while “Pirate Utopia” picks things up a bit, jumping out of its skin like some lost New Zealand pop chestnut. I look forward to seeing what this band can do. Clear vinyl, 300 copies, silkscreened sleeve. Hunt this down. still single

Pink Reason
3:16 b/w Sweet Sinister

The first arrival in the Columbus Discount Records Singles Club series.  Yet more incarnations of Kevin Debroux's Pink Reason cottage industry, with reliably fascinating results.  "3:16" (also, perhaps not coincidentally, the most quoted of all Bible verses, i.e. the one football players ink under their eyes) has a ridiculously prog bassline and a nautical sway that made me flash back to a June of '44 show I saw in 1998.  Eventually I got over that bad memory enough to enjoy the song.  While "3:16" keeps the PR tradition of sounding stark and steeped in drama the nautical prog aspect of it is an intriguing departure from Debroux's usual template.  The B side tune, "Sweet Sinister," is like the flip side of PR classic "The Devil Always Wins": an instant and instantly memorable classic sanctified shouter, the devil this time performing a seductive shuffle which is backed with reverb-heavy twang. the z gun