Here’s the legendary “Something To Do” single by Buba and the Shop Assistants. It was released on Villa 21 in 1984. These songs have been shared on blogs a few times now, but the quality hasn’t been great. So my goal here was to make a nice mp3 rip of it. Unfortunately my copy is a little battered as well (especially the B side). Well… I’m posting it anyway!

Listen to Buba and the Shop Assistants – Something To Do

Listen to Buba and the Shop Assistants – Dreaming Backwards

For a proper review, read Tom’s indie-mp3 post a few years back.

The Shop Assistants web site

A Ukrainian arrangement of The Smiths song by the aptly named “Ukrainians”. A couple of these guys were in The Wedding Present.

Listen to The Ukrainians – Batyar.mp3

Check out their Myspace.

I just discovered The Bilinda Butchers who were recently mentioned on The Radio Dept. forum. I really like this song “Gigi” off their debut EP cassette. It reminds me of what some Gothenburg bands have been doing, like Air France and Boat Club, but more dreampop with lovely layers of reverb (which I whole-heartily support). Definitely looking forward to hearing more from these guys.

Listen to The Bilinda Butchers – Gigi

Order their debut EP, “Away,” out now on cassette from Unexplainable Recordings.

Tracklisting:
1. Gigi
2. It’s Not Over Till We’re Dead
3. I Can’t See It Here
4. L’astrologue

Order information is here!

www.myspace.com/thebilindabutchers

Energy Suite is an audio/visual installation from Peter Saville, Andy McCluskey, and video artist Hambi Haralambous that captures the architecture and sounds of five electricity generating power stations. OMD had an infatuation for the Stanlow Oil Refinery in Cheshire (in which the song “Stanlow” was written around using ambient sounds recorded in the refinery in 1980).

Energy Suite is on display at FACT, Liverpool, from December 12 until February 22. I wish I could go see this in person.

www.omd.uk.com

I just read that tonight Jupiter and Venus will align with the Moon to make a frowny face in the night sky. In honor of this I’ve posted one of the saddest song ever written. Jacques Brel’s “If You Go Away” — made especially melancholy by Dusty Springfield and whomever composed her string arrangement.

The Claim were a band I mostly ignored because the only single I heard (“Mrs. Shepherd” on Bus Stop) didn’t really impress me. Luckily my friend Victor set me straight! Their earlier releases are all fantastic! Now I keep checking to see when their retrospective on Bus Stop is coming out. Looks like 2009 according to Brian’s most recent web update. I hope and pray that will be the case. Here’s “Sunday” from their last 7″ single on Esurient Communications (PACE 10).

Listen to The Claim – Sunday

The Claim on Bus Stop

This is a cover of a Young Marble Giants song found on the B-side of the Why I Cry 7″. I’m excited to see YMG perform all of Colossal Youth when I go to ATP in May.

Listen to The Magnetic Fields – The Man Amplifier.mp3

This Magnetic Fields 7″ is long out of print but you can get the original version of the song here.