Remembering Mitch Mitchell in advance of his birthdate tomorrow. —Ed.

Is it me? I repeat, is it me? Am I the only person on the planet who thinks the Jimi Hendrix Experience’s Electric Ladyland is grossly overrated? Well, almost. The famously eccentric rock critic Chuck Eddy agrees with me, I think. But otherwise? The two of us are all by our lonesome on this one. Let the critics, all 20 million of them, fawn and gush! Let one Peter Doggett proclaim Electric Ladyland the greatest rock album of all time! Me, I’ve always found the guitar legend’s 1968 double LP to be less a rewarding experience than an overlong and sometimes grueling, listen.

Maybe you had to hear it stoned. Maybe that’s it. I never heard it stoned. I never listened to any Jimi Hendrix LP stoned except 1969’s Smash Hits, which I liked because whomever it was that cherry-picked its tunes made certain they were both (1) catchy and (2) short. Smash Hits coheres, as does 1967’s Are You Experienced, which is more than can be said for the shambolic Electric Ladyland, which one critic called “the fullest realization of Jimi’s far-reaching ambitions,” but which I find both uneven and diffuse—in short, less a case of far-reaching than overreaching, and overreaching at its worst.

Only a fool would write off Electric Ladyland as a complete loss. There’s no denying that “Crosstown Traffic,” the haunting cover of Bob Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower,” and “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)” are stone cold brilliant. “All Along the Watchtower” shows remarkable self-restraint; Hendrix plays only those notes that are necessary to frame and accompany the melody, which was rarely the case with the guy. As for “Voodoo Child (Slight Return),” it’s musical napalm, and one of the most incendiary songs ever recorded. On it Hendrix renounces subtlety for a sound every bit as brutal as the Tet Offensive, which took place while Hendrix, his bandmates, and an all-star crew of extras were recording Electric Ladyland.

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As the musical platform of San Francisco-based songwriter Glenn Donaldson, The Reds, Pinks & Purples have been prolific over the last six years, enough so that even the most veracious lovers of melancholy and smart indie pop will have experienced difficulty keeping up with the outpouring of the songs. Well, Donaldson and his new label Fire Records have done a favor for fans and newbies alike by collecting a strong batch of tunes from the outfit’s pool of roughly 200 that have never been given a physical release before. Indeed, The Past Is a Garden I Never Fed is a compilation, but one with no filler that gets right to the core of what’s special about The Reds, Pinks & Purples. It’s out now on LP, CD, and digital.

If one commits oneself to the playing of indie pop, either as part of a band or as the creative engine of a project that either enlists the aid of others or comes to fruition all by one’s own devices, getting the sound right is crucial. Or at least that’s so if one is striving to equal the achievements of the great acts in the genre. It can be jangly, dreamy, achy, angular, punky, or some combination of these descriptors, but absorbing the genre’s essence and extending it is essential rather than approximating and, in turn, diluting it.

Embodying and elevating the sound instead of merely imitating; Glenn Donaldson understands. It’s evident in the layered guitar distortion and acoustic strum of “I Only Ever Wanted to See You Fail,” and also in how he opts for a melodica, instead of say, a harmonica, during “Slow Torture of an Hourly Wage.” A harmonica would’ve been fine, but the melodica sets the track apart and readies it for longevity.

But with this album’s opener “The World Doesn’t Need Another Band,” Donaldson also seems to realize that one can get in the neighborhood of noise-pop perfection without creating so much as a minor stir in the grand scheme of things. In the 21st century, creating indie pop is an endeavor undertaken for the love of it.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | In 1982, The Dream Syndicate started their own record company, Down There Records, to release their self-titled 4-song 12-inch EP that included the first versions of “When You Smile” and “That’s What You Always Say.”

They went on to sign with Slash for Days Of Wine & Roses, followed by A&M for the Medicine Show album. After a long, protracted debate with the massive Universal Music Group, the band has earned the right to reissue Medicine Show as a 42-song 4-CD box featuring 29 unreleased recordings from that 1983–’84 era. For this special occasion, The Dream Syndicate is resurrecting their Down There label, which will be distributed by Fire Records.

The Dream Syndicate’s Medicine Show album has always been controversial, even before it was recorded. Indie-rock darlings become the first Paisley Underground band to sign to a major label, hire a mainstream rock producer, change bass players, and spend months recording it after banging out the previous album, Days of Wine and Roses in mere hours.

What this new box set reveals—is that as a live band—between Steve’s (then) new songs and his animated vocal performances, Karl’s expanded guitar playing (taking it to outer space and beyond), various new bassists (Dave, then Mark) holding it down (while pumping it up), and of course Dennis holding it rock steady—The Medicine Show era was the shit!

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | Third Man Records is proud to announce the 65th installment in their long-running quarterly vinyl subscription service The Vault, The Jesus and Mary Chain’s Psychocandy 40th Anniversary Edition.

Included in this set is a 2xLP version of Psychocandy cut at 45rpm, a live recording from St. Andrew’s Hall in Detroit from 1987, and a metallic gold 7” featuring “Jesus Fuck” b/w an early (and previously unreleased) demo of “Just Like Honey.” Sign-up is open now through July 31 at midnight CST.

1985: As the last detached murmurs of post-punk slowly crest into the earliest whispers of shoegaze, standing there in a world all their own, cutting a profile both unique and incomparable is The Jesus and Mary Chain. With equal influence gleaned from The Stooges and The Shangri-Las, The Velvet Underground and The Beach Boys, the band released the unassailable godhead album, Psychocandy.

In celebration of this recording, one of the most important and watershed albums of all time, Third Man Records is humbled to announce Psychocandy: 40th Anniversary Edition as the 65th release of their Vault quarterly subscription series.

Anchoring this set is a 2xLP version of Psychocandy cut at 45rpm. It is not hyperbole to say this might be the loudest cut…not only of this record but of any record…you will ever hear. The high-speed treatment here affords the sonics a heretofore-unseen clarity in the band’s utilization of controlled feedback.

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Celebrating Ringo Starr on his 85th birthday. —Ed.

Beatles fans, stop your incessant bickering about who’s the better artist, Paul McCartney or John Lennon! Because let’s face it, Ringo Starr beats the MBEs off both of ‘em! He’s a hit machine, a genius and a true Starr! And to those who would say otherwise I say, well, to HECK with you!

I don’t base my opinion on the fact that Ringo is the humblest and most lovable Beatle. No, all one has to do is compare his best of, 1975’s Blast from Your Past, with those of the other members of the Fab Four. It’s got a higher winner to loser ratio (90%, and that’s only if I call “Beaucoups of Blues” a loser, which it ain’t!) than John Lennon’s Shaved Fish (64%) Wings’ Wings Greatest (50%), and George Harrison’s The Best of George Harrison, which I refuse to even consider seeing as how its first side is composed solely of Beatles’ era songs.

And not only does Ringo have a better batting average–he’s also a lot more fun. Sure Lennon’s “Cold Turkey” (to pick just one song) is a harrowing depiction of heroin withdrawal blah blah blah, but do I ever listen to it? Of course not! It’s a stone bummer! And yes, Paul the Frivolous has written some lovably lightweight songs over the years, but he’s also the spitwit responsible for “Silly Love Songs,” “Let ‘em In,” and “Ebony and Ivory,” which makes him a horrible person in my book! And don’t even get me started on that nebbish George Harrison. No, Ringo’s the King, and I say that not as a fan but as a completely objective party who Ringo just paid me to say that!

Look, I would call Ringo the Greatest but I don’t have too since he comes right out and says he is in “I’m the Greatest,” just one of the delicious trifles that make Blasts from Your Past as indispensable an album as, well, pick an album, any album! And just in case you think Ringo’s only good for producing trifles, I give you “Photograph” (as touching a song as you’ll ever run across) and “It Don’t Come Easy,” which has George Harrison’s fingerprints all over it but who gives a shit!

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | Oasis has today announced details of deluxe formats of (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? to celebrate the era-defining album’s landmark 30-year anniversary. It will feature new unplugged versions of five classic recordings “Cast No Shadow,” “Morning Glory,” ” Wonderwall,” “Acquiesce,” and “Champagne Supernova.”

Released on the 3rd October on Big Brother Recordings, (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? (30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) is available for pre-order here on limited edition 2CD and 3LP formats as well as digital formats to pre-save. This special anniversary format follows last summer’s release of the 30th Anniversary Edition of Definitely Maybe which reached number 1 in the Official UK Album Chart for the second time in that album’s history.

The new unplugged versions were produced and mixed by Noel Gallagher and Callum Marinho from the original master recordings at Noel’s studio, Lone Star Sound, in London. The new interpretation of ‘”Acquiesce” is revealed today.

The deluxe album features new artwork shot by original sleeve designer Brian Cannon and new sleeve notes. Exclusive coloured vinyl formats will be available, including indie record store exclusive “Cast No Shadow” inspired Crystal Clear 3LP, HMV “Morning Glory” inspired blue marble 3LP, Amazon Exclusive “Wonderwall” inspired sepia marble 3LP, and official store exclusive “Acquiesce” inspired neon orange 3LP. All formats will include the 2014 remastered version of the album alongside the new bonus versions.

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I love Sleaford Mods. I love everything about them. If you were to ask me which I love more, Sleaford Mods or my mom, I would say Sleaford Mods. Sorry Mom. I love you, I really do. But you’re no Sleaford Mods.

I love that singer-talker (they call that Sprechgesang in Deutsch). Kevin Williamson, a rough and angular-looking working-class fellow, is the kind of fucking cunt who likes to say fucking cunt, and in a wonderful East Midlands accent no less. I love that the duo (Andrew Fearn programs their tracks and stands around in their videos looking cool) originally called themselves That’s Shit, Try Harder. I love that Williamson specializes in diatribes, against this, against that, against everything, it seems, British. I love that both men are in their forties. Success hasn’t come easy for them. Williamson, in particular, took the long and winding road to where he is now, obscenitying away.

I also love that “Mods.” It’s a tribute to Williamson’s early love for bands like The Jam. But what I love more is that Williamson has nothing good to say about The Jams’ Paul Weller, and he’s more than happy to say it in public. He basically thinks the old geezer should hang it up, that he’s just going through the motions and beating a dead Mod horse for the filthy lucre.

But what I love most are their songs. Utterly addictive and stripped to the basics songs like “Bang Someone Out,” “Mork n Mindy,” “Jolly Fucker,” “TCR,” “B.H.S.,” “UK Grim,” “Force 10 from Navarone,” and “Tweet Tweet Tweet.” They’re all poetic prole blasts of pure stream-of-consciousness invective, reminiscent of a less arcane Mark E. Smith.

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We’ve closed TVD’s HQ this week for the Fourth of July holiday. While we’re away, why not fire up our Record Store Locator app and visit one of your local indie record stores?

Perhaps there’s an interview, review, or feature you might have missed? Catch up and we’ll see you back here on 7/7.

VIA PRESS RELEASE | “I wish I read more people who talked about Jack White as a writer of lyrics, or as a narrator of a very specific kind of interior…Evil and optimism wrestle with each other, longing and a hunger for loneliness tussle in the same bed. Cynicism and desire, rage and tenderness. All of these things seamlessly stitch together and come alive on the page.” —Hanif Abdurraqib, author of A Little Devil In America

Third Man Books is proud to announce the publication of Jack White Collected Lyrics and Selected Writing Volume 1 by Jack White and edited by Ben Blackwell. The upcoming collection compiles lyrics from White’s solo recordings thus far, alongside his acclaimed work with The Raconteurs, The Dead Weather, and other collaborations.

The anthology further includes selected poems and writing by White, rare and exclusive photos, and new essays written especially for this book by award-winning, Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award-nominated poet Adrian Matejka, award-winning, Detroit-based filmmaker and writer dream hampton, and Third Man Records co-founder Ben Blackwell. Jack White Collected Lyrics and Selected Writing Volume 1 arrives at Third Man Records digital and physical storefronts and booksellers in the United States on Tuesday, October 21. Pre-orders are available now at thirdmanbooks.com.

Jack White Collected Lyrics and Selected Writing Volume 1 follows 2023’s The White Stripes Complete Lyrics (Third Man Books), definitively collecting White’s extensive and acclaimed lyrical work. In addition, the collection also gathers rarely seen poetry written by White throughout his life, along with assorted writings on such diverse subjects as music, art, politics, and more.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | Officially available for the first time in 40 years, Swell Maps’ The John Peel Sessions will be released on CD and digitally on September 12, 2025 via Mute. Listen to “Midget Submarines” from the band’s second Peel Session, recorded just before the release of their 1979 debut, A Trip To Marineville below.

Noisy, chaotic, and defiantly experimental, Swell Maps may not have found commercial success in their time, but their impact on music is undeniable, they went on to be an inspiration to bands such as R.E.M., Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr., Pavement, The Pastels, Stereolab, and Nirvana (Kurt Cobain was often seen sporting a Swell Maps t-shirt). A democracy within the confines of punk’s “anything is possible” maxim, members Biggles Books, Jowe Head, and brothers Nikki Sudden and Epic Soundtracks, helped shape the landscape of post-punk and DIY music.

Formed in the early ’70s and fully realized by 1976, Swell Maps embodied the DIY ethos, launching their own label and self-releasing the jagged, frenetic debut single “Read About Seymour” in 1978. Peel was an early supporter, playing their record as soon as it landed on his desk, a moment the band described as one of disbelief and elation. His regular airplay of their music helped solidify their cult status, and these sessions capture the raw energy, off-kilter melodies, and boundary-pushing creativity that defined them.

The John Peel Sessions brings together all three of their recordings for John Peel’s sessions—from October ’78, May ’79, and March ’80—that were originally broadcast on his show on BBC Radio 1, a vital document of Swell Maps at their most unfiltered—three sessions of unpredictable, exhilarating noise.

Remembering Jeffrey Lee Pierce, born on this day in 1958. —Ed.

I had a gun once. And if you have a gun, you might as well hold up a liquor store. So I went to the liquor store, panty hose over my head, and pointed the gun at the clerk. Turned out he was an old high school friend who recognized me immediately, panty hose notwithstanding. I lowered the gun and said, “Well, shit,” and pulled the panty hose off my head. “Way to go, fucktooth,” he said, “you just performed a cameo for the security cameras. Just go. I’ll fuck them up somehow.”

Then he said, “I can give you a bottle and a pack of cigarettes. Like tequila?” I said, “Man, this is ridiculous.” He said, “You’re disappearing ink. I never saw you. Take the tequila. It’s some expensive shit. And I recommend heartily that you find another way of getting paid, because you’re too nice a guy for this business.” By this time there was a customer standing behind me. I didn’t even know he was there. I turned to him and said, “I’m sorry for the hold-up, no pun intended,” and bolted. And heard him say behind me, “It takes all kinds of idiots to make a world.”

None of that is true, but it reminds me of The Gun Club, whose 1981 debut LP blew my mind. “Sex Beat,” “She’s Like Heroin to Me, and “For the Love of Ivy” opened up new possibilities in post-punk; for one The Gun Club was heavy on the blues, and the songs were dark, dark as Robert Johnson dark. No 57-second tantrums directed at that bitch Ronald Reagan for The Gun Club; they played a deviant hybrid of punk, rockabilly, country, and blues, and lyrically were mining an ancient vein of a haunted America, where spirits and ghosts wandered the highways and lightless trains rode the trestles at night, along with one Jack on fire. I listened to that album for six months straight, then I discovered the Minutemen and the Meat Puppets, and The Gun Club just sorta slipped off my radar.

It was my loss, because front man Jeffrey Lee Pierce came on like a man possessed by some cursed spirit from South of the Border, like he had voodoo in his blood and sex in his guitar, and it surprised virtually no one when he died at age 37 as a result of alcohol and drug abuse. He founded The Gun Club in the happening Hollywood scene in 1979, with a line-up that included Brian Tristan (aka Kid Congo Powers) on lead guitar, Don Snowden on bass, and Brad Dunning on guitar.

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