Needles & Grooves AoTM /// Vol. 9 - March 2020 /// X-Ray Spex - Germfree Adolescents

Dirtbag Auntie

Dirtbag Auntie

Well-Known Member
Hiya!

I am so excited and grateful to present Vol 9 of the N&G Forum AOTM. I hope my choice will be a welcome addition to what has come before and the awesomeness that will continue after mine. It's going to be a tough act to follow after @ChristoBee's selection but I think this record can.

I'm keeping this brief as I want to get the fun started!

ChristoBee, are you ready?
 
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This album is available to stream most places with a couple X-Ray Spex 2 disc anthologies. It should be available at most Amazon sites and directly through Real Gone Music.

I have been reading DayGlo: The Poly Styrene Story written by Celeste Bell and Zoe Howe. It's wonderful. It includes Poly's artwork, excerpts from her diaries and interviews with a lot of people talking about her and the enormous impact she made in punk and future generations of music. It seems to be available online through a lot of retailers.

Here is the website for the upcoming Poly Styrene documentary and a Patreon to help finish the film!

Thank you to @ChristoBee for helping me run the thread! I am looking forward to my attempt to harness the chaos in @Crabbers 's month.

Congrats to @Mr Moore! PM me so I can send you a copy of the record!

Further Listening:

The Slits – Cut

The Raincoats – S/T

Kleenex/LiLiPUT – First Songs (great comp)

I can’t even begin to list all the riot grrrrls

Downtown Boys – Cost of Living

Gauche – A People’s History of Gauche

G.L.O.S.S - just everything

There’s so much out there y’all!
 
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Okay, let's break down these hints:

-Bananarama "I Heard a Rumor" - Most stuff you read about Poly Styrene mentions that she was a trained opera singer. In the book, Dayglo (which is excellent), Celeste Bell (Poly's daughter) debunks that.
-Gamecube controller (hahahaha) - the colors were indigo and clear. Two of Poly's solo albums were called Generation Indigo and Translucence.
-Man on the Moon - one of the first clubs that X-Ray Spex performed in was called Man in the Moon
-Genre: 1st Punk album (more on this in my essay on why)
-Album came out in 1978
-Mirror, TV, magazines: The trio of clues that came from the lyrics of Identity

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-1 (the number): first album
-X-Ray Spex is a band with a dude drummer and obvs doesn't get their due since Joe mentioned them within the first week and they were continually skipped over as an optionnnnnnnnnnnn
-Came back into print with Real Gone Records (there was a limited version with Newbury for a min)
-19: the first two numbers in the year. it really was that simple.
-Cinderella's Big Score gif: Poly and Lora Logic are discussed in the book Cinderella's Big Score by Maria Raha. This book gives an overview of women in punk and indie rock and opened the door to a lot of bands for me. I have a copy that I will pass along to anyone who would like it!

-Banksy's Grannies: Well punk and Banky's work and X-Ray Spex explores similar themes of consumerism and breaking various barriers. (more on this later)
-CBGBs/Richard Hell: X-Ray Spex played a small residency at the club. It was said that the experience of New York affected some of the songs, especially Let's Submerge, mentioning Richard Hell in the lyrics.
-Poly identified as a woman
-Vibrantly colored pastic bags: This was a gimme. Song called Plastic Bag. If I had posted just a regular plastic bag, I'm not sure how much longer it would have taken y'all to get it. X-Ray Spex was a very vibrant band. Their look included a lot of neon.
-Sax/Soap: Lora Logic was a prominent member and the sax parts she wrote are so important. Soap: germ free.
 
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Why I chose X-Ray Spex "Germfree Adolescents"

I did try to meet the end of Feb or end of March with this essay. Life got in the way and other stuff but I had attempted to sit down and write about this album a few times. I just don't have enough words about how important this album is, not only to me but to punk and its influence. Poly Styrene was truly a one of a kind artist and she collaborated on a one of a kind punk record in a time where punk was dark and violent and very white male. Poly and the band brought fun and color and different ideas to what punk could ultimately be and who punk belongs to (everyoneeeeee). As I have mentioned (probs a million times) before, you hear her influence though the decades.

The album themes of consumerism, personal identity and how you are seen by others and in the eyes of consumerism, color and plastic still resonate today. Poly's struggles were reflected into her words. Her life was a journey, it seems she was always searching and learning. Dayglo is a great read to learn about how extraordinary she was.

I purchased the Let's Submerge Anthology used at my local record store when I bought Goldfrapp's Seventh Tree album. I can't remember what prompted me to pick it up but I mostly went in blind. Poly had come up in several things I read when I used to read a lot more music books. This comp changed my life. It was like a missing piece of a puzzle was clicked into place, pictures got put into focus, I went into a magical place, etc etc etc. This album solidified a lot of feelings I have about myself, music, the world and politically.

Another reason why I picked it was I wanted to see more representation in the picks. Up until the point when I got the news I was chosen for March's, there was only one other woman represented in the ROTMs. Then! ChristoBee chose the wonderful Ibeyi album before mine. I don't know where I was going with this but seriously more representation please.

To anyone who hasn't gotten around to this, please give it a shot! It may hit you hard, like it did me or open some more doors to possibly see punk music in a different light or have an awesome new album to buy and/or stream. Plus there are amazing sax lines written by Lora Logic! You have to hear those for sure.

I didn't get a copy of a reissue, I hope they included the lyrics on the original inner. If not, they are easily searchable. If you want to spend extra time with the album and appreciate it more fully, listen to it and read the lyrics at the same time. It's stunning.

To see so many people embrace this pick, to discover it for the first time and to see all the spins in the What's Spinning thread: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I hope it is a record you can keep going back to and engage with it as you see fit. Feel free to continue sharing your feelings about the album! If you don't want to post in the thread, please message me!


1979 mini doc on Poly Styrene:


X-Ray Spex's 2nd album from 1995:


X-Ray Spex live performance on Old Grey Whistle Test:
 
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Hints :

1.
Bananarama - I Heard A Rumour > Post

2.
"Sad Bastard Music" ? > Post (Maybe not a real hint ?)

3.
Game Cube controller > Post

4.
R.E.M. - Man on the Moon > Post

5.
Album's genre has never been featured with the previous AOTM > Post

6.
A bathroom's mirror ? > Post

7.
Not a 2000-2009 record > Post

8.
Cartoon TV > Post

9.
Pile of February 2009 magazines > Post

10.
1 (one, the number) > Post

11.
It's a band. > Post

12.
"drummer is a dude and this band has influenced countless bands but still doesn’t get their due." > Post

13.
Came in print in the last few years > Post / Post 2

14.
19 > Post

15.
Sonic Youth's Cinderalla Big Score gif > Post

16.
Banksy's Grannies > Post

17.
CBGB photo > Post

18.
Front person identifies as a woman > Post

19.
Record released before 1990 > Post
 
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Guesses

- Hole - Live Through This (@debianlinux )
- Belle and Sebastian - Girls in Peacetime Wants to Dance (@Waitressboy )
- Cocteau Twins - Heaven or LasVegas (@ByersVinyl )
- Upset - She's Gone (@tonythegamer )
- Chromatics - Kill for Love (@sjaygray )
- Tacocat - Lost Time (@gaporter )
- Art of Noise - (Who's Afraid of) The Art of Noise (@abadoxagoodox )
- Mandolin Orange - Tides Of A Teardrop (@Ajax )
- Against Me! - Transgender Dysphoria Blues (@Sonicpharmacist )
- Elastica - Elastica (@Teeeee )
- Siouxsie & The Banshees - Juju (@dhodo )


and, of course :

- Paula Abdul - Opposites Attract (@Teeeee )
 
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Ruled out Guesses :

Not 2000-2009 :
- The White Stripes - White Blood Cells (@Jonathan Y )
- Pretty Girls Make Graves - Good Health (@Joe Mac )
- Neko Case - Furnace Room Lullaby / Blacklisted (@gaporter )
- Xiu Xiu - Fabulous Muscles (@teefer )
- CSS ‎– Donkey (@Skalap )

Not a female identifying leader :
- The Afghan Whigs - Gentleman (@panino )
- Marilyn Manson - Born Villain (@Mr Moore )
- Idles - Joy as an Act of Resistance (@siremobunny )
- Guided by Voices - Alien Lanes (@LeSamourai )

Not a male identifying drummer :
- Debbie Deb - Lookout Week-end (@gaporter )
- Joni Mitchell - Blue (@johnpisme )
- Janet Jackson - Control (@Jonathan Y )
- Donna Summer ‎– Another Place And Time (@teefer )
 
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