Thursday, September 2, 2021

88 Lines About 99 Records

Despite the title, there's not much to say about the late great NYC label 99 Records. Nothing new to add about Cavern or UFO. 99 Records issued a dozen 7" and 12" EP's between 1980 and 1985, plus three LP's. 

Today we have three hours of post-punk and punk-funk from the Bush Tetras, ESG, Liquid Liquid, and Maximum Joy; plus Glenn Branca, Congo Ashanti Roy, Y Pants, and Vivien Goldman. I added a Konk single that wasn't an official release, but it's 99-adjacent (98?)

Check out Nathan Nothin's post on the art and music of Y Pants member Barbara Ess (who died in March of this year.) Nathan's got 99-02LP and 99-03LP. 99-01LP isn't hard to find. 

If you want vinyl, the originals go for big bucks. Superior Viaduct has reissued 99 releases by Liquid Liquid and Glenn Branca, and Fire Records reissued the first ESG LP (plus two more ESG albums).

Posted by
Labels: ,

20 comments:

  1. jonderSeptember 2, 2021 at 5:23 PM

    99 V1: https://www.mediafire.com/file/ylbk04wtzdn8s13/99.45.V1.zip/file

    99 V2: https://www.mediafire.com/file/scwbmie22zthgrv/99.45.V2.zip/file

    99 V3: https://www.mediafire.com/file/0dv3k609ntejx1s/99.45.V3.zip/file

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownSeptember 2, 2021 at 10:22 PM

    Don't know how you do it, but you are reading my mind most weeks. Thinkin about ESG just the other day...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. jonderSeptember 3, 2021 at 8:38 AM

      If I could read you mind now, what a tale my thoughts could tell!

      You would be listening to Redd Kross or Death Of Samantha -- or "Redd Kross" by Death Of Samantha.

      Delete
  3. Viacomclosedmedown on youtubeSeptember 3, 2021 at 8:24 AM

    Thanks to you and Nathan! Hope you enjoy the Ritual Tension....not sure how they were connected here but I'm sure they were influenced by all this!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. jonderSeptember 3, 2021 at 11:35 AM

      I dunno either! Maybe they played some of the same NYC clubs. Probably knew some of the same people in that scene.

      Thank you for reposting Ritual Tension!

      Delete
  4. UnknownSeptember 4, 2021 at 4:27 AM

    Damn, what a treasure trove! Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. jonderSeptember 5, 2021 at 5:05 PM

      Thanks for the comment! In a spontaneous incident of symphonic synchronicity, Glenn Branca's Symphonies #1-3 were recently posted here:

      http://tapeattack.blogspot.com/

      Delete
  5. MMSeptember 6, 2021 at 2:56 AM

    99 seemed sort of magical to me when I was first encountering the label. There were no Discogs listings to consult in those days and I was too young to have tracked these records when they were first released. So as I ran into the name on the back of used records I dug up, I was amazed that same label could pull on so many different threads of my musical taste. A handful of labels with cool cryptic names (99, Y, On-U...) made musical categories deeply confusing and helped reconcile punk attitudes, lefty politics, and loving music that could move a dancefloor for me.

    Thank you for all this! Looking forward to digging through it all tomorrow and playing loudly. Definitely worse ways you could spend some time on labor day!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. jonderSeptember 6, 2021 at 10:59 AM

      Sadly, I was not too young to buy the records, and still regret that I only own a few 99 originals. (Also, WTF was I thinking when I sold "Birth Of The Y" to a used record store?) Back then I kept track of labels through their ads and reviews in music magazines, as well as mail order catalogs. But you couldn't really carry all that stuff into the record store, so there was always a dog-eared want list in my wallet.

      Good point too that Y, 99, On-U, Rough Trade etc. were broadening punk's musical palette while carrying the flag for DIY culture and leftist political values. Hope you enjoy the 99 grooves!

      MM's blog also covers a broad musical palette, and you can dance to it! Highly recommended: thingsandtimechange.blogspot.com

      Delete
    2. jonderSeptember 6, 2021 at 11:45 AM

      PS to MM - speaking of indie dancefloor records with a political bent (and an On-U connection), I could not have completed my Rough Trade singles compilation series without your rip of "Support The Miners" by The Enemy Within.

      Delete
    3. MMSeptember 8, 2021 at 4:38 PM

      Thank you for the kind words. I really started that blog just to share records with a few friends who were struggling to deal with the pandemic, uprisings, strikes and other messes of quarantine times. I'm glad that you bumped into it and enjoyed along the way! And that's great about the Enemy Within single, glad you were able to use it. That record really does capture the scene we're talking about pretty well, eh? The fact that it's also one of those few spots where music obsession and union organizing (pretty much *the* two things that fill my days that aren't my kids) run right into each other definitely adds to that 12"'s status in my collection. Thanks again!

      Delete
  6. AnonymousSeptember 6, 2021 at 12:54 PM

    This and the Rough Trade singles compilation thank you, thank you!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. jonderSeptember 22, 2021 at 12:25 PM

      Thanks for the comment! I just realized that the band Konk is connected to 99 Records and Rough Trade. Plus their drummer Richard Edson (who was also Sonic Youth's drummer, and an actor in the early Jim Jarmusch films) is pictured on the cover of the Club Foot compilation LP on Subterranean Records (another label with a singles compilation on this blog).

      Delete
  7. Ape MummySeptember 9, 2021 at 3:17 PM

    Dear Lord: I've been holding off on picking up those SV reissues, so I've been at loose ends every time I've wanted to listen to Liquid Liquid recently. Like Unknown above, it's like you're in my brain sometimes when you post these up.

    Worth noting: that Y Pants 12" that Water Wing put out a few years back is ABSOLUTELY worth snagging (and not terribly pricy, either).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. jonderSeptember 9, 2021 at 5:11 PM

      Good call! Here's the reissue that Ape Mummy recommends of the Y Pants EP (originally released by 99 in 1980):

      https://www.discogs.com/Y-Pants-Y-Pants/master/1618671

      Water Wing also reissued the Y Pants album, Beat It Down (which was the second release on Glen Branca's Neutral Records, shortly after the self-titled Sonic Youth album with Richard Edson from Konk on drums).

      Delete
  8. Hang The DJSeptember 12, 2021 at 7:53 AM

    Just came across your site and love it! I'm glad there is still an interest in this area of Post Punk. I'm currently posting a number of mixes on Mixcloud that encompasses all sorts of Post Punk etc.

    You might like this one:
    https://www.mixcloud.com/truefaith87/beyond-punk-1-punk-funk-vol-1-1979-1983/

    Tracks from A Certain Ratio/PiL/400 Blows/Pylon etc...

    I'm now looking to get a venue to put on a "Disko//Not//Disco" night.

    I'll continue to dip into this site.

    Cheers,
    Andrew (aka Hang The DJ)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. jonderSeptember 12, 2021 at 10:07 PM

      Glad you found the blog, Andrew! Good luck with finding a venue. I will definitely listen to your mixes; that era is a favorite of mine, and I love the Glaxo Babies, Medium Medium, and Pylon.

      Delete
  9. MrDaveSeptember 22, 2021 at 9:25 AM

    Thanks Jonder! Way behind over here but this looks great!

    ReplyDelete
  10. jonderSeptember 22, 2021 at 12:21 PM

    Thank you, Nick and MrDave. I'm staying as safe (and sane) as I can, but definitely missing live music. I'm glad people are enjoying these 99 comps.

    ReplyDelete
  11. zipperSeptember 25, 2021 at 7:10 AM

    Thanks for this Jonder, looks good. I love these label comps, there's always gems hidden away in there. Cheers!

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)