rockets and blue lights

i thought that tonight i'd like to talk about one of the records i own, but i wasn't sure which one. so i've been looking through my record collection and although there's a lot of stuff i'd like to talk about, there's one thing that takes priority over that. you see, i'd already picked out the 'i hate myself' 7" that would be great fodder for some wordy meandering, but then i opened up the top of my turntable and saw the rockets and bluelights 10" just sitting there begging for a spin.

this one hasn't left my turntable in a good couple of months, to be honest, and is definately the opus of my collection. and i think it's one of these things that quite probably everyone should have heard of, but copious amounts of people HAVEN'T. needless to say that this record represents everything that's both hidden and good about emo. a 10" vinyl: two tracks on each side. of course flipping it is a pain, but what can you do. even side a has enough fantastic material to blow the socks off of a large mountain.

so i googled them a while back when i was all curious about them, but all i could find information on was the painting they were named after. needless to say that's NOT what i was looking for, though i suppose it's a pretty painting! and it obviously meant enough for them to name their band after it, i suppose.

but on further investigation, i was able to find a small geocities website from the band which is badly produced and really juxtapositioned (it's not what one would call top notch design), but without sounding insulting, it actually suits the music perfectly. spanning pictures showing their lives, obviously a very visual band. and their picture page makes me so jealous that i was and am unable to jump down into the basements where they play their shows. and on the site there was a promise of a 10 song lp, which i'd be bursting at the mention of. sadly i'm not sure whether the band are still together or not.

released on very elusive redder records, the actual record is hidden away at the bottom of the page, as the very last release! not exactly in a standout position, to be honest. it's also only $9.49, which considering exchange rates is cheap as chips for me.

so sitting here with the vinyl spinning, listening to the heavy feedback, mathy rhythms and random shouts is probably as close as i'll get to the diy scene over there. but as long as they produce superb records like this, i suppose i'll be sated. but i'm not even asking you, but telling you that you must hear this band.

mp3, rockets and bluelights - a smashed piano
vinyl, buy it at redder records