Dean Wareham - I Have Nothing To Say To The Mayor Of L.A.

Double Feature Records - Clear Red Vinyl - Limited to 500 copies.

Out of stock at the source: Dean Wareham Home

Still available as of press here: Randy's Record Shop

Not sure why I have not paid closer attention to Wareham’s post Galaxie 500 and Luna output over the years… but I am glad that I have begun to rectify this little by little over the past few years. Sometimes I get so attached to something, and instead of letting it grow from there, I pull it to my chest to keep it from getting away from me. This is the correct method for fly balls, thrown drumsticks, and your odd other giveaway, but I am learning that for music… this is not the way.

Scrolling through Instagram one night, lying next to my peacefully sleeping son, I happened upon this new Dean Wareham release, as well as the newish (or new to the LP format) Quarantine Tapes record put out by Wareham and his partner, Britta Phillips. I just got around to throwing IHNTSTTMOLA (what an acronym) on and was immediately transported back to the mid-1990s when I dove deeply into Galaxie 500. Don’t get me wrong, this record sounds not much like Galaxie 500 or even Luna, but Wareham’s voice just has that effect on me… an immediate pull back to a time of late night listens and thoughts about things to come.

Although there are two covers on this record, it was the potentiality of a third song “Cashing In” which had me immediately going to the writing credits. Not to burst any balloons, but no, Dean Wareham does not cover Minor Threat on this release. Can’t say I wouldn’t be excited about hearing that though. What we do have are covers of Scott Walker and Lazy Smoke tunes. Is it odd that it took Wareham’s cover of Duchess to spawn a re-assessment of Scott Walker? Probably not, but it is about time.

Current favorite: Why Are We In Vietnam?