Sportchestra - 101 Songs About Sport (1988)

Featuring members of Chumbawamba, The Ex, Mekons, and other bands of the English anarcho-punk sphere in the late 80's, it's exactly what it says on the tin: 101 short songs singing about something to do with sports. It's an...interesting release to put it simply. Originally released on vinyl across two records, there's an abridged version out there limited to one LP, but that seems to be quite rare, even rarer than the full release. Released on Agit-Prop Records, Chumbawamba's own label.

Give it a shot. It isn't bad, it's just odd for someone who doesn't really follow sports outside of baseball (let's go Mets), but I'm sure if I understood some of the references, I'd get a kick out of it.

Thanks for the support as always. Now, please enjoy nearly two hours of quick songs about sports.

https://www.mediafire.com/file/qxft5mhmzg29iox/Sportchestra_-_101_Songs_About_Sport_%25281988%2529.zip/file

• There's technically two ways to listen through this: in order on the record, or by the number they say at the start of each track. I'm pretty sure my upload follows the order of the record, but I'm putting this out there for anyone interested.
• Additionally, I'd like to apologise for the lower quality upload. Believe it or not, I can't find a higher quality version than the one I've got here. Hope it's not a big deal, I tried my best.

The Secret Stars - Partial Discography (1995-2003)

 "Can I still be vague when I understand?"

Apologies for the long gap in posts. As you can surely tell, things have changed around here. School got in the way of posting on here, as well as my one way of posting here got closed off. Trust me, this blog would've stayed active otherwise. Thanks to school and other personal life problems, the blog fell by the wayside while I focused on school and running my YouTube channel. Shocker, sometimes it's easier to manage a place where all you have to do is make a video rather than type up something and link a Mediafire page.

Also, simply put, I've changed. When I started this blog in May of 2022, I was 15 and a freshman in high school. Now? It's March of 2025, I turn 18 in two days and'll be in college in September. I've gone from thinking I wouldn't make it past 16 to being the happiest I've been recently. When I started this blog, I was recovering from the breakup of my first serious relationship and barely mentally made it through. Now? I'm in a relationship with someone who actually cares about me, understands how I feel, and is supportive of me, I'm surrounded by friends who have my back, friends who actually want to be friends with me, unlike the years of people pretending so they could walk all over me, and I'm the happiest I've ever been. When I started this blog, my way of identifying myself was so black and white, as if it was set in stone. Now? I think I'd tire myself out trying to explain myself. (For those curious, I came out as transgender in early 2023. I'm also bisexual lol.)

So why am I back then? Because I missed typing stuff up for my favorite music in a way that wasn't just a short blurb in a YouTube video description or a short review to nobody on RateYourMusic. I like talking about my favorite artists that deserve more love. And above all, I like sharing that music so that more can find it. I considered moving to a new blog to distance myself, especially since my deadname's in the URL. But, why start all over? What's the point? Why not just keep the old blog going? Basically, I want to give posting here another shot. I've still got so much more to share. Let this be our first experiment.

The Secret Stars is an interesting band, to say the least, and one I've wanted to post about for a long time. Geoff Farina of Karate fame and Jodi Buoanno of early Ted Leo and the Pharmacists fame come together to make some sweet lo-fi indie rock. Their music is a nice combination of their ideals and personalities, coming together to make some truly beautiful pieces of music. Their sound is a mix of the slowcore/indie rock of Farina's solo music, Low's beautiful alt-country, and the lo-fi soundscapes of the first Pharmacists album. While they haven't released any new material since appearing on a 2003 live album by Ida, their three albums and handful of singles are amazing. Hop in and lose yourself in its beauty. You might come out the other end with a new outlook. I know I did. 

Personal recommendations: TSS is likely the best starting point if you haven't heard of the band, The Secret Stars (1995) and the singles/live stuff/Fourteen Days after, then Genealogies because it's a bit more experimental in style and might be more out there.

Releases inside:
The Secret Stars (1995, Shrimper)
"Wait" b/w "Riot Kill" (1995, Simple Machines)
TSS (1996, Shrimper)
"Nightingale" b/w "RPMs" (1996, Atlas)
Ida / The Secret Stars (1997)
Genealogies (1998, Shrimper)
Fourteen Days in Belpaese: November 1998 (1998, Candy Apple)
Angel Hall (2003, Last Affair)

Download away, just pick your poison: MEGA or Mediafire.

Additional notes:

• This post is only a partial discography, as their 1994 demo is currently not online in any way I've been able to find. There's barely any info out there. The band's old site had a page on it, but it isn't archived on the Wayback Machine. There's also a Discogs entry and a page on RYM about it, and it also may have included songs released on the 1995 self-titled album, but it's unknown if they are the same versions or not.
• The Angel Hall folder includes only the songs by The Secret Stars. The full album is on YouTube and other places if you look for it. Similarly, the split with Ida only includes the TSS song, although that's because the only download I could find had only TSS's song and not Ida's.
• They appeared on a couple compilations during their time, including "Vague" in 1996's Midheaven: Autumn 1996 and "September" in 2001's Troubleman Mix-Tape. I don't know if these are the same versions that appear on their respective releases. I'm erring on the side of "they probably are". There's a version of "Nightingale" released on a 7" split that's on YouTube, but I haven't found a download for it, as well as a song titled "7 Years Forever" on the Rock Action compilation in 2001 that I don't believe appears anywhere else that I also can't find a download of.
• Some of these come by way of the incredible Pukekos blog. You can find their post about the band here. Go check 'em out; they got so much there I've taken over the years. Mentioning them here is the least I can do if it means more people find it.
• This doesn't have anything to do with The Secret Stars, but I'm planning on updating some of the previous posts with higher-quality music. A lot of what I posted was sourced from either YouTube or less-than-ideal quality MP3s. Updates are coming soon.

I Have Dreams - Three Days 'Til Christmas (1999)

   

Happy (almost) Christmas!  I admittedly forgot I made this, so to apologize, here's an EP (and the only release) by the band I Have Dreams. 

I Have Dreams was a screamo/emo band from Tallahassee, Florida, that was born from the ashes of a band called New Ethic, when their guitar player Daniel died in a car accident. New Ethic played their last show in August, 1998 with Daniel's best friend Mike Hanson in his place, and it was about a month or two later that I Have Dreams started playing. The band consisted of Allen Compton and Mike Peters on vocals, Mike Hanson on guitar, Ben Seals on bass and Clayton Rychlick on drums. I Have Dreams were more than a band - in the words of Mike Peters: "It was an attempt to cope with the pain everyone was feeling after Daniel's death." I Have Dreams were together for roughly six months, and they broke up in the Spring (around April/May) of 1999.

Only found this recently, but I thought it was just the right time. I'll try my best to update this blog in the new year, but no promises! :)

mediafire download: https://www.mediafire.com/file/hoswfk03yxk27sx/I_Have_Dreams_-_Three_Days_%2527til_Christmas.zip/file

alt./mega download: https://mega.nz/file/x5dhwBaR#-_kaUoyHK23xHOAQr7AnTV37R67qZvTnhIbxZ6O8_A8 

(thanks to everyone who downloaded something from this blog this year. it means a lot to me :) i promise i'll be more active next year!) 

Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - Guitar For Jodi (1999)

 

Thank the people over at Soulseek for this one!

Guitar for Jodi is the debut EP by the Washington, D.C. rock band Ted Leo and the Pharmacists. It was released in 1999 by Persona Recordings. Like the group's debut album of the same year, it is technically a Ted Leo solo recording. 

1. "I Need a Roof"
2. "Lost on the Way to Load-in"
3. "The Great Communicator"

• "I Need A Roof" is a cover of the song of the same name by Mighty Diamonds.
• "The Great Communicator" is a demo presented here that would later be finished and released on their second album Tyranny of Distance in 2001.

Fun EP, wasn't available anywhere around here (there was an upload of the songs on YouTube at some point but the videos were deleted and there was a blog that had the link to download the songs but the link is now dead). Found it on Soulseek a while back and now I decided that should change. 

Here's the download links:

MEGA: https://mega.nz/file/VoEAFDpQ#zRgRSRW_ObutICIVxGddfEnqx-3PBag1jMui5SsUSoU

Mediafire: https://www.mediafire.com/file/yve0tys1ujal04k/Guitar_For_Jodi.zip/file

(hey there! if you liked this, please spread the word! we're a small blog and anything helps! also sorry about the less than 320kbps mp3s, that's just how I got them.)

Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - Mo' Living (2009)

Great EP, definitely worth your time. Was released as a bonus with the first CD pressings of TL/RX's album "Living With The Living". Deserves more listens than it does. Download and enjoy to your content. 

mediafire download: https://www.mediafire.com/file/2xdwxsbvfmrq779/Mo%2527_Living.zip/file

alt/mega download: https://mega.nz/file/EsEHCSaI#GP910bX9FLh745A9-Za3LORGC3iYX1vZ6eMkKO5mVnE

(if you liked this, please spread the word! we're a small blog and we would love the support!)