On November 23rd, Sub Pop gets into the Christmas spirit / fires the latest salvo in the war on Christmas by releasing Green River’s “Away in a Manger” and the U-Men’s “Blue Christmas” as a split 7” single for Record Store Day’s Black Friday. The exclusive single is limited to 2,000 copies, will be pressed on red/green vinyl, and features front and back cover art from cartoonist Peter Bagge.
Green River’s sick & unholy rendition of the classic Christmas tune “Away in a Manger,” was originally released on the C/Z Records compilation entitled Another Pyrrhic Victory: The Only Compilation of Dead Seattle God Bands.
U-Men’s slurring, lurching, belly crawling, pisstake on “Blue Christmas” was originally available on the Christmas ‘84 cassette compilation.
Two ugly orphans, brought together to live as one grinning, writhing glump of career-capping, Christmas gak! Happy birthday baby Jesus!
Green River / U-Men Tracklisting:
A. Green River “Away in a Manger” B. U-Men “Blue Christmas”
The U-Men anthology will be available worldwide November 3, 2017 from Sub Pop.
Today Dangerous Minds premiered “Trouble Under Water,” a previously unreleased track (!!!) from the U-Men’s forthcoming self-titled anthology, out next Friday, November 3rd on Sub Pop.
“Bands like The U-Men don’t come along often. A Seattle band at a time when the phrase “Seattle band” carried zero cultural cachet, The U-Men kitchen-sinked Gun Club rootsiness, classic garage rock ‘verb-and-twang, punk sneer, gothic darkness, and Ubu/Beefheart artiness into a single coherent sound that galvanized a hinterlands underground scene and directly influenced the grunge explosion,” says Dangerous Minds (see interview + track premiere October 26th).
U-Men is a comprehensive and remastered collection, which compiles the entire studio-recorded output of The U-Men, plus five unreleased songs, with a 16-page book of photos, liner notes, and interviews with the band. The U-Men anthology was executive produced by Jack Endino, and is now available for preorder from Sub Pop right here and is available in the following formats:
3xLP box set housed in a cardboard slipcase with printed inner sleeves + 16-page booklet
2xCD digipack with custom dust sleeves + 16-page booklet
Digitally
[Photo Credit: Cam Garrett]
“Trouble Under Water” follows previously U-Men shared tracks “Dig It A Hole,” “Gila,” and “The Fumes.”
“Dig It A Hole” [hear here] was available as a self-released single and via the group’s sole studio album, Step on a Bug. “Gila” [hear here] was initially on the group’s first EP, released by Bruce Pavitt on Bombshelter Records. The track would reappear years later on the Sub Pop 100 compilation, and a split single with the Melvins for Amphetamine Reptile’s Sugar Daddy Live! series. Meanwhile, “The Fumes” [hear here] was found on the tracklisting for Stop Spinning, the group’s second EP originally released by Homestead Records.
Those in the Seattle area can celebrate the release of U-Men with a special event on November 1st, 2017 at Georgetown Stables. The members of the U-Men will be interviewed live on stage followed by a brief audience Q & A. U-Men will also be available (2 days ahead of official release). The event begins at 7pm event and is all ages.
More on the U-Men from Mudhoney’s Mark Arm: The U-Men are one of the best bands I’ve ever seen. They were hypnotic, frenetic, powerful and compelling. It was impossible to resist getting sucked into their weird, darkly absurd world. They effortlessly blended The Sonics, Link Wray, Pere Ubu, and Captain Beefheart. Their shows were loose-limbed, drunken dance parties and no two shows were alike. The U-Men were avant garage explorers and, most importantly, they fucking rocked. I was lucky enough to live in their hometown and I saw them every chance I could.
From 1983 to 1987, the U-Men were the undisputed kings of the Seattle Underground. No one else came close. They ruled a bleak backwater landscape populated by maybe 200 people. They were the only band that could unify the disparate sub-subcultures and get all 200 of those people to fill a room. Anglophilic, dress-dark Goths; neo-psych MDA acolytes; skate punks who shit in bathtubs at parties; Mod vigilantes who tormented the homeless with pellet guns; college kids who thought college kids were lame; Industrial Artistes; some random guy with a moustache; and eccentrics who insisted that they couldn’t be pigeonholed: all coalesced around the U-Men (read more at Sub Pop).
U-Men available worldwide November 3rd, 2017 from Sub Pop
You can now listen to “Gila” and “The Fumes,” two tracks from the U-Men’s forthcoming, self-titled anthology, available worldwide on Friday, November 3rd, 2017 from Sub Pop.
U-Men is a comprehensive and remastered collection, which compiles the entire studio-recorded output of The U-Men, plus five unreleased songs, with a 16-page book of photos, liner notes, and interviews with the band. The U-Men anthology was executive produced by Jack Endino.
“Gila” [listen here] was initially available on the group’s first EP, released by Bruce Pavitt on Bombshelter Records. The track would reappear years later on the Sub Pop 100 compilation, and a split single with the Melvins for Amphetamine Reptile’s Sugar Daddy Live! series. Meanwhile, “The Fumes” [listen here] was found on the tracklisting for Stop Spinning, the group’s second EP originally released by Homestead Records.
U-Men is now available for preorder from Sub Pop right here, and is available in the following formats:
3xLP box set housed in a cardboard slipcase with printed inner sleeves + 16-page booklet
2xCD digipack with custom dust sleeves + 16-page booklet
Digitally
[Photo Credit: Cam Garrett]
More on the U-Men from Mudhoney’s Mark Arm:
The U-Men are one of the best bands I’ve ever seen. They were hypnotic, frenetic, powerful and compelling. It was impossible to resist getting sucked into their weird, darkly absurd world. They effortlessly blended The Sonics, Link Wray, Pere Ubu, and Captain Beefheart. Their shows were loose-limbed, drunken dance parties and no two shows were alike. The U-Men were avant garage explorers and, most importantly, they fucking rocked. I was lucky enough to live in their hometown and I saw them every chance I could.
From 1983 to 1987, the U-Men were the undisputed kings of the Seattle Underground. No one else came close. They ruled a bleak backwater landscape populated by maybe 200 people. They were the only band that could unify the disparate sub-subcultures and get all 200 of those people to fill a room. Anglophilic, dress-dark Goths; neo-psych MDA acolytes; skate punks who shit in bathtubs at parties; Mod vigilantes who tormented the homeless with pellet guns; college kids who thought college kids were lame; Industrial Artistes; some random guy with a moustache; and eccentrics who insisted that they couldn’t be pigeonholed: all coalesced around the U-Men (read more at Sub Pop).
The U-Men were… Tom Price – Guitar John Bigley – Vocals Charlie Ryan – Drums Jim Tillman – Bass (1982-86) And Robin Buchan – Bass (1980-82) Tom Hazelmyer – Bass (1987) Tony Ransom – Bass (1987-89)
This 3LP/2CD set collects the entire studio-recorded output of the U-Men, remastered, plus 5 unreleased songs, with 16 pages of photos, liner notes and interviews w/ the band. Executive produced by Jack Endino.
Yes, you read it and even we can’t quite believe it’s true. So let us calmly reassure you that YES … IT’S FUCKING TRUE. Sub Pop Records will release U-Men, the self-titled anthology from the legendary Seattle band, worldwide on Friday, November 3rd, 2017.
This comprehensive remastered collection features the track you just pressed ‘play’ on, “Dig It a Hole”.
U-Men is now available for preorder from Sub Pop right hereand is available in the following formats:
3xLP box set housed in a cardboard slipcase with printed inner sleeves + 16-page booklet
2xCD digipack with custom dust sleeves + 16-page booklet
Digitally
U-Men Tracklisting:
Volume 1 1. Blight 2. Flowers DGIH 3. Shoot ‘em Down 4. Gila 5. Trouble Under Water 6. Mystery Pain 7. Last Lunch
Volume 2 1. Clubs 2. The Fumes 3. Cow Rock 4. Green Trumpet 5. A Year and a Day 6. Ten After One 7. They! 8. U-Men Stomp 9. Solid Action 10. Dig It a Hole
Volume 3 1. Whistlin’ Pete 2. 2 X 4 3. A Three Year Old Could Do That 4. Juice Party 5. Flea Circus 6. Too Good to Be Food 7. Willie Dong Hurts Dogs 8. Papa Doesn’t Love His Children Anymore 9. Pay the Bubba 10. Freezebomb 11. That’s Wild About Jack 12. Bad Little Woman 13. Selfish
[Photo Credit: Cam Garrett]
More on the U-Men from Mudhoney’s Mark Arm: The U-Men are one of the best bands I’ve ever seen. They were hypnotic, frenetic, powerful and compelling. It was impossible to resist getting sucked into their weird, darkly absurd world. They effortlessly blended The Sonics, Link Wray, Pere Ubu, and Captain Beefheart. Their shows were loose-limbed, drunken dance parties and no two shows were alike. The U-Men were avant garage explorers and, most importantly, they fucking rocked. I was lucky enough to live in their hometown and I saw them every chance I could.
From 1983 to 1987, the U-Men were the undisputed kings of the Seattle Underground. No one else came close. They ruled a bleak backwater landscape populated by maybe 200 people. They were the only band that could unify the disparate sub-subcultures and get all 200 of those people to fill a room. Anglophilic, dress-dark Goths; neo-psych MDA acolytes; skate punks who shit in bathtubs at parties; Mod vigilantes who tormented the homeless with pellet guns; college kids who thought college kids were lame; Industrial Artistes; some random guy with a moustache; and eccentrics who insisted that they couldn’t be pigeonholed: all coalesced around the U-Men.
Sub Pop co-founder, Bruce Pavitt released the first record by the U-Men, a 4-song 12” EP on Bombshelter Records. By the time they had recorded songs for another record, Bruce was too broke to release it on his proto-Sub Pop label, so he hooked them up with Gerard Cosloy at Homestead Records. This was a big deal. Homestead had a heavy rep at the time with recent releases by Foetus, Nick Cave, Sonic Youth, and Big Black. I was sure that the release of their second 12”, Stop Spinning, would propel the U-Men into the ranks of those Homestead acts and the worldwide underground would get hip to Seattle’s finest.
The U-Men bought a pink school bus and made a couple of valiant attempts at touring. Touring was tough in those days. You’d arrive in town and learn that the show you thought you had fell through. Communication was difficult and long-distance phone calls were expensive. The band stayed in Austin for a month just to play two shows. They became fast friends with Poison 13, Butthole Surfers, Scratch Acid, The Hickoids, and Tales of Terror. Without any income they starved. Starvation and stress amplified fractures within the band and soon bassist Jim Tillman was out. That was the end of the classic line-up of the U-Men.
They remained a very good band, but with Jim they were a great band and they never quite recovered. They recorded two fantastic singles, but something was missing live. They must have sensed it because they played fewer and fewer shows. They recorded their one full-length album, Step on a Bug, for Black Label which was run out of Fallout Records. They became increasingly disenchanted with the direction the Seattle underground was heading and called it quits in 1989. The U-Men had nothing to do with Grunge. They were their own unique thing. I loved them and I still miss them.
I remember thinking at the time that most of their recordings were a little soft and didn’t capture the power of the band live. Now, thirty years later, their records sound great to me and we are lucky that they exist. I’m stoked that Sub Pop compiled these long out-of-print records and scrounged up some unreleased songs so that everyone has a chance to take a trip back to old weird Seattle.
The U-Men were… Tom Price – Guitar John Bigley – Vocals Charlie Ryan – Drums Jim Tillman – Bass (1982-86) And Robin Buchan – Bass (1980-82) Tom Hazelmyer – Bass (1987) Tony Ransom – Bass (1987-89)
