Wednesday, July 21, 2010

that dog. - totally crushed out! (GBG deluxe edition)

THAT DOG
totally crushed out.
(GBG deluxe edition)
Original release: DGC/Geffen Records (1995)
  • 13 original album tracks
  • 16 bonus tracks
  • 4 bonus videos
  • image gallery 
  • additional multimedia

File size: 196.48 MB (RAR bundle)
NOTE: You must have the necessary software to be able to open and extract files from the RAR archive format to access the individual music files. To download a quick, easy and free application that will do the trick, click here.

All music files are in the MP3 format, most encoded at 192kbps.
Videos are in the MP4 format.
You must have necessary codecs installed to play these files.

tracklisting
01 ms. wrong
02 silently
03 in the back of my mind
04 he's kissing christian
05 anymore
06 to keep me
07 lip gloss
08 she doesn't know how
09 holidays
10 side part
11 one summer night
12 michael jordan
13 rockstar
featuring special guest beck on banjo
19 one summer night 
(alternate version)
20 laverne & shirley theme 
(live in milwaukee 1996)
21 you'll do it again
 
(live in milwaukee 1996)
22 adam in june
performed by june blake
23 steve threw up  
performed by beck with members of that dog.
24 piss-bottle man 
performed by mike watt with evan dando and members of that dog.
25 i just threw out the love of my dreams
performed by weezer (featuring rachel haden)
26 friends of p.
performed by the rentals (featuring petra haden)
27 move on
performed by the rentals (featuring petra haden and rachel haden)
28 waiting
performed by the rentals (featuring petra haden)
29 totally crushed out!
(later titled 'long island')

bonus videos
he's kissing christian (promo video)
ms. wrong (spincyclemedia photoshow)
friends of p. (promo video)
waiting (promo video)

we hope you enjoy some highlights of this fine compilation below.  
however, when you're done, don't forget to scroll down for more info on the songs you have heard.  thanks
 
The second in a four-part that dog. series:  I present you with that dog's second album Totally Crushed Out!, given ye olde GBG (GrrlBandGeek) Deluxe Edition treatment - 13 original album tracks, 16 bonus tracks, 4 videos, loads of high quality album artwork scans, band photos, magazine articles, and much much more.  (Well, not really much more than that, but I think that should be enough to entice the canine lovers among you.)

Let's get right into it:  the original release of that dog.'s second album Totally Crushed Out! dropped on July 18, 1995 on Geffen Records and was a somewhat schizophonic affair being stuck somewhere between the neo twee-punk sound of their debut and the uber-polished power pop of their third, and final album, 1997's Retreat From The Sun.  While some numbers such as "Anymore" and "Side Part" certainly evoke the quiet simplicity of their debut release, they fall short of those songs quality, leaving the impression that some of Totally Crushed Out! is comprised of cast-offs from the first album sessions.  Of these type songs, only "Holidays" and the haunting "She Doesn't Know How" are worthy successors to the bands earlier work.

Luckily for the listener, the band decided to move beyond their comfort zone on TCO! which result in the treasures of this release.  The youthful punk rock zest only glimpsed in previous songs like "Old Timer" are given full reign in songs like "Lip Gloss" and "One Summer Night", two key tracks which pump some  much-needed life into this release right when needed most.  And then anchoring the album are three of the band's finest songs:  the one-two punch of should-of been a single album opener "Ms. Wrong" and "Silently" and first single "He's Kissing Christian".  It's interesting to note that these three songs are the first attempt by the band to work with a larger, more established producer (in the case of "Ms. Wrong" and "He's Kissing Christian", it was red-hot at-the-time Green Day producer Rob Cavallo) and their experimentation fully pays off yelding something that would go on to form the template sound of their third album Retreat From The Sun.

Onward to the bonus tracks:  First up is "Ridiculous", the shortest song in that dog's repertoire clocking in at one minute and seven seconds from the now ultra-rare 1995 WIN Records compilation album The Poop Alley Tapes: A Compilation of 31 Los Angeles Bands.  Poop Alley was an integral part of the early that dog sound, as most of those recordings were made at the studio with Waldo The Dog Faced Boy member/Poop Alley owner Tom Grimley behind the console.  "Explain" was recorded in late 1994 for the Jabberjaw - Good To The Last Drop benefit compilation on Mammoth Records when original selection for that release ("This Boy") had been tacked onto the end of that dog's debut album at the last minute instead.  (Jabberjaw was a coffee-house/art gallery/all ages venue in Los Angeles where that dog played their very first show - the compilation was produced to raise money to assist the club with their expenses to stay open - unfortunately the club closed it's doors in 1997.)  "Explain" is also one of only a few that dog songs that singer Anna Waronker does not sing lead on - here violinist Petra Haden takes center stage for a change.

In 1994 original Germs guitarist and Nirvana/Foo Fighters member Pat Smear befriended That Dog after seeing them open for Beck at the Troubadour.  So enamored of singer Anna Waronker's songwriting ability and craftsmanship he asked her to produce his next solo album.  With the rest of that dog backing him up, Pat and company (or 'Pat Dog', as they semi-jokingly called the band) recorded six songs which for whatever reason were shelved and still have not surfaced to this day. Most likely, "We Must Bleed", from the Germs tribute compilation Lion's Share: A Small Circle Of Friends date from around this time if not these sessions.  That Dog perform the song to the tune of their own "Old Timer", whose chorus melody does bear a striking similarity to the original Germs track. 

"Midnight At The Oasis" was a cover of the 1974 Maria Muldaur hit, taken from the 1995 benefit compilation album Spirit of '73: Rock For Choice. Spirit of '73: Rock For Choice was put together by the activist group Feminist Majority with proceeds going to support the Becky Bell/Rosie Jimenez Campaign "to lift consent laws and federal funding restrictions that are forcing young women to turn to back-alley abortions". The compilation's title is inspired by the Janu+ry 22, 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in the United States and the songs included are all contemporary artists of 1995 covering songs that were popular in the early 1970s.  The band also had a more personal reason for covering the song:  singer Anna Waronker's father Lenny Waronker had produced the original, so this in a way was a tribute to her Dad.

Good band-friend Beck plays banjo on the acoustic version of "Silently" included here, a song that was released as a b-side to the promo single of "Never Say Never" in 1997.  An uncredited Beck actually wrote the banjo part he plays in this song, which would later be 'sung' live and on the album version by violinist Petra Haden, an expert at mimicking the sound of certain instruments with only her voice. (Originally the track was to be published as a Beck Hansen/Anna Waronker co-write, but Beck declined credit on the tune, possibly as a gift to his longtime friends and sometimes back-up band.)  That Dog returned the favor on "Steve Threw Up",  a Beck single released via Bong Load Custom Records in 1994 that featured Anna on bass, Rachel on drums and Petra on fiddle on vocals.

TCO!'s song "One Summer Night" bears the distinction of having been recorded and released in some manner three different times, more than any other that dog song.  The first time it was recorded  was for the John Peel Show on BBC Radio in January of 1993 (aired: December 1993 - and can be found on the deluxe edition of that dog.'s debut album here), while the second version (which is denoted here as the 'Alternate Version') was recorded with Tom Grimley at Poop Alley Studios in late 1993 specifically for Volume 9, a periodically released U.K. magazine/compilation CD.  This version bears a different  arrangement than the first or third/album version of the track (also included here), instead employing a more dancey drum beat and bass sound, with some nice breaks that bring out the charm of the song.  Fun fact: future SNL star and longtime band friend Maya Rudolph can be heard as one of the talking voices amidst the din heard towards the end of the song.

If you missed that dog live during their heyday, here's your chance to experience some of the joy:  two songs recorded on March 28, 1996 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  Perhaps inspired by the city in which they were playing, the band does a wacky cover of  the theme to the Milwaukee-situated TV show Laverne & Shirley complete with the opening American-Yiddish hopscotch chant "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 Schlemiel! Schlimazel! Hasenpfeffer Incorporated!"  ("Schlimazel...what the hell does that mean?" Waronker asks the audience). "You'll Do It Again" - a rare unrecorded original That Dog song follows.

Rounding out the GBG deluxe edition bonus tracks, are some examples of That Dog members moonlighting: Anna Waronker tests the water as a solo artist under the pseudonym of June Blake on the song "Adam In June", also featured on The Poop Alley Tapes compilation from 1995.  (The song is featured here in an edited form.)  The band backs up Beck on the aforementioned "Steve Threw Up"; Anna, Rachel and Petra sing back-up vocals on Mike Watt's "Piss-Bottle Man"  (also featuring lead vocals by Lemonheads singer Evan Dando); Rachel performs guest lead vocals on the Weezer Pinkerton-era b-side "I Just Threw Out The Love Of My Dreams" and both Petra and Rachel contribute to Weezer bassist Matt Sharp's side project The Rentals' album Return Of The Rentals, here represented by Petra's appearance on violin and vocals on the singles "Friends of P." and "Waiting", and Rachel's harmony vocals on the album track "Move On".  (Also included in this package are the two Rentals promotional videos for "Friends Of P" and "Waiting" which both feature Petra prominently - the latter even including an extended stunt bike scene by Petra's character before she bursts into the studio to perform her violin solo and a cameo by Rachel as a production assistant at the beginning of the clip.  Great stuff!)

And the final bonus track for this set is, strangely enough, a song from the next that dog album 1997's Retreat From The Sun.  While the band was finishing up their second album, a popular phrase amongst the band was 'Totally Crushed Out!' due to rampant discussion about crushes that they all had on various people.  Inspired, singer Anna Waronker wrote a song called "Totally Crushed Out!", which the band quickly decided would also make a great album title as well.  The problem?  Well, the song was written too late to be recorded for the release, as all final tracking sessions for the album had been completed.  Undeterred, the band decided to move forward with naming the album Totally Crushed Out!, figuring they would be in good company with bands like The Doors, Led Zeppelin and Queen, who all had albums named for songs that would appear on a later album (Waiting For The Sun, Houses Of The Holy and Sheer Heart Attack, respectively).  It wasn't until after the song had been recorded for their next album Retreat From The Sun, that the band decided to change the official title of the song to "Long Island" at the last minute to avoid any confusion.  Fun facts!

Next up:  that dog decides to Retreat From The Sun ...


12 comments:

  1. I'm so glad you posted this! I love that dog., and I'm a boy! I've been a long time listener, but have never seen/heard any of this extra stuff you've got.

    I noticed you said this is a 4-part series. I sure hope Anna Waronker's solo album is at the end of the series. I've been looking everywhere for that album, and haven't been able to find it. I await your future posts.

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  2. Actually, Anna's solo album isn't one of the four, but I do plan on doing an expanded version of that once I finish up the that dog stuff. The fourth will actually be a compilation of many of the b-sides and non-LP tracks that have been included as bonus tracks on the three main releases. Look for all of that soon...and thanks for your positive feedback! Peace

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  3. Awesome! Can't wait!

    Any reason for the low bitrate on the files? I'd love me some that dog. in high quality.

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  4. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  5. I'll see what i can do about getting higher quality files up for download, but I believe most of the bonus tracks are already in the highest bitrate that i have 'em in. The main reason the album tracks are lower bitrate is to keep the whole file size down, because at 200 MB i'd need to split it into 2 parts. Will look into possibly offering a higher quality option though...Cheers

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  6. Hi, thank you for all the work you put into these collections, they look great! I was wondering if you had any info on Josh Haden's contribution to the Poop Ally Tapes, "Ten Nights." I know nothing about Josh Haden, but I always guessed there was some connection because of the last name, and that has to be Anna Waronker on vocals. Any light you may be able to shed would be much abliged!
    -Dave

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  7. To Dafe,
    The liner notes of the Poop Alley Tapes CD states: "Ten Nights - A Story by Josh (Bass, vocals) Anna plays guitar and sings."
    Josh Haden was also in a band called Spain and has a website joshhaden.com. Hope that helps kevinmarion at yahoo.com

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  8. awesome ! thanks

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  9. Does anybody have any other That Dog rarities they would like to share? I am putting together my own That Dog rarities compilation that I would like to share with everyone. I have everything on these deluxe editions, plus some more: the KCRW session from 1995, the full acoustic show from McCabe's from 1995, You'll Do It Again live in Detroit (better sound than the Milwaukee show), the full Spaceland show, the full John Peel session (albeit in pretty poor quality), and some more here and there (Campfire in better quality and with the full ending, for instance).

    Here's some samples of what I have that's not on these deluxe discs: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=JQ1UVZ4R

    What I'm looking for: the KCRW session from 1993 (I know it's out there--I've seen it on some lists), an upgrade to the John Peel session (awjordan, could you help me out?), an upgrade to the Magnatone release, and anything else not on these deluxe discs, including any live shows you may have lying around.

    If you can help out, please drop me a line at iamonlyamachine at yahoo dot com. I'd like to share my compilation with the masses in honor of the reunion shows later this month. I hope you can do the same--no sense in sitting on these things, otherwise none of us will hear them! Thanks!

    (PS: Sorry for posting this comment in all three threads, but I want to make sure people see it!)

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  10. thanks so much!!! great collection you have in here, cheers from chile!

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  11. Thank you sooo much for this. I love your site!

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  12. that dog were a great band. i remember 'steve threw up' being played on the john peel show in '94.

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