The Tenants
“Submind/Noise In My Head” 45
(Rent’s Due 001, 1981)

This stunningly great 7″ is a mystery of mysteries.

When I happen across unfamiliar records with Tim Yo covers* in the MRR library, they usually turn out to be something good, or at least interesting. But this one is by far my favorite “discovery.” The Tenants played slow- to mid-tempo punk/post-punk that is both dark and melodic (think Wipers, Zounds, or more recently The Estranged). With its driving rhythms, the jangly, layered guitars and clever vocals (both in execution and lyrically), I’m surprised this record isn’t more well known and loved.

But don’t take my word for it. Have a listen!
Tenants – “Submind” MP3
Tenants – “Noise In My Head” MP3

I can’t find any info on the band itself. They were from San Francisco, but I haven’t met anyone here who ever saw them. There was another band called the Tenants around the same time — from Canada maybe? — I saw their LP in Amoeba and got excited until I figured out they weren’t the same. The only other tidbit I know is that “Noise In My Head” appeared on a comp tape that Calvin Johnson put out with the same title a few years ago. Maybe ol’ CJ could fill in some details for me…

*Tim Yohannan, MRR’s founder, used to modify some of his record covers by adding his own artwork — usually, it seems, for bands he particularly liked, or when the original cover art was just too boring. (Note that every record in the collection has the green tape, so that’s not a special for this cover.) The back cover on this Tim Yo mod features a clipping from the San Francisco Chronicle‘s article on the eviction of the International Hotel in 1977 — not far from the Mabuhay Gardens, aka the Fab Mab. You can read more about that event here. The front cover has a photo of the band that could’ve been from any number of local music rags at the time: Another Room, etc.

Of course, anybody with any info on this band or record should leave a comment here. Cheers!

Fuckin’ Reagan Youth! They ruled. Here we have a rare and mysterious recording of unknown origins! It comes off a dubbed tape from MRR’s archives and as far as I can tell is a different recording than either the first 12″ or the Live & Rare CD on New Red Archives. The sound quality is good and you can faintly hear a recording engineer talking between a couple of the songs, so my guess is that it was done in a studio. A bunch of the tracks are slightly different versions of songs that were on the first 12″, but in my opinion the coolest thing about this is the recording of “Brave New World,” which was later redone for what became the Volume 2 album. Dig the spoken word part over the awesome guitar lead at the beginning of the song! I can practically see the legions of NYC punx creepy-crawling at some long-forgotten CB’s matinee… The last song is an instrumental, and also appeared on Volume 2 with vocals (and wah pedal! Yikes…).

Download here (& thanks to Dan for separating the tracks):

1. Reagan Youth
2. Go Nowhere
3. New Aryans
4. Brave New World
5. Anytown
6. USA
7. Acid Rain (instrumental)

And while we’re on the subject… I love the first Reagan Youth 12″, the Volume 1 reissue with the extra tracks (“No Class”!), and the Live & Rare CD (some great stage banter on this one), but I never got into that second album. I know plenty of people who did though (“It’s metal… but it’s good metal”), so go figure. I do, however, love this YouTube video from this era. Such a different direction from the rest of “NYHC”…

Finally, Reagan Youth has an official website and you can visit it here: http://www.reaganyouth.net/