FUN GOLDFISH TOYS
(released on NRA Records in March 1983)
The indie label NRA Records signed Plaastik in mid-1981 on the strength of their "Nachos" single and after Police drummer Stewart Copeland caught them at a gig and convinced his cousin, label president Johnny Copeland, to pick them up (after Ian Copeland, his brother and president of IRS, had refused on grounds that he didn't like Nick Parker's haircut). The label soon regretted this decision as the band, completely fascinated by the massive possibilities afforded them by the studio, took nearly four months to create their debut album. Drummer Kevin Keys' sister, Nina Keys, filmed the sessions and captured an almost frightening atmosphere of ruthless, insane experimentation. Nick Parker was heard to say at one point: "I don't think we should make any sound anyone else has made before," explanation enough for the countless backward loops, tape tricks, and oppressive overdubs.
Not many songs were recorded at the sessions for the album; indeed, the band insisted eventually that it become an EP. The seven songs that made the cut had been stripped, overloaded, and changed entirely during the studio time, with as many as 100 alternate takes in existence supposedly, every second loaded with massive amounts of startling detail. To the best of our knowledge, other songs recorded at the sessions but not used aside from the b-side "Pump Up the Volume," were "Final Hour," years later issued as a single,"Ocean Sky," later released on the "Daddy's Little Girl" single, "Freefaller (Hey Rocker)," unreleased to date, and an unknown, unheard song that Nick Parker wrote as a child (according to a 1985 interview).
The dark but playful EP, released as FUN GOLDFISH TOYS, was immediately crowned a cult classic, and Geffen snatched up the band with little hesitation. NRA folded soon afterward, just after a 1984 CD release; as a result, FUN GOLDFISH TOYS was nearly impossible to find, especially on compact disc, until Capitol scoured the vaults and remastered it in 1997 with numerous bonus tracks under the title SUPER FUN GOLDFISH TOYS. See separate listing for more information on the reissue.
tracklist:
1. The Sky is Drooling with Contempt
2. Hateful Boat
3. Wet
4. I Have Papers (We Have Issues)
5. Do Not Fuck
6. RainbowKingdom
7. Rock Around the Clock
The Sky is Drooling with Contempt b-sides
Pump Up the Volume