H.N.A.S: Küttel Im Frost (Dom)
Purchased new at Eides, back in the day
There are several categories I have for filing my LPs. There's a general section, jazz/rock/pop artists (I know that labels don't always work, but I know what's what), another section for "classical" artists with a subsection for LPs on the Mainstream label produced by Earle Brown, a separate section for electronic specific artists, a bin for compilations, a section for soundtrack music, another for evangelical preacher LPs and other weirdness.
And finally, a section to expensive records. Records that could at least be sold for $75 each and often for far more.
If you collect something, don't you thrill at the idea of scoring something that is valuable that nobody else knows about? I definitely have something of a hoarder gene, which I've tried to quell in more recent years. Nonetheless, I am always sniffing out vinyl treasures if nothing else. This has become exceedingly difficult in this age of discogs.com and other online resources.
I knew about H.N.A.S (Hirsche Nicht Aufs Sofa) because they released an LP on United Dairies, the Steven Stapleton/Nurse With Wound label. I was an active collector in those days. Anything UD or UD-tangential, I bought it up. Eide's Entertainment, in their old location on the Northshore of Pittsburgh was a primary source. (The cite, an old house, is around where the Roberto Clemente sculpture now stands). Later it was along Penn Avenue between 9th Street and the now convention center. Later, further up Penn Avenue past the bus station, and then two door over from that. It's a long long story, beyond what I've written.
Back in the old Northshore/Northside days. Gregg Kostelich was the record buyer. He knew if he filled his stock with the most bizarre and obscure titles, one person (usually me or about two or three others) would be excited to buy those things.
And that's how I came to buy this LP. I remember parts of it, particularly the first ten minutes, so I'm certain I played it more than once on WRCT. The general edition is 400 copies and of some value, hence its inclusion in my "valuable LP" section.
In general it has clicks and pops, so it must have received some play in general in my house. How to describe it? Wacky sound experiments, half-songs with half-musique concrete studies, and lots of "let's see what happens." Does this represent a by-gone age? A time when you could release an LP of sound experiments and be taken seriously by Op Magazine, or its offspring Option of Sound Choice? (The former lasted much longer than the latter, but basically went commercial. Sellouts.)
This was all stirred because Christoph Heemann, half of H.N.A.S, is booked to play the Rock Room in Pittsburgh in a few weeks. The Rock Room is scuzziest space I can imagine. Yes I've played there. I'm not proud.
If I make it (good likelihood) I have one or two LPs I want him to sign.
