The Kitchen Tapes (1983)

"When I listen to The Raincoats I feel as if I'm a stowaway in an attic, violating and in the dark. Rather than listening to them I feel like I'm listening in on them. We're together in the same old house and I have to be completely still or they will hear me spying from above and, if I get caught - everything will be ruined because it's their thing. They're playing their music for themselves. It's not as sacred as wire-tapping a buddhist monk's telephone or something because if The Raincoats did catch me, they would probably just ask me if I wanted some tea. I would comply, then they would finish playing their songs and I would say thank you very much for making me feel good." - Kurt Cobain, June 1993.


The Raincoats are one of my favorite bands from the post-punk era. This English group, started by Ana da Silva and Gina Birch, created 5 full albums between 1977 and 1996. The band is best known for their first self titled album, which featured energetic post-punk anthems like Fairytale in the Supermarket, and their famous cover of The Kinks 'Lola'.



The Kitchen Tapes, released on cassette in 1983, was recorded live at The Kitchen arts space in New York City. The album features excellent live versions of many of the songs from Odyshape and Moving, including my favorite version of the song 'No One's Little Girl' (which just happens to be one of my all time favorite songs in general.)

This is just generally a fun album, and a good example of the movement of lo-fi female post-punk bands from the late 70's and early 80's.

Track Listing
1. No One's Little Girl 3:38
2. Balloonacy 4:19
3. Oh Oh La La La 3:17
4. Only Loved at Night 3:20
5. I Saw a Hill 3:14
6. Mouth of a Story 3:14
7. The Body 3:14
8. Shouting Out Loud 3:19
9. Rainstorm 3:54
10. Dance of Hopping Mad 4:59
11. Animal Rhapsody 3:54
12. Puberty Song 1:17
13. No Side To Fall In 1:21
14. Honey Mad Woman 3:05



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