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DiskothiQ/Massengil Split 7" (1992) [Sonic Enemy, SEV01, 7"]

What Does This 7" Sound Like?

1992 saw Sonic Enemy's first and only vinyl release, and what a split. This 7" featured DiskothiQ's "Somebody Somewhere's Got Something Against Me" as its A-side, and on the B-side, two songs by Massengil. (More on Massengil here.) "Long-Haired Jim" is listed as such in most of its appearances, including Peter H's handwriting on the 7" itself, but is called "Long-Hair Jim" in the provided paper insert. As an extra side note: the lyrics to "Long-Haired Jim" are credited to Allen Callaci.

paper insert, DiskothiQ side:

everything by DiskothiQ which is Peter Kevin & Kevin, recorded November 1992 by Bob Durkee @ Fartblossom Studios in San Dimas CA. Thanks Dennis, Franklin, Bob, also Fiona, Steve Cronk, Jon Davis, Jen Godfrey, Greg Lendahl, our folks and anyone who ever gave me a ride from Irvine to Chino or vice-versa w/o whose help this record would not exist. Write DiskothiQ c/o Sonic Enemy 325 W Green St Claremont CA 91711

paper insert, Massengil side, transcribed from grainy photocopy to the best of my ability:

LONG HAIR JIM recorded by Bob Durkee & Nathan Wilson Sept ? 1992 at KSPC. Music by Massengil Lyrics by Allen Callaci. SWARTHY SONG recorded by Steve Cronk Sept 6, 1992 at KUCI. Music by Massengil Lyrics by Amy [difficult to read; see the scans] Write to Massengil 325 Green St. Claremont, CA 91711. MASSENGIL IS... Craig Bunce: Drums, Kristi Engle: Guitar, Vocals, Amy Maloof: Bass, Vocals. Thank you --- Gail, Jen, Franklin, Dennis, John, Rick, Jim C, Jim [?, ? ?,] Peter, Perry, Allen, Steve, Nathan, [?] Bob, Bill, [??] our moms and dads.

Notes on the above: Steve Cronk! I believe Steve, of KUCI, was also a member of Big Breakfast, which Peter H has described as an "Irvine meets Claremont" project. The Massengil side having one KSPC-recorded track and one KUCI-recorded track has that same feel. Peter was also at KUCI for a while. There's also a "Steve Krank" cited as recording a track on the Nothing Painted Blue odds-and-ends tape Biographer's Ruse, but I believe that's Steve Cronk also. My point of stability for the spelling is, there was an OC Weekly article in 2004 that cited contributions from "Rob Acosta, Steve Cronk, Steve Folta, Marc Hauser and Bill Magdziarz", which puts Steve Cronk among reliable names. There are also some old magazine scans online tying Cronk to KUCI. 

Both Massengil songs on this 7" were also played live at the Hot August Night show in 1992.

The single DiskothiQ song here on the A-Side was also played at that show. The version on the 7" is all you need. It's one of those great "Peter screams his head off" songs, on par with the " STOP! TORTURING! ME!" bit in "Superchunk" on Harmless/Unharmable.

UPDATE: big thanks to site reader Adam for his fine detective work in tracking this radio audio down for me. "Somebody Somewhere's Got Something Against Me" was broadcast on the 6/12/2001 episode of The Best Show On WFMU by longtime DiskothiQ fan Tom Scharpling, of 18 Wheeler. Click below to hear Tom mentioning the song and the 7", amid the rest of the episode's intro playlist: 

(EXCERPT) The Best Show on WFMU with Tom Scharpling from 6/12/2001

SIDE A:

1. Diskothi-Q - Somebody Somewhere's Got Something Against Me

SIDE B:

1. Massengil - Long-Haired Jim;
2. Massengil - The Swarthy Song

The carved message on the runout groove reads MUNCHIES IS DEAD / LONG LIVE MUNCHIES.

A1. Somebody Somewhere's Got Something Against Me

sittin here with my eyes shut tight
tryin' to forget where i am
it's been like this all night
pants around my ankles sittin' on the can

i wonder how i got here
same old thing again and again
well this isn't a mistake it's clear
somebody's got a master plan

somebody somewhere's got somethin' against me
somebody somewhere's got a hell of a grudge
somebody somewhere's got a chip on his shoulder
watchin' me suffer is his idea of fun

when i look 'round where i live
i see a lot of people all the same
whole lotta people with nothin to give
a whole lotta people with nothin to gain

and i can't help but wonder where i fit in
in their little scheme of things
and i can't help but wonder if i'll ever win
at this stupid fuckin' game

somebody somewhere's got somethin' against me
somebody somewhere's got a hell of a grudge
somebody somewhere's got a chip on his shoulder
says, yeah man go ahead, with a wink and a nudge

now the sun's goin' down on this lane
there's no moon everything's goin' black
i hear the world laughin' at my pain
i think i, i think i see god turnin' his back
and it don't matter if i care or not
so i guess that i just won't
and i can't stand those people who like the smiths
but i sure as fuck don't trust nobody who don't
somebody somewhere's got somethin' against me
somebody somewhere's got a hell of a grudge
somebody somewhere's got a chip on his shoulder
some motherfucker is laughing far too hard

B1. Long-Haired Jim

The lyrics on this one aren't very clear, and they only run from 2:31 to 2:51 of a three-minute song that's mostly rocking-out. But you can make out for sure "long haired jim / left a penny / for the girl at Denny's" right at the end, before all the cheering. There's a review of this 7" in Woollybugger that assumes Massengil would be a blast to see live. Those of us left to wonder can only nod along.

B2. The Swarthy Song

This one is also hard to make out, with some back-and-forth.

     

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