A Head Full of Wishes newsletter #56

2026-05-29
Categories: substack

Substack
A Head Full of Wishes newsletter #56

I had a day trip to London on Tuesday - a three hour journey in each direction so I could have a coffee with someone I’d known for 30 years (via The Galaxie 500 Mailing List) but had never actually met. We also never managed to have a coffee! But it was totally worth it. London was insanely hot so we mostly hunkered down in the British Library before taking a sweltering hot bus trip from one station to another where we went our separate ways. I then met the boy for a coffee before heading home.

My record collection [355] Dean & Britta - L’avventura

This is the sixth and last entry for Dean & Britta’s first album L’avventura and is the CD version that was released when the LP version was first issued in 2008.

Dean & Britta - L'avventura (2008 reissue CD)

To be honest I’m not sure when or how this came into my possession. the barcode has had a hole punched through it (before the digipack was glued together) so I suspect that Dean sent it to me at some point, probably around the release… although the LP came with a CD copy of the album so maybe this was that, although that does cast doubts on the second promo I had which I assumed was the one that came with the LP.

Anyway… it’s in a nice digipack case, I’ve always preferred a digipack to a jewel case because they age more authentically, although I prefer a card sleeve even more.

Since I’ve already posted five times about this album I’ll pad this post with a couple of videos that were made for tracks from the LP.

Night Nurse:

Back in 2003 when this video was released I wasn’t sure whether the stuttering video used extensively in the clip was intentional or caused by my dial-up connection and low-powered computer. I’m still inclined to think that in the days when the internet was struggling with media display (this was two years before YouTube when we were dealing with crappy FLash videos) it was ill advised to intentionally include that effect! I’m still not happy with it. I do however love the hair-cutting sequence!

Knives from Bavaria:

Dean & Britta recorded this clip for La blogotheque in 2009. I have an issue with this one too - at the beginning of the clip there’s an announcement by a MTA staff member announcing that “no video taking at the station” - now, I don’t know the by-laws that apply to the New York Subway but… if the law is that you’re not allowed to take video on the system then there is rule breaking going on and Dean’s “we really look like terrorists” is irrelevant! Perhaps being closely related to soneone who’s job it is to look after customers on the London Underground I have sympathy with the poor folk trying to do their job!

I did check the MTA website and it seems that videoing is allowed although I suspect the La blogotheque set-up might have pushed the boundaries of what’s permitted (also the by-laws have been re-written in the age of social-media so are probably quite different from the ones that applied in 2009). But… maybe it was just a jobsworth!

Anyway… still a lovely video!

Dean & Britta - Knives from Bavaria (La blogotheque) (play on YouTube)

One other thing about L’avventura - as someone trying to maintain a database of recordings and performances the decision to record a somg called Indian Summer that wasn’t that Indian Summer was a headache I could have done without :)

Catalogue Number: AHFO 10/068
Artist: Dean & Britta
Title: L’avventura
Packaging: Digipack
Format: CD
Buy ‘L’avventura’ on Bandcamp

Previously in my record collection:

My record collection [356] Damon & Naomi & Batoh & Kurihara - It’’s All Over Now Baby Blue / Yoo Doo Right

This beautiful live single features Damon & Naomi with Batoh and Kurihara performing covers of songs by Bob Dylan and Can and was released on Grimsey Records in 1999.

d&n&b&k - it's all over now baby blue/yoo doo right

This is probably my absolute favourite 7” single in this series† everything about it is perfect: the sleeve, designed by Naomi; the label illustrated by Yumiko Yada; the clear vinyl; the choice of covers, and their performance; the way the label credits them as d&n&b&k; even the fact that despite running for over seven minutes the a-side was cut at 45rpm.

Grimsey was the baby of Andrea Troolin, who was also, while working at Rykodisc, the person who piloted the Galaxie 500 box set through to release.

I bought the single direct from Andrea on release for, as far as as I remember, pennies. The single arrived with a postcard promoting Damon & Naomi’s tour of Japan in October 1999.

I don’t think this has had a digital release, it was for some reason missed off the Spirit of Love compilation, although you can find both sides on YouTube A/B.

Catalogue Number: AHFOW 11/028
Artist: Damon & Naomi & Batoh & Kurihara
Title: It’s All Over Now Baby Blue / Yoo Doo Right
Packaging: Wrap around paper sleeve
Format: 7”
Bought direct from Andrea/Grimsey on release

† with one obvious exception of course.

This week in history

30th May 2020 - Dean & Britta live stream from Echo Park #2

6pm Los Angeles time is 2am so, once again at an ungodly hour in the UK, and while as Dean said in the newsletter - “if you are in Europe and fast asleep, you can watch the show when you wake up” there was no way that I’d miss the chance of watching the show live - and it was a Saturday/Sunday, so this time not on a school night so… I got dressed up, no, really…I did and sat in front of my computer, tweeting, posting to Facebook and Instagram, and waited until show time…

https://aheadfullofwishes.substack.com/p/from-the-archive-dean-and-brittas

June 1993 - Luna support the Velvet Underground on their European tour

You can read Dean’s tour diary on AHFoW

On the 3rd of June they had a day off from supporting the VU and used it for a headline show at The Borderline:

We have our own show at the Borderline in London. I am tired and have had a bit much Guinness. The show is sloppy and the guitars are out of tune but I don’t think anyone noticed. After the show we go back to the Columbia Hotel and sit in the bar.

Dean Wareham's Luna / VU tour diary – 3 June 1993

This was the second, and last, Luna show I recorded. I found that I couldn’t enjoy a gig as much if I was worrying about the recording, so I’d pretty much stopped taping any shows by then, luckily others have carried on making and sharing recordings of their shows, so I have plenty to keep me occupied.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zsSbpeb4q0

https://aheadfullofwishes.substack.com/p/luna-at-the-borderline-3rd-june-1993

4th June 2019 - Naomi, and then Damon in West London

I turned a corner and from inside a cafe there was a tapping on the window and Naomi was beckoning me in - so much for walking off the smell of wet dog before meeting my heroes! I grabbed a cup of tea and sat chatting with Naomi about retirement and noisy neighbours before we both headed to the record store for Damon’s talk.

We arrived at the allotted time to find Damon and just two other folk in the shop - one was there for the talk, the other bought a Black Sabbath LP (Paranoid) … and left. Luckily Daniel, the attendee, was engaging and enthusiastic and had discovered the book and the podcast without having first heard of Galaxie 500 so had a more pure perspective!

Damon, and Damon & Naomi in London

This weeks discoveries

Dean guested at a screening of the Other Music documentary - you can now watch bits of the Q&A on YouTube

SubstackA Head Full of Wishes newsletter #56