That was my mantra in 1988, when industrial music was in its golden age, and I was a sucker for anything released on the Chicago Wax Trax label. Most if not all of the labelÁ¢€â„¢s releases seemed to have some tie-in with MinistryÁ¢€â„¢s main man Alain Jourgensen, whether as producer, vocalist, noisemaker. While MinistryÁ¢€â„¢s output was fairly regular at this point, it seemed like a new side project was debuting monthly. One of these was a pairing of Jourgensen and indie/punk Áƒ¼berlord Ian McKaye dubbed Pailhead.
LetÁ¢€â„¢s do some quick math Á¢€” Ian McKaye was the lead figure of the straightedge punk movement, which frowned upon drug use. Alain Jourgensen had a rep for being a walking pharmacy. This equation shouldnÁ¢€â„¢t have added to much, and in terms of recorded output, it didnÁ¢€â„¢t really. Pailhead, with McKaye on vocals and Jourgensen doing pretty much everything else, released a 7Á¢€ and one EP. Both were later compiled onto one CD EP titled Á¢€Å“Trait.Á¢€
I first heard Pailhead shortly after its release while shopping at ChrisÁ¢€â„¢ Warped Records, then the coolest record store in Northeast Ohio. I recognized the trademark Wax Trax lurching sound immediately and snatched it up. I recall it being one of Wax TraxÁ¢€â„¢s first CD releases, alongside Acid Horse, Lard and MinistryÁ¢€â„¢s Á¢€Å“12 Inch SinglesÁ¢€ CDs. For a few years, if it was on the Wax Trax label, I bought it, sound unheard.
Pailhead was interesting in that it presaged MinistryÁ¢€â„¢s later forays into more metallic sounds, beginning one year later with Á¢€Å“The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste.Á¢€ In fact, both Á¢€Å“Man Should SurrenderÁ¢€ and Á¢€Å“DonÁ¢€â„¢t Stand In LineÁ¢€ end up sounding like theyÁ¢€â„¢d fit on that disc perfectly. Remember though, this was at least a full year before. Did McKaye influence MinistryÁ¢€â„¢s future sound? Maybe. No? Who knows. ItÁ¢€â„¢s great anyway. And thatÁ¢€â„¢s coming from someone who, back in 1983, LOVED Á¢€Å“With Sympathy.Á¢€
Download Á¢€Å“Man Should SurrenderÁ¢€.
Download Á¢€Å“DonÁ¢€â„¢t Stand In LineÁ¢€.
Á¢€TraitÁ¢€ did not chart.
Neither single charted. (I mean, really. CÁ¢€â„¢mon.)
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