Old
3C Digital Jukebox
One MP3 from each of our releases is provided here for your listening
pleasure. The files
have been kept small to download easily, and they're not as high-quality
as those you'd buy online, but you're welcome to keep them. We hope you
enjoy the songs, and please use the provided links to purchase our digital
releases. Thanks.
Play
Track 24 | "Revolver"
Vena Cava, self-titled CDR
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Track 23 | "Pardon The Morning"
Mike
Hagen, The Ballad of Fungobat CDR
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Track 22 | "Lonely Heart" (Peck
of Snide) Various Artists, Twenty One and Hungover CDR
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Track 21 | "Seven Years"
Ron
House, Obsessed CD
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Track 20 | "20 or 30 People"
Ron
House, New Wave as the Next Guy CD
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Track 19 | "Internet is Just Bad Pot"
Thomas
Jefferson Slave Apartments, No Old Guy Lo Fi Cry CD
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Track 18 | "RnR Hall of Fame"
Thomas
Jefferson Slave Apartments, Bait and Switch CD
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Track 17 | "Bottle Island"
Thomas
Jefferson Slave Apartments, You Lookin' For Treble? CD
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Track 16 | "The Way She Runs a Fever" (Live, Pop
Shop, Cleveland, 1983)
Great Plains, Slaves to Rock N Roll CDR
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Track 15 | "We Are Carloadbuyers"
The New Normal, The Sprightly Sounds of The New Normal CDR
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Track 14 | "Pizza You"
Shades of Al Davis, Midwest Peace Talks Vols.1, 2 CD
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Track 13 | "Everyone Is Wrong"
Saint Paul & His Coalition of the Willing, Everyone Is Wrong CDR
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Track 12 | "Radio City"
Fungobat, Greatest Hits Vol.1 CDR
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Track 11 | "Still There's Hope"
Log, Logjammin' CDR
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Track 10 | "Black Sox Scandal"
Great Plains, Live
at the Electric Banana, Pittsburgh, 1985 CDR
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Track 09 | "Hollywood Years"
Log Almighty CD
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Track 08 | "Ahab's Leg"
Shades of Al Davis CDR
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Track 07 | "My Evil Friend"
Log, The Early Years CDR
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Track 06 | "Toward Picturesque"
Paul Nini, Life in These United States CD
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Track 05 | "No Beginning, No End"
Peck of Snide, Moot CD
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Track 04 | "Po Mo Fo PO Folks"
Great Plains, Cornflakes CDR
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Track 03 | "Vague Uncertainties"
Paul Nini, The Mannerist Age CDR
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Track 02 | "Old 3C"
Great Plains, Length of Growth 1981-89,
2-CDR retrospective set
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Track 01 | "Reference"
Log, Auto Fire Life CD
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Click here
to play the Columbus radio show that profiled the Log Almighty release.
How to purchase Old 3C downloads
Old 3C works with the good folks at IODA
to supply MP3s and other downloadable audio files to
a wide variety of on-line vendors, including Apple iTunes, eMusic,
and the Amazon
MP3 store. Please visit these vendors (or many others out there
in cyberspace) to get your legal download on. Viva la capitalism y'all.
Chicago
Reader, April 2, 2004 issue, review by
Bob Mehr.
Fufkin.com, January 2004, review by Mike Bennett:
The New Normal, The Sprightly Sounds of the New Normal (Mallarde Pointe)
Pacific Northwest band. Guest appearances from the likes of Scott McCaughey of The Young Fresh Fellows and Presidents Of The United States lead dude Chris Ballew. Oh, and Jim Sangster and Tad Hutchison and frontman Mike Ritt are all tied to the Fellows (particularly longtime member Sangster). Do I need to drop any further hints as to what this EP sounds like? This band provides Ritt an outlet for his songwriting, and he favors the charming type of rock played by area bands like the Fellows, Minus 5 and The Model Rockets. And for that matter NRBQ and the Yayhoos. This is good old fashioned rock and roll, with roots that go all the way back to the ‘50s and make their way up to now. As long as you have a new story to tell or a fun way to tell an old one, this sound never gets tired. And Ritt sounds fresh as a daisy on buzzing numbers like "Your Damn Uncle" (a song that delivers on the promise of its title). Then there's the silly "We Are Carloadbuyers" ("we buy in bulk/you sit and sulk/if your coupons expire"), a fine cover of Del Shannon's "Keep Searchin,'" where Ritt's gruff voice gives a bit different feel than Shannon's otherworldly pipes, and it's a good feel, and "(I.W.G.H.) One More Chance," which is a sweet mid-tempo pop song that takes a twist for the intense at the end, with some fiery guitar playing. Encore!
PopMatters.com, April 27, 2004, review by Patrick Shabe:
The New Normal, The Sprightly Sounds of the New Normal (Mallarde Pointe)
It's no secret that the ridiculously prolific power-pop collective the Young Fresh Fellows is fond of side-projects and one-offs. Frontman Scott McCaughey alone seems to have his fingers in more indie pop pies than you'll find on a Marie Calendar's menu. But this time out it's the rhythm section of bassist Jim Sangster and Tad Hutchison who are tossing out some gems of their own, under the banner of one-time Fellows collaborator Mike Ritt. If that's not enough Seattle-area indie cred for you, the New Normal also includes the guitar and production work of Johnny Sangster, Jim's brother and member of Dear John Letters. Of course, McCaughey also manages to work his way onto the disc with a few moments of guest instrumentation, as do Chris Ballew of the Presidents of the United States of America and Conrad Uno, indie-famous proprietor of Egg Studios, where this disc was recorded in a two-week flurry.
The kind and clever folks in the New Normal thought to hand-write "The New Normal obviously think pop matters" on the spine of the press copy they sent to PopMatters. If you're familiar with the Young Fresh Fellows, or the Minus 5, or Dear John Letters, then this probably seems obvious. But this isn't a Scott McCaughey, Peter Buck, or Robb Benson project, and under the guidance of Ritt, the New Normal has just enough life of its own to not be blandly interchangeable. Those very same sprightly sounds referenced in the title pull in a classic guitar pop sound that references Bill Haley to Superdrag and everything in between.
Things kick off with the full-throttle story-song "Your Damn Uncle," a small-town rocker that rolls along a driving rhythm and rockabilly guitar. It tells the humorous story of a teenage run-in with the law and how it embarrasses the kid's family, and it grabs the listener by being a morality tale with a knowing grin. The one-minute punk of "Chez Me" continues this vein, while "It's Our Time" flips over to jangle mode for a cute little Mamas and Papas-style ballad. For the one non-original song on the disc, the New Normal toss off a peppy cover of Del Shannon's "Keep Searchin'," complete with insouciant organ work from Chris Bellew.
The band also displays the sense of playful cleverness that the YFF are famous for on the tracks "Never Never Man" and "(I.W.G.H.) One More Chance." The former is a plaintive jangle-pop tune that speaks to housewives fantasizing over the media star as the impossibly perfect man, pleading "Give your husband one more chance / Give your boyfriend one more chance / Give your love one more chance." This charming request not to throw away real love for something imaginary is turned on its head in the next track, when it's the revealed that the "(I.W.G.H.)" of the title actually stands for "I Wouldn't Give Him," with Ritt crooning "I wouldn't give him one more chance / Despite what I told you" and that he's really a cheating louse who's not worth the effort. The song itself is very reminiscent of latter-day Jonathan Richman, but the interplay between the two songs is what makes it such a laughable moment. That same humor closes out the disc with "We Are Carloadbuyers" and "The King of Goretex" coming close to "Weird Al" territory, if maybe he was a little more adult and sarcastic in his wit.
There's a lot to recommend the New Normal, even if the likelihood is that most people will notice this record because of its name associations, if at all. With a minimal release on a tiny label, it's doubtful that this disc will rocket another YFF sideshow to stardom. But Mike Ritt proves that his songs are easily in the same realm as the other Six Degrees of Seattle projects, Johnny Sangster gets to be a little goofier than Dear John Letters tends to run, and Jim Sangster and Tad Hutchison seem like they're having as good a time as ever. In many ways, this is what power pop, and having an impressive circle of friends and collaborators, is all about.
Fufkin.com, August 2004, review by Eric Sorenson:
The New Normal, The Sprightly Sounds of the New Normal (Mallarde Pointe)
Song of the month honors belong to the great under 2:00 track "It's Our Time." This song is as fine Byrdsian mid-60s track as 2004 has produced! The liner notes regarding this song read: "Lawsuits will be redirected to Rickenbacker." That about says it all! Scott McCaughey had a presence on this disc, but lead guitarist/vocalist Mike Ritt is the guy responsible for all the terrific Rickenbacker 12-string riffs. Check out the other two jangly tracks - "Never Never Man" and "One More Chance" and sing along to the band's cover of Del Shannon's "Keep Searchin'."
BabySue.com, August 2004, review by LMNOP:
The New Normal, The Sprightly Sounds of the New Normal (Mallarde Pointe)
How could we not love The New Normal...? Featuring Mike Ritt (of Shades of Al Davis) and the original ripping rhythm section from The Young Fresh Fellows (Jim Sangster and Tad Hutchison)...The New Normal is a band full of underground superstars. Hell, even Scott McCaughey, Chris Ballew, and Conrad Uno make guest appearances on some of the tracks. Recorded over the course of two weekends in Seattle, this album is a spontaneous ball of melodic fun. Nothing difficult or atonal here. As the title suggests, these tunes are totally upbeat and..."sprightly." Ritt wrote all the songs with the exception of "We Are Carloadbuyers" (co-written with Tad) and "Keep Searchin'" by Del Shannon. Purely infectious tunes like "Your Damn Uncle," "Chez Me," "Never Never Man" (ahhh...beautiful!), and "The King of Goretex" make this album a wonderfully entertaining experience. Great driving music. (Rating: 5)
