Dogs don't live to bark 20 years, but record labels do-and the Massachusetts mongrels at Arf! Arf! Now have 20 candles burning on their birthday cake. You don't get to blow 'em out, but you can join in on the celebration with this bargain 50-song extravaganza that touches on pieces of the label's history. Actually, this sampler is more of a parallel universe, as it serves up alternates, demos and outtakes from artists whose works have been emblazoned with the twin Arf! Arf! #dogs, the twin birds of it's budget line Cheep! Cheep! #subsidiary, or the dignified font of it's new music spin-off, s'z. It is not, however, the bottom of the barrel; it's simply the stuff that, for one reason or another, didn't quite make it onto one of the imprint's many fine releases. But it had to come out eventually, and since the label's a year away from the legal drinking age, what else was it gonna toast with' Whatever your choice of musical beverage, you will certainly get your fill on these two CDs. For less than the price of two beers in a bar (or a couple sodas if you're driving), you get two 78-minute discs crammed with the type of stuff that's had Arf! Arf! #fans growling for years, whether the garage antics of the Litter and the Rising Storm, the psychedelic visions of Lazy Smoke and the Flat Earth Society, or the sheer strangeness of the Space Negros and Lucia Pamela. Maybe an old mutt can't learn new tricks, but the brains behind Arf! Arf! #don't need to. As the breadth of musical styles encompassed on this sampler prove, these people know plenty of tricks already. Kick out the dogs, motherfucker!

Tracklist:

Wasting My Time - New Breed
Everybody Knows - The Lost
Alyshia - The Bourbons
Baby Please Don't Go - Rising Storm
Pandora Wants Strange - Rich Weinberg
Can You Get Me Out of This Place - Four Commandments
Mary Is Alone - Dry Ice
You Gave Me Light - Lazy Smoke
More Incidental Music - The Lost
Satori - Flat Earth Society
Action Woman - The Litter
Tallyman - The Litter
Without You - Those Of Us
Pride of a Man - Steve Ellis
Instrumental - Dee Jay & The Runaways
Espanie'l - Chuck Barr & The Playboys
I Can't Take It - Yankee Rebels
My Life With You - Traditions
Mojo Workout - Pat Farrell
I Need Love Now (Instrumental) - Flowers
In Retrospect - Six Feet Under
Country - Frederic
Freedom - White Lightning
Rock & Roll Woman - The Legends
Please Let Me Into Your Secrets - TNT
King Queen - Pandora
House Flaming - The Moving Parts
Soul Searchin' - The Electras
No No No - The Lovin' Sandwich
Be Good to Me (Boss) - Apollo's Apaches
Kiddie a Go Go - Various Artists
Let's All Mix Together - Black Diamond
Of Dreams - Morgen
Enjoy Yourself - Dragonfly
Distortions of Darkness - 31 Flavors
Rake, The - ID
Freakout (Part One) - Soundz
In a Gadda da Vida - The Space Negros
Happenings Ten Years Time Ago - The Space Negros
Medley - The Space Negros
We Will Fall - The Space Negros
It Looks You in the Eye - Erik Lindgren
Deep in the Heart of Texas - The Beagles
Fancy Woman - Hi Voltage
In the Year 2001! - Lucia Pamela
Sings - Jack Mudurian
Insanity - Ken Field
Changes - Erik Lindgren
Action Man - Erik Lindgren
Waltham Camera & Stereo 1 - Erik Lindgren

UPC: 737835508929
Label: Arf Arf
Release Date: 5.29.01
Format: CD

Arf! Arf! El Cheapo Sample - Arf Arf El Cheapo (2 CD)