Holy shit! Like unicorns, I wasn’t sure if this thing actually existed, but the C86 tape has finally surfaced.

Despite sounding like a printer model, C86 is actually a genre of music, and the term refers to a cassette released by the (ugh) NME in 1986.  C86 is a sample platter of all the jangle pop, fuzz pop, dream pop, shoegaze, and various off-center melodic rock happening in the south of England in the ’80s.  Many of these bands, of course, are notorious for building the mighty Creation Records with crazy ol’ Alan McGee. Read my annotated history of Creation Records (and enjoy some choice jams as well) here: Creation Records, For the Win.

Without coming off as too nerdy, the C86 tape is pretty legendary. This small-run cassette tape was, for many throughout the UK and the western world, a rather seismic introduction to groups like Primal Scream, The Pastels, The Wedding Present, and more.  I mentioned in my review of the new Wavves album a couple of days ago that this new wave of “shitgaze” bands that are popular with indie dorks these days owe a polite handshake to Marmoset, who owe a tasty bundt cake to Meat Whiplash, who all owe their mortgage to the C86 movement.

Now, maybe I’m not good at Intarwebz, but I’ve been looking for a digital version of C86 for a straight minute.  Chocolate Bobka, a blog I just discovered and like quite well, somehow gripped a full, high quality digital recording of the original C86 release.  And they were nice enough to share.

Below are some highlights for me.  Enjoy! Oh, and I was just informed that unicorns do exist. Well… shiver me timbers. Scratch the introductory sentence, then:

MP3 :::
Primal Scream – Velocity Girl
Shop Assistants – It’s Up to You
The Pastels – Breaking Lines
The Servants – Transparent
The Wedding Present – This Boy Can Wait