Tremelo
Very early instrumental by Clint. The first tremelo song. We dropped it for a while, but brought it back towards the end of the band, where it showed up on Horrible Truth. It's a bitch to stay in pulse once I put the fuzz on.

Dumbells
Pete came up with the title. I'd had the riff, didn't know what to do with it. I'd been playing it during a rehearsal, and Pete said he liked that "dumbells" riff. Pretty apt word to describe the riff, teetering under some odd weight. The riff is made up of harmonics a half-step apart with the fuzz cranked. Once the riff had been named by Pete, the lyrics were pretty easy for me to write.

Peking Spring
The very first song that Clint ever wrote. I always thought of it as being like Athena being born, full-sized, out of Zeus' thigh. I mean, where did this come from? He'd written nothing at all for the previous band, Moving Parts.

With its rousing punk-anthem chorus, this was played EVERY SINGLE DAY after its release (via tape) on WMBR in 1979, becoming the most played song of the year. However, we were still a very poor draw at that point.

This song also gave the impression that we were overtly political - but as Clint pointed out, the anti-communist, pro-democracy aspect of the Chinese movement (Peking Spring was a paper for that movement) was in some ways almost reactionary. When the Gang of Four came out (another Chinese reference), we were immediately tied w/them (playing, happilly, many gigs with them!). An interesting note on the Gang/Burma connection: on the first Gang album one song ends with Andy Gill scratching furiously away at the guitar. And, a few months before we'd even heard of Gang of Four, Clint and I ended Peking Spring the same way.

1970
(Stooges)
Recorded in NYC. I am quite amazed at the vocals. Always a good time.

New Disco
This was written very early in Burma-time. Originally it was a mid-section, or some small portion of an elaborate song I'd written (before I implemented the Burma minimalist idea). I played the full, over-wrought song for Pete and Clint, and they gave me a look that wasn't particularly good. Clint pointed out that "the midsection", i.e., the riff of New Disco, was very cool but the rest should be jettisoned. I took him at his word and made an entire song out of that small section. Before I named it New Disco Clint always referred to it as Big Risk - clearly, it was a room clearer (and did the job a couple times in 1979 in NYC).

Martin moved into our pad in Brighton just as Burma was forming, and he and I had been doing some piano (Roger) w/guitar (Martin) loops, in a frippertronics mode. I thought there was something valid in our behaviour together, and found that the ascending vocal line in New Disco was perfect for looping: each line on top of each other. So I had Martin try it out, and this was the introduction of Martin and tape loops into the band.

Dirt
One of Clint's later tunes. Never done justice in either the live or Radiobeat recordings. Another example of his unorthodox, yet easily graspable odd time meters. Ever notice how he usually had bass solos rather than guitar solos in his songs? That's what helped us be whatever the fuck we were.

Heart of Darkness
(Herman/Krauss/Laughner/Thomas/Wright)
How can you go wrong covering Ubu? Occasionally we bordered on "Dark Star" territory during this one.

Daved Hild, the lead singer and drummer for the Boston band "The Girls", often sat in on this one with us. He'd hang out in the wings, and when we'd start the song I'd give him the nod. Mayhem. "Lookin' in Tuna - Chicken of the Sea!" was how it ended once at the Rat with his head inside the bass drum.

Blackboard
Another solid Prescott rant. Because he composed on the bass, I had alot of freedom on the guitar.

He Is, She Is
A one-note riff - "every raw material", etc. Classic Conley bass line.

Go Fun Burn Man
One of Clint's last from those days, kind of a tribute to hardcore?

Hard as hell to play.

Ok/No Way
Pretty early Clint song. Orginially referred to as "Jump Song", for obvious reasons. Oddly, this was later hailed as a hardcore tune, despite the fact that it was written two years before hardcore (if I recall correctly).

Laugh the World Away
Possibly the oddest song we ever did. I recently listened to a tape of a 1982 show at MIT, and it definitely got the least response of the show.

I always improvised the vocals on the last drone section, and did 3 tracks of that for Vs., which we blended in and out in the mix. When I didn't know what word to use I'd just make up a word. That's Justice.