Not long ago I treated myself to the CD86 compilation, which brought back loads of memories of the C86-generation guitar bands who were around when I first started buying records.

It also reminded me of what a great band Pop Will Eat Itself were (to my ears) before they went all electronic and stopped making a filthy racket with guitars.

So, I thought it’d be fun to cover them in a vaguely folky way.

The original version of Black Country Chainstore Massacre is one-and-three-quarter minutes of fuzzed-up guitar-pop heaven, a delightful little song about falling in love with a girl who works in a shop. Needless to say, out go the electric guitars, to be replaced with acoustic guitar (centre), duet concertina (stereo left) and appalachian dulcimer (stereo right, from about halfway through).

It also seems to suffer from a bit of an identity crisis – is the title actually “Chainstore” or “Chainsaw”? Answers on a postcard…

Download Black Country Chainstore Massacre (2MB approx) – Right-click, save as.

Altogether now!

There she goes, the girl from the chainstore
I see her nearly every day
Somehow I know I’ve got to get near her
I’ve got to think of something to say

‘Cause there she goes that girl
I’ve got to drop into her world
I’m sorry to jump and shout
But she’s turning me inside out

I dream about the girl from the chainstore
I dream about her every day
So now I know I’ve got to get near her
I’ve got to think of something to say

‘Cause there she goes that girl
I’ve got to drop into her world
I’m sorry to jump and shout
But she’s turning me inside out
And roundabout!
Inside out, yeah!
Turning me in, turning me out, turning me inside out!

You should of course buy the PWEI compilation Now For A Feast.