AMG Review of Teenbeat 50

Stephen Cramer
All Music Guide

Mark Robinson's Teenbeat Records celebrated the label's 50-release mark with a 26-song compilation in 1993. Robinson and friends kicked off the disc with the festive "Teenbeat Theme 1991." Andrew Beaujon's Scaley Andrew project then begins a string of songs from an eclectic roster of Teenbeat artists. Circus Lupus, Vomit Launch, Autoclave, Teenage Gang Debs, Sexual Milkshake, Mark E. Superstar, Wall Drug, and others donated new tracks to round out the disc. Highlights include the up-and-down rocker "Capitalist Joyride" by Robinson's band, Unrest. The song is definitely different from the band's usually quirky sound. Jonny Cohen chimes in with his offbeat vocals on the carefree "Time Loop," while Velocity Girl's "Not at All" perfectly showcases the bands jolly sound. Andrew Beaujon checks in again, this time with the band Eggs on the dramatic "It's Hard to Be an Egg." Another theme song, "Teenbeat Theme 1985," adds more to the history of the record label. Krokodiloes covers "Sweet Georgia Brown," while Naomi Wolff offers a rendition of "Teenage Suicide." The disc nears its end with Butch Willis' "The 23rd Rocker," an acoustic-based, earnest effort. The disc's inclusion of Teenbeat bands from the 1980s and early '90s provides a full picture of the label's history. As one of the most influential labels of American indie rock scene, Teenbeat stamped its place in history with this disc. The label had grown from its do-it-yourself beginnings when Robinson released cassettes on the label while still in high school, quickly graduating to release records by some of indie rock's brightest stars. Matador Records assisted with the compilation's release.