|
_| | THE INDIE-LIST DIGEST #19 |
| "because it seemed like a good idea at the time" |
| | |
| | Moderated by Mark Cornick, Joshua Houk, Liz Clayton,and Sean Murphy. |
_| _| Mailed weekly from Indie-List world headquarters in Chicago, Illinois. |
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From: Mark <mcornick@delphi.com>
It's been a busy week--most of my earthly effects are in boxes on my floor,
but I still found time to review the following:
Fudge/Cell/Coral live, 2/15/93, Trax, Charlottesville: Coral was a last-
minute substitution for Small Factory, and they did OK. Coral sound sort of
like if you made Slint loud and put your kid brother on vocals. Cell's records
have never impressed me, but they put on a good energetic live show. The guy
who sings most of the songs has a tinge of Guy Fugazi in his vocal stylings.
Get these guys some songs and they could rule. Fudge played most of their
LP, some old 7" tracks, the first four measures of "Montpelier Train Station"
(before deciding to play "Pez" instead), a Husker Du cover, and a few new
songs. Of the new tunes, "Shirts & Skins" and "Patty Hearst Machine Gun" were
the most impressive. A great show.
LaBradford, "Everlast" 7" (Retro [?]): LaBradford are a new band from Richmond
that play mellow, spoken-vocal tunes much in the Slint vein. The sleeve offers
no information about band personnel, but I'll bet they have other Richmond
scenesters in the band--their address is right down the street from Fudge.
Anyway, the 7" includes a card explaining that one side plays at 33 and one at
45, and that it's hard to tell which is which from the labels. They encourage
trying different combinations of speeds and sides to find one that fits you.
(Whatever.) In any case, this should appeal to fans of Slint, Galaxie 500 and
other hypno-drone type bands. It will probably bore a lot of other people,
though, or put them to sleep. Since I like this kind of stuff, I'll give it
**1/2.
Make It Stop, live 2/18/93, Sigma Nu house, Charlottesville: Make It Stop are a
Charlottesville band whose bassist, Scott, roomed with one of my best friends
from middle school. That's how I met up with them. Anyway, MIS is not a band you
can pigeonhole easily. Although they're solidly in the loud rock/hard vein, they
careen from style to style, often switching several times in the same song, much
like Naked City or Mr. Bungle. However, they ooze technique, playing in odd time
signatures and such, in a Breadwinner fashion. MIS left me dizzy, a little
confused, and thoroughly entertained. They have a demo out now, and I'm
considering putting them on a Charlottesville compilation 7" I'm planning for
later this year. Scott is connected to the Internet, his address is
<gse**@virginia.edu>. Write him for stuff.
Bells Of, _Eleven Eleven_ (TeenBeat): Mark has been promising something from
Lawrence "Bells Of" McDonald for some time now, and here it is. McDonald's
voice is kind of Dylan-like and sometimes gets a little annoying, but the
music is real nice rock stuff with various DC people contributing bass, drums,
sax, piano, etc. Another nice TeenBeat homebrew package too, with a lyric
booklet (mail-order copies are sealed with big "Teenbeat 93" stickers). A fine
addition to the TeenBeat Pantheon of Pop. **
Stuff I haven't gotten around to yet: Joe The Fireman 7", Monsterland "Peanut
Butter Karma" 7", and the Dambuilders "Candyguts" 7". Maybe next week.
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From: Matthew Robb <matrobb@phoenix.princeton.edu>
Ok, enough hazy ramblings as I struggle through two month old mail . . .
Notes & Comments:
On fudge's new LP: icky, overall. mr. jones simply stated that
they had too many buttons to press and they pressed them, but he at least
wasn't happy with the outcome. Neither am I. but the old singles are still
amazing, and new songs (esp. the aforementioned (couple of weeks back)
"skins & shirts") are pretty special as well.
On Chunk's new single & albums: I like 'em both. 100,000 fireflies
might as well have been a chunk song, from the lyrics and the hooks. I
haven't been too fond of the new drummer at live shows, but the new songs on
the new record (esp. "precision auto," "new low") really work nicely.
Bureaucratic fronts: If you have tapes/singles from unsigned bands
that you put out or know or whatever, please feel free to send them to WPRB.
I'm Program director and the ever-loveable/grumpy Sean is Station Manager,
and if you can't tell, we're both rather into the whole indie scene. But i
can tell from reading all the digests from the last few weeks that there are
lots of labels that we don't know about, much less send us stuff. SO.....
WPRB
P.O. Box 342
Princeton, NJ 08542
Music stuff:
No-one's mentioned Corndolly, as far as I can tell. Two lovely 7"s
on the mud label in Illinois. I'll avoid the g-word, but we're talkin'
heavy guitars and generally loud playing. They're all girl, but I don't
know if they're all grrl. I'm really hesitant about that category. Anyway,
they rock, so pick up these records and watch out for their mini-east coast
tour, in the 2nd week of march. (they'll be playing in princeton, email me
for directions and a place to stay if you wanna.)
When I was in Austin over xmas I visited several fine records stores.
I picked up the first Heavenly album ("Heavenly vs. Satan") which has "Cool
Guitar boy" "Shallow" and (my fave) "Boyfriend Stays the Same" as well as a
slowed down version of "Escort Crash on marston St." with completely different
lyrics. Verra nice. I also got the Homestead part of the Dentists's 3-single
release (which features a lovely acoustic version of "I Can See Your House
>From up here") and the Lois single at TOWER RECORDS!!!! You know, I knew
Austin was cool, heck, it's in Texas, the Reivers were from there, but indie
rock singles at Tower? They were cheaper than singles at Vinyl Ink or
PierPlatters (tho', I admit, theyonly had two tiny boxes.).
Things I can't stop listening to: the new purple ivy shadows tape,
versus, and superchunk.
Shows you should consider going to:
2/26: at Penn State: Purple ivy Shadows, wendy fix, wimp factor xiv,
eggs (who put on an amazing show. loungey and self-parodic. fab.)
3/10: princeton: Corndolly and Hassan Chop (from VA, ask Sean)
[ Hassan Chop! are from Richmond and should be familiar to anyone who reads
GRUNGE-L. Their drummer, Mark Bunster, can be reached at <mbunster@hibbs.vcu.
edu>. I like 'em a lot. - Mark ]
So it's a convoy. Gimme a break. Indie rock ain't nothin' if'n you
aren't willing to drive 10 hours to see it . . .
Matthew Robb
matrobb@phoenix.princeton.edu
"Knock at the front door . . . could be . . . could be . . . could be Jehovah's
Witness . . . could be . . . could be an angry woman with a shotgun and the
WRONG ADDRESS" - Paul Dresher Ensemble
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From: JSHAPIRO@MURRAY.FORDHAM.EDU (Buzz Hungry)
>From Jodi Shapiro, NYC Bureau Chief of sorts.
Yes, it took me a full month and a half to get back on track. So sue me.
New stuff I dig lots: Earth _Earth 2_: It's 75 minutes of buzz hum and
drone, useful as either a) meditation environment music or b) pissing off
your neighbors. It's a little hard to get into, but if you're patient, it's
a rewarding listen.
Pond Pond: Crunchy pop laced with grunge. You might have heard it all
before, but somehow Pond makes it fresh. Every song is a gem, and I dare
you not to groove to "Agatha" or "Wheel".
Unsane _Singles 1989-1992_: If you've already got all the 7"'s, don't
bother. If not, this handy little disc compiles the out of print Treehouse
and Sub Pop singles, along with some compilation tracks and unreleased stuff.
Thin White Rope _The One That Got Away_: last ever live show from the Rope,
spanning their career from _Exploring The Axis_ to "Ants Are Cavemen".
Essential for the fans, a good intro for the uninitiated.
Live shows: Sons Of Elvis, a local band, are a good bet for some cheap fun.
Hard rockin' with a touch of everything else.
Tar/Jawbox: Tar rules, no bones about it. New stuff sounds great, "Deep
Throw" rules. Jawbox is cool too, not quite hardcore, not quite pop.
Kim Coletta is the bass goddess.
Next week: a more coherent installment of 7" reviews plus Rein Sanction live
and other cosmic oddities.
Jodi
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From: Sean Murphy <skmurphy@phoenix.princeton.edu>
Yes, back from the dead (or that silent majority of indie-list readers -
take your pick :) ), it's the friendly New Jersey office (and archivist, not
that it really matters).
Reviews:
Tsunami - Diner 7" (Simple Machines/Southern Studios)
2 more new songs from our pals in Arlington. "Load Hog" is the same-old
coolness for the most part, although John Loder once again shows that he
really can produce their music well. The standout is "Gold Digger", a "new"
song (I saw 'em play it over the summer, so it wasn't really new) written
and sung by Kristin. Slow, nice dynamic shifts, almost Slint-y, really
pretty, great lyrics. Still waiting for the LP to show its face (my tape
is getting worn out at this point), but this will hold me over for a while.
The Dentists - See No Evil / Hear No Evil / Speak No Evil
3 singles, 3 labels (respectively, Homestead, Independent Projects, and Bus
Stop), 3 odd little poems, 5 new songs, 1 acoustic version of "I Can See
Your House From Up Here". It's all cool - if they ever come near your town,
go see them live, they're great. My one itsy-bitsy complaint is the way they
seem to off-handedly use stuff from other songs I already know (i.e. "Leave
Me Alive" sounds so much like Primal Scream's "Velocity Girl"), but it's
still great listening. My friend, colleague, and roommate Matthew Robb could
explain to you why I don't like the acoustic "I Can See Your House..." as much
as the original (short version - I tend to not like band's re-recordings
of their own songs, cf. Grenadine's new "Gillan" or Unrest's "Isabel" 7"),
but I'm still planning to buy all three of these as soon as I have the money
and the time to go to a real record store.
The Wedding Present - The Hit Parade II (RCA)
It's not being released domestically, 'cause First Warning folded. It's
barely being released in the rest of the world, 'cause RCA is about to drop
the Weddoes for no good reason. I found the double CD set, paid $33, and
am not complaining. CD #1 is singles 7-12 from 1992, featuring covers of
David Bowie, Elton John, The Ventures (i think), and of course, Isaac Hayes -
it's worth buying this just to hear Gedge sing the "Theme From Shaft". CD #2
is a set of BBC sessions of each of the 12 original songs from the Hit
Parade series - crisper, rawer recordings than the singles. A great set. Are
the Weddoes about to become the next Scrawl in the "we got so screwed over
by record labels" story? I hope not...
Upcoming events -
March 10. The Third World Center, 86 Olden St., Princeton, NJ.
Corndolly (from Urbana, IL - with 2 great singles on Mud)
Hassan Chop! (from Richmond, VA - with indie-lister Mark Bunster
in the band, and 2 cool demo tapes floating around)
$5.00, all ages, time TBA (it's a Wednesday, during our midterm week, so
it'll be fairly early...). Need more info? E-mail me directly.
Matthew and I are once again putting up the cash for the show, so all
support would be most welcome.
One more super-special request: As part of my departmental
requirements, I have to write a large independent research paper this
semester (25-35 pp.). I'm planning to write about a topic near and dear
to all our hearts: the FCC and its statutes regarding obscenity and
indecency. So, if any of you have information, perhaps experience in
such cases, please get in touch with me. I need the most recent stuff I
can find - the law books kinda stop with the George Carlin/Pacifica
ruling from 1973...btw, what's happening out at 'HPK these days, Liz?
Thanks for bothering with my ramblings...
Sean
skmurphy@phoenix.princeton.edu
This is not a test and
This is not a final round...
Some say I burn my bridges,
But I'm too tired to light the match.
- Tsunami
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From: Socks <houk@athena.cs.uga.edu>
Yeah yeah yeah... it's been a while since I've said anything. I could
blame it on any number of things. Like - I dunno - Gerard Cosloy or
something. But I won't. So... the reviews:
o Nice - s/t (Feel Good All Over) [cd]
Really swell stuff from a group I know almost nothing about except what
Sean Murphy told y'all which I've done forgotten already. No matter -
this is great acoustic pop stuff... sorta like American Music Club with
Tsunami influnces. Like AMC - there's a somber tone to it all... but
one that you'll relish even if you're the happiest person in North
Dakota. True grit. (**)
o various artists - 'Soluble Fish' (Homestead) [cd]
A cool compilation from the half-twisted mind of Mike McGonigal. There's
an array of stuff we've all heard of (Beat Happening, Unrest - sounding
a damn lot like Beat Happening, Thinking Fellers Union Local 282), cool
stuff you may have heard of (Kicking Giant, Caroliner), and more stuff
from people I never knew existed (standout in this category: Dumbhead -
great!). It's hit and miss, but worth it for the hits. The Sleepyhead
song kinda bites, though, cause I ain't no senator's son. (*)
[ The reason that Unrest sound a lot like BH is because they're covering BH.
Aren't they? - Mark ]
o Graeme Jefferies - 'Messages For The Cakekitchen' (Ajax) [cd/lp]
A re-issue of this ex-This Kind Of Punishment/current-Cakekitchen guy's
solo record - originally released on Flying Nun in 1988. You can trace
the Cakekitchen's roots in here, but there's quite a bit of experimentation
in this disc as well. Not all of it successful, but even when it falters
it's still quite moving, and there's a couple knockouts here that'll blow
you over. A nice sonic trip that'll leave you running back to it years
from now... (**1/2)
o the Primordial Undermind - 'Sferic Mandalas from the Ecclips'd Eye'
(Baby Huey) [7"]
The notes here thank Nick Saloman, but no need to fear - this ain't no
Bevis Frond rip-off. There's quite a psychedelic feel to it all, but
the energy herein seems to be of a funner state. I'm ambivalent to the
a-side (which is kinda reminiscient of Starvation Army) - but "Mothra"
picks up the slack and is just plain cool. A kinetic feel to it all -
and good hooks keep on popping up throughout. Neato. (*1/2)
o Jonestown/Dog Faced Hermans - split 7" (Compulsiv) [7"]
Another case of b-side prevailing over a-side, and another case of you
just won't care 'cause the flip's so damn good. The Jonestown track,
"Hoax" (recorded live somewhere or the other), is okay. That's it. But
the Dog Faced Hermans go all over the fucking place with their live cover
of Ornette Coleman's "Peace Warriors" (with guests the Honkies - ha!).
Jazz on amphetamines, and loud as crap. The way it should be. :) . It
totally befits the song in any case. You'll be floored over double-time.
Recommended. (Jonestown:**1/2 | Dog Faced Hermans:***)
In Athens news - the Ham Leon/Edison Ballroom/New Club finally has a
permanent name. Unfortunately, it's "Shoe Box". I really liked the
Edison Ballroom, but hell... at least they're more daring than the 40
Watt in terms of booking. The Cell/Jackonuts show on Saturday (the 20th)
is not such a case, but I'll be there to catch the 'nuts, who still aren't
hometown favorites after 5 or so years of existence. The other big show
has probably happened by the time you read this: Fugazi/Superchunk/Unrest
at the 40 Watt, Friday the 19th. This is the best line-up I've seen since
I lived here, and I'm kinda estatic, to say the least. More cool shows:
Seam (with a newer line-up featuring someone or the other from Repulse
Kava) in early March, th' Faith Healers and Superchunk in Atlanta on the
27th of Feb., and somebody really cool in April, but I forgot who. Damn.
Lots more reviews next week (I hope!) including Superchunk, the Dambuilders,
thee Headcoats, Curlew, the Molecules, Unsane, Sleepyhead, Spinanes, Throw
That Beat In The Garbagecan, Sebadoh, Jawbox, and god-knows-what-else.
Later folks - and remember, the MPAA sucks!
Joshua Houk
houk@athena.cs.uga.edu * indie-list co-moderator
It appears that [Sergei] Eisenstein spends all his free time in making
very elaborate obscene drawings.
- Upton Sinclair
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From: The Lonely Marmot <wilbanks@spot.Colorado.EDU>
Well, hello from the wild weather of Boulder! Iwish to inform all of you that
the decline of what lil is left of the Boulder-Denver scene begins Tuesday,
with the release on Giant Records of _Sister Sweetly_ by Big Head Todd and
the Monsters. Having heard a little of it, I now know how horrible the
corporate machinery that is rock works. They didn't exactly destroy them,
but they did make a few changes to the band, mainly producer David Z telling
drummer Brian Nevin to junk his jazz drumming for basic, boring rock drumming.
The end result is an album that falls a lil short of the band I have heard
so many times up here.
Am I happy they're getting exposure? Yes. but at what cost? I cannot say that
they have sold out; their musical passion and style is still there, and the
Boulder sound (if there is one) is evident. But, if you can, buy a copy of
their 1990 release _Midnight Radio_ (Big Records, Boulder) and listen for
yourself. It's amazing what a jazz-blues band ca do for rock and Deadhead
music.
I also heard that they are getting a lot of play on the big "corporate-rock"
stations. Please don't let this dissuade you. I mean, most of us still like
some music on those big monsters, right? We're not that closed mind, right?
Hello? Anyone home?
Dylan Wilbanks, Colorado chief
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From: los moderatoros
A new, completely revised, all-singing, all-dancing Indie-List Manifesto & FAQ
File is on its way. This will probably be the last FAQ file you will ever
receive from us, so hold onto it! (updates to it will appear in the digests
whenever necessary.) Be sure to read it, at least for the silly example
addresses that Mark spent so much time inventing.
Also: If you have a band, record label, zine, radio show, mailing list,
indie-related job, or other rockin' endeavor, please write Mark and tell him
what you do; we are compiling an Indie-List Anti-Mersh Indie-stry Directory
(which is, I guess, sort of like the Grunge-L source list.) This will hopefully
be coming out in a month or two.
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