Once upon a time I had a little money
Government burglers took it long before I could mail it to you...
#############################
Indie List Digest!
April 16, 1994
Volume 3 Number 25
#############################
Special Performance in Historical Art
Many Reviews from Ohio...
Pavement, Helium Coral (Virginia Beach)
Papas Fritos
Tindersticks, Cardiacs
Various Reviews ((Y)earbook, Combustible Edison, Naked City)
Abridged Perversion
Pavement in PA, et al.
Blind Mr Jones & DroneOn
Pavement in Austin, TX
ANNOUNCEMENT: WorthStock
ANNOUNCEMENT: Ugly Head/Dying Echo/Pelt gig
ADV: Harriet Records, Incite magazine
ADV: Jiffy Boy show
------------------------------
Welcome to the 100th issue (or so we believe) of the indie-list. Or
just the first handful of those under Anne's and my editorship,
whichever you prefer. But first: Some administrivial details.
Sean Murphy is now maintaining the mailing list for the distribution
of I-L. If you want off the list for some reason, or need to tell
someone how to subscribe, the official address to send your request to
is <skmurphy@phoenix.princeton.edu> until Sean graduates. We'll make
further announcements at that time.
Extra extra special thanks go to Liz Clayton for putting so much
time and energy into maintaining the list. As a recipient of some
of the confusion that is bounced mail, I have an abiding respect for
all that maintaining the I-L list (as well as the Chi-Shows list)
must have taken.
Secondly, various people have had some problems getting indie_submit
to accept submissions correctly. I put a fix in place, but only time
will tell if this resolved the problem. If ever you get a bounce
message from submitting an article, please forward it along to either
Anne or myself.
Thirdly, there has been some discussion about a piece we ran in a
previous issue, a piece which some have argued was in fact too
"press-releasey" for the I-L. Whether or not it was a press release
remains for the reader to decide. As we make the decisions of
moderation we hope to err on the side of inclusiveness. Most
importantly, as a word of warning to anyone who wanted to think of I-L
as an outlet for PR, the readers of the I-L are smart enough to know
what snow looks like...
Fourthly, there's been a change at the archive site. Gopher access is now
unavailable, so to get back issues of the I-L, just point your
favorite ftp application to ftp://ftp.uwp.edu/pub/music/lists/indie.
Finally, we're in the process of amending the FAQ (a spring cleaning,
if you will). Look for it in your mailbox in the near future (sooner
than HP/UX bug fixes!)
Thanks to Mark Cornick, the father of us all, for his
special-edition history of the I-L, which you are about to read.
-es
------------------------------
From: Mark Cornick <cornick@access.digex.net>
100th issue punk rock spectacular shake it revolution yeah
A BRIEF HISTORY OF TIME
(or at least that part of it occupied by Indie-List)
by Mark Cornick
Indie-List is fast approaching its second anniversary (the exact date
is in the middle of August, but by custom it is celebrated on the
first of September), and I've been informed (although I haven't
bothered trying to verify it) that this is the 100th issue. Yipes.
In retrospect, it's hard to believe that the rough, scrappy thing
Joshua Houk and I started way back then has progressed to the point
it's at now.
I first got onto Internet in early 1992, and onto the Usenet in July
of that year. Like (I assume) many of you, I found the alt.music.
alternative group and immediately noticed how, er, lame it was. I
did notice some posts from people who seemed to know what was going
on: Joshua Houk, Sean Murphy, Liz Clayton, Matthew Robb, Brian K!z!K
Macdonald, Steve "Who Cares" Shapiro... There was a lot of discussion
about possibly setting up a newsgroup to deal with indie rock. After
various discussion (including points made by yours truly that I now
disagree with completely), someone suggested starting a mailing list
instead. I thought this was a dandy idea. Joshua apparently did too,
because he made a post offering to set up a list. Josh and I got
together, decided to make it a co-op effort, and thus the Indie-List
was (breech-) born.
The first issue featured two articles: Rob "Chimichanga" Vaughn
querying the list at large about sources for indie jazz, and Sean
Murphy plugging an upcoming show at Princeton (or somewhere
thereabouts.) Gradually, we got bigger; we had a multi-issue All
thread; and we had the first of a series of posts documenting my punk
band, the Ice Cream Socialists (who persevered without me when I left
Harrisonburg and who are continuing to do so today, to very good
press.)
Attempting to run a mailing list from VAXmail without a listserver
proved to be unwieldly after about our first hundred subscribers, and
thus Liz (an e-mail penpal of mine for a few months before I-L began)
stepped into the inner circle of list-janitors who became known as the
Indie-List Infotainment Junta. Liz may not have invented the
bloofga-matic, but she did christen it. The name "bloofga" has
absolutely no meaning in the English language or any other that I know
of; it was simply the result of a noisy line. It stuck, though, and
Liz and I later created an animal to represent it: "a small, furry,
rodent-like creature (Gremlinus horribilus) indigenous to Hyde Park,
Illinois, known to munch on Internet cables and cause extreme line
noise. Fortunately, bloofgas normally only attack NeXTs."
Somewhere along the way we had a post from Mykel Board, although to my
knowledge he was never a subscriber. Nor, for that matter, was
William Broad, aka Billy Idol, aka <idol@well.sf.ca.us>, aka
Stupidboy. Anyway, the "bureau chiefs" program was instituted a few
months in to help insure that we'd have articles for each digest.
Modeled after MRR's scene reports, we asked people to contribute
articles about their local happenings. Many people signed up; a few
actually wrote stuff. Somewhere in here, we started hearing a lot
from a lot of people: Joshua Buergel, Kathleen (K. Lena) Bennett,
Chris Sievanen, Lindsay Watt, and others were notably prolific.
The winter of 1993 came and I left JMU for what turned out to be three
semesters (do your math and you'll find out this means I'm heading
back this fall. neat.) And thus began my quest for the ideal
non-student net access, which resulted in about 98 address changes and
much amusement and annoyance for the rest of the staff (which, by now,
included Sean Murphy, as archivist.) Somewhere in between changing my
address on or about every waxing crescent, we managed to grow to over
five hundred subscribers -- an impressive total for a list Josh and I
expected to draw about a tenth of that amount.
The summer of 1993 brought several changes to Indie-List, and no, I'm
not talking about new net IDs. I-L tested some Perl scripts intended
to semi-automate the (er) digesting of the list, with disastrous
results. (Sean will very happily tell you he told me so.) The
editorial office of the Junta packed up along with me when I moved to
Richmond in search of better employment. (Several of my friends in
Richmond today were people I had originally "met" through the list.
Never have I said this wasn't a boon from a Rolodex-boosting
standpoint.) Sadly, as the summer ended, Joshua Houk dropped out of
the Junta for numerous reasons; Lena Bennett, an e-mail-pal of Josh's
(so much that they were once confused for each other on Usenet) took
over his position.
As my life expanded, my responsibilities increased, my tastes changed,
and my mind twisted, I found it difficult to continue at the helm of
Indie-List, so shortly after the first anniversary, I abdicated in
favor of Sean Murphy. In retrospect, I only slightly regret doing
this; I did miss doing the list eventually -- that's why I eventually
rejoined the Junta, at the head of our new project, Telegraph -- but
it was time for a change, and I think the list was better for it. At
this time, Chris Karlof joined the Junta as archivist.
Somewhere along this time, Indie-List was invaded by bands and labels.
Some people dispute the value of this, but I thought it was great.
Some labels represented at one point or another (most of them
currently) on the list included Pop Narcotic, Harriet, Dark Beloved
Cloud, Sonic Bubblegum, and Penultimate. The arrival of Matador's
Gerard Cosloy (a favorite target of Mark, Josh and Sean in digest
after digest) in early 1994 stands out as a milestone. (Suffice it to
say that we have a much different opinion of Mr. Big now.) Bands with
representatives on Indie-List included the Poster Children (not really
indie, but friends of Liz - ha, ha, ha!), Sebadoh (not Lou, Jason or
Eric, but band buddy Kathleen Billus), the Primordial Underground,
Band of Susans, and, of course, the list's home teams, Analogue (Chris
Karlof on bass) and Friendly (yours truly on drums; and yes, Analogue
and Friendly have played together.) The list continues to grow; Simple
Machines will be online soon thanks to consultation and equipment
sales by members of the Junta (not to gloat, but...).
Sean will be graduating from Princeton in about a month, so the time
came to find a new editor. After the introduction of the idea for
Telegraph and some resulting shifts in power, Eric Sinclair and Anne
Zender replaced Sean and Lena, who joined me at Telegraph (first issue
in May, if all goes well.) And that pretty much puts us where we are
today. Impressive, huh?
And now, a total self-congratulatory load of caca called the
Indie-List Hall Of Fame Awards (decided upon by a committee of me,
myself, and I.) I lost the numbers to back up all of these awards, but
let's face it, they're pretty much all in fun anyway:
- THE FRANKLIN BRUNO AWARD FOR VERBIAGE: This is given to the reader,
other than a member of the Junta, responsible for writing the most
lines over the last two years. Although he hasn't written much
lately, my calculations still place the award upon the shoulders of
JOSHUA BUERGEL. Noted CMJ staffer DOUG "If anyone has [ridiculously
collectable record] that they don't want, send it to me" WOLK is
probably second.
- THE DISCHORD AWARD FOR DIY SPIRIT: Again, this goes to a person
who's been out of sight lately. MATT KELLY ran (probably still does)
the Cool Beans! BBS, which housed a complete archive of Indie-List
and, last time I talked to him, was going to be linked into UUCP, and
thus into the Internet. Did it ever happen? Eventually, I think he
lost his Antioch College account (he did graduate, after all) but I
admire his efforts to build his own Information Superhighway.
- THE SYBIL AWARD FOR MULTIPLE IDENTITIES: Ha, ha, ha! No, this
doesn't go to myself. It goes to the contributor with the most
articles written under distinct identities (with the same address.)
This one goes to CHRISTINE SIEVANEN, aka Hell's Cherubs Gang Leader,
aka Comet Barfly, aka In Lust We Trust, aka Courtney's Best Friend,
aka (currently) "like - totally punk rock." And the names she picked
were always pretty funny, too.
- THE JOHN PEEL AWARD FOR ADORATION OF AMERICAN CULTURE FROM AFAR:
Somehow, in between writing a thesis and living in Edinburgh,
Scotland, LINDSAY WATT managed to catch the Jesus Lizard (among many
others) more times than anyone else I've ever known. Lindsay always
seemed a little skeptical of what was happening on his end of the
Atlantic, but man! was he into Touch & Go. He did eventually
graduate, by the way, and shared a plane with Therapy? on his way to a
vacation in New York. Cool.
- THE SUB POP AWARD FOR BLATANT FANTAGRAPHICS WORSHIP: Goes, of
course, to K. LENA BENNETT, Official Comix And Post-Modernism
Consultant To Indie-List [Retired.] Lena, as was mentioned, is now a
contributor to Telegraph, where she will no doubt continue to extol
the virtues of Roberta Gregory and Julie Doucet.
- THE MARK E. SMITH PRIZE FOR ALL-PERVADING CYNICISM: Goes to your
friend and mine, SEAN KERIC MURPHY. Why bother explaining?
- THE MAYOR RICHARD J. DALEY CUP FOR BEING IN WITH THE IN CROWD: Is
bestowed upon noted Chicago native (currently exiled to college in Ann
Arbor) and zine writer LIZ CLAYTON, who knows every band and label in
Chicago worth knowing. Mighty impressive for someone who still can't
drink beer legally.
- THE GAVIN REPORT "AWARD" FOR BUSINESS ACUMEN: Goes to my former
housemate SCOTT BURGER, for making the remark that Indie-List had
become "sort of like a trade paper." No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,
NO! Anything but that...
- THE TEENBEAT #20 AWARD FOR UNABASHED ROBINSONISM: Is to be shared by
ROB LIM and STEVE SILVERSTEIN, who obviously know a good label when
they see one (heh, heh, heh.)
- THE MARK KRAMER PLAQUE FOR KNOWING A GOOD THING WHEN ONE SEES IT: Is
awarded to "The Internet Directory" by Eric Braun (Fawcett Columbine),
the only one of the multitude of Internet "yellow pages" books to list
Indie-List. (Of course, they don't have my correct address. But can
you blame them?)
- THE SASSY MAGAZINE AWARD FOR FASHION SENSE: Belongs to CHRIS KARLOF
and the other members of Analogue, who have very impressive
personalized t-shirts (but, Chris, who's that Knox guy?)
- THE JOSHUA LEE HOUK INDIE-LIST HALL OF FAME TROPHY: The most
prestigious of these "awards" is given for selfless service to the
Indie-List Infotainment Junta And Fill Dirt Unlimited, and is our
equivalent of the Congressional Medal Of Honor, the Nobel Prize, and
the Stanley Cup all rolled into one. This time around it is bestowed
upon its namesake, JOSHUA HOUK, a person whom I have never met
face-to-face but with whom I created a monster. A round of applause
and Bananafish for everyone!
Finally, somebody asked me what is my favorite album of the first
hundred issues. After much rumination, I've decided to lay this honor
opon Halo by KICKING GIANT (Spartadisc.) I love listening to it, I
identify with it, the happy songs make me happy, the sad songs make me
cry, and it's very impressively packaged to boot. "I completely love
this here disc." (Mark Robinson - not spoken in reference to KG) Six
stars on a five scale. No doubt.
this is the century mark - here's to another.
Internet without INDIE is ntrnt.
You read it here first.
Thanks.
Push the button, TV's Frank.
Mark Stephen Cornick, aka Juan Manuel Fanjo, aka Mentos the Freshmaker,
aka Mark VIII, aka Moving Target, aka Editor Emeritus, Indie-List Digest
--
"they told him speed kills, and i can say the same for stasis"
------------------------------><------------------------------
[ mark cornick ] cornick@access.digex.net * richmond, virginia
-------------------------
From: "Rudawsky Don" <rudawsky_don@msmail.muohio.edu>
More Ohio 7"s and various reviews
Howdy y'all; here's some more Ohio 7" reviews, and this time they're a little
bit country, a little bit rock and roll.
Log 7" Anyway #?? (left it at home, sorry.)
This four-song ep by the indie-list's own rock and roll prof, Paul
Nini,is the most rock and roll of the Ohio group this time, but
there's just a hint of country. These are songs that would have fit
in well with the Gas Food Lodging soundtrack. They give me that
driving-out- in-the-desert desperate beauty. The male and female
vocalists do some great harmonies. As far as other bands go, they
sound a little like the Smithereens (if they were good) and Scrawl,
but only a little. I didn't really get into this at first, but the
more I listen I really apprecieate the songwriting. Check this out by
contacting Paul at <pnini@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu>
Ugly Stick-Dine Under the Birds b/w Neighbors Neighborhood, and Please
Give Me Something (on some label I think they made up themselves; e-mail
me for more info.)
Ugly Stick is a great live beer band. They epitomize rock and roll.
I had them come down to shitty Miami U. from Columbus a few years ago
to play at a festival I was putting on. They rolled in 2 hours late
(of course the show was running about an hour and a half late anyway).
The doors to their beat-up van opened on a cloud of smoke and a bunch
of beer botles, and four smelly, greasy men poured out onto the
ground. They played their set and forced the small, preppy crowd to
lose their inhibitions and dance to their country/rockabilly skronk.
They then got arrested (for what, I never found out) and went home.
This 7" provides 3 rockabilly/punkabilly songs that truly are best
heard live. These guys are actually good musicians who can do some
great country recordings, but they should have saved the punkabilly
stuff for the live set. The last song is scarily similar to the
Cramps.
The Hairy Patt Band 7" ep (I think its on anyway, but mail me if it
interests you.)
I don't know what to make of the Hairy Patt Band. "I'm so Angry
You're Going to Die" is something you'd expect from Mojo Nixon, but
all of Columbus raves about this band. So I listen on and I finally
get to The Legend of Soggy Creek, and it's got this great homemade
percussion thing going. Now I see some hope, but not enough. Maybe
live?
Now some things from places I'd rather be than Ohio:
Hopper-Hunter/Depth 1.2 Damaged Goods #29 P.O. Box 671 London E176NF
Hunter is really sticking in my head. It's not terribly innovative or
anything, but it's damned perfect pop. This band's got a female
singer who lays her velvety voice over some nice lightly fuzzed-out
guitars for a couple of great songs. I highly recommend tracking down
a copy of this 7".
Mambo Taxi-do you always dress like that in front of other people's
boyfriends?/i want to marry a serial killer Clawfist LC 7871 231
Portobello Road, London W11 1LT Tel: 071 792 3566 FAX: 071 792 9871
Two amusing pop songs with some pretty good guitars and some pretty
cheesy organ that makes for a happy romp. Good for keeping moving and
keeping in a good mood while cleaning the dorm room/apartment/house.
Azalia Snail-Fiery Skies 5 song ep 7" a dark beloved cloud incident
015
Kinda erie, weird, high-pitched guitar frenzy. Wind chimes in a
tornado. Some will love this; others won't; and still others won't
know what to think.
The Grifters-Bronze Cast/Confidential Shangri-La Records 006!, 1916
Madison Ave., Memphis TN 38104
First more great cover art. If you haven't heard the Grifters yet,
what's the hold up? They are amazing. Their music reminds me of the
passage from Jitterbug Perfume when the author talks about the New
Orleans heat being so hot and sticky that it just grabs your leg and
humps it like a dog and you can't do anything about it. I guess that
doesn't sound that appealing, but try it, you'll probably like it.
The insert to this is quite amusing in dissing the A----- Whigs. The
insert also claims a new album on the way May 2. I can't wait.
The Grifters-Holmes/Junkie Blood Darla 001, 226 E. 2nd St., #2D, NY NY
10009
What a way to start a label! More of the same from the Grifters; need
I say more? No!
A Day in the Park... A Compilation of Now Sounds The Now Sound NS 001
BOX 91317, Durham, NC 27708
WOW! Dambuilders, Archers of Loaf, Versus, Spatula, Unwound, Grifters,
Butterglory, Crayon, Nothing Painted Blue, Small 23, Diskothi-Q,
Blaise Pascal, Spent, Portastatic, Further, and Refrigerator. This is
exactly what I like in a comp.: some sure-fire winners (Grifters,
Dambuilders, and Blaise Pascal) some bands I'd been wanting to check
out (Spatula, Butterglory, and Crayon) and some pleasant suprises
(especially Unwound). All songs are exclusive to this compilation, so
run to the record store or mailbox and get a copy yesterday.
SUMMARY OF REVIEWS
Definately Get Immediately:
Log - beautiful drivin in the desert country tinged rock (and support
a fellow indie-lister)
Hopper - perfect pop, female vocals vaguely in the velocity
girl/tsunami vien
A Day in the Park compilation-lots o great bands well worth the price,
you're bound to like at least half the songs
Grifters - Sticky Memphis bluesrock
And a question:
Did Seam break up? They canceled a show in Cinci. and that was the
rumored reason. If this is true I need to know immediately so I can
get over my period of mourning before graduation.
thanks for listening to all this crap,
don
------------------------------
From: $JFENNEL@LWCVM1.LWC.EDU
pavement/helium/coral--VA Beach, VA
If Pavement comes anywhere remotely close to your town, take this
advice and GO. I think it's one of the best shows I've seen--well,
I'm scared to say EVER--but the emphasis is essential.
There is nothing pretentious about the band. They played a range of
songs from singles, "Westing (By Musket and Sextant)," the masterpiece
"Slanted and Enchanted," and of course "Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain."
They had such a keen sense of humor, too. When they left out the
"Smashing Pumpkins / they don't have no function . . . I couldn't
really give a fuck," line in "Range Life," several people in the
audience yelled "hey, what happened to the Smashing Pumpkins?"
Kannberg, with a wry smirk, said, "Uh, we like the Smashing Pumpkins
now." I was a little surprised that they played "Cut Your Hair," but
hey, it's a great song, despite what MTV, etc are trying to do with
it. I really doubt that Pavement will become MTV's little pet
project. Some guy behind me said, "Man, it's an absolute catharsis!
They're amazing!" And that's mighty close: I couldn't tell if they
were a group of guys equipped with toy-instruments (including a moog!)
trying to extract all possible sounds, or if it was a passionate
musical release. I think it was both. The penultimate song was
"Fillmore Jive," and I knew they couldn't close with sucha dreamy yet
didactic song: "I need to sleeeep . . ." How pleased I was when "i'm
trying--i'm trying--i'm trying" was the last tune, and it continued to
play in my head all night long. "Carbon monoxide wall-papa" is among
the most clever lyrics.
Oh yeah, Coral from Richmond opened up. I was not impressed. Helium
had a more tranquil composure than i had imagined, but the guitar was
kind of mesmerizing. I know there are better bands from the area that
could have played in Coral's place! And it's too bad that Pavement
skipped the Richmond area for a show. I wouldn't have had to drive
for 3 hours to get to the show.
It was worth it, though.
jennie fennell
-------------------------------
From: snow@minerva.cis.yale.edu (m.s.)
Papas Fritas
Papas Fritas
"Friday Night" b/w "Smash This World" & "Angel"
(Sunday Driver)
Papas Fritas is a band from Boston. This is their first 7", though
they do have a couple of self-made tapes. That said, I'll move on to
the songs.
"Friday Night" is a moderately-paced pop song that does a good job of
building up tension without fully releasing it. It is a bit longish
for me, but it's pretty good nonetheless.
"Smash This World" is the real standout of the 7". It's upbeat, super
poppy, has excellent dynamics. For some reason it strikes me as very
'80's, but I mean that in a good way. I just can't get this song out
of my head. It's definitely one of the better songs I've heard this
year.
"Angel" is a nice ballad (didn't Aerosmith have a ballad of the same
name?). It's not cheesy the way Aerosmith can be, though. The verses
are fortunately understated, and the choruses are pretty loud which is
a good thing. I especially like singer/guitarist Tony Goddess's
screams at the end.
This single is available from Sunday Driver records for $3, and their
address is: Sunday Driver, 2017 Lowerline, New Orleans, LA 70118.
Matt Snow
<snow@pop.cis.yale.edu>
____________________________________________________________________________
This is the slow sick sucking part of me.
-----------------------------
From: Kelly <WOO4221H@bkstud1.uel.ac.uk>
Tindersticks, Cardiacs
Has anyone heard the tindersticks lp?? It's really good. It sounds a
bit like a cross between the '60's Nick Drake/Nick Cave and Joy
Division. Though I dont think those comparisons do it any justice.
The singer is obviously a manic-depressive, though, going by some of
the lyrics!!!
It's really orchestral and moody. Loads of violins and organ pieces.
It really makes a change from other stuff of the moment that's all
either bass-ssy, rappy stuff or noisy guitar (not that there's any
thing wrong with noisy guitar; MBV are really cool).
It's not bad value for the money either, as it's over 70 mins long.
Is anybody into the Cardiacs?? They always seem to get bad press and
their records are really hard to find, but it's really manic.
Musically it's amazing but they always get described in the press as
quirky and a bit cult-figure-y. It just sounds like a load of
keyboards and guitars all going at once, really difficult to describe.
It's really difficult to get into but well worth it. If anybody is
interested, check out a little man, a house and the whole world
window. This is the Life is undoubtedly a classic.
----------------------------
From: Robert Lim <lim7@midway.uchicago.edu>
Beginning To and Back Again
Ahem. It's been quite a while since I've done this, so pardon the
dust, so to speak. I've pretty much been deadened to most indie-pop,
so also pardon any grouchiness. I have, however, found some records
well worth some space here in the Indie-List and can also voice
(hopefully) well-reasoned opinions on other indie music. Basically,
what i'm saying, is don't be offended if I slag your favorite band.
FIrst off some record reviews:
V/A _(Y)earbook, Vol. 3_, Rastascan Records - This is the final
installment in a 3-CD (each sold separately, purchase required) series
of CDs devoted solely to improvised music. Nominally, this includes
any music, but in actuality, you end up with lots of improv jazz. I
personally wouldn't hold this against it, but what is more interesting
is the other noisy/ambient/ (for lack of a better word) experimental
stuff. Standout cuts include Crawling With Tarts, who come through
with Motors V.E (or something). CWT is a band who play motors. Even
though it sounds gimmicky, they get a surprisingly wide range of
expression just by accelerating/decelerating the motors and applying
various objects to them to make clicking noises. I dunno if I'd go in
for their LP, but this track is well worth the time. The best cut,
however, is a band called Tokyo '77 (whom I would love to get some
info about), a combo that is somewhat similar in lineup to jazz, but
that plays a mind-blowing range of every element in music cut up and
reassembled. Actually, words are failing me to describe this
spectacle. At any rate, the other cuts are all decent, though some
are a bit bizarre (a multi-tracked a cappela piece about Long Island
traffic, for instance), but I'm not quite sure if this is for
everyone. It is, however, definitely for me. Thumbs up.
Combustible Edison, _I, Swinger_, Sub Pop- It looks like the Christmas
people are back in business again, this time as the purveyors of the
new Swinger movement (I guess they don't want to admit that the
Coctails beat them to the punch), who apparently drink mixed drinks of
varying degrees of flamboyance and sing about how glamorous their life
is. Sounds suspiciously like Urge Overkill (a member of which used to
drum for the Christmas), but even though they're heavy on pretense,
they can occasionally pull one off. Unfortunately (for them), the
best songs on this record are the covers... Whoops, forgot to mention
that this is lounge-type music, a bit heavy on the milquetoastness (cf
their version of "Cry Me a River"). Don't get me wrong- I like this
ok, just not very often. Only buy this after you get every single
Coctails record + the dolls.
Huggy Bear, their new single, Gravity Records- Here's Huggy Bear
coming in with a new single (their 4th, I believe). This is
unbelievably poor. With the exception of the 1st cut on side 1, which
is bearable (yuck yuck), they have fallen from the fury of their
exquisite first two 7"s to become cheap Nation of Ulysses wannabes.
Or maybe they are going that direction anyway, but there's no decent
"songs," no discernable oomph that would convince me they gave a shit
about anything. Not even the passionless ruckus they kick up is
interesting. This all means that this is the absolute bottom. Avoid.
Naked City, Absinthe, Avant (Japan)- There have been two new Naked
City releases on Avant, one of radio sessions, and this one of more
introspective word. Here, an Eye-less Naked City sticks pretty
cleanly to jazz, with vague doses of in-your-face noise bits. I guess
there is also a preponderance of Eastern chimes, etc. Anyway, barring
the last track (a seeming tribute to Rice Krispies), this one
thoroughly enjoyable disc- Zorn leads the band (or rather conducts)
through atmospheric backgrounds on one track then jumps to the
skronkiest, noisiest track I've heard in a while. I like both styles
just fine, but I think they execute them well enough to be worthy if
yr just interested in one.
Well, I was going to put some live shows down, but I'm too long-winded
and I don't like to put 3+ pages worth of critique. Maybe next
time....
----------------------------
From: kingunix@garnet.berkeley.edu (Robbeldebobbel)
abridged perversion
Abridged Perversion - A Shrimper compilation of Shrimper compilations
Would it... Could it.... be the first submission after a year of
lurkateering? Yep. 'Cuz I haven't seen this fine compilation
discussed on this list yet - or did I miss it? It's been out for quite
a while. This release is a CD filled to the brim with 34 songs that
appeared on previous cassette and 7" compilations on the lovely
Shrimper label - a cassette-only label except for their two 7"
compilers. 34 songs by 34 bands? Yeah, sort of ...... If you count
Sentridoh and Lou Barlow separately... and Nothing Painted Blue /
Franklin Bruno... and Refrigerator / Paste.... There's a fair bit of
in-breeding going on. Most of the bands featured I know nothing
whatsoever about - but all are interesting, some are great. Just a
few of the high points, after a mere two listens: The track by Nothing
Painted Blue (from the Swing Set 7"), Carne A's (who? I dunno... but
they're great) track "Cankertown", Wckr Spgt's track "fluffy cat" (can
somebody please tell me something about this band? I like most
everything they've done, but they're still a complete mystery to me),
Simon Wickham-Smith/Richard Youngs' doodling... Too many to mention.
The release is somewhat confusing - it's not on Shrimper Records, but
on Brinkman - I think it's a Dutch label, but there's no address
given. Apparently (why, why, why?) it's a limited-to-500 release, and
I got it new, (not a cut-out) for a mere $8. Huh? Pick it up, quick!
My god, this is such a confusing post.... I'll try to be more
coherent next time 'round, 'kay?
Skinny
---------------------------
From: Paul H Williams <phwst1+@pitt.edu>
Pavement w/ Helium, Lilys, and Catapillar
I got to see Stockton's, CA. favorite band at the Trocedro in Philly
and Haveford College, which outside Philly (near Villanova Univ.). So
Pavement had two dates in Philly. The first concert was on Good
Friday.
Haveford Pa.
O' MIGHTY ISIS were the first band to play...A local band playing that
was just happy to play in front of audience that didn't consist mostly
of friends. I had more fun going back to the car to put my brand new
Pavement shirt away (they gave you a Pavement sticker with the
purchase). They played much too long, about 1 hour.
HELIUM. I just found out that 2/3 of Helium were in Dumptruck. I
remember they had a great 12" out and I never would buy it because I
was under the assumption: who would buy a Dumptruck 12" in Harrisburg?
How many Dumptruck fans can there be? Someone bought it. Bastard.
Helium are really great on vinyl, but they lacked showmanship. They
just played. I don't even recall them hanging around the audience at
all. But whatever. I really like their vinyl stuff. "Love $$$" is
my favorite song and they capture a mood with their intense playing.
By the way, Mary is a great guitarist.
PAVEMENT. I talked to Spiral Stairs before the show and he's just a
neat guy. I saw him earlier in REPO Records and he brought up the
Pavement's "Cut Your Hair" 12" and the "Slay Tracks" CD Bootleg. He
told the owner the 12" was improperly priced at $8.99. It wasn't an
import or anything of that nature. It just had a big sticker that was
marked $8.99, the owner immediately took the tag off. Also the CD
bootleg was being sold at $19.99 and he wanted to buy it at cost. The
owner said it was $16. After some bargining he reduced it $14.
Spiral refused to buy it. After he left, I told the employee I would
buy it $14. She laughed and said, "No." At the show, I told Spiral
the latter end of the story and he said he would have bought it for me
than sold it to me. Rats!
They played a interesting set, which consisted of some unrecorded new
songs and the old tunes "Debris Slide" "Summer Babe" "Box Elder MO".
"Stop Breathin'" "Gold Soundz" "5 + 4= Unity" got played from the new
LP. "Summer Babe" was the second song they played, and the crowd
immediately wanted to mosh. I knew it was going to happen. No stage
diving though. It was much too shallow when the stage was only two
feet off the ground. Malkmus was pretty out of it; he played guitar
and just stared at the lights. Bobby N. was a neat highlight, when
he was screaming and stiring up a fanfare during "Unfair." It was a
good show.
Trocadero Pa. "The alley behind the Troc is pretty damn clean"
I was suppose to interview Pavement around 5 o'clock and they were
doing sound check 'til 6:15. While sitting in the beautiful alleyway,
Caterpillar was unloading and Kurt came flying and swerving down the
alley in a rented van. I knew it was rented because you don't have
the consequence of fixing the van if it's damaged. When I finally got
in, Lara Cohen was in there (how does she do this?) with Kristin of
Tsunami. Mark and Spiral were playing whiffleball. Malkmus was
scratching his head, looking dazed and confused. Bobby N. had a
bottle of beer in his hand. No drummer. The interview -- did it.
The first band was Caterpillar whom I never listened to, even though I
have the December Working Holiday 7". It must have been a Philly
thing, 'cause the kids were out tonight. It was packed and they
started to mosh until a bouncer stopped them. They were alright. I'm
still not a huge fan.
LILYS. I'm a huge Lilys fan, so this was a big concert for me. The
Lilys consist of 5 people now. The last itme I saw them, May '93,
they were only a 3-piece. They added two guitars, one from
Caterpillar. They went through a bunch of new songs and the only one
I know the name for was "Ginger". But Wally still hasn't forgot how
to play "Threw a Day" It was weird to see them. No more My Bloody
Valentine feedback. They lilys have discovered solid ground. The
songs are more original and much different from "In the Presence of
Nothing." Short quick riffs played with pace.
Paul Williams <phwst1+@pitt.edu> "Indie-rock ain't noise pollution"
"Make Love Rock, Not war"
--------------------------
From: mmaxwell@UCSD.EDU (Matthew Maxwell)
Blind Mr. Jones, Droneon & Me
Seeing that someone mentioned Blind Mr. Jones' "Spooky Vibes" EP, i
thought that i'd pipe up and let people know that there's more
available from this fine band. There's a second EP, though i just
suffered brain fade on the name (might be "Featherweight") as well as
an outstanding LP entitled _Stereo Musicale_.
I'll second the opinion that BMJ are more than just 'Ride with
Flutes.' These guys write better music, though lyrically they're in
the same ballroom as many of the other 'gazer bands. However, they
blow the competition away. Put on the song "Dolores" or "Sisters"
from their LP and hear the difference for yourself. "Dolores" grabbed
me the first time i heard it in the tiny shoebox record store on
campus, so much so that i almost had to wrestle a guy for the last
copy, but he chickened out when he saw the pricetag. Wimp. It was
worth every penny.
And while i'm in the neighborhood, i'd like to mention the DroneOn
mailinglist, which is more or less picks up where the Hypnodrone list
left off, focusing on droning guitar bands as well as psychedelic
music in all its manifestations. Recent topics include: Flying Saucer
Attack, Can/Faust (and Krautrock in general), Mazzy Star, and various
rumors surrounding Spacemen 3 reissues. If you're interested, drop me
a line, or simply send mail to listserv@ucsd.edu with the message
"subscribe droneon" in the body. Later, all.
Anon,
Matt
------------------------------------------------------------
Matt Maxwell mmaxwell@ucsd.edu
"He took personality tests
And stapled them to his lower lip" -- Stan Ridgway
-------------------------
FROM: LLJE@utxdp.dp.utexas.edu
Pavement Review (Austin)
Thursday Night: Pavement Live @ Liberty Lunch in Austin, TX...
Unfortunately, I arrived late and only caught the last three songs of
Bailter Space. What I heard I really liked. Sort of a hard-edged,
dreamy sound that belted out moments of pure frustration. It was an
incredible meld of music-noise and I really wish I could have seen
more of their show.
Pavement came on right @ 10:20 PM (early shows really suck) and played
a Nirvana cover as their opening number. From then on their set list
followed two old songs for every new one played. (I've only recently
started listening to Pavement so I can't give you song titles.) It
appeared to one of my friends that they would play a pop song then a
guitar rock song and then an art-music song then another pop song.
There were definite times when the audience seemed bored but then they
would play one of the more pop songs and the audience was right back
in there. Personally, I was disappointed with the length of their
songs. Just when it seemed like the music was going to let go, the
song would end.
They played a full hour and came back and did four more songs as an
encore. The best part of the whole evening was the last encore, it
went on forever and swirled and swam around through all sorts sounds
and seemed to never end and I don't know why but it was the best thing
I heard all evening.
Before and after Pavement played, John Zorn was to be heard on the PA
system. Read into this what you will. Overall I have to say I was
disappointed but I'll go and see them again and if the show's less
than $12 in your area and if you're a Pavement fan, I'd recommend
seeing them. je
---------------------------
From: rcarmic1@cc.swarthmore.edu (rob)
ANNOUNCEMENT: WorthStock
hiya. anyone who's in the philidelphia area might should be advised
that swarthmore college is again putting on their annual "worthstock"
all-day concert fun-o-rama (sponsored by WSRN-FM). the festivities
will take place on may 1, at which time the following bands
tentatively will be playing: Knife and Fork Band, Caterpillar,
DiskothiQ, Ass Ponys and the New Bomb Turks. we're keeping this thing
under wraps as much as possible, so if you're interested, please email
me (at rcarmic1@cc.swarthmore.edu) and i'll give you the low-down.
thanks and jaundiced love,
rob carmichael
------------------------------
From: $JFENNEL@LWCVM1.LWC.EDU
ANNOUNCEMENT: UGLY HEAD/DYING ECHO/PELT show...
The final bandfest for at Longwood College in scenic Farmville, VA,
will be on Saturday, April 30, at 8 PM in the Lancer Cafe. Richmond's
UGLY HEAD and PELT and Yorktown's DYING ECHO will be playing. Free
show, and as usual, free coffee. For info------>jennie 804-395-3010.
lots o'fun expected.
------------------------------
alborn@husc.harvard.edu "Timothy Alborn"
ADV: new incite!, harriet releases available
Harriet Records presents a new CD by Crayon and new singles by The
Extra Glenns (featuring Franklin Bruno and John Darnielle), Pest
(Barbara Manningish pop from Montreal) and Bagpipe Operation
(Pavementish pop from Sacramento). The CD is $7 ppd and the singles
are $3 ppd. from Harriet, PO Box 649, Cambridge, MA 02238. Also out
now is a new issue of Incite! magazine, number 25, with a special
feature on historical Harriets and tons of reviews. Yours for two
stamps or free with any Harriet order. And Crayon is planning a tour
in June and July, early on with Hazel and later with the Softies
(ex-Tiger Trap). Anyone who's interested in helping put on a show
email me: alborn@husc.harvard.edu.
(TIM ALBORN)
-----------------------------
From: blue slurpee junky <whitebrd@eden.rutgers.edu>
ADV: more gusto on my part
i know i announced this in the last offering of the indie list, but
there has been an addition and a change, so i'm going to suck up my
pride and tell you all over again (if eric lets me) [well, since there
were changes in lineup and all, we'll remain calm... And what you do
with your own pride is your own business... -es]. at 6:00 on Sunday,
April 17th at Under Acme in NYC, Jiffy Boy Records is putting on a
show to celebrate the release of their first cd compilation, ten cent
fix. The lineup for the show is: Lilys (still the whole band),
Barnabys (might just be Joey), All About Chad (not just on spinART,
also on Silver Lady and Brilliant and stuff), Slow Children Playing
(still my band), Spleverb (the newest addition to Jiffy Boy), and
Raggedy Ann (still about to record with Pat the Yo-Yo guy). the cost
is still $5 and you can reach me at 908.249.5455 or
<whitebrd@eden.rutgers.edu>. thanks, but forget my advice about
cracking a fret or two because that could get to be way too expensive.
bring your own breaking mat. -brandon, jiffy guy.
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