Indie-List_V3_N2
Used to be, girl singers rode on busses, undressed with the door ajar,
drank liquid gin, swore good. Were equal parts pretty paint, agressive,
swinger, porter, promoter, and hooker. Most had bad arches. Plus six
teal blue ball gowns with ripped hems. No more.
- Stan Cornyn
-----------------------------------------
The Indie List Digest
Volume 3, Number 2
January 7, 1994
Princeton - Seattle - Ann Arbor - Raleigh
-----------------------------------------
Appearing in this go-round:
Flying Saucer Attack/YLT/S.M.A.S.H and more
Happy New Ear
Love Jones
Lois, Valerie Stadler, Pansy Division
Go Team
Oregon News plus Hedgehog, the Spinanes, Lois
look back in wonder and some reviews
Record Reviews and Stuff
Shellac (live)
John Peel's Festive 50 for 1993
indie0
indie1
indie2
indie3
and one ad:
CRAW tour dates for January
###############
A few comments from the editor:
1. It's nice to see some of the non-US members of the list jumping in -
the 4-part article at the end of the list is pretty great as a primer to
stuff that I've heard bits of but not enough...
2. Small request - please keep your line-lengths under 80 characters,
please? My little borrowed lap-top sucker can't handle long line too
well, and that makes it much harder for editing purposes. (I thought 80
was a common standard for line lengths, but various editors seem to
screw around with that, notably NeXTs in my experience.)
3. Keep it all coming - this is the type of issue that's neat because
it's different!
4. This gets brought up in a couple articles this week, so I thought I'd
re-iterate for everyone - this list is for indie-music, not just
indie-rock. Who released it isn't half as important as the spirit of
the music in the package.
5. Regarding the Quiz from last issue: was the question that fucking
hard? I got a grand total of ONE response...does nobody want these
records, or are you scared to write to me? :)
To repeat from last time, the quote which appears at the beginning of
this issue comes from an album jacket. The album was released on a
mersh label in the US about the same time my parents graduated from high
school. If you can guess what the LP is, you win your choice of the LPs
listed below. Guesses are encouraged - I realize that this isn't
exactly a piece of cake.
Prizes: one of the following: _The African Man's Tomato_ by the
Cannanes, _Out Of The Tunnel_ by MX-80 Sound, or _Caught In Flux_ by
Eyeless in Gaza. (If the winner doesn't want one of these, I'm willing
to make further deals/negotiations.)
HINTS: How about a range of possible years? 1963-1969.
Any description of the artist? 5'2", eyes of blue, I'd give a
hair color but it changes from LP to LP... :)
Label: Warner Brothers
Style: popular (would now fit on an "oldies" station)
Ratio of originals to covers per LP: about 1:1, sometimes 1:2...
Please send your guesses along to me - if there is no exact winner, I'll
award the choice of prizes to the closest/most creative/something that
strikes my fancy/etc. response. :)
Sean
skmurphy@phoenix.princeton.edu
################
From: James Nash <CCX020@raven.coventry.ac.uk>
Flying Saucer Attack/YLT/S.M.A.S.H and more
Wrote these before Xmas but only just got round to typing 'em in.
Flying Saucer Attack LP (FSA 62 vinyl only)
You get the feeling that FSA have missed the fuzz flotilla somewhat. A
few years too late, mate. MBV gave this up in 1990 and only pale
imitators remain. BZZZZT! "Wrong. Thank you for playing Indie Challenge
(Tm) and better luck next time. You don't go away empty handed thpugh;
pick up your free Lemonheads record on the way out. Byeeee!"
An army of Indie Listers has already declared this their cup of tea and
I'd like to flap my foreigner wings in agreement. Yo La Tengo, Spacemen 3,
MBV, Lilys are all fed through the ultimate distortion box to produce the
FSA sound and what's doubly impressive is that this is mostly the work of
one Bristol record shop assistant (see IL's passim). That does show at
times with some overly simple percussion and the overwhelming layers but
that just masks the talent on show.
Immediate attention is drawn to an infinitely improved and hilariously
amusing cover of Suede's "The Drowners" and great songs like "Make Me
Dream". Sitting alongside these FSA fuzz-outs is a threatening ambient
sound, as in "Moonset" with its dissonant clarinet and tribal beat
mutating into helicopter savagery yet never resorting to unnecessary
guitar histrionics. I don't know which side of FSA I prefer but
whichever direction they take next has got to be good.
This is one alien invasion your antibodies won't resist. Keep watching the
skies. **1/2
Wat Tyler/Helen Love - Where's Me Fuckin' Presents? (Damaged Puds aka
Damaged Goods 7" lime green vinyl)
After the brilliant "Sexless" EP with its Madonna piss-take photobook,
this is a severe disappointment. Wat Tyler do a folk/death metal
version of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" which lasts all of 30 seconds
(so why the four-stars is it recorded at 33rpm, eh?!) and Helen Love
does a Shop Assistants meets Bachelor Pad number with the refrain
"Just Me and Leonard Cohen for Xmas this year" - yes, another crappy
cover. For the blatant cheek and collektorskum value, I'll give this *
Vanilla Trainwreck - Be a Sunny Beauty (Mammoth 7" vile pink vinyl)
"Quandry" is VT do Bogshed do Dinosaur Jr, a marvellously unhinged 90
second blast of fresh air. "Florida" is more VT's usual style, sort of
a really rockin' Thin White Rope. Cool. *
S.M.A.S.H. - Lady Love Your Cunt/Shame (Les Disques de Popcor 003
7" even viler pink vinyl)
Title track is a punk-spirited song about sexism, poverty and buying
single cigarettes off a seedy newsagent. It's also totally fuckin'
awesome. "Shame" is another raucous Fall/Buzzcockian business. In-yer-
face production enhances the spirit even more. **
A.C. Acoustic - Sweatlodge/M.V. (El-e-mental ELM16s/EFA-17683-01
7" ocean-blue marbled vinyl)
A.C.A. rival Mint 400 in the power-chord Loop division and weigh in
here with a fine debut. Two tracks, "Sweatloadge" an alternative
headbanger track and "M.V." which meanders through the muscle. This
last shows real promise, a Spacemen 3-type mesmerising effect yet it
rocks! The band are from Glasgow and A.C. stands for Authentic Closet,
you work it out. **
Yo La Tengo - Painful (City Slang)
OMIGOD! Run for the hills! another review of this bloody album. I
stalled on doing this one to let it sink in a bit. Glad I did.
On a down day, I dismiss this record as a half-arsed wimp-out wannabe
Indie Seam washout. On an up day, I hold it up as a shining beacon of
understatement and melody to the enraged clouds of hardcore grunge. On
a wistful day, I multiple orgasm.
Into the banality of enscribing individual descriptions, I suppose I
must commence with "Big Day Coming". You hardly notice the 7 acoustic
minutes of version one slipping by, then version two grabs you with its
truly disconcerting, regularised wobble-fuzz guitar lick. "Sudden Organ"
is a wonderous thing especially for the moment the crazy organ paves
its way in. The true spirit of the album, however, lies in tracks like
"Nowehere Near" and "The Whole of the Law" where a repetitive noise
(organ, hula, etc.) grabs your fickle attention, meanwhile the real
punchline is whispered into your sub-conscious musical memory bank. And
thereby lies the rub; you have to be in a peaceful state of mind to
decipher the message.
NZ pop elements, not so frenetic, pop up in the stabbing bouncing sound
of "From a Motel 6" and YLT almost go INXS with "I Was the Fool..." but
resist the temptation to explode into stupidity. Sometimes you have to
dig too deep for the melody, or brevity breaks the illusion as in the
LP's weakspot "Superstar Watcher" but overall there's no escaping the
marvel of it all. It's painful but these slight lapses mean only **1/2
--James Nash <ccx020@raven.cov.ac.uk>
Sir Henry's request for a bazooka to bring down "the
really big sods" was denied on the grounds of diplomacy.
################
FROM: K. Lena Bennett, Slacker Goddess
Happy New Ear
I was going to do a top-10 list but it's ridiculous to even try,
especially since I spent a lot of this year discovering old stuff I
missed. I will say I finally got around to getting the Spinanes album and
find it excellent. My first LP-length vinyl purchase in about 8 years, by
the way.
Just curious: How many of you would definitely buy an Indie-List T-shirt
if it existed? How many would maybe buy one? Let me know directly.
Lena keb@u.washington.edu
"If a boy I don't like touches them they turn into switch blades and stab
him through his worthless, sorry excuse for a hand. But if a boy I like
touches them they turn into white, soft cupcakes with a little pink pig
snout with one nostril on top." - Dame Darcy
################
From: Jodi Shapiro <jodi@dsm.fordham.edu>
Subject: Love Jones
Short but sweet this time:
If you're in New York on Friday the 7th, go see Love Jones. They're
loung- ey, they're suave and they're funny too. Matching jackets never
looked so good ('cept on Urge Overkill).
Whilst everyone is tallying up their favorite records for their Village
Voice Pazz and Jop polls, here's a few records you might have missed in
'93 that are really worth hearing.
Fluf Mangravy (Cargo/Headhunter)
Huevos Rancheros Endsville (Cargo)
Heidi Berry _Heidi Berry_ (4AD)
Heatmiser _Dead Air_ (Frontier)
Flop _Whenever You're Ready_ (Sony)
My Dad Is Dead _Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind_ (Scat)
Just my .02.
Happy hate-me-nots,
Jodi
--
Jodi Shapiro---CIMS Fordham University (Lincoln Center). 113 West 60th St.
NYC, NY
jodi@dsm.fordham.edu Crash B's or bust!
There's just something about pimento loaf that makes my taste buds say "howdy!"
################
From: Laurence Roberts RD <lroberts@bellahs.com>
Lois, Valerie Stadler, Pansy Division
I went and saw Pansy Division, Valerie Stadler, and The Lois (in that order)
last night at the Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco.
Pansy Division did all new stuff, which will be appearing on their next
record, to be released this spring. They also have a new drummer, who's
pretty good. Among the new songs were "The Fluffy City," which is an
anti-L.A. song, and "Negative Queen," about a homo with a bad attitude.
They also covered Prince's Jack U Off. For the last song, Anthem (with
the notorious chorus "We're the Buttfuckers of Rock'n'Roll") the drummer
from Tiger Trap played with them. As I mentioned before, Pansy Division's
new record will feature a duet with Calvin Johnston on a Nancy Sinatra/
Lee Hazlewood cover. (I asked Jon what the song was, but I can't remember
now.)
Valerie's regular band is Spokepoker. This was some sort of accoustic
thing, and she was dressed like Janis Joplin. Who knows what she was
thinking. Her set culminated with a keyboard-and-vocals version of
"Since I fell for you" and some other song. Valerie has a really nice
voice, but this attempt at "rootsiness" was fairly pointless.
The Lois' set was really great. The songs sound quite different with the
new, Bonham-esque drummer [Amy Farina], and the addition of bass. I like
the new song. Lois Maffeo said one album title they thought up was "Whole
Lotta Drums". One thing that was quite novel was that Lois Maffeo herself
interacted with the audience quite a bit. It's been a while since I've
seen a performer who actually acnowledged the audience, spoke to them, and
genuinely seemed to be having a good time. [She did that here too....
Douglas wants to put out a record of just Lois' stage patter. - Lena] The
Lois' set also ended with a collaboration with a Tiger Trap member, this
time on guitar. (I'm not sure if she was the same member or not. No
reference was made to the demise of Tiger Trap.) Lois Maffeo also did an
acapella Julie London song. [Was that the one about nice girls not
staying for breakfast?] And she entertained the audience with her
impressions from the Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer TV show.
I talked to Lois Maffeo for a while beforehand. I brought up Courtney
Love, the person (when the band played an old song, she referred to her
former band as "a band I was in with my friend Pat.") and the recent
mention in the British press of Courtney punching Calvin Johnson in lieu
of sueing him, in revenge for him putting out the Courtney Love (the band)
singles. Lois said that Courtney did this and then immediately called the
British press ("She's got Everet True wrapped around her finger.") It is
sort of a dead issue -- are the singles even in print anymore? [Yup.]
Courtney just had to drag it out again so the spotlight wouldn't waver
from her. There's not much chance of someone buying the wrong record
mistakenly, and it seems more like serindipity than disappointment to buy
a Lois Maffeo record instead of one by Courtney Love (the person). Can
you say "Negativland U2"?
Iggy Pop wrote the "Dear Boy" column in Sassy this month, and answered
questions like "why do boys spit?"
Larry-bob
lroberts@bellahs.com
################
From: Laurence Roberts RD <lroberts%calvin@calvin.bellahs.com)
Go Team
Oh yeah, a postscript to my Lois review. In talking with Lois Maffeo, I
mentioned the Oswald 5-0 cover of "My Head Hurts," a song which Lois sang
with the Go Team, a band that had a core of Calvin Johnson and Tobi Vail.
Lois said that they don't sing the exact same lyrics as she does, and she
considered correcting them, but decided not to. And she said that K may
re-release the Go Team material on CD (and presumably other formats.) Hope
this happens, because Archer Come Sparrow is a total lost classic. I
haven't heard the other cassettes (Donna Parker Pop and Your Pretty
Guitar), or most of the singles, but hopefully if this release happens, it
will include as much as possible. Archer Come Sparrow is still available
on cassette (its original format) but none of the other stuff is still in
print.
Larry-bob
lroberts@bellahs.com
################
From: Kelly Enriquez <kenrique@oce.orst.edu>
Subject: Oregon News plus Hedgehog, the Spinanes, Lois
Greetings and long time no hear from. It's been several months since
I've written anything...so I figured I'd better get off my ass and do so.
First a quick update on what's new in Corvallis and Oregon in general.
Lazyboy (a Corvallis hardcore band) released a 7" on Allied Recordings
(about 2 months ago). It's really good if you like hardcore music. I'm
still working for the college station here (KBVR) so I've been busy
schmoozing. (going to shows, interviewing bands, etc...) Back in November
we were able to get Spore (on Taang!) to do a live show over the air. It
was a last second thing that actually worked out. That was a lot of fun.
Hopefully we'll be doing more of that kind of thing in '94. I had the
displeasure of interviewing Greg Graffin from Bad Religion (back in Oct).
If anyone wants to read that interview, just e-mail me and I'll send you a
copy. The wonderful all-female Eugene band A Dick Did broke up several
months ago. They did manage to release a cd (on Imp records) after
calling it quits. Plus Kaia (the ex-lead singer) recently released a 7"
of acoustic tunes (including one about the woman who cut off her husband's
penis) on Little Brother records. As for Portland news... Candy-Ass
Records have released some nifty 7"s...look for 30-06, Sone, and Surf
Maggots (I haven't seen Sone live, but the other 2 bands are pretty damn
entertaining). The Spinanes cd "Manos" has been out for awhile (Sub Pop).
It puts the Pop into Sub Pop...good stuff. (review of the Spinanes/Lois
show to follow) Hazel has been back in town for awhile...the last time I
saw them they were pretty drunk...I hope that doesn't continue. They
headlined a Portland hometown hero show with Crackerbash and
Heatmiser...all three bands were incredible (except for Hazel being a
little off). With all these great bands in Portland maybe the Seattle hype
will swing a little south for awhile (ugh...let's hope not!).
But enough of that rambling...if anyone wants more info on any of the bands
or labels that I mentioned feel free to e-mail me.
Now...for my real inspiration to writing. I recently reviewed a cd that
almost brought tears to my eyes...it was beautiful. I'm talking about the
new Hedgehog cd "Gnaw" (Flapjacks Records). There are 9 full length songs
broken up by shorter instrumental tunes...over 50 minutes of incredible
music. I hate to compare bands...but in order to give you an idea of what
they sound like I guess they could be compared to Fugazi...maybe.
Hedgehog are melodic, powerful, somewhat jazzy. They're just simply
wonderful. One of the best cds I've listened to in awhile.
1/1/94 the Spinanes, Lois, Mystery Guest #2, Mystery Guest #1 @ LaLuna
Mystery Guest #1 consisted of Jody (Hazel) on vocals/drums/guitar, Scott
(the Spinanes) on guitar/drums, Kaia (ADickDid) on guitar/vocals, and
another woman on bass who looked very familiar...hmm. I guess this was
their first live show. They haven't even come up with a band name yet.
It was pretty messy...crunchy garage pop. Lots of potential, but they
need a few more practice sessions first.
Mystery Guest #2 consisted of four males playing beautiful pop tunes. The
lead singer has a really nice voice. I think they said that their name
was the Belt Sliders, but I could be wrong. Anyway, they sounded pretty
damn good.
You've got to love that K Records pop sound! Especially when Lois is
doing the singing...she has a beautiful voice. She brought along a
drummer and bass player for this tour (which was promoting her latest
"Strumpet"). Plus she had lots of nifty stories to tell about Portland.
As extra entertainment during Lois' set, Jody ran onto the stage, dove
into the crowd (in slow motion), got passed back up to the stage, and
kissed Lois' leg before jumping back off the stage...I think she (Jody)
was drunk at the time. [Jody was at the Seattle show, too, and so was
Heather from Beat Happening - Lena]
The Spinanes are a duo from Portland (in case you didn't know...and if you
didn't know then where the hell have you been?). Rebecca sings and plays
guitar while Scott plays drums...and for two people, they produce some
really infectious pop tunes. Great vocals! Sometimes mellow, sometimes
upbeat, always wonderful. People were even slam dancing! (well...Jody
had to get people started...she was a busy woman at this show) I've seen
better performances by the Spinanes, but this show was by no means bad.
They were signed to Sub Pop over the summer. Since then they've released
a single and a full length album "Manos" (both on Sub Pop, and definitely
worth checking out).
well...that's all for now.
hasta luego,
Kelly
################
from: Kees Visser <visserk.bureau.rug.nl>
look back in wonder and some reviews
Hi there everyone! May the force be with you in 1994, or die trying. Now
this will be my second contribution in half a year, but as you'll see: who
cares.
First i have to make some remarks on the discussion that's been going for
a couple of i-l's. The beloved subject is of course: how indie is indie?
Well if it's up to me, indie is whatever you think it's indie. It's the
attitude rather than the record company. Last year a couple of fine albums
were out on strictly mersh labels, but so what? If it rocks, it rocks and
i'm sure that the readers of this fine zine know what rocks and what
doesn't.
OK, get on with it. My fave albums are a little miscalleneous:
1._Rage against the machine_ was the best i think, tho friend of mine
thinks that Henry Rollins did it before, and better. Nevermind.
2. I liked _Smashing Pumpkins_ (Siamese dream) tho it wasn't as good as
"gish" but at least it shows progression. Fine.
3.Very mersh is Khaled's album "N'ssi n'ssi" (partly produced by Don
Was) but since it's arabic music i can see no wrong in that. And at least
the lyrics are about drinks (too many) and women (too few). I wonder if
anyone in the States knows this Bob Marley-like singer. Check it out!
4. Another fine mersh album: El espiritu del vino by the _Heroes del
silencio_. Their first album was brilliant, but this one, their second, is
still OK, tho a little bit overproduced. The fun with this album is that i
started to like it only after i played for the 10th time.
5._New model army_ "love of hopeless causes". Used to be super-indie, but
nowadays pretty popular in some scene. Still, the best british album this
year.
6.Shine "Boys". Ha, finally a dutch album:-)! Former singer of _Fatal
Flowers_ thinks he's David Bowie in the early seventies. Cool. Yummie
yummie, i do like this.
7.Seam "the problem with me". You know already why.
8.Cords "taurus no bull". Another dutch band and i guess not unknown to
the readers of this list. At last, a riot grrrl i can stand:- ). You know,
yelling ladies make me nervous, but this grrl is OK. For the sake of
curiosity: there are some dutch-spoken lines on this album. Any one who
would like a translation: mail me.
9.Pond s/t. Hey, J.mascis, dig this!
10._Red devils_ "king king". Super indie in sound (lo-fi, due to live
recording), very traditional in music: let's say 5t's and 6t's blues.
Brilliant guitarplayer who knows how to use all the wideknown clichees,
brilliant singer who plays the harmonica like the devil. "We just wanna
play, y'know", they said after their first dutch gig at an open air
festival. Cool. It's on Def American; used to be indie, what about now?
So far for that. Now i wanna tell you something about the gospel of music
for fun, not for adrenaline. The other day i borrowed the
Underbelly-album "Mumblypeg" (Slash records). Something in between the
future of R&R and a timewarp. They have some very obvious neil
young-features, but are as lively as all AmRepbands together. Slow
disorted guitarrock, with traces in folk, but interesting as hell. The two
guys behind Underbelly are Richie Hopkins and Dave Seeger, whom you might
know from the Woodcocks (check out s/t on Still Sane records, 1990, and
The Carp Pond, 1992). Intense and burning from R&R, these guys. These two
used to earn their living in the Sidewinders, Sand rubies, Naked Prey and
Giant Sandworm, so you know what to expect. Lately there has been an
uprising in traditional folklike rock like Calvin Russel, and some former
Green on Red-members whose name i forgot. I find these records pretty
boring, tho they are 'good' records, but you know, i prefer artists rather
than artisans.
So folks, that's it for now. Maybe next time i'll write something
about Uncle Tupelo. Nevermind. Rock on! Bye, Kees.
################
From: Ara Hacopian <ahacop@wam.umd.edu>
Record Reviews and Stuff
Seeing all those record reviews in the last issue reminded me that I
bought a bunch of records a couple weeks ago, so since no one has reviewed
them I figure I will.
Girl Of The World - Circus/Green Song 7" (Parasol) -
GOTW are an Australian trio with a knack for Wedding Present style
pop. I was sort of suprised when I saw this at Go! Records, because the
last seven-inch of theirs that I have seen was put out in '91. If anyone
knows of any other records by them please tell me. Its hard to describe
their sound with out bringing up the Pastels and the Wedding Present.
Catchy guitar POP.
Bomb Pops - Paler EP (Audrey's Diary) - Chip Porter puts out a zine called
Emily's Hip Pockey and runs a label called Audrey's Diary. The zine is
incredible. It introduced a whole bunch of bands that I had never heard of
before (Even As We Speak, Heavenly, Veronica Lake, The Pastels). So I
bought this record because its on his label, and he likes good bands.
(Remember when Slumberland put out records you could just buy it, and
since it was on Slumberland you knew it was good). Well on that premise I
got this, and it blows. The A side is one song that a pretty boring slow
Felt-like song. Side B are two guitar instrumentals, that are just not
very interesting. Oh well...
Asha Vida - Eskimo Summer (Audrey's Diary) - Thank god this record was
good. The first song is called "Eskimo Summer" and it starts off as with
slow ambient distorted guitar and breathy vocals and flows right into the
noisy guitar/breathy melody. I like it. Side B is actually five songs that
each band memeber wrote...I haven't listened to it yet, but I don't care,
the first song is good enough.
Lorelei - Asleep 7" (Slumberland) - Great cover picture. Both songs are
very similar to the good noisy pop songs on the Boo Radleys' new record,
only better. Get this.
The Weather Prophets - Almost Prayed 7" (Creation) - Almost Prayed is a
really great pop song. This record came out in 1986. But I only found out
about them after listening to a guys radio show on WMUC (univ. of
maryland) , the guy played a Creation geneology, and the first two hours
were only some of the best music I've heard in a long time. The early
Primal Scream songs amazed me. Anyway, the B side utterly blows. Kind of a
bummer, but all I have to do is flip the record over and everything is
okay.
Other Stuff
I think its kind of neat that a bunch of music biz people are signing on
the list.
Thanks,
Ara Hacopian
ahacop@wam.umd.edu
################
From: BUFFP@carleton.edu
Shellac
since by now everyone hopefully has heard both shellac singles, i thought
i might (certainly with a proud nod) talk about what the other songs sound
like. i had the great pleasure of seeing shellac play at the seventh
street entry (second home to shellac/riflesport drummer todd trainer) in
the month of november. shellac opened for a dubious bunch of glam medal
bands (candlebox dgc:thurston:nelson:where's izzy? among others). needless
to say steve and bob (can i call them by their first names? madonna is
madonna, janet is janet...whitney is whitney-mtv) had a lot to say about
the scores of shiny guitars and frizzy haired roadies that frumped about.
shellac's set opened with both of their singles-steve's guitar sounded
more like rapeman's (go mckinnon go!) live than the records suggest. steve
and bob also had their stic going, vogueing to their songs while playing
noise passages (hey:maybe shellac will sign next to daisy chainsaw on
madonna's label)
ok so i know when not to push it so ill finish up with a straight face.
the other songs varied. some were straight forward punk riffs, while other
songs involved countering bass/guitar melodies much in the spirit of six
finger satellite. anyway i kinda have to go now but if anyone wants to
hear more be nice to me write back
buffp@carleton.edu
################
From: jac15@po.cwru.edu
John Peel's Festive 50 for 1993
I know you didn't really want "best of the year" lists, but this seems
like a fairly "important" one, being as it is from one of the coolest dj's
in the world, as voted upon by his listeners. This was forwarded to the
Fallnet list from another list.
John Peels Festive 50 1993
----------------------------
50. Fall - War
49. Transglobal Underground - Syrius B (JPS)
48. Fall - It's A Curse
47. Hole - Beautiful Son
46. Pulp - Lip Gloss
45. Nirvana - Rape Me
44. Madder Rose - Lights Go Down
43. Fall - Behind The Counter
42. Dinosaur Jnr - Get Me
41. Fall - A Past Gone Mad
40. Nirvana - Scentless Apprentice
39. Stereolab - Jenny Ondioline
38. Elastica - Stutter
37. Tindersticks - City Sickness
36. Madder Rose - Beautiful John
35. Boo Radleys - Barney And Me
34. J Church - Good Judge Of Character
33. Heavenly - Atta Girl
32. P.J.Harvey - Naked Cousin (JPS)
31. Radiohead - Creep
30. Tindersticks - Marbles
29. Fall - Ladybird Green Grass (JPS)
28. Chumbawamba - Timebomb
27. Tindersticks - Raindrops
26. Fall - Service
25. Hole - Olympia (JPS)
24. Credit To The Nation - Call It What You Want
23. Archers Of Loaf - Web In Front
22. Fall - I'm Going To Spain
21. Sensor - Eject
20. Fall - Glam Racket
19. Fall - Lost In Music
18. P.J.Harvey - Wang Dang Doodle
17. Cornershop - Englands Dreaming
16. New Bad Things - You Suck
15. P.J.Harvey - 50ft Queenie
14. Pulp - Razzamatazz
13. New Order - Regret
12. Credit To The Nation & Chumbawamba- Hear No Bullshit
11. Fall - Why Are People Grudgeful
10. Eggs - Government Administrator
9. Palace Brothers - Ohio River Boat Song
8. Breeders - Cannonball
7. Sebadoh - Soul And Fire
6. Voodoo Queens - Supermodel Superficial
5. Stereolab - French Disco
4. P.J.Harvey - Rid Of Me
3. Huggy Bear - Her Jazz
2. Madder Rose - Swim
1. Chumbawamba & Credit To The Nation - Enough Is Enough
(JPS) after a song indicates that it is something from a John Peel
Session.
--JC
################
From: "L. Pit" <pit@WI.leidenuniv.nl>
indie0
[Ed. note: Although the Melody Maker excerpt here is copyrighted material,
I feel that this usage here falls under the "Fair Use" rules
currently in effect in the US. - Sean]
Reading the I-L, we felt that this list is too much US-dominated. This
isn't a problem for us, two European lads (from Holland to be more
specific). We like Slint, we like Sebadoh, we like Pavement, Mercury Rev,
Flamping Lips, Lilys, Spinanes, etc. to name a few (hell, one of the
writers is even a fan of Polvo [Loz]... although the other thinks it sucks
[Joep]). And Joep's sister even likes Unrest [unbelievable, Loz:)]. I.e.,
we like what you write about !
So what's our problem? Nothing. We have no problem.
But maybe you do ;-))
Because, not only do we feel the I-L is US-dominated (which we couldn't
care less for), we think it's also indie-ROCK-dominated (and that is
bugging us). Are the two things maybe related?
Just to let you think about this we copy (without authorisation, oh oh,
naughty us:) a bit of an article written by Simon Reynolds in the Melody
Maker of dec 4th:
"Britrock can sometimes 'think itself through' to formal breakthroughs
that are inaccessible to the Americans."
"Right now, US rock is much as it's ever been: diverse, but also samey
(it's all based in guitars, bass and drums)."
".... British avant-rock also faces contracting audiences. But to my ears,
it feels more vital because it's in touch with developments outside of
rock: the sound-sculpting innovations of hip hop, techno, ambient and dub.
Bands like Seefeel, Insides, Papa Sprain, Ice, Scorn, Stereolab, etc
probably don't even warrant the term "rock" any more, since they're based
around layers and textures, rather than riff-dynamics, around using the
studio-as-instrument rather than simulating a "live" band. Effects-laden
guitars are one element in a futurist armoury that includes samplers,
sequencers and drum machines.
All of which poses the question: why have American rock bands flinched
away from embracing the sampladelic revolution? Obviously, rave culture is
not as highly developed or pervasive in the USA as it is in the UK.
Techno's influence is further limited by the Amer-indie conviction that
"disco sucks", that "real music" requires a human drummer. But what about
hip hop, which is all-pervasive in America, broadcast via MTV or boomin'
from jeep sound systems on every street corner? US rockers have either
flirted with rap in a half-assed, facetious manner (Sonic Y's Ciccone
Youth Project) or they've emulated it wholesale (Beasties, Consolidated).
Only Cop Shoot Cop have hijacked rap's sampler method and militant spirit
and deployed them in a rock context.
The only explanation for this failure of nerve on the part of white
American rock is the fraught politics of race in the US. White bohemians
think rap is "cool", but they're wary about laying a finger on what they
feel is Black cultural property. Whereas Britain's remoteness from this
racially charged situation has meant that its most quick-thinking bands
could respond almost instantly to rap's challenge, whether that took the
form of gimmickry (Age Of Chance, Pop Will Shite Itself) or genuine,
organic radicalism (MBV's looped beats and sampled feedback on "Soon" and
"Loveless").
Because of its failure to respond to the only futuristic pop forms to
emerge in the last decade (rap and rave), American underground rock can
"advance" only by taking backward steps. Bands follow relatively untrodden
trails within rock history, colonising and developing the territory. But
the limits of that terrain were pretty much mapped in the late Sixties and
early Seventies; the frontier has long been closed; a new one is needed.
American bands struggle to find new permutations on the basic real-time
interaction of gtr/bs/drums mode that is the heart of rock'n'roll. And
they find them, but odds against such reinvention increase every day.
The heart of rock'n'roll, as the sage Huey Lewis put it, is still beating.
But, in Britain and Europe, bands are tearing out that heart with an
electric claw, rewiring their nervous systems and mutating into cyborg
rock."
(here ends the MM excerpt)
[Note: We are NOT trying to say that music from nation A is better than
music from nation B, 'cause that's bull, and you know it. It's about some
nations/cultures being unable or hesitant to make certain types of music.
If we say:"Chinese bands probably never make good reggae music", then of
course we don't mean that Chinese bands are no good. We're just saying
that if you want to hear reggae music, then you'd better not look for it
in China! ]
################
From: "L. Pit" <pit@WI.leidenuniv.nl>
indie1
The latest development right now in the indie-music has been the uprise of
ambient music. We hardly read anything of this on a.m.a. or on this I-L,
so we guess that most of you [Americans:)] are unaware of this radical
process that is going on right now in Europe. Ambient music is going to be
the future. Bands like Slowdive, Seefeel, Main, Stereolab, Bjork (note:
all British!, except for Bjork, she's from Iceland) are already picking up
these things and incorporate a lot of ambient in their rock- or popmusic.
Even Paul McCartney has announced that he is going to make an ambient-pop
record, because he feels that ambient is tomorrow's music. Ambient is not
going to go away. Indie kids are getting into this stuff. It's a change of
attitude maybe. The artists are taken seriously, it's not a one-off. This
is serious stuff !!
And it seems to have no limits! The posibilities are immens. Not
surprisingly of course, since Ambient still is in it's childhood years.
A lot of experimenting has to be done.
Although it all seems very new, ambient music has been around for ages.
The one who invented a name for it, Brian Eno, was already dabbling with
it eons ago. Influences come from decades ago, most important ones are
probably the German group Can, Hendrix, Miles Davis, Material, Eno and the
avant-gardists Terry Riley, John Cage, Stockhausen and Steve Reich. Some
say it even goes as far back as to the music of Eric Satie.
In '88 Detroit 'invented' house music. However, Americans didn't seem to
accept techno so readily, and so every important Detroit techno jock
headed overseas to spin their record to Europe. Because Europe was more
receptive. The techno of Kraftwerk was put into gear, heavy 303 acid beats
dominating. It took two years before musicians started to combine the
techno of house with the techno of Eno-ambient. To confuse the masses,
this fusion is also being called 'ambient', although it has little to do
with Eno-ambient any more nowadays. The first who got famous with this new
ambient movement was Orbital, although the really world-wide famous band
is probably the Orb who took the ambient into the mainstream. And although
the Orb are good at what they do, ambient has moved on. A lot further !
A lot of credit for the uprise of this type of music goes to independent
labels! Of course. :-) Most important labels are probably WARP and
Guerilla in England, R&S in Belgium, Djax Upbeats in The Netherlands, and
+8 in Canada. The fabulous British indierock-label Creation (of brilliant
acts such as My Bloody Valentine, Swervedriver, Boo Radleys, Ride,
Slowdive, Teenage Fanclub, Velvet Crush, Sugar, Medicine, and did I
already mention My Bloody Valentine?;-) has even created a sub-label
called Infonet, on which the more ambient stuff is being released.
So who are those new Gods that are gonna rule the (indie)world ?
To name but a few: Richard James (aka The Aphex Twin, Polygon Window, AFX,
and many many other aliases), Pete Namlook (aka AIR and other aliases),
Mark Pritchard and Tom Middleton (the other Aphex Twin and aka Reload),
Orbital, Andy Weatherall (aka Sabres Of Paradise), Dread Zone, Seefeel,
Underworld, Sven Vath, F.U.S.E., Amorphous Androgynous (sideproject of one
of the pioneers in ambient, the Future Sound of London), Bandulu, Black
Dog Productions, B12, Autechre, CJ Bolland, Speedy J, the Orb, Horizon
222, Psychic Warriors of Gaia, Banco de Gaia, Source, Scorn, Main, Eat
Static and many many more.
In the next message we'll review a couple of albums we feel are the most
brilliant stuff that you should have at home right now. :-) Some records
have been out for a couple of months now, so not all is 'new', but we
guess it will be new to you.
Enjoy...
(And remember, open your minds! Music is not equal to guitar-rock! ;-)
################
From: "L. Pit" <pit@WI.leidenuniv.nl>
indie2
****************************************************************************
Orbital - II (the brown album) (Internal Records TRUCD2 1993)
Orbital consists of two brothers, Phil and Paul Hartnoll. In april 1990
they crashed into the Gallup charts in Britain at nr 17. They were the
first of their kind to do it. However, Pop stations didn't know what to do
with their first record, DJ's didn't play it at clubs because it was too
complex and too multi-layered, and the record-company didn't know what to
do with it either. Their first record, which is untitled and being refered
to as 'the green album', consisted mainly of "spiritual techno" with a lot
of bleeps and cyberdelic orchestral sweeps. Best pieces are the hymnal
'Chime' and 'Belfast'. However, their first record doesn't hang together
very well. But Orbital took the risks, because they were willing to
invent. It was a necessary evil, a start had to be made by somebody, and
that somebody was Orbital.
Their second album which they released in the spring of 1993 is also
untitled, and refered to as their 'brown album' (because the cover is
brown, duuuuh). This album is absolutely totally f*ing brilliant
!!!!!!!!! (enough exclamation marks? I think not, take this -->
!!!!!!!!!!!! :-) Orbital starts with an idea that Steve Reich invented:
two loops of the same phrase ("time becomes a loop") run in and out of
phase. This Moebius-mantra is too abstract to like as 'music', but it
shows very clearly the working of this concept. This concept is currently
being used by a lot of bands, and with succes.
But Orbital also makes music with real subtance of course. 'Lush 3-1'
is a tantalising shimmer-swirl of synth-textures that feels as sensual as
spring rain. Orbital ooze a splendour of beatiful rich tones that seem to
sing from the deepest chambers of your heart; an inner choir of babytalk
oohs-and-aahs that resembles nothing so much as the hyperventilating
harmonies on MBV's "Loveless". 'Lush 3-2' introduces an ethereal
girl-voice whose ecstasy is close to sexual, an unearthly horn-section,
and a rubbery bass-line that itches in your bloodstream. 'Halycon+on+on'
consists of breathless gasps that are looped into a locked groove of
almost unendurable ecstasy (well, nine-and-a-half minutes anyway:-).
Others numbers are also brimming and blossoming of wonderment. The
goosepimples run riot!
Orbital's latest work (that I know of) is a piece titled
'Semi-Detached', which is on a compilation double-album called "Trance
Europe Express" (with various ambient-artists from the makers of Volume,
about $25). 'Semi-Detached' shows that Orbital is still moving ahead. You
must hear it to believe it.
****************************************************************************
Seefeel - "More Like Space EP" (Too Pure CD20 1993)
Seefeel - "Pure, Impure EP" (Too Pure CD25 1993)
Seefeel - "Quique" (Too Pure CD28 1993)
Three words describe Seefeel: My Bloody Valentine, Eno and Reich.
Seefeel is such a band that America probably could not have spewed. It
takes a Brit to tackle this. Taking the guitarnoise, melodic harmonies and
the riffs of MBV, then somehow turning it into a smooth Eno-ish ambient
feel, and add the conceptualism of Steve Reich's loops and phases to make
it more abstract.
Too Pure contracted the fourpiece (three boys and a girl) in 1991, but
waited quite a long time before releasing anything by them. The label
thought they sounded too much like MBV and told them they were able to do
something more experimental.
Finally the music was good enough for release and "More like space EP"
saw the light of day. This EP isn't their best work, but give a good view
in the direction they are still heading. The opening number 'More like
space' sounds like a heavy distorted dub-reggae mix of 'Soon'. Every
guitarsound sampled, looped and layered giving it an extreme sense of
depth. Mark Clifford singing inaudible under the layers of guitarsound and
Sarah Peacock church-choiring over it. The "Pure, Impure"-EP contains 50
minutes (!) of music. It contains some seriously brilliant stuff, with the
song 'Time To Find Me' as their best. It's mixed by Aphex Twin aka Richard
James. One of the best things the Twin did.
Their debut "Quique" which has been released 2 months ago goes on where
"Pure, Impure" left. 'Climactic Phase #3' gives you a foetal-heartbeat
bassline on which more than 10 layers of shifting loops are being stacked
which are all out of phase in relation to each other. When 2 layers come
together in phase their combined sound seems to amplify, while when 2
layers are opposite of each other their sounds seem to die away, only to
reincarnate when the loops continue. This gives a drony feeling of being
on sea, going with the flow of waves.
Some pieces of the album are like watching the sun come up. It's pretty
uneventful (a requirement of Eno for a piece to be called 'ambient'). But
it's also beautiful in itself.
The last two tracks show Seefeel stretching out from their own formula
of sifting'n'shifing layers and ending rather arbitrarily. 'Filter Dub'
with the frayed guitar and lovesick whalesong is like a piece from
drone-meister Terry Riley. 'Signals' is Seefeel at their most radical.
Fuzzy harmonics, like a harp played under water, simply hang tremulously
in the air: this is really Rothko'n'roll.
Seefeel sometimes need a bit more space in their sound, a bit of
emptiness to punctuate the drone-swarm. Like MBV on "Loveless", they're
sometimes so blissed it's suffocating. But overall "Quique" is a cracking
experimental album!
****************************************************************************
Reload - "A Collection Of Short Stories" (Infonet CD-4 1993)
This 75-minutes piece was released in october of 1993. If you have
never listened to ambient before, then this is probably not a good
start. ;-) But I had to mention it. This is too far out. Reload, being
Mark Pritchard and Tom Middleton (one of the original Aphex Twin), are
wayyyyyyy ahead of us !! If I'm on a cloud, they are already on another
planet. Reload spin tales. Dark, sinister and grim fairy tales, that
become disquieting "Tales Of The Unexpected". Unlike all other ambient
stuff I know, this hangs together as a whole. It is not just a
collection of seperate pieces, it is one.
Like Aphex Twin they interweave the immaculate with the industrial,
using found-sounds like coughs, extrusion machinery, even heartbeats to
fashion their original ambient. This is genuinely startling when it works:
on the opening piece 'Teq', there's an incredible moment when you realise
that the abstruse dustbin clash of percussion IS the chorus !! '1642 try
621' is the most scary. It's a technophobic's f*ing nightmare!! The
ambient is truly remarkable. This is like something I've never heard
before. It's like walking on a deserted planet, being left alone with only
a malfunctioning spaceship left. Spooky !! The result of Reload has been
unthinkable of. But now it exists... and it's out to get you !
****************************************************************************
Aphex Twin - "Selected Ambient Works 85-92" (R&S AMB 3922 CD 1992)
Polygon Window - "(Surfing on sine waves)"
Aphex Twin is being hailed as the Mozart of our century. Quite rightly
so, because in a lot of ways he resembles the composer. Richard James
started his musical 'career' at the age of eight, playing on and in the
piano of his parents. Twisting the snares, putting things between the
hammers, creating weird sounds. On his thirteenth birthday he got his
first keyboard, which he took apart as soon as he got bored with it.
Already knowing something about electronics, he started to change the
thing into something of his own. A few years later he made his first
techno tracks, long before detroit-techno was 'invented'.
"Selected Ambient Works 85-92" is a collection of his earliest
compositions. Many of the tracks had been gathering dust for years in his
parents' garage. The music is easily listenable with lost of melody and
heavy basslines. Aphex Twin's music is special because he makes all his
own sounds. Nothing you hear is made by existing presets of the
sythesizers. If you have never heard ambient, then this is the album to
start with. The album has been out now for a year and is considered a
classic. The sequel "Select Ambient Works 2" will be released early
february 1994 and it will even be better (it will be released on Warp for
Europe, and Sire for the U.S).
For copyright reasons Richard James uses various names. He makes so
much music (he writes an album worth of material every week) one label
wouldn't be able to release it all. So he uses various names for various
labels. You can find recordings by him under the names: Aphex Twin,
Polygon Window, Blue Calx, AFX, Sine bubble, Caustic Window, etcetera..
Polygon Window he used for the second album in the excelent "Artificial
Intelligence" series released by WARP. This album is more experimental,
some of the tracks are almost hardcore techno, while others are very soft
and beatless. If you like Aphex Twin, buy it.
****************************************************************************
Aphex Twin - "On" EP (WARP WAP39CD 1993)
Aphex Twin - "On remixes" EP (WARP WAP39CDR 1993)
In the I-L #37 James Nash from the UK reviewed the "On" EP of Aphex
Twin. We thank him for that. :-) His last sentence troubled me though, he
wrote 'the second EP has a load of remixes of "On" and probably isn't as
good as this.'
What?! Obviously he didn't even bother to listen. 'Cause when he did,
he would have discovered that the remixes are just as brilliant as the
"On"-EP itself. Especially the 'D-Scape Mix', which has a lot of Terry
Riley influence in it, and is just great. The second piece is mixed by
Reload. The third piece is mixed by a nutter called Mu-Ziq (that person
hasn't released anything yet, but it is known that he has three
double-albums in the pipeline to be released on RePhlex, Aphex Twin's own
label). And the last track '28 mix' has a lot of John Cage influence in
it. So, the remixes are worth listening to !
****************************************************************************
The Sheffield label WARP has been the most innovative label of the last
year. Their "(Artificial Intelligence)" series which started late 1992, was
the backbone of 'livingroom techno', 'electronic listening music', or
whatever you want to call it. I'm not going to describe every album that
has been released in the series. But I'll give you a list with the titles,
so you can check them out for yourself. All are very good.
- Polygon Window - "(Surfing on sinewaves)"
- B12 - "(Electro-soma)"
- Black Dog Productions - "(Bytes)"
- Speedy J - "(Ginger)"
- F.U.S.E. - "(Dimension Intrusion)"
- Autechre - "(Incunabula)"
****************************************************************************
################
From: "L. Pit" <pit@WI.leidenuniv.nl>
indie3
We lied at the beginning when we wrote that we have no problem.
We do have a problem. :-)
Why did you think we've bothered to write this immense, large message to the
Indie-List?
Not because we're so nice and care for your well-being ! No mam' ! ;-)
We did it because we would like to see more messages and record reviews from
YOU about indie-bands who don't rock so much. That way WE will learn about
some bands YOU stumble into, the more obscure things from the US maybe, 'cause
we treasure what you write !
We will continue to write reviews of albums we stumble into, be it ambient (if
it's appreciated), 'cyborg' indierock or 'conventional' indierock.
We spoke,
We is : Joep Vermaat -=> v902160@si.hhs.nl
and : Lawrence Pit aka Loz -=> pit@rulwi.leidenuniv.nl
---
ADVERTISEMENTS:
From: "R. Brockway" <rockie@neurosis.wariat.org>
CRAW tour dates for January
10th - Cleveland
11th - Ann Arbor
12th - Dayton
14th - Pittsburgh (tentative)
15th - Philadelphia
16th - Asbury Park, NJ
17th - Baltimore
21st - Huntington
23rd - Cleveland
29th - Richmond
More dates coming. For any other info mail to
rockie@neurosis.wariat.org
--
--------------------------------------------------------------------
R. Brockway Computer Security & Virus Specialist
rockie@neurosis.wariat.org PGP2.3a key available upon request
- Training, Emergency Recovery Services, Backups - (216) 231-2840
--------------------------------------------------------------------
I might remind you that scripture tells us 'Blessed are the
Peacemakers.' Well, it takes a lot of doing to make peace.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
<------------------------------------------------------------>
The Indie-List Digest is published every Tuesday and Friday by the
Indie-List Infotainment Junta, Unltd.
What Who Where
Editor Sean Murphy skmurphy@phoenix.princeton.edu
Moderator K. Lena Bennett keb@carson.u.washington.edu
Mailings Liz Clayton lclayton@uhuru.uchicago.edu
Archives Chris Karlof karlofc@seq.cms.uncwil.edu
FTP/Gopher /pub/music/lists/indie @ ftp.uwp.edu
Consultants: Mark Cornick and Joshua Houk
Indie-List is not copyrighted. It may be freely reproduced for any purpose.
Please cite Indie-List as your source.
<----------------------------------------------------->
please send your articles for the next issue to LENA!
<----------------------------------------------------->
[Submitted by: karlof chris knox (karlofc@seq.cms.uncwil.edu)
Wed, 12 Jan 1994 09:56:49 -0500 (EST)]