Indie-List_V3_N20
I'm not the kind who wants to tell you
Just what you're supposed to do,
You're not the kind that needs to tell me
About the birds and the bees.
#############################
Indie List Digest!
March 23rd, 1994
Volume 3 Number 20
#############################
Suki chords?
7" reviews, SXSW, Pop Narcotic part #1
Nobody ever seamed so heavenly as SEAM in Holland
Sleeper/Prolapse/Palace/Tindersticks and more!
on the road, unrest, dish, kg, blah
Sara Craig review
Pop Narc show at the Causeway
Eric's Trip re-vu.
Franklin/Edsel/Tsunami at Towson State
Umpteen's show review
Advertisements:
Hear the music that Sub Pop thinks sucks.
---------
But first... the moment you've all been waiting for... beginning with the
next issue, the Indie-List will no longer reside on the eastern seaboard
of the United States. And that's probably a good thing. :)
(Please indulge me a little here - my mind has been shot lately, so I may
get a little more personal than is customary for these parts...)
On a procedural note, DO NOT SEND I-L MAIL TO SEAN OR LENA. We have both
resigned our posts related to the Indie-List and are now awaiting orders
from Comrade Cornick, as explained in my special mailing last week. All
the new info appears in the closing credits to this issue.
Back to business... it's been fun, frustrating at times, whatever, doing
this. I hope I didn't scare off too many people in the process... but I
think I'll be happy to return to just writing occasional record
reviews... that is, if I can find the time to listen to new stuff...
I owe a lot of thanks to a lot of people... I'm not gonna try to cover it
all here.
Oh, you were asking about music? Sure. Music. Fine.
Sebadoh - Hurl - Men For Others - Totfinder
Jon Solomon's living room, Princeton, NJ
Second-to-last show ever at the Solomon house, and it was a doozy.
Totfinder has added a minimal bass player to the acoustic guitar-homemade
drum kit attack - unobtrusive, and not entirely necessary, but Josh's
songs are still great. Men For Others features two I-L readers, one of
whom was stuck out in Northfield, MN, during this show. (Sorry,
Pete...) The sound was still solid, a little thin in places, and Tim's
still working out some of the new stuff - a couple slint-o-riffic style
songs, a Jesus Lizard number in there, but it's not as derivative as I'm
making it out to be. Really. Look for big things this summer in the NYC
area...
Hurl has a new drummer, Noah Leger (also in Speaking Canaries). Well,
he's not that new, but I hadn't seen him with the band yet. He's really
fucking good. Radishes gets played twice as fast now, but it's still
amazing. Effie got sorta chaotic, as the Mat(t)s couldn't seem to keep
their footing intact. Overall, a really tremendous set. They're
recording really soon, with an LP coming some time this fall. Keep an
eye out for it.
Sebadoh - two views, one musical, one non-musical. I'll start with the
music - excellent. They started with a Stereolab cover (I don't know the
title, but I know it was Stereolab), played mostly newer songs, a lengthy
free-jazz piece, and it all clicked. If only they'd stick to the
music... Lou's occasional between-song mumblings were inane at best. He
seemed to want to make fun of the "ivy league" crowd in attendance
(though 75% of the crowd were not Princeton students), and failed
miserably. Jason, however, was really nice.
Maybe it's just the setting and style which confused Mr. Barlow. Playing
in somebody's living room, as palatial as that room can be, is not the
same as playing upstairs at the Middle East. One should adjust their
attitude accordingly - I'm sorry the PA crashed, but it was borrowed -
this isn't a real club, past show reports notwithstanding.
Oh well, we've got a little time to prepare for the final blowout...
Fluss sure books one hell of a show.
thanks for reading.
Sean Murphy
skmurphy@phoenix.princeton.edu
ex-editor, Indie-List
----------
From: Josh Ronsen <rons@midway.uchicago.edu>
Guitar help, please...
This is a somewhat unusal request for the IL, but does anybody know the
guitar chords for Unrest's "Suki"? The bass is pretty easy, just a few
notes in the E mixolydian scale (E, C#, D, A) but all those inversions
in the guitar just confuse me! Help!
-Josh, the sad puppy...
----------
From: "Theodore A. Khoury" <khoury@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu>
7" reviews, SXSW, Pop Narcotic part #1
Still recovering from an intense week of shows/travel. Here in Austin the
South by Southwest Film/ Media/ Music Conference just finished up. Stuff I
missed that I heard good things about: Doo Rag, Eric's Trip, Janitor Joe,
Today is the Day, Ed Hall, Crust. Johnny Cash played a show at Emo's Punk
Lounge with the Bad Seeds backing him up, but it was only for the
privilaged few (friends of 4 parts gut-6parts beard Rick Rubin). I was
gonna hop the fence but everyone was doing it an getting busted. Other
stuff: Laikka and the Cosmonauts from Finland, and Jimmy Dale Gilmore with
Mudhoney at a record store. But before all that. .
Live:
Small Factory/Twig/Mary Timony (of Helium)/Tizzy 3/11/94 @The Causway,
Boston: Part of the PoP Narcotic festival. I'll keep this one brief,
because I a lot of people review this kind of stuff every week. Tizzy-
boring rock
Mary Timony of Helium was great and has an incredible solo voice and
played great noodling pop lines in between, with an accordian for the
first few songs, with 'suffering-you-hurt-me' lyrics.
Twig- folky rock with Tsunami vocal harmonies, pretty lack luster but the
drummer was really good. Too many jokes too.
Small Factory- half acoustic guitar/trio but boring to my tastes, also had
folkisms, don't want to bash anything too hard.
THE LYRES/1313 MOCKINGBIRD LN./UNDERBALL/THE MODIFIERS- 3/12/94 The Middle
East, Boston:
The Modifiers were a great balls-throbbing boston rock, a la The Bags, The
Turbines, The Titanics, great show with heavy simply chords played with
extreme energy, and garage appeal.
Underball were o.k.,kind of Ken Chambers/ Moving Targets melodic rock with
a lead singer who compared to Anastasia Screamed vocalist. Real strong
outfit but wore their set thin.
1313 Mockingbird Lane are a garage extreme outfit, with a twin guitars,
and what looked like a 12-yr. old girl in a go-go suit on a mono-man vox.
Drummer didn't have it going on though, not to mention didn't have the
Trashmen haircut. Played a ripping version of DMZ's version of "Teenage Head".
Even though there was part 3 of the Pop Narcotic fest continuing at the
Causway with Polvo, Dambuilders, I figured there is no way that I can go
Boston and pass up the chance to see Jeff Conolly going nuts on stage,
beating the shit out of his vox. The Lyres are a Boston classic and still
are producing the same music the did in the late 70's/e. 80's which
consists mostly of garage versions of obscure R & B and psychodelic tunes.
Started it off with the Standell's "Zebra in the Kitchen" and took it
notches higher from there. Amazing 3 encores, with the kids off the street
corners doing the jerk on the stage. New guitarist was nervous though.
Again South by South West has some great showcases buy the gem of the
weekend was something called the Circus Side Show: March 17, 18, 19.
I didn't get a chance to see all the bands, in fact I missed a majority of
each show, because it took two and half hours to get a cab from out side
of the action (streets were blocked off, etc.). All the shows were at Club
Kilimanjaro's.
First night was: LAUGHING HYENAS/ED HALL/SPORE/CRAIN/aMINATURE
I'm not positive of the order or if aMinature was there, someone had
cancelled but I saw Crain, who put on a great show. A LOT better than
anything they've done in the studio. Really intense with trade off vocals
from the bassist and guitarist (almost too much like live Unsane), but
good nonetheless, and then sometimes jazzy progressions (thus Louisville
'sound') but sometimes this guy who sat off the edge of the stage would
get up and sing a song every now and then, and he sucked. If they lost him
they'd be a pretty amazing live band.
Laughting Hyenas were great as usual. Being from Ann Arbor, I had seen
them too many times before, but they are so intense live that it never
gets old. One thing I missed was the Trogg's cover of "I want you( right
now)" but they went through their standard set of classics and tossed in
some new cover that I didn't recognize. I heard Ed Hall played one of they
best shows, that night, pissed I missed it.
Second Night was: CRUST/GOD BULLIES/JOHNBOY/FORESKIN 500
AND ANOTHER THAT FAIL ME NOW.
Missed the show but saw Teisco Del Rey at the Continental Club, Austin.
He was amazing. He plays what he calls a gitorgan (half git/half organ)
whick sounds like some old hammond but he plays great surf guitar. He
performed Dick Dale's "The Wedge" and Roky Erikson's "You're Gonna Miss Me"
instro. Crowd was going nuts but his Finnish female drummer was the real
attraction, beating the shit out of the drums from jungle orgasmic to
appilacian stomp. An Austin local boy. Tried to get to Kilimanjaro's but
missed everything, the God Bullies reunion hurt the most.
Third Night was: HAMMERHEAD/DON CABELLERO/JANITOR JOE/TODAY IS THE DAY/
DAZZILING KILLMEN
Janitor Joe played a great set (I heard.). But I managed to get stiffed
by 4 cab companies saying they were too busy, anyway: Saw Don Cab, and
played more intense than I had ever seen them, more flailing arms and
reckless windmills. The drummer who is one of the best I've ever seen live
played his ass off, then did the staple fire breathing at last song. New
bassist seemed more into it too.
Hammerhead were great but very different from when I saw them two years
before (more humble before) The didn't come on until 1:30 and only played
like 5 songs but stretched each one way out and beat the shit out of their
equipment. Vocals were very stripped down, and all the 'melody' in their
study stuff was replaced by groans, which was cool but unexpected. They
finished the set with an amazing version of the 'Gremlin Stomp' off the
Dope, Guns 4-7 compilation, long as hell, and heavier than ever. Swank and
unpredictable show.
7" reviews:
RAPEMAN- "Shut up" (bootleg 7") I hate bootlegs usually but this one, live
in London, is great quality, and they do 3 off "Two Nuns. . ." and "Log
Bass" off of the "Budd ep". Good by. *
GUY BANDS WITH GIRL NAMES: CRAZY ALICE/TUGBOAT ANNIE (split 7" Sonic
Bubblegum)- I usually enjoy stuff off of this label, but this one really
doesn't do anything bad, just doesn't do much good. T.A. is the better of
the two, and Crazy Alice usually do better Moving Targets type rock but
this one is kind of a bore. **1/2
ROCKET FROM THE CRYPT- "Ufo, Ufo. ./Birdman" (Merge 7") This was supposed
to be released earlier, but nonetheless it's good like the rest of their
7"s. "Birdman" is a rerecording of the last song "Flip the Bird" on their
sub pop singles club 7". You really can't go wrong with any of their 7"s.
**
GASTR DEL SOL- "20 songs less" (Teenbeat 7") The latest incarnation of
Bastro/Squirrel Bait, blah (could go forever) David Grubbs music. I
usually don't care for this label but this stuff is pretty interesting,
haunting piano, with feed back guitars and a lot of samples, mostly
intrumental. *1/2
HELIUM- "Hole in the Ground/Lucy" (Pop Narcotic 7") Really good pop from
the 'next craze' of dreamy pop, except Mary Timony's voice really is
amazing, and deserves some attention. Nothing shattering though.
*
ZENI GEVA-"Honowoh/Sweetheart/Bloodsex" (Baby Huey 7") I don't know if you
can still find this one around, but the hype about this two git/drum
Japanese trio is very accurate. Quite slow drudging guitar, very heavy,
not for timid limbs. Guitarist K.K Null's "Sweetheart" is really hypnotic,
and you'll also find a great version of this song on a Pain Teens C/Z 7".
**
SLUG- "RubberApe/Seitenwagen" (PCP Entertainment 7") These guys, much like
Z.G. are heavier than shit, usually indulge with samples, and cook with
tribal drums. But I think their drummer died in an auto accident (some
member at least) so I don't know of their status. But they are on the
climb, if you dig New York stuff like Unsane, Circle X, DustDevils, the
buy this California band. ***1/2
12" Review
LIQUOR BALL- "Fucks the sky" (BlackJack Records) I have been waiting to
find this one for the past year and finally did. It's typical of BJ
Records. Trashy drumming like the Brainbombs, but Iron Butterfly
heaviness. Very scary guitar noises, wanking, and mouth full of sand
vocals, didnt' get one word, like the Thrown Ups, except these guys are
serious and mean every noise they produce. They seriously define scary
music and may cause bands like Teenage Larvae, any God Bullies, Today is
the Day to take a step back. Not appropriate for four year old birthdays.
**
THE BAGS- "Night of the Living Corn People" (double album Helter Skelter
Records)- I think a lot of people from the east coast read I-List so
they'll probably remember Boston's best band. This was the last thing they
did before they broke up (91', 92'?) and I was expecting to see more crazy
Alice-Cooper ballad improv. like their side project SwampOaf, and some of
it is like that but basically what you get is AC/DC chord rock anthems
song with a hint of humor and praise (it was all they listened too really)
and their influence come out on this double album) One whole side is one
song, which is kind of a theatrical medly of what seem like Bags
classics, yet a new song. And the Stanton Park single "L. Frank Baum" and
flip is on here too. The Bags were one of greatest things to emerge from
Boston, and should be shared with everyone's family and friends. I'm ready
to give them Idol status. **1/2
Sorry its so long, hope someone can get something out of it. P.S. on a
last Boston [actually, Providence - Sean] note, its a shame Six Finger
Satellite broke up.
Theodore Khoury
khoury@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu
----------
From: L. Pit <pit@WI.leidenuniv.nl>
Nobody ever seamed so heavenly as SEAM in Holland
We hope you enjoyed our last article. Here comes another one. We've
been saving the best for last. Over the last weeks the rate of releases
and live-concerts has increased so much that we have trouble buying it all
and reviewing becomes almost impossible. Why did we ever start liking
'ambient'? Now we have to buy twice as much as we used to. Loving music is
one hell of a hobby... [hee hee, just wait 'til you have to move
somewhere and packing the records takes longer than everything else
combined... - Sean]
Sunstonecruiser/Seam saturday 12 february Patronaat Haarlem
Patronaat is great club, very cozy and the people are nice. Very different
compared to the people that come to Amsterdam or The Hague, older a bit
reserved but they really listen. Although Seam and Sunstonecruiser were
supporting Giant Sand the venue was already quite full early in the evening.
'Sunstonecruiser' is a dreadful name for a band. We had never heard of
them and we thought it would be a seventies funkband with some psychedelic
influences. How wrong could we be? As soon as the threepiece from Drente
(east-Holland) started playing we were astonished, they sounded precisely
like Galaxie 500, Spacemen 3, The Darkside, Sonic Boom, Spectrum,
Spiritualized with a wiff of Stereolab and Yo La Tengo. Simple
guitarplaying, strong rhythms and now and then a slamming bass. Slow and
hypnotic until all hell breaks loose and the guitars start to feedback.
They sing about space, love and life. We were even more amazed because this
band comes from Holland. We didn't know we had any people in Holland even
liking this kind of music, let alone a band playing it. The band do not
have their own sound yet and they should change their name, but we think
they'll do fine.
Seam should get more attention from the press. This band is the most
important rockband in the world. Sooyoung is the main drive behind a lot of
American bands like Codeine and Slint, setting a standard with Bitch
Magnet. We think he's about as important as Bob Mould. On stage Sooyoung is
a walking paradox. How can a little guy like him make such emotional,
scary and beautiful music. This was the first time we've seen them live. We
have been waiting for almost two years until the band finally came to our
shores. So to us this concert was almost like witnessing Slint playing live.
Sooyoung sings almost inaudibly and the band emphasize his words with
rumbling guitars and a strong rhythm-section. The music really gets to you
and you can almost break down and cry but at the same time you get so
excited. There aren't many bands that can do this. The audience that for a
big part came for Giant Sand really enjoyed the show and applauded long
after every song. The band played about fifty minutes, but didn't do an
encore. A very good concert. Seam can be so loud by being silent.
Seam friday 4 march Paard The Hague (Den Haag)
We have witnessed about sixty concerts. After just a few we were
disappointed, most of them we liked and some of them we really liked. But
it doesn't happen often that a concert really means something in your life.
Something you look back at as a great experience, a moment to cherish.
An event you can boast about. The only concerts that really gave such a
feeling were: The Jesus and Mary Chain (1992), My Bloody Valentine (1992),
Swervedriver (1992&1993) and Moonshake (1993), four of the concerts happened
at Paradiso in Amsterdam, one in Sleepin-Arena Amsterdam.
To this list can be added Seam (1994) in the Paard, the Hague. We'll even top
that. This concert is the mother of all concerts, a standard we will measure
other concerts by. Seam has passed Moonshake, something we thought not to be
possible.
The band stumbled on stage and Sooyoung said: "Hi! We're Primus, we suck!"
And then they played.
Rationally thinking, the concert was not really very different from the concert
in Haarlem. Sooyoung still was a walking paradox. His softly sung words were
still emphasized by thundering guitars. Again he sang about his fears. Again,
the band shined. And again the sound was perfect. And yet it was so much
bettter. Why was it better? We don't know. We've been reviewing concerts for a
while now (normally in Dutch). And normally we can pinpoint out precisely why a
concert was good or not. But this time, we're helpless, we can not do it.
Because we can not give a rational explanation we'll say it's magical, it's
something out of this world. Only few bands are blessed, but if they try
hard enough, if they're true, pure and have integrity, then they'll rise
above their earthly purpose and change into something heavenly. What the
hell are we writing here? We sound like TV reverends (send us money! :) ).
But that's the way we feel about it. And we were not alone in this. Almost
the total audience noticed they were witnessing something very special,
applauding longer after every song. They didn't yell so loud for nothing at
the end of the set. The band had to come back, in Haarlem they stayed away,
but here they continued their godlike music and in just two songs they
seamed even more heavenly.
Seam has obliterated our hope seeing anything better. Sooyoung Park started
it all with Bitch Magnet. After that came Smashing Pumpkins, Codeine,
Slint, Come, Tortoise, Hum, Dis, Poster Children, Rodan and Crain. No one will
do this again.
Seam was god on March 4th, 1994 from eleven 'till ten past twelve...
<== The Two Pure ==>
Joep Vermaat: v902160@si.hhs.nl
Lawrence Pit: pit@wi.leidenuniv.nl
----------
From: James Nash <CCX020@raven.coventry.ac.uk>
Sleeper/Prolapse/Palace/Tindersticks and more!
Brought to you by the letters B, P, S and T and the number 7.
Sleeper - Swallow 7" (Indolent)
For all their flashes of genius, I always liked but never loved the
Pixies yet I do love the way their influence lies so heavy these days. A
prime example are Sleeper, who think Kim Deal was the real goddess in
the band. Quite right too.
3 punk-pop ditties, then. 'Swallow' will stick in your head for days on
end. It may not be ground-breaking but it's bloody brilliant. 'Twisted'
has a Blur/Pulp-y anthem feel and is almost as good (lyrics include "I
said the wrong words so shoot me/As long as you don't constrict me"
showing an admirable grasp of the grrrrl ethic). Last and unfortunately
least is 'One Girl Dreaming' where this time the irony fails due to the
lazy tapalong style and gruesome Frank Black-ish guitar. Definitely
worth checking out for the first two tracks and I look forward to more
developments from this band.
Prolapse - Crate EP (Cherry Red)
Any band who pleads for Bogshed to reform goes straight into my good
books. Having said that, I'm not entirely convinced by this 4 track 7"
but there a few moments to die for. John Robb produces and his recent
form, including this, has been very consistent. Highlight is 'p.d.f.'
wherein a Scottish take on John Lydon and a Huggy Bear grrl-soundalike
up the sexual political ante over an impatient building Drive Like Jehu
racket. Very memorable and very great. "Don't think about the future
'cos there might not be one" is a cracking nihilistic youth slogan.
Lots of polemic and angry young people. "I'm a well read man in a well
made bed." is a particularly barbed insult from 'screws'. Overall, the
music falls down from having too many innovative intentions and too
little discernable tune, 'psychotic now' being the main culprit. Worth
it if only for 'p.d.f.'
Palace (Brothers) - Come In/Trudy Dies 7" (Drag City)
Unbelievable. One of those records that crackles (literally) with
brilliance the moment you drop the needle. Real fucked-up country music.
These two songs look for the beauty in sorrow; the joy perversely
derived to keep us going in the face of the death of love, people,
hopes. 'Trudy Dies' revels a bit too much in its simplicity but 'Come
In' is unspeakably good. Buy it. Or Else!
Pavement - Cut Your Hair 7" (Big Cat) Superb, as ever.
Tindersticks - Kathleen 7" (This Way Up)
Believe everything you have read about this band. They are wonderful.
Julian Wilton said recently that you need to give the 'sticks time to
grow on you. True of 'Marbles' and the rest of the album I have heard so
far but this new 4 track EP includes a cover of Townes Van Zandt's
'Kathleen' which will convert even the most cynical soul. It simply
broods with pain and longing. Stuart's voice is warm, deep and
incredibly moving. This track is just about perfect.
The others? Well, 'Summat Moon' is plain weird - xylophone, moody organ,
restrained feedback and a slow pace combine for a memorable instrumental
whilst 'E Type Joe' is a lo-fi Felt tribute. But the other storming
track is 'A Sweet Sweet Man'. Wracked with self doubt ("I can only bring
you the misery"), it has this lounge jazz arrangement which evokes
losers and lost souls drowning their sorrows in whiskey, beer and
reefer. The trumpet solo is so painfully played (as in emotionally) that
I'm glad it's no higher in the mix or I couldn't cope.
This is a must buy.
Beck - Loser EP (Geffen UK)
'Loser' you all know and love but you might like to try the other tracks
here, apparently differnt to the US release. 'Corvette Bummer' has a
storming gansta rap beat and I defy you not to shake your funky butts.
'Totally Confused' is a Pavement/Swirlies affair but also a neat love
song and 'MTV Makes Me Want to Smoke Crack' starts off as acoustic
grunge before becoming classy jazz swing piano; "Those videos are better
n' love" and the irony-meter hits overload. Somehow, Beck pull off the
impossible by taking the indie aesthetic to different musical genres
without compromising subject or object. Huge fun. Excellent as well.
AND it features sitars.
[I'm so close to invoking the Mch*l Bltn rule here... Beck is pre-fab
bullshit. But, I've always supported discussion of music, not flames,
so, well, write me if you REALLY want to know why I think Beck sucks... -
Sean]
Swirlies/Pitchblende - November Working Holiday 7" (Simple Machines)
Swirlies go back to pop basics on 'Trudy'. Not their best effort, I
expect more. Pitchblende show admirable improvement from what I thought
was a disappointing LP with 'A Penny for the Guy' which lets the heavy
dynamics breathe for a change. Worth buying if you're a Swirlies
completist or simply like Pitchblende.
Blipverts...
Go and see Dreena Duhrell (Britain-based Aussie comic) if you get the
chance. Since Gerry Sadowitz has effectively retired, she's the best
stand-up shocker around. I'm having trouble writing reviews of techno and
ambient stuff as they keep turning into angry tirades against
narrow-mindedness; I'll work on calming it down a bit. New Elevate 7" is
superb, check out their 'Magicspill' 10" from last year as well. New Flying
Saucer Attack 7" out now-ish. Mark E Smith, recently on TOTP with Inspiral
Carpets, stole the show - as ever. Don't think too much of the Underworld
CD; enjoying Biosphere much more. And this week's moral is... never smile
at a crocodile!
--James Nash (ccx020@cov.ac.uk)
But these go up to eleven!
----------
From: Tel Aviv here we come! <mark8@phantom.com>
on the road, unrest, dish, kg, blah
Well woo-eee. Friendly whisked through the Carolinas last weekend on
the "Out Among The Taco Bells" tour. A brief summary: Asheville was
great. Truly. We played in a converted warehouse called Artcore, with
performance space on the first floor, galleries on the second, and a
loft apartment on the third. We played with some cool bands, including
Asheville locals the Spoonbenders, who deftly mixed pop, psychedelic,
and experimental influences into a thick gooey mess; Chapel Hill grrls
Special Agents In Her Majesty's Secret Cervix (**GREAT** name) who
simultaneously brought to mind Slant 6, Wingtip Sloat and Cop Shoot
Cop (although they had a bunch of technical problems) and Relapse, who
thrashed away on two basses and a drum set (perhaps a little too HM
for my particular taste, but the crowd dug 'em.) I thought Friendly
played a fantastic show that night, but what do I know. Unfortunately,
we arrived in Columbia the next day to find no show -- the club owners
had dicked our bud Will (of One3Four and our co-stars for that
evening, the Filter Kings) big time. We headed back to Richmond very
pleased with our one show, and hope to return someday (to the same
place in Asheville, but a different place, i.e. not Annie's, in
Columbia.)
Unrest, "Animal Park" (Teenbeat, POB 3265, Arlington VA 22203): Y'all
know that it goes without saying that I like this... yep, if Unrest
did a record of New Kids On The Block Covers (Marky Mark E? hmmm...)
I'd probably have multiple orgasms. Anyway, this is, to my knowledge,
the first Unrest record on which Mark sings not a single note. Unrest
becomes the Bridget Cross Experience for this one, starting with a new
song, "Afternoon Train" which is all slow 'n' pretty and sounds almost
like Tori Amos (?!?!?!?!) This is followed by a brief and not all that
distinctive instrumental, "Hey Hey Halifax" (great title, though) and,
on the B-side, a slightly remixed version of "Light Command" (from the
_Perfect Teeth_ LP/CD/box set/comb/coffee mug/toothbrush) with a whole
chorus of Bridgets ahh-ahh-ahh-ing away. Bridget also designed the
cover, complete with genitalia (someone told me it's John Holmes,
although I frankly wouldn't know.) Not really essential (except for
anal Teenbeat completists like myself) but enjoyable nonetheless.
**.
Dish, "And Then" (Shakedown, POB 387, Kingston-Upon-Thames KT12YH in
league with Tenderizer, POB 5242, Richmond VA 23220): A split release
from the British and Virginian colonies of Merge (well, let's just say
the three labels think alike.) Dish are from the hipster triangle in
NC, with bright girl (not grrl) vox and an almost-jangly sound on the
A-side (part of this undoubtedly courtesy of Mitch "Where Are They
Now?" Easter, who produced.) Not bad, but the B, "Moving Day" tops it
with a mid-tempo bumpity rhythm, slightly more effected vocals (touch
of goth?) and -- yes! -- finger cymbals. It sounds a little bit like
the infamous Strange Boutique. (Only slightly -- don't run away!
please!) Certainly something different from the Small Archers Of
Polvochunk sound, and worth a little of your time. *1/2.
[1. Mitch Easter is now in Velvet Crush - this scares me immensely. 2.
Strange Boutique is not a bad band, they just need to look beyond 1979-era
Siouxsie and the Banshees at some point. 3. For the I-L ticker (see
below), number of semi-obscure TeenBeat mail-order catalog references to
date: Sean - 1, Mark - 2, nobody else in the ILIJ gives a fuck. - Sean]
Kicking Giant, "She's Real" (handwritten-K-in-shield, POB 7154,
Olympia WA 98507): The soft-n-pretty side of KG, starting out on side
A with "She's Real", "fully Spectorized and C.C. deMille'd for maximum
bruisin' yr knees style of fervent ardor." All riiiiiiiiight! Steve
Kroner (ex-NoU) duets with Tae on this "ballad" (as indicated on the
record label.) As before, though, it's still just the vocals, guitar,
two drums, and the occasional cymbal (so no Spectorian wall of sound
after all, even though it sounds like they sampled "Be My Baby"
towards the end.) "Funny Face" (label: "vocals") features what sounds
like jingle bells in place of the drums, but is otherwise similar to
the A - quiet, evocative, and damn pretty. "Dubious" ("beat") is their
punk side coming out again - Rachel pounds away, Tae scrapes away at
the guitar and sings, the result is a head-bobbing pop number that
exemplifies everything I love about "indie" rock: power, integrity,
beauty, individuality, and joie de vivre. Right on. ***.
New stuff escaping from Richmond: the _Dixie Flatline_ comp
(Radioactive Rat, 238 South Cherry, RIC 23220) with about 15 local
noise, HC, math-rock, and beat bands -- easily the best of the
multiple Richmond comps of the past few years (sorry, Burger), plus a
new 45 from one of the bands on said comp, Ugly Head, unleashing
"Spoon Knife Fuck" (Transparanoia, POB 14854, RIC 23221) on an
unprepared public; four songs of unapologetic, vaguely pop-based
NOISE! (OK, Uglyhead beat Friendly to the record racks; don't get too
comfy fellas, we'll show you up soon enough, paperboys!)
--mark
For those keeping score, another Indie-Tote-Board (TM):
"Number Of Times ILIJers Have Been Mentioned In Mailorder Catalogs"
Liz Clayton/Ajax: at least four times
Mark Cornick/Simple Machines: once
Sean Murphy/Simple Machines: none yet
Lena Bennett/Fantagraphics: unknown
Chris Karlof: no known affiliations (smart guy)
And you call us east coasters cliquey. Pshaw. :-)
Mark Cornick \ /
8 hours of listening enjoyment--waiting for you!!!
mark8phantom.com / \
----------
From: Grass is grassy wet, the light is light <ILION@ac.dal.ca>
Sara Craig, Grawood Lounge, Dalhousie campus, March 18
Went to see Sara Craig last night, who is from southern Ontario and does
very sensual beat-oriented music. Owen Chapman, who goes to King's College
here in Halifax, opened for her and got two tables in the audience
screaming with joy when he did some Ani Difranco covers. Sara Craig
herself was splendiferous, she did a bunch of new songs from the 14-song
album that is coming out this summer, including "Thank You Very Much"
which is also on a cassette of the same name by Funky Bummer mitt Sara
Craig (Funy Bummer includes Hal Harbour who does Harbourmaster Music &
Art), and which she dedicated to the unborn child of a pregnant woman
in the audience. She also did a new song that had the chorus, "Wow this is
wild this is wild this is wonderful wow wow wow" and totally warped her
voice around every w; she was, put simply, amazing. I got to talk to her
very briefly before the encore (for which she did a song that sounded
Celtic) and she's going to be in Portland Maine tonight (the 19th). I'd
encourage anybody out there to pick up her stuff: the Sara Craig e.p.
(includes the single Bike), the Funky Bummer tape, the new album when it
comes out, and she has a song called "Sparks Fly" on the CFNY New Music
Search compilation.
Joanne Merriam, ilion@ac.dal.ca
----------
From: LePageL/MF <LePageL/MF@hermes.bc.edu>
Pop Narcotic Record release party at Causeway, Friday night
featuring small factory, Twig, Mary Timony of Helium, Lizzy
I have a feeling this show is going to generate some comment (12 shows in 4
cities!) so I'll try to keep my remarks short. Suffice to say, by way of
intro, that Bill Peregoy of Pop Narcotic records (and Indie-List) finished his
double 10" _Why do you think they call it pop?_ and booked a mini tour to
celebrate. I caught one of the Boston shows at the Causeway, and it was one of
the friendliest shows this year-a little like being at a house party rather
than a club. Not to mention the music which was good to great as well.
I missed Lizzy-sorry about that.
Mary Timony got some help on her first three songs from a friend playing
accordian? concertina? In any event, sometimes it worked and sometimes it
distracted. I was happier when he took a bow and left Mary to herself and her
guitar, which was plenty. She only played one song that I recognized-I don't
know the name of it but it features that cool threat "you're gonna pay me with
your life." The rest of the set seemed to be a chance to try out newer, or at
least unreleased material, and it all sounded experiemental but good. She's
such a great, seemingly intuitive guitar player, that when she breaks into
those amazing bursts of noise, every note feels right, no matter how chaotic.
Twig are a nice band. Their two frontwomen sing, often in harmony (one alto,
one soprano), and play guitar. I really can't assess their guitar playing
because I could barely hear it, which suggests to me that guitar is really not
their forte. However, they had a bass player (who looked like he could have
been a Doobie Brother circa 1975) whose very solid playing kept the whole band
moving rhythmically. I thought about a third of their songs were quite good,
but that still leaves two thirds of pretty forgettable stuff. Just one
listener's opinion of course. I give them extra credit for having a positively
luminous front-front woman-she seemed so happy it was hard not to like them.
[Both women were once in the killer Boston band Fertile Virgin - if you
ask really nicely, Tim Alborn might still have some copies of their
single... - Sean]
small factory must be night people. By the time they hit the stage at about
1:00 AM, I was getting a little tired and I was afraid they might be too. Not
to worry. These guys play the most energetic miserable-in-love songs I've ever
heard while Alex's impassioned and only slightly out of tune vocals convey joy,
sorrow, and frustration all at the same time. They played their hits,
including Lois' "Valentine," as well as their Working Holiday single "If you
break my heart," and they played a bunch of new songs that sounded rough and
almost ready. This band is completely lovable, and my only complaint now is
that they don't play Boston as often as I'd like.
Of course, I went over to meet the pop narc himself, Bill Perogoy-it's always
nice to know who you're emailing-and bought his record. And a beautiful record
it is too. The cover art is exceptionally good, and even features
strategically placed hypodermic needles. If Bill was to have t-shirts made up
[hint-hint], I would buy them for all my friends. Inside, it's very cool pink
and yellow marbled vinyl, and the tunes (that I've had a chance to listen to)
are, as he assured me, really good. More on this later if many people don't
beat me to it.
I also have a stack of records to write up but maybe this weekend I'll get to
it.
- - Lise
----------
From: Mike Winter <ab809@freenet.carleton.ca>
Review: Julie and The Porthole to Dementia 7'
Broken Girl (Dog Love Part II) 7'
(both singles by Eric's Trip)
These 7's were the first two release on the Sappy Records label which is
the private little label 'dedicated to releasing the beautiful little
songs of stereo mountain' which is the recording studio run by eric's trip
out of the lead singer's basement.. Anyways... The first piece of vinyl
'Julie..' features a song by each member of the band.. It's kinda neat in
that the songs decrease in quality in descending order, i.e. the first
song 'Five yr. old gfriend' by Julie{bass} is great and the last song by
the drummer is absolute shit.. In between is a pretty good song by the
lead singer featuring neato synth effects, and an ok. version of 'Frame'
which isn't as good as it's later evolution on Love Tara. 7/10 The second
piece of vinyl 'Broken Girl' is four solo songs by Julie, and wow is it
ever astonishingly good.. The four songs are simple little accoustic
numbers with Julie's planative signing highly feautured. The second song
'Beautiful' is just that, one of the greatest song of the year, prehaps
only behind 'Motel 6' by Yo La Tengo.. Another great feature of this
single is the drumming, which absolutely makes some of these songs..
Totally indie-sound, and totally wild and great. A must buy. 9/10 Sappy
Records po box 25098 moncton, n.b. CANADA e1c 9m9
----------
From: Steve Cook <sbc@clark.net>
Franklin/Edsel/Tsunami at Towson State (3/19)
This was a really fun show. :) Since I know virtually nothing about the
first two bands, I'll try to make this post (my first I-L post. oooohh...)
fairly brief.
Franklin played a fairly short set. I'd never heard of them before
(although I got them confused with Lincoln) and had no idea what to
expect. They were an emo-core band, which isn't the kind of music I like
best, but the fact that the singer was doing the emo-scream-thing didn't
detract from some solid guitar work. No singles available, as they all
got stolen from the band's car.
The only Edsel song I'd heard before was the one on the Simple Machines
compilation CD (or Wedge, if you've got it). Anyhow, I was AMAZED at how
good Edsel is live. Really, shockingly good. They do things with feedback
that mankind was not meant to know. I was impressed even before my ears
stopped ringing. Plus, they shared pizza with one of the guys I was there
with.
[To date - a couple singles, 2 lps, various compilation appearances, and
apparently they've learned how to play live since I saw them fall '91...
- Sean]
Tsunami was, well, Tsunami. If you think they're boring, you wouldn't
have liked the set. I love 'em. They played at least three songs that I
didn't recognize ("Be Like That," the new single, "The Heart's Tremolo,"
from the new album, and some French-titled song which I shan't attempt to
reproduce [La Bride d'Elegance - sean]) as well as several off Deep End.
After the show, I got to chat with/autograph-hound Jenny and Kirstin, and
they said that Simple Machines should have their America Online account by
next week, and that they would probably not be accepting credit card
orders by e-mail.
I picked up a ton of singles, too. The guy who was putting on the show
said that if all goes well, Lungfish might be playing TSU sometime in
April, so stay tuned.
______________________________________________________________________
Steve Cook sbc@explorer.clark.net
"I know that mess spelled backwards is ssem and I felt much better armed
with that knowledge." -- Tori Amos, introduction to _Death: THCOL_
----------
From: Stephen King <sking@acs.bu.edu>
the Umpteen's 3/19/94 The Alley Lounge @ Boston University
I think the evening was summed up best when K.C. Armstrong had to get up
from behind the drumset to stretch out a cramp in his leg...these guys
have yet to play a set that was not completely from the heart. They
opened with "The Rhythm of Life" which got the otherwise melancholy crowd
really movin'. Lance was the charming guy we've all come to know and
love, who really got the kids groovin' with a few unexpected dance moves
himself. I was taken off guard when the guys threw in a new ballad, I
assume called "Definition of Love", which really gave me the urge to slow
dance. After that one I was famished and ready for a ginger ale,
especially after missing the hors d' ouvres before the set. The guys
closed up with a smooth version of their hit "Someone to Tell" and an
incredible "Get Movin'", which incidently we all were. Barney Birkinbine
tripped over Lance's guitar chord on the way to the drinking fountain, man
that kid is great. Anyways, I'm just glad these guys are in Boston and I
got to see them again. I guess they have a show at Middle East on March
29th. They have just got to be seen to be believed...I've gotta go, gotta
go, gotta go!
-------
ADVERTISEMENT
-------
From: mhibarge@chipcom.com (Mike Hibarger)
Sonic Bubblegum continues their onslaught of Spring releases with release
number 3, Green Magnet School's Revisionist. 6 Songs of three guitar scree
riding a relentless rhythm throb. Hear the music that Sub Pop thinks sucks.
Send a message to mhibarge@chipcom.com for an on-line catalog.
Mike.
<------------------------------------------------------------>
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[Submitted by: karlof chris knox (karlofc@seq.cms.uncwil.edu)
Wed, 23 Mar 1994 14:45:45 -0500 (EST)]