Punk Rock Rules! (and Regulations!)
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Indie List Digest!
April 4, 1995
Volume 4 Number 23
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contents:
Zine reviews from the southern edge of the globe
Various reviews from Malathion Risk
Chunk Records Night
elevator to hell, versus
ANNOUNCE: Indie-L exchange
ANNOUNCE: Smack Dab Tour
obligatory tardy apology -es
content:
From: langham@multiline.com.au (Mr Bernard Langham)
Zine reviews from the southern edge of the globe
[This is a continuation (the "zine section" if you will) of Bernard's
piece of IL v4n22). For more of Bernard's work, check out the Wood &
Wire site at http://www.magna.com.au/woodwire/index.html, although
many of these reveiews were written by his compatriot, Richard. -es]
BRONX CHEER#1 (40pges Digest Size) PO Box 785 Blaine WA 98231 USA -
This can make for quite an exhausting read, partly because it squeezes
so many reviews and interviews into its pages, but also because to do
this they've used tiny print (in a yucky computer-print style font at
that) that can be a trifle hard to make out, especially in places
where it hasn't photocopied too well. Having said that, it's
definitely worth struggling with the sometimes suckful layout, cause
Bronx Cheer (cute name) is put together by two guys with an
encyclopedic knowlege of cool U.S. & N.Z. indie rock. They kinda
come across a bit like record-collecting geeks (my favourite sort)
and although there's a little bit of that classic indie-snobbery
happening I found their honest, personal responses to the music
discussed endearing as well as educational.
There's in depth interviews with Cul De Sac, Codeine, Peter Jeffries
and Bailter Space, and mostly they have a great conversational feel.
The most annoying thing was how readily they bagged their hometown,
Vancouver: they practically apologize for featuring an interview with
local band Blaise Pascal, and they even have a PO Box over the border
in the good old U.S. of A. (they say this is cause the rates are
cheaper...) - there's something icky about digging foreign culture to
the point of cringing about your own, I reckon.
I'm just quibbling though, basically Bronx Cheer is pretty cool.
(richard@4zzzfm.brisnet.org.au)
FRANTZINE #4 (72pgs Digest Size $US3) HCR1 Box 185K Leeds NY 12451 USA
- This beautiful little number is put togther by the 2 sisters Frantz
(Frantz#1 & Frantz#2) who are both really, really funny, ask lots of
intelligent questions of lots of cool bands, write clever reviews of
lots of cool records, and jeez, are coming awful close to stealing in
front of the Chickfactor gals as my fave zine writers.
In #4 they give us interviews with Bob Fay, Steve Malkmus, and a hilarious
one with Will Oldham where he ends up singing Prince songs; they
introduce their game show-inspired "Speed Round" line of questioning
for Crayon, and they also talk to a group on Shrimper who I've not yet
had the pleasure of hearing called Soul Junk. Then there's an article
style interview with the Thinking Fellers, a report on Sebadoh's tour
of Japan written by Anne Slinn taken from the Sebadoh-list, a kind of
on-line Sebadoh fan club (cyber-doh?!) a great comic pisstake of
Reality Bites, a Dikothi-Q tour diary, and yeah, even more stuff that
you really should write away for!
(richard@4zzzfm.brisnet.org.au)
SHIT ON BRISBANE #10 (36A5pgs $2) P.O.Box 405 Hamilton 4007 Brisbane
Qld - Surfacing in late '94 for the first time in ten years
(apparently - first time I'd ever heard of it was when I picked up
this issue from the Brisband Stall at 4ZzZ's recent carparkmarketday -
i also scored a free Dream Killers poster - awwright!), the title of
this zine seems to me kind of misleading cause it's actually pretty
enthusiastic and supportive of Brisbane music. Maybe it should be
called Shit In Brisbane, because basically all it deals with is
yob-rock... you get interviews with Rollo (of Splurt records and
local pub-rock giants Blowhard), Chopper Division, Travis, Turtlebox,
and G.K. & the Trash Mafia, some comics I really couldn't be bothered
with, some satire (?), and quite a few giveaways courtesy of Polygram
Records. (Punk Rock!)
(richard@4zzzfm.brisnet.org.au)
THE NOCTAVIAN PRINCIPLE#1 (20pgs Digest Size $?) Eudlo Post Office
Eudlo 4554 Qld - When I first moved from Brisbane to Perth I was
amazed at how healthy (?) goth culture was over there in the sunny
West. At the Firm (then the only "alternative" nightclub in Perth) at
tthe Post Office, at Booragoon shopping centre - everywhere I went I'd
see goths, in full attire (make-up and everything!), in 40 degree
heat, at least 10 years after the gothic subculture was supposed to
have died. Or so I thought.
Weirder still, now I'm back in Brisbane and there's a goth revival
happening here too! It's different now though I guess. Similar
fashions and stuff, but "goths" are into industrial music these days
aren't they?
Either way, and whether or not they'd like to be referred to as goths,
the Noctavian Principle is primarily concerned with things industrial,
and they're quite keen on things German too ("... most of today's
fundamental industrial movements in music, art and fashion originated
from there.").
Issue#1 features part one of an "exclusive" interview with Blixa
Bargeld, a piece on "Industrialism As It Happened," a whole page of
German text with the English headline "Editors Shocked By Cheesy
Country Music", another "exclusive" with Petty Happy and Mellowni from
Melbourne performance group Tedium, really short interviews with local
bands Dogmachine and Adofex, someone called Axe Babe talks about their
art, some excellent comics, and a smattering of fiction, like "Squirm
Psychosis" a story about a Goth who wanders cynically through the
suburbs at 2 am scaring off violent bogans by showing them his willy
(like, yeah right?! that's one good way to get the shit kicked of
you...).
I really enjoyed this zine, so if you're actually into "industrial"
(whatever that actually means) you'll probably think it's marvellous.
(richard@4zzzfm.brisnet.org.au)
Cheers,
~Barney
Mr Bernard Langham . langham@multiline.com.au . Perth, Western Ashtraylia
<a href="http://multiline.com.au/~langham/">Mah homepage</a>
"Cover me with rain/ Walk me down the lane/
We will never change/ No matter what they say"
Beat Happening "Indian Summer"
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From: Malathrsk@aol.com
Reviews from Malathion Risk
well, here we are in cincinnati, the paris of the new world. yeesh!
what better way to spend my last day off before back to work but
listening to some records and watching the springtime sun glare
through the windows. this is what i listened to today:
crowsdell-dreamette(big cat): more than adequate, paint-by-numbers
indie-pop. an earlier single by them fell through the cracks also.
produced by steve malkmus this just goes to show that everything that
pavement touches does not turn to gold. will this threaten SM's
status as an indie rok god?
papas fritas-passion play/lame to be (minty fresh): one side is sort
of swooping pop while the other side is more shake-your-rump pop.
both songs are part of the strum-pop thing, staying pretty basic while
remaining catchy as hell. a couple more singles like this and i'll
think about forgiving minty fresh for giving us veruca salt.
flying saucer attack-further (drag city) this new full length seems a
little less fuzzy and a little more droney (if possible) than the
last one. a couple of songs have those wonderful, way-buried vocals.
they're gonna hate me for this, but at times it actually reminds me of
Tangerine Dream (pre-stratosfear.) at other times it's completely
distinct. absolutely dreamy with the smell of fresh-cut (or lit)
grass in your nostrils.
the legendary jim ruiz group-mij amsterdam+2 (minty fresh): this has
that perfect swing feel to it. quietly relaxing. this is the perfect
record for just hanging out. not quite the pseudo-lounge of
grenadine or the cocktails, but somewhere comfortably in between.
television personalities-yes darling, but is it art? (seed): TVP
started out so, british, and quirky that it's easy to see why they
were overlooked by the press over here. this double-length cd
contains over 2 dozen early singles and rarities. at first this
didn't knock me out, although i knew i was -supposed- to like it. by
the time i got to the end though i couldn't remember what it was about
the beginning that i didn't like. so i played it again later. guess
what i found out? nothing! there was nothing about it i didn't like!
there are just so many styles on here that it just sounds like a
collection of singles. the early ones are sort of reminiscent of
early XTC (not as quirky, though) and mid-period Kinks. later i heard
some american bands being swiped from, the Byrds spring to mind. And
finally at the end i heard some nice ballad pop that reminded me of
no-one and evryone all at once. as a matter of fact the stuff on the
second half of the disc made me wish i hadn't gotten rid of their
Privilege record that i had a couple of years ago. i'd kinda like to
give it another listen.
the sea and cake-nassau(thrill jockey): i hadn't much hope for TSAC
considering they have members of the coctails (who are ok, but don't
knock me out) and they're from chicago, which isn't exactly my
favorite music mecca these days. but i did find out that a guy from
shrimpboat was involved, and a lot of people whose music i enjoy had
recommended Shrimpboat. TSAC's first lp also ended up on several top
10 lists particularly in the non-punk category. so... i checked out
this new lp and i'm glad i did. shows me what being close-minded can
be like. this is quite jazzy without being derivative or lounge-y at
all. and it runs with the skronk factor just often enough. this rose
quickly to the top of the playlist and at times virtually became the
soundtrack to my move. after you check this out, i'm sure you'll
want to go back and get the first lp. i'm even gonna look for those
Shrimpboat records that i sadly ignored.
magic hour-will they turn you on or will they turn on you (twisted
village) with the rhythm section of damon and naomi the comparisons
with galaxie 500 will be many. and not undeservedly so. this does
have the quiet but solid backdrop that G500 had, but with one major
exception. that's the intense almost psychedelic guitar of wayne
rogers. even the 20 min+ song on the second side will leave you
breathless. and not one minute of it is boring. lots and lots of guitar
and none of it seems as "just noodling" an extremely rewarding record
worth seeking out. caution: there is no pop music on this record.
versus-big head on/N.I.T.A. (teenbeat): versus are a band best taken
in short bursts. thus they are perfect for the 7" pop record format.
this record is as good as anything they've done lately. records like
this are what prompted me to do my zine. just a plain blast for
three minutes!
blairmailer-home of the falcon (imp); these sound like they may be
4-track recordings from several years ago. i'll just bet the nichols
bros. have a ton of this stuff lying around. thank heavens there's
people like the guy at imp that think this stuff is good enough to get
out. featuring lots of strummy guitar and steve o'neil's saxophone
and even their favorite rubber duck. there's a serious lack of people
hearing this. don't get left out. send him your $5. a better deal
won't be had for some time.
while i typed this i listened to a wedding present bootleg that you
can get from the band if you go see them.
and remember, info on a cool zine about pop music and drama is just an
e-mail away. brought to you by those friendly folks at Malathion
Risk!
drag city po 476867 chicago IL 60647
imp po 34 portland, or 97207
minty fresh po 577400 chicago IL 60647
seed 14 east 60th new york NY 10022
thrill jockey po 476794 chicago IL 60647
twisted village po 35604 brighton, ma 02135
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From: "LePageL/MF" <LePageL/MF@hermes.bc.edu>
Chunk Records Night
Chunk Records Night at Middle East Cafe; 3/18
Lineup: Veronica Cartrights, Skud Mountain Boys, Push Kings, Architectural
Metaphors
The last Chunk records night I attended (featuring the casual genius
of the Steve Westfield big band) was such a pleasure that I decided to
go it again. It was, as expected, a mixed bag, but big fun too.
Architectural Metaphors were on when we arrived, doing a heavy
keyboard thing that was so out of the '70s I could hardly believe
my ears. The guitar player even had Peter Frampton hair to go with
his '70s guitar style (someone in the audience gasped "Sabbath" at one
point and I think he was one the right track). They had one
interesting song, mostly instrumental, with the keyboard player
looping stuff all over the place and Peter [not his real name] tossing
off fills. The drummer, an ethereal hippy girl, got extremely into
her role of providing ambient percussion, with much hair flipping and
semi-ecstatic, eyes-closed tapping and thrumming. She sang, too, in
that longlines Celtic style. Other songs seemed less defined and they
played too long. Not my thing, but they do it well.
As I've said before, Push Kings are in a Pavement Jr. phase but
they're talented, so I expect them to break out of it eventually.
Four guys, kinda young, kinda slack, high cuteness factor, with above
average songs in the style of aforementioned pop heroes. Favorite
subject: Girls! (surprise, surprise). When co-lead singer has to sing
the line about "my sexuality," he blushes (did this both times I saw
them). That is so adorable. And the guitar solos remain a hilarious
parody of Pavement's off-kilter attack, sounding so absolutely wrong
they're right. A must see. Oh yeah, I bought their single and it
doesn't have my favorite song on it, but it's pretty good. They
should make another record soon.
Best set of the night, by far, was Skud Mountain Boys from western
Massachusetts, who play country music right out of the heartland, if
the heartland was in one of the outer circles of hell. Which is to
say that the writing is pretty dark ("I'm gonna burn the silo when you
go" for example or "this combine's gonna cut you down and stack you
up"). [I bought their cd, and at 15 songs, 60+ minutes, it qualifies
as their version of _Every Song We Fucking Know_.] The songs are
hauntingly pretty, and performed in a rigorously understated style
that's just this side of too slow and too quiet. But boy do they grow
on you. Live, the Boys pick it up a little, and the guitarist, a
Nashville cat whose playing has all the earmarks of country session
playing without being dull or overly mersh, carries the band as he
alternates between steel and standard. Plus, they cover the Jimmy
Webb classic "Where's the Playground, Susie?" This is the real New
Country.
Finally, I regret to say that the Veronica Cartrights who had the
misfortune of headlining, tried very hard and unsuccessfully to whip
some enthusiasm into their dwindling audience. We stayed, to the
bitter end, and they remained profoundly ordinary throughout. I
recommend early retirement, for all concerned.
This week, too many shows. Shellac! Rattleheater! Dambuilders! Versus
and Small Factory! If I wanted to really kill myself, Helium! Updates
to follow, if I survive.
--Lise
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From: bh813@freenet.carleton.ca (Jon Georgekish-Watt)
elevator to hell, versus
elevator to hell (lp)
elevator to hell is the melodramatic name of rick white's (of eric's
trip) latest solo/side project...this record sounds like "forever
again" (eric's trip's latest lp) as performed by an individual and not
a band...in other words it's got that same terminally depressing feel,
but it's more spare and experimental...
it's really depressing, as i said, but it's actually not as
suicidal-sounding as i was expecting, which is a bit weird but also a
relief...the music itself is pretty upbeat, even though the lyrics are
sad...rick pretty much sums it up i think, when he says: "i've got a
girl problem/i've got a drug problem"...tara herself (as in the
original "love tara") makes various appearances here but it's weird to
hear rick share vocals with someone who isn't julie...i suppose i'll
get used to it...all in all this is a great record...highly
recommended...(subpop)
versus "big head on"/"n.i.t.a." (7")
a really cool, typically-versus, soft/loud/soft, and catchy as hell
a-side makes this single worth owning...unfortunately the b-side isn't
so hot...i suppose it's forgivable because it's a cover...still,
people shouldn't cover songs that aren't as good as their
own...(teenbeat)
umm...guess that's it for now...buy buy...
<------------------------------>
From: hhahn@students.wisc.edu (ILx)
ANNOUNCE: Indie-L exchange
+++ What is the Indie-L exchange?
---------------------------------
ILx is a mailing list, under the aegis of Indie-L but separate,
conceived as a forum to promote the exchange of indie music. This
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'for sale' and 'wanted' posts are encouraged. The mailings will go
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the list to to inform you who to contact.
+++ How do I subscribe?
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Send a message to <hhahn@students.wisc.edu> asking to subscribe. A
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<------------------------------>
From: IanChriste@aol.com
ANNOUNCE: Smack Dab Tour
Smack Dab, the showcase vehicle for one of New York's weirdest and greatest
songwriting talents, Miss Linda Hagood, are touring in support of their 2nd
Homestead LP, Majestic Root. Go see them because they are special.
I am reprinting the trio's tour agenda here because the names of these clubs
are so ridiculous:
April 4 St. Louis, Cicero's
April 5 Columbia, Basement
April 6 Kansas City, The Grand Emporium
April 9 Chicago, Lounge Ax
April 10 Iowa City, Gabe's
April 11 Detroit, Zoot's Coffee House
April 12 Columbus, Bernie's Distillery
April 13 Pittsburgh, Bloomfield Bridge Tavern
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From: Fashcen@aol.com
AD: Fashion Central 7"
FASHION CENTRAL 7"..............I don't think that anybody is going to
ever acknowledge this single including Spinart, so I'll mention it
myself. This is one my personal favorite recordings and it includes
"Adeline", "Count Me In", and "Half A Mind Of Your Own". I'm not sure
where it is available, but you can always write to Spinart and get a
copy.
spinART P.O. Box 1798 New York, NY 10156-1798
Michael Hearst / Fashion Central
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