...in a castle of meanings, not things... ############################# Indie List Digest! June 14, 1995 Volume 4 Number 31 ############################# Prospective Records 7''ers The Long Secret 7"s and Live Music ANNOUNCE: subscriptions to imr ANNOUNCE: i'm a playground person ANNOUNCE: for paper airplane pilots AD: "Kitsch 'n' Sync" Compilation CD Here's the latest I-L straight to your e-mail box, a few days late (or is it a day early?), but better than ever. in the news: eric & i spent the weekend in Chicago apartment hunting, as our move up north becomes more and more imminent (well, in a couple of months, if that's imminent). met I-L contributor Ben Ewens at the Belgian Waffles!/Dragking/Flying Luttenbachers gig on Saturday, but couldn't stay for the whole thing. and we got our monthly fix at Ajax Records, so maybe i'll be able to write some bona fide reviews soon. not before this weekend, though--the stress of moving has me going to bed at 9:30 every night. can anybody relate? onward and oldward, az general stuff roundup: - Ben Ohmart <FindLine@ix.netcom.com> is looking for a collaborator for some sort of a Rock Opera. - Molly-Ann Leikin <songmd@earthlink.net> bills herself as a "songwriting consultant", ready to help the aspiring among, er, us win a grammy or emmy or trophy of some sort. She's got a page at http://www.earthlink.net/~songmd/ for those who might be, er, interested. - jj <recordsfan@aol.com> wanted to clarify for the economic-sense-impaired that the singles advertised by him last week are $3.50 each. Seems pretty obvious, you'd think. But sometimes... - And Liv Ungermark <LIV@p3.sr.se> writes to ask "...a band that wrote a short great song - Car on fire: what do they do now, the three x-Monsterland guys ???" -es <------------------------------> From: bqm1808@is.NYU.EDU (Brendon Macaraeg) Prospective Records 7''ers What's that you say? 1000+ members on this list! Oh fer shame, fer shame! There is so much good music out there...well, maybe I shouldn't talk as I've only posted once before. But summer's here and I should have more time now for music listening and posting to various mailing lists. Before I go into my review in any depth, I wanted to express the JOY and HAPPINESS I have experienced since buying a brand-spanking-new turntable. It's a TEAC. I got it new for $98 (including tax) at J&R Music World here in NYC. Over the spring break in March I visited my mom in Utah, where I grew up, and brought my vinyl collection back to NYC. I miss BIG ART and BIG lyric sheets. Plus, it always seems that I can get rare stuff and import-only on vinyl. Another plus. Vinyl is making or will make a comeback, I predict. Of course, I could be wrong. CDs just stink in terms of artwork. [not necessarily, I'll point out. In particular, some artists who have followed in the Bruce Licher/IPR school of packaging (heavy stock, letterpress, clean design) have made some beautiful designs. I point the contemporary reader to the Rachel's CD for substantiation. -es] A couple of months ago I received some 7"ers from a lable in Minneapolis called Prospective. I can finally listen to them with the TEAC. Yippppeee! Here's a quick rundown (sorry if these bands have been discussed on here, but I don't think they have): February-- "Bliss";"Into Red" ---EXCELLENT stuff. What would happen if Blind Mr. Jones/Slowdive were to work in a bit of the wistfulness of 10,000 Maniacs? There's a nice mix of flanged/swirling atmospheric guitars and a female voice (just "Amy" on the sleeve) riding them. Nice. Amy sounds nothing like Natalie Merchant, so please don't let that comparison throw you off. Deep Shag --"Always a Turn On"; "Hey You". Okay, we're two for two. This is melodic pop-noise in a Pixies vein with a female voice. Nice. Really polished too (some of the demo stuff I get is very amateurish) and these people can write a damn good pop song. I can't quite make out the lyrics with the buzzing quitars and the crashing rythm section, but I like what I hear. In "Hey You" Lisa Parker switches off singing with one of the other male band members. Siscera -- "No Name"; "Fragments" ---more nice atmosphereic rock; the guitarist is picking out a dreamy melody line that crunches into some power chords, then back to the dreamy guitar line, but more distorted and edgy the second time around. The vocals again are on top and distinct. Jennifer Jurgens also has a great voice. On "Fragments" it sounds like Siscera is going for a Phil Spector wall of sound. Works for me. Backbeat-wise this reminds me of the Beach Boys or the theme from "Wild Safari". In the middle of the tune Jurgens goes into a little spoken-word thing--someone talking to themselves about a dream they had. Then the tune ends, with the distorto guitars fading. Cool. Wow. 3 for 3. :-) Colfax Abbey: "Chameleon"; "Silver". More futzed with guitars swooshing and swirling around the vocal by Christian Rangle, with an acoustic strumming fighting to be heard among the din. Strong drumming, propulsive bass. This is my thing. Over Barcelona (formerly She):"On a Star"; "November First" I guess I have to thank Sanz Lashley, Over Barcelona's manager, for getting me these singles. Sanz saw my post for my WWW ezine Dreampop on the 4AD mailing list (Dreampop is out of commission for the summer as I rework the layout and content to a format that I can more easily update on a regular basis. I'll post something here to let y'all know when you can poke your Webbed heads in again). The production isn't as refined as the forementioned singles, but perhaps the brittleness adds something, especially on "November First", which at first reminds me musically of early Velvet Underground and Jesus and Mary Chain ala "Darklands". "On a Star" is straight-ahead pop, but there's a lot of nice distotion used as a coloring between the simultaneous male female vocals. You can send email to bighat@ripco.com to request more info about Over Barcelona. (I think this is Sanz's email address..not sure.) Okay, last one: Shapeshifter: "plectrum"; "more than were" YOW! I get tired of reading umpteen reviews of bands that are remotely MBV-ish, but these folks hit the proverbial nail on the head with "plectrum". This is a BIG sounding tune with the guitar grinding away full throttle, with little sonic flourishes at the edge of the mix (I listen to my music on headphones a lot). I can't tell what's going on with the lyrics underneath; at first I thought I had to switch to 45 rpm, but no that didn't sound right either. "more than were" reminds me of "pornography"-era Cure (and that's a good thing; "pornography" is one of my favorite Cure albums). It's plods a bit at first with some guitar noddling somewhere out there over the horizon. Hurm...it plods all the way, but it's a nice plodding :-). I wouldn't want to listen to a whole LP of this, however. Not the most upbeat way to end this batch of reviews, but there ya go. I am into bands like Ride, Slowdive, Cocteau Twins, Blind Mr. Jones, Love Spirals Downwards, JAMC, Curve and other stuff like Patti Smith, VU. So if you like any of these, my definite recommends would be Colfax Abbey and Februrary and Shapeshifter. I liked all 7 of these 7"ers but these three stood out. If you are interested in any of this stuff (you should be--it's GOOD), write/call/fax Prospective Records 2217 Nicollet Ave. Minneapolis, MN 55404 ph: 612-874-2418 fax:612-874-2430 P.S. There's a nice attention to detail in the packaging with inserted stickers and invites to be on the band's mailing lists in a couple of these. Hopefully Prospective will put out a compilation as these bands all go well together in a one-shot listening. Maybe they have one and I just don't know about it. Cya, -B ========================================================= THIS IS A TEST SIGNATURE FILE FROM THE ONE, THE ONLY Brendon Macaraeg http://www.itp.tsoa.nyu.edu/~student/brendonm bqm1808@is.nyu.edu brendon355@aol.com ========================================================= <------------------------------> From: lroberts@bellahs.com (Laurence Roberts RD) The Long Secret -- Harriet Records Compiliation I picked up a copy of this CD with 17 tracks by bands from Harriet Records. Being a Harriet neophyte, rather than collector scum, I can't tell you whether this is a compilation of tracks from singles or new stuff. There's a comment that "none except #17 [the Magnetic Fields track] have appeared before on plastic." Does plastic=CD? Is vinyl a kind of plastic? There's an essay inside summarizing the plot of _Harriet the Spy_, and making an analogy between bands in this scene who have learned to "put love into the world" vs. the likes of NIN and GG Allin. But is the namedropping Tully Craft song "Pop Songs Your New Boyfriend's Too Stupid to Know About" about love for humanity, or just a bratty indie-rock taunt against bands that were indie five years ago? Stephin Merritt appears a couple times, once in the guise of the Gothic Archies singing "The Abandoned Castle of My Soul," and another time with Susan Anway singing under the name of The Magnetic Fields with "Plant White Roses." Larry-bob lroberts@bellahs.com <------------------------------> From: "LePageL/MF" <LePageL/MF@hermes.bc.edu> June Miscellany (7"s and Live Music) My Seven Inch Roundup None of these is exactly new, but they're so good, I felt obliged to pass them along. Call it a semi-annual report. Cibo Matto: "Birthday Cake" / "Black (H)ole Sun" (El Diablo, P.O. Box 146, Village Station, NYC, NY 10014-9998) Cibo Matto's hip hop number "Birthday Cake" would be worth it just to hear Miho yell "I don't give a flying fuckazo!" but it's better than that -- a hilarious vocal, rockin' organ riff, and plenty of out-there samples. The b-side covers Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun," effecting quite a major transformation from heavy to ethereal. Cibo Matto are two young Japanese women living in NYC, and their whimisical enthusiasm for life is enviable (they wish Italy was in New Jersey so they could enjoy great food without moving.) The interview in Chickfactor #8 is high-level entertainment. The Summer Hits: 1000 Moments of Natural Flotation Silver Girl (Silver Girl, P.O. Box 161024, San Diego CA 92176) A '60s mod trio is placed into cryogenic sleep pods, fed continuous drip pop music throughout hibernation, and then reawakened in 1995. The result is this record. Breezy pop songs from another era layered with lots and lots of postmodern guitar. "Mod Cinema" is my favorite-the echoey production makes it sound like it was recorded in an empty ballroom and the twisted organ is right out of Carnival of Souls. Palace Brothers: "West Palm Beach" / "Gulf Shores" (Palace Records c/o Drag City, P.O. Box 476867, Chicago IL 60647) Palace come down out of the woods and stumble into town -- a Florida resort town during the off-season. Both songs find our hero lingering, with his end-of-season blues and leftover girl, the future just another setting sun. Beset with lethargy and regret, the loser struggles vaguely, unsuccessfully, with what's left. He admonishes his girl: "You have laid here by the water side. You have let the family down." But we know who he's really talking to. Plush: "Three Quarters Blind Eyes" / "Found a Little Baby" (Drag City) Two gorgeous post-Beatle pop classics, so good that you wonder what it would be like if you didn't have to crank `em to 9 to hear `em (I'm only exaggerating a little). "Three Quarters Blind Eyes" reminds me of "I Got a Feeling" on valium -- languorous and beguiling. "Found a Little Baby" turns morbid musings ("what's so bad about dying") into a lush evocation of pop heaven a la Phil Spector with strings, angel choir chorus, and even a french horn solo. Elevator Drops: "Lennon's Dead" / "Elevator to Heaven" (Curve of the Earth, 1312 Boylston Street, Boston MA 02215) In their continuing series of songs about dead pop icons, the Elevator Drops pay twisted tribute to late sixties rock in "Lennon's Dead". "Elevator to Heaven" is better, striking a nice balance between hooks and noise. They're a strange group of guys, who seem determined to put people off with their ironic antics live, on record, and in interviews, but there's no denying their talent. Papas Fritas: "Passion Play" / "Lame to Be" (Minty Fresh) Minty Fresh, P.O. Box 577400, Chicago IL 60657 Pop meets highbrow in "Passion Play," which features a very professional sounding string quartet. Sharp, complex, and tightly-constructed, this song is deliberately unpassionate passion-read coolly clever- but it's impressive all the same. "Lame to Be," a song about not wanting to be dead, takes a way simple idea and does great things with it. A Very Special Pillow: "Tomorrow Night" / "Paranormal" (Really Fast Racecar, P.O. Box 73335, Washington DC 20056) Special Pillow is the Hoboken supergroup consisting of James MacNew (Yo La Tengo), Dan Cuddy (Hypnolovewheel), and Cindy Sherman (Splendora) and "Tomorrow Night" is one of those sweet pop ballads that Yo La Tengo love to dredge up and cover. The single has a pleasant homemade quality to it--oh, those off-key vocals! --but it's still a great song and I especially like the violin and cello interplay at the end. "Paranormal" falls into a more experimental vein, noisier but nice. And it comes with a bonus "Our Lady of the Potato Beetles" insert that's not to be missed. Portastatic: Sandals (18 Wheeler, P.O. Box 4256, Dunellen NJ 08812) I still maintain that Mac can't sing, but this Portastatic business has convinced me that he writes consistent circles around the rest of the edge-of-the-bed set. "Sandals" and "Guessing" are both plaintive but tuneful pop ventures with Mac performing everything. "Scrapbook" gets a side to itself, for his collage of ambient noise, whistles, wheezes, and whispers on top of a deeply buried vocal. It's either the coolest thing you've ever heard or self-indulgent fluff. I haven't decided yet. Live: Prickly, Wild Carnations, Joey Sweeney I've reviewed Prickly before, and I remain convinced that two less compelling singers are not likely to be found. For whatever reason, though, their plain voices made less of a difference this time, and at some point during the set, I realized that their guitar player was actually pretty good. It's a nice mix of pop, folk, and fuzz, and while not uniformly wonderful, there were several standout songs including the single "Fashion Sense of Famous Monsters of Filmland" (with guest steel player). I bought their single the next day, and it's good -- the studio minimizes vocal shortcomings allowing the songs come through. "Famous Monsters" is excellent, and both cuts on the b-side are enjoyable too. Wild Carnations features ? of the Feelies on guitar, and he was just a little too big for the room. His playing style is strong and hyperactive, and somehow he looked like he would have been more comfortable in a larger, more powerful band on a much bigger stage. In the end, the songs had to carry it, and Wild Carnations just aren't up to the challenge. Not bad but a bit slight. More plain-voiced female vocals did not help. Headlining was Joey Sweeney, formerly of the Barnabys, with his friends Alex and Phoebe of Small Factory. Joey is a weird little guy, and his songs, while pop to the core, have the kind of quirky lyrics that leave you laughing or shaking your head. His borrowed bandmates fit in just fine, though, and played with the enthusiasm I've come to expect from them. Alex in particular seemed to be having a great time, filling tuning breaks with strange stories about his (male) roommates getting pregnant and, when not smoking cigarettes, singing along passionately with all the songs. It was such a good time that it seemed odd to me that the room gradually emptied out over the course of the set, a fact that did not go unnoticed by the band ("We always clear the room!" Joey boasted at one point.) Well, that's too bad because they were at least as good -- ok, better -- than any band that preceded them. I missed the opener Weeping in Fits and Starts (Greg Jacobs vehicle), and now I'm sorry because his (their) single ("Big Fish") on BHS Records is very very nice in a folk-pop sort of way. Next time. Live: Trona, The Lune, Syrup, Ruby Falls Me and opening bands. The next night, at super-relaxed sunday night TTs, I missed all but the last song by Trona (former Orangatang, admittedly not much of a recommendation). From what I heard though, this outfit sounded great, a worthy combination of punchy rhythm, ringing guitar, good harmonized vocals and a really nice song. I felt bad. I'll have to go hear them again. The Lune surprised everybody (ok, me) by coming out as a New Orleans street band. The drummer cranked an accordian, the bassist whipped out a trumpet, and the guitarist made like a one-man band with guitar, harmonica and kick band. They played about three songs in this guise, all with a jazz/traditional feel. I doubt they wrote any of them, but they pulled off the venture in high style. After this excursion, they reverted to the math rock outfit they apparently are and sounded equally good. The drummer pulled off all kinds of complicated patterns in far from basic time signatures, and the guitarist rocked right over the whole thing. Original and interesting. They have a couple 7"s out that I will be looking for. Helium showed up to hear Syrup, Seana (formerly of the Swirlies)'s newest band, quite an endorsement I thought. Seana sounded great, the drummer was kind of a mess, and the keyboard/guitar player needs to relax a little. On the plus side, they don't sound like My Bloody Valentine and they have two killer tunes: "Joie De Vol" and "Bulldozer" which are both on their 7" on Tru Luv records (140 Boylston Street, Boston MA 02116). A song about Trudy was also a blast -- Seana suggested danceable but only for mexican jumping beans (let's just say it has zip). Syrup have my favorite combination of good pop tunes and extended groovability so you can hum and sway at the same time. After such an impressive evening, Ruby Falls was a disapointment to say the least. They were righteously attitudinal, they drank whisky, the drummer had a great shirt, and when they finally got it together to play they were boring and tame. If you're not going to wow me with great pop chops, then please scare me a little. Or something. Very mediocre, I thought, but I freely admit that I only gave them three songs. -- Lise LePage <------------------------------> From: smithem@yvax.byu.edu ANNOUNCE: imr subscriptions imr, formerly known as independent music reviews, is offering free subscriptions beginning with issue #29 (new style and format). For a subscription to this e-zine send the message "i like my indie cold" to the address below... --Elliott Smith smithem@yvax.byu.edu <------------------------------> From: Soulcore@aol.com ANNOUNCE: i'm a playground person Issue #1 of I'm a Playground Person is now finished!!! It has inteviews with: Jon from Totfinder Lou Barlow Peter DiskothiQ/Nothing Painted Blue it is 2 stamps or a trade. email me if you are interested. mike soulcore@aol.com <------------------------------> From: trey@ufcc.ufl.edu ANNOUNCE: for paper airplane pilots hello. as long as things are slow, I figure I can hype the latest issue of _for paper airplane pilots_ especially since I can technically claim inland association via the mountain goats interview therein. some of you should be receiving a copy in the mail in the next few days, but for the rest of you... oh, look what you could get for two little dollars: 56 pages. interviews with butterglory, john darnielle, tattle tale, lou barlow, spatula, kicking giant, ivy, and charles schulz of Peanuts fame. there's also an uberslick (insert your own umlaut) chickfactor spoof, a collection of of various interesting people's favorite Peanuts charact