Don King is an inspiration to me because he's proof that you can make
it with your hair combed standing straight up.
#############################
Indie List Digest!
January 16, 1996
Volume 4 Number 47
#############################
Mr. Steve's 80s world...
misc. stuff I've picked up (M.Goats, flop, my life in rain)
Mojave 3 and Scenic
ANNOUNCE: PUMPKINSEED FANZINE
ANNOUNCE: SDFnet community radio
OK. how many people out there had a snow day this past week?
not me. but hey, i can still drive my car...
made a brief foray out to see Holiday at the Empty Bottle right before
the New Year. This evening, which was presented by March Records, also
featured Kleenex Girl Wonder and Motorhome, among the ones that
finally made it on the bill.
Kleenex Girl Wonder are a trio of high school-age guys from the
suburbs who play clever, minimalist, new-wavy, slightly repetitve
tunes. I remember they considered "Sexual Harrassment" to be an
un-clunky name for a song. Very flat, deadpan delivery to most of
these songs. Lots of parents and family members in the audience,
which was kind of cool. I like the name of their latest 7", "Exotic
Nitwits Keep Exotic Pets," though. (Confession: This is the kind of
thing I would have really enjoyed if I were in high school and these
were my friends, but these days, I just don't have as much patience.)
I hadn't seen Holiday before, or heard much of them, and there was
always an element of confusion for me with the West Coast band Holiday
Flyer. Holiday, however, are from the East Coast. They had that
clean-cut in suits look, like the Coctails used to, but without the
irony. Very bubbly, cheerful tunes, nicely performed, I thought. Gotta
look for their CD, which I don't have.
We left before Motorhome, and no, we didn't see the GBV cover band.
All else was chaos.
az
Another online magazine, Local Beat, for music is looking for bands
seeking publicity and review.Their first issue is due out this month,
and interested parties can check out their information at
http://www.acs.oakland.edu/~fyvincen/localbeat.html.
-es
<------------------------------>
From: silverst@ils.nwu.edu (Steve Silverstein)
Mr. Steve's 80s world...
I've bought a ton of old records of late, so I figured I'd do the
Grumpy Sean thing and review some old records instead of just new
ones. We can all use to hear a few old things too, right? I just
sort of decided on an historical period from which I seem to have
bought a bunch of stuff for thematic unity. So, here are some
records, generally new to me, that I found worthy of mention. In no
order whatsoever. I averaged spending less than $3 per record on
these, and a lot of them you can definitely find for a buck.
[Chicago record buyers note. When you visit the platial az/es
estate, stop by Galgano Records on Irving Park for a $ record
bonanza. All the records from peoples old collections you thought you
never would find. The soundtrack to Foxes, Nashville. Reel-to-Reels,
too! -es]
Renaldo & the Loaf--Songs for Swinging Larvae LP (1981,
Ralph)--Probably the best of Renaldo & the Loaf's LPs and also the
first available on vinyl. Trouser Press says "Guaranteed to clear a
room" and that's an amazing description. Chirping, sing-song-y
vocals join a truly incoherent instrumental din that's certainly
unlike anything coming out these days. Gosh this record is weird, and
I like it.
D. A. F.--Die Kleinen und Die Bosen LP (1982, Mute)--The band's second
album, and last as a full band (before transforming into a 2-man dance
line-up for _Alles is Gut_ and after). It's really an amazing mixture
of industrial and sort of new wave-y rock. Loud and in-your-face, not
really dance-y. Very Teutonic without the restraint of Kraftwerk. A
tiny bit like the first Devo LP in a warped sort of a way, though
louder and some of the songs are kind of dronier. Less minimal than
Chrome, a lot more overt. Hard to think of comparisons. A really
strong blast of noise.
Cabaret Voltaire--Mix-Up LP (1979, Rough Trade)--From the same era as
"Nag Nag Nag," the group's first full-length. Scary and drone-y, very
suburban. Not yet as mantra-like as the group soon evolved into, and
certainly nothing like the later dance period that began with the very
good _The Crackdown_. A truly intense record with raw vocals and
brutal drum machines. Loud, potent, menacing, and way better than
anything similar that anyone today is doing.
True West--Hollywood Holiday LP (1983, New Rose)--Russ Tolman's band's
first full-length. The same as the _True West_ EP released in the US
with 3 newer songs added. Features a neat cover of Pink Floyd's
"Lucifer Sam." Produced by Dream Syndicate guy Steve Wynn. More
country-ish than the Dream Syndicate, though one song is kind of
experimental with really loud drums. Like the Who, there was a
vocalist who did not write his own lyrics, but also did not play an
instrument. While I find the vocals a bit affected, the songs are
quite strong.
The Three O'Clock--Sixteen Tambourines LP (1984, Frontier)--The best
work from the band originally known as The Salvation Army. Features
really pretty high vocals, nice use of melodic keyboard parts, and a
Bee Gees cover. One or two songs even use horns. Sure, the cover art
is kind of cheesy, but the songs are really first-rate. I'm
especially fond of "And So We Run". The CD reissue also contains the
_Baroque Hoedown_ EP.
OMD--Dazzle Ships LP (1982, DinDisc)--"The one with the Speak 'n'
Spell." Sure, it's got its gimmicks, especially "Time Zones" with
lots of phone operators giving the time in different languages. But
it flows as an album better than almost any I own, the gimmicks all
somehow manage to work, and the pop songs are super catchy. It amazes
me how they use these really happy synth sounds to make some music
which is clearly less happy. It picks up really nicely where
_Architecture & Morality_ left off and pushes even further. The end
result is completely fascinating and instantly listenable.
God--For Lovers Only LP (1989, Shakin' Street)--Loud, fast,
straight-ahead. Punk from Australia. No surprises at all, but that's
intentional. It's just a matter of if this is your taste--the
execution is flawless. Also of note is the "My Pal" 12", with some
live B-sides.
Mark Stewart and the Maffia--As the Veneer of Democracy Starts to Fade
LP (1985, Mute)--Mid-'80s industrial, featuring Mark Stewart of Pop
Group, backed by Adrian Sherwood and his On-U-Sound team. The end
result is not much like Pop Group, maybe a bit closer to some of
Sherwood's project, though less dub-oriented. It actually sounds like
it was a big influence on Nine Inch Nails, only far less emphatic and
far more natural. Samples and a truly menacing vocal ride over potent
music. Not as pioneering as, say, Cabaret Voltaire, but still an
interesting record.
The Comsat Angels--Waiting on a Miracle (1980, Polydor UK)--One of the
few bands to mix post-punk rhythmic ideas with some of the notions of
the more atmospheric bands of the era. Sparse and powerful; I can't
think of much else that sounds quite like it. Songs are catchy
without being overtly "pop". A really, really impressive debut, from
a band which has been through its share of ups and downs and (I think)
still exists.
Duet Emmo--Or So it Goes LP (1983, Mute)--Lewis and Bruce Gilbert from
Wire team up with a new collaborator (Daniel Miller of Mute Records
and Silicon Teens) to make a really minimal record. There are clearly
songs, of length and sometimes structure fit to be pop songs. Instead
of the usual pop song conventions, though, is a sheer, stark
minimalist beauty. A really unusual and interesting record on extra
thick vinyl.
-Steve
<------------------------------>
From: John Fail <fail@llama.com>
misc. stuff I've picked up
This is my first time submitting to this, so forgive me for any faux
pas, etc.
[We're truly very accepting here (well, we think so...) - by readers
for readers, etc. -es]
OK, I bought this CD by The Mountain Goats ... I don't know how
popular they are on here, I do remember reading a review or two on
this list, so I bought it without ever hearing them. I think it's
pretty incredible. It's called "Nine Black Poppies", a 9-song EP of
simple, beautiful folk songs. It's on Emperor Jones in Texas.
There's no address for the band, or even a copyright date, so I don't
know how old this may be. I've listened to it about 10 times since
yesterday afternoon. I pass along my highest recommedation.
[This is the latest - or near latest, depending on what order this
and Sweden released, and then there's that 7"..... - It's on emperor
jones, p.o. box 49771, austin, tx 78765 -es]
OK, now to a more conventional format:
flop - 'world of today' CD --: Wow! The best CD I've bought since
Zumpano's 'Look What the Rookie Did' (excluding the above-mentioned
Mountain Goats CD). I have their first album, 'and the fall of the
mopsqueezer' (which is also great). I know they signed to Sony and
released an album I don't have, then somehow got kicked off (anyone
have any info??). This CD has 13 brilliant pop songs. They sound as
if they've "matured" since the first album (boy, that's a typical
rock-writer thing to say) -- the songs seem pretty "angst"-y. There's
a cover song, "Yellow Rainbow" by Roy Wood (anyone know who that is?),
and a rant against middle school. Best of all is the closing track,
"Two Martians Working": i haven't been at all too well today so, how
are you?
i'm by myself and by the way, it's strange some things aren't true
Which alone is worth the cost of the whole CD. This is on Frontier
records, the address is PO Box 22, Sun Valley, CA 91353 if anyone
needs it for something. And now, the obligatory "star" rating: **
J Church - 'Nostalgic for Nothing' CD --: I hate to review popular
punk music here, but J Church has literally become the de facto
standard for "pop-punk" (note how I put all the dumb buzzwords in
quotes ...). Anyway, I've always liked them. This is another
singles/7" compilation, with 26 tracks. Most are pretty good, with
some great songs ("My Favorite Place," "On Dying Alone," "UFO's Will
Crash") and some mediocre. The lyrics are included, and it's become
apparent what a great lyricist Lance Cringer is. Some of them convey
a lot of honesty, although a few are dumb. There's a lot of cover
songs on here, including "Planet Earth" by Duran^2. Broken Rekids, PO
Box 460402, San Francisco< CA, 94146-0402. Rating: *
My Life In Rain - 'what people say' CD --: This is kinda old, I think
... 1994 ... but I just got it, so I'll throw in a review anyway. I
heard these guys on a Grass records sampler, with the song "close to
shut". It's a great song, very typical "indie rock" but moving
nonetheless. The album has 12 tracks, opening with "close to shut,"
which is the best one. It's overall a good album, but gets kind of
nondistinct towards the end.
<------------------------------>
From: Brendon Macaraeg <bqm1808@is.nyu.edu>
Mojave 3 and Scenic
Happy New Years and all that Jazz. I too got sick Xmas for 24
hours....must have been something I ate...ack!
Well, 1995 is almost over. I hate to say it, but there was damn
little that gave me pleasure musically. I'm really going to have to
start buying more vinyl me thinks. Such a shame. I don't think I've
seen mention yet of these two LPs on IL, so here are two short
reviews. I posted the Mojave 3 review to the 4AD mailing list, so
sorry if this is redundant for some of you.
Scenic "Incident at Cima" Bruce Licher, one of a trio that makes up
Scenic, used to be in Savage Republic in the early 1980s, a band
Licher formed while in school at UCLA. I'm not familiar at all with
his old band, but his new band Scenic has created a beguiling and
beautiful album called _Incident at Cima._ It's an all-instrumental LP
where each song, Licher says, reflects the mood of a specific place in
or near Cima, a small town in the Mojave Desert. There was an
excellent article on Licher and his label Independent Project Records
in an AP Magazine awhile back.
If you think Sergio Leone Spagetti Western soundtrack meets the manic
upbeat tunes of Belly or other upbeat pop groups, you start to get the
picture of what _Incident at Cima_ presents the listener. This is
also a ghostly album that reeks of the place that inspired it. Not
all the songs are fast paced but have some heavy presence all the
same.
Of note also is the wonderful, detailed packaging the goes into every
Independent Project Records release (Licher runs this unique record
label and printing company out of Arizona), and _Incident at Cima_ is
no different. Each package that Licher makes come from a letterpress,
and the ink used comes in earth-tones, printed on heavy stock paper of
like hues.
If you have ever travelled through the American Southwest and would
like to be reminded of the trip, do yourself a favor and get this LP.
And even if you never have, you can put this on and take a trip of a
different sort. A musically rich tapestry like this just shouldn't be
missed. Limited number printed, so grab a copy before they're all
gone!
Incident at Cima IP050CD
Independent Project Records
PO Box 1483
Tempe, AZ, 85280
US of A
---------------------
Mojave 3 "Ask Me Tomorrow" 4AD Records (released domestically in the
U.S. in January)
I picked up the new Mojave 3 LP about three weeks ago at Generation
Records here in NYC (for you locals I dunno if they have the CD left,
but I also saw the vinyl for ~$17) last Thursday.
It is quite a beautiful LP. Someone else told me they thought it
reminded them too much of the Cowboy Junkies, but I don't listen to
them much so I don't know if that is a valid comparison. The LP does
have a hushed, echo-ey atmosphere to it though...think the best
moments of Low meets the ambience of "Pygmalion" and you start to get
the picture. One major difference between that LP and Mojave 3's "Ask
Me Tomorrow," however, is that these are actually songs, not open
ended compositions that seem to meander around. Maybe it's not fair
to compare "Ask Me Tomorrow" with "Pygmalion" but these are three
primary members of that last incarnation afterall, so I just can't
help myself from doing so.
But if you don't like folk, the desperate sentimentalism of Patsy
Cline ("where is the love that we had/ where is the love/where is the
hand that I held/where is the love?" Rachel and Neil sing together on
"Where is the Love?") and and echoed bent notes, you will not like
this.
Moreover, if you long for the swooshy-guitars-all-over-the-place of
"Souvlaki" then stay far away from "Ask Me Tomorrow." But if you DO
like the spacious, gorgeous mellowness of "Just for a Day" and
"Pygmalion," you'll find plenty of that here, but with more
straightforward, stripped-down song structures. Only the last song,
"Mercy" shows signs of the Slowdive of old...the rest is more akin to
the minimal "Dagger" and "Mellon Yellow" from the LP "Souvlaki," but
without much sonic embellishment.
And Rachel Goswell sings on all but one or two tracks, a treat in
itself. Neil and Rachel are back to the duel singing that makes so
much of Slowdive's material enjoyable.
All in all, one of the best LPs I've bought this year, and since it's
going to be released domestically in 1996 here in the U.S., of that
year as well most likely....9 tracks at 41 minutes and 16 seconds of
graceful, moving songs. Who knows? This could be the LP to break
them big here in the States. I can almost hear some country station
playing some of this. Now that would not be a bad thing at all.
Watch out Garth!
Happy listening,
-B
=====================================================
Brendon Macaraeg
http://www.itp.tsoa.nyu.edu/~brendonm
"Paranoia is often an extreme hightened awareness"
<------------------------------>
From: sister@sizone.pci.on.ca (Jeremy Rotsztain)
ANNOUNCE: PUMPKINSEED FANZINE
A new issue of Pumpkinseed fanzine is almost finished. It contains
interviews with Guv'er, Trumans Water, GodHeadSilo, 18th Dye, Steve
Shelley and the Secret Stars along with a story about the final Small
Factory show. Issues are one dollar, US or CAN funds. All orders
should be sent to:
Pumpkinseed
28 Tarbert Rd
Willowdale, Ont.
Canada M2M 2Y2
Also. Limited copies of issue #8 are still available. It has
interviews with the Archers of Loaf, Judah Bauer, Alex Kemp, Thinking
Fellers Union Local 282, Mary Lou Lord, and perhaps some others whom I
forget.
Thanks, Jeremy
<------------------------------>
From: "Theodore S. Uhlemann" <iczer@metronet.com>
ANNOUNCE: SDFnet community radio
[This bounced out during a recent Indie-Submit house cleaning -es]
SDF Communications (me) is about to go on the air with a sort of
internet community "radio" station, broadcast with the new "IWave"
streaming audio software (http://vocaltec.com/iwave.htm) to any
14.4kbps or greater TCP net connection (we may try to provide
ISDN-quality audio formats separately). Our focus will be on all
"fringe" ideas and music not normally encountered on conventional
radio. We will have licenses to play material from the entire ASCAP
and BMI (http://bmi.com) repertoires by the time we go on the "air".
Please try our temporary web page at "http://www.metronet.com/~iczer".
We have scheduled so far only a handful of DJ's, including
myself doing an eclectic mix of 80's "alterna-pop" and classic
industrial (lots of 4AD bands, Throbbing Gristle, Severed
Heads, etc.); and my friend with a separate show focusing on
ambient/noise/trance stuff (Autechre, Non, SPK, etc).
If you're interested in DJ'ing a weekly (or even irregular)
show on our web "radio" pages, please reply (to me, NOT the
mailing list or newsgroup you're reading this in). I'm
accepting material in any genre (even non-music oriented), and
in any audio format (assuming you can provide me a
decoder/player for my PC if I don't already have it. USnail'd
cassettes will be fine also).
We have MANY open slots right now for new shows, so please
don't hesitate to contact me. I hope to hear from you, even
if you're just interested in being a listener. Thanks for
your time...
-Ted (mailto:iczer@metronet.com)
<------------------------------------------------------------>
The Indie-List Digest is published weekly (Mondays) or more often by
the Indie-List Infotainment Junta, Unltd.
What Who Where
Editors Eric Sinclair esinclai@tezcat.com
Anne Zender azender@tezcat.com
Mailings Sean Murphy grumpy@access.digex.net
Archives Chris Karlof karlofc@seq.cms.uncwil.edu
FTP ftp://ftp.uwp.edu/pub/music/lists/indie
FTP/WWW evol.resnet.jmu.edu/indie/
FAQ http://www.tezcat.com/~esinclai/il/
Consultants: Mark Cornick, Joshua Houk, Sean Murphy, Liz Clayton and
K. Lena Bennett.
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 <indie_submit@indiana.edu>.
<-------------------------------------->