I just want to sleep for five more minutes
I just want to sleep for five more years...
#############################
Indie List Digest!
November 3, 1994
Volume 4 Number 9
#############################
a reminder from IndieCoRe consulting
Sound City, UK musings
Built To Spill, Dis-, incoherent mumblings...
Good Music In... Austin?
Jawbox/Gut
Indie-L Exchange Announcement
ANNOUNCE: Vineland Tour Dates
ANNOUNCE: POSTER CHILDREN/STAKE DADDY SIX/HEGOAT
ANNOUNCE: moon x7
AD: Gapeseed CD
Acrophobia and Apologia from az
argh. every time i think of flying to san francisco next week i hear
Twig singing, 'airplanes are just sardine tins big enough to die in.'
why are there always big plane crashes directly before i intend to
travel? anyway, we're going next week, so please send us stuff and
divert me from the prospect of flying across the country.
also, it was brought to my attention that i somewhat overeagerly
edited Mike Fragassi's otherwise swell piece last time. he compared
(i thought) a certain band to 'PhishBjork'. but what he really meant
(and what he indeed originally wrote) was FishBjork. as in Fishbone.
so all you Phish-heads can put that fan mail (or hate mail) away. and
i will try to leave well enough alone in the future.
az
----------------------------
From: Mark Cornick <MSCORNIC@VAX1.ACS.JMU.EDU>
a reminder from IndieCoRe consulting
It's been a long time since this happened, so perhaps it's time for a
reminder:
If a friend asks you how they can get on the Indie-List, the answer
is: "Send mail to Sean Murphy, whose address is
grumpy@access.digex.net"
NOT
"Send mail to bloofga@uhuru.uchicago.edu"
Under certain circumstances (i.e. when Eric, Anne, Sean, or myself
has switched the bloofga-matic into mailing mode) anything sent to
bloofga goes out to the entire list. Usually it is in a "trap" mode,
so that anything sent to bloofga does not go to the entire list, but
instead ends up in Sean's mailbox (lucky guy.)
Occasionally, someone tries to mail something to bloofga at the same
time that Eric's mailing I-L, or I'm mailing TG. This is rare, but it
happens, and that's why you got the "i heard you run an indie-rock
mailing list" message in yr box last week.
So the moral of the story is: unless your name is Eric Sinclair, Anne
Zender, Sean Murphy, or Mark Cornick, don't mail anything to bloofga,
ever. And eat yr vegetables.
--mark
---------------------------
From: Sean Murphy <grumpy@access.digex.net>
Built To Spill, Dis-, incoherent mumblings...
Administrivia:
I realize that lots of you have seen messages to this effect before,
but I think it's time to repeat it:
NEVER MAIL ANYTHING TO <bloofga@uhuru.uchicago.edu>.
(Please check your FAQ files for more info, or write to the editors to
receive a copy...) If you are replying to a received issue of the
Indie List, please check the header on your mail-message before it is
sent out... automatic replies are sometimes misdirected... thanks.
-----
Finally, some live shows return to the area... I passed on Thinking
Fellers (I know, foolish move, but cash flow dictates...), but caught
Dog Faced Hermans/Wingtip Sloat (both wonderful, particularly DFH -
here's hoping that Mr. Wolk's mumblings about them breaking up after
this tour ar dead wrong) and...
Kicking Giant/Built to Spill/Ditchcroaker, Black Cat, WDC, 10/21
Ditchcroaker - sucked. They sounded like Counting Crows wannabes. I
played lots of "Road Zone" pinball during their set...
(For the pinball enthusiasts who don't get to play beta-tests in
Chicago: Road Zone - an enjoyable new Williams machine, looks like a
Pat Lawlor design to some extent, 2 large heads mounted (like Rudy
from Funhouse), some OK modes, but I'm still a little shaky on the
details. 5 games for $2 in DC, check display-card on your local
machine for more details.)
Built to Spill - highlight of the evening. Doug Martsch is a
wonderful guitar player. Much of his playing is informed by Neil
Young (through a Dinosaur filter)... but hearing the sounds and
melodies he was getting while watching him play was really
interesting. Started with a couple new ones, then played a bunch from
"Ultimate Alternative Wavers," then hit the stride - Twin Falls,
Canned Oxygen, Car, one I can't remember, finished with a request for
Nowhere Nothing Fuckup. Really wonderful, highly recommended,
particularly for fans of side one of "You're Living All Over Me" (the
second-to-last real Dinosaur LP).
Kicking Giant - on record, I love them. Live, I'm getting really
bored - too much guitar-noise creation, not enough true song
structures. They were closest to Mecca Normal in terms of upsetting
the crowd and the overall effect... I recognized almost nothing,
except fucked versions of "The Way You Are" and "Satellite."
Disappointing.
NOTES - on the whole Halo Benders v. Built to Spill deal... Doug
plays in both, and while BtS is his band, Halo Benders was supposed
to be a collaboration between Doug and Calvin Johnson. Unfortunately,
the Halo Benders LP (God Don't Make No Junk) is pretty much dominated
by Calvin's vocals, obscuring Doug's guitar and singing.
I know a lot of people who hate Beat Happening but like the Treepeople
- for them, I'd suggest listening to BtS and skipping the Halo Benders
LP. The 7", however, with "Canned Oxygen" and that wacked dub-version
of "Don't Touch My Bikini," is recommended even if you don't like
Calvin - he's safely buried into the general mix.
For the record - I like both Treepeople and Beat Happening, but I
was disappointed by the Halo Benders LP, and love all the Built To
Spill I've been able to track down - 3 singles and 2 LPs.
One more thing:
If anyone has recommendations for good and inexpensive CD pressing
plants in the US (or Canada, I suppose), please contact me by private
e-mail - there's a project I'm involved in putting out, and we're just
about ready to press it....
Grumpy Sean
grumpy@access.digex.net
------------------------------
From: stuart.mchugh@aldus.com (Stuart McHugh,AE-TS)
Sound City, UK musings
More random musings and disposable half-truths with a vague UK slant;
this was intended to be published in a US fanzine, but since that
seems to have gone by the wayside, you're stuck with it. Hopefully
the Melody Maker readers won't see through my thinly-veiled attacks on
their favourites...
Now, the term Sound City might mean something to you. A week-long
music festival in Glasgow this spring, the organisers liked it so much
they're doing it again. Something to do with the colleges going back
I reckon; an excuse for another bunch of gigs, but also the chance to
get John Peel up to do a talk, entitled 'A Day in the Life of a Cult
Indie DJ' or something. He walked us entertainingly through the
process that generates one of his shows, shared some thoughts, then
threw the session open to questions from the floor. 'What's in the
bag?' asked one spotty youth. In fact it was a copy of the EP on
Fierce Panda records, which as well as containing tracks from Ash
(sounding disturbingly like early Soup Dragons), Credit to the Nation
and others, also features Supergrass' 'Caught by the Fuzz'. Not
advice to take care while in the bathroom, no, this nifty tune
describes the shame at being picked up by the local constabulary. "If
only your father could see you now... you blackened our name' and
rips along like Alternative TV and the Adverts jamming together. Fine
influences - if you're going to sound like someone, make it good.
Elasica are a case in point - their 'Disconnect' is based around
Wire's Question of Degree.' This is indeed progress, as their
previous single was, er, influenced by 'I am the Fly.' I hope they're
paying their dues, if not their royalties. We mentioned Alternative
TV, who were of course fronted by the original fanzine editor,
Sniffin' Glue's Mark Perry. This is irrelevant bar for establishing a
thread to hold this piece together as Spare Snare whom, my contacts
inform me, went down well at New York's CMJ festival, are no stranger
to the songwriting talents of Perry and Ferguson. And goodness, if
they're not from Dundee. Tindersticks, while tragically not Scottish,
are another band who were conspicuous at CMJ, probably due to the
large cloud of tobacco smoke that hovered above them for the duration.
A sombre bunch who are usually in these occasions described as Jacques
Brel meets Nick Cave, and who am I to go against convention?
But if Spare Snare are going to spend all their time in the US of A,
who will take on the mantle of the Sound of Young Scotland (* Postcard
records), I hear you ask (though you're going to have to speak up a
bit)? Well, probably the Sound of Old Scotland, as active at the
moment are Edwin Collins, late of Orange Juice, and the similarly
citrusy-monickered Nectarine No. 9. Edwin's new lp, Gorgeous George,
has been released and is certainly a return to form,. the best stuff
he's recorded since OJ split. And the Nectarine boys, who got a
rather suspect review from myself in the past, seem to have recaptured
the form which made the Fire Engines and Win household names. In my
household at least.
But a band with genuine youth on their side is AC Acoustics, and hey,
they're from Glasgow. Their Able Treasury lp was undoubtedly the
album of the year, an indescribable combination of everything that's
good about music today, with no obvious influences to make it easy for
us reviewer types. Suffice to say you should own a copy, and come the
New Year, you will be able to, thanks to Trance Syndicate of Texas,
who have inked the deal that will make the lads from bonny Scotland
household names across the pond. (Well, in Mr. Trance's house
anyway).
Oddly enough, that takes us full circle, as the cigar-chomper at
Trance heard the band on a Peel session tape, and promptly signed them
up. So what music has been knocking them dead in Glasgow these past
weeks? Well, Sugar trod the boards at the Barrowland at the end of
September and actually disappointed. A friend remarked that he never
thought the Barrowland could be too big for a band, but following the
ear-splitting gigs that Sugar promoted 'Beaster' with, it seemed as if
they were using the PA that Bob Mould took on his acoustic tour.
Adding that to the fact that the gig was only around an hour in length
and most of the tracks were taken from the new lp FUEL (with none from
Beaster), this made for a disappointing gig. Not even that reassuring
trickle of blood from the eardrum to compensate.
You've heard me witter on about what matters in UK rock. What do the
music papers think?
It doesn't matter.
Though they have hit on an interesting concept. I don't know if
Fantasy Football or similar is a big thing in the US? (It's surely an
American concept?) Basically you take the sport of your choice, give
everyone a hypothetical $20 million or so to buy a team with, them run
a hypothetical league based on real weekly results. Well, the NME is
doing a Fantasy Rock Group contest. You have to assemble a 5-piece
combo built to hit the charts gaining points on chart placings, gig
reviews, and NME front covers. It was sounding promising for a moment
there, eh? It's that crucial NME influence that spoils it, though, as
all you need to do to win is choose a team with Bert from Suede,
Beavis and Bonehead from Oasis, and studiously avoid anyone from the
Levellers or Chumbawamba, who are unlikely to get the slightest
mention within the hallowed pages. Such is the predictability of the
UK press.
So with that we travel across the pond again to look at a few new
things that let's face it, the majority of readers will stand a chance
of picking up at their local record emporium.
Well, there's a split single from Harriet Records, featuring Quivver
and Shiva Speedway. Quivver are a female 3-piece from Massachusetts, I
believe, and make a fairly decent racket. But it was the side by
Shiva Speedway which interested me. While not brillantly put together
the soung sounded pretty gear. What bore investigation was the demo
tape which probably captures the true sound of the band. The press
release says they have influences of Black Sabbath, Huggy Bear and the
Wedding Present. Add to that Iggy Pop, Throwing Muses and Sonic Youth
and you're almost there. What this means is that they have a sound of
their own with no one obvious influence, which is certainly the
makings of a good band in my book.
Finally, when the Gits' lead singer died it seemed that that might be
the end of the road for them. And it was, but the remnants of the
band have formed the Dancing French Liberals of 48. They have a single
out which retains the hard edge of the Gits but with an outragrously
sing-along chorus which shows that they are ready to take the world by
storm. Really. Until next time, music lovers...
--------------------------------
From: "Josh Ronsen" <rons@midway.uchicago.edu>
Good Music In... Austin?
Those of you who have cared enough to notice that I generally have
not enjoyed Austin's music scene very much lately will be surprised
to read of my opinions here:
Blind Willie's Johnson, The Cryin' Out Louds, PORK @ Emo's
==========================================================
I missed BW'sJ. The Cryin' Out Louds are an Austin band who do
garage/'50s/punk stuff, '80 Joan Jett/'80 Ramones I guess. I enjoyed
it. The singer jumped about, grabbed maracas when he wasn't singing,
rolled on the floor, but it fit in with the music.
I came here to see Pork whom I first saw when they opened for
Stereolab a month or so ago (at Emo's of course). Pork are a female
trio who do plain, fun unpretentious punk. Their songs, sometimes
sung by the guitarist and sometimes by the bassist and sometimes
together are mostly about love and being hurt or blinded by love
(their excellent cover of "I'm A Hog For You Baby"). They also had a
song with the chorus: "la la la la la nyah nyah nyah nyah ha ha Ha Ha
HA!" Their sound: rough, energetic, sparse. The drummer stands and
has no snare or cymbals in her kit, just upturned bass and two toms.
They are not as cool as Chicago's late Barbie Army (the girls of
slender means, if you recall), but cooler than anyone else I can think
of that could be placed in the category of female punk groups. Other
cool covers: "Don't Cry No Tears" which the Wedding Present also
covers (and where I know the song from, I don't know who wrote
it), "The She Goes" and "I Wanna Be Your Dog", but most of their stuff
was originals. They just this night released a CD on No. 6 records
and I highly recondmend it. I will get it myself when I have the
cash.
The Romulans, Blast Off Country Style, Air Miami, Egg's @ Emo's
==============================================================
I really didn't go to this show to see any of these people in
particular, but rather just to see some live music that was 1) free
and 2) almost guaranteed not to revolt my sensibilities. The Romulans
(?) were an interesting, wacky duo of synth/sampler/sequencer and
guitar that dwelled completely in the dead waters of early '80s
English New Wave type bands: Psychedelic Furs, Simple Minds, Flock Of
Seaguls, Duran Duran, etc. But the amusing fact was, that they seemed
to take themselves and their music so seriously, that I laughed at
each and every New Wave cliche that they used (i.e. their entire
set). I really enjoyed myself, especially they way in which the
singer (the guitarist) sang his vague-yet-oh-so-meaningful-and-deep
lyrics. And it seemed every chorus just repeated the title of the
song four times ("My eyes burn inside..."). Oh boy. But I was
amused.
Blast Off Country Style were even more goofy than I thought they would
be (I had only heard the "Teenage Unicorn" (?) 7"). The women were
dressed in pjs and the men in matching cowboy outfits. Goofy goofy
goofy goofy. I enjoyed every minute of it. The guitarist was having
some buzz problems with her amp, which was doubly sad, not only
because this caused her a great deal of distress, but the her sound
was so weak and plinkly to begin with (which I liked in contrast to
the heavy, quick bass lines) ... Oh well. But I couldn't really
notice much of this, because she was behind the singer's hyperactive
stage presence. I liked it.
I think I read on here recently that someone thought Air Miami was
dull, and I expected to see them as such. But while they were
certainly more toned down than everything by Unrest that I've heard
(excepting "Imperial") I thought they were sorta delightfully somber
and intersting. Not very interesting, but not dull (to me at least).
I want to compare them with Galaxie 500, but I don't want Robert Lim
to make allusions to my beady eyes to the entire list! Both Mark and
Briget were quite competent as guitarists and worked well in weaving
their (guitar) harmonies together, but I wanted her hear a lot of
tasty guitar solos, or at least two of them (I think Bridget took one
near the end).
I did not enjoy Eggs very much. They were ok, but they were just not
my type. What I did like about their set was when the singer
announced they were going to do a particular song. The trombone-ist
announced that he had been reading "The Fountainhead" and quoted a
passage to the effect of 'the man who does an individual act is better
than the group who do a common activity' and stated that he wasn't
going to do the aforementioned song, but a different one instead.
Upon hearing this, the singer called up somebody with a whip (not
out-of-place in Emo's with the huge S&M Flintstones painting in the
bar) who taught the Randian a lesson or two in comformity. Ha ha.
All in all a good night of music made even more pleasant by the fact
that I knew some people in the audience, which usually I don't, so I
chatted and hung out with some friendly people. Hey: I know there are
some other people in Austin on this list. Let's get together and go
to a show or something. Email me (my email address says Chicago, but
I am in Austin).
Since seeing the above shows, I got the new Pork CD, which happily
sounds just like them live. I also got the new EPIC SOUNDTRACKS CD,
which I am very happy hearing. It's like his first one, but not
quite as smooth, a tad stranger and J. Mascis is nowhere in sight!
Let's see, I also picked up the new LIDA HUSIK/Beaumount Hannant 7" on
the Rough Trade Singles Club. She does a guitar/voice pice on a: and
then Hannant samples it and makes a techno song out it. It's
interesting, but not as good as anything on her first 2 LPs, I think
(and if you haven't heard these, what are you waiting for? Popwatch to
put her on their cover?) And if I haven't speant enough money already,
I also got Tortoise's first (?) LP, which is very nice.
-Josh
rons@midway.uchicago.edu
------------------------------
Moo-Town Snacker <mc21@midway.uchicago.edu>
Jawbox/Gut
Jawbox w/ Gut at Stafford Opera House, Bryan, Texas
GUT was a pleasant surprise. I expected a rather generic local band
(except they are not local anymore--I think they are based in Austin,
and I heard tonight that this was their last show anyway). They did
some interesting stuff without being gimmicky. There was a nice
variety of rhythms thoughout the songs. The screamed vocals sound
like Ian Mackaye in Minor Threat sometimes, and sometimes they
reminded me of Trenchmouth in the inflections or whatever. With this
noisy front man doing kung fu around the stage, the band maintained a
tight sound, I thought. I was pretty impressed with the drummer as
well. Maybe an Austin chimichugger can give us the skinny on this
phat band.
I count it as a flaw that I have to remind myself to listen to a
JAWBOX record. That is, I have to remind myself that I find something
enjoyable about the music. Then when I do listen to it I find it's
pretty good. Only I forget it all over again later. I count it as a
strength of the band that I have always left a live performance by
Jawbox feeling quite satisfied. The only exception was when they
opened for Sugar at a semi-large venue (Aragon in Chicago). Tonight
they played a fine show here in Texas and I was not finding evidence
of the criticisms of a few weeks ago--something about a lack of
passion which I took to mean mechanical playing. They played three
new tunes, three or four off of Novelty, and one from Grippe as
well. Even though they were in Texas, they didn't play their Grace
Jones number (ok, somebody set me straight here: I am sure that Grace
did a cover of "Sound on Sound" with the BBs backing her up. Is this
T or F?). They play Austin tomorrow (Wednesday) with JBSX.
--Martin
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX
I begin with a good dose of medicine. First a O
little salt and senna leaves, and then a little X Martin Coleman
ginger and Spanish liquorice. It is the finest O
medicine I have ever struck and does not purge a man X m-coleman@tamu.edu
too much. O
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX
------------------------------
From: hhahn@students.wisc.edu
Indie-L Exchange Announcement
Here's a periodic blurb for the 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
encompasses sales and trades of indie CDs, vinyl, and cassettes. Both
'for sale' and 'wanted' posts are encouraged. The mailings go out
weekly, contingent on the amount of traffic. Each issue will be a
list of items offered for sale or wanted along with the name and
e-mail address of the person to contact. All business should be done
privately; the sole purpose of the list is to inform you whom to
contact.
+++ How do I subscribe?
Send a message to <hhahn@students.wisc.edu> asking to subscribe. A
note with more detailed information will be sent to you as
confirmation. DO NOT SEND MAIL TO ANYWHERE ELSE.
Thanks,
Harry
--------------------------
From: Prgcore94@aol.com
ANNOUNCE: Vineland Tour Dates
NYC's Vineland will be taking to the road shortly, after being hounded
out of their fair city by landlords, D-Generation, and shady staffers
from Sen. Al D'Amato's office who are "just helping out" with
wanna-be Governor George Pataki's campaign.
Friday, November 4: Campus Club, Princeton University (w/Fudge)
Saturday, November 5: Penn State University (w/Hurl)
Sunday, November 6: DC, Black Cat
Monday, November 7: Cleveland, Euclid Tavern (w/ Picasso Trigger,
maybe)
Tuesday, November 8: Columbus, Stache's (w/Moviola)
Wednesday, November 9: Champaign, The Blind Pig
Thursday, November 10: Detroit, Zoot's (w/the Pastels)
Friday, November 11: Chicago, Empty Bottle (w/Dis-)
Saturday, November 12: Morgantown, Nya Bingie
Be sure to pick up a souvenir T-shirt, with artwork courtesy of
Pitchblende's male model Treiops Treyfid, because I'm really tired of
them taking up so much space in my closet.
kisses,
Jon Fine
prgcore94@aol.com
------------------------------
From: $JFENNEL@LWCVM1.LWC.EDU
ANNOUNCE: POSTER CHILDREN/STAKE DADDY SIX/HEGOAT
On THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 10 the POSTER CHILDREN will be playing at
Longwood College in Farmville, VA, with STAKE DADDY SIX and HEGOAT
(from Richmond). The show is free for everyone. If you need
directions or whatever, e-mail me at
$jfennel@lwcvm1.lwc.edu
or call 804-392-4920.
yay!
jennie fennell
------------------------------
From: dann medin <DLM94001@UConnVM.UConn.Edu>
ANNOUNCE: moon x7
roadrunner recording artists/etheral musicians of mindscapes THE MOON
SEVEN TIMES will be playing an extremely inexpensive ($2 fr students,
$3 fr non) show fr whus @ th university of connecticut/student union
room 282south this saturday afternoon, 11/05 @ 1:30pm w/th earl schieb
5, december god, & th adamtrees. fr directions or additional
information contact dann medin. thanks.
also...archers of loaf & ivy 11/12...
email- dlm94001@uconnvm.uconn.edu
phone- 203.427.4793
------------------------------
From: kyork@sciences.SDSU.Edu (Keith York)
AD: Gapeseed CD
Silver Girl has ventured into releasing the first of many planned
full-lengths on CD. It is by the NYC trio GAPESEED. It is entitled
"Lo Cell." It contains 8-songs in the murky waters of
Pavement/Polvo/Grifters/Sonic Youth vein. They are currently on tour
trying to get their collective presence known about and hopefully
appreciated. The CD contains 8 songs at a little over 30 minutes in
length for the ticket price of $10.
Thanks for your attention.
silver girl
po box 161024
san diego, ca 92176 usa
Keith
<------------------------------------------------------------>
The Indie-List Digest is published a few times each week (usually
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What Who Where
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Anne Zender azender@indiana.edu
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<-------------------------------------->
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