|
_| | THE INDIE-LIST DIGEST #14 (January 16, 1993) |
| "You could learn a lot from a dummy." |
| | |
| | Moderated by Mark Cornick, Liz Clayton and Joshua Houk. |
_| _| Mailed weekly from Indie-List world headquarters in Chicago, Illinois. |
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From: Gerard "Mark" Cosloy (an injoke that makes sense only to Joshua)
<mcornick@delphi.com>
Dum de dum de dum... I was going to go see Unrest tonight but my ride decided
not to go (hi, Felix)... so anyway I'm here instead...
With this issue I will introduce the Indie-List rating system. I'm going to
use it; you may feel free to use it or not. Stars at the end of each review
indicate the following:
5 stars: Indisputably a classic
4 stars: Utterly fantastic
3 stars: Not bad
2 stars: Just OK
1 star: MILLI VANILLI-esque
0 stars: This record makes Milli Vanilli look like Rush.
LOIS, _Butterfly Kiss_ (K): Finally found this. Worth the hunt! Lois (Maffeo,
formerly of COURTNEY LOVE, the band; is she going for the Cher/Madonna/Fabio
thing now?) Picks up exactly where Courtney Love left off, with Stuart Moxham
from YOUNG MARBLE GIANTS on bass and Molly Neuman from BRATMOBILE on drums.
In typical CL fashion, the 11 songs clock in at around 25 minutes. Beautiful
stuff; great for fantasizing about that girl you're secretly admiring. ***
SIDDAL, "Frozen Garden" 7" (Bedazzled) and YOUNG LOVE "Crosseyed" 7" (Assembly):
A mellow/quiet scene of sorts is developing down in Richmond these days. Bands
like AURORA PARALYSIS, YOUNG LOVE, SIDDAL and the now-departed PURPLE IVY
SHADOWS play slow, pensive music that owes a lot to 4AD, GALAXIE 500 and
Halcion. Both of these bands feature former members of CORAL (Siddal has Matt
Coral and Young Love has John Coral.) Both of these 7"s are shoegazer-esque
stuff (though Young Love rocks out a little harder than most footwear watchers)
that's great for playing at around 3.30 AM when your party's ending and
you're trying to clear the drunk slackers out so you and the gang can ship out
to Waffle House/Denny's/IHOP/Dunkin' Donuts. Siddal *, Young Love **
POOH STICKS, "The World Is Turning On" 7"/CD5 (Zoo): (BTW, has anyone ever
pointed out to BMG that the name Zoo Records was already taken?) Hue's taken
the group a little more commercial on this one, but that's probably just part
of the Pooh Sticks' plan for world chart domination. (The new LP will be called
_Million Seller._) Anyway, for what it is (blatant classic-rock plaigirism) the
new Pooh Sticks single is pretty good, even if the title track is only a minute
and a half long (the Boo Radleys once pulled the same trick, if I remember
right.) 7" and CD5 have different b-sides. And yes, Amelia from HEAVENLY is in
the group. *
BLEACH, "Trip & Slide (& Live)" CD5 (Dali): Say what you will about the some-
what-unevenness of _Killing Time_, Bleach are still one of my favorite UK indie
bands. This CD5 features a remix of "Trip & Slide", an OK track from that
album, but the main attraction for me was the four live tracks. They could use
a little more of Salli's vocals in the mix, but overall they're not bad. And
one of the tracks is my fave Bleach song ever, "Bethesda" (not on the album.)
I guess this is OK. A little disappointing, but everyone missteps once in a
while. *
FLIPPER, _American Grafishy_ (Def American): Well, here's the long-awaited
return from Flipper and... well, they've been listening to HELMET a lot,
they've apparently gotten some metal help from Rick Rubin and mostly,
considering Flipper's past work, this blows. Most importantly, they lost one of
the basses (then again, they lost one of the bass_ists_ so I guess this was
inevitable.) This is not a bad metal record, and it does have a few good tracks
on it (like the single "Flipper Twist" or "Full Speed Ahead" which looks to
be about late bassist Will Shatter), but this is not the Flipper of Generic
or _Gone Fishin'_. **
CELL, Slo-Blo (Ecstatic Peace!/DGC): After just one indie single, Cell get
snapped up by DaveGefCo. (They're grabbing everyone these days...) I was not
at all impressed by the "Never Too High" 7", but they seem to have progressed
a good deal since. Too bad they've progressed towards generic grunge, though.
Christ, there's even an awful, Extreme-esque acoustic song on this thing...
Recommended for new Helmet/Screaming Trees fans. **1/2
THERAPY?, Nurse (A&M): If Nine Inch Nails, Alice In Chains, and legions of
lame metal acts (especially Pearl Jam) can hit #1, why not Therapy? These
Dubliners take metal, industrial, grunge, hardcore, and a little techno-beat
and meld it into something unique, interesting, slammable and annoying to your
pets. Good comparisons would be later Killing Joke, or Foetus Of Excellence.
(Too bad they're on A&M, who have an exceptionally bad record when it
comes to treatment of "alternative" bands.) Coming to an MTV outlet near you.
Play it for your landlords. **1/2
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From: Molly Bancroft <mjb@media.mit.edu>
Hi there. A friend turned me on to a single by BETTIE SERVEERT, a band
apparently from Amsterdam...The single was really memorable, called "Tomboy" -
it's been since played on our local Boston college station along with the
B-side, which is also good. There is an entire record, too, released by Matador
Records that I haven't been able to find. It's pretty cool sounding stuff.
Anyone know anything about the and? Please keep your eyes out if they're touring
the US anytime soon!!!
thanks,
molly
[I think the "entire record" Molly's referring to is the 5-song EP called
Palomine. There's supposed to be an LP sometime this year. -- Mark]
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From: the Ardvark <STU_DMGREENB@VAX1.ACS.JMU.EDU>
HALLOO!!!
I'm new to this, so bear with me. MARK "THE FRESHMAKER" hooked me up. Am using
my fiance's account. Don't know diddly about computers - just enough to
(hopefully) do this.
DAN - my fiance - and I - ARDVARK - were Music Directors at WCWM FM at William
and Mary. Now we're here in Harrisonburg, he at JMU grad-school in CS, me just
tagging along.
I accompanied MARK on his aforementioned visit to the house of MARK ROBINSON and
TEENbeat. Thumbed through a few volumes of his encyclopaedia, copyright 1964.
Traded records with him - my DIF JUZ "extractions" lp (4AD), THROWING MUSES
"chains changed" ep (4ad), GILBERT & LEWIS "8 time" cd (4ad) for a copy of
TEENbeat's reissue (in league with 4ad) of IN CAMERA - all the officially
recorded stuff, on one CD! WOLFGANG PRESS fans take note - your fave dread-
locked vocalist featured on the last three re-recordings. Anyway, I was amazed
and ecstatic to find a 4AD freak in MARK ROBINSON. Oh, and about IN CAMERA -
they were an early signing to 4AD, when the label first started. Basically,
they fall into the post-punk minimalism of JOY DIVISION, plus some of the
qualities of WOLFGANG PRESS' "Burden of Mules" lp. (If anyone wants info and or
copies of early 4AD releases, ask me)
And, no, I wasn't giving these collectables away - wuz hauling my excesses to Y
& T and VINYL INK (plug, plug, plug) for trade in. Now that WE IS GETTIN'
HITCHED-UP, there's no reason to keep 2 or 3 copies of the same record in
various formats...especially when you're a piss-poor riff-raff ex-never-
"gradiated"-college student, like myself...
Dan is into INDIE and GRUNGE and anything else off-the-beaten path that floats
his boat. I'm into INDIE, esp. UK INDIE, and would appreciate communication
with like-minded listeners.
STUFF WE'VE GOTTEN RECENTLY:
MOTHER's DAY dbl. 7" on PROJECT A-BOMB : for those of you into PROJ.A-B
releases...umph to ya. This is one of Dan's selections that has kindof rubbed
off on me...so I should let him tell you about it.
MOTHERHEAD BUG "age of dwarfs" 7" (PCP) : the sound of an aging garage door
and a carnival band...featuring memnbers of FOETUS and RAILROAD JERK...another
Dan thing, good for driving to.
*****DIFFERENCE ENGINE "sea change"/"and never pull" 7" (SWIRLING WORLDS, 310
w. 21st street, suite 8, ny, ny 10011 / 228-5175) : Absolutely wonderful
stuff. Takes me back to mid-eighties 4AD, etherial, and has captured the gist
of the shoegazing movement - a backbone. Have written to the label. Will keep
you up with whatever response I get. Find it if you can!
Does anyone know anything about EARWIG, esp. discography wise? Thanks! I have
two ep's - that's about it.
Hey! I wanna start a band, too! Any offers?
Saw ROBYN HITCHCOCK at the 9:30 on the 28th. He was as ROBYN as ever, making
endless fun of JACK NICHOLSON and THE FIFTH COLUMN (club across the street from
the 9:30). It was a birthday treat for Dan - Robyn is a good birthday treat,
especially if you catch him in a grape-coloured silk suit, as we did. He played
a lot of old stuff - even a SOFT BOYS tune!
Here's something you might find amusing.
Reprinted from THE NEW REPUBLIC, without permission:
*TRENDOIDS: Ever since its inauspicious debut on the weekend of the L.A.
riots, The New York Times's Sunday "Style" section has struggled each week to
spot the minutest of trends, many of which vanish by the following Sunday, if
they ever existed at all. For example, a November 15 story on the so-called
"Grunge" movement included a "lexicon" of words employed by Seattle's flannel
-clad, disaffected youth. The list included such colorful terms as "wack splat"
(old ripped jeans) and "lame stain" (uncool person). Unfortunately, it was also
a hoax. According to THE BAFFLER, a Chicago-based journal, the glossary was
invented by Megan Jasper, an employee of CAROLINE RECORDS in Seattle, who
first fooled the British magazine SKY with it before conning the TIMES.
(THE NEW REPUBLIC, January 25, 1993)
At least SOMEONE in Seattle has a sense of humour about the whole thing, to
pull one over on the NY TIMES! Just goes to show you what too much hype can
do...
C JA OOFTA
ARDVARK AND DAN
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From: Sean Murphy <skmurphy@phoenix.Princeton.EDU>
More ramblings from the land of rain, rain, toxic waste, and more damn rain...
Lotsa records to talk about - I made another excursion to the infamous
Princeton Record Exchange, and also saw Tsunami and Eggs last weekend,
both of whom had new records for sale...
Tsunami - Beautiful Arlington EP (IV Recordings)
This is a new single on a label from Australia, and they're only getting
about 300 copies in the states. The A-side is a new song, "Sometimes A
Notion", which sounds more like Geek than most of Tsunami's stuff has,
mostly because of Jenny's vocals, which sound like they were recorded
when they did the Herasure tape. This is good - Jenny used to sorta
growl a little more than she does now. The b-side is a re-recording of
"Left Behind" where the guitars are a bit more discordant than before -
I like the production sound too. John Loder (he runs Southern Studios,
and produced the first J&MC stuff among others) seems like he
understands what they want to do but are too impatient to do by
themselves. Anyway, this is a good single, worth picking up, especially
since "Sometimes" won't be on the LP (which really should be out by the
end of February - a nice birthday present for me? :) )
Eggs - Sexual Tension 7" (Jade Tree)
More coolness from the other residents of the TeenBeat House, Andrew,
Evan, and Rob. This single (and the others reviewed below) are the
first recordings with Evan and Rob - the LP and first single were done a
while ago. "Sexual Tension" has a great, slow groove and almost acapella
parts (they do it acapella live - very cool), and really funny lyrics.
The two b-sides are great as well - "In State" is a simple pop song,
done well, and then they cover "Fever", that old 50's song done by Peggy
Lee and Rita Moreno (on the Electric Company!) among others, and I seem
to remember Screaming Jay Hawkins doing this one too. It is beyond
hip-jazz down groove. And nice marbled lavender vinyl, too.
Eggs/Aurora Paralysis split single (Land Speed)
Another solid offering from all parties concerned - the Eggs song has a
great trombone part, while Aurora Paralysis hits the Galaxie 500 vein
and rides it hard and well. A great single on a strong label (now
when's that Young Marble Giants tribute coming?).
Eggs/Whale split single (Hiney Martian)
This one was put out by the guys in Whale, former residents of the
Positive Force Atlantic City house. The Eggs song, "Erin Go Bragh", is
sorta MBV/Lilys style, with a good noise section at the end. Whale is
more rock than pop, trying for the Naked Raygun/Pegboy angle but not
anthemic enough and going a bit overboard with the guitar solo and quiet
break. Then there's this weird poetry thing by a guy living in Egg
Harbor, NJ (south Jersey shore), "Four Verses For A Chinese Holiday"
which just kinda appears after the Eggs song and is very odd/cool.
Soft Pleasing Light/Rob Christiansen split single (Triumphant Elephant
Triumvirate)
Rob (Eggs, Grenadine) has now sorta started his own label with this
single. His side is a really funny folk spoof, with wacked lyrics and
acoustic guitar - I'd say more, but I don't know how to explain it.
Soft Pleasing Light is a band at American University, generally in the
Cocteau Twins/MBV school of things, with weird fuzzy parts out of
nowhere and really pretty lilting female vocals. Droney, spacey, damn
good.
Pillows and Prayers - Cherry Red, 1982-83 (Cherry Red)
This is a compilation from England's classic Cherry Red Label, people
who helped start the post-punk Brit sound (along with Rough Trade and
Factory, before there was a Sarah or Too Pure or other small labels).
This comp features tunes by the Marine Girls, Everything But The Girl
(in an early, pre-lounge version), Tracey Thorn, Ben Watt, Felt, Eyeless
In Gaza, The Monochrome Set, Five Or Six, and great spoken bits by Attila The
Stockbroker and Quentin Crisp. There are only 2 truly annoying,
unlistenable songs out of 17 - a good ratio in my book. The cover says
"pay no more than 99p" - I don't know the conversion from England to the
US, but I was happy to grab this for $6. It's great.
Engine Kid - "Novocaine" (Battery)
A neat single from a new Washington State band who worships at the altar
of Slint. I'm not complaining - Novocaine is really pretty, but builds
up to a little noisy part and then drops away again, and they cover Neil
Young's "The Needle And The Damage Done" - a pretty good version, better
than most of the stuff on "The Bridge" (that lame Neil Young tribute
LP). Get it now while you still can.
Timber - Parts And Labor (Rift)
Mark Howell from the Zero Boys, Rick Brown from Fish And Roses, and
Jenny Wade from Rude Buddha. Downtown NYC prog-jazz-rock that isn't too
pretentious for its own good (like Fish & Roses often is). They do a
great cover of the Blue Orchids' "Bad Education" and a bunch of neat
stuff of their own - Mark's trumpet makes some appearances to liven
things up, and I hope they're playing soon, maybe at the Knitting
Factory...
Also in the recent purchase pile -
Tim Buckley, "Happy Sad" (Elektra) -
This is his second LP and shows the jazz-folk thing starting to happen -
he hadn't freaked out yet, but was getting there. Buckley's voice digs
into your soul. I love this stuff - it's perfect for a rotten, cloudy
afternoon when you're all alone and you do nothing all day except listen
to this record over and over (or maybe in tandem with Buckley's first
LP, "Goodbye And Hello").
Curlew - "North America" (Cuneiform?)
From 1984 - Tom Cora, Fred Frith, George Cartwright, Mark Howell, Rick
Brown. I haven't had a chance to listen yet, but I'm sure it'll rock in
that odd free jazz way.
Molly Bee - "It's Great...It's Molly Bee" (MGM)
Another one of those late 50's country pop singer types - it'll go
really well on my future mix tape with Patsy Cline and Tammy Wynette and
Peggy Lee and Loretta Lynn. "Single Girl Again", "Let It Be Me", and
"I'm Gonna Change Everything" are big winners in my heart, although her
version of "Oh Lonesome Me" is a bit too upbeat for me - I prefer Neil
Young's version on "After The Gold Rush". Fun stuff that my dad and
grandpa would like.
Enough for now - I've got an exam to study for tonight...this was a nice
way to procrastinate, however...
I used to kinda be a fool,
I used to kinda be a spazz...
- Rob Christiansen
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INDIE-LIST SINE QUA NON LIST
EDITOR: Mark Cornick <mcornick@delphi.com> Harrisonburg, VA
SUBMISSIONS: Joshua Houk <houk@athena.cs.uga.edu> Athens, GA
MAILINGS: Liz Clayton <lclayton@uhuru.uchicago.edu> Chicago, IL
ARCHIVIST: Sean Murphy <skmurphy@phoenix.princeton.edu> Princeton, NJ
That's all for this week... stay warm (stay cool for our readers down under)
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