indie-list-26.txt
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * THE INDIE-LIST DIGEST #26 * * *
* * Homebrew independent pop rocks for the coffee generation! * *
* * * April 10, 1993 * * *
* * Brought to you by Mark, Joshua, Liz and Sean * *
* * * Mailed weekly from Indie-List World HQ in Chicago, Ill. * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
From: Mark Cornick [enjoying my life of academic freedom]
<cornick@access.digex.com>
Hi-di-ho from the land of Jefferson, whose 250th birthday is fast
approaching, la-di-da-di, we like to party, we don't cause trouble
don't bother nobody, &c. &c. &c.
On April 8 Unrest, Royal Trux and Uncle Wiggly played in
Charlottesville in a benefit for WTJU. The doors opened about half an
hour late, but that ended up not mattering too much. Uncle W. started
the show with a set of about half older toons and half new songs,
from a new album which I assume will be out sometime soon on
ShimmyDisc. Not bad stuff, even if most everyone just stood around
watching. They did switch instruments halfway thru -- two bands in
one! At this point, I could pretty much care less about Royal Trux,
so Eric from Mollyhouse, Elizabeth (his GF) and I skipped out to
Macado's (where I work) for some Rolling Rock and Chips, Dips And
Things. Eric was really impressed that we have a framed Ronnie James
Dio backstage pass on our wall. (That's not all we have either... :)
Anyway, we got back just as Da Trux finished, waited a few minutes
and Unrest was rarin' to go. And rarin' they were -- Phil was pure
rhythm intensity, Bridget was in a great mood, doing her greatest
Laura Ballance impression, and Mark was resplendent in his Sexual
Milkshake shirt and silver lightning-bolt guitar strap. They played
most of their singles from the past few years: "Cherry Cherry",
"Bavarian Mods", the 7" (Spandau Ballet) version of "Isabel", and an
encore of "Skinhead Girl", plus a few new tunes which I didn't catch
the names of. Also a few Imperial tunes, and "Cherry Cherry" segued
straight into about 10 minutes of "Hydroplane." Although I've seen
Unrest many a time before, I've never had as much fun -- maybe it was
the beer. Uncle W. *, Royal Trux NR, Unrest **1/2 (no "Teenage
Suicide.")
If you see Unrest anytime soon, check out the new t-shirt (TB#72).
Full-color space-station on the front. Nifty-keen.
As I mentioned last week, the Kokopeli Cafe in Richmond burned down
not too long ago, putting the Winkies people out of a venue as well.
Never fear, though, because Winkies survives. There will be two
benefit shows for Winkies coming up on 4/23 and 4/24 at the Flood
Zone (ick.) Gwar, Sliang Laos, Kepone and Flailo play the 23rd, and
Ululating Mummies, Burma Jam, Bio-Ritmo and Chrome Daddy play the
24th. Tix are $10 for one night or $15 for both; money goes to
Winkies, I believe for a new PA at a new club. According to Ms.
Winkies, Naomi Walker, "There will be another Winkies... we just
don't know where yet." Some of the scheduled Winkies shows have been
moved to Twisters and the Flood Zone. In particular, Cows/Janitor
Joe/Queen Sarah Saturday will now be at the Flood Zone on 4/22, and
Yo La Tengo have moved to the FZ on the 30th of April.
Record reviews...
* ARCWELDER, Pull: A not-bad second LP from this Minneapolis
threesome, now on Touch & Go. Nothing here quite matches the single
"Raleigh", which was one of my favorites for 92 and is thoughtfully
included, but their noise assault goes down fine with me. Joshua B.
does a better job reviewing this below. I give it **. (Touch & Go,
Box 25220, Chicago, IL 60625 -- #TG-108)
* SEBADOH, "Soul And Fire": First new above-ground recordings from
Sebadoh in a while, and not all that bad. You get one song written by
each member of the band (I like Jason's, "Sister", the best) plus a
Necros cover (yippee skippy!) The sound is definitely more polished
than what most of us are used to from Sebadoh; this may or may not be
a good thing in your eyes. (It doesn't bother me.) Two of the songs
are "alternate versions of songs on our fourth album"; fortunately
they're both very strong, so the LP should be good. Watch out -- one
side plays at 33 and one at 45. **. And for all the KolectorSkum
who bought the import version already, this one has different
B-sides, nyah nyah. (Sub Pop, Box 20645, Seattle, WA 98102 --
#SP-211)
* SUPERCHUNK, _On The Mouth_: After being nonplussed by the last two
Chunk 45s, I didn't want to pay money for this, so I traded in a few
rarely-listened-to CDs for credit down at the record shop. This is
the first SC album I've been able to endure all the way through --
IMO they tend to make great singles and so-so albums. However,
there's still nothing new with Superchunk these days. On the one
hand, consistency is good, but on the other hand, they just aren't
adventurous anymore. Naturally, the two best tracks are the singles
"Mower" and "The Question Is How Fast." A valiant effort, but in
spite of the nice CD package, I'll have to give this just **1/2.
(Matador, 676 Broadway, New York, NY 10012 -- #OLE-49)
* HASSAN CHOP!, _See That My Monkey Is Kept Clean_: Hassan Chop!
sports more members on the Indie-List (at least three) than any other
band I know of, so I'd better not give this a bad review. :) I won't.
Five songs on this cassette EP, sort of garage-y indie rock sound
with better vocals this time out (never mind that Jenny sometimes
sounds like whatserface from Concrete Blonde -- on that first tape
the vocals were not very good, IMO, and this is an improvement.) They
are an official GRUNGE-L band, so anyone who wades thru that list
should have a grasp on HC! by now. They're still not ready for prime
time, but being one of the better bands that I know personally will
do fine. *1/2 (*3/4 if you get one of the limited full-color
cover editions that I got -- nice postcard, Cyndy :) (contact Mark
Bunster at <mbunster@hibbs.vcu.edu> or Mike Kasenter/Jenny Drummey at
<eng1mgk@hibbs.vcu.edu> for ordering info)
* MARCH AND APRIL WORKING HOLIDAY SINGLES: For March you get Codeine
and the Coctails. Codeine picked an oh-so-appropriate holiday, the
Ides of March, and salute it in their typical slow melancholy style.
The Coctails do a song about generic Working Holidays, kinda jazzy
and Barenaked Ladies-ish. April is the TeenBeat Special -- hey, April
is my birth month, and I'm a TeenBeat fanatic, so no complaints here.
Eggs contribute "Roll Away The Stone" which must be about Easter --
typically oblique Eggs lyrics, so this is just a guess. Jonny Cohen
and the Shoetrees present two songs: an Earth Day lament about used
Christmas trees, and a non-holiday-related (but still funny) ode to
Chap Stick addiction. March *, April **. (I also got my birthday
present, but I won't tell you what it is here, so that I don't ruin
the surprise for other subscribers. If you really want to know, write
me.) (Simple Machines, PO Box 10290, Arlington, VA 22210-1290 -- #s
WH-3 and WH-4)
* _TEENBEAT ONE HUNDRED_ compilation: The long-awaited (but, in the
end, isn't everything from TeenBeat long-awaited?) 8th anniversary
comp from TeenBeat. 10 bands on one 45, each doing one-minute songs.
Blastoff Country Style, Eggs (listen for the power drill), Tsunami,
Butch Willis, Unrest, Jonny Cohen/Shoetrees, Bratmobile (doing a Blur
cover :), Sexual Milkshake, Cobalt (former Flying Saucer folks) and
Los Marauders. Short and sweet. *1/2. (TeenBeat, PO Box 50373,
Washington, DC 20091 -- #TB- 100, silly :)
* DIDJITS, _Little Miss Carriage!_: A five-track EP (only $2.50 used
on CD!) of typical Didjits material: thrashy/HC music with sarcastic/
stupid/silly lyrics over, delivered by Rick Sims, the consummate
showman. If there were such thing as an punk-rock fraternity, this
is what they'd play at their keggers. "Rock The Nation" is a cover,
but of whom I don't know. *. (Touch & Go, address above -- #TG-103)
People keep telling me about this band Pond and how I ought to check
them out, so I decided to try a 45 first and bought "Wheel" (on Sub
Pop). However, the hole in the middle is off centre, so it spins
erratically. If I get another one, I'll review it, but I'll probably
just go get my $3.50 back and forget about it.
News from the Simple Machinists: The new release date for Tsunami's
_Deep End_ is May 15. One month prior, they (Tsunami) will release a
new 7", "Matchbook," with one LP track and two B-sides (and
"inventive packaging.") Also upcoming (May 1) is a re-release of
Scrawl's Bloodsucker, not only on CD (as before) but also on tape
and vinyl. (This is the one with the Paula Abdul cover, which went
out of print instantaneously.) There will be a new Scrawl LP, called
_Velvet Hammer_, around September. Nifty stuff. And oh yeah, your
Working Holiday record box is coming, probably in May.
And from Chez TeenBeat: A new Unrest single, "Cath Carroll" is due
sometime this summer or fall, as is the fifth Unrest LP, which will
be released like they did back in the days of 78s -- as a boxed set
of 45s. Also due imminently (maybe even out now) is the second Eggs
LP, Exploder (or, more properly, _TeenBeat 96 Eggs Exploder LP_.)
So all of you moaning about so many Eggs 45s and no new album will be
rewarded sometime soon.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
From: Ara Hacopian <ahacop@wam.umd.edu>
Here's what I played on Friday April 2, 1993 on WMUC-FM 88.1 College
Park, Maryland from 6:00-9:00am.
Swirlies - Bell
Swirlies - Vigilant Always
Swirlies - His Life Of Academic Freedom
Swirlies - Pancake
Swirlies - Jeremy Parker
Swirlies - Park The Car By The Side Of The Road
Swirlies - Tree Chopped Down
Swirlies - Wrong Tube
Swirlies - Wait Forever
[The New Swirlies CD came in...I played the whole thing, but I didn't
get much of a chance to listen to it because a) I was drunk; b) the
3-6am dj who does a "european dance tracks" show was talking to me
about techno music for about forty minutes.]
Velocity Girl - A Change
Velocity Girl - Audrey's Eyes
Velocity Girl - Lisa Librarian [cool name]
Velocity Girl - 57 Waltz
Velocity Girl - Candy Apples
Velocity Girl - Catching Squirrels [must be about the abundance of
squirrels at the univ of md college park campus]
[Played the last half of the Velocity Girl record, cause I haven't
heard it yet]
Warm - Flute
Sebadoh - Brand New Love
Unrest - Loyola
Teenage Fanclub - Everything Flows
Teenage Fanclub - Free Again
Medicine - Detective
My Bloody Valentine - Cigarette In Your Bed
My Bloody Valentine - You Made Me Realize
Eugenius - Breakfast
Chapterhouse - Mesmerise
Th' Faith Healers - Oh Baby
Beat Happening - Hey Day!
Tsunami - Gold Digger
Heavenly - Sort Of Mine
Stereolab - Eloge D' Eros (REQUEST for Stereolab, at 8:20? Go to
sleep)
Spacemen 3 - Honey
Spacemen 3 - come Down Softly To My Soul
Sleepyhead - Punk Rock City U.S.A. (I don't like this song too
much)
Pastels - Not Unloved
Spiritualized - I Want You
Boo Radleys - Does This Hurt?!
Versus - Tin Foil Star
Black Tamboruine - Throw Aggi Off The Bridge
Velocity Girl - Merry Christmas, I Love You
Again the 9:30 dj was late...but I just stuck the Vaselines CD in and
left. As I look at this and the other list I typed up I noticed that
about 13 bands appeared in both lists... oh well. Also if anyone
thinks that I'm screwing indie bands by playing their entire albums
on the air, well I'd agree with you, but since I play the records
at 6:00am I doubt anyones got the dubbing machines rolling.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
From: Joshua John Buergel <jbbb+@andrew.cmu.edu>
As usual, it's my post indie-list guilt mailing. And, boy oh boy, do
I have alot of review. As usual, I haven't seen any good shows of
late, so it is all CDs for me. Some of these I've had for a while,
but never got around to reviewing, due to various reasons. We've got
an AmRep triple dip, a couple of Touch and Go records, and some other
assorted stuff...
Arcwelder, Pull (Touch and Go TG108)
These guys play pop songs, and play them in a style that is
reasonably distinctive (although people keep telling me that they
sound too much like Husker Du, I don't agree that much...maybe I'm
just an ignoramus). Anyway, this is a great record, period. Scott
Macdonald's songs in particular are real gems. Bill Graber's songs
tend to rock a bit harder, but retain the overall pop sensibilities.
This is the sort of album that you're either going to like the first
time you hear it, or you're probably not going to appreciate it much.
I love it. "Raleigh" makes an appearance on this album, which is a
big plus. **1/2
(Touch and Go Records, P.O. Box 25520, Chicago, IL 60625)
Tar, Clincher (Touch and Go TG109)
A bit of a let down after the godlike Jackson (my pick for best
album of 1991). This harks back to a more Roundhouse-like sound,
which is not really bad, but I did prefer the organic walls of guitar
that characterized Jackson. Still, this seven song EP is pretty
cool. The new songs are all reasonably catchy, the live tracks are
pretty cool, and I like the fact that they threw on a version of
"Teetering". If you haven't tried Tar before, go buy Jackson, but
this won't disappoint older fans. *1/2
X, Aspirations (Amphetamine Reptile Records AmRep 013)
A reissue of a 1979 LP by this Australian band (this is not LA's X),
this is Volume One of AmRep's "Noise Archives" series, which could
become a nice reissue series. Pretty good stuff here, with a good
rhythm section that drives the music and sparse guitar. The vocals
are a bit high in the mix, and a few of the songs are marred by some
painfully obvious rhymes, but still, this works. A pleasant listen,
and kind of interesting from a historical point of view.
Surprisingly, this doesn't sound very dated at all. *1/2
(Amphetamine Reptile Records, 2645 First Avenue South, Minneapolis,
MN 55408)
Janitor Joe, _Big Metal Birds_ (Amphetamine Reptile AmRep 014)
"Punishing" comes to mind. So does "brutal". How about "pounding".
One more word: "wonderful". This is the debut album from this trio,
and they rock harder than anybody else on AmRep (and that is saying
something, especially given Hammerhead's debut). Powerful, churning
rhythms with loud, gutteral guitar blasts and very harsh, yelled
vocals. Not exactly groundbreaking, but still pretty damn powerful.
If you want really nice, head crush rock, this is it, baby. **
(Side note: How is this for a scary dream lineup?
Steve Albini (Big Black, Rapeman) - Guitar, vocals
Rick Froberg (Drive Like Jehu) - Guitar, vocals
Kristen Pfaff (Janitor Joe) - Bass, Vocals
Tod Ashley (Cop Shoot Cop) - Bass, Vocals
Dale Crover (Melvins) - Drums
I shudder to think about the noise this group would turn out)
Cows, _Sexy Pee Story_ (Amphetamine Reptile AmRep 015)
This is the sixth Cows LP, and it takes a step back towards the sound
they had on Peacetika rather than last year's brilliant _Cunning
Stunts_. What does this mean in terms of sound? More dirge like at
times, without the tighter, more melodic tunes that characterized
_Cunning Stunts_. Still, there are some reasonably catchy numbers on
here, as well as some decently crunchy songs. Plus, Shannon Selberg
is insane to a fault once again. I enjoy this, but fans of the last
album might be disappointed. *1/2
Jawbreaker, Bivouac (Tupelo/Communion 38)
Another album of not-too-happy punk pop type stuff. I'd say they
sound like most of the other California bands kicking around (Big
Drill Car, Green Day, Samiam), but they don't, really. Much darker,
for the most part, with some songs coming off as actually spooky.
Nevertheless, you're still dealing with the same basic category of
music, viz, catchy guitar pop. There is something different about
these guys, though, and that's a plus in my book. The gloomy aspect
is enhanced on some songs through the use of indistinct vocals
samples. "Bivouac", the ending track, is a really nice epic track.
I'm really digging this record alot. **
(Tupelo/Communion, 290-c Napoleon St., San Francisco, CA 94124)
Pavement, _Westing (by musket and sextant)_ (Drag City DC14)
The long awaited compilation of all of Pavement's pre-Matador
material, and it is a doozy. Others have said enough about this
record...let me just add that it is impossible to beat for lo-fi,
noisy pop brilliance. *** Required listening, folks.
(Drag City Records, P.O. Box 476867, Chicago, IL 60647)
(my fingers are tired...only three more to go)
American Music Club, Mercury (Reprise Records 45226)
This is my first exposure to AMC, although I've known about them for
a while. Wonderfully gloomy songs, just the sort of thing for a
rainy day. Mark Eitzel writes very bleak lyrics and delivers them
wonderfully over almost silky music. The production is a bit to
glossy in places, but that doesn't change the fact that this is still
a primo record. I wish I'd have had this during the winter. Ah
well. **
(Reprise Records is a major...if you can't find it in stores, I don't
know what kind of stores you are shopping at)
Cop Shoot Cop, _Ask Questions Later_ (Interscope Records 92250)
Yuk. Digipaks. Bleh. Oh well. Personally, I've been waiting
eagerly for this record. It seems I'm one of the few people who
enjoyed the _Suck City_ EP, although even I've got to admit it wasn't
perfect. This is better than that EP, putting it on a par with the
great _White Noise_ album (and _Consumer Revolt_, for that matter).
Cripple Jim's (going by the name "Filer" these days) sampler
continues to gain importance in CSC's sound, providing background
noises, washes of noise, and occasional vocal and musical samples.
This makes for a fuller sound than you'd guess from just looking at
the two bass, drums and sampler lineup. Tod Ashley's vocals are
really pissed off, as usual, and are wonderful. Imagine the bastard
love child of Foetus and Big Black, and you've got a pretty good
approximation of CSC's sound. I love it. **1/2
(Interscope is a major too)
Now, I've saved the best for last...
The New Bomb Turks, !!Destroy-Oh-Boy!! (Crypt Records CR032)
Punk rock, baby! No frills, just straight ahead, in-your-face punk.
I love this record to death. It isn't like they are doing anything
different, but this is a heck of an infectuous record. Buy, buy,
buy! *** (and it beats Pavement...best record of the year, so far)
Phew.
Joshua Buergel - allroy@cmu.edu - jbbb@andrew.cmu.edu
"Anybody who thinks we overstepped the playground perimeter of lyrical
decency (or that the public has any right to demand 'social
responsibility' from a goddamn punk rock band) is a pure natural dolt,
and should step forward and put his tongue up my ass." - Steve Albini
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
From: Michael G. Kasenter <eng1mgk@hibbs.vcu.edu>
Hello, this is Mike from Richmond. I'll get into the reviewing swing
of things next time, hopefully, but for now, let me be one of
possibly several to answer Lena's question of last week regarding the
King Missle/Roger Manning connection.
Lena, I don't know much about KM these days, but I saw them play in
Chicago at the Metro about a year and a half ago and Roger Manning
openned. Not only that, but John S. Hall duetted with him for the
last song of Manning's set (under some sort of fake band name, the
Silly Brothers or something like that) -- they did Johnny Cash's
"Folsom Prison." Roger also changed the line on his "#14 Blues" song
from "last night me and Kirk (whoever, the other SST folkie) we raved
all night long" to "last night me and John S. Hall . . .". My friend
talked to Roger after the show (she likes him a lot, he's the reason
we went, mostly) he said he'd played with them a lot.
So, long answer to a short question, yes, it seems they know each
other, get along, and John would probably have heard all of Roger's
songs, even rare ones like that.
Whatever happened to Roger Manning? I lost track.
Blatant Plug -- to get a copy of the Slow Loris tape mentioned by Mark
C. two weeks ago, no money is required. Simply send a 45 or 90
minute blank tape to:
Slow Loris
3120 Kensington Ave. Apt#11
Richmond, Va. 23221
We'll pay for the flight back and also throw in pretty cover art and
goodies. To describe briefly -- acoustic-based pop that gets weirded
out with samples, odd instruments (hammered dulcimer, toy xylophone,
fuzz bass), and Jenny Drummey's warped lyrics. No particular trend
adhered to. I recommend it, particularly for free.
E-mail me private like with questions:
eng1mgk@hibbs.vcu.edu
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
From: GREGS@SLC.SLAC.Stanford.EDU
April 5: Severin/Nothing Painted Blue/Superchunk -- Kennel Club, San
Francisco. Right -- like all this group needs is yet another review
of a Superchunk show. However, seeing that it has been two years
since I've seen this band live, I think I'm allowed my belated
opportunity. When I finally first saw them around March of '91 (I
remember as their "Cool/Fishing" 7" had just come out and I bought a
copy off Laura), I had to pretty much temporarily move to their
hometown to do it. But I was psyched -- they "headlined" at Under the
Street in Durham, NC, literally the basement of the Seventh Street
Restaurant, which is naturally on Broad Street. I was amazed. To
this day I have yet to see a show that left such an impression since.
I saw them last on an amazing bill with Sebadoh and Fugazi at the
Cat's Cradle, but last night I was curious if after all the hype
since then, the claims of them becoming 'boring', a drummer change
... could they match the type of show they put on at Under the
Street? Well, they didn't. They couldn't! The Kennel Club may be
my favorite venue in the Bay Area, but there's something about seeing
a band in a cramped basement that doesn't compare. But beyond that -
they were just as good live as I can remember.
Severin was miiighty good. Unfortunately I lost them among many
other Dischord bands these days, but they do stand out among the
Fugazis and the Jawboxes. Their music was tight, and although the
vocalist intensely chanted into the ike as if he had watched one too
many Henry Rollins' videos -- having a bassist who also did shifts in
Howe Gelb's amazing Giant Sand was a big plus. I have a CD to buy.
Nothing Painted Blue was a nice change of tempo between Severin and
the Chunk, though still somewhat intense. Although their
guitarist/vocalist reminded me of Richard Dreyfus a la "Jaws" ("We
need a bigger guitar!"), I was entertained. They have a new split
single coming out in July that sounded really good live, and for an
opening band -- they were pretty good. Beyond that, I wouldn't rush
to buy their catalog anytime soon.
Superchunk opened with "100,000 Fireflies", and then broke into
"Precision Auto". The source of this song then dawned on me when I
noticed Laura was wearing a T-shirt from Autos By Precision, a
foreign car shop in Chapel Hill. If Mac can write "Trash Heap" as an
ode to his closet, why not? They were as intense as I remembered;
Mac was running about as if trying to stomp on an evasive mouse on
stage, and Laura only stopped pogo-ing between songs. Jon, their new
drummer, really impressed me. I've heard criticisms of him compared
to Chuck, but I think they are totally unfounded. However, the name
"Superjon" just wouldn't work. I don't think Jim keeps the pace very
well, though -- just as I remember him. He started to look pretty
bored by the middle of the set. A great majority of their songs were
from the new CD, with a few from "Kitty" and just "Sick To Move" from
their first. They did play "Baxter" (arguably the best song about a
dentist ever written) as an encore though -- something available only
on a 7" compilation. These guys are as entertaining as ever (save
Jim perhaps).
New music to review? Well, I bought the new Dinosaur Jr. out of
obligation and, well, I really like it: *. Also finally got the
Brick's CD, which is good: *. But as for NEW indie releases, I did
pick up the Swirlies' _Blonder Tongue Audio Baton_. I loved their EP
compilation, _What To Do About Them_, but this release left me
somewhat disappointed. Songs like "Vigilant Always" and "His Life of
Academic Freedom" are solid winners, and they are noticeably trying
to make thier own mark rather than follow on the coattails of My
Bloody Valentine. However this CD seems a little diluted from their
previous release. Songs like "His Love Just Washed Away" labor too
long on very simple melodies that aren't even noteworthy. And when
the Swirlies do try to add their element of drastic chord and key
changes and odd sounds for which they became known for on their
previous material, it sounds a little too contrived and
self-conscious on this CD...as if they were thinking, "Well, our fans
of the previous stuff will come expecting and looking for that, so
let's put some in here". Their sound is tempered down some, which
may appeal to a wider audience, but I don't think the sacrifice for a
few smoother edges and a touch more generic "dream pop" feel was
worthy of their talents. Of course, they could just be victims of
their own success -- as many bands that make really unusual- sounding
first releases can't live up to it on their next. I'll give it **.
greg
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
From: Kathleen Bennett [postmodernism/lyric booklet consultant]
<keb@u.washington.edu>
Followup to last week's Roger Manning/King Missile message: Someone
pointed out to me that KM actually credits Roger with the lyric to
the last verse in "The Evil Children." And I thought I was so clever
in discovering it. Shows me I should actually read the lyric
sheet/liner notes every once in a while, huh?
Duly chastened,
Lena
keb@u.washington.edu
See you in D.C.!!!! ______
\ /____
\ / /
\/ \ /
\/
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
From: Liz Clayton [keeper of the sacred bloofga-matic]
<lclayton@uhuru.uchicago.edu>
First off I'd like to apologize to everyone who's tried to subscribe
lately and has found themselves waiting and wondering what's going
on. The history of why you went through that involves your lovely and
talented mailing list manager (i.e. me) being sick with the flu TWICE
over the past month, and generally not having her proverbial shit
together because of it. I believe all the people waiting to be added
finally have by now, and hopefully all the people who needed to be
taken off have been as well. (Extra apologies to Sean Lester down
under who I had a correction sitting around gathering dust for a good
month, and whose mailserver even told me to change his name after too
long, and he wrote me a good three times...again, sorry! All should
be better now...)
Saw Sleepyhead/Rodan/Cheater Slicks/Kudgel (ok, ok, I missed Kudgel,
but did talk to a couple of them later on as they were very taken
with my stylin' Pop Narcotic tshirt <g>). Cheater Slicks were really,
um, kinda pointless. Rodan were surprisingly good/great at times,
kinda lost at others. They played with their backs to the audience
most of the evening, but were generally chipper, and they even threw
out a free Tshirt which is now residing in my clothes heap.
Sleepyhead I didn't get to see all the way through because I had to
go, but they were darned enjoyable for what I saw of 'em. Also
noteworthy: I ended up (by sheer luck of proximity to the machine) in
a 4-way pinball tourney with various Sleepyheads and Rodans, and
Rachel from Sleepyhead kicked our butts! Watch out..
More on Sleepyhead: I was never too moved by this band, but based on
the good/fun singles, and Josh's glowing review of the LP, I picked
it up earlier in the week, and darn, it's nice! A little too sugary
sometimes, but overall pretty swell. Better than I expected, and a
very nice thing overall. Go give a listen.
Lastly, I'm looking for show information on East coast gigs for the
month of May. If anyone can give me a good rundown of stuff going on
in the DC or Boston areas around this time (even if it's just "Well,
I know MY band is playing with <n> on May 22.."), please let me know.
I'll be graduating High School here in June, but before I do that I'm
going on an independent project. The project in particular is a
fanzine, and seeing as there seems to be a bit of a dry spell of
Really Fucking Amazing shows here in May, I was thinking of going out
to the DC area or somesuch and seeing if I could see some shows/
interview some bands out there as part of the project. (And any
'independent project' for school credit that I can contort into a
vacation works for me, eh?) So please send me mail if you've got any
news, and I'd appreciate it greatly.
Thanks loads for all who can help, and sorry again to those of you
who've been waiting ages for your subs to go through, and also sorry
I only seem to write stuff for this bimonthly now. Mebbe we oughta
get Sean and Mark and Josh to kick me in the ass more often about
writing, eh?
[ no need to feel guilty -- if I didn't edit this thing I'd probably
only be writing about three times a year :) - Mark ]
later-
Liz
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
From: Matthew Robb [the man, the myth, the third voice on the phone]
<matrobb@phoenix.Princeton.EDU>
Hey Josh - life is pretty crazy, but . . .
Thoughts on new Velocity Girl: Ennh....I like the first song a lot
(very Weddoes-ish), but everything else sort of fades into the
background. Whatever the song archie sings ("Lisa Librarian" ?) is
intolerable. "Pop Loser" is incredibly annoying - that riff, and
especially the backup vox on "I'll play my lala show for you anytime"
but I still kinda like it . . . I mean, I hate it, but I like it.
Eggs/Jonny Cohen & the Shoetrees 7" (Simple Machines, April Working
Holiday) The Eggs song is quite loopy - I haven't listened to it over
and over again yet, but it strikes me as a touch more experimental
and less loungey than earlier songs, perhaps with a tint of 7T's
self-indulgence (I like it much). The jonny cohen songs are fabulous.
Xmastrees everywhere is some sort of environmental thing, and
"addicted to chapstick" is simply incredible. Jonny Cohen's sound is
one the Daniel Johnston/Ed's Redeeming Qualities side of things (see
review of a show they did a Princeton in one of the December lists)
but you're not likely to find a more sincere vocalist anywhere. Oh
and that incredible toy piano, played like it was a steinway! Yoiks!
On a radio topic, WPRB just started playing "Peel Out in the States,"
which is John Peel playing records for an american audience. It's
not the Peel Sessions, which BBC1 or whoever has the rights to I
suppose (mr. Peel makes a point of saying he get no money from Peel
Sessions records, whatever that means), so I was a bit disappointed.
But Peel's delivery is simply incredible. BBC1 has been fading him
out over there in terms of airtime, but I cannot understand why. He's
flawless, and energetic & funny all the best things in a "radio
personality". He almost overshadows the music. So if anyone's in
listening range on wednesday nights around 9 pm, tune in for it. Any
other radio folks out there heard this?
That's all from my segment of Princeton . . . I'll hand it over to
Sean, and then we'll both disappear into the library for a couple of
weeks . . .
Matthew
matrobb@phoenix.princeton.edu
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
WANTED: YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS! Type those janks up and send'em to
Joshua: <houk@athena.cs.uga.edu>
ATTENTION COLLEGE 4TH-YEARS: Hey, congratulations! You'll be entering
the real world before too long, which might mean you'll lose your
Internet access. If you are not planning on having an emailbox after
graduation, please let us know so we can stop delivery, or mail to
a different address. Thanks!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
HEY KIDS! DECODE THE SECRET MYSTERY MESSAGE!
Use a ROT13 decoder, or this key:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M
N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
the message is:
ERZRZORE GB ERNQ LBHE VAQVR YVFG QVTRFG! (NERA'G LBH TYNQ LBH QRPBQRQ
GUVF?)
see you next week, same bat-time, same bat-station...
[Submitted by: Mark Cornick (cornick@access.digex.com)
Sat, 10 Apr 1993 14:13:21 -0400 (EDT)]