Indie-List_V2_N11
|
THE INDIE-LIST DIGEST | "Forward In All Directions,
VOLUME 2, NUMBER 11 | Playable At All Volumes"
AUGUST 10, 1993 | Chill out, man. Have a bagel or somethin'.
_____________________|
This week in Indie-List:
a lot of stuff
**********************
From: Pope Perot <cornick@delphi.com>
Subject: Nothing
I'm tired. I'm still moving things into my new house, so I'll let you
all write this issue. Thank you very much.
Two things first: Anyone within an hour or two of Richmond is invited
to show up for Friendly's debutante party, to be held in Cyndy's back
yard on the 22nd of August. We'll be playing with Cyndy's BF and his
roommate, the writer-songsingers Idiot Mittens, as well as classic
all-American beauties Blast Off Country Style, and perhaps other
bands, I don't know yet. Please write me for more info.
And: If you don't have a Friendly tape, and you want one, I'm sorry
but you'll have to wait for the 45. Cyndy and I have decided not to
make any more copies of the demo. Sorry. You're really not missing an
awful lot; the 45 will be a lot better. We haven't recorded it yet or
decided how to finance it, so don't expect it before 1994.
**********************
From: "K. Lena Bennett" <keb@u.washington.edu>
Subject: Drink Iced Delight! Read Short Stories!
I thought since I was the moderator I'd better actually write
something. Here's what I've been listening to lately (had a little
inflow of money):
Beat Happening: Jamboree, Black Candy, You Turn Me On. I put these
all on a tape together and when I listen to it on the bus I can't
keep from grinning. Sexy, childlike, sexy in a childlike way,
childlike in a sexy way. Music for adult children. Not adult
children of alcoholics. Just adult children. Love it. **1/2
The Fall: The Infotainment Scan. Will there ever be a Fall album as
excellent as This Nation's Saving Grace? I was turned off of them by
The Frenz Experiment and I am Curious Oranj. I decided to give the
new one a chance to win me back into the fold. It's groovy in spots,
but I'm still dubious. Sorry. *
The Grifters: One Sock Missing. I bought this on the strength of a
couple of songs on Juke House Halo mix tapes, but I think he used the
best songs. I'll probably chop this one up on a tape. It's pretty
uneven for me. Maybe there's just too much of a southern-boy-rock
element for my tastes. But the weird stuff is good. **3/4
Tsunami: Deep End. Just bought this one the other day but it's
totally captured me. Novel, flowing interpretations of melody/rhythm
interplay of an originality I haven't seen the likes of since
Throwing Muses broke up. Catchy tunes, Jenny Toomey's delightful
voice which sometimes reminds me of something from the 40's. Plus,
she gives Tanya Donnelley and Juliana Hatfield a run for their money
in the cuteness sweepstakes. Ecologically correct cardboard sleeve,
lyrics that show you can be pro-woman without going all the way to
P.J.-rage. Very alive. **
Pitchblende: Kill Atom Smasher. I wanted to like this. But I found
it just too derivative (mainly Sonic Youth, and there's one song
that's a total Superchunk knock-off but without the lyrical
cleverness I'm so fond of in the 'Chunksters), and it hasn't been
musically compelling enough to make me listen to it again. Sorry.
**1/2
Other things I'm listening to: Tone Dogs, _Ankety Low Day_
(different, groovy, fun, **), Polvo, _Today's Active Lifestyles_
(neat! **), Robyn Hitchcock, Respect (deep, compelling
songwriting, a keeper **). By the way, I'm still trying to find
a CD of Galaxie 500's _On Fire_ and I'll pay good money for it, too.
In comix news, Ed Brubaker's _Lowlife #3_ just came out, launched
with an enjoyable signing at Fallout (along with fellow local J.R.
Williams), and Woodring's Jim Volume 2, number 1 is in the works
from Fantagraphics -- a whole new inception of this old favorite
series. Megan Kelso's Turtle-funded Girlhero should be in shops
this month (all you Riot Grrls, check it out - can we convince our
Sassy friend to review it?), and I hear there'll be a party at the
Weathered Wall sometime in September to celebrate Lowlife and
Girlhero, with bands and everything (Maxi Badd and others).
Self-published comix to look out for: _Boom Boom_ by Dave Lasky
(also funded by the Xeric Foundation, of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle
money, P.O. box 181, 4501 University Way NE, Seattle, WA 98105,
$2.50), _King Cat_ by John Porcellino (keeps getting better, sorry,
no address), _All Steve Comics_ by Steve Leach (again, sorry no
address), Robert Kirby's _Strange Looking Exile_ (comix zine for
queer dudes and babes and their friends), and last but certainly not
least, _The Angry Criminal_ by the brilliant and very cuddly Tom Hart
(contact me for address, sorry, but I'm keeping the cuddles for
myself).
In zine news, send me a paragraph or two about "the most absurd job I
ever had" and if I put it in Lenazine #1, you'll get a free copy.
Thanks.
Late-breaking news from over the weekend. Nirvana made a surprise
showing at a Mia Zapata benefit and played for an hour.... More
comix: The new _Young Lust_ is out, with the usual suspects (most
notable: a Bill Griffith fuck-suck story starring Zippy) plus a few
new authors (incl. 2 gay males who I haven't seen in these pages
before, yay!), and the first issue of the new full-sized _Too Much
Coffee Man_ -- double, no triple tall nonfat yay! Also, borrowed a
copy of Dog Faced Hermans' _Hum of Life_ and listened to it once so
far, definitely I'm going to like it. Who does her voice remind me
of? Chumbawamba? Bow Wow Wow? Dunno....
Lena keb@u.washington.edu
she's got everything she needs
she's an artist
she don't look back
**********************
From: The Stupidity Patrol <lim7@midway.uchicago.edu>
Subject: Indie Mailing List stuff
Well, I'm back on the list after a month of intermittent connections.
Not that you wouldn't notice my absence, but if you want to pretend
to miss me, I would appreciate it. Washington DC has been pretty damn
busy so far, but I'll skip over some old news, and go with the last
couple weeks.
As far as live shows go, there have been plenty. I can tell you, the
15 Minutes club's new policy of 18+ shows for "big name" bands is ok
with me (only 6 more months...)- The Tsunami/Grifters/Nothing
Painted Blue show was more like a record convention, with the entire
Shrimper and Simple Machines catalog for sale after the show. NPB
played mostly new songs, and frankly, they're pretty boring, as
evidenced by Power Trips Down Lovers Lane, and they didn't even play
the songs I liked off of that. I think Franklin Bruno was not
feeling well, and the performance was mediocre. They even kept the
manga movie going through their set. The Griters were on next,
playing a wild and crazy set. They were pretty good, but I am not
too familiar with their stuff, so it started wearing thin, especially
since the shows start so late (10PM on weekdays). Tsunami took the
stage at midnight, and played a handful of new songs and a bunch off
Deep End, ending with their cover of Water's Edge. Again, they stuck
to new material (I believe the oldest was Load Hog, which always
sounded like a title to a bad porn movie to me), and while I like the
new record ok, only 460 grabbed me live. After about an hour on
stage with one encore, they called it quits.
Monday the 26th was a busy night for me. First I stopped by Fort
Reno Park, the site of free concerts twice a week, to catch the
Bedlam Rovers. Although the sky threatened to rain, it never did.
The Rovers were in fine form, and the songs not on their debut,
Wallow, were much better than the album would indicate. Kinda folky
granola, but i like. Then it was off to the 15 Minutes club again to
see Codeine with Coral and Rodan. I got there just as Rodan was
starting up, and they were great. Really energetic, and it didn't
seem like the cynicism of touring in shitty vans and crashing on
friend's floors have gotten to them yet. According to the band,
they're talking to some labels, and plan a new single in the fall,
with an album for February. Mark your calenders, (although for may
or June, I would guess) Coral was pretty weak- although the music
(slightly Dischordy metal/hardcore was ok, their singer was not so
hot. Simply put, he couldn't sing- he only wavered around the same
notes in his best John Lydon art wank PIL style. Plus the mike kept
getting interrupted. I saty down and read more of Catch 22 after a
while.
Codeine came on around midnight, and played a very mellow set
(surprise). It was nice hearing the band so loud, so you could just
let yourself be enveloped. Unfortunately, due to some difficulty
with the monitors (a recurring problem, it seems), and the late time,
the crowd got really tired, and after about 45 minutes, the band
ended its set. It was pretty funny watching a band go off and a
bunch of people clapping, but nobody seemed to want any more. I
heard more than a few people remark on the recurring structures of
the songs... Anyway, the show was worth it to see Rodan, and maybe
even Codeine. I talked to Stephen and he said that Barely Real was
due out in the US in a week or so, and seemed kind of pissed at
SubPop.
Some good records I've picked up recently that may or may not have
been already mentioned:
The new Jawbox/Edsel split 45 is out on DeSoto. Jawbox turns in a
pretty decent poppy tune that goes on forever literally (the outro
noise keeps going around and my turntable doesn't pick it up), and
Edsel's song is ok, but not anything to get excited about. Actually,
it was less melodic than I expected. Get it if you like either band,
but not out of curiousity.
It seems like Evan Eggs is following Rob Eggs into the label field.
He's put out a short (30 minutes) tape, with one song on each side by
Soft Pleasing Light and La Bradford. They both are very ambient
(SPL's side recalls Slowdive's Morning Rise ep, while La Bradford
side is similar, with some technological type sounds thrown in
occasionally. The song is "Progress") I found the SPL side the more
intersting of the two, and I have been weaned on large doses of older
Creation bands, so mileage may vary. You can mailorder the tapes for
3 bucks ppd from the Teen Beat box.
The new/old God Is My Copilot out on the Making of the Americas label
is pretty damn good. Although it has it's stupid self-indulgent
parts, the songs are almost all less than a minute long.
Nevertheless, there are some bits that have a quirky charm, for you
cheaply produced amateuristic music fans out there. I can't remember
particular titles, but it stands throgh repeated listenings if you
know what you like. Pick it up cheap and see how you dig it.
In other news, the new Dischord practice of giving out promo copies
of their records seems to be paying off, coverage wise. They got a 2
page article in the Sunday Post's (8/1) Show section, including many
pictures of ian cutting loose. While kind of a primer on Fugazi, it
was pretty funny hearing about how Ian MacKaye turned down
Lollapalooza- the reporter made it sound like they would have done it
if Lollapalooza was 5 bucks. Good breakfast reading.
[ Did anyone else see the _In On The Kill Taker_ review in Time? Gee
willikers! - Mark ]
Coming up soon- 2 Fugazi shows, Velocity Girl comes out again, and
maybe a Gumball/Scrawl show. Look for the new Unrest "Perfect Teeth"
boxed set soon. Sources in the Teen Beat camp report the boxes should
be coming in within a week, to be packaged up for consumption by YOU.
Cheers,
Courtesy of: ? "...although the ratio of news to
The Stupidity Patrol o o drivel in many newsgroups compares
lim7@midway.uchicago.edu > unfavorably with the back of a
12XU! o cereal box..." -Cecil Adams
**********************
From: Steve Silverstein <ST201268@BROWNVM.brown.edu>
Subject: Blah (not enough news now to warrant a better title)
The big news this week, I suppose, is the new Versus EP. Jeff
Cashvan, their roadie, just released it on his new Remora Records.
It is on CD, and costs $6 (cheap). Jeff thinks it sounds real good,
and no one else commented on it at all. You can reach Remora at 272
E. 3rd Street/New York, NY 10009, or call 212/420-1405. No more
white vinyl 7"s seem available, also. Nor T-shirts
The other tidbit for the week is on Swoon and the Ropers' show at
Fort Reno Park in DC on the 2nd. Swoon played first. They sounded
good, and played all originals except a slow, noisy "I'll Tumble for
You". It was priceless seeing the sound guy get frustrated with
their horrible-sounding guitars during soundcheck (instruments, not
playing). The Ropers played their incredibly noisy stuff next. It
was the first time I'd heard them. The stuff is melodic, but drowned
out by piles of noise generated by 2 strummed guitars. It's hard to
catch the melody under all of the layers of quite loud guitar noise.
The songs seemed fairly catchy, though it was quite hard to tell.
Also can anyone comment on the Fudge 7" I got. I thought it was the
first, but it is c. 1993. It is on Superfly, and has "Girlwish" and
"Wayside". It also was in a 1992 Slumberland catalog, which said it
was a re-issue of the first. Can anyone who has a clue help me. The
single is quite good, at any rate. Far above my impression of their
live set.
[ The "Girlwish" single comes from almost the same time as the
"Astronaut" 45 -- no one seems to remember which came first. I
thought it was out of print, but it sounds like you got a repress or
something. In any case, it's good. - Mark ]
-Steve
**********************
From: Sean Keric Murphy <skmurphy@phoenix.Princeton.EDU>
Subject: I-L: Orange Juice, Stereolab, etc.
Duh...I'm really going to have no money by the end of this summer.
Made yet another triup to Hoboken this week, this time not to
Maxwell's but to the true bane of my existence, Pier Platters (one of
the finest record stores on the east coast, if not the whole USA).
This started as a trip to buy records for our radio station, but of
course I had to pick up a few myself (understatement... :).
Orange Juice - The Heather's On Fire (Postcard - P.O. Box 546
Glasgow, Scotland, G12 8NY)
Yikes! A collection of all 4 Postcard singles, along with some
previously unreleased demos and such from Orange Juice, the first
real pop band out of Scotland in the early 80s. To get Blue Boy and
Felicity in one place, along with lots of stuff done before the
major-label jump to Polydor, is a true bargain (especially at $11 for
import vinyl). Pop gems featuring Edwyn Collins' great voice, nice
packaging (although it's a bitch to figure out which song is playing
if you don't already know them), a great archival release for kids
who didn't know about music recorded in 1981 (like me. I was 9 when
this stuff was originally released... :). **
The Pooh Sticks - Multiple Orgasm (Fierce - from Wales, no address
given)
This is a very nice release - the first Pooh Sticks LP, Orgasm, fits
on side one. Originally on Stephen Pastel's 53rd and 3rd label, it
has some great insider joke songs like "I Know Someone Who Knows
Someone Who Knows Alan McGee Quite Well" (begging to be covered - I
know someone...who knows Gerard Cosloy quite well? :) and "On Tape".
Side Two is another set of recordings made right after "Orgasm" which
were intended for a five 7" box set which never got released. I
haven't had a chance to hear it all yet, but it's pretty solid.
Funny, grooving, leading to the masterpiece of Formula One Generation
(I want Hue's sweatshirt of the Welsh flag!). *1/2 (I'm into
star-deflation recently - since 5 is the top of the scale, an average
recording should get only 2 1/2...)
[ This reminds me of a Fusco Brothers comic; since I can't remember
the exact characters I'll just refer to them as He and She:
She: Some women in upstate New York marched topless into Canada in a
kind of toplessness rights protest... they're calling them the
"Rochester Seven."
He: Shouldn't they be calling them the "Rochester 14"??
(door slams on him)
He (to himself): "If only I lived in a country where freedom of math
was covered by the Constitution..."
- Mark ]
Stereolab/Nurse With Wound - Crumb Duck (Clawfist - 231 Portobello
Rd. London, UK W11 1LT)
Part of the infamous Clawfist singles series (in which two bands
typically cover a song by the other band), this 10" features a pure
collaboration between the two. Side one is long (15 minutes) and is
in three untitled sections but as a whole it swings from "slow
Stereolab" to a section very similar to "Rocket USA" by Suicide and
then into a pure noise section at the end. Side two is pretty
straight "fast Stereolab". Note that I'm not knocking Stereolab by
saying "fast" or "slow" - it's just that many of their songs can be
categorized in this manner for those who are less discriminating in
their tastes. The best Stereolab songs tend to avoid the pitfalls of
these classifications, like Doubt, High Expectations, all of Peng!
(except one song on side two), and most of Space Age Batchelor Pad.
Anyway, back to this ten inch...it's a good one. Looking forward to
seeing Stereolab released domestically on Elektra (if they can keep
the originality and avoid the "fast song/slow song" traps...).
*3/4
There's also a new flexi with Stereolab and Submariner - demo
versions of Ronco Symphony and The Seeming And The Meaning, along
with one song by Submariner called "Lyracist Downer" (sic). Released
by Space Watch - 88 Meadow Lane, Chaddesden, Derby DE21 6PT. (Why
are Brit postal codes so bizarre? It's not like they have so many
towns that they can't just number them all...)
And one old release recently acquired -
Cabaret Voltaire - The Drain Train and The Pressure Company (Mute
re-issue)
Part one of this CD is unlistenable for me - industrial dance shit
from 1986 which does everything Trent Reznor could ever dream of 4
years before he did it. (Sorry, I have a very low tolerance for
industrial dance music - all we need is to get Front 242 sampling
Sarah Shannon's voice and I'll be able to call it "the worst record
ever made" - Sarah can't sing for shit!) Anyway, the real gem here is
part two - 4 tracks, 35 minutes, recorded live at Sheffield
University in 1982. Hypnotic, tribal, noisy, solid bass lines, areal
treat for the brain. Since I only paid $4 for this puppy, I consider
it a good purchase. But, if you're paying full price, think twice
about it. **3/4 overall, ** for the live section.
Oh well, that's all for now...headed back up to Boston for the next
week (to avoid all the record shops, I mean it!). Later...
Sean
skmurphy@phoenix.princeton.edu
**********************
From: SIERACKIR@vmsf.csd.mu.edu
Subject: third time i'm trying to submit this darn thing and oof
DON CABALLERO
"Our Caballero" b/w "My Ten Year Old Lady is Giving it Away" 7" on
Touch and Go
Instrumental. Made me remember guitar strings are made of metal.
Crisp, dry production. "Tighter than a liberal's asshole." Reminds
me of a Bastro sans lyric wit, or a new, improved Table sans lyrics.
A-side engineering job kicks the shit out of B-side engineering job.
B-side title should take a prize of some sort.
Proves Touch and Go still has their wits about them after all these
years.
**
(Since I first tried to submit this article, I have acquired two
older singles, both excellent, too, "Shoe Shine" b/w "Belted Sweater"
and "The Lucky Father Brown" is one and "Unresolved Karma" b/w
"Puddin' in my Eye" is the other. I highly reccomend them for those
who favor harsh, complex, and tasteful instumental material.)
SHORTY
_Thumb Days_
A couple few great tunes here, but nothing like the live Shorty
experience. Sort of a Cows meets Jesus Lizard, musically, sort of a
Rodney Dangerfield if Rodney Dangerfield actually had a whit of wit
persona in the singer, but that's mostly visual, (lots of shrugs)--so
make sure you catch them live or check out their video. A band of
superb personality, but the music is ahair from there yet. (Their
"Hot for Teacher" single/comic book set was released by Skin Graft
last week, now that may be a must.)
**********************
From: Donna Brown <dbrown@cybernet.cse.fau.edu>
Subject: Indie List
v/a : "Teenbeat 100" (Teen Beat Records, of course)
I'm not sure if this commemorates Teen Beat's 10th anniversary or
what, but any occasion for another 7" from Mark Robinson's very own
label is cause for great joy. "Teen Beat 100" consists of 10
one-minute songs by ten different bands on the label, all stuffed
together on one seven-inch piece of vinyl. Wow!
[ _TB 100_ commemorates TB's 8th anniversary; it is #100 but is not
TB's hundredth release unless you do some creative arithmetic,
including such rare TeenBeatanalia such as an empty CD box and Mark's
car. - Mark ]
The highlights include Tsunami's "Brickbook Building," Butch Willis'
"Falling in Love," an acapella spoken-rant thing that kinda grew on
me, and Bratmobile's cover of "There's No Other Way" by one-hit
Manchester band Blur. Mark E.'s own band Unrest weighs in with
"International Nautical Miles," which seems more of a transition
piece for them than anything else. I also liked Blast Off Country
Style's "Wiener Dude Attitude," probably because it sounds like an
outtake from Unrest's EP of Factory covers. I could do without Sexual
Milkshake and Los Marauders, but the inherent beauty of "Teen Beat
100" lies in the fact that the songs are over before they have a
chance to annoy you. Basically, what I'm trying to say here is that
Mark Robinson is God.
**********************
From: Laurence Roberts RD <lroberts@bellahs.com>
Subject: No-boy band singles
Here's the latest update on singles from no-boy bands. (I think
no-boy is a preferable term to all-girl.)
New single from Voodoo Queens: Kenuwee Head (on Too Pure). The cover
depicts Keanau Reeves, and is about the singer's inability to
pronounce his name. (I however, am unable to spell it.) The B-side s
"My Little Guitar Baby", with the classic line "who needs boys when
you've got guitars/ my guitar baby makes a lot more noise". Nice
farfisa, too. Also very worthwhile checking out is their first
single, "Supermodel/Superficial", which attacks the beauty myth, but
which also can be read as an answer song to RuPaul's "Supermodel."
There's also a new single from the band the Voodoo Queens spun off
from, Mambo Taxi. It's called Poems on the Underground, and it's on
Clawfist. It shounds like a conventional love song to me --
apparently Anjeli, who left to form the Voodoo Queens, was the one
with political conciousness. Musically, it's pretty good, though --
good noisy pop. The b-side, A&E, is a little nastier -- sort of a
sing-song taunt, but I'm still not sure what it's about.
I got the new Slant 6 single, on Dischord. Slant 6 have been touring
with Tiger Trap. There's another Slant 6, who are supposedly from
the northwest, who have been playing in San Francisco. Buyer beware.
The b-side, 30/30 Vision, is probably the most interesting song --
somewhat low-key, with strange shifting rhythms.
In other Huggy Nation news, there's a CD compilation of the two
Cornershop records, and supposedly soon will be a CD comp of the
Huggy Bear singles. There is also a new Blood Sausage 10". Hope you
all got the first 7", with the instant classic "Fuck you and your
underground."
There's a new issue of The Jelly Slide, which I thought I'd mention
since Josh isn't around to plug it. There's a report on the Big Star
reunion, a think-piece about Marge Simpson's role, and more.
Unfortunately, I don't have the address here -- maybe the editor
could supply it from an old indie digest.
Larry-bob
lroberts@bellahs.com
**********************
From: Donna Brown <dbrown@cybernet.cse.fau.edu>
You should see Josh's haircut - he looks like Paul Westerberg,
kind of....
Donna
**********************
THE INDIE-LIST DIGEST is published every Tuesday by Indie-List
Infotainment Junta, Unltd. (A Non-Entity.)
Editor: Mark Cornick <cornick@delphi.com>
Moderator: K. Lena Bennett <keb@u.washington.edu>
Mail Manager: Liz Clayton <lclayton@uhuru.uchicago.edu>
Archvist: Sean Murphy <skmurphy@phoenix.princeton.edu>
Articles for next week's issue should be sent to Lena.
Questions, comments, complaints, and review material should be sent to
Mark at the address above, or by US mail to 324 S Cherry St, Richmond
VA 23220. Write for phone number.
see you next week!
[Submitted by: Sean Keric Murphy (skmurphy@phoenix.princeton.edu)
Mon, 16 Aug 1993 22:31:52 -0400]