oooooo-oooooooo-ooooooo-whee!
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Indie List Digest!
May 7, 1994
Volume 3 Number 30
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------------------------------
Ottawa
Reviews: Doo Rag, Sweetheart, Deep Turtle. et al.
Rodan, Craw, Dimbulb in Cleveland
WHUS news and reviews
St Etienne, Sebadoh, Huggy Bear, et al.
Grumpytime, Savage Republic, Pink Floyd, et al.
LAddenda
ANNOUNCE: Sub Pop net
ANNOUNCE: Indie-500 continues
ADV: Warped Reality
ADV: Thicker
------------------------------
From: an914@FreeNet.Carleton.CA (Shawn Scallen)
Subject: Ottawa -- The Next Big Thing...
Look out Seattle, Chapel Hill, Halifax! Ottawa, Ontario, CANADA, is
where it's at... Watch out for a 7" on SubPop by a local quartet
called Woodenstars... The band combines the stop/start soft/loud
qualities of Engine Kid with the meandering guitar breaks of the
Rheostatics... Quirky, jazzy, punky all at once... Let the feeding
frenzy begin!
You heard it here first.
shawn
--
Shawn Scallen music director, CKCU-FM 93.1, Ottawa, Canada
an914@Freenet.Carleton.CA photoguy, lotsa punk rok zines
613-234-PUNX 234-PUNX Sysop (gig listings recording)
D.I.Y. concert promoter type guy
------------------------------
From: davidb@dbadmin2.amgen.com (David Bennison)
Various Reviews
Circle - Silver EP 7" (Bad Vugum, Finland)
---------------------------------------
This band has been described as a unique blending of Loop, Terminal
Cheesecake, Scratch Acid and Live Skull, and this 7" is more brutal
than any of the above, I feel. 'Crawatt' is astonishingly good, an
urgent, crashing riff supplemented by sort of monastic vocal chanting
and a ferocious ending. 'Circus' is one minute of general pounding
mayhem with a fragmented fairground organ. 'Silver' is possibly the
best track, similar to 'Crawatt,' while 'Polka' is a right old
knees-up polka, similar to The Ex with everything in tracks 1, 2 and 3
thrown in for good measure at the end. This sort of mayhem could only
come from a region that produces so many good bands; there's no need
for them to dip their toes into US/UK scenes and dilute their noise.
*** - just about best single this year, methinks
Sweetheart - Mr Cocktail / White-Eye 7" (Bad Vugum, Finland)
------------------------------------------------------------
This is a little more like The Cows with a few brass surges and evil
vocals; 'Mr Cocktail' is a slower brooding number that can't get away
from Birthday Party references; 'White-Eye' turns into early Fall
toward the end, except the vocals are totally raw by now.
**
Sweetheart - Well Dressed Meat LP (Bad Vugum, Finland)
------------------------------------------------------
Their debut LP, like many LPs, has its highs and lows, but after three
listens, it can't quite maintain the high standards set by the other
Bad Vugum singles. Sure, it's good and pretty varied, but the tracks
seem to be good variations on the AmRep sound I've heard before, with
some added space and dynamics and a little less bass heavy. Yet
again, mentioning the Birthday Party isn't a lazy comparison - swampy
grinding rock with some staccato riffing and less intimidating English
vocals make some of the standout tracks like 'Moving' and 'Satanism'
go along with a bit of a lurching swing. 'Human Skyscraper' is a
little more frantic, and the finale of 'Ephraim' finishes on a high.
A couple of slower quirky tracks with Gavin Friday type vocals spoil
the mood a bit tho'.
*1/2
Deep Turtle - Snakefish EP 7" (Bad Vugum, Finland)
--------------------------------------------------
I seem to remember a guy on the grunge list raving about this band
ages ago, along with his own/friend's band 'Germ Attack', and now I
can see why. For track 1, 'Arbean', imagine Blind Idiot God in their
non-dub mode but more frantic‹‹oh, and an occasional orchestral swell
sample. JazzPunk rhythms and shouted vocals make them sound a little
like the punk bands I've heard from Holland (Mortzelpronk, Zowiso,
Svatsox...). 'Eko'Arak' is the odd one-out, a simple bass-driven
verse with spazz guitars and a wig-out, stop-start ending that is
brilliant. 'Choclopolka' sounds to me like a speeded-up Sun City
Girls 45 second instrumental version of an Eastern Bloc National
Anthem with prog-rock guitar work. 'Riola' follows the theme with
more ace stop-start rhythms, what seems like a UFO landing in the
middle, and traditional Bad Vugum all-out vocal damage. Similarly
excellent.
**1/2
Liimanarina - Maailman Tylsin Vittumaisuus 7" (Bad Vugum, Finland)
------------------------------------------------------------------
Another staunchly independent Finnish band on the Bad Vugum label,
this time more lo-fi and experimental with fewer 'power-chords' and/or
jazz tendencies. I won't begin to mention titles, but I've discovered
my favourite word is 'ilmastointilaitteita' and that they sound like
early Half Japanese, 'And This Day'/Hex Enduction Hour-era Fall, or a
more imaginative DIY/Riot Grrrl band, which means that this is nothing
short of essential. There are great hidden guitar melodies and chord
changes in there amongst drums that sound like tea trays,
bagpipe-drone background, accordion and cheap bontempi organs, and
stylophones. I must thank Kimmo for the translation of Liimanarina,
'limma' meaning 'glue' and of course 'narina' meaning the creaky sound
a door makes when opened. All four tracks have a rawness rarely heard
in the US/UK music scene.
**1/2
Doo Rag - Swampwater Mopdown / Engine Bread 7" (Drunken Fish)
-------------------------------------------------------------
This sounds like we have the making of an amazing band here, Eric Arn
has seen them and I'm mighty jealous as I think this is the business.
'Swampwater Mopdown' is a sort of a lo-fi Captain Beefheart boogie
with a bit of JSPX trash thrown in. 'Engine Bread' is even better,
authentic urgent swamp skiffle blues which just stuns. Record Info -
'Doo Rag play music from another century. They howl through
instruments constructed out of vacuum cleaners and gramaphones and
beat on anything but drums...' There's even a pretty funny interview
with the band - DJ 'You sound like Howlin Wolf singing out of a cave
on Mars. How do you do that?'. Doo Rag 'Err...We try really hard.'
DJ 'What's that thing that looks like a vacuum cleaner hose that goes
up to a horn up there?' Doo Rag 'That's our vocal apparatus.' You
should try to get ahold of this at all costs. They will be doing a
John Peel Session in the next few weeks, recorded down the phone line!
This shouldn't be missed.
***
22 Pisterpirkko - 22 Pisterpirkko Mini-LP
-----------------------------------------
This is also weird but in a different sense as it's pop as far as I
can make out. It also has NOTHING in common with the other Finnish/
Bad Vugum bands I've reviewed, and why should it. The music is a wild
and crazy blend of Lonnie Donegan skiffle, garage, pop, schlock horror
rock (Lord Sutch!) and hammond organs. The vocals come across as Pee
Wee, I guess they don't take their 'art' too seriously. As a result
I'm pretty baffled, sometimes they remind me of the Residents
Commercial Album and then they end up sounding more like the B52s.
'Motorcycle Man' has some great slide guitar and a psych feel about
it, 'Don't Try To Tease Me' is an accoustic wimp-out which has more in
common with Daniel Johnson (title included). They seem unbelievably
out on their own planet, their world inhabited with catchy pop
melodies, hamfisted garage, cheesy organ and a fair smattering of
humour. As per usual, I'm on the ball here with a 1991 release!
**
The Rip-Offs - Now I Know / Can I Come Over 7" (Rip Off Records,USA)
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Pretty much excellent Estrus Garage material that would blow all but
the Sinister Six/New Bomb Turks klan away. 'Now I Know (It's You)' is
1 min. 30 of loud, fast, garage punk with melody; 'Can I Come Over' is
the 1 minute anthem John Peel has raved about on his show. They know
that sometimes it's better to bail out after a minute or two rather
than lose what you started with by prolonging it too long, but the
B-side is completely blank so they live up to the name. Apparently
the lead singer is dating Elka Zolot, ex-Trashwoman, and there are
members of Supercharger and the Mummies in there, so that's yer
reference.
*1/2
Harvey Sid Fischer - Astrology Songs (Amarillo, USA)
----------------------------------------------------
Over the last few weeks, John Peel has been playing tracks off an
album by Harvey Sid Fischer. The album is called 'Astrology Songs: A
Song for each Sign of the Zodiac' on Amorillo Records (AM585).
'Twelve great songs that will seduce you with their unusual musical
charm, delight you with their humor, mystify you with their accuracy
and keep you enthralled for dozens of repeat listenings. If you have
already seen the cult TV special that first introduced these great
songs you know this is THE album you've been waiting for.' His
biography on the back of the sleeve reads: 'Harvey Sid Fischer writes
screenplays, is an actor, one of LAs top 10,000 photographic models
(!), plays golf, teaches golf and as of Aug. 1993, is 12 years
macrobiotic.' ?! Better still is the news that he has already released
a video called 'Astrology Songs' as well as a cassette called 'Golf
Songs and Golf Jokes'. He is pictured on the front looking like a mix
between an old Dean Martin and Blake Carrington from 'Dynasty,'
although he unfortunately sounds like a mix between Kermit and William
Shatner.
Every song except Virgo (my sign) is a winner. Aries ('I am I am I am
the Ram'), Taurus ('Talk about Taurus. Talk about the
Bully-Bull-Bull'), Cancer ('Ruled by the moon high up above. Sign of
the Crab. Handle with love. I'm a Moooon-Child') being particularly
epic. The song for Libra comes across like a Moriccone Western theme
('Lib-Lib-a-Libra, Lib-Lib-a-Libra. I'll flirt and conquer, then
withdraw. Irrational passion, some might say. But uhh-uhh I'm no
glutton. More a Love Bouquet'!), as does Capricorn to an extent ('I
was born a Capricorn. I was born a Capricorn. I was born a Capra, I
was born a Capra, I was born a Capricorn...The Goat. The Goat. The
Goat. The Goat..'!). The Sagiytarius chorus must be heard ('I'm a
Sag. I'm a Sag.') and the whole album finished on the triumph that is
Pisces ('Once upon a time there were two little fishes. Both of them
had their own whims and their wishes.'). OK, so I went overboard in
the lyrics in this review, but they are things of wonder. What I'd
like to know is whether anyone has heard of this guy, seen his cult TV
special or could recommend his Golf Songs cassette. As far as I'm
concerned, the feel-good hit of the summer that all the kids will soon
be talking about.
David...
------------------------------
From: <jac15@po.cwru.edu>
Rodan, Craw, Dimbulb, Cleveland Ohio USA 2 May 1994 AD
Welly well, where should I start? I have been reading oh just oodles
of great reviews of Rodan here in the Indie List, so when I heard one
of the local college stations giving away tickets for Monday Night's
show with them at the Euclid Tavern, I thought what the hey and jumped
to the phone and won!
Now, shows at the "Euc" usually start late, but I figured if I left
the house a little after 10, I should get there by about 10:40 and the
opening band would have already started...well, sir, they didn't start
until about 11:00 pm, and they were DIMBULB. Cleveland band. Way way
way too loud. 3 piece. Grinding noisy slowish songs with yelling
nonmelodic vocals. Same guitar sound all the way through: bad. All
songs sounded the same: irritating. I hope I never see them again.
11:45 and Craw starts up. I'm looking at my watch because I have to
get up at about 5:30 am. Craw has had a lot of press around here;
they are another Cleveland band, with a few 7"s and perhaps a full
lengther (not sure) but I've never seen them play, so I thought, ok,
I'll check em out. And, hey, they are kind of interesting, though not
really anything I'd ever choose to listen to at home or go out of my
way to see in a club. Very tight arrangements...very hard-driving,
start-stop kinda rhythms, some very complicated rhythmic things
actually, which more than anything reminded me of some of the more
irritating "modern" classical pieces by people like John Cage, etc.,
who like those kind of stop-start/ fast-slow irritating changes in
their music. Vocals were completely interesting and fortunately mixed
very low. They could be the next NIN if there was going to be such a
thing. But that wouldn't make me like them, because I don't like NIN
either! But if Craw comes to your town and you're into that sort of
thing, hey, check them out, they are very capable musicians, they
definitely have their act together.
Well, now I really had wanted to leave by 12:30 at the latest. That'd
give me about 4.5 hours of sleep before I had to get up to go to work,
but I thought, nah, I'll regret not seeing any of Rodan. Besides, I
wanted to know if they were trying to name themselves after the
sculptor (Rodin) or the monster (Rhodan) or neither. Maybe I just
have the monster's name misspelled in my trivia-laden mind. I dunno.
(I always wondered if Rhodan did some sculpture on the side when he
wasn't attacking Godzillas, Mothras, or Gameras anyway.) OK, so I
decided to stay when I saw that they had a female bass player, which I
usually take as a good sign (someone at the club told me this bit of
rock-history commentary: In the late '70s-early '80s, it was cool to
have a Japanese bass player; in the '80s it was cool to have a black
bass player; then now in the late '80s-early '90s it is cool to have a
woman bass player; you can take that bit or leave it, or just say
"hunh" and skip along...) and they finally started playing at 1:00 am
...sheesh... Well I thought, I'll stay for one song, then go, unless
they're REALLY great!
They had a pretty nice sound, the guitars sounded pretty cool and
smooth/chimey/ringy...and, yes...SLINT-Y. I liked the bass player's
voice too, though it was pretty quiet. But then the middle part of
the song was just sooooooo much like Slint, it was embarassing. But
not as embarrassing as the second song, which I decided to stay for
because by the time I realized they were into the second song they had
been playing it for like 5 minutes already! It was totally right out
of the great lost Slint songbook. One of the guy guitarists sang it,
and, although it really was not a bad song, I can only take so
much...I mean, it was just so damn obvious whom they were ripping off
soundwise, I just couldn't take it. I started thinking to myself
about how Slint has had so much effect on so many bands with one album
(because Tweeze didn't have nearly the cohesive, recognizable sound
that Spiderland did), kinda like the Velvet Underground's influence in
a way, that there must just be some kind of NEED, some kind of great
HOLE that needs to be filled by that Slint sound. I dunno, I'd be
happy just listening to Spiderland again if I really wanted to hear
that kinda sound. I mean it's a great album and all, but they did it,
you know? How many clone bands do we need? More Slint clones, more My
Bloody Valentine clones, a seeming second wave of still yet more
bleeding Sonic Youth clone bands!!!
Well, sorry if I sound like a jaded old fart, but hey, when you only
get 3 hours of sleep because of a band you felt embarrassed for,
that's the way it goes. At least I didn't pay for the show! And I did
get an offer to play bass for a fairly decent local band that is being
serenaded by some record labels, so the night wasn't a total washout.
But save yr money, kids, and buy another copy of Spiderland if your
copy is already worn out.
JC
------------------------------
From: dannnn <DLM94001@UConnVM.UConn.Edu>
poly styraphone, etc.
!!!?/?-------------------------------------------------------------------------
bonjour again!
always good to read yer articles and correspondences. hope everyone's
chillin and digging that spring thing. it's great to be following the
rodan/grifters tour from out west, i've been in love w/'rusty' since
we got it and plan on seeing them in boston (tt bears; may 20 or 21)
very soon. also: rejoice for me, indie audience, i'm going to see
superchunk for the first time this month! w/merge wunderkin the 3ds
opening. 'driveway to driveway' off of the s.c. 'foolish' disc will
NOT exit the annals of my mind's ears!
*in lieu of all the poly styrene talk that's been up lately, thought
i'd drop my extent of knowledge of what's going on...i had the
pleasure of housing some of the band 108 after a show a month or
so. the guy that runs equal vision records (shelter, krishna
hardcore and more...) happened to mention a forthcoming solo
presentation by poly in the near future and proceeded to play a four-
track demo of her material. WOW. somewhere between lush and the
cocteau twins, but better and dare i say, prettier? i think she's in
the studio now w/some more tracks to record w/. equal visions records
is the folk you'd have to contact for further info. all i can say is
to keep yer eyes peeled, because i have a feeling that the full-length
is going to be a real beaut.
and now: the top 10 @ whus in storrs, ct. (based on airplay and new
releases-3 months after arrival, 4 for push selections)
ten...pavement. crooked rain x 2. still up there. was no. 1 when
we first got it a while ago. randomly reappears in top 35. a
great release. duh.
nin...huggy bear. taking the rough w/the smooch. did well in top 10
on 10", then got ripped off. could not go w/out this, so we
reordered from krs. reemergence proof of value. 'no sleep'
rules.
ate...dambuilders. encendedor. i love this tape i love this tape i
love this tape. smell + shrine rock my world. a blast live.
svn...bedhead. what fun life was. wow! they broke the top 20 in cmj!
(i think) a fantastic slower mood w/great guitar sound release
on trance records.
six...day in the park. now sounds comp. unreleased archers,
dambuilders, unwound, versus, & the best small 23 song ever
constitute a beautiful debut for a promising new label. filled
w/bands from all over the place.
fiv...sammy. it being pre-finals week, i haven't really gotten a chance
to hear a lot of the new push stuff. i don't even know the
tape name or label. but it must be pretty good to be up here.
fo'...tindersticks. see above, except i have heard a song on
somebody's show at some point. just remember liking it.
tee...jenny anykind. don't know the name of the tape again. do know
more about the music though. kickass guitarish--uh...oh, i'll
review these for next submission. sorreeee!
two...unwound. new plastic ideas. aaaa! aaaaa! i love this disc. SEE
THEM LIVE, and bring two sets of earplugs, or save lots of
wax. envelope is my fave. loud distortion feedback screaming
trio pumping adrenaline and post punk deafness. amazing. fall
off yer rocking chair.
won...why do you think they call it pop? pop narcotic comp. this has
been no.1 for four weeks straight now, i think. w/good reason,
too. kudgel, db's, helium, small factory, versus, polvo, etc.
etc. i saw this up in boston in many a store for around 10
buckaroos- fer two 10"s and amazing music. i think you can get
a free catalogue from them by mailing/requesting @
popnarc@world.std.com. loveable loveable loveable! i say no
more.
ok. heard good things about hair & skin trading co. and medicine @
babyhead last night (in providence, r.i., for west coasters). they'll
be at tt bears in cambridge this week too, but i'm not sure if it will
be over by the time this is in. i must get a ride to the middle east
for rollerskate skinny thurs. 5. anyone? anyone? oh, and we got the
new beastie boys 12" feauturing q-tip of tribe. fabulous. boogie to
the maximum. stay tuned for kill rock stars wordcore reviews. take
care y'all, and feel free to k.i.t. much love...
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox
dann medin; dlm94001@uconnvm.uconn.edu; nixon was a repressed punk rocker......
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox
------------------------------
From: julian@sahiber.demon.co.uk (Julian Lawton)
Live reviews
Live reviews - eeek. . .
St.Etienne
Huggy Bear
Primal Scream
Flying Saucer Attack/Sebadoh
Brittlehead/God Is My Co-Pilot
Prolapse/Huggy Bear
Seeing as it's so long since I've done these I've forgotten the exact
dates.
Let's see . . .
St. Etienne - Cardiff University/Bristol University (late March!!)
There are certain advantages to taking a trip to the home of 'Les
Vertes' whilst on holiday, not least of which is being able to waltz
backstage in your St. Etienne Official Football scarf - even the band
have never actually been there (a small ex-mining town in central
France, if you have to know). Kindly they stuck me and an unemployed
friend on the hospitality list for the next night's show. . .
Anyway, 'support' was by DJ Kris Needs, also variously known as Secret
Knowledge/Delta Lady, NME journalist, and, erm, founder of legendary
Goth club The Bat Cave. To my ears Kris sounded like a studio
engineer more than a DJ - there was little of the spectacular mixing
of someone like Weatherall, just tracks played end-to-end, followed by
another; good tracks, but he was far better with Primal Scream (see
later).
It was also an excuse for him to PA the Delta Lady stuff - so
unmissable we deliberately turned up late on the second date - live
dance music, I can see the point of (Dee-Lite with Bootsy Collins in
'90 being the best I've ever seen it). Vocal PAs I can't - the vocals
inevitably sound worse than the backing vocals on DAT. I recall it
being problems like this that used to dog St.Etienne, in fact.
Not so now, with a 7-piece band (at least) on stage. . . although
there's still plenty of reliance on sequencers for the 'up' stuff -
the radical departure is the very stripped-down versions of stuff like
'Marble Lions' from the last LP - drums/guitar & voice, if I remember.
However, that came after a great opening with 'Cool Kids Of Death'.
'Hobart Paving' was beautiful, apart from a bloody awful guitar where
the brass section should be, 'Avenue' almost a sprightly spring song,
'Former Lover' revealed itself to be based on a Nick Drake track (hmm
- St. Etienne are certainly NOT Nick Drake), 'Nothing Can Stop Us'
suffered the worst from being revamped. It was not the best gig I've
seen, by a long way, but certainly the most fun. (The Bristol show
was somewhat worse in that people decided to mosh. . .).
Huggy Bear - Highbury Garage (April 1)
Support was by Rent Boy Assasin (or was it Assasins?) and Spectreman.
The Assasin made a big fuss over the fact that they'd been billed with
a extra 'S', or without one, or something. Anyway, I remember that.
I also remember the Rage Against the Machine-like silly hats and that
one of Cornershop was playing drums. I remember sod all about the
music. . .
Spectreman, however, had a standup female drummer wearing shades. In
fact most of the band had shades. And a large collection of Billy
Childish 7"s. Garage punk-pop done extremely well - nothing original
to write home about, but I'd see them again, or maybe pick up an LP
if they were cheap.
Huggy Bear claimed this was the last time they were playing London as
Huggy Bear. Now they claim it was the last time they'd be playing any
old songs in London. . . either way, it was a strange gig, pretty
much void of the usual faces (Amelia Heavenly, Dale Blood Sausage,
Skinned Teen, various Waaaah! and Sarah people), and, for a Huggy Bear
show, trouble free. What's weird about them now is that whilst before
they could rarely convert their music from record to stage (about as
well as the Pastels) their records now leave me cold, while they're
live performances are astounding. You can put a lot down to charisma,
a lot to volume, & the tightness of the band - Karren's drumming
especially. And I guess a fair bit to vodka consumption with my best
friends beforehand!
I can't help feeling that they've lost something, however - they will
never offer the 'challenge' they did coming on before Sonic Youth &
Pavement with no real expectations to live up, or down. Back then
they may have stolen ideas from Nation Of Ulysses, but they didn't
actually sound like it. Now it sort of feels like bespoke lo-fi music
for the lo-fi underground; I'm not sure if I can blame them though,
considering that they were too contradictory & intelligent for the
indie mainstream, and equally considered 'traitors' by 'punk' purists.
Back to the gig - there were a couple of songs from the LP ('February
14' and the one that ends 'Why not make a T-Shirt out of your
dreams?'), one from 'Don't Die', and plenty of 'new' stuff (actually,
the stuff on the 'Long Distance Lovers' 7" was first played on last
years John Peel session).
The new stuff showed a strong shift to Chris as pretty much the centre
of the band, and a more 'American' sound :-) tight, fast & lots of
atonal touches - I guess the loss of a guitarist has meant a loss of
the fuzzy rhythm playing. I was dancing, and I enjoyed it, but I miss
the way they were.
Anyway they ARE going to split up on Sept 31st, after another American
tour & Europe - this is the third anniversary of the first gig.
Karren plans to go back into theatre and to build an observatory, but
they say they'll all continue to make & record music together in some
form, or other.
Oh, their new 'Main Squeeze' 7" has a picture of Moomins in the middle
:-)
Primal Scream - Cardiff University (early-April)
Well, I still haven't bought the LP and have no intention to, but live
Scream is always a party, and one where you can laugh at your hosts.
Andrew Norman hit it right on the head when he said that Bobby is
claiming this is all tongue-in-cheek because people laughed at him.
The best bit was when they stopped even playing their own music at all
& became the Stooges, at a volume so loud a lump of earwax actually
dislodged itself from a recess in my ear - thank you, Primal Scream.
Four stage-managed encores, 'Rocks' played twice, this was pure
rock'n'roll theatricality, right down to the duplicated 'jam' of
'Higher Than The Sun'/ Coltrane/Sly Stone that they did 2.5 years ago.
They bring out the real cynic in me, but they also make me dance. So
I danced. And thought cynical thoughts.
Kris Needs DJing tonight was pretty good - straight in with 'Anarchy
In The UK' after they came off stage, he just played a mix of
energetic raw music. Sorry, I'm totally ambivalent about this band,
though their indie/dance stuff was pretty much the finest of its ilk
(probably not to those who found the whole think a bit 'sucky' &
mersh, but I guess you had to be there).
Flemgods/Flying Saucer Attack/Sebadoh - The Legendary Newport TJ's
(mid April)
TJ's is done out like a cave. It's also one of the few places outside
London to do consistently well with small American acts. We're
talking B.A.L.L. and Jad Fair gigs, Shellac. . . I guess they do
pretty well out of the fact they put on Nirvana & Babes In Toyland in
the past, and people turn up on reputation - it's not so good for
British bands though, which is a pity.
Flemgods are one of our local bands who like going 'AAAAARGH' lots and
probably find bile an immensely fascinating song subject. Musically
they're a bit more interesting, but not much - punk with a few jazz
chords & a touch of funk bass-playing, to suggest they listen to
Beefheart AND the Ohio Players (hey, we're eclectic). They're
actually on the same label as. . .
Flying Saucer Attack, who, rather than trying to persuade us of their
love for the songs of American Music Club, Syd Barret & Nick Drake,
decide to convince us the only records they own were made in Cologne
in 1973. (Or by Loop in 1990 if you want a more modern reference).
The drummer/ keyboardist wears an Earth First T-Shirt and locks in to
a repetitive, dare I say tribal, groove. Rachel, on bass, follows
suit - on one of the three (count 'em) numbers, she locks onto a
single note, pulsing out between the drums & twin sheets of guitar
feedback that are being slowly fed through an office shredder.
There's a lot of on-stage nodding & sign language going on. This is
their second ever gig, there is no set list, and they only rehearsed
this afternoon. The band can't play anything that Dave (who WAS
Flying Saucer Attack until recently) did on the LP. This is
astounding, and almost certainly unrepeatable - three top-notch
instrumentals.
After that, Sebadoh were Sebadoh. Not being the type to note writers'
credits very much, I don't know 'which' Sebadoh I like - I don't get
an awful lot of mileage out of what I've heard ('Vampire' remains the
one I play people most). I almost didn't recognise 'Crest' - some
Stereolab fan I am. . . I can't really comment, to be honest, so I
won't. I just wish they'd get Yo La Tengo over here (and they hadn't
turned down the Dogbowl/Damon & Naomi gig because they don't like
Kramer :-( ).
????/Brittlehead/God Is My Co-Pilot - TJ's (2 weeks ago)
I didn't catch the name, or any words by the first band, but they came
from Swindon. The singer was delivering his words quickly with plenty
of spittle and big pauses between them, creating a sense of
inarticulation, like someone with brain damage (he wasn't like that
off stage). The music reminded me of Fugazi (a little) and judging by
the band/fans, they seem to be part of the British end of the
straight-edge scene (funny to see so many people drinking soft drinks
in TJ's).
Brittlehead had a Strechhead & a Dawson member in their lineup - one
drummer and one bass player. They also had a second drummer & bass
player, and a saxophonist/flautist and were superb. More a punk line
up playing jazz than jazz-tinged punk, they were tight & danceable;
the drumming at times hinted towards samba (the heavy variant!), while
little snatches of familiar standards came through in the wind
playing.
It was the first time I'd ever caught/heard God Is My Co-Pilot; a
friend had little good to say about them, but our tastes have
sufficiently parted that I wasn't willing to trust his word. Anyway,
I ended up walking out with a copy of 'Speed Your Trip' and a
Hattifatteners single (sorry for any spelling mistake there) - a
Moomins reference is good enough for me. . . Anyway, it was a
really exciting & diverse gig - I particularly liked the slow smoky
jazzy ones (reminded me of Huggy Bear playing their Shock-Headed
Peters cover), and the sense of humour they displayed (a Eurythmics
cover!).
Marmite Sisters/Prolapse/Huggy Bear - Leicester Princess Charlotte
(last Thursday)
Another long weekend holiday spent going to see Huggy Bear, and
luckily it was a sunny four days (thankfully it's rained all day back
at work). The Marmite Sisters are one of those bands who will always
play 3rd on the bill. To quote "We're only doing this for our career"
(what career?). Doubly annoying when my friends were supposed to be
supporting with Prolapse & Huggy Bear's blessing - but the Marmite
Sisters are an established local act. So on principle we stared at
them for one song, then walked off. They may not have been as
mediocre as the first song, but I doubt it.
Prolapse were all over the place (and not at all drunk I'd warrant) -
the best tracks on the single worked pretty well, but the rest didn't
stick in the mind - not half as much as the loaf of bread they were
ironing, and Linda's habit of walking off stage between her lines,
coming back on to stand still & deliver the next few. Mick's banter
was inspired, when you could make it out (especially 'apologising' for
an earlier insult to the Marmite Sisters which no one else heard!).
The concept is great, and they're fun to watch - maybe soon they'll
have the songs & records to match. Huggy Bear had a few problems
(Jo's microphone failed to work, for one), but the set was every bit
as tight as in London, with the advantage of a provincial (and less
'cool') audience. They didn't play any material from before the most
recent couple of 7"s. Afterwards Tim (a friend of ours) somehow
managed to end up discussing Star Trek with them :-)
Well, I think that's all the gigs since last time, not counting the
rehearsal of Dissected Wood Volcano :-)
------------------------------
From: Sean Keric Murphy <grumpy@access.digex.net>
notes from a small subdivision of hell...
Wow... it's been a while since I've written for this... a couple
notes and then on to reviews and other nonsense...
1. TELEGRAPH is accepting submissions - no record reviews, no show
reviews, no "standard music stuff" but rather thought pieces about
music, interviews, etc. - This issue's theme revolves around THE MAN
and Music - interpret that however you like. I think we're still
planning to put it out around May 15, so get cracking and send your
submissions to Mark Cornick <mcornick@nyx.cs.du.edu>. (NOTE - new
address until September. Honest.)
2. For those who are signing off for the summer - I'm losing my
current account at the end of this month and will be purchasing time
on a commercial account at that time. My new address is:
<grumpy@access.digex.net>
and that's where all I-L and Telegraph subscription mail should go from
now on.
OH YEAH, WHAT ABOUT MUSIC?
Made a few sales to the Record Exchange last week and returned home
with a few records already well reviewed in these pages (new ones from
Unwound, Rodan, and Helium), a second French-language Pet Clark LP
(shameless rips/changes of "Downtown" and "Needles and Pins" stand out
in my mind right now), and these discounted gems:
1. Thomas Leer and Robert Rental, "The Bridge" (Mute/Grey
Area/Industrial)
Two Scotsmen who honestly were trying to create a link between the
"new wave" and the newly emerging "industrial music" scene in 1979.
Lots of interesting noises and song structures here, more reminiscent
of the Gilbert/Newman/Lewis post-Wire stuff than any Throbbing Gristle
or Test Department. Leer went on to make some straight new-wave stuff
on Cherry Red, while Rental fell more into industrial dance... but
both had solid roots in the experimental at one point.
BTW, this is just one of the many CD reissues done by Mute in the last
couple years, along with 3 Swell Maps CDs, a good chunk of the
Throbbing Gristle catalog, Dome LPs... all really cool art-noise
shit.
2. Stuart Moxham, "Random Rules" (Peak Records - no address given)
Hmmm... a second LP of Moxham recordings - I'm inclined to think that
these are of more recent vintage than the stuff that Feel Good All
Over released last year, but I could be wrong... if you're waiting
for "Colossal Youth II" then go elsewhere. Soft, melodic, sometimes
scattered poppish stuff - good for a mellow night as background music
but not too captivating on a first listen.
3. Savage Republic, "Customs" (Fundamental/I.P.R.)
Yee-haw... These fucking idiots at my local record store keep putting
out Savage Republic records in the $4 CD pile... Customs is studio LP
#4 from Bruce Licher and Jackson Del Rey, and it's pretty consistent
with the others - tribal, hypnotic, then screeching, bellowing, raging
music influenced by the middle east. Their deconstruction/reworking
of Rapeman's whole Budd EP into one 8-minute song called "Rapeman's
First EP" is pretty amazing. MOTHERFUCKER! Basically, grab any Savage
Republic stuff you see - if you don't like it, talk to me - maybe I'll
want it (particularly if it's Jamahiriya or Ceremonial or the live
double 10"...).
[the latest IPR catalog lists all these as catalog stock in one
format or another, as well as mentioning reissuance of their back
catalog on CD at some point in the future. - PO Box 1483, Tempe AZ,
85280 -es]
4. Pink Floyd, "Meddle" (Harvest/EMI)
Yes, Pink Floyd. If your musical comprehension ends around 1977 (with
the exception of the stooges/mc5/velvet underground/13th floor
elevators/neil young/pebbles/nuggets/boulders comps), then you're
missing lots of really great music. I'm not saying you should run out
and buy Allman Brothers bootlegs or anything like that, but there was
tons of great independent music made before "punk rock" emerged. And
Pink Floyd made a lot of great music, most of it before "Dark Side of
the Moon" (though there are still flashes found in "Dark Side" and
"Wish You Were Here" and even "The Wall").
The highlight here is "Echoes" - 24 minutes with a great bass hook and
not as much noodling as I had anticipated. This is art. It's a wee
bit pretentious, but certainly not as bad as Yes or King Crimson (I've
tried, but I only really like the first Crimson LP... shoot me now if
you like) or many others who have been lost in the shifting of time.
Incidentally, the first time I heard "Echoes" was a live performance
of it by all the guys from False Front and Ween jamming together -
totally stellar, cosmic, insane - 8 people packed into about 90 square
feet - an organ, a drum kit, two basses, four guitars... they played
for 45 minutes and could have gone on forever. (And I totally HATE
Ween, and think False Front is usually pretty boring.)
Anyway, I now return you to your usually scheduled "indie-rock"
discussion...
Sean
grumpy@access.digex.net
------------------------------
From: Jonathan Tronson <73543.3230@CompuServe.COM>
More LA band stuff
In Digest #329, someone outlined the LA's current indie groups and
their new releases....Well, I'd like to add my two cents worth to this
short list:
POPDEFECT (one fucking word) has a new CD out on SUB POP containing
approx. 7-8 tracks of new material plus their usual bonus sound
morsels packed at the end. This ex-Seattle threesome packs a wallop
of rockabilly/surf/early '80s punk sound. If you haven't already, last
year's CD is a definite must, titled "Punch Drunk" also on SUB POP.
Buy it cause it's good for you! Right now they're on a month tour of
the south and midwest. So catch em if you can.
SLUG (also one fucking word) has a new CD soon to be released on
Matador. Due to an artwork mixup with fellow LA "rocker" BECK, whose
new LP cover had such a remarkable resemblance to SLUG's intended
cover that they (the latter) had to find a new one. I've seen the
video for "Aurora F" and the song is definitely swinging. The SLUG
boys also have a CD out from '92-'93 titled "Swingers," which is a
cult favorite among noise lovers. They also have half a dozen or so
7"s out on Magnatone Records. I saw their 7" split with Unsane on
clear flexi selling for $18!!!!!!!!!!
Also don't forget about Charles Brown Superstar and Canopy. Both
these bands had semi-successful 7"s out recently...grrl rocking party.
PS....Does anyone have the list of cities that Combustible Edison is
playing??
Thanks.
------------------------------
c/o "K. Lena Bennett" <keb@u.washington.edu>
ANNOUNCE: sub>pop> on the net
From: Ismael Marrero (Wasser)
To: SOC MS Alternative Music Group
Cc: SOC Alternative Music Discussion
Subject: sub>pop alias
Date: Monday, May 02, 1994 1:33PM
...Please let your friends and correspondents in the Microsoft
Alternative Music Group know that to reach Sub.Pop via internet, they
can now write to "loser@subpop.com". For a current list of e-mail
addresses, band contacts, and other Internet services that S>P offers,
type "get email info.txt" in the body of the message or, for the
e-mail version of our catalog (albeit an abbreviated one -- we're
almost finished with it) and ordering information, put "get email
catalog". Or just put "help".
[you can also use ftp to get the document -
ftp://subpop.com/pub/info.txt. SP is definitely learning about this
stuff.... -es]
------------------------------
From: blue slurpee junky <whitebrd@eden.rutgers.edu>
ANNOUNCE: NJ is Fun, bucko.
because brandon and mark are complete morons, they've decided to put
on another indie 500 outdoor show (blech). this time around it's
called indie 6000 (space age, eh?) and at this point we think it's
only gonna last for one day in august at a different spot (to avoid
fatherly anti-everything restrictions) with different ideas and a
whole new agenda (hell on us). okay, here's where you come in. any
interesting bands who would want to play or any kind souls who wanna
help us out (to avoid a two-man fiasco) should write to po box 255,
new brunswick, nj 08903 or reach brandon via email at
whitebrd@eden.rutgers.edu. thanks from over here at jiffy boy
records. (oh, by the way, we have a cool cd compilation out with
grifters, lilys, barnabys, viva satellite, poole, etc. ask me about
that, too...)
------------------------------
From: susan@acs.bu.edu (Susan Curran)
ADV: Warped Reality #2
Announcing.... WARPED REALITY... dedicated to uncommon music and art
Issue #2 has interviews with: Kristin Hersh, Chris Bigg of v23, The
Breeders, Miranda Sex Garden, Big Hat, Opium Den, and album/single
reviews
Coming next issue: Liz Phair, Th' Faith Healers, Scarce, Helium, comix
artist Matt Howarth, Stereolab, The Glee Club and others
Still available: issue #1 with His Name is Alive, God is My Co-Pilot,
Belly and children's book illustrator Maira Kalman
Issues are $2.50 ppd. or $10 for a 4-issue sub
payable to Andrea Feldman at:
Warped Reality
PO Box 2515
Providence, RI 02906
email inquiries to: susan@acs.bu.edu
------------------------------
From: Eric Bradford <72154.3657@CompuServe.COM>
ADV: THICKER
Issue #1 of Thicker zine is available now. Features:
* Free 7" by Ken Chambers (Moving Targets/Bullet LaVolta) - 2 new songs not
on his upcoming Taang! release
* 9 page Shellac interview with original pictures taken by the band
of each other
* Interviews with Superchunk, Kustomized (ex-Volcano Suns/Bullet LaVolta)
and Ken Chambers
* Glossy cover w/metallic copper
Email to Eric at 72154.3657@compuserve.com
or $4 to PO Box 881983, SF, CA, 94188-1983
<------------------------------------------------------------>
The Indie-List Digest is published a few times each week (usually
Tuesdays and Fridays) by the Indie-List Infotainment Junta, Unltd.
What Who Where
Editors Eric Sinclair esinclai@indiana.edu
Anne Zender azender@indiana.edu
Mailings Sean Murphy grumpy@access.digex.net
Archives Chris Karlof karlofc@seq.cms.uncwil.edu
FTP ftp://ftp.uwp.edu/pub/music/lists/indie
Consultants: Mark Cornick, Joshua Houk, Sean Murphy, Liz Clayton and
K. Lena Bennett.
Indie-List is not copyrighted. It may be freely reproduced for any
purpose. Please cite Indie-List as your source.
<-------------------------------------->
please send your articles for the next
issue to <indie_submit@indiana.edu>.
<-------------------------------------->