Language, language, language, language, language...
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Indie List Digest!
January 16, 1995
Volume 4 Number 15
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An appeal for help
One Reader's Opinion of 1994
Ditch, Cruel, Cruel Moon and Round Thing
FOSSIL
Veda Hille and some others
ANNOUNCE: Car in Car Talking Catalogue
ANNOUNCE: NW2noise Update
AD: Tuba Frenzy
From: stux@utopia1.com (Stuart What?)
An appeal for help
A reader named Stuart has sent us a rather lengthy message, which
we've deleted for space reasons. Basically, he's writing on behalf of
his girlfriend, who lives in Irving, Texas, and would like to get in
touch with other people who are fans of indie stuff. "I'm merely
asking for postcards, words of encouragement, maybe if someone can
make some cheer-ya-up tapes, old zines you don't want any more, YOUR
zine, etc." he writes. If you'd like to get in touch, send stuff to
Kerri Kraatz,916 Old Mill Circle, Irving, TX 75061, United States of
America, or write to Stuart at StuX@Utopia1.Com.
------------------------------
From: "LePageL/MF" <LePageL/MF@hermes.bc.edu>
One Reader's Opinion - 1994
The Year in Reverse - 1994
It being the end of the year, I thought I might impose on everyone to
the tune of "my favorite things" about 1994--briefly, of course.
Live! Shows I was transported by (and not merely "rocked")
Pavement at Avalon (August?)
Grifters at TTs (July?)
"A Quick One While He's Away" schmooze-fest at the Middle East (December)
Helium at the Rat (March?)
Small Factory at the Causeway (last winter)
"In the Presence of Great Musicians Named Bob" Awards:
Sugar at the Orpheum; Guided by Voices at the Middle East
The Three Full-length CDs I played very nearly to death this year:
Pavement: _Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain_
Guided by Voices: _Bee Thousand_ (the crowning achievement of their 47
releases this year)
Grifters: _Crappin' You Negative_
Honorable Mentions to:
SF Seals: _Now There_ and especially "8s," a mature love song if ever
I heard one. "Don't Underestimate Me" is a serious contender also.
Freedy Johnston: _This Perfect World_ I know, I know, he's not indie,
but he used to be (he was on BarNone last year) and this record is
really good.
Singles That Didn't Get Old:
Pavement: Garrulous (Peel sessions 1992) contains the classic hits
"Rain Ammunition" and "Ed Aims" which after all this time, I am still
not tired of.
Pavement: "Gold Soundz" contains the classic non-hit (and unlikely
ever to be so) "Strings of Nashville" with "Exit Theory" closeout.
See above.
Lotus Eaters: "Too Late" (on Harriet) A local Boston band who are sort
of like Beat Happening with a heavy folk influence. (Then again,
their fiddle player is Dambuilders' Joan Wasser.) This record answers
the question "Why do I like pop music?"
Vibralux: "Hercules" b/w "A Face Like You" Girly sound with organ.
Royal Trux: "Mercury" b/w "Shockwave Rider" (on Drag City) For style
and content both, the b-side of this one blew me away.
Air Miami: "Airplane Rider" b/w "Stop Sign" Saw Air Miami live,
thought they were pretty lame; heard this single on the radio, had to
have it; now it's one of my very favorities. Who'd have thought?
Best Compilations:
Now Sounds: _A Day in the Park_ (ace summer music)
Teenbeat Wakefield If you like Teenbeat bands, this is the one to
get. I love this from start to finish, even the Bruce Willis cut,
even the crummy Grenadine cut -- that's how sold I am.
Best Covers:
Elevator Drops: "Video Killed the Radio Star"
The Breeders: "The Freed Pig" (an all-around great 7", with another
GbV cover and their own "Head to Toe")
Best EPs:
Helium: _Pirate Prude_ (hands down winner)
GbV: various titles
Fuzzy: _the demos_ for the best rendition of "Lemon Rind," much better
than the official cd version. When I saw them live, I was thrilled to
see that it was two women on guitar making all that noise.
Best indie-radio personality:
Mark Hamilton on WZBC (college), a guy who's funny, imaginative, and
has great ears for pop music. He used to do a mostly freeform show on
Wednesdays and sometimes Thursdays with the best in indie rock
interspersed with inspired patter and (I don't know where he got these
records) stuff that sounded like '50s cartoon music. Now the guy is
totally wasted on the local show, not that local is bad, mind you, but
he sounds wan. Too bad he had to go and get a day job.
And on the downside: Drag of the Year
Kurt Cobain's death
(Courtney's success)
Submitted with all due respect and best wishes to Indie-Listers in the
new year -- Lise
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From: jac15@rabbit.INS.CWRU.Edu (Jeff Curtis)
Ditch, Cruel, Cruel Moon and Round Thing
Well I haven't written anything for the ILDigest for a long time, so I thougt
I'd respond to a few things from this issue...
>From: Sean Murphy <grumpy@access.digex.net>
>Administrivia / foresting...
>
If you don't send in stuff,
>the I-L will cease to exist. We started as a weekly digest, expanded
>to twice-weekly digests to keep up with the volume, and now have
>receded to something like once every 2 weeks? This is all a function
>of what you are writing. It doesn't have to be polished, doesn't have
>to sparkle, doesn't have to do anything other than talk about
>non-obvious music.
It's weird. It just really seems, more than ever, that there is just
way too much music going on anymore...well, not just too much music,
but too much of the stupid bullshit that goes along with most music
these days. Hell, there is just too much MEDIA period out there.
It's too much to respond to, to interact with, to feel affected, truly
affected by. It's enough to make a guy cynical, jaded. :( Which
makes it all the better when something really cool comes along...but
that hasn't happened for me in quite a while now, unfortunately...
>Enough of that... quick review time. I really don't buy as much
>music as I should any more, and I'm picking up mostly older stuff
>these days since I know what it is...
>
>Patti Smith Group - Easter (Arista)
>
>Simply put - if you don't have this record yet, go pick it up. I
Yep, a great record, and one that I myself only picked up this past
summer. Does it seem to anyone else but me that there have got to
be just hoards of used/never used but old vinyl records somewhere? I
mean, before, when new vinyl LPs were coming out normally, there were
lots of used record stores. Now, most used record stores only sell
used cds and tapes...but those old LPs just didn't disappear off the
face of the earth! Where did they go??? Will we have to start haunting
garage sales for them? There are always old records like this one I'm
looking for, things that I always used to see all the time cheap when
used vinyl was readily available, but it got sucked up into the
stratosphere or something it seems.
Anyway, I would now like to add another review of some hopelessly
obscure local bands, that I saw recently here in Cleveland. It was
the first show of the new year, Jan. 1 at the Grog Shop in Cleveland,
and featured headliners Ditch, a 3-piece band who have one or two 7"
records out on some local label. Basically, at first listen, you
might say they were a Husker Du band, but that would be pigeonholing
them too quickly. They are definitely in that genre though, but
unlike most Husker Du bands, they have some unique quality about them
that makes them very listenable, very enjoyable. There really aren't
too many HD bands around anymore, anyway, are there? (I'm asking, I
don't know of any) But the gtr player has a pretty individual style;
the songs are varied and interesting, the gtr player also has a very
nice singing voice which really gets the songs across very well. They
are a real tight band who I hope is recording an album or something.
They've been around for a while, and seem to keep improving and
inventing new songs all the time.
The opening band was a band full of friends of mine that I was
actually in for a few days, but had to quit since they live about 50
miles away from me, so I'm biased. They are called Cruel, Cruel Moon,
and live in Kent, Ohio, and are a very organic-sounding band...um,
kind of like how the Raincoats were organic sounding, do you know what
I mean? Not that CCM sounds like the Raincoats. It's just very
simple, kinda loose, but powerful and emotionally effective music.
With two very strong songwriters/singers, a very inventive gtr
player/musicwriter, and a drummer who at times uses tree limbs to play
the drums, CCM has more talent going for it than most bands have in
their whole lives. And this is a mature band too, the average age
being probably something like 33; and the songs reflect this maturity
with complex simplicity, subjective harmonies, and humble
presumptiousness. This was the third time I've seen them play, and
they are really starting to take off. Their music is so catchy, they
really seem to win over people who just happen to be there to see or
do something else, which is a great thing to be able to say about a
band. They will be recording some of their songs at Cobra Verde's
studio later this month.
The band that played third, but was not the headliner, was a local
band called Round Thing that just plain was bad. I had hopes; they
looked unusual enough and had a female bassist, but the observation
was made to me midway through their first song that they looked like a
classified ads band, a band constructed via a classified ad. Well,
their first song went on for oh...way too long, had really dumb lyrics
and a really whiny-voiced singer singing them. I didn't like the way
he held his SG either. I hate those guitars anyway, those stupid
devil-horns on them. Maybe they'll get better, I certainly hope so.
So that's it for me. I hope fewer records come out this year! see
y'all
JC
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From: bqm1808@is.NYU.EDU (Brendon Macaraeg)
FOSSIL from NJ; now on Sire-Warner
Hi folks:
Here's my first submission to the Indie List, a concert review of a
band called FOSSIL. They aren't that big, even though they were
recently signed to Sire/Warners. As far as I know, these guys have
been kicking around the New York City scene for quite a few years.
I also have a World Wide Web zine called "DREAMPOP"; I write about
mostly what some would conisder "shoegazer/ambient/ethereal" rock,
with some more mainstream stuff I like thrown in.
I also have a new band/great unknowns section where I post honest,
concise reviews of demos bands send me (Super 31, the then-unsigned
Rosemarys out of San Francisco, Garlands etc.)
The URL is http://www.itp.tsoa.nyu.edu/~student/brendonm/dream1.html
Cheers!
--Brendon
- - - - -"SOUTHERN FRIED ROCK NIGHT"- - - - -
That's what the ad for tonight's (1/7/95) lineup at CBGBs should have
said in this week's Village Voice: two of the bands were from Atlanta;
another was a mediocre funk band that played Billy Idol (?!) covers.
The band I was there to see, FOSSIL, are from northern New Jersey.
Their music goes a long way to show there are other good things in the
Garden State aside from the Turnpike.
I would like to dedicate a paragraph to the Atlanta bands for your
amusement: one was like a Lynyrd Skynyrd (sp?--I wouldn't know) on
amphetamines, the other a Gothic version of the Black Crowes. I will
say this for the later band: the lead singer was a strange combo of
James Osterberg (hey, that's Iggy Pop, man!) and the Black Crowes'
singer. I kept wondering "What drug did this guy take?" as he writhed
in mock agony and rubbed himself with his hands all over.
Whatever it was, I don't want any.
Such is the curse and blessing of CBs: you have to wade through a lot
of mediocrity to hear something good.
I first heard Fossil when they opened for Slowdive last April. The
closest band I can think of to compare them to is the Boo Radleys, an
English band that jumps all over the map stylistically:
ethereal-drone-folk-pop rock. At the same time, their tunes make nods
to the Beatles (in fact, they ended their set with a great cover of
"Taxman"). Fossil's tunes have everything I look for in this kind of
music: soaring harmonies/melodies, an aggressive yet catchy rhythm
guitar/bass/drum backing and lyrics that actually mean something in a
literal sense without being pretentious. On top of that, they put on
an energetic performance (perhaps at times a bit too well-meaning)
and don't thumb their noses at the crowd, something too many bands do
IMHO ("look at us. we're up on this stage and you're not. so there.
shut the fuck up and listen to your $8 worth ya ignorant morons").
Fossil have an EP called "Crumb" out, and in a month will have a full
LP out on Sire-Warners. If this sounds like your cup of tea, I think
you should keep an ear and eye open for them. Definitely check these
guys out if they pass through your neighborhood. Recommended.
============================================================
Brendon Macaraeg I_ID C O F F E E~A C H I E V E R~
I_ID
bqm1808@is.nyu.edu
DREAMPOP: music for the discerning ear:
http://www.itp.tsoa.nyu.edu/~student/brendonm/dream1.html
============================================================
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From: Joanne Merriam <ilion@is.dal.ca>
Veda Hille and some others
Veda Hille - Path of a Body
Once again I am writing without the benefit of the album in front of
me so I can't remember the label name, but I'm almost positive it's
indie. It's out of either Toronto or Vancouver (I think TO). This
should be available to any Canuck near a moderately sized city and
possibly some of the northern states as well, as VH has been on tour
lately and dropping off her album wherever she goes. It's pronounced
Vay-da Hill-ay, btw. Very very good, angry in an intellectual/poetic
kind of way, some great lyrics (my favorite song is the second track,
Driven, which has the lyrics: "She holds him while he's crying/ She is
so strong and blank... Oh, life is rich (convincing herself) It's not
that hard/ Nobody likes a bitch/ and it's great that she's come this
far.") The music is eclectic: mostly quiet, off-beat rhythms, some
piano, some guitar. If you like Tori Amos and More Nasty Reds you'll
probably like this.
Magic Dirt - Songs for Satanic Youth (or something like that)
This is an Aussie band on Augogo. Released 1992 or so but I just
found it kicking around a few weeks ago. If you can find it in Canada
(where I am) you can probably find it anyplace. Funky and funny, kind
of heavy on the guitar. Wicked song called "Fearless Fly" which
sounds eerily familiar, like it's a really distorted remake of a
folk tune or something....
Helen Love - Radio Hits
Actually I don't even know if this is indie. But it's funny as hell
and very Ramones influenced (song named "Joey Ramoney:" another
"Rockaway Beach for me, Heartbreak Hotel for you"). Sample lyric: "I
bought these jeans to make you love me/ I cut a hole so your hand
would fit/ Now I don't care about you/ I'm gonna sew up all the rips/
Girl power/ Girl power." in a little girl voice.
And on a different track, does anybody out there know where I can get
hold of Ruth's Refrigerator albums, or even if they put out more than
one?
Joanne Merriam, ilion@is.dal.ca
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From furnitureh@aol.com Sun Jan 8 16:16:57 EST 1995
ANNOUNCE: Car in Car Talking Catalogue
The 1995 Car in Car Disco Product "Talking Catalogue" is ready. It
explains the fire and the delay in order processing. It announces new
releases by Paste, Charlie McAlister, Wckr Spgt, The Mountain Goats,
Nothing Painted Blue, etc...
If you want a copy, send me your address or write to:
Car in Car Disco Product
112 N. Harvard Ave #19
Claremont, CA 91711
Thanks for trusting Car in Car.
------------------------------
From: Richard Payne <dirk@maires.co.uk>
ANNOUNCE: NW2noise Update
** NW2noise, 1995 and we've gone stereo and global.**
"..fundamentally unsound" - Kilburn Times.
"...a web site for the melodically challenged" - Brent Recorder.
Loadsa new stuff down at 50B this week, new music from non-Londoners in
colon-quaking super-sensurround ADPCM stero wav format (so get "cool"
from IUMA first).
FREE KITTEN - Kim Gordon's total noise super group.
HURRICANE - Solo stuff from the Beasties' DJ.
GUV'NER - with eagerly awaited UK tour dates and LP.
+
TOO PURE - Catalogue
99'ERS - Infinitely collectable 7"ers from WIIIJA.
+
If you haven't seen/heard it yet, we've got 2 tracks of improvised
scratching and screaming from :
OTOMO YOSHIHIDE and YAMATSUKA EYE - This is what I call noise!
Well, did you get anything good from Santa?
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Were still at http://ww.maires.co.uk/nw2n
noise@maires.co.uk
------------------------------
From: Tim Ross <rosst@email.unc.edu>
AD: Tuba Frenzy
AD: Tuba Frenzy #1 : Silver Jews, DF HErmans, Railroad Jerk, Sammy, etc.
Tuba Frenzy #1 (80 pages, digest-sized) features extensive interviews with
the Silver Jews (separate talks with both David Berman and Bob
Nastanovich - there's also some Pavement talk with Bob) and Dog Faced
Hermans. Also interviews with Railroad Jerk and Sammy, as well as articles
on four-track recording, counterfeiting money, and audio collage.
There's an internet debate, a few book reviews, and tons of long-ish
record reviews of stuff ranging from Drag City to Sun City Girls to Merge to
Table of the Elements to New Zealand. If you would like a copy of
Tuba Frenzy, please send $3.00 (cash or check/money order to Tim Ross)
to PO Box 576, Chapel Hill, NC 27514. Thanks.***
Tim (tubafrenzy@unc.edu)
<------------------------------------------------------------>
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Mailings Sean Murphy grumpy@access.digex.net
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