See how the cows start to shine like light bulbs...
#############################
Indie List Digest!
May 1, 1995
Volume 4 Number 26
#############################
pop music and drama
LMF continued...
ANNOUNCE: Ruby Falls dates
AD: Spring releases on Sonic Bubblegum.
AD: Charlotte, NC venue
For those who might have worried (ha!), we didn't fall off the face of the
earth. But with comittments and all the rest that snuck up on us, we
took a week off unanticipatedly.
In the meantime, some of those comittments were musical, which Anne
summarizes below. -es
Silkworm, April 24, Second Story, Bloomington, Ind.
Showed up way too early for this show, as normally happens in
Bloomington, as usually the members of the opening bands make a
point of wandering around the club drinking beer till they're good
and ready to play. Half an hour and a Subway sandwich later we came
back halfway through a set by local scenesters Daisy Glaze. They
were sort of The Pixies-meet-X-Ray-Spex for the '90s, complete with
a violin player. I did not like them very much; however, it was
amusing to learn from other audience members that they sell their
own practice tapes through their own personal zine. Email me for
details [I dare you -es].
Silkworm seemed a little subdued, although whether that is their
normal stage demeanor I can't say. They might have been put off by
the inertia of the audience, I suppose. Mostly they played stuff
from 'Libertine', with occasional references to their first album,
which, they gleefully reminded us, was out of print [but due to be
reissued next year (?) on Matador. Finally! -es], and one song
from 'In the West', a bone-chilling version of "Garden City Blues"
that was mostly propelled by the drums. I really enjoyed this show,
which was marred only by a bizarre altercation between two members
of the audience who got into a bit of a shouting match with the
bartender. Just as one of the irked couple got up and started
marching indignantly to the bar, his date barked after him: "Norman,
don't be so hard-headed!" Words to live by...
Five days later we were on the road yet again, bound for a Saturday
night in Chicago of girls and guitars. First stop was the Fireside
Bowl, where The Smears were opening up for the unfortuately named Butt
Trumpet. The local band, MU330, (or "RU486" as someone called them)
was a ska outfit that included a trombone. Lots of kids with
porcupine hairdos seemed to like them.
The Smears, on the first night of yet another East Coast tour,
played a somewhat expurgated set because one of their mothers was in
the audience. I guess enthusiasts of "Cum into My Mouth" were sadly
disappointed. Their garage rock stompin' is still sort of sloppy,
but they're learning how to bellow effectively.
Butt Trumpet summed up their own sound nicely: "Just give us four
chords and a nursery rhyme, and I think we've got it," they told the
audience fairly early in the set. Anthemic pop-punk, catchy in a
petulant sort of way. Notable songs: "I Hate You," a song about
divorce, and "Diarrhea." Fill in the blanks yourself. [Pick hit of
the evening - "I wanna be on Epitaph". And they could be -
they're clever, hooky, fun. Much better than I had anticipated from
their name. Some of the music betrayed a "young songwriting"
structure, taking the form of rants against those who had slighted
the protaganist (ala John Trubee, actually), but the bulk of it was
a great time -es]
We moseyed along to the Sabalon Glitz/Helium Show at Lounge Ax, where
people were wedged in from wall to wall. We missed Ruby Falls [see
below] and arrived early on during Sabalon Glitz, who specialize in
drony, hypnotic guitar sound with dark, dramatic-sounding vocals. I
found myself staring endlessly at the synchronized twinkling of the
Christmas lights hung above the stage, which I suppose was the effect
they wanted. Last song involved endless crunching of the same riff
and the lead vocalist giving most of her attention to a theremin, and
it went on far too long. [I disagree... While the songs were long,
and based strikingly in a droney tradition, they rarely seemed too
long to my ears. The over-drama the band seemed to hope to inspire
was the only drawback I felt in their performance... -es]
After an endless wait, Helium appeared, playing to what seemed to be
an adoring audience. Many people swear by this band, particularly by
the talents of leader Mary Timony, but I am not one of them.
After about four songs I lost interest in the mid-tempo tunes, not
particularly imaginative melodies, and Timony's sleepy, soft voice.
Disappointing. [I found them only slightly in the disappointing
realm. I felt Mary Timony's guitar work was indeed interesting -
detuned and herky-jerky (although the late 20th C whiteguy in me
wonders if I would have been as "interested" if Mary Timony were
Martin Timony...) - and the band sufficiently tight. If I had a
problem with the performance, it was in the mix of the vocals where
we were pressed up against the wall, such that Timony's voice was
buried so only the breathlessness of it was heard. -es]
<------------------------------>
From: Malathrsk@aol.com
pop music and drama
First off, I hope I'm not breaking some sort of unwritten rule by
reviewing some records on major labels. Some of these bands did their
fair share of time on indies and just because they've moved to a major
doesn't mean these aren't good records and they don't deserve to be
purposely overlooked. In all fairness though, I'm not giving you the
addresses of the majors. They're big boys and can fend for
themselves. Besides, it's good that they spend their advertising $$
on music that deserves it for a change. Also, the line between indie
and major is a little blurred and I'm just here to steer you towards
some great pop records. So first some record reviews, then a live
review and perhaps a funny story before bedtime.
[The general ruling of the Indie List editorial staff is that we try
to limit ourselves in our zeal to expunge major content to "within
reason". That said, we do draw some lines, and some stuff gets
dropped in that mix of subjective and objective content control (only
the author knows for sure...). The major review listed herein does
pertain to the larger topics of indie v. major... c.f. the FAQ for
more details... -es]
palace-west palm beach /gulf shores (drag city): there is a certain
formula for reviewing palace records. first you stuff your favorite
pipe, then you sink back into your favorite overstuffed chair (this is
assuming you remembered to turn on the record.) now just sorta let it
wash over you. nobody ever promised you that will oldham's voice was
pretty, but the music is heartfelt and relaxing. of course you'll
find yourself sitting in your chair long after the record is over,
wondering just what you can put on next that will make you feel as
good as that last record did.
the magnetic fields- all the umbrellas in london/rats in the garbage
of the western world (merge): While Magnetic Fields records may be
casio-driven, they're not necessarily simple. While they may be
driven by despair, they still seem bouncy at times. And this can lead
to a very interesting combination,as shown by these songs. I predict
that even though Stephin sounds depressed, he's not about to string
himself up a la Ian Curtis, in which case we can look forward to more
of this stuff from the sad-pop niche that Magnetic Fields have carved
out for themselves.
Radiolaria-s/t (juanita records): a 4 song ep by a band right here in
my hometown of Cincinnati. I was a little worried at first. You
usually have to hang around a place for a while before you find out
which are the good bands (as opposed to the cool ones.) This is a
really good first effort. It does have the boy/girl strum pop thing
going, which may be getting a bit over done these days. Still it is
refreshing to hear this kinda music while it still shows enthusiasm.
This record shows enthusiasm, and none of it gets lost through over
production. Order this off-kilter little gem right from 'em and make
their day, and yours, too.
bunnygrunt-inanimate objects/fish of life (march): the exuberance of
bunnygrunt's particular form of happy pop is hard to beat. the a-side
is one of those perfect little 3 minute ditties complete with
wonderful harmonies and cool guitar solo. the b-side seems to forgo
those harmonies in favor of the guitar solo, which is still cool, but
i like the a-side little better. all told, i wouldn't miss this
single if i were you.
wilco-am (reprise):by now everybody knows that this is Jeff Tweedy
from Uncle Tupelo's new band. UT records can be spotty in parts, even
their best one, Anodyne. Regardless Anodyne was a band who had found
their niche. What's missing on this record is the slower, melancholia
of Jay Farrar's songs. Not that Jeff Tweedy is a bad songwriter. On
the contrary, this is a great record. A lot of fun. It still retains
the midwest charm and there's nothing bad about it. Box Full of
Letters or Pick Up the Change should be singles. I just miss Jay
Farrar's voice now and then.
the mad scene-sealight (merge): there is a certain bit of tension in
these quiet pop songs. this is the second lp by hamish kilgour and
friends. one of the things i like about new zealand pop is that
they're not afraid to use other instruments besides the guitar bass
drums axis. just the right amount of horns and keyboards, accentuate
these songs making for another great record from the fertile little
island in the south pacific.
Suddenly,Tammy!-we get there when we do (warner/reprise):this is the
perfect example of how the move to a major can benefit a band. this
is a wonderful lp that will probably see better distribution and
better advertising than they could have gotten on a smaller label.
and yet this record loses none of it's slightly left of mainstream
charm. while the lack of guitars may be a gimmick with other bands it
just seems natural here. the piano is a nice lead instrument and the
band works well together. this is an lp full of swell pop songs. in
a perfect world songs like "not that dumb" would knock that sheryl
crow crap right off the airwaves.
lilys - eccsame the photon band (spinart): quiet and spacy, this
record is as comfortable as your favorite t-shirt. this record is
certainly more akin to the first lilys record (the near impossible to
find, "in the presence of nothing") than to the more recent ep ("a
brief history...") let's hope that since we haven't heard anything out
of MBV, people will have forgotten about all that shoegazer stuff and
we won't have to suffer through those comparisons..anymore.
epic soundtracks-sleeping star (bar none): i believe this is epic
soundtrack's 2nd solo record and it's a good record. it really is,
but well,it's safe. there is some really good stuff on here but
absolutely nothing groundbreaking. if anything it's alot like say
t-bone burnette or lloyd cole records. they're good for a little
while, then after that you just find yourself not listening to them
anymore.
LAZY, BUNNYGRUNT,and CLIFFORD NEVERNEW 4/14 @ Sudsy Malones
I missed the fiirst half of Clifford Nevernew's set because I was
outside getting a breath of fresh air. I came in and immediately went
back outside for alot of fresh air. Next time I'll just come out
later. I was glad to finally get to see bunnygrunt. on their records
they sound like they're all about 16, and I'll be damned if they
didn't look much older. That's good because if a guy as old as me
jumped around on stage and had as much fun as they did, it would look
pretty silly. Bunnygrunt were simply charming. And it was quite
amusing to see the bass player throw fuck yea!s and hell yea's back at
the frat boys in front between songs. Obviously most people were here
to see Lazy. I saw them once right after I got here, and thought they
were OK. Kinda wished I'd have gotten up to GB when I had the
chance. But tonight, they were ON. They were really having a good
time. The drummer was drumming super-hard, the guitar was churning,
the frat boys were gone (or at least subdued) and the crowd was really
into it. And when the bass player girl sang "I gotta, gotta crush on
you", I went weak in the knees.
Bar None po box 1704 hoboken,nj 07030
Drag City pobox 476876 chicago, il 60647
juanita records 2569 w. mcmicken #2 cincinnati oh 45214
Merge Records po box 1235 chapel hill, nc 27514
March records po box578396 chicago,il 60657
SpinArt Records po box 1798 NYC 10156-1798
Remember to e-mail me for info on a cool zine about pop music and drama.
And now this:Just a story that I thought I would share with you: My
pet tarantula,and this story's tenuous link to indie-pop, Calvin, has
departed from this sphere. This traumatizing event took place three
days ago. I had a hard time coming to grips with my emotions over the
whole affair. I must have been in a complete state of denial because
i told my girlfriend that he got away. All in all, it=92s been pretty
hard to keep a straight face as she shakes out her underwear and shoes
each morning before putting them on.
dave@mal. risk
I was listening to Smog "Sewn to the sky" while I typed this. I
finally found it!
<------------------------------>
From: DLM94001@UConnVM.UConn.Edu
LMF continued...
hello. before continuing & concluding the loud music fest saga,
thought i'd drop a line on some of the good stuff out there right now.
i've always enjoyed the geographical aspect of independent music:
being able to get into great bands from d.c., north carolina, olympia,
san diego, etc. assuming that there are other like-minded readers out
there right now, thought that i'd send out some props for northeast
bands that deserve 'em, that might not be getting the attention that
they fully deserve wherever one may be reading this. in this respect,
i once again call attention to nyc's vitapup, on tour now w/kaia (team
dresch). if an opportunity to see them exists, i advise following
through. likewise w/ruby falls. ahem. also, a call to attention for
two very delicious 45s that are further advertised below. syrup usa
is one of my favorite boston bands right now, and their 1st 7" is
finally available. i actually prefer this to seana's work w/the
swirlies, if this is any indication as to how yummy this platter be.
the other boston band i've been digging has also recently been alotted
funds to put out vinyl, karate. and belatedly & deservingly.
hopefully, the 3 or 4 shows that they did w/fugazi will get them the
recognition that they've well been worthy of (on a less regional
basis) for over a year now. write to those addresses, and check 'em
out. ok. northampton...
4.01
delta 72: ran all the way from the north star after small in order to
make it to this on time. a big fan of kim thompson's recorded
material w/cupid car club (altho i'm still trying to find someone
w/getaway car stuff), josh & i were quite excited to see her new kill
rock stars/dischord band. maybe our expectations were to high. or
maybe the whole fashion/image aspect of some music today has been
getting overly irritating. either way, we were disap- pointed. kim
had her basic open bass lines & yelps, the guitarist reminded me of a
not-so-good john spencer imitation; reiterating the same slide guitar
lines over & over, there was a keyboardist that was ok but pretty
repeditive, and the drummer actually kept the whole thing together.
it wasn't horrible, just not that good. who knows. the single should
be out next month. hopefully they will grow, or become more creative
w/their song structures. we'll see.
the lune: had been recommended to see this band, and took advantage of
their timely time slot. i was completely unprepared by what had to be
my favorite never-seen-before and overall one of the best and most
creative bands playing the l.m.f. they opened up w/something unique
enough, a trio consisting of acoustic guitar, snare w/brushes & doo
raggish bass drum (something like a cardboard box), and alternating
trumpet. w/in 15 minutes, an accordion and a slab of wood had made
appearances as well. and to top it off, the highlight was their
electric set. i don't know how to describe their sound, the musicians
were all fantastic (easily the best drummer of the evening). nothing
very heavy, nothing particularly familiar. just plain damn good &
grooving. left me smiling and happy, especially when josh came in
w/cookies to eat (supper time). then it was time to hike again.
luca brasi: back at the north star, a little bit of unprepared for
disorganization. apparently, the swirlies (the only band we would
have missed karate for) had already cancelled. unfortunately, we
didn't know this until syrup was done playing. so the entire time
that we were watching luca brasi, all i could think was "shit, they're
playing 25 minutes over, what's going on?" although they were tight
and relatively good, i was impatient & bored & thought that all of
their songs sounded the same. good energy, it just didn't appeal to
me.
syrup: this band gets tighter and tighter and better and better every
time that i see them. there seemed to be a relatively descent sized
crowd of swirlies fans there to see them, which was cool. best of
all, tho, i think that it's finally time to drop the FEATURING SEANA
FROM THE SWIRLIES label. syrup has come into their own as a fantastic
and fun band, equally entertaining & one quarter of the sound. played
their usual songs and sold lots of 7"s, which was nice. a fun show.
pick up the vinyl. or hop on to their mailing list. good music to
have crushes to, or just be plain wistful about.
spent: had only heard the song on the now sounds comp previously.
nice mature pop from n.y.c. now on merge. as josh pointed out, it
wasn't any formula we hadn't heard before (or this weekend), but it
was done nicely. if anything, a little over-polished. the vocals
were my favorite part, they all have their own styles (one of them
bears a shocking resemblence to a suicidal calvin k's), and sing
pretty harmonies. pleasant would be the word.
roger miller: hol-eeee shit. i'm 20 years old. this leaves me a
generation behind the whole mission of burma thing (not to make anyone
feel old [hey! -es], if anything, it makes me feel really ignorant).
this was beyond anything we could have expected. playing through a
loop machine, he'd work in 3-4 riffs @ once, complete w/eerie vocals,
much intensity, and even a sun-ra cover. yikes. left me glued to the
back of my chair & looking @ josh w/my jaw dropped @ the end of every
song. amazing.
versus: most of the people in the crowded iron horse were pretty
psyched for the next two bands. versus is among my favorites live as
well, and as usual, could not disappoint. i love their new material.
i don't know what else to say. i assume & recommend all fans of punk
& pop to (have) see them.
small factory: weird... i never really liked them a lot. i loved
certain songs here and there, mostly their ballads, but usually got
bored by the similar song structures. i guess that this is probably
illegal. we were both ready to leave early if bored. i assume that i
now know why everyone likes them so much. the set must have been over
40 minutes, but went by like half-a-minute. found myself
unconsciously dancing & bobbing my head up and down, in love w/the
entire atmosphere. a very energetic, entertaining set. big fat eye
opener for dann. a good finale to a fun weekend.
although a little unorganized @ times, the entire l.m.f. went off
nicely. if any complaints @ all, it would probably be a wish for more
diversity in the bands performing. a little more of the heavier
stuff. part of the reason i ached for yo-yo this summer was the
opportunity of seeing karp, built to spill, and mary lou lord in one
afternoon. but nothing short of a good time @ a fair price.
been listening to the new muffs a bit. since they're on reprise, i
suppose that they'll be on tour w/you-know-who soon... but that's all
right. the kids need to hear kim's screamin & whinin. the karate and
syrup usa 7"s are also fabulous. the lune split w/karate is great
too. neat. next time, action heros: live reviews fr fugazi, unwound,
karate, today is the day, lois, weston, & more. rock on.
damn. i lost the addresses for the karate 7" & split w/the lune.
options: will add in next week's issue, be sure to look for: great
music well worth it. especially recommended. somewhere between...
ehhh. can't compare them to anyone. good for both pop, indie, punk,
whoever you be. for info on their upcoming shows or impatient mailing
addresses, email evitt@acs.bu.edu cool... syrup 7" postpaid $4 (a
little heavy, but worthwhile.). send checks, m.o., cash to orrin
anderson; c/o tru luv recordings 43 hano st. allston, ma 02134. er,
syrup usa also has a mailing list. be sure tofind out what's up, ask
to subscribe by sending syrupmail@aol.com a note.
dann medin; dlm94001@uconnvm.uconn.edu oxoxoxoxxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxox
"i had three chairs in my house; one for solitude, two for friendship,
three for society." -henry david therou
<------------------------------>
From: dann medin <DLM94001@UConnVM.UConn.Edu>
ANNOUNCE: for the propogation of the deserved
ruby falls is now on tour. they have songs on villa villuka (ex-kill
rock *s), pop narcotic, n more. eagerly anticipating 6song ep/cd
entitled "what she does." if you can get to any of these shows, let me
know what you thought, or just review it fr good 'ole i-l. ////
later. xoxo, dann.
RUBY FALLS may tour dates:
01 fonddulac, wi w/ezra pound (not the dead nazi supporter, i assume)
02 iowa city, io state women's center
03 minneanapolis, mn @ uptown w/period & bean girl
04 minneanapolis, mn
05 columbia, mo w/vitapup
06 louisville, ky derby party (?) @ some warehouse w/crain, vitapup, delta 72..
07 muncie, in w/tortoise, vitapup
08 bloomington, in @ some party
10 athens, oh @ a film festival
11 nashville, tn @ lucy's record shop
13 chattanooga, tn @ barking legs theater
15 memphis, tn @ barristers
17 new orleans @ some house party
18 gainesville, fl @ covered dish w/jennyanykind
19 pensacola, fl @ sluggo's
20 biloxi, ms
21 tallahasse,fl @ waterworks
22 athens, ga @ atomic music hall
if you need directions/addt'l info for any of the above shows, email
me @ dlm94001@uconnvm.uconn.edu. i'm keeping in touch w/them & will
make sure that you find out where to go. as far as their recordings
go, fr info write ruby falls @ p.o. box 162 peter stuyvesant station
nyc 10009. thanks.
<------------------------------>
From: mhibarge@chipcom.com (Mike Hibarger)
AD: Spring releases on Sonic Bubblegum.
Sonic Bubblegum is proud to announce another batch of irresistable
Spring releases. First up is from a band that includes Indie List
Archivist, Chris Karlof. His fine band is Analogue and they have a
great new 7" which highlights their deeply personal 'quiet' rock.
Melodic basslines, plaintive vocals and tricky figures (Chris is a
Math major afterall), but not to be confused w/ math rock. As an
added bonus, the sleeve is a spectacular 'die cut' thing "for the
collector scum in you".
Our second release is from Tugboat Annie. The Buffalo pop combo's
Superfriends CD is the perfect bouncy soundtrack for this Spring.
And on the opposite end of the Sonic Bubblegum spectrum is the second
full-length from the Tulips entitled _Night of the Hunter_. Dark,
brooding music for late nights, a much more melodic and musical outing
for this noisy Boston bunch of boys and girls.
Send e-mail to mhibarge@chipcom.com for a complete catalog
and ordering information.
<------------------------------>
From: Erik Christensen <erchrist@vnet.net>
AD: Charlotte, NC venue
New live music venue: The Tremont Music Hall is now in operation. We
are located at 400 West Tremont Ave. in Charlotte, NC, USA. Capacity
800, in-house sound & lights, etc. We do all types of music, though
primarily rock of some sort (modern / indie / country / hard / pop /
heavy / grunge / alternative / swamp / metal / & roll, etc.)
Self-booking, with occasional shows by outside promoters. Send kits
to : The Tremont Music Hall; POB 9485; Charlotte, NC USA 28299. Phone
is 704-343-9494 general, 704-343-9432 booking. If calling please do
so Monday or Thursday afternoons, eastern USA time. Ask for Erik or
Penny. Email erchrist@vnet.net Hope to see you there !
<------------------------------------------------------------>
Next Issue:
Another view of the Loud Music Fest
AMiniature, Versus, Seam and more
your scene...?
<------------------------------------------------------------>
The Indie-List Digest is published weekly (Mondays) or more often 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
FAQ http://www-sc.ucssc.indiana.edu/~esinclai/indie-list-faq.html
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>.
<-------------------------------------->