...in a castle of meanings, not things...
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Indie List Digest!
June 14, 1995
Volume 4 Number 31
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Prospective Records 7''ers
The Long Secret
7"s and Live Music
ANNOUNCE: subscriptions to imr
ANNOUNCE: i'm a playground person
ANNOUNCE: for paper airplane pilots
AD: "Kitsch 'n' Sync" Compilation CD
Here's the latest I-L straight to your e-mail box, a few days late
(or is it a day early?), but better than ever.
in the news: eric & i spent the weekend in Chicago apartment
hunting, as our move up north becomes more and more imminent (well,
in a couple of months, if that's imminent). met I-L contributor Ben
Ewens at the Belgian Waffles!/Dragking/Flying Luttenbachers gig on
Saturday, but couldn't stay for the whole thing. and we got our
monthly fix at Ajax Records, so maybe i'll be able to write some
bona fide reviews soon. not before this weekend, though--the stress
of moving has me going to bed at 9:30 every night. can anybody relate?
onward and oldward,
az
general stuff roundup:
- Ben Ohmart <FindLine@ix.netcom.com> is looking
for a collaborator for some sort of a Rock Opera.
- Molly-Ann Leikin <songmd@earthlink.net> bills herself as a
"songwriting consultant", ready to help the aspiring among, er, us
win a grammy or emmy or trophy of some sort. She's got a page at
http://www.earthlink.net/~songmd/ for those who might be, er,
interested.
- jj <recordsfan@aol.com> wanted to clarify for the
economic-sense-impaired that the singles advertised by him last
week are $3.50 each. Seems pretty obvious, you'd think. But
sometimes...
- And Liv Ungermark <LIV@p3.sr.se> writes to ask "...a band that wrote a
short great song - Car on fire: what do they do now, the three
x-Monsterland guys ???"
-es
<------------------------------>
From: bqm1808@is.NYU.EDU (Brendon Macaraeg)
Prospective Records 7''ers
What's that you say? 1000+ members on this list! Oh fer shame, fer
shame! There is so much good music out there...well, maybe I shouldn't
talk as I've only posted once before. But summer's here and I should
have more time now for music listening and posting to various mailing
lists.
Before I go into my review in any depth, I wanted to express the JOY
and HAPPINESS I have experienced since buying a brand-spanking-new
turntable. It's a TEAC. I got it new for $98 (including tax) at J&R
Music World here in NYC.
Over the spring break in March I visited my mom in Utah, where I grew
up, and brought my vinyl collection back to NYC.
I miss BIG ART and BIG lyric sheets. Plus, it always seems that I can
get rare stuff and import-only on vinyl. Another plus.
Vinyl is making or will make a comeback, I predict. Of course, I could
be wrong. CDs just stink in terms of artwork.
[not necessarily, I'll point out. In particular, some artists who
have followed in the Bruce Licher/IPR school of packaging (heavy
stock, letterpress, clean design) have made some beautiful designs. I
point the contemporary reader to the Rachel's CD for substantiation.
-es]
A couple of months ago I received some 7"ers from a lable in
Minneapolis called Prospective. I can finally listen to them with the
TEAC. Yippppeee!
Here's a quick rundown (sorry if these bands have been discussed on
here, but I don't think they have):
February-- "Bliss";"Into Red" ---EXCELLENT stuff. What would happen
if Blind Mr. Jones/Slowdive were to work in a bit of the wistfulness
of 10,000 Maniacs? There's a nice mix of flanged/swirling atmospheric
guitars and a female voice (just "Amy" on the sleeve) riding them.
Nice. Amy sounds nothing like Natalie Merchant, so please don't let
that comparison throw you off.
Deep Shag --"Always a Turn On"; "Hey You". Okay, we're two for two.
This is melodic pop-noise in a Pixies vein with a female voice. Nice.
Really polished too (some of the demo stuff I get is very amateurish)
and these people can write a damn good pop song. I can't quite make
out the lyrics with the buzzing quitars and the crashing rythm
section, but I like what I hear. In "Hey You" Lisa Parker switches
off singing with one of the other male band members.
Siscera -- "No Name"; "Fragments" ---more nice atmosphereic rock; the
guitarist is picking out a dreamy melody line that crunches into some
power chords, then back to the dreamy guitar line, but more distorted
and edgy the second time around. The vocals again are on top and
distinct. Jennifer Jurgens also has a great voice. On "Fragments" it
sounds like Siscera is going for a Phil Spector wall of sound. Works
for me.
Backbeat-wise this reminds me of the Beach Boys or the theme from
"Wild Safari". In the middle of the tune Jurgens goes into a little
spoken-word thing--someone talking to themselves about a dream they
had. Then the tune ends, with the distorto guitars fading. Cool.
Wow. 3 for 3. :-)
Colfax Abbey: "Chameleon"; "Silver".
More futzed with guitars swooshing and swirling around the vocal by
Christian Rangle, with an acoustic strumming fighting to be heard among
the din. Strong drumming, propulsive bass. This is my thing.
Over Barcelona (formerly She):"On a Star"; "November First" I guess I
have to thank Sanz Lashley, Over Barcelona's manager, for getting me
these singles. Sanz saw my post for my WWW ezine Dreampop on the 4AD
mailing list (Dreampop is out of commission for the summer as I rework
the layout and content to a format that I can more easily update on a
regular basis. I'll post something here to let y'all know when you
can poke your Webbed heads in again).
The production isn't as refined as the forementioned singles, but
perhaps the brittleness adds something, especially on "November
First", which at first reminds me musically of early Velvet
Underground and Jesus and Mary Chain ala "Darklands". "On a Star" is
straight-ahead pop, but there's a lot of nice distotion used as a
coloring between the simultaneous male female vocals.
You can send email to bighat@ripco.com to request more info about Over
Barcelona. (I think this is Sanz's email address..not sure.)
Okay, last one:
Shapeshifter: "plectrum"; "more than were"
YOW! I get tired of reading umpteen reviews of bands that are remotely
MBV-ish, but these folks hit the proverbial nail on the head with
"plectrum". This is a BIG sounding tune with the guitar grinding away
full throttle, with little sonic flourishes at the edge of the mix (I
listen to my music on headphones a lot). I can't tell what's going on
with the lyrics underneath; at first I thought I had to switch to
45 rpm, but no that didn't sound right either.
"more than were" reminds me of "pornography"-era Cure (and that's a
good thing; "pornography" is one of my favorite Cure albums). It's
plods a bit at first with some guitar noddling somewhere out there
over the horizon. Hurm...it plods all the way, but it's a nice
plodding :-). I wouldn't want to listen to a whole LP of this,
however.
Not the most upbeat way to end this batch of reviews, but there ya go.
I am into bands like Ride, Slowdive, Cocteau Twins, Blind Mr. Jones,
Love Spirals Downwards, JAMC, Curve and other stuff like Patti Smith,
VU. So if you like any of these, my definite recommends would be
Colfax Abbey and Februrary and Shapeshifter. I liked all 7 of these
7"ers but these three stood out.
If you are interested in any of this stuff (you should be--it's GOOD),
write/call/fax
Prospective Records
2217 Nicollet Ave.
Minneapolis, MN 55404
ph: 612-874-2418
fax:612-874-2430
P.S. There's a nice attention to detail in the packaging with
inserted stickers and invites to be on the band's mailing lists in a
couple of these. Hopefully Prospective will put out a compilation as
these bands all go well together in a one-shot listening. Maybe they
have one and I just don't know about it.
Cya,
-B
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THIS IS A TEST SIGNATURE FILE FROM THE ONE, THE ONLY
Brendon Macaraeg
http://www.itp.tsoa.nyu.edu/~student/brendonm
bqm1808@is.nyu.edu brendon355@aol.com
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<------------------------------>
From: lroberts@bellahs.com (Laurence Roberts RD)
The Long Secret -- Harriet Records Compiliation
I picked up a copy of this CD with 17 tracks by bands from Harriet
Records. Being a Harriet neophyte, rather than collector scum, I
can't tell you whether this is a compilation of tracks from singles
or new stuff. There's a comment that "none except #17 [the Magnetic
Fields track] have appeared before on plastic." Does plastic=CD? Is
vinyl a kind of plastic?
There's an essay inside summarizing the plot of _Harriet the Spy_, and
making an analogy between bands in this scene who have learned to "put
love into the world" vs. the likes of NIN and GG Allin. But is the
namedropping Tully Craft song "Pop Songs Your New Boyfriend's Too
Stupid to Know About" about love for humanity, or just a bratty
indie-rock taunt against bands that were indie five years ago?
Stephin Merritt appears a couple times, once in the guise of the
Gothic Archies singing "The Abandoned Castle of My Soul," and another
time with Susan Anway singing under the name of The Magnetic Fields
with "Plant White Roses."
Larry-bob
lroberts@bellahs.com
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From: "LePageL/MF" <LePageL/MF@hermes.bc.edu>
June Miscellany (7"s and Live Music)
My Seven Inch Roundup
None of these is exactly new, but they're so good, I felt obliged to
pass them along. Call it a semi-annual report.
Cibo Matto: "Birthday Cake" / "Black (H)ole Sun"
(El Diablo, P.O. Box 146, Village Station, NYC, NY 10014-9998)
Cibo Matto's hip hop number "Birthday Cake" would be worth it just to
hear Miho yell "I don't give a flying fuckazo!" but it's better than
that -- a hilarious vocal, rockin' organ riff, and plenty of out-there
samples. The b-side covers Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun," effecting
quite a major transformation from heavy to ethereal. Cibo Matto are
two young Japanese women living in NYC, and their whimisical
enthusiasm for life is enviable (they wish Italy was in New Jersey so
they could enjoy great food without moving.) The interview in
Chickfactor #8 is high-level entertainment.
The Summer Hits: 1000 Moments of Natural Flotation Silver Girl
(Silver Girl, P.O. Box 161024, San Diego CA 92176)
A '60s mod trio is placed into cryogenic sleep pods, fed continuous
drip pop music throughout hibernation, and then reawakened in 1995.
The result is this record. Breezy pop songs from another era layered
with lots and lots of postmodern guitar. "Mod Cinema" is my
favorite-the echoey production makes it sound like it was recorded in
an empty ballroom and the twisted organ is right out of Carnival of
Souls.
Palace Brothers: "West Palm Beach" / "Gulf Shores"
(Palace Records c/o Drag City, P.O. Box 476867, Chicago IL 60647)
Palace come down out of the woods and stumble into town -- a Florida
resort town during the off-season. Both songs find our hero
lingering, with his end-of-season blues and leftover girl, the future
just another setting sun. Beset with lethargy and regret, the loser
struggles vaguely, unsuccessfully, with what's left. He admonishes
his girl: "You have laid here by the water side. You have let the
family down." But we know who he's really talking to.
Plush: "Three Quarters Blind Eyes" / "Found a Little Baby" (Drag City)
Two gorgeous post-Beatle pop classics, so good that you wonder what it
would be like if you didn't have to crank `em to 9 to hear `em (I'm
only exaggerating a little). "Three Quarters Blind Eyes" reminds me
of "I Got a Feeling" on valium -- languorous and beguiling. "Found a
Little Baby" turns morbid musings ("what's so bad about dying") into a
lush evocation of pop heaven a la Phil Spector with strings, angel
choir chorus, and even a french horn solo.
Elevator Drops: "Lennon's Dead" / "Elevator to Heaven"
(Curve of the Earth, 1312 Boylston Street, Boston MA 02215)
In their continuing series of songs about dead pop icons, the Elevator
Drops pay twisted tribute to late sixties rock in "Lennon's Dead".
"Elevator to Heaven" is better, striking a nice balance between hooks
and noise. They're a strange group of guys, who seem determined to
put people off with their ironic antics live, on record, and in
interviews, but there's no denying their talent.
Papas Fritas: "Passion Play" / "Lame to Be" (Minty Fresh)
Minty Fresh, P.O. Box 577400, Chicago IL 60657
Pop meets highbrow in "Passion Play," which features a very
professional sounding string quartet. Sharp, complex, and
tightly-constructed, this song is deliberately unpassionate
passion-read coolly clever- but it's impressive all the same. "Lame
to Be," a song about not wanting to be dead, takes a way simple idea
and does great things with it.
A Very Special Pillow: "Tomorrow Night" / "Paranormal"
(Really Fast Racecar, P.O. Box 73335, Washington DC 20056)
Special Pillow is the Hoboken supergroup consisting of James MacNew
(Yo La Tengo), Dan Cuddy (Hypnolovewheel), and Cindy Sherman
(Splendora) and "Tomorrow Night" is one of those sweet pop ballads
that Yo La Tengo love to dredge up and cover. The single has a
pleasant homemade quality to it--oh, those off-key vocals! --but it's
still a great song and I especially like the violin and cello
interplay at the end. "Paranormal" falls into a more experimental
vein, noisier but nice. And it comes with a bonus "Our Lady of the
Potato Beetles" insert that's not to be missed.
Portastatic: Sandals
(18 Wheeler, P.O. Box 4256, Dunellen NJ 08812)
I still maintain that Mac can't sing, but this Portastatic business
has convinced me that he writes consistent circles around the rest of
the edge-of-the-bed set. "Sandals" and "Guessing" are both plaintive
but tuneful pop ventures with Mac performing everything. "Scrapbook"
gets a side to itself, for his collage of ambient noise, whistles,
wheezes, and whispers on top of a deeply buried vocal. It's either
the coolest thing you've ever heard or self-indulgent fluff. I
haven't decided yet.
Live: Prickly, Wild Carnations, Joey Sweeney
I've reviewed Prickly before, and I remain convinced that two less
compelling singers are not likely to be found. For whatever reason,
though, their plain voices made less of a difference this time, and at
some point during the set, I realized that their guitar player was
actually pretty good. It's a nice mix of pop, folk, and fuzz, and
while not uniformly wonderful, there were several standout songs
including the single "Fashion Sense of Famous Monsters of Filmland"
(with guest steel player). I bought their single the next day, and
it's good -- the studio minimizes vocal shortcomings allowing the
songs come through. "Famous Monsters" is excellent, and both cuts on
the b-side are enjoyable too.
Wild Carnations features ? of the Feelies on guitar, and he was just a
little too big for the room. His playing style is strong and
hyperactive, and somehow he looked like he would have been more
comfortable in a larger, more powerful band on a much bigger stage.
In the end, the songs had to carry it, and Wild Carnations just
aren't up to the challenge. Not bad but a bit slight. More
plain-voiced female vocals did not help.
Headlining was Joey Sweeney, formerly of the Barnabys, with his
friends Alex and Phoebe of Small Factory. Joey is a weird little guy,
and his songs, while pop to the core, have the kind of quirky lyrics
that leave you laughing or shaking your head. His borrowed bandmates
fit in just fine, though, and played with the enthusiasm I've come to
expect from them. Alex in particular seemed to be having a great
time, filling tuning breaks with strange stories about his (male)
roommates getting pregnant and, when not smoking cigarettes, singing
along passionately with all the songs. It was such a good time that
it seemed odd to me that the room gradually emptied out over the
course of the set, a fact that did not go unnoticed by the band ("We
always clear the room!" Joey boasted at one point.) Well, that's too
bad because they were at least as good -- ok, better -- than any band
that preceded them.
I missed the opener Weeping in Fits and Starts (Greg Jacobs vehicle),
and now I'm sorry because his (their) single ("Big Fish") on BHS
Records is very very nice in a folk-pop sort of way. Next time.
Live: Trona, The Lune, Syrup, Ruby Falls
Me and opening bands. The next night, at super-relaxed sunday night
TTs, I missed all but the last song by Trona (former Orangatang,
admittedly not much of a recommendation). From what I heard though,
this outfit sounded great, a worthy combination of punchy rhythm,
ringing guitar, good harmonized vocals and a really nice song. I felt
bad. I'll have to go hear them again.
The Lune surprised everybody (ok, me) by coming out as a New Orleans
street band. The drummer cranked an accordian, the bassist whipped
out a trumpet, and the guitarist made like a one-man band with guitar,
harmonica and kick band. They played about three songs in this guise,
all with a jazz/traditional feel. I doubt they wrote any of them, but
they pulled off the venture in high style. After this excursion, they
reverted to the math rock outfit they apparently are and sounded
equally good. The drummer pulled off all kinds of complicated
patterns in far from basic time signatures, and the guitarist rocked
right over the whole thing. Original and interesting. They have a
couple 7"s out that I will be looking for.
Helium showed up to hear Syrup, Seana (formerly of the Swirlies)'s
newest band, quite an endorsement I thought. Seana sounded great, the
drummer was kind of a mess, and the keyboard/guitar player needs to
relax a little. On the plus side, they don't sound like My Bloody
Valentine and they have two killer tunes: "Joie De Vol" and
"Bulldozer" which are both on their 7" on Tru Luv records (140
Boylston Street, Boston MA 02116). A song about Trudy was also a
blast -- Seana suggested danceable but only for mexican jumping beans
(let's just say it has zip). Syrup have my favorite combination of
good pop tunes and extended groovability so you can hum and sway at
the same time.
After such an impressive evening, Ruby Falls was a disapointment to
say the least. They were righteously attitudinal, they drank whisky,
the drummer had a great shirt, and when they finally got it together
to play they were boring and tame. If you're not going to wow me with
great pop chops, then please scare me a little. Or something. Very
mediocre, I thought, but I freely admit that I only gave them three
songs.
-- Lise LePage
<------------------------------>
From: smithem@yvax.byu.edu
ANNOUNCE: imr subscriptions
imr, formerly known as independent music reviews, is offering free
subscriptions beginning with issue #29 (new style and format). For a
subscription to this e-zine send the message "i like my indie cold" to
the address below...
--Elliott Smith
smithem@yvax.byu.edu
<------------------------------>
From: Soulcore@aol.com
ANNOUNCE: i'm a playground person
Issue #1 of I'm a Playground Person is now finished!!! It has
inteviews with:
Jon from Totfinder
Lou Barlow
Peter DiskothiQ/Nothing Painted Blue
it is 2 stamps or a trade. email me if you are interested.
mike
soulcore@aol.com
<------------------------------>
From: trey@ufcc.ufl.edu
ANNOUNCE: for paper airplane pilots
hello. as long as things are slow, I figure I can hype the latest
issue of _for paper airplane pilots_ especially since I can
technically claim inland association via the mountain goats interview
therein.
some of you should be receiving a copy in the mail in the next few
days, but for the rest of you... oh, look what you could get for two
little dollars:
56 pages. interviews with butterglory, john darnielle, tattle tale,
lou barlow, spatula, kicking giant, ivy, and charles schulz of Peanuts
fame. there's also an uberslick (insert your own umlaut) chickfactor
spoof, a collection of of various interesting people's favorite
Peanuts charact