Our primary purpose is to engage in research, development and
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Indie List Digest!
Nov 1, 1995
Volume 4 Number 43
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Frances Gumm, Grifters, Space Needle, Mt Goats, Glorium
My first submission (Opposable Thumbs, Superdrag)
Hell and Tarnation, record reviews!
unicycle genius
ANNOUNCE: Rurban
AD: Gannin CD
daylight savings time has ended in chicago, meaning it will now get
dark at 4 p.m. this says to me that winter's here and it's time to
put the snow tires on the indie-list. or at least a heavier
sweater...
eric & i are both employed at this point, so life is good. at some
point, i hope to buy some new records to review in the ever-popular
editor's corner, but right now you'll have to settle for more of my
sketchy show impressions.
Went out on one of my hermetic days to see Chris Knox at the Empty
Bottle on the 20th. i was already a fan of Knox's Beatles-esque,
frequently wasp-tongued songwriting, and i enjoyed the performance a
lot. like the 'songs of you & me' CD, the music is just the man & his
guitar and a drum machine, but you get the added advantage of a
running stream of self-deprecatory commentary and the occasional
audience participation (i don't know, but he seemed to be grabbing
someone by the head at one point, so you might not want to stand very
close). Ashtray Boy followed, a pleasant surprise for me.
Clattering, jangling pop that seemed to buzz along by itself. i liked
it. the SF Seals also played, but i went home.
But we returned to "the Bottle" (or, if you must, "the Empty") on the
28th to see an array of bands. Nothing Painted Blue, tragically [for
me], played first, and we missed them. Following were Wckr Spgt,
fronted by Car-in-Car guy Joel Huschle. They played with some OPB
backing and the requisite self-parodic "lead singer as rock star"
antics. Huschle sort of shrieks all his lyrics, reminding one of Half
Japanese, i suppose, but the whole thing was a bit too smirky. Next
up were the Mad Scene, another pleasant surprise for me. [I
disagree... I felt that WckrSpgt were delightful. Spirited post-art.
Buy and see and watch! -es] I know very little about the Clean, but
this would seem to be a fine Hamish Kilgour-connected outfit. Or
maybe i'm just a sucker for a pop band with a trumpet player and a
male-female vocal interchange that made me think of the Cat's Miaow.
you decide. Space Needle also played, but i was, again, homeward
bound.
that's all,
az
<------------------------------>
From: silverst@ils.nwu.edu (Steve Silverstein)
Frances Gumm, Grifters, Space Needle, Mt Goats, Glorium
My reviews may be slow in getting mailed out, but it doesn't stop me!
Frances Gumm--Subtraction 7" (It Won't Go Flat/P.O. Box
379463/Chicago, IL 60637)--Triumphant return from a band I thought had
broken up long ago. Ex-Northampton, MA, residents now in St. Paul,
MN, have hardly changed a bit from their debut CD Cruella on VHF/Land
Speed. New 7" is on beautiful marbly green vinyl, mastered by John
Golden. Sounds great, looks great, nice packaging, the works. If you
haven't heard them, Frances Gumm sound like a mix of Fugazi, Pavement,
Wingtip Sloat, and the brattiest vocals you can imagine. Welcome
back.
Grifters--Eureka 10"/CD-EP (Shangri-La/1916 Madison Ave/Memphis, TN
38104) and Stream 7" (Derivative/P.O. Box 42031/Montreal, Quebec H2W
2T3/Canada)--More of what you might expect from the Grifters. They
grow more subtle and catchier at the same time, and yet the songs take
longer and longer to digest. Really, really impressive. "Stream" is
probably their purest "pop" song for all its subtlety. The 2 records
are clearly of the same era and are quite possibly the band's best
work yet. You never think they can improve and somehow they do.
Basically, I can't say enough good things about the Grifters.
Shove/Torpedo--Tandem CD (Omnibus/P.O. Box 4522/Davis, CA
95617)--Essentially an EP each from two different bands. Both are
strong, noisy pop bands. The clear winner is Shove, due in part to
the swell female vocals (clear Kim Deal influence). Really
interesting melodic stuff in the vein of Tiger Trap, the Pixies, etc.,
with only one guitar though. Torpedo have really nice songs and
instrument sounds, but I'm not totally sold on the vocals. Still, a
pretty strong outing for two bands you've probably never heard of.
the Mountain Goats--Songs for Peter Hughes 7" (Sonic Squid/no address
listed, somewhere in Germany; I got mine from Ajax)--The first studio
release from the 2-person Mountain Goats. Rachel plays guitar on one
song, bass on 3, sings on all 4. One revamped Mountain Goats
"classic" (Transmissions to Horace's "No, I Can't"), one cover (Ace of
Base's "The Sign," a live favorite), and 2 new songs. A little more
polished and John gets a bit less carried away at times, but it still
works and sounds pretty great. Despite the mastering error at the end
of "No, I Can't" (a fade-out, which upsets John to no end), it's a
strong release.
Space Needle--Voyager CD (Zero Hour/1000 Broadway Station 701/New
York, NY 10019)--This band has apparently quickly developed a huge
draw in NYC, but, not being there, I'll try to judge them somewhat
more objectively. The CD is the 4-track ramblings of 2 guys, and,
while unpolished and generally unfinished, there are some really neat
ideas scattered throughout. Definitely not the most consistent thing
I own, but it has plenty of catchy melodies, interesting sounds, and
pretty vocals among its 8 songs. Not for all tastes, but an
interesting debut.
Glorium--Cinema Peligrosa LP/CD (Undone/P.O. Box 4012/Austin, TX
78765)--Not the newest release I'm reviewing, but since it got no
distribution for most of its existence, I think it's still current
enough. Old punk rock, with a definite Gang of Four/Membranes feel.
Lots of subtlety in the playing, really strong and powerful songs.
The vocals are a bit over the top for my taste, but as a whole, it
works well. Again not for all tastes, but one of the better punk
records I've heard of late. There's apparently a recent cassette
release that's being pressed to 10" soon, and a new LP is in the works
too.
Wingtip Sloat--Santa on the Crappa cassette (Sweet Portable You/1937
Kennedy Drive #T-2/McLean, VA 22102)--The second of Wingtip's terribly
titled cassette releases is as uneven and varied as the first User
Friendly Bowl Wrapper cassette. If you like tapes that jump wildly
from one song to the next, ranging from covers to discussions of
toilets at some rest area this is probably for you. If you like
Wingtip and want to hear things that (with a couple of exceptions) are
far weirder than what makes their album or 7"s, here they are. If
you've never heard Wingtip and are looking to see what they're about,
unless you seek their weirdest moments, probably not the place to
start (that would be the Chewyfoot LP/CD on VHF/Tupelo).
Robyn Hitchcock--I Something You 7" (K/Box 7154/Olympia, WA
98507)--Calvin Johnson's recording captures this veteran in a
stripped-down setting. Along the same lines as Eye and I Often Dream
of Trains. 3 songs of just vocals, guitar, and harmonica. Strong
songs, recorded well; no surprises here.
That's enough for this time. More to come, inevitably...
-Steve
<------------------------------>
From: todzilla@utkux.utcc.utk.edu
My first submission
Well, actually my first submission was with this German woman from
Brazil and she made me....uh oh, never mind.
Here are some great things I have found down south.
The Opposable Thumbs "God's Autograph"
Well, I am sick of bands with the word GOD or JESUS or some religious
thing in the title of their alubms. Well, all is forgiven here
because the music makes up for it. The Thumbs write great tunes and
play the hell out of them. The lead singer sometimes gets on my
nerves, but then again that's what most of them do. His singing is
groovy but off key. The songs seems to be about not finding any meat
in the buffet of life. Yet the Thumbs seem to suggest we are in the
wrong line for the wrong buffet.
Tales of lust, boat rides, local scenes and inefficient pick-up lines
fill out this 40-minute tape. It features two members of the defunct
band the JudyBats (whom I always disliked, but I like the playing here
of those guys-they seem happy to finally get to rock) and a member of
local southern freaks Smokin Dave and the Premo Dopes. The cover is
nasty and gets you ready for the treat to come.
Their address: PO Box l6044, Knoxville, TN. 37996
email is : Pnorman@aol.com
SUPERDRAG--the darla singles.
Also coming from Knoxville, this band has more hooks than a pirate
prison. Beatles meets something I can't put my finger on. A little
more punchy than the Thumbs, and perhaps more serious, too.
Apparently they have just signed a big showbiz deal. Their first two
singles on Darla are enough to restore your faith in power pop. This is
the band Cheap Trick wanted to be but just couldn't pull it off.
I would suggest both of these releases as well as the Opposable Thumbs
for those who like hooks, good lyrics and loud guitars that aren't noise.
Todzilla of the Short Forest
<------------------------------>
From: pjoe@grafix.xs4all.nl (Joep Vermaat)
Hell and Tarnation, record reviews!
Hi!
My companion in writing has graduated. He completed his studies with
an awfully high grade, a NINE! He has gone back to working full-time
now. So now he has another excuse for not writing.. He's too busy.
Oh well. I'm not. Well, in fact I am. But that doesn't stop me.
This posting: Tarnation and record reviews. Next posting, Catherine
Wheel and record reviews. I would write more if the indie-list would
come out more. Where are the good old times that we received it two
times a week!
[Well, um. I accept full blame for this issue. I'm honestly having a
hard time adjusting to (shudder) working again. Life seems so hard,
doesn't it. Next issue Monday, or, um, so. The volume is also
lowered by the traffic, of course. -es]
Enough complaining, on with the show:
TARNATION
Paula Frazer. Raised with music. First the gospel in her father's
choir. Later the jazz bands in high school. During the eighties, the
post-punk bands Frightwig, Trial and Pleasant Day in San Fransisco.
And now her own band, Tarnation. A band belonging to the new
generation of 4AD bands. Thanks to 4AD she does her first promotional
tour around Europe. In a murderous tempo all the beautiful cities of
Europe get visited. An experience most Americans might find very
appealing were it not that Paula has to enjoy those cities from dark
stuffy hotel rooms, doing mostly boring interviews. It's rainy
outside and sometimes the sun comes stabbing through the dark clouds,
other than that just the right weather to do an interview walking down
the streets seeing the sites.
Tarnation is just the right name for a band playing melancholic
country in the tradition of Palace, Freakwater and Scud Mountain Boys.
Still, cheerful Paula seems everything but melancholic. "I'm not, but
I just like to write sad songs about certain people and stories.
History inspires me, like for instance the gold rush in the 18th
century." Lyricwise Paula reflects on the past, and musically
Tarnation looks back on American music from the last fifty years. "I
listen to a lot of old music, like Roy Orbison, Patsy Kline and old
country music. I detest a lot of the so-called 'new country;' that's
why I'd rather like to call my music western. I don't want to be
compared to the Las Vegas showy stuff like Garth Brooks, and that's
what a lot of people think that country is."
Being a preacher's daughter, Paula was raised very religiously. But
compared to most country music, religion's a subject she doesn't use a
lot in her lyrics. "No, I do not believe anymore. The older I
became, the more holes I discovered in faith. The way people think
that you should follow your faith blindly seems so wrong to me. I
agree, there are a lot of things very useful in believing. But why
live your life by a book that has some many translations and
interpretations?"
You might think it's weird that 4AD would pick up a band like this.
"First only Warner was interested in us, but they gave a tape to 4AD's
label owner, Ivo Watts. When he finally listened he contracted us.
He likes female voices a lot." After that Ivo tried to give Tarnation
a direction. "He wanted me to make a solo record. But I wanted to do
an album with the band." There's still a lot of solo work on Gentle
Creatures, a record produced by His Name Is Alive wizard Warren
Defever, among others. "That was Ivo's idea. A good idea, but it
didn't work out as I liked. Warren wanted to keep everything bare and
clear, while I like a bit of reverb. And he didn't have the right
kind of mics. My favorite moments aren't the sessions with Warren.
We were in his house for a week and it gave a lot of tension in the
band." The band split right after the sessions. "But I've found three
new band members. We're still using the name Tarnation, but it sounds
a lot more dynamic. A bit louder, but still reserved. A lot of
contrast, I think it sounds better than the last Tarnation."
One of the things Paula is very content about is the artwork 4AD did
for the album. "I think Paul of 4AD has done a wonderful job. The
pictures were made by a guy from Portland and seem very old and weird,
the pale colours give just the right effect. I'm glad 4AD has taken
care of that; we couldn't have done it any better," she says, while
she points her camera at the monumental Rijksmuseum that's glittering
in the sun which comes stabbing through the dark clouds.
THE RECORD REVIEWS:
MOJAVE 3 'Ask Me Tomorrow' 4AD Slowdive had made a carreer out of
ripping off My Bloody Valentine's "To here knows when." But a lot of
times they gave their version just enough of themselves to make it
original. Just before they fell apart they were somewhere between
quietly tinkering ambient and bluesy country ballads. Three of the
remaining members have perfected the art of the latter. They're doing
this so subtly and minimally I've forgotten all about Slowdive.
MEDICINE 'Her Highness' American Don't you get those pounding
headaches? A migraine created by all those hyping media, screaming at
you to buy Garbage, like that's the answer to our prayers. Garbage
ain't doing nothing special. Medicine has been making sharp noisy pop
with a bit of a dance beat for years. Their sound used to be awfully
close to My Bloody Valentine, but this third record is more varied and
complete. So don't buy Garbage, try this Medicine.
SWERVEDRIVER 'Ejector Seat Reservation' Creation/Sony It's official:
from this moment on Creation ain't nothing more than any other greedy
major label. They've dropped bands who didn't want to play their
commercial game like a brick, bands like Slowdive and Swervedriver.
Immediately after they were dropped, the promotional tap was shut on
them. And therefore this record will be pretty hard to find in the
future. A pity, because it's their best yet.
SHOES 'Fret Buzz' Black Vinyl The American pioneers of
power-noise-pop, they still exist. If there's one band The Foo
Fighters heavily borrowed their sound from, then it's this band. They
deserve as much recognition as Big Star. This live record, recorded
last year during Christmas in New York, is right up to par with their
three all-time best: 'black vinyl shoes', 'present tense' and 'tongue
twister'. Ask about those and this one at your local vinyl merchant.
SUFI 'Life's Rising' Virgin This lovely collection of songs will, for
many, be too soft and kind. Too Sade. But Sufi is more than
coffee-table music. The bass sounds are just too deep for that, the
sounds are too weird for that. Friendly experimenting music by the
hand of one of the A.R. Kane members, made under the approving ear of
Kevin Martin.
SPOOKY 'Stereo EP' Generic The swing to classical music in techno is
continuing to pull through. Not only do the sounds on this EP contain
many classical elements, but the compositions consist of a lot of
structures you'll recognize from the old composers. Spooky look at
the way J.S. Bach did it and show with their first track that they
too can make a contrapuntic spacious masterpiece, comparable to the
great master's fugues.
PLUG '1' Rising High
Luke Vibert's jungle outlet. The sound wizard at his most
schizophrenic. The numbered tracks go from Milli Vanilli-shuffle
grooves to full-on hyper breakbeat, all interconnected by metal
samples and deep hoovering bass melodies. His best work.
/ v902160@si.hhs.nl
The One Pure (/oe/)
/ pjoe@grafix.xs4all.nl
-- Via Xenolink 1.98b2, XenolinkUUCP 1.1
<------------------------------>
From: DLM94001@UConnVM.UConn.Edu
unicycle genius
good day. it's been nice to take it a little easy fr a while w/weekly
entries & just read the digest on a whole. good stuff.
lessee... cmj really isn't worth my time or yrs in this digest.
college music journal my ass. more like corporate. free beer & a
couple of nice folks were nice, but neither make fr particularly good
stories or reviews ("right, so i drank all this beer, and then i got
drunk! cool dood!").
followed unwound around fr 4 nights, going from providence to boston
to hoboken to manhattan. i've come to the conclusion that they just
aren't the live band that they used to be (duh). the first tour i saw
them they were totally insane, & as their audiences have gotten larger
& larger (it's hard to be smaller than that first show, which was less
than 15 people) the effort seems more & more lagged on stage.
personally, it doesn't bother me a great deal because they still write
my favorite songs, and seeing 3 or 4 shows every time they come around
i get to hear most of 'em as well as some new toons too. this time,
they were pretty much drunk every night but the last. in boston, they
didn't even get to the post-noise thing. justin was stumbling around,
fucking up "swan song," and ended up tossing his guitar/breaking it
before dragging himself offstage. i don't know how, but it still came
off as impressive. drunken intensity? maybe. hoboken rocked, i'd
never been to maxwells before & they played a bunch of 7" songs i
didn't think that they did. irving was weird, they opened up fr girls
vs. boys & bosshog, & dgc people were in the audience handing out
that dog & jawbreaker stickers. yikes. plus they made me pay a
dollar to hold on to my bag. bastards. ok. enough.
other good sets in the big crunchy: clikatat ikatowi (i'm sorry, as
much as i love their music, exclusive-style punk rock egos fucking
suck. w/ the exception of the drummer & some dood w/chops that threw
me a twizzler, i was disappointed. i didn't know that some of them
thought that they were so important/impressive). although sonora pine
(sean from june of 44 & tara jane retsin/rodan) fucked up a bit & the
sound wasn't too sharp, i was really impressed w/their songwriting.
pitchblende, retsin, & rex also put on excellent sets. it was nice to
get home though.
put on a gig @ uconn fr the womens center which was a lot of fun.
champale, the straw & the rabbit, tizzy, ida, syrup usa, & liquorice
provided the entertainment. it was one of the best syrup sets i've
yet seen, & ida carried over a fantastic presence. thanks to those
that came. oh, the reverend horton heat was insane. the supersuckers
are extremely overrated.
um, went up to providence last weekend to see the archers of loaf open
up fr the throwing muses. capsize 7 opened, the 2nd time that i've
seen them this month. they're ok, nothing i haven't heard before but
good live. the bassist plays like a monkey. archers played a bunch
of new new songs, including a kickin-ass one bout some whale in
alaska. then the next band came on & we went home.
new listening that has really impressed me is that 4-song thing on
touch & go by uzeda. touch & go has been so consistent lately. the
dirty 3 record is one of my favorites this year. i haven't had a cd
player since my roommate moved, so i've mostly been listening to some
jazz tapes i made a month or two ago (yusef lateef in nigeria, oliver
nelson's "blues and the abstract truth," pharoah sanders' "karma" &
"thembi," and a bunch of sun ra tapes).
i can't decide what to say about the new jawbreaker. i'm really
upset. some of the songs on it ("accident prone," "oyster") are damn
good, others ("save yr generation," "fireman," "chemistry") are
extremely lame. but the problem is in the vocal mix. blake does not,
nor should not, sound like the bald guy in r.e.m. or @ least be
produced like veruca salt. i keep wanting to tape their show when
they play here w/jawbox so i can listen to the songs i like w/the
vocals that belong there. hrumph. enough of that.
right now, the thing i'm looking forward to more than anything else is
the karate l.p., but that won't be out till this winter. i noticed a
review of the secret stars 7" last issue. if you liked that, then
check out their shrimper & demo tapes. i got my new kitten last night
and she is beautiful. we hung out w/some friends & listened to "weird
meditations" (a crazy mingus tribute) last night. i'll take that over
cmj any time. xoxo.
oh. i think that the new finley breeze should be out soon. if yr a
recent subscriber & haven't heard of it, i'd recommend checking it
out. there are some great articles/essays in it. kudos to sean.
<------------------------------>
From: Mario.Miljavac@sprint.fido.hr (Mario Miljavac)
ANNOUNCE: Rurban
Rurban is a Croatian monthly magazine dedicated to progressive and
inovative artists. It will be published in Croatia, but will also be
read in Slovenia, Bosnia Herzegovina, Macedonia etc. Half of Rurban
will be dedicated to music and the rest to film and other arts. The
first issue of Rurban should be published in January 1996, half color,
half black and white. From then it should have its own home page on
the Internet. For now we're using the address of Oleg Mastruko
(oleg@mag.bug.com.hr), who's responsible for the Internet in Rurban.
Rurban is developing a net of associates around the world in order to
cover all the important happenings. If you're interested in music,
film or any other art form, we invite you to join us and participate
in the making of our magazine. Rurban is in a constant quest for new
authors that can offer anything interesting, and that's what's really
important for us. You don't have to be an established
journalist/writer to send us your works. Rurban needs people who are
prepared to work, people using Croatian, English, German or Italian
language. Send us one of your already published texts or a manuscript
you consider necessary for Rurban. Think visually: if possible,
accompany your text with photos or illustrations. Send us your
interviews, text portraits, scene reports, reviews or present
interesting authors from all fields of art, especially music.
We wish to help anyone who decides to write for us. Send us your
name, full address, passport number, telephone/fax number and email
address. Also, don't forget your photo, so we can make you a press
card that will help you in your work as a journalist. By the way, you
can expect a financial compensation for your work, although not a very
big one, because Rurban is our labour of love, and we hope it will be
yours too. Please contact the editor for detailed informations.
P.S. It is likely that Rurban will soon change its location. You'll
be informed on time about our new address, but you'll still be able to
contact us on our old address for some time.
RURBAN
c/o Ivica Baricevic
(Chief editor)
Milke Trnine 11/IV
10000 Zagreb, CROATIA
tel/fax +385 1532 553
email: oleg@mag.bug.com.hr
--
|Fidonet: Mario Miljavac 2:381/112
|Internet: Mario.Miljavac@sprint.pub.hr
| >>> Sprint BBS Zagreb <<<
| 2 lines 24h: +385-1-4555266;+385-1-4555268 (19.2 ZyXEL) (2:381/112.0) FTN
<------------------------------>
From: Larry Arnold <larnold@primenet.com>
AD: Gannin CD
Hello, my name is Gannin, and I would like to invite you over to my
webpage. This page is promoting my new self-released CD, "GANNIN ONE".
You can download music clips, and recieve bio information. Here's the
URL: http://www.primenet.com/~larnold/
Thanks, and hope to hear from you soon.
Gannin
<------------------------------------------------------------>
The Indie-List Digest is published weekly (Mondays) or more often by
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What Who Where
Editors Eric Sinclair esinclai@tezcat.com
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Mailings Sean Murphy grumpy@access.digex.net
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Consultants: Mark Cornick, Joshua Houk, Sean Murphy, Liz Clayton and
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Indie-List is not copyrighted. It may be freely reproduced for any
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<-------------------------------------->