Friday, February 24, 2017
16 & Grief - (1994) Split 7''
Pessimiser Records, Theologian Records – T-35
Grief’s sludgy doom metal brought extremely slow riffs to the metal underground.
Assfactor 4 - (1994) Smoked Out 7''
Old Glory Records – NGR-10
Azalia Snail - (1994) Savannah 7''
Candy Floss – CF-002
Beck - (1995) It's All In Your Mind 7''
K – IPU 45
Beck was born in Los Angeles, California, to David Campbell (a musician and son of a Presbyterian minister) and Bibbe Hansen (a former dancer for The Velvet Underground, founding member of the satirical band Black Fag, and visual artist). When his parents separated, Beck stayed with his mother and brother in Los Angeles, where he was influenced by that city’s diverse musical offerings—everything from hip-hop to latin music—and his mother’s art scene – all of which would later reappear in his recorded and published work.
Although Beck’s work defies easy description, his eclecticism and genre experiments have sparked comparisons with Prince, though Beck was undoubtedly a less prolific artist, and drew on an absurdist, free-flowing lyrical style totally original when first exposed to mainstream audiences (indeed, some critics labeled him and his breakthrough single Loser as novelties - see below). Despite this individualism, Beck’s music was very much a product of the 90s and the media age in general, with hip hop, indie/underground rock, electronic music and genre-benders like the Beastie Boys as notable touchstones; in addition, some critics could not resist likening his head-spinning lyrical aesthetic to a post-modern Bob Dylan sensibility.
After dropping out of high school in the mid-1980s, Beck educated himself and traveled widely. In Germany, he spent time with his grandfather, fluxus artist Al Hansen. His artistic relationship with his grandfather may have influenced both his album art and sense of musical collage. He began the musical activity in 1988. The late-80’s found him in New York City as part of the punk-influenced anti-folk music movement.
Beck returned to Los Angeles at the turn of the decade, destitute but motivated. During this time, Beck sought out (or snuck onto) stages at venues all over Los Angeles, from punk clubs to coffee shops. Some of his earliest and most thought-provoking recordings were achieved by working with Tom Grimley at Poop Alley Studios, a part of Win Records.
In this atmosphere of heady creativity the founders of Bong Load Custom Records discovered Beck. Their 1993 12” vinyl Loser, from an initial run of 530 copies, created a sensation on college and alternative radio that led to a furious bidding war between labels to sign Beck. Eventually, he chose Geffen Records, who offered him terms that included an allowance for the release of independent albums while under contract (he may have owed Bong Load another album or two)."
Black Man White Man Dead Man - (2001) ST 7''
Thin The Herd – TTH 09
Boy's Life & Giants Chair - (1995) Split 7''
HitIt! Recordings – HIT-09
dis - (1994) Nicolae 7''
South East Records – none
Who could forget Milwaukee’s Dis? They began in 1992 and continued to make smart mathy rock for til 1996.
Dragging An Ox Through Water - (2006) Rebukes! 7''
Smells Delicious Records – SD 002
In "Aces," the pangs of reality and lust are as taut as the guitar strings Brian Mumford plucks. And a lot can be gathered from his delivery alone, but it wasn't enough for me to understand the full concept of "Aces." Luckily on MFDZ, not only are the full lowercase lyrics laid out by Mumford, but an instant explanation as well:
you can read a lot of books about evolution and still be totally amazed by how you get so horny that you don't know what to do with yourself.
Opening with a gasp, the tales begins:
aces
walking down through dismal places
washing soot off of their faces
different animals and races
we are set apart the moment we use more than what we are
for something more than becoming merely more of what we are
you looked so hot with your sock torn halfway off your leg
am i gonna be held to the fire for wishing your boyfriend dead?
and i wish i could know you as more than a shape or a sign
for what you are
or may well be
or may well be
ages
in a dream about my darling
my thumbs were fins and i was snarling
you were there and you were watching something happening
it wasn't me and i could tell that you were someone else
white flowers: it was chance that i was happening as well
and we have nothing but the time in common here my dove
but if that's all we may as well assume that it's enough
you looked so hot with your sock torn halfway off your leg
am i gonna be held to the fire for wishing your boyfriend dead?
and i wish i could know you as more than a shape or a sign
for what you are
or may well be
or may well be
Ear Bleeding Disorder & Laughing Dog - (1997) Split 7''
Bad People Records – BPR-007, Riotous Assembly – none
Floor & Ed Matus' Struggle - (1996) Entomological Discoveries With Sound And Vibration 7''
Space Cadette Records – SCR.CADET#7, No Idea Records – NIR-036
Giants Chair - (1996) Purity And Control 7''
Caulfield Records – CR-019
godheadSilo - (1993) Thee Friendship Village E.P. 7''
Kill Rock Stars – KRS 211
The band consisted of Mike Kunka on bass and Dan Haugh on drums. The two met growing up near Fargo, North Dakota. The band originally started as a three-piece, with Phil Leitch playing guitar. Leitch left the band after their first show at Fargo’s Moose Lodge. From then on, the band was a two-piece. Known for their loud “wall of sound” live performances were full of raging drums, screaming and a gigantic heavy bass sound. Mike employed many effects pedals and a large wall of amps to create his thunderous sound. Fans of BMX biking and Mountain Dew, godheadSilo played shows all across the United States and inspired countless noise rock bands."
Half-Handed Cloud - (2005) What's The Remedy E.P. 7''
Asthmatic Kitty Records – AKR018
Hickey - (1995) Us Vs. Them 7''
Truth About Fonzie Records – U-37946M
Joan Of Arc - (1996) Method And Sentiment 7''
Jade Tree – JT1028
Joan Of Arc - (1997) Busy Bus, Sunny Sun 7''
Southern Records – 18545-7
Their lyrics and cover art are considered highly conceptual and confusing. For example, the album Live In Chicago, 1999 is not a live album - it is a reference to the fact that that the band lived in Chicago in the year 1999 while the artwork throughout the booklet recreates founder of French New Wave cinema, Jean Luc Goddard’s Weekend.
Members of Joan of Arc have been in many other bands including Cap’n Jazz, Friend/Enemy, American Football, Owls, Ghosts and Vodka, Everyoned, and most recently Make Believe and Sharks And Seals.
Singer Tim Kinsella has been the only permanent member of the group
Julia - (1993) ST 7''
Rivers End – no. 001
Their style resembled the frantic sound of east coast (more specifically DC) emo, complete with octave chords and dark, yet melodic, bass lines, thundering and slow drumming and intensely emotional vocals. On many occasions it sounded like Mathew was about to break down."
So very, very emo, as in emotional. I was very into this band when they were around. Still like all their songs. They were similar to bands such as Indian Summer, Constatine Sankathi, Lync and Nuzzle. Prior to the internet and cell phones, being called emo was synonymous to being called a fag or pussy. It was always said in a mean way, never complimentary.
I'm just gonna blame it all on a band called Crimpshrine. They started emo!
K.K. Null & Noisegate Split 7''
Wagenhalt Recordings – WH-1
Noisegate began in 1995, when Trevor Paglen, Nicolas Lampert and Tae K Kim began to experiment with using timbre as a basis for a musical language.
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