St*Johnny >> I wanna burn like a martyr in my Chevrolet

St*Johnny - "Go To Sleep"

(Ajax Records, 1992 / Caroline Records [U.S.], 1993; Rough Trade Records [U.K.], 1993)

This song was released as a 7" by cool indie Ajax in '92, and then appeared on the band's High As A Kite singles compilation the next year.  (The U.S. version on Caroline, which I own, has 11 tracks, while the U.K. version on Rough Trade has only 8.)  This type of song is a perfect example of why I started this site: An obscure indie band releases a universe-destroyingly great anthem; no one hears it back in the day; the band breaks up; the song languishes in cool ppl's mix tapes / closets / iTunes for years or decades until the song decides to break free and assert itself much like when the robots rose in T2: Judgment Day.  The only unfortunate thing about this song is its name, which does not exactly generate much excitement, especially when the mundane band name is factored in.  Note: They sometimes spelled their name St. Johnny (in the early days), st. johnny, or St Johnny, and the asterisked (DGC-era) version of their name is technically spelled st✮johnny.

Reviews and zines from the early to mid '90s always pointed out how St*Johnny were protegés of Sonic Youth, though I think they were more aligned with fellow New Yorkers Mercury Rev.  (The Rev's Grasshopper guested on at least three of their songs: "Velocity," "My Father's Father," "Matador.")  Either way, this kind of thing is always a double-edged sword.  The band was allegedly scoffed at relentlessly, at least by the hipsters and tastemakers of the era, which seems really sad to me.  This song obviously has a ton of S.Y.-esque characteristics and charisma, down to the Thurston-y vocals, but it is definitely its own beast.  To describe how awesome this song is would take me a while, but I don't think most people need a roadmap to its bounty.  That one killer guitar riff immediately grabs the attention, and melds perfectly with the vocals, which are delivered in a desperate way, and with interesting post-Lou Reed / Tom Verlaine enunciation.  It's a really amazing vocal performance overall.  He says "I know that we're in trouble now, and I know that we're in deep" and "You're cursed and I'm a liar" without explaining the conflict in question.  More cool lyrics: "If we live long enough we'll see the other side of everything," "The stars are out and they're comin' down on my head," and of course "I wanna burn like a martyr in my Chevrolet."  (Note: I had thought for the last decade that it was "I wanna burn like the motor in my Chevrolet.")  The somewhat detuned, violin-esque guitar anti-solo at the 2:29 mark is the perfect bridge between arena dino-rock and the noisy indie rock of the '90s.  And I love when any instrumental break is preceded by a frenzied volley of drumming.  Another cool touch is that the song's title is only uttered right before the guitar solo and as the final words of the song.  I mean, check this out, they should build a whole museum dedicated to this song, if only so that lame, putzy, non-rocking rock bands like Wilco, Arcade Fire, Spoon, etc. can make pilgrimages to it in order to learn how to rock like motherfuckers.
The band's proper debut album in '94 had the great title Speed Is Dreaming.  But, aside from the killer "A Car Or A Boy?" (featuring some backing vocals from Mercury Rev's head weirdo David Baker), sucked.  I owned that CD but actually threw it away years ago; wish I had it back to check it out again, though.  Being signed to DGC (Nirvana, Sonic Youth, Beck, Posies, Sundays) apparently didn't land them in the Buzz Bin, and they faded into obscurity in the mid-'90s.  Singer Bill Whitten reemerged with the band Grand Mal (named after a St*Johnny song, which was named after a type of seizure) soon afterwards, but I don't think I've ever heard them.

7" insert sheet

Well, I was very wrong about Hurricane Isaac last week.  It turned out to be one of the worst disasters in the state's history, and was much more of a rainmaker than I had anticipated.  Luckily I had trimmed most of my trees a week or two earlier, so they didn't blow around too much in the wind and suffer torsional stress injuries to their trunks.  Since the eye of the hurricane passed directly over us, I went out and trimmed them a little more during that calm period.  That day (Wednesday) was probably the most harrowing day of my life, due to all the wind and rain noise, and not being able to see the origin of it since most of the windows were shuttered closed.  We never lost power, though over a million people statewide did.  And it's fun to be able to walk around the house butt-ass naked, thanks to the boarded window thing.  I drove through Gonzales, Prairieville, & Baton Rouge a few days later and ended up scoring this t-shirt at FYE:

...as well as the Stooges' Fun House 2xCD reissue and a rather tame CD by a band called The Mysteries Of Life. The store was playing Portishead's first album, so I recommended Slowdive to the Asian employee who had put it on after he told me he was a big Cocteau Twins fan.

Mon. 3rd: Went to Cocodrie (old Cajun slang term for "crocidile"), right on one of the southernmost tips of Louisiana.  Listened to Verve's A Storm In Heaven, perhaps the ultimate roadtrip album.  The area pretty much got no damage.
Tue. 4th: Watched Batman Begins at my sister's, since my parents in N.O. still hadn't gotten power back.
Wed. 5th: Went used book shopping for a few hours at The Book Rack in Mandeville, then drove over through Lacombe & Slidell.

Planets with similar climates: Sonic Youth - "Hey Joni" (1988), Verve - "All In The Mind" (1992), Swervedriver - "Blowin' Cool" (1993), Ride - "Here And Now" (1990), Catherine Wheel - "Texture" (1992), Silversun Pickups - "Well Thought Out Twinkles" (2006), Glide [Australia] - "Taste Of You" (1992), Nice Strong Arm - "Cloud Machine" (1989), You Am I - "Berlin Chair" (1993).