Knapsack >> We're not who we might prefer

California Month continued, tremor #39:

Knapsack - "Decorate The Spine"

(Alias Records, 1996)

I almost went to a Knapsack / Trunk Federation gig in early '97, right around the time I heard Knapsack's excellent "Courage Was Confused" on a Magnet magazine sampler CD.  (See the post on Starflyer 59's "The Boulevard" a few weeks ago for a pic of this CD.)  I bought this actual Knapsack CD, Day Three Of My New Life, sometime in the '00s.  For all these years I thought the singer was defiantly asking "Who makes the rules?  Who makes the rules?"  But I just found out the other day that it's "I begged to reverse the roles, reverse the roles."  Man.  I still have no idea what the term "decorate the spine" means, though it's very reminiscent of Archers Of Loaf's indie anthem "Web In Front", which has a cryptic "All I ever wanted was to be your spine" chorus.  And don't forget Ween's touching ballad "Spinal Meningitis (Got Me Down)".  On the topic of spines, I fractured my 5th lumbar vertebra (a.k.a. the L5) while playing football in 7th grade.  I had to wear this fucking corset thing 24/7 for over a year, and the doctor told me not to play football again.  But I was able to go on and play four more years of football (and five more years of basketball) after that, so what do doctors know anyway?  "God knows I'm not sure," as Knapsack would say.  Haha, that was great.

Buckley & Molly in Metairie Cemetery on Sept. 8th, about an hour before the Saints-Packers game which kicked off the NFL season.

Planets with similar climates: Foo Fighters - "Best Of You" (2005), Unwound - "You Bite My Tongue" (1992), The Sound - "Fire" (1981), Sunny Day Real Estate - "Seven" (1993).

Best article title found this week: Violent Birther Gun Nut Also Massive Fan of Tranny Porn, Dildos
Runner-up: Morgue turns away cupcakes from Lohan

Primitive Painters >> Here I am, back from the world you have never known

California Month continued, tremor #29:

Primitive Painters - "Like You"

(G.T.'s Records, 1991)

Primitive Painters were a four-piece from Garden Grove, CA, and this album was recorded in Torrance, CA.  I bought this CD, Dirtclods, at a pawn shoppe two years ago because the band named itself after a jangly song by Felt (w/ Cocteau Twins' Liz Fraser on backing vocals) that was a college rock hit in the '80s.  The CD booklet ends with the possibly-sarcastic directive "Put on your game face and go for it."

Most of the album is pretty jangly and California-ish in an unremarkable way, aside from some impressive guitar artistry on "Something Snaps" and "Take," which both channel '84-85 era U2.  But this song, the last one on the album, sounds like it has a different mastering job and was probably recorded separately from the rest of the disc.  It's also much more intense and post-punk-y.  The singer, Dennis Crupi, does some weird guttural vocalizing at the end of the song, which is a bit irritating, but it is what it is.  The band's Facebook page says "Upon signing with English independent GT's Records in 1992, Primitive Painters stormed the scene with its full-length debut Dirtclods.  Based in Garden Grove, Calif., the band amassed a respectable college following and stacks of favorable press.  Between extensive U.S. tours and support slots for international acts – including The Wonder Stuff, Dramarama, Jonathan Richman, Sublime, The Soup Dragons, Hoodoo Gurus and Modern English – the Painters recorded several post-Dirtclods demos on prospective labels' tabs. But the right offer never came, and, in 1997, the band called it a day."  It goes on to say "In June 2003, the OC Weekly included Primitive Painters in its "129 Greatest OC Bands Ever!" article (June 20-27, 2003) and announced the band had reformed."  (They also played live with The Black Watch in the early '90s.)

Three years ago, the inaugural Prospect art festival descended upon New Orleans, technically known as Prospect.1, with the expectation that there would be another one every two years.  Due to financial problems, it was scrapped last fall, but it is coming back this fall.  Here are some photos I took at an impressive group exhibit at the old U.S. Mint building at the edge of the French Quarter on Jan. 13, 2009.  This room featured a big pile of fake money, with a surveillance camera mounted on the ceiling.  As viewers walked up to it, they could see themselves being recorded on one of the monitor screens, another of which was trained on the pile itself.  I guess it was a comment on the police state / surveillance state that most people grudgingly accept "is coming," but has actually been here for many years.

The cash money

The camera; money pile visible on a monitor at far left

Me photographing myself being surveilled

Planets with similar climates: The Sound - "Whirlpool" (1984), U2 - "Indian Summer Sky" (1984), Cactus World News - "Worlds Apart" (1985), The Prime Movers - "Hear The Call" (1984), Film School - "Dear Me" (2007).