Lansing-Dreiden >> Private moons have been seen through the haze of a sky

Lansing-Dreiden - "A Line You Can Cross"

(Kemado Records, 2006 / Mexican Summer Records, 2013)

This is one of those songs that causes you to think "Okay, this band is gonna have a box set one day."  Just like the Wye Oak song in my last post, I heard this one on WTUL while driving around (in this case, on the Westbank), and just about flipped out and had to call in immediately to find out what band it was.  This was in spring of 2006.  I obtained the mp3 as a free download from their website probably the same day, probably with crazed drool issuing forth from my mouth and my eyes bugging out of my head.  Just last week, I finally bought the CD that it's on, The Dividing Island.  Befitting the band's artsy leanings, it comes in cool gatefold packaging with triangular flaps, all done in a black and white color scheme.

Right down to its puzzling name, Lansing-Dreiden has always shrouded itself in mystery, and I always heard that they do not actually appear in the official music video:

As one astute YouTuber said: "Lansing-Dreiden rule! Fuck Pitchfork!"  I swear, someday I hope to have "Fuck Pitchfork" on my tombstone.  Make it happen, someone... I'll have my sister make you a free mix CD.  (Pitchfork actually gave the album a 7.7 rating.)

The video was also available for free download on their site back in 2006 in MPG format, and I sent out its URL to all my online music buddies.  (This was at the dawn of the YouTube era.)  Yes, they simply gave away this song and its video for free, for many years in fact.  Incredibly, this song wasn't released as a single, though having a video qualifies it as a de facto single.  I was constantly haranguing people to check this band out, and I was sure they'd be the next big pop stars or something.  L-D seemed to pattern themselves after The KLF in many ways, and "A Line" could've been as big a hit as "3 A.M. Eternal", if not bigger.  (I bought the "3 A.M. Eternal" cassingle in 1991, a day before going to Cozumel!)  In my review of The Dividing Island on Rate Your Music in 2007, I said "Unfortunately, the rest of the album veers from quirky '60s pop to other genres, since I once read that the band's goal on this album was to make it sound like a compilation of several different bands in different genres."

In recent years, the post-L-D project Violens has been garnering a good amount of attention in the indie blogosphere. They released the dazzling, kinetic single "Acid Reign" in 2010, but have turned sort of boring since then in my opinion.  They're currently on Slumberland Records.

Mexican Summer (home of Best Coast, Tamaryn, No Joy, and others) is about to reissue L-D's first three releases.  Ariel Pink is quoted as saying "Lansing-Dreiden was a musical entity shrouded in mystery and a best kept secret to muso’s the world over in the early 2000's. With this highly anticipated and beautifully packaged reissue of the band’s most treasured ouvres, Lansing-Dreiden is finally set to gain the appreciation and attention they have always deserved."

(Note: The mp3 in this post is from the original 2006 CD, not the upcoming Mexican Summer reissue, which will presumably be remastered.  Remember that I always try to avoid giving away the highest-quality version of a song, because I want people to have a reason to buy the latest pressing of an album.)

Mon. 3/25: Went to the Baton Rouge Zoo for the first time, and my animal-snob self was pretty impressed.  Also went to the Cohn Arboretum right down the road, but my über-plant-snob self was not too impressed.  Lots of cheesy generic landscaping plants like waxleaf ligusturum, yuck.

Wed. 3/27: Went to the Hornets-Clippers game with Damion via free tix from Hector. The Hornets lost, but I did excitedly snap a pic of a young Chris & Cliff Paul as we were arriving.

Afterwards, I went to see Helen Gillet play a fun but poorly-attended solo show at the AllWays Lounge.  She did lots of covers of peppy French pop tunes, which came as quite a shock to me, since I had seen her doing strictly experimental stuff with her cello.

Those are copies of her two CDs for sale at the foot of the stage

Had a great 1AM conversation with a WTUL DJ, Calder King, in which we talked about shoegaze bands.  I was blown away when he immediately played my requests for Drop Nineteens' "Delaware" and Swervedriver's "Never Lose That Feeling."  And I pretty much decided to become a DJ there, since I now know of three WTUL DJs who didn't go to Tulane.

Thu. 3/28: Went to the Iron Rail's new location to pick up a 12" by Arctic Flowers that I had ordered last Oct., but someone had bought it.  Bryan (Funck, the Ian MacKaye of the NOLA punk / indie scene) was playing a Duran Duran best-of album, and not for irony value either.  In fact, when it ended, he upped the ante by wordlessly putting on a Milli Vanilli album, again not for irony value.  They definitely don't make 'em like that dude very often...  Loyola represent.  Some of the crusty punks shopping inside seemed a bit bewildered, but I can report that I heard some people humming along.  I'd like to volunteer there or help out in some way, but I'm unfortunately not much of an anarchist.

Fri. 3/29: Continuing the theme of going to new places, I went to Pizza Delicious' new digs with Ashley (impressive art gallery inside, by the way), then showed her Euclid Records and Harold's nursery briefly.  Scored Blouse's debut LP on white vinyl w/ alternate cover art at Euclid; a pretty unexpected find.  I lent Ashley Wild Nothing's Nocturne and the Cure's Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me.  Went to the Defend New Orleans store for the first time and bought a mohawked-skull logo pin.  Finally made it to Stein's Deli for the first time, and was not disappointed by their beer selection, which was rumored to be amazing.  They were playing Tool's Undertow in its entirety, not the hipster stuff that you'd hear at, say, Dat Dog.  Gave the remainder of my pizza to two difft. thrift stores, since it was too spicy for me and I'm trying to cut way down on my dairy intake in order to clear up my sinuses.  I'm not religious, but this Good Friday really lived up to its name, right down to the breezy, NorCal-esque weather.  Sorry for all the details, but this was an eventful week for li'l old me.  The next post will be free of personal details because I will not do anything next week.

Planets with similar climates: Tears For Fears - "Head Over Heels" (1984), Simple Minds - "Promised You A Miracle" (1982), Depeche Mode - "Stripped" (1986), School Of Seven Bells - "Heart Is Strange" (2010), The Psychedelic Furs - "Heartbreak Beat" (1986).

Merchandise >> Girl, I'm really just an animal

Merchandise - "Time"

(Katorga Works, 2012)

The title of "The next Smiths" has been floated in regards to many bands over the last 25 years, just like "The next Jordan" has been applied to everyone from Harold Miner to Vince Carter.  Merchandise crawled out of the Tampa punk scene with a polished, remarkably full-bodied sound that does evoke the Smiths, as well as stuff like Echo & the Bunnymen, the Chameleons, the Sound, Gang Of Four, and the Church.  I think the Smiths thing comes mainly from how the singer holds out his notes and lets them unfold luxuriously in the ether, and of course the tastefully skillful guitar-playing and catchy melodies.  Much like recently-minted star soul crooner The Weeknd and very serious rappers Das Racist, they give away their music for free on the popular mp3 format at their website, though vinyl will cost you.  (I did buy this album on LP at their show.)  I assume / hope they are named after the immortal Fugazi anthem "Merchandise".

Right from the opening (very Fugazi-esque) bassline, you know this band is swinging for the fences, and they pull it off in stunning fashion.  It took me a while to realize that the guitarist plays parts that sound like a singing voice, adding sort of phantom backing vocals to the music.  Johnny Marr aficionados will know what I'm talking about.  My only qualm is that they use a drum machine rather than a human drummer.  I really don't get excited like this about guitar-rock bands very often, but when it's done this well, you'd be a dumbass to not sit up and take notice.  As YouTuber Pablo Elias said in the first-ever comment on this video: "this guys know how to play post punk."

The two other great songs on this album, Children Of Desire, are the dense, Bailter Space-esque "In Nightmare Room" and the 11-minute "Become What You Are."  So go see Merchandise at a little club on their neverending tour before they either get huge or self-destruct.  From their website: "We’re putting the finishing touches on our next 12″, coming out via Iowa City’s impeccable Night People label. Should be out sometime in January. Touring will surely follow."  They recently did some shows opening for dazzling kindred spirits Wild Nothing.  And by the way, no, I don't think Merchandise are the next Smiths, because they don't have as many doofy, tedious filler songs as the Smiths.  In addition to the vocals, the unsung weapon that the bands share is funky, liquid-y basslines.

I like the "high art" quality of these recent woodcut-design posters by the An Idea Like No Other guys, but it seems to me that they're using centuries-old prints and not crediting the original artists, which, as an artist, is really uncool to me.  (One poster even has the artist's name visibly scratched out.)  Maybe the prints are so old that they're now considered part of the public domain, and hence the original artists no longer have to be credited, but I still think it's not a very punk thing to do.
Anyway, the concert was quite entertaining.  I filmed Merchandise doing their three best songs: "Time," "In Nightmare Room," and "Become What You Are."  I didn't take any pics.  The singer was really chatty beforehand (partly due to being drunk), and told me about the American Snakeskin 12" EP that they had at their merch table.  Fun Fact: He told me the woman on the cover of Merchandise's debut album (Strange Songs) In The Dark is the lead singer of the band Neon Blud, and maybe she was also in Amer. Snakeskin.  By the way, Loveless is a DJ, not a band.  Apparently it's usually a guy & gal, but it was just the guy at this show, and he wore a mask the whole time.  Noisy / danceable obscure '80s fare seems to be his / their specialty, and they apparently have a weekly gig at One Eyed Jacks, but I avoid any type of "'80s Night" as a rule.

At the Spanish Moon the other day, I asked Jack from Kindest Lines / The Public if he was into Merchandise.  He said KL had recently opened for M, but that he hates them because M's merch person stole KL's profits at said merch table.  I thought that was a weird reason to dislike a good band, but I didn't press further.

Find me at this tomorrow and I'll give you free record-buying guidance in exchange for free records or CDs from you:

This and the New Orleans Book Fair are stupidly scheduled on the same day this year, and at the exact same time, so I will have to pick music over books.

I was totally floored to see on the news yesterday that Mary Alvarez, co-owner of a plant nursery in Hammond, was killed (or died via suicide).  I only went there about three times and only bought a few plants (Foster's holly, white carnation) from them, but she was maybe the nicest person I've ever met.  The nursery is totally ramshackle and unorganized, with plants spilling out everywhere and hardly anything properly labeled; in other words, a plant-hunter's dream.  They have a big sprawling clump of Opuntia, a.k.a. prickly pear, cactus outside the front gate, and let me take a piece from it for free to start my own clump.  (See it at the 1:20 mark of the video.)  Unfortunately, I discarded it after I obtained a spineless variety growing in the yard next door to the Saturn Bar in N.O., but I may go back and get another piece at Alvarez.  People like the Alvarezes are a big reason why I've dedicated my life to horticulture, and people like them are the rule, not the exception, in this business.  Out of all the nursery owners I know from N.O. to Houma to Baton Rouge to Gramercy to Covington to Thibodaux to Prairieville, it's hard to pick which ones are the nicest, so I won't even try, but I can say these people have less overall petty angst towards life than your average citizen, due to being around plants every day and learning from an existential standpoint just how valuable life and nature are.  Even the older ones have an amazing youthful calm and inner vigor.  I would say my all-time favorites are Poochie and his wife at St. James Nursery in Gramercy; Wayne at Banting's in Bridge City; the ladies at The Cracked Pot in St. Rose; and the guys at Starke's in Houma.  When you grow an oak tree from an acorn, or a palm from a date seed, it makes you feel pretty useful in this world, yet also makes you feel very humble and small.  Plants are literally the lungs of the earth.  Give me a roomful of plant geeks over a roomful of anything else any day.  With Home Depot, Lowe's, Wal-Mart, KMart, etc. all selling plants nowadays, it's more important than ever to support independent plant nurseries, just as it is to support independent record stores, restaurants, etc.  Outsourcing the growing of plants to China is not something the Republicans have figured out how to do yet, and I intend to do my part to keep it that way.

17 of the saddest ex-celebrities on Twitter - "From Ian Ziering hawking anti-aging cream (rumor is he will actually call you if you fill out an inquiry) to Alfonso Ribiero selling a weight loss kit via their accounts, you can't help but think about how much more famous they would be if they had become stars today."

Planets with similar climates: Silkworm - "Quicksand" (1996), Echo & The Bunnymen - "The Killing Moon" (1983), The Sound - "Love Is Not A Ghost" (1984), The Comsat Angels - "The Eye Dance" & "Be Brave" (1981), Bailter Space - "Now I Will Live" (1987), The Church - "Tear It All Away" (1981), The Smiths - "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out" (1986), The Public - "Ghosts" (2004).

D.J. Magic Mike & M.C. Madness >> You wonder if it's real

D.J. Magic Mike & M.C. Madness - "Dynamic Duo"

(RM Records / Cheetah Records, 1991)

I was first adrenalized by this song in 1991 upon seeing its video on the Jukebox channel, which was later renamed The Box.  I bought the album, Ain't No Doubt About It, on cassette on November 1st, 1991 as sort of an afterthought on the same night that I bought Ice Cube's new album Death Certificate, also on cassette; it had hit stores three days earlier.  I was with my fellow gangsta rap expert Warren, recuperating on a Friday night after a football game; he was a sophomore running back and I was a freshman wide receiver / special teamer.  (Fun Fact: We were such huge Cube fans that we both bought Death Certificate on cassette that night.  We also both got Public Enemy's new album when it came out a month earlier.)  We both agreed that the Ice Cube album was a dud*, and I ended up vastly preferring Ain't No Doubt About It.

This song displays everything that was exciting about rap / hip hop in those days, which were later over-romanticized by young archivists as the "Golden Era" of the genre.  For example, DJ's had to actually do lots of dramatic scratching back then, not just boring-ass "beat matching," and the boasting was not derogatory.  I'll never forgive sulking, charisma-free goons like Nas, Jay-Z and Eminem for killing off this exciting style of hip hop, which is probably oversimplifying things, but I watched the decline happen on a week by week basis and I know why it happened.  By spring of '92, I had bought Nirvana's Nevermind and Metallica's first five albums, and moved away from hip hop.  But have always kept tabs on it and I'll always have fond memories of how it made me feel invincible.  This era of music really does hold up well.  About a month ago, I was at a gas station and two black guys in their teens or 20s were playing some annoying Li'l Wayne-esque song really loudly while filling up.  So I popped in The Low End Theory and blasted its opening track, "Excursions".  They actually turned their music off to listen to mine, which is the ultimate compliment that could be paid in any song showdown.  It is likely that those dudes have never even heard of A Tribe Called Quest, just as a rocker kid today who likes Alterna-Band X has likely never heard of Sonic Youth.

*I just almost fell out of my chair laughing upon finding out MTV ranked it the #8 greatest hip hop album ever.

M.C. Madness had a slightly congested, Q-Tip-esque vocal style which still sounds unique today, as do the powerful, kinetic beats and screechy guitar samples.  The "Short pause..." line is presumably sampled from a Batman movie or TV episode.  The line "Pass the brass knuckles, let me break his jaw" is sampled from LL Cool J's "Murdergram."  (I was obsessed with that LL album at the time, and it was actually the first CD I ever bought.)  I presume the recurring "Ha!" is a james Brown sample.  "Don't ring my bell once I turn off my porch light" is one of the most specific orders I've ever heard.  Most of the album's songs are much slower and more bass-oriented than this one, fitting in with the whole Miami Bass scene of that time; "Do You Like Bass?" was, and still is, a hit among subwoofer enthusiasts.  "Dynamic Duo" has excellent potential as a bromance anthem in today's meme era.  I can picture some god-awful Judd Apatow flick with a slow motion scene featuring two rotund schlubs strolling down a beach, winking at comely ladies.

Extremely dynamic artwork of the cassingle

"Dynamic Duo" promo 12" on green vinyl; also came out on red vinyl with different remixes, and on regular black vinyl.

The group's logo on the red 12"; note that it's in place of the Batman logo in the sky on the cassingle cover, and on the cassette itself.

It never occurred to me that Cheetah Records and/or RM Records were legitimate indie labels.  I guess I had assumed they had some major label connections like lots of other hip hop boutique labels of the time, but my recent research has proved me wrong on that, hence I can post it here.  Also, it turns out that I bought this album right after it came out, possibly the same week, but I'm not totally sure.

Planets with similar climates - The D.O.C. - "Whirlwind Pyramid" (1989), Ice-T - "Power" (1988), Public Enemy - "Brothers Gonna Work It Out" (1990), LL Cool J - "Mama Said Knock You Out" (1990).


Currently eating or drinking: Rouses eggplant parmesan; Noosa yoghurt (blueberry); Samichlaus malt liquor (strange sweet beer whose motto is "World's most extraordinary beverage"); Udi's granola (Hawaiian); Pirate's Alley New Orleans rum cake; a bottle of Cointreau (thanks mom).

Francis 7 >> My heart began to splinter

Francis 7 - "Red Roses"
(unreleased[?], ca. 2003)

For my first song post, here's a gem by a Miami band named after a character in the 1976 post-quasi-erotica dystopian escapism fluff-noir movie Logan's Run.  (No woman in history will ever be more gorgeous than Jenny Agutter was in that flick, which I hear is unfortunately being remade.)

I downloaded an mp3 excerpt of this song in '03 or '04, and have played it an alarming number of times over the ensuing years, always wondering what the rest of the song would sound like.  Being a New Orleanian, the fact that they were a band from the Southern U.S. in the '00s, rather than one from, say, England in 1992, was very intriguing to me.  I talked to the lead guy from F7, Omar, in an AOL chatroom for an hour or two one night back then.  The main thing I remember him saying was that John Lever of The Chameleons was his favorite drummer ever.  I asked him about some other Florida bands, like Swivel Stick and Stella Luna, and maybe Whirlaway.  We mainly talked about shoegaze-related gear stuff like delay and reverb, and he was super-talkative and extremely knowledgeable/passionate/perfectionist about the whole thing, not unlike a Kevin Shields or a Scott Cortez.  Someone on RYM sent me this mp3 the other day, after I had given up hope of ever finding it.  Apparently it's only available on a compilation CD put out by the (defunct?) website Auralgasms, called The Beat Of Discontent. And much to my shock, I found out today that the band is still around, and on their Facebook page, they say "Well, it looks like "Red Roses" is a song that just won't die. Kind of appropriate! Version 3 to be recorded soon, or Raf may kill me..."  So apparently the one I'm posting is version 2, and my excerpt mp3 (with a different vocal track and other small differences) was version 1.  TMI, I know.


Update, 3/29/11: Here is the original mp3 excerpt that I got in '03; I just recently found it on an old mix CD that I made, dated 8/17/04.  I love how it charges out of the gate with that drum roll and synth wash, which is why I was so surprised to hear the long, subduded buildup in the full-length version: 

If you like this song, check out: The Douglas Fir - "Unwelcome" (1999), Kitchens Of Distinction - "Railwayed" (1991), The House Of Love - "Feel" (1992), National Skyline - "Some Will Say" (2001), Antarctica - "Absence" (1999).