Sebadoh >> I only need to feel a balance

Sebadoh - "Careful"

(Sub Pop Records, 1994)

Since the Boston Marathon bombing, I've been definitely catching some of the "We are all Bostonians" fever.  So my next few posts will be by Massachusetts bands, even though I've never been to that state.

I can't believe I've never posted this absolute scorcher of a song by Westfield's finest, so here it is.  I think some of the lyrics can work as a fuck-you to potential terrorists: "It's twice as hard to fool us" and "Careful as a soldier, we're so strong."  And the disarming opening line "Drop your guard, I'll get to know you" gives another way to deal with psychopaths.  This one was written by bassist / guitarist Jason Loewenstein, not mainman Lou Barlow.  J-Loew seems to have been responsible for some of Sebadoh's more manic / edgy / fleshed-out / non-"lo-fi" songs.

[Note: This mp3 is from the original '94 release, not the recent remastered 2-CD reissue.  That one has an alternate version of "Careful" on the bonus disc.]

I bought this album, Bakesale, in October 1996, on the same day that I bought Tool's Aenima on the day it came out.  My main reasons were: 1.) hearing the infectious indie classic song "Rebound" on a Sub Pop sampler CD called That Virtua Feeling: Sub Pop And Sega Get Together and 2.) a long article about Lou / Sebadoh punningly titled "Kind Of Blue" in Rolling Stone around that time.  (I was a subscriber.)  I also bought Smash Your Head On The Punk Rock at around this time through Sub Pop mailorder.  Despite the awful nude-Lou cover art, Bakesale is one of the most essential albums in rock history, not just indie rock history, from an era when the phrase "indie rock" meant more than just "a rock band on an independent label."  Every song is a cornucopia of inventive riffs, melodies and lyrics, and the band never came even close to equalling it before or after.  Some of the songs are slow and shoegazey ("Dreams"), and a few are quick and ultra-poppy ("Got It").  It comes off as a great mix tape seemingly made up of songs by many different bands, yet still retains that certain Sebadohness that fans demand.

I was totally crestfallen to miss a Sebadoh concert at the Howlin' Wolf (now called Republic) at the end of January '97.  As in: I fucking sat in the living room and watched an episode of 7th Heaven (yes, I remember exactly what I was watching) by myself and felt like such a poseur for liking Sebadoh but not knowing anyone to go see them with.  I think this was actually a transformative moment for me, in that it made me determined to go see bands I wanted to see even if that meant sometimes doing it alone.  And I later found out that Sebadoh had played just a few months earlier at House Of Blues, with a then-unknown moper / budding junkie named Elliott Smith as an opening act.  Then they came back and played somewhere in early '99 in support of their disappointing swan song The Sebadoh.  Have still never seen them, and have skipped lots of dates on their recent reunion tours, because I just don't go to reunion tours.  And because aside from this album, Sebadoh's overall discography is very hit-or-miss.  The only other songs by them that I'd say are in the same category of intensity as "Careful" would be "Beauty Of The Ride," "Crisis," and the speed-metal ending of "Mean Distance."

Loewenstein put out a well-received solo album about a decade ago, but I've never heard it.  Dinosaur Jr.'s reunion has taken Barlow away from his Sebaduties.  Dino are stuck in a classic rock rut, so I personally would rather take in the more varied stylings of Sebadoh, if given a chance to see one of them or the other.  At one point in my life, I would've shouted "Just gimme indie rock!"  It's a new generation of electric white-boy blues!

Funniest / truest thing I've seen on Tumblr in a while:

#voodoofest #jazzfest

Sat. Apr. 13: Went to a crawfish boil at Sprague's new house, and he decided to let me landscape it after we talked about trees for an hour or so.

Fri. Apr. 19: Skipped a Crystal Castles / Doldrums concert at HOB because it was $31 plus a $10 "service fee."  I had been wanting to go for months but I just couldn't justify the cost.  I'm sure it sold out anyway.

Sat. Apr. 20: Caught the end of a Record Store Day concert at Euclid Records.  Saw Truth Universal (politically-charged hip-hop), AF The Naysayer (futuristic beatmaking), and Peace Love Technicolor Dream (collaborated on sax with AF, then did a solo house set on MacBook).  I then by total chance caught a free happy-hour show by the hilarious Alex McMurray (honestly, he's funnier than any stand-up comedian I can think of) at Siberia, and got some of their excellent Slavic / Russian food.

Tonight and tomorrow night: Skipping Deerhunter for about the infinityith time because I still think they suck, aside from half a song or so per album.  The amount of press they continue to get is nothing short of baffling to me.  In the '90s heyday of indie rock, a band with their talent level would've barely merited a mention in its own hometown's zines, but I guess by today's standards they're considered edgy / inventive / cool, thanks to the ongoing wussification & dilution of indie rock into mere sonic wallpaper in which bands try to relay to the listener "Okay, on this song we show that we're into the Beach Boys, and on this next one we do an homage to the Replacements, and then we're gonna blow everyone's minds by showing that we dig synth-pop!," etc.  "Record-collector rock," it's been wisely called.  Well, Deerhunter seem to be one of the token RCR bands of the '00s, so more power to them, I guess, and I do feel bad for the singer since he has Marfan Syndrome and presumably doesn't have too many more years left to live.  I don't even know if they have any synth-pop songs; I was mainly referring to the Strokes with that one.  I guess I should just shut up at this point.  If Deerhunter has any songs that I should like, let me know; I only like "Helicopter" by them, mainly b/c it sounds unlike any of their regular output.

Planets with similar climates: Dinosaur Jr. - "Let It Ride" (1988), The Sound - "The Fire" (1981), Sand Rubies - "Drugged" (1993), Polvo - "Tragic Carpet Ride" (1994), Sonic Youth - "Stereo Sanctity" (1987), Fugazi - "Sieve-Fisted Find" (1989).

Love Of Diagrams >> You broke into my house and you stole it

Love Of Diagrams - "The Pyramid"

(Matador Records [U.S.] / P-Vine Records [Japan], 2006)

Since I was befriended by an Aussie on both RYM and Tumblr last week (two separate people), I knew my next post on here had to be a killer Aussie song.

With a killer bassline, spiky guitar, mammoth drumming, and a set of memorable lyrics, this song should've made Love Of Diagrams into instant indie rock royalty.  This song just destroys on so many levels, and is one of the most addictive songs I've ever heard.  Sonic Youth have been unable or unwilling to craft a tune like this since the mid-'90s, so I guess it's good that they finally kicked the bucket, but the point is that their progeny will always continue to churn out great music.  Just look at the list of bands at the bottom of this post for proof.

Note: Matador Records is still giving this song away for free; download it here.  That link is where I originally acquired this song, though this rip is from my own CD, bought in 2010.

I had been hearing a bit about this band as part of the whole post-punk revival of the mid-'00s, and thought about going to see them open for Ted Leo at the Spanish Moon in 2007.  Really, really regretting that.  They have apparently been broken up for a few years now, and, being from Australia, the chances are less than zero that they'll ever trek to Louisiana again.  The lyrics are apparently about rape, with "the pyramid" representing the vagina, which the intruder "broke into."  And what he "stole" was presumably the protagonist's innocence and/or trust in humanity.  So it's a fun & thought-provoking protest song in the best Gang Of Four tradition, but hopefully the lyrics are not autobiographical.

The video mainly involves the band members physically playing their instruments, which is the stupidest fucking thing in the world for any music video to feature. But an edgy "house" theme is used in it, tying in with the lyrics, and the visual effects are pretty amazing.  In fact, you'll never be able to get these colors out of your head whenever you hear this song in the future:

My sister had her appendix removed last week, so I made her this mix CD.  Last weekend, I met my future sister-in-law Mila, and lent her some CDs to copy (The Church's Heyday, Sonic Youth's Daydream Nation).  We also went to brunch at Commander's Palace with the whole fam, and to the Spring Garden Show at City Park.  It was my first time going to Commander's in almost 20 years.  Also went to Parkway Bakery & Tavern (best chicken po-boy of my life) and Angelo Brocato's later that night.  (Thought I was pretty clever for including a song about having a sliver of herself removed...  And the Black Flag song has the lyric "Keep me alive / Only you can do it."  And so forth with some other medical-related lyrics.)

I snapped this pic of an impressive Mammillaria bombycina (Silken pincushion cactus), a recent addition to the cactus / succulent greenhouse at the N.O. Botanical Garden.
I have three of these myself (tip: get one right now at Lowe's or Home Depot), but none of mine have clustered like this one, which must be 10-15 years old.

On Monday, I skipped the 2nd half of the college basketball championship to see a rock concert starring Merchandise, White Lung, and Glish.  Glish were great as usual, and debuted two new songs, but sadly didn't play longtime set opener "Collider."  Luckily they played the quite similar song "Sex."  White Lung just kicked all kinds of ass, especially on my two favorite songs of theirs, "Bag" and "Take The Mirror."  I expect them to go down as the key hardcore band of this generation.  Singer Mish Way seemed a bit annoyed with the crowd's passivity, and I was thinking to myself how their set would've spawned a serious mosh pit back in the '90s.  Oh well.  Merchandise now have a human drummer, and crooner Carson Cox now plays guitar, and they now have a sax player on a few songs.  So their sound was much fuller (and I would say sometimes too full / busy) as compared to last fall, when they only had two human-played instruments (guitar and bass), plus a drum machine.  DJ Wesley Stokes played some good stuff, such as Slowdive's "Morningrise," My Bloody Valentine's "You Made Me Realise," and CHVRCHES' "The Mother We Share."  And speaking of Sonic Youth, Carson wore a Chelsea Light Moving t-shirt.

I planned on seeing the movie Spring Breakers, but its theater run seems to be over.  I will say without shame that I've seen Ashley Benson's movie Fab Five: The Texas Cheerleader Scandal about 5 times.  One of the most quotable movies ever.

Woman arrested for beating up boyfriend after he got wasted and sang that annoying Macklemore song, "Thrift Shop," 25.5 times on his 26th birthday - "Enraged, Samantha started to shove Lars, but he still wouldn't stop singing the song. So she grabbed him by the throat and started to choke him (wait, now it's the worst birthday ever)."  Couldn't you have at least let him finish the 26th rendition?  Now he'll subconsciously just be wanting to sing it even more.

Planets with similar climates: Drop Nineteens - "Delaware" (1992), Bleach - "First" (1991), A.C. Temple - "Miss Sky" (1988), Gang Of Four - "It Is Not Enough" (1982), Springhouse - "Enslave Me" (1992), The Black Watch - "Come Inside" (1994), Catherine Wheel - "Chrome" (1993), Moonshake - "Spaceship Earth" (1992).

Sebadoh (Lou Barlow) >> Turning personal vendetta and small-minded revenge tactics into eventual cult status

Sebadoh - "Showtape '91"

(unreleased, 1991 / Domino Records, 2006)

On their 1991 tour, burgeoning indie rock stalwarts Sebadoh were known for playing a tape of obnoxious / baffling spoken word stuff in between songs while they were tuning.  (By the same token, Sonic Youth were known for playing Madonna songs and samples of European church bells in between songs in the '80s, since they had to tune and retune dozens of modified guitars.)  It was all spoken by singer / guitarist Lou Barlow, fresh off of being kicked out of Dinosaur Jr.  Tapes of this were passed on in the underground tape-trading community, and it was finally released in 2006 by Domino on the deluxe reissue of III.  I bought that album in '97, but was not too impressed and soon sold it.  I had heard about the showtape, so I didn't think it could live up to my expectations, but definitely did, and then some.  Lou spoof lots of things that later became indie tropes (e.g. "drone-rock," emo, fanzine dweebs, Swans worship), and uses a strange enunciation most of the time to convey either sarcasm or mental instability.  He constantly hammers away at the "three guys" premise, casting the band's members as everymen, heroes of the hoi polloi.  Towards the end, it starts to get unhinged and quite uncomfortable to listen to, as Lou ruthlessly skewers his band's own motives for making music.  It took me until just today to realize that "The lonely band that mutters" is a spoof of the Clash's laughably false slogan "The only band that matters."  Hahahahahaha.... x 1000.  The first line is an example of Lou intentionally messing up the syntax to make it sound more like a sound collage made from various sources.

Some samples, in the order they appear:

"Guitars, in front of Marshall stacks as full wall of them explode with a simultaneous on switch, begin wailing various percussion at any tempo.  I, bloody with Uzi blast, reach to play guitar, fumbling violently as it screeches through the Marshalls.  Grab guitar and plays what he wants.  I struggle to my feet, hoisting the guitar over my head.  Ladies and gentlemen: The pieces of meat!  Dual denial... Duel of denial... Dueling denial."
"Your postmodern folkcore saviors: Sebadoh!"
"Three guys who appreciate and simulate [assimilate?] the power of modern drone-rock: Sebadoh!"
"Sebadoh... Featuring that guy who played bass in Soul Asylum: Lou Barlow!"
"Another evening of oppressive noodling, courtesy of Sebadoh!"
"Three guys in search of the eternal party: Sebadoh."
"Open-chord tuning saviors of alternative rock and roll: Sebadoh!"
"And now, shattering the barrier between artist and audience... Three guys with smiles you can trust: Sebadoh."
"Three more reasons to doubt your boyfriend... Sebadoh: Jason, Eric and Lou."
"Guitar, bass, percussion... The fire, the wind, the heartbeat. A live experience surely among the top ten this year: Sebadoh."
"Three guys who think it's much more important if the music is heartfelt rather than if the music sounds like shit or not: Sebadoh!"
"The east is where the vampires live. The west is where the searchers go. Searching for a reason just like you: Ladies and gentlemen, the sensitive power of Sebadoh."
"In the tradition of Daniel Johnston under a cloud of hiss: Sebadoh!"
"Searching for a reason, just like you. Ladies and gentlemen, the sensitive power of Sebadoh."
"It's not bullshit, it's Sebadoh."
"Distinctive songwriters, any Beatle wannabe, three guys you need to know. Super show, Sebadoh!"
"Unencumbered by structure... masters of melodic, atonal free-association. Three free spirits... Jason, Eric and Lou: Sebadoh!"
"A crystal shining forever moment, courtesy of Sebadoh!"
"Sweet, destructive, turning musical corners at breakneck speed."
"Battling monumental indifference, sadly overlooked as creatively inferior bands are basically treated like geniuses and receive enormous recording budgets. Buns up to corporate wastemongers: Sebadoh!"
"Three dumpy guys with no fashion sense."
"Shaking hands or sharing feasts, three friendly minstrels who aren't very friendly... Reinventing folk music: Sebadoh!"
"Boys and girls, as free as the fingers flow, a heartful drone you should know: Sebadoh."
"Sebadoh: The lonely band that mutters."
"Perhaps smoking pot or drinking beer before setting foot onstage, it's Sebadoh."
"Figuratively pissing in your mouth, humiliating and subduing your spirit, exposing every nook and cranny of the human psyche... Way to go, Sebadoh!"
"Searching for the lowest common denominator, resorting to tired tales of naughty-boy boredom, asking annoying questions and providing bogus answers. Self-serving closet fascists making money from marijuana masturbation."
"Incompetence masquerading as inspiration, inspiration mistaken for true talent, a spectre of egocentric behavior sputtering wildly out of control.  Ladies and gentlemen, indie rock's newest unrecognized genius of songwriting sucker-punch, in a minivan for a six-week tour: Sebadoh!"
"Taking every opportunity to subtly manipulate your expectations for a moment's amusement.  Becoming suddenly bored at your immature attempt to engage our approval with your typical butt-licking fanboy fervor: Sebadoh!"
"Driving dozens of college-age lemmings off the cliff of limited imagination. Smashing their soft skulls on the jagged boulders of our bitter sarcasm... Three assholes: Sebadoh!"
"Laughing at your shortcomings, tactlessly wielding destructive honesty to protect themselves from true feeling, eagerly butt-fucking your grandpa."
"Turning personal vendetta and small-minded revenge tactics into eventual cult status... The only man in the world who truly appreciated the genius of the Swans: Lou Barlow!"
"Rescuing wounded animals and diligently nursing them back to health and returning them to their woodland homes: Sebadoh!"
"Putting down everything, judging all as lame.  But for all their hype as something new, they play the same old game.  Another letdown, another reason to do it yourself: Sebadoh!"

Some of today's pompous indie-hero windbags (Arcade Fire, Conor Oberst, and Radiohead / Thom Yorke come to mind quickly) could learn a lot from Lou and the boys on this track.

Here's a pic I found a few weeks ago of a pair of flyers created by the NOLADIY guys.  They apparently date back to at least 2006, maybe earlier. The one on the left is a spoof of the "punk police" (people who decide whether or not a band is worthy of remaining relevant), I guess.  (I think I remember reading that it was put up in protest of a gig at One Eyed Jacks by the Dead Kennedys after they had reformed without Jello Biafra, but I could be totally wrong.)  Pretty simple and effective... but the one on the right really stopped me in my tracks:

Reverse psychology can be a great weapon...

Best / least pompous bio I've probably ever seen, found today on IMDB's message boards for the movie School Daze: LadyGlamSlam - "I was born, I grew, I learned, there was pain, I got fat, then there was some sex scenes, roll credits."

Planets with similar climates: None

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).

Wye Oak >> You look over my shoulder, distant, abstract

Wye Oak - "Spiral"

(Williams Street Records / Adult Swim, 2012)

On August 3rd, while pulling into the parking lot outside the Saints' facility in Metairie to watch an open practice, I heard this song on WTUL and just about lost my shit.  I called in and found out who it was, then asked the DJ if he was sure that it was really Wye Oak, since this song is totally different from their normal rustic alt-country sound.  He and I talked about how 4AD-ish it was, and I mentioned that it sounded a lot like the album Euphoria by the band Insides.  He said he hadn't heard any Insides, but would check them out.  The next night, the Oak opened for the dreadful Dirty Projectors at the House Of Blues.  I almost went just to see them perform this song, but I couldn't justify the cost of around $30.00, plus I would've lost all respect for myself if I had stood in the same room with the Dirty Projectors or their fanbase.

Wye Oak are named after the state-champion (that means largest) oak tree in Maryland.  R.I.P.  This song premiered as a free download at Stereogum, which is where I downloaded it, and it is still available there.  Singer / guitarist Jenn Wasner said on Stereogum "This track was written specifically for this Adult Swim series, but they didn’t provide any thematic or sonic guidance for the song. A lot of the music I had been working on independently at the time sounded something like this — so I felt like the Adult Swim opportunity was, as a standalone track, a great opportunity to experiment with some of these new sonic and rhythmic ideas in a low-pressure context. The song revolves around the idea of repetition and rhythmic interplay — parts that are fairly minimalist and circular that come together to form an almost hypnotic wash."  The song's stuttering ambient marimba finale strikes me as a clear homage to Tortoise's genre-busting "Djed."  Check out the passion with which impending indie heartthrob Wasner belted out this song on the same day I first heard it, meaning the night before they played in N.O.:

After seeing that video, I was absolutely kicking myself for not going to the gig.  But I'll see them when they come back to N.O. or B.R. as headliners.  If they can continue exploring this type of sound, I'd say they'll instantly be the most compelling band in all of indiedom.  You could say Wye Oak pulled a reverse Slowdive with this song, considering how Slowdive suddenly went from an electronic dream pop sound to a country-ish sound under their new name Mojave 3 in the mid-'90s.  Well, folks, the Oak is the new sheriff in town and they're ready to right Slowjave 3's wrong.  My only complaint is that the vocals in "Spiral" are hard to decipher due to the massive amounts of reverb and Wasner's breathy, innovative phrasing, but that actually helps the music to more dreamlike and disorienting.  For a not-so-accurate stab at them, go here.  I think she sings "Hearts have signed for(?) a contract: Constant contact" and then she definitely sings "You look over my shoulder / Distant, abstract."

You can download every digital single in the Adult Swim series for free here.

Jenn's new project, the hilariously-named Dungeonesse, is a full-on dance/synth thing, so hopefully they'll put out at least a few songs in the same vein as "Spiral."

View the best pic I took at Saints practice that momentous day here.

Tue. 3/12: Got an eye exam from a new doctor and then got contact lenses for the first time in a few years; had been wearing really scratched up old glasses.  It was like seeing the world in HD and I was somewhat in shock for the rest of the day / week.

Sat. 3/16: Went to the spring Record Raid and talked to the usual music buddiez but didn't see the person I hoped would be there, so I was pretty depressed the rest of the day.  In my haul: School Of Seven Bells - Disconnect From Desire (2xLP on swirly gray vinyl), Broken Water - Whet (LP on translucent green vinyl), Steve Reich - Reich Remixed (2xLP), Dead Leaf Echo - Truth (EP), Niki And The Dove - Instinct, Crowded House - Temple Of Low Men, Joan Armatrading - Greatest Hits, Frank Ocean - Channel Orange, Toro Y Moi - "So Many Details" promo single, Mary Timony - The Golden Dove, TEEN - In Limbo.  Bought some vitamin B-12.

Thur. 3/21: Went to the Alicia Keys / Miguel concert at New Orleans Arena with Em, Ashley, and Ashley's mom.  Was stunned at Em's new car that she bought a few days earlier.  Almost wore my Glish t-shirt, but donned a long-sleeve shirt at the last minute.  Only saw Miguel's last 3 songs due to a ticket snafu, so I dunno if he played my fav. song of his, the future #1 hit "Don't Look Back".  He finished with an extended rendition of his mega-hit "Adorn."  Saw Hornets star Eric Gordon in the drink line; probably should've shook his hand or something since he will surely leave as a free agent soon.  Alicia brought her A-game despite the fact that the arena was about half full.  (Everyone on the upper level got a free upgrade to the middle level.)  Seeing her perform "Un-Thinkable" while bathed in orange lighting was one of the top 10 concert moments of my life, and I was pleasantly surprised at how berserk the crowd went when she did an old fave of mine, "Diary."  Maxwell dueted with her via a pre-recorded video segment shown on the screen behind her.  She played for almost 2 hours, meaning about twice as long as when I saw her in '04.  Afterwards, I hurried over and absorbed the end of a hushed and beautiful Benoît Pioulard show at the Circle Bar by myself.  A rude bartender tried to throw shade when I mentioned the concert I had just seen up the street, but I still stupidly tipped her a dollar.

Fri. 3/22: Decided to do the "be a tourist in your own town" thing... Well, in my previous hometown at least.  Went to Barrister's Gallery at its new location on St. Claude (used to be inside of or next to Zeitgeist Theatre on Oretha Castle Haley) and saw some very impressive avant-garde stuff; got a poetry book at Maple Street Book Shop at the N.O. Healing Center; got some cool stuff at Euclid Records (Acetone LP, Cul De Sac 7", Lansing-Dreiden CD); got a thyme plant at Harold's; played basketball at Delgado for 2+ hrs until dark; watched March Madness.

Sat. 3/23: Went to Slidell on a whim and scored a book about Ani Difranco at Goodwill.  Man, I had forgotten how much she once meant to me, and how endearingly funny she was/is, but flipping through a few pages in this book brought it rushing back.

Planets with similar climates: Cocteau Twins - "Road, River And Rail" (1990), Insides - "Distractions" (1993), Beach House - "Wild" (2012), Lush - "Undertow" (1993), Twin Sister - "The Other Side Of Your Face" (2010), Grimes - "Be A Body" (2011).

Moons >> Saw you in a dream screaming in the dark

Moons - "Waves At Night"

(No Recordings, 2012)

I got this song via Under The Radar magazine's free mp3 sampler #44.  I bought the mag to give to my sister, since it has Grimes on the cover and it named Wild Nothing's Nocturne as the best album of 2012.  (That's my pick for album of the year too, by a wide margin.)  It's such a good issue that I bought it despite the fact that the phrases "Passion Pit" and "Sleigh Bells" appear on the cover.  Moons is apparently a one-man project by a guy named Patrick Canaday from Atlanta.  The vocodered vocals at the beginning are presumably by Canaday, and I read that the female vocals are by some people named Lorely Rodriguez & Arielle Guitar.  Looks like chillwave ain't dead yet...

This effing tight song is the b-side on Moons' debut 7" called "Bloody Mouths," which is the first-ever release on a label called No Recordings.  The 7" is limited to 250 copies on cream-colored vinyl, and the covers are made via hand-stamping; see several pics of it here.  Unfortunately, it retails for $10, but I would presume it'll be repressed on black vinyl at a much cheaper price once the demand begins to rise.  i think demand will indeed rise, since this single seems to be getting lots of attention on various music sites / blogs.

Here's the video for "Bloody Mouths," subtitled "(Watchtower Version)" for some reason, though it appears to be the only available version:

A rather daring and probably illegal performance art piece by Chris Burden; apparent inspiration for Trumans Water's "Skyjacker" 7"

Thur. Feb. 21: Saw Caspian, Junius, Aiua at Siberia.  It was very loud, and the club played Hüsker Dü's New Day Rising in between bands to ensure that it would not get any quieter.  Even local instro-rockers Aiua, who I had remembered as being quite atmospheric and spacey from seeing them at Dragon's Den, were aggressive and almost metal.  Two of their four members were shirtless by the end of their set.  Junius played my two favorite songs of theirs, "A Word Could Kill Her" and (as their final song) "The Fires Of Antediluvia" (a.k.a. "The Antediluvian Fire").  Their drumer wore a Deftones shirt.  A guy from Caspian wrote out a setlist for us afterwards from memory.  The merch table was so immense (covered the entire pool table and then some) that I took a pic of it.  I would say it rivaled Boris' for the most impressive merch table I've ever encountered, though The XX's from a few weeks ago is also in the discussion.

Planets with similar climates: Chromatics - "Lady" (2011), Maria Minerva - "Luvcool" (~2010), Memoryhouse - "Sleep Patterns" (2009), Julee Cruise & Angelo Badalamenti - "Falling" (1989), School Of Seven Bells - "Reappear" (2012), Grimes - "Skin" (2011), Makeup And Vanity Set feat. Jasmin Kaset - "Homecoming" (2012).

Hark, it is a very handy index covering the first 2 years of Blowtorch Baby

Today marks 2 years since the site's first song post. I decided to make an alphabetical list of all of the songs, mainly because I want to peruse such a list, and because the Library Of Congress has been pestering me to do it.  In parentheses is the recording date of the track, and after that is the date it was posted on here, in case you want to go find the original article.  Since joining last.fm and Tumblr last fall, I've been neglecting this site.  I do have a ton of songs to post in the future that will blow some minds, including many by bands in my all-time top 10, so don't worry about this site going anywhere.  I'm already getting a little disillusioned with last.fm & Tumblr.  I'll be randomly disabling song downloads from now on, based on a very complex algorithm, due to the fact that the world has greeted Blowtorch Baby with a collective shrug and because I don't feel all songs should be free forever.  I've been seeing lots of mediocre "here's a free album download link" mp3 blogs getting shut down, so I think my choice to do a site devoted to just offering one great track at a time has been validated.

Aarktica - "Big Year" (2002) 1/6/12

Abecedarians - "Soil" (early version) (~1983-85) 9/19/11

Above The Law - "Freedom Of Speech" (1989) 10/17/11

A.C. Temple - "Chinese Burn" (1988) 3/2/11

American Music Club - "Sick Of Food" (1991) 10/12/11

Amoeba - "Ignoring Gravity" (1997) 11/30/11

Tiffany Anders - "Runnin' From No Place To Nowhere" (1998) 11/29/11

Michael Andrews w/ Miranda July - "When I Call A Name" (2005) 10/16/11

Angry Samoans - "You Stupid Jerk" (1982) 11/23/11

Antipop Consortium - "Your World Is Flat" (1999) 3/31/11

The Aqua Velvets - "Nomad" (1996) 10/8/11

Asylum Party - "Play Alone" (1989) 9/26/12

Autumnfair - "Black Spring" (~1988) 11/10/11

The Autumns - "Boy With The Aluminum Stilts" (1999) 11/25/11

Band Of Susans - "Ice Age" (1990) 7/16/11

Bare Minimum - "Night We Streak, Divine Failure" (1995) 2/27/12

Bare Minimum - "Swim In Anxious Moment" (1997) 3/4/12

Bark Psychosis - "The Loom" (1993) 6/22/11

William Basinski - "The River" (excerpt) (1983) 7/12/11

Bell Hollow - "Storm's End" (2007) 3/11/12

Bethany Curve - "Long Beach" (2001) 11/24/11

The Bevis Frond - "Desperate" (1993) 8/11/12

Biosphere - "The Things I Tell You" (1997) 3/15/12

Black Flag - "Rise Above" (1981) 11/30/11

The Black Watch - "Terrific" (1991) 9/5/11

Bleach - "Burn" (1991) 4/8/11

Bleach - "Hit On Me" (1992) 3/28/11

Bleach - "Shotgun (1991) 7/2/12

Blouse - "Into Black" (2011) 11/4/12

Bongwater - "Free Love Messes Up My Life" (1991) 7/1/11

Bright Channel - "Airborne" (2005) 12/25/11

Bright Channel - "Final Stretch" (2004) 12/22/11

Bright Channel - "Night Eyes" (Demo) (2003) 12/19/11

Brujeria - "Don Quixote Marijuana" (1999) 4/20/11

Catherine Wheel - "Wish" (demo) (~1990-91) 4/30/11

Cerulean - "Here Is Hoping" (2004) 10/24/11

!!! [Chk Chk Chk] - "Intensify" (2000) 4/25/12

Choir Invisible - "The Distance From..." (1981) 11/21/11

Christian Death - "Cavity (Version)" (1981) 10/3/11

Chrome - "Isolation" (1980) 9/9/11

Chug - "Water Torture" (1996) 3/16/11

The Cleaners From Venus - "Follow The Plough" (6/13/11)

Colfax Abbey - "Feel" (1996) 2/17/12

The Comsat Angels - "I Come From The Sun" (1992) 3/4/11

Curious (Yellow) - "Taken By Surprise" (1990) 3/28/11

Cush - "The Touch" (2000) 11/17/11

Das Racist - "Rainbow In The Dark" (2010) 10/3/12

Del The Funky Homosapien - "No Need For Alarm" (1993) 11/28/11

Constance Demby - "The Longing" (1982) 11/26/11

DJ Magic Mike & MC Madness - "Dynamic Duo" (1991) 12/28/11

Doldrums - "Weird Orbits" (1995) 6/17/12

Dome w/ Angela Conway - "Cruel When Complete" (1980) 5/19/12

Drop Nineteens - "Delaware" (1992) 12/31/11

Dub Sex - "Then And Now" (~1987/88) 7/3/12

Duster - "Topical Solution" (1997) 11/30/11

Earwig - "Everything's Just Fine" (1991) 8/26/11

Editors - "Lights" (2005) 12/7/11

The Emerald Down - "Heavier Than Ether, Lighter Than Air" (2001) 8/28/11

The Emerald Down - "Stars" (2002) 2/26/11

[EXITMUSIC: see LAKE]

Faith No More - "Why Do You Bother?" (1985) 10/1/11

FCS North - "1222" (2000) 4/6/11

Felt - "Fortune" (re-recorded version) (1984) 8/7/11

Feverdream - "Never Letting Go" (1995) 5/8/11

Film School - "Pitfalls" (2006) 9/14/11

Film School - "Time To Listen" (2010) 9/16/11

Film School - "Two Kinds" (2007) 9/18/11

Flying Saucer Attack - "Up In Her Eyes (1997) 7/22/11

For Against - "Paperwhites" (1988) 6/27/11

Francis 7 - "Red Roses" (~2003) 2/19/11

The Furious Colour - "Closer" (BBC Session) (1986) 3/6/12

Allen Ginsberg - "Poem Rocket (Be A Star-Screwer)" (1959) 11/28/12

Glide - "Water Falls" (1992) 6/8/11

Hex - "Mercury Towers" (1989) 6/14/11

Honeyburn - "Sister" (1995) 4/15/11

Adina Howard vs. Ride - "FreakRide" (1994 vs. 1992 in 2003) 6/1/11

William Hung - "I Believe I Can Fly" & "Inspirational Thoughts: Perseverance" (2004) 11/13/11

Idaho - "If You Dare" (1995) 9/25/11

Idaho - "You Are There" (1993) 5/13/11

ILYA - "Isola" (2002) 9/13/11

[Insides: see Earwig]

Isotope 217 - "Kryptonite Smokes The Red Line" (1997) 5/1/11

The Joy Circuit - "Run In Circles" (demo) (2004) 10/18/11

The Joy Circuit - "The New Sunrise" (demo) (2004) 7/7/11

The Joy Circuit - "X's" (2004) 11/8/11

[Miranda July: see Michael Andrews w/ Miranda July]

Juned - "Kyuss" (1995) 8/31/11

Junius - "A Word Could Kill Her" (2006) 1/19/12

Juno - "Leave A Clean Camp And A Dead Fire" (1998) 10/8/12

Kill Laura - "Unheeled (1994) 6/18/12

Knapsack - "Decorate The Spine" (1996) 10/29/11

Michael Krassner - "Telegraph Hill" (1996) 8/14/11

Kriedler - "She Woke Up And The World Had Changed" (1998) 7/23/11

Dayna Kurtz - "Beside You" (Live) (1997) 4/18/12

LAKE - "Don't Give Up" (2009) [+ EXITMUSIC - "The Sea" (2011)] 10/31/12

Liberty Horses - "King Of A Rainy Country" (1992) 5/20/11

Lid - "Up" (1992) 2/19/13

Lions & Ghosts - "Wild Garden" (1989) 11/5/11

Long Fin Killie - "Clinch" (1996) 7/13/12

Loquat - "Swingset Chain" (original version) (2001) 9/7/11

Lovers - "Figure 8" (2010) 9/14/12

Love Spirals Downwards - "Sideways Forest" (1996) 10/19/11

Lowercase - "Willing To Follow You Down" (1998) 9/10/11

Lubricated Goat - "New Kind Of Animal" (1990) 8/13/11

Lucid Nation - "Fun" (1999) 10/23/11

Lynnfield Pioneers - "Add It Up" (1997) 5/16/12

The Make-Up - "I Want Some" (1998) 4/16/12

Memoryhouse - "Lately" (2009 & 2011 versions) 8/16/12

Merchandise - "Time" (2012) 11/16/12

[Mercury Rev: see Shady Crady]

Margot Mifflin - "Backlash" (1992) 2/1/12

Maria Minerva - "Luvcool" [a.k.a. "Lovecool"] (2011) 10/16/12

Minutemen - "Anxious Mo-Fo" (1984) 11/27/11

The Moog Cookbook - "The One I Love" (1996) 10/31/11

Moonshake - "Girly Loop" (1993) 2/23/12

Moonshake - "The Taboo" (1996) 7/30/11

My Bloody Valentine - "You Made Me Realise" (1988) 3/17/12

National Skyline - "Ghosts" (2001) 7/5/11

Necropolis Of Love - "Talk" (re-recorded version) (1984) 11/1/11

Negativland - "Methods Of Torture" (1987) 9/6/11

New Math - Invocation (1982) 11/30/11

Nice Strong Arm - "Cloud Machine" (1989) 12/27/11

Will Oldham & Jim O'Rourke - "Ebb's Folly" (1996) 8/14/11

Opal - "Supernova" (1987) 8/1/11

The Orange Peels - "I Don't Mind The Rain" (1996) 9/21/11

[Jim O'Rourke: see Will Oldham & Jim O'Rourke]

Oval - "Shop In Store" (1994) 2/8/12

Mike Patton - "Pajama Party Horror" (1995) 11/7/11

Pharmacy Lounge - "Building A Compound" (1993) 10/11/12

A Place To Bury Strangers - "I Lived My Life To Stand In The Shadow Of Your Heart" (2006 & 2009 versions) 1/26/12

Plexi - "Forest Ranger" (1996) 9/3/11

Plexi - "Peel / He" (1995) 9/1/11

Plexi - "Simple Man" (1994) 9/2/11

Pocahaunted - "Ashes Is White" (2008) 10/21/11

Poem Rocket - "Appeal To The Imagination" (2000) 1/10/13

Poem Rocket - "Flaw" (1994) 12/6/12

Poem Rocket - "Small White Animal" (1994) 12/14/12

The Prime Movers - "Museum" (1984) 9/26/11

Primitive Painters - "Like You" (1991) 10/13/11

Psi Com - "City Of 9 Gates" (1985) 11/19/11

Psi Com - "Ho Ka Hey" (1985) 9/11/11

Psychic Ills - "January Rain" (2005) 1/13/12

Pteranodon - "Adrift" (2001) 12/14/11

Puro Instinct - "Slivers Of You" (2010) 11/9/11

Lee Ranaldo - "Deva, Spain (Fragments)" 2/3/12

Lee Ranaldo w/ Steve Shelley - "Live ∞ #1" (1987) 7/3/11

Billy Reid - "White Chicks And Gang Signs" (2006) 11/13/12

Replikants - "Patty's Trip" (1996) 3/23/11

[Ride: see Adina Howard vs. Ride]

Steve Roach - "Structures From Silence" (1984) 11/15/11

Steve Roach & Robert Rich - "Touch" (1992) 11/29/11

Savage Republic - "Next To Nothing" (1982) 10/14/11

Scala - "Hold Me Down" (1995) 4/23/11

Scenic - "All Fish Go To Heaven" (1996) 2/28/11

School Of Seven Bells - "Windstorm" (2010) 8/28/12

Christian Scott - "Litany Against Fear" (2007) 8/14/11

Screen Of Dreams - "I Can't Remember" (1983) 11/12/11

The Sea And Cake - "Choice Blanket" (1993) 6/22/12

Section 25 - "New Horizon" (1980) 9/16/12

Seefeel - "Come Alive" & "Come Alive (Climactic Phase #1)" (1993) 8/19/11

Shady Crady - "Clamor" (demo) (1988) 5/24/11

Shady Crady - "In Bloom" (demo) (1988) 5/27/11

Sleepers - "Let Me Free" (1980) 2/20/11

Sleepers - "Mirror" (1980) 10/6/11

[Sonic Youth: see Lee Ranaldo]

Soul Whirling Somewhere - "Every Female Werewolf Ever, Listed Alphabetically By Crime" (1997) 8/18/11

The Sound - "Burning Part Of Me" (1985) 4/12/11

Southpacific - "Analogue 9" (1999) 8/25/11

Sovetskoe Foto - "Cellophane Laughter" (1991) 4/12/12

Springhouse - "Enslave Me" (1992) 4/6/12

Starflyer 59 - "Blue Collar Love" (1993) 9/24/11

Starflyer 59 - "The Boulevard" (1996) 10/11/11

St. Johnny - "Go To Sleep (1992) 9/8/12

Karlheinz Stockhausen - "Struktur X" (1959-60) 4/27/11

Suburban Lawns - "Computer Date" (1981) 10/28/11

Swervedriver - "99th Dream" (1996) 3/26/12

Tagging Satellites - "Sun Damage" (2000) 1/30/12

Tamaryn - "Dawning" (2010) 9/29/11

Tape - "Fill In The Blank" (2002) 9/4/11

Telefon Tel Aviv - "My Week Beats Your Year" (2004) 5/13/11

This Heat - "Horizontal Hold" (~1978) 4/28/12

Tomorrowland - "Kepler Planet Harmonies" (1997) 5/16/11

To Rococo Rot - "Prado" (1999) 7/27/11

Tortoise - "Glass Museum" (1995) 2/16/12

Trans Am - "Futureworld" (1998) 5/6/12

Trespassers William - "Love You More" (2002) 11/30/11

Trial Of The Bow - "Inverloch" (1994) 4/2/12

Tristeza - "I Am A Cheetah" (2000) 9/23/11

Twin Sister - "The Other Side Of Your Face" (2010) 12/4/11

Ultracherry Violet - "Post-Wing-And-Prayer" (1994) 5/20/12

The Universal Chrome - "Helium" (2000) 10/23/12

[Unwound: see Replikants]

Venus Beads - "Heaven And Back" (1990) 4/2/11

Venus Beads - "One Way Mirror" (1990) 7/18/12

Volplane - "Lost In Blue" [a.k.a. "I Want This Dream"] (1997) 12/10/11

Warpaint - "Composure" (2010) 10/5/11

The Werefrogs - "Don't Slip Away" (1992) 5/22/11

White Cascade - "Fine As Usual" (2010) 11/22/12

Windy & Carl - "A Dream Of Blue" (1997) 3/11/11

[Wire: see Dome]

Zombi - "Challenger Deep" (2005) 8/25/11

Pic of the often-thought-provoking sign at Metairie Grammar School on Sept. 20, 2012. (See the other side here.)

Lid >> The atmosphere is somewhere very, very close to here

Lid - "Up"

(Brilliant Records, 1992)

In early 2010 I was at The Mushroom and picked up a compilation CD called Something Pretty Beautiful from the pile of free used CDs that they sometimes stack up at the top of the entry stairway.  (They give away CDs that have gone unsold for years, sometimes for over a decade.)  When listening to the track by a band called Lid, something sounded very familiar to me.  I was all "This is like a bluesier, more psychedelic version of Poem Rocket!"  Well, it turns out Lid was P.R. singer / guitarist Michael Peters' previous band, and as far as I know, this was the only song they ever released, though hopefully I'm wrong.  Doing an online search for "lid" + "up" does not exactly return many music-related results.

"The atmosphere is somewhere very, very close to here" is a pretty unique way of saying that one is at a high altitude.  All the elements of Poem Rocket's genius are present here.  This song really takes the major-label suits on a wild rollercoaster courtship ride in the confusing wake of Nirvana, and makes them get out their pens and start clicking them to test if the ink works before fishing around in their pockets for a piece of paper on which to scrawl a multi-album contract for Lid to sign.  That's how good of a song it is.  The production values are simply stunning, with some of the most "3-D" surround-sound I've ever heard.  The closing guitar onslaught (3:58 mark) all but leaps out of the speakers; I really can't emphasize the coolness of this last part enough.  You have to listen to this song on a good stereo or with headphones, but it does sound rather massive even on small speakers, without relying on simple loudness.  I made this a high-quality 224 kbps file for maximum shock and awe.

Poem Rocket's press kit .pdf (see two posts ago), says that Peters lived in both Ohio and Virginia before moving to NYC and forming Poem Rocket.  Brilliant Records was based in Richmond, so it makes sense that this compilation has a good amount of VA bands, especially since the northern VA / southern MD area was really fertile with great bands at the time... Not that I knew this when I went to the Univ. of Richmond for a year in the mid-'90s, sadly.  The Virginia bands on this comp. are: Fudge (Richmond), The Knievels (Chester), Lid (Richmond), Lorelei (Arlington), The Petals (Richmond), Schwa (Richmond), The Technical Jed (Richmond), The Tribbles (Richmond), Twitch Hazel (Richmond), Ultra Cindy (Chesapeake), The Waking Hours (Midlothian).  The booklet says Lid also put out some stuff on a label called Radioactive Rat, which I really need to hear.  Unfortunately, the liner notes don't list the members of the bands.  I found out that Something Pretty Beautiful was the name of a band on Creation Records, so this comp must've been named after them.

Speaking of the word "Lid" and the mid-'90s, I once went on a date with this girl Lydia in May '95, my last month of high school.  (That was also the month I got accepted into the Univ. of Richmond.)  We went to a women's beach volleyball match at Coconut Beach (R.I.P.) and then went to Blockbuster Music, where I bought Jeff Buckley's Grace on cassette.  I popped it in the tape deck, and it was kind of awkward listening to "Last Goodbye"'s line "Kiss me, pleeeease kiss meeee" during the car ride back to her place to drop her off.  And no, we didn't.  Strangely, the last time I ever saw her was on the morning of 9/11/11, walking across the campus of Loyola Univ. in New Orleans.

Planets with similar climates: Swervedriver - "Deep Seat" (1991) & "Duress" (1993), Juno (with Jen Wood) - "A Listening Ear" (1998), Acetone - "Sundown" (1993), Temple Of The Dog - "Reach Down" (1990), Nudeswirl - "Three" (1993), Big Head Todd & The Monsters - "Circle" (1993), Screaming Trees - "Shadow Of The Season" (1992), Soundgarden - "Blind Dogs" (1995).

Currently eating or drinking: Vincotto orange velvety condiment (fermented grape & orange must), BelGioioso mascarpone, Rouses polder goat gouda, Brooklyn Brewery Black Chocolate Stout, Naturally Delicious banana bread.

Poem Rocket >> At the point of impact, don't rule anything out

Poem Rocket - "Levy 9 R.S.V.P."

(Magic Eye Singles, 1998)

So by now you know what Poem Rocket was capable of in terms of harnessing atonality and melody into oddly memorable and gripping songs.  What would happen if they really let their hair down and drifted off into the outer realms, like a non-sucky version of Hawkwind?

You have to admit that "At the point of impact, don't rule anything out" would make a great tattoo or Nike slogan, as would "If it hits us, we'll say 'I told you so' with no regrets."  Stick around until the last minute for some eerie, softly spoken vocals concluding with the epitaph "Deep in the dense layers of hydrogen."  This song's lyrics are presumably based on the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9, whose collision with Jupiter in July 1994 was a huge event amongst astronomers worldwide.  I don't personally remember it, but I vividly remember the Mars Pathfinder rover in '97 and Halley's Comet in '86.  I can't say whether Levy-9 was in the same general category of public excitement causation as those two, but I doubt it.

This song is from the Rocket's hard-to-find 1999 EP The Universe Explained In Six Songs.  According to the liner notes, it was recorded and mastered by the band itself, no small feat for such a sprawling, sonically-adventurous song.  The members of the band at this time are credited as: "Sandra Gardner (bass guitar, bowed bass, organ, violin, marimba, vocals), Peter Gordon (drums, piano, tape loops, harmonica, assorted mayhem) and Michael Peters (guitars, vocals, star shaker, drums)."  It comes in a cool mini clamshell (DVD-style) case with an interesting booklet.  I bought a copy ca. 2004, but the CD broke, so I bought another; I think I got both on eBay.  I have no use for the one containing the broken CD, so if someone wants it and is a somewhat-longtime reader of this site, drop me a line.

What you're looking at above is both of my booklets (front side; back side), the intact CD, the broken CD, and both cases (showing the white band / EP name stickers on the outside).

Inside the little Magic Eye Singles mailorder catalog (just one piece of paper folded in half) that came inside one of my Universe Explained CDs. (Pic added 2/23/13) Anything that contains the phrase "way better than Elliott Smith" gets a thumbs up in my book!

If you want to hear another Poem Rocket song in this spacey vein, check out "Contrail de l'avion" from their Into The Aether 10" (1994).  I actually was going to post that one instead, but opted for the longer, less hummable, more sui generis "Levy."

Illustration by Michael Peters from his book Vaast Bin; n Ephemerisi.  (The book has no page #s, but this pic is right in the middle.)

The happiest person on the planet right now has to be LL Cool J's manager.  His client just hosted the Grammys on Sunday, released (sorry, "dropped") a new single the next day, and is a dead ringer for the hopefully-late terrorist Christopher Dorner & is hence a lock to play him in the inevitable upcoming biopic.

Wed. 1/30/13: Saw Onuinu and Terrain at Siberia. I'm not sure if instrumental rockers Terrain are local, but the guitarist told the crowd it was their first-ever performance.  While Onuinu was performing (entirely solo) his catchy chillwave anthems-in-waiting, my sister and I kept telling each other "He's gonna be huge."  We bought a little too much merch after talking to him, just because of how nice and down-to-earth he is.

Thur. 1/31/13: Saw Chelsea Wolfe at the Spanish Moon.  Unfortunately, it was her "acoustic tour," and the crowd grew very antsy and belligerently talkative as it went on.  An actual quote I overheard: "It was amazing for the first 10 minutes, but after an hour I'm starting to hate it."  (It was an early show, with some sort of 80's Night beginning right afterwards at 10, so lots of obnoxious people were filling up the club.)  I was surprised C.W. didn't leave the stage due to all the talking and pool playing.  A local singer / songwriter named Erin Miley and her band opened with a set of post-Ani Difranco introspective pop.

Fri. 2/1/13: Termite treatment began.  Turns out one of the guys is a YouTube mogul who makes rap videos in New Orleans, but I forgot to ask for his YouTube name.

2/2/13: Went to the Mushroom for the first time since Nov. and learned my favorite employee and dear music buddy had quit.  Was crushed, speechless, etc.  I fittingly, and joylessly, bought Placebo's "Without You I'm Nothing" (one of my favorite songs ever) CD single for a buck.  Managed to go to the NFL Experience at the Convention Center with a bunch of my sister's friends and her fiancée right afterwards, but was sort of walking around in a depressed funk.  It didn't help that My Bloody Valentine released a dud of an album that night.  Was in much better spirits the next day on my birthday, though my prediction of Super Bowl tickets as a gift did not materialize.  Local product Jacoby Jones should've won Super Bowl MVP after setting the S.B. single-game yardage record, but he did earn a spot on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

2/8/13: Saw a sold-out show by the XX at House Of Blues with Em, Damion, Tace, and Alex, via free VIP lounge tickets.  I wore my School Of Seven Bells t-shirt, since their guitarist's cancer diagnosis was announced that day.  Opening act Austra went on at 9:30 instead of the heavily-advertised start time of 10:00, so we completely missed them.  I was looking forward to seeing them do their one good song, "The Beat And The Pulse," so I was pretty mad, especially since I missed a Toro Y Moi concert a few days earlier due to it being a sellout.  (In other words, I missed 3 bands on Wed. night, plus the opening band on this night, meaning I missed 4 of the 5 bands I ought to have seen in the week.)  After a long wait, the XX went on and delivered a very professional set with lots of cool lighting effects.  I'll admit I was skeptical about their ability to translate their hushed, "small" songs to the stage, but they really impressed me.  After hanging out in the posh upstairs lounge and listening to a DJ (forgot his DJ name, but it's 4 letters, maybe Flex?) spin such cutting-edge stuff as One Direction's "What Makes You Beautiful," Beyoncé's "Single Ladies," and Lenny Kravitz' "American Woman" on CD "turntables," and talking to Jenn Howard for the first time since high school, we bailed.  Met Oliver XX and Romy XX outside afterwards (since most of the crowd had dispersed to the Quarter to check out Mardi Gras madness) and got our posters signed.  This is one of my sister's top 5 fav. bands, so it was pretty momentous for her.  A girl from Baton Rouge named Emilie and a guy in a wheelchair named Fuji were both elated after meeting the band, and Emilie honestly looked like she needed a cigarette afterwards.  Oliver XX even climbed over the barricade to talk to us (well, mainly to talk to Fuji), and was later blatantly propositioned by a leggy fan wearing an all-white denim outfit.  Also talked to their tour manager after I noticed his Beak shirt and told him we (Em & I) had seen Portishead at this very club in 1998.  Turns out he was Portishead's manager or tour manger up until 2007.  A very cool guy. We saw Jamie XX carrying a bag of records he had just bought at Louisiana Music Factory directly across the street, but never found out what exactly he bought.  We walked around amidst the thongs on Bourbon Street for a while and went in some mediocre bar, then I spent about 45 mins. trying to catch a cab.  Saw an obese African-American woman in a Misfits skull t-shirt walking in front of the Joy Theater while I was waiting.  The increasing ubiquity / market saturation of early punk bands ceased to surprise me long ago, but I have to admit this sighting made me do a double-take, mainly because she was walking with some decidedly non-punk friends.  As usual, sorry for the excessively detailed descriptions; just trying to capture some of the little moments that make up a night like this one.

Planets with similar climates: Bardo Pond - "Rumination" (1996), The Church - "Chaos" (1992), Juno feat. Jen Wood - "A Listening Ear" (1998), Verve - "Butterfly" (1993), Sonic Youth - "Expressway To Yr. Skull" (a.k.a. "Madonna, Sean And Me") (1986), CAN - "Father Cannot Yell" (1969), Polvo - "When Will You Die For The Last Time In My Dreams" (1996), Morphine - "Down Love's Tributaries" (1993).