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After their amazing show here last Saturday, I’ve returned to this incredible record. In particular, “At My Windowsill” and “Intervention” really strike a deep chord within me at the moment. There are many reasons to love this band, but I really appreciate how this band understands (especially in the songs I mentioned) that the personal and the political are intertwined and not separate entities.
I was a bit worried about how The Arcade Fire would sound and look in a venue several times larger than the one I saw them in (Irving Plaza) several years ago. Of course they have such a gigantic sound and stage presence that not only were my concerns unfounded, but they ended up playing what has been my favorite show of the year so far. Openers The National sounded like a band that should have played in one of those club scenes in the movie Valley Girl or in some JOHN HUGHES film. This is not an insult, as I kept thinking about the self-titled ECHO AND THE BUNNYMEN album from 1987 as they played. I think they would be much better in a smaller venue, though I appreciated the songs where they rocked out a little more.
I was a huge fan of their debut Employment, one of my favorite albums of 2005, and initially I was quite disappointed with this second effort. Several listens later, however, reveal that while this isn’t the juggernaut that Employment was, this is still an enjoyable effort. Speaking with someone about this album recently, he urged me to listen to it again after my initial disappointment as he said it was like SUPERGRASS when they went from their debut I Should Coco to their more mature second album In It For the Money. Kaiser Chiefs make a similar transition here, as the hooks and melodies aren’t as immediate, but subsequent listens are rewarded.
A great, albeit short-lived, all-female punk band from the San Francisco area that existed from 1991 to 1996, this is the closest thing Spitboy came to a full-length record aside from their split Lp with the incredible Chicago hardcore band LOS CRUDOS. An eight-song 12” EP, this thing absolutely rages from start to finish and hearing it now, it feels just as fresh as when it came out in 1993. Also, the post-punk influences are much more notable to me now than they were when I was 18 and first heard this record. With Spitboy, who would pass out lyric sheets before their live sets, the message was just as if not more important than the music, and the issues touched upon here include isolation, gender stereotypes and the indoctrination that society forces upon children. I vividly remember interviewing them for my zine in their van after their set at the Cook College Cafe in the spring of 1994 and their intelligence, passion and intensity shined brightly. It’s a shame that I never put out that particular issue of my zine, but perhaps one day I’ll dig it up.
I especially recommend this book (which will be available on July 10th) to anyone who was a part of New Brunswick’s hardcore punk scene in the 1990s, but even if you weren’t, this is still a great coming-of-age tale. Though I’ve never been in a band and though my involvement in that scene was at its peak from 1991 to 1995 (the years covered in this book are 1994 to 2000, so there’s only some overlap here), my own personal experiences in the New Brunswick area definitely mirror the author’s to some extent as did my eventual desire to escape it for more opportunities, resulting in my eventual move to Hoboken and later to New York City itself.
The author is able to poke fun at his younger self while still realizing how important those years were to his development. Still, the focus here is on the stories, from near riots at flophouse apartments to tales of punk rock touring with bands ranging from LIFETIME to THE DEGENERICS, this book is hard to put down. It also helps that I know some of the people involved, but as I said before, even if you don’t, I recommend this anyway.
Loud Quiet Loud: A Film About The Pixies (Not Rated)
Although I was a fan of this great band in their initial lifetime, I never got to see them live until their nine-night run at New York’s Hammerstein Ballroom in December 2004. Footage from the last show in that run appears in this film, along with lots of other cool footage from other stops on the reunion tour (though oddly not of their 2004 appearance at the Coachella festival), but that’s not the film’s main attraction.
Clearly, this films shows how four completely different individuals with different lives and backgrounds came together to play shows for the first time in thirteen years. It also shows that while what led them apart in the first place (FRANK BLACK and KIM DEAL’s egos, respectively) isn’t a factor anymore, other factors have them teetering on the edge yet again. Namely, drummer DAVID LOVERING (who’s also a magician and metal detecting-enthusiast) developed a substance abuse problem on the tour, Frank and guitarist JOEY SANTIAGO have families now while the latter was also working on a film score on the road. Kim, of course, is a recovering addict and alcoholic and requested that alcohol wouldn’t be present backstage during the tour.
This 7”, along with the one for “Atta Girl”, were both released in the summer of 1993 in between Heavenly’s first and second full-length albums and are among my favorite 7”s in my entire collection. I picked up the CD version (which contains both 7”s) in a used bin recently and if there’s better twee-pop that’s ever been recorded, I’d like to hear it. What made Heavenly great wasn’t only their terrific melodies and adorable vocals, but the fact that they balanced their sweet sounds with lyrics about very serious topics, as several songs on this set (including “Hearts and Crosses” and the devastating, a cappella “So”) deal explicity with date rape. Thus, if one pays attention to the lyrics, it can make for some uncomfortable listening, but in my view this doesn’t deter from this set’s brilliance.
Do you like hardcore of the ultra-fast and thrashy variety? Well if so, this is a must-hear. Los Crudos were one of the finest bands of that style not just in the ‘90s but perhaps of all time as well. This 74(!)-track CD contains all of their releases except a split 7” with MK ULTRA, comprising split Lps and 7” with bands like Spitboy, MANUMISSION and HUASIPUNGO, just to name a few, along with compilation appearances and other releases as well.
What made Los Crudos notable, along with their music, was also the fact that all of their songs were sung in Spanish and that they were also one of the more political and outspoken bands of the time. In fact, at their shows lead singer MARTIN SORRONDEGUY would often speak to the audience at length between songs about socio-political and personal issues, making a show of theirs feel like a lecture or political rally as well. Of course, many people who saw their live shows complained about this, conveniently ignoring the fact that the unique messages and presentations behind the music are part of what made them unique and interesting to begin with.
First of all, I have to issue a disclaimer here. I’ve known vocalist and guitarist NORMAN VINO since we were both 16 year old high school students and furthermore, he’s been one of my best friends for half of my life. Nevertheless, I’m convinced that even if I’d received this CD without knowing any of the members involved, I’d still really dig it. Furthermore, this is a band that I’m convinced many Big Takeover readers would like, which is another reason I’m writing about them here.
Vino trades off lead vocals with drummer TIFFANY ALMY while bassist GISELLA OTTERSON is the glue that holds the trio together as Gold Streets bridge the gap between early ‘90s UK shoegazer scene or something on 4AD and early to mid ‘90s indie-pop. Most of this new CD, their debut full-length, is taken up by the more upbeat tunes in their catalog, but the hazy and atmospheric is never far out of sight. “Hotel Pool”, which initially appeared on the Red EP, also makes an appearance here. Although I liked that EP, Looks Like Fireflies marks a huge step forward for Gold Streets. I’m really looking forward to where they go next, but for now I’m really enjoying this album. You can hear tracks from it here.
Although this came out in 2005, I’ve only heard it recently. When I saw this band open for THE DECEMBERISTS last year, they didn’t make much of an impression of me. After hearing this, however, my only conclusion is that the vast caverns of the Electric Factory just wasn’t the adequate venue for their winsome and charming folk-pop to come through properly since I really like this EP. Furthermore, I really look forward to hearing their just-released full-length. Sometimes it’s good to be wrong and this is one of those instances.
