Haven't thought about this cut in probably about fifteen years but today the shoebox full of cassettes lying on my passenger side brought it back something fierce.
"Crush" by The Oblivious. Saw them open for Concrete Blonde once and they were tight.
This song will stick in your head for sure!
I am also WAY into this look you got going on, Ms. Vincent.
Strangely this was on a tape was marked HEAVY METAL on one side and the other was originally That Petrol Emotion. It was clearly a tape over; it also had Sonic Youth, Monster Magnet, Giant Sand and early Luscious Jackson.
Questions:
Was there an intended recipient for this mix or was it just me spending an evening with my music?
Why did I feel the urgency to tape over a mix of HEAVY METAL and what was on it?
I have to admit, I was kind of looking forward to hearing That Petrol Emotion when I popped it in the deck. They are a Junk Drawer band for sure.
As promised here is my first report from the archealogical dig that is my collection of cassettes.
This mix tape was made for me by my good buddy CJB and its re-discovery could not be better timed since I am going to see the Afghan Whigs perform at Metro this Friday night.
There are actually five Whigs tracks on the mix even though only four are listed. The untitled track that ends Congregation comes directly after "Kiss The Floor" at the end of Side A.
So I am going to say with five tracks off of that landmark Whigs album that it is likely that this mix tape was compiled sometime late 1992 or early 1993; this tape would have been a "correspondence tape" between two friends. A way to close the miles apart and share what the current soundtrack to your days sounded like.
This is a really solid, rocking tape and it holds up very well. The only tracks that feel off to me are the Big Star contributions which are a little too sparse and fragile in comparison to the more muscular sounds of their surroundings.
I like the limited palette of this mix which is surprising because often I consider that a faux pas or at least laziness.
Six of the 14 bands get two cuts or more with the Afghan Whigs being the clear winner. (Gary? Flipper?)
CJB did an undergrad stint at downstate University of Illinois. This is significant because the three tracks attributed to H. are by a band called Honcho Overload that was pretty decent and deserved to make it beyond the local scene but didn't. I am glad to have some audio record of them.
I also really dig the having such a great example of CJB's precise handwriting. While there isn't much to say in the way of cover art, you can tell he took his time to transmit the important information with care.
The inside of the J-card has this quizzical thing on it:
This has to be an inside joke that has been obliterated from my memory bank.
All in all, "The Days and Nights of Gary & Flipper" is a great mix that is evocative of the Grunge Boom (& its forebears) despite having just one band from Seattle present and accounted for.
This post is partly to remind me that I can't use "being busy" as an excuse for a lack of posts. Committed people find the time.
I would like to introduce you to two of the hardest working gentlemen in the music blog-o-sphere.
I have known about this guy - Anthony Fantano -- for while. His site is called The Needle Drop and Anthony has given himself the title, "the internet's busiest music nerd".
Anthony is certainly prolific and if you visit his site you are certain to learn about some cool new music. I like him, although he would be well served by an editor to tame the length of his reviews.
Here is a representative video - a review of "Visions" by Grimes:
In stark contrast to Anthony's unassuming delivery comes The Daily Guru's impassioned hyperbole.
I just discovered this guy a week or so ago and he has nothing on The Needle Drop in terms of viewership at the moment BUT you gotta hand it to him for his commitment to post a video every single day.
This guy just is so damn emphatic about every point he tries to get across.
I like him as well - it is clear that he just wants to share his boundless enthusiasm for music. In the post below I learned about a late period Aerosmith b-side that has some of that long, long, LONG lost pep.
Neither one of these guys is just an adulant fanboy either which is important. Just a week earlier the Daily Guru addressed Aerosmith as a "has been" act that was savaging its own legacy.
While this is by no means a news flash; the way he lays it out is entertaining thanks chiefly to his intensity. He wouldn't be talking about it if he didn't care.
Another reason to tune into both these dudes is to check out their t-shirt collection.
So, if you had to invite JUST ONE of these music obsessives over for a listening party which one would you choose and why?
For a limited time anyway. My iPod isn't working properly so if I want to listen to anything other than radio (gawd) in my '97 Honda Civic - I had to bust out this antiquated format.
I am trying to get into it as an early development roadmap of my personal musical aesthetic.
Also, a couple of years ago I inherited like 600 tapes from my good buddy SD. As the name of this blog suggests, I am a bit of a pack rat collector and definitely a bargain bin scavenger.
