Nirvana Network

You have likely seen this awesome handwritten note by Kurt Cobain where he lists Nirvana's favorite 50 albums. 

It made me remember this project by photographer Jason Lazarus.  

As he explained in this Chicago Reader article, Lazarus was collecting stories and photos of "the person who turned you on to Nirvana." 

You can go HERE for the collection on his website. 

Here is an example:

"My uncle used to fly me out to Los Angeles as a kid. He was my early introduction to music, especially the ramones and joy division. he paid me $100 to coat check his parties at 8 years old. I listened to nevermind for the first time with him, straight through at the kitchen table. I lost him to AIDS in 1994."

1994 - The Year Punk Broke.  

Who introduced you to Nirvana?  Who was an early conduit to good music for you?  

Seems like a good a time as any to say thanks! 

DAVE: A video mix tribute to Bowie

I love the zeal and passion that the Radio Soulwax guys put into every project but this has got to be a high water mark for them.  

The video spans Bowie's entire career and is mixed expertly.  

I can't figure out how to embed a video hosted on Vimeo but you can see the hour long feature by going HERE. 

Bowie is mostly played by a model named Hannelore Knuts.  

What are your Top 5 Bowie Songs?

At the moment I am going to go with:

5. Panic In Detroit

4. Cracked Actor

3. Hang On To Yourself

2. Let's Dance

1. Ashes To Ashes

L A N D

I was telling my buddy G$ the other day that while I may not own many albums released by the Important Records label, I am always very glad that they continue to be so prolific. 

Here is one example why:

The band is called L A N D and the reference points include guitar work reminiscent of Tom Verlaine, sinister noir-ish horns, & deep bass.  

The write-up mentions the post modern detective stories of Paul Auster, the grey photography of Gerhard Richter, and the isolation vibe of Taxi Driver as all serving as inspiration and I can totally see it. 

To me, I can picture this music as being a soundtrack to Dexter's Dark Passenger. 

The vinyl sleeve is black on black letterpressed and limited to just 500 copies.  Important knows how to make a release feel special. 

Here is another cut - the only one with vocals - featuring David Sylvian. 

Strangely sad...

..to hear of the imminent demise of Hostess snacks.  

Ironically, I found out because a news report of the "Death of The Twinkie" was playing on a television at the A & J Mart while I was purchasing my snack foods for the night.

These foods might not have been the healthiest but they are bonded to so many childhoods including mine.  

It made me wonder if there was a one stop shop on the internet where I could find ALL the Hostess comic book ads...I now wonder why I even doubted such a thing existed. 

Relief from Election tension...

I saw Future of The Left at the Bottom Lounge last night with Dem and while I don't have any in-depth analysis I think I should say that THEY KILLED IT. 

I can completely see why they are Dem's favorite band.  Frenetic and witty - they completely energized the Monday night crowd and on this tour they are the opening band! 

We were even treated to two McKlusky songs!  Before going into "Lightsaber Cocksucker Blues," Falko introduced the band as Coldplay and said this next song is called "Yellow."  The Welsh have a great sense of humor.

 

Also after last night I am totally crushing on the band's newish bassist - Julia Ruzicka.  She could really hold down the groove.

 

When I looked her up on Twitter I learned that Dave Grohl will be playing on the new QOTSA record which gives me some hope.

 

 



CRUSH

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. 

The Days and Nights of Gary & Flipper

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. 

Nice one CJB!