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Spaceboy,
I just wanted to thank you for your help on Sparklehorse and the suggestion of Palace Brothers as a listenable band. Had you not mentioned Oldham so many times< I would have never borrowed the disc from neighbor man. Further, I have also been able to expand my understandings of the beauty in life by checking out your posts and taking time to resmell the roses in a different way. Finally, I have nagged but now I want to say your poetry is also wonderful and a seeming extension of the Sapceboy everyone here I think has come to appreciate. Good Luck.
Tom
From: Jason Edge of the Original Sinners
Hi everybody. I just wanted to get the word out about a few
upcoming Original Sinners and X shows. I know this letter still
goes out to the whole country, we haven’t fixed that yet, but
these shows are mostly in Los Angeles. The Sinners are going to
on tour soon and we’ll come play for you’all as soon as we can.
We go into the studio in two days and as soon as we’re finished
we’ll head out. Also the Knitters are going to play up the west
coast (yes you, Portland and Seattle) in May and we’ll send those
dates along as soon as we can.Original Sinners
March 8th at The Troubador
W/ Wayne Cramer (MC5)
And The Rollins BandThis Troubador show is a benefit for the West Memphis Three.
March 16th SXSW Showcase at the Red Room, Austin Tx
March 20th at The Knitting Factory
X
May 4th and 5th a The Knitting Factory
Sorry this isn’t a Valentine from Exene but we’re pretty busy
right now. Maybe we can get her to write from the studio.Thanks
Jason Edge
______________________________________________________________
Sent via the WebMail system at exenecervenka.comThis poem is an excerpt from the forthcoming book "A Beer on Every Page" by Exene Cervenka.
Month Any 1983
Ritually speaking I’d rather be sailing.
No. I’d rather listen to Pierce’s piercing
voice with no one to speak to alone in my motel
room stuck with two broken cigarettes. Listening
to them build a new house that’s already been.A man and his immature female sidekick order
what appears to be ugly duckling, with a side
order of ugly dumplings. The waitress drops a dish on the floor ducking from an imaginary nazi.
There goes the kreplatach. Oh oh. Spaghetti O’s
We went bowling and I found a ball that had
"Boris" etched into it. It was too heavy but I
used it anyway.Again, Kill Rock Stars:
* Survey Results (plus NEWS) from the desk of Slim *
"Hello all, thanks to everybody who responded to the "greatest
american
band of the rock era" question. the variety of answers was
astounding,
it is clearly a matter of intense personal opinion.
there were many insightful
explanations that i feel like I learned a
lot from. Personally I was thinking
Beach Boys before the survey but
I think now I’ve been successfully persuaded
by the thoughtful
comments and have now switched my opinion.Velvet Underground was the most popular selection, closely followed
by
The Ramones, with Sonic Youth coming in third.A few folks ignored the criteria and voted for british bands or solo
artists
anyway. rather than exclude those votes, I am just going to
summarize
the entire results:Velvet Underground: 63
Ramones: 44
Sonic Youth: 29
Beach Boys: 14
Sleater-Kinney: 13
Nirvana: 13
Pixies: 13
The Stooges: 11
The Doors: 10
Fugazi: 10
Kiss: 9
REM: 9
Grateful Dead: 9
Aerosmith: 8
Bikini Kill: 7
Creedence Clearwater Revival: 7
MC5: 6
Replacements: 5
X: 4
Byrds: 4
Talking Heads: 3
Metallica: 3
Minutemen: 3
Blondie: 3
Fleetwood Mac: 2
Melvins: 2
B-52s: 2
White Stripes: 2
Black Flag: 2
Pavement: 2
Throwing Muses: 2
Captain Beefheart: 2
Queen: 2
Television: 2
The Sonics: 2
Guns And Roses: 2and the following bands got one vote each: The Animals, Dead
Kennedies,
Heart, Cheap Trick, Lynrd Skynrd, Grand Funk Railroad, the
JBs, Chic, The
Cramps, Smashing Pumpkins, Styx, Mothers Of Invention,
Poison, Nine Inch
Nails, Pylon, Go-gos, Pink Floyd, Crass, Dinosaur,
the Miracles, Misfits,
Gits, Guided By Voices, Van Halen, Jesus
Lizard, Modern Lovers, Shangri-La’s,
Unwound, Herman’s Hermits, Yo La
Tengo, Big Star, Canine Sugar, Miles Davis,
Funkadelic, Beastie Boys,
and Husker Du.This too is courtesy of Kill Rock Stars:
>>> Decomposition exposé: Sharon Cheslow interviewed by Tobi Vail,
>>>February 2002Sharon Cheslow has been a major feminist force in US underground
culture for 20 plus years now. She had a pivotal role in the male
dominated DC punk scene playing in Chalk Circle DC’s first all girl
punk band (who formed after she was inspired by seeing bands like
Delta 5 and the MoDettes) and she later co-edited Banned in DC with
Cynthia Connelly and Leslie Clague which was one of the first books
to document any US hardcore scene. In the early 90’s she played a big
role in starting the riot grrl movement working with members of
Bikini Kill and Bratmobile and playing in bands with Kathleen Hanna
and Tim Green of Nation of Ulysses/the fucking Champs. She has done a
fanzine called Interrobang for over ten years now which you can now
check out online and continues to play, push the boundaries, and
inspire with her projects. She is currently doing experimental
composition and sound installations in SF. She also has a really
interesting website (which documents the History of Women in Punk and
much more) and label called DECOMPOSITION:>1. Your label is interesting to me because it is so small and seems
>to document stuff done by your friends and you seem to make it work,
>which I think is a hard thing to do. I was wondering why you started
>Decomposition and if part of your label idea was to keep it small or
>if that is just the way it’s turned out.A combination of both. My inspiration was small underground presses
of the 60s and independent punk labels of the 70s, that were more
about quality than quantity. I’ve also always gravitated towards
mass produced, inexpensive or free, aesthetically strong, politically
poignant cultural artifacts. So when I started Decomposition I had
all that in mind. But on a practical level, I really just started
the label as a way to document what had been going on in DC in 1991,
by distributing the A Wonderful Treat cassette and releasing the
Suture 7", and just kept going from there.>2. You are one of the few label owners that I know of in the history
>of the world who is female. Plenty of women work at labels, but
>barely any own one! Do you have any theories about this? I know this
>is something you are fully aware of…Really? I wasn’t aware of this. Now you’ve got me interested in
doing some research! The only theory I can think of off the top of
my head is that most females aren’t encouraged to become
knowledgeable about music, so they don’t develop a love of it like
many of their male friends. I think also the technical process of
releasing music can be intimidating for many girls brought up in a
society that keeps girls technophobic, which is unfortunate.
Especially because it’s not that difficult to understand. I learned
a lot about the technical side of music when I was very young –
everything from recording and editing to production. My father had a
reel to reel tape recorder which I used, and I liked to read his
audio magazines. It was curiosity on my part – asking myself how
does sound get from a voice or instrument onto magnetic tape and then
onto vinyl in a way that the ear can pick out all the different parts
of an arrangement. I was fascinated by the process. I started
buying records when I was ten. So I developed a love of music and
records early on, and became interested in how a label worked. This
lead to volunteering for Skip Groff’s label Limp Records, which was
one of the first DC punk labels, when I was in high school. He ran
the label out of his record store Yesterday & Today, and then he
hired me to work there, so I learned a lot about small independent
labels from that experience. There have been studies showing that
when girls aren’t encouraged to excel in math and science as
teenagers their self esteem plummets. There are lots of other
reasons why girls’ esteem plummets around that age, but I think
encouraging girls to become interested in the technical side of music
and art would be one great way to deal with this.>3. How did being a part of the early DC punk scene effect the work
>you are doing now as an artist and label person?It’s had a tremendous effect. I was very influenced by the whole
do-it-yourself attitude, so I probably wouldn’t do things on my own
if it weren’t for that. Also, I was inspired by HR of the Bad Brains
talking about "positive mental attitude". When I first began hanging
out with Henry we talked a lot about PMA. The whole idea was to take
control of your own life so that society and other negative
experiences don’t get you down. So in regards to creativity, it
meant doing things on your own terms. I also learned about the
positive aspects of being part of a tight-knit group of creative
people who supported one another, and this became my model for
friendship and community.>4. Can you talk a little about your favorite Decomposition releases?
I really don’t have any favorites, because I’ve enjoyed the process
of putting each one out and seeing what happens once it’s out of my
hands.>5. How do you distribute your stuff?
Mostly through mailorder. I like the direct contact. Early on I had
the help of other distributors, such as KRS, Dischord, K, Cargo,
Ajax, Simple Machines, Scratch, and Revolver. A lot of people think
there’s no way to have your music heard without the help of larger
distributors, but now people can release mp3s which is great. I’d
like to have more digital audio on the Decomposition website. The
only thing I don’t like about mp3s is that they’re purely digital
information and I like the artwork that goes along with a music
release. I guess one way around this is to have people download
digital images to go along with the audio files.>6. How do you keep from losing money?
Let’s see, maybe a better question would be "what is more important
than making money?" and I’d answer doing what I love, living simply,
helping friends get recognition for their work, and trying to pay
people when I can…which right now means focusing on distribution.
I’m trying to come up with ways to get around the whole monetary
system, like by publishing the last issue of Interrobang?!, which is
an anthology available online as a free Acrobat pdf. I was able to
do it because I relied on voluntary contributions.>7. What underground activity excites you in the year 2002?
The application of the discovery of the human genome sequence into
music and art. Street protests & musicians for peace. The use of
MIT Media Lab’s recently invented audio spotlight. Kinetic sound
sculptures. Lady robot performance art. Real time digital video
processing. Bands playing on the floor instead of the stage.>8. What are your future plans for Decomposition?
To follow my inspiration. The most recent news is on the website at
http://www.mindspring.com/~acheslow/AuntMary/decomp.html.>9. Do you see what you are doing as being political?
Yes. Being political, to me, encompasses different aspects of life,
such as personal, social, economic, and ideological. I’m interested
in breaking down the boundaries between art and life, so what I do
usually deals with at least one of these various political aspects.
I’m most interested in the connection among all of them, but that’s a
very difficult thing to get across. I think anytime someone is able
to make choices about how they exist in society in relation to
others, it’s a political act, and these choices – consciously or not
– make up a person’s political values. One thing I think is
important, especially for women, is to document creativity as a form
of cultural resistance.>10. What bands are you listening to these days?
Almost all the bands I’ve been listening to lately are from San
Francisco, which is bursting with creative energy right now! Aside
from the bands Decomposition distributes – Deerhoof, Erase Errata,
Quails, Concentrick, and the music from the Charm soundtrack – there
are tons of great local bands and performers all with their own
unique style and sound. Some newer ones include Numbers, Curtains,
Crack, Total Shutdown, Gold Chains, Pink & Brown, Coachwhips, Tiny
Bird Mouth, and the Pattern. At home I’ve mostly been listening to
the Tigerbeat6 compilation and new releases by Neotropic and
Dymaxion. As far as older stuff, I think I’ve listened to Alice
Coltrane’s Journey In Satchidananda release from 1970 with Pharoah
Sanders at least once a week for the past year! Also I just found a
copy of Borbetomagus’ first LP and absolutely love it. Other than
that, mostly bands from the 60s like the Feminine Complex and Pretty
Things, hip-hop like Blackalicious and Dilated Peoples, and very
avant garde experimental and electronic music. There’s a
composer/sound artist Maryanne Amacher whom I like quite a lot. And
lots of ESG.—-
this was a long one, full of info. thanks very much, as always.
PMA, as always.Courtesy of Kill Rock Stars:
>>> SLEATER-KINNEY SHOWS!
March
9 – Bellingham, WA @ WWU a/a
10 – Olympia, WA @ Capitol Theater w/ V for Vendetta 8pm $7 a/a
to buy tickets online for the Oly show: http://www.buyolympia.com/events/
11 – Los Angeles, CA @ All Tomorrow’s Parties* Janet Weiss – her Top Five Most Influential Bands *
Janet of Sleater-Kinney was briefly interviewed on NPR’s Talk of the
Nation
and asked for her Top Five. Her answer was: 1) Sonic Youth,
2) Television,
3) Minutemen, 4) Bikini Kill, and 5) Led Zeppelin.
But what’s even more
interesting is her response to the follow up
question asking her to explain
the influence of Bikini Kill on the
formation of Sleater-Kinney. Here’s
the archive for the show and
Janet’s segment is towards the very end.http://search.npr.org/cf/cmn/cmnpd01fm.cfm?PrgDate=02%2F07%2F2002&PrgID=5
scroll down to where it says ‘Listeners Pick for the Best Bands of All Time.’
Malc,
Not only was your story vivid and representative of a lot of folks’ social experiences, but you are a damn good writer. Keep it going.A short burst here:
1. I turned in a magazine from the library on time once (and for once). All of a sudden, I am called over the loudspeaker in class to report back to the book joint days later. The library guy didn’t even bother to look when I told him it was turned in until I got indignant and told him this was fucked. All of a sudden he looked for the book and found it, after sending me to the principal to get suspended. I went back to class instead also they had to summons me again. he he. bastards.
Again, I want to take time to thank everyone who has posted to this thread. I also want to thank the constabulary that allows myself and others to express themselves in such ways as we do here, a most unlikely place for such offerings.
. Courtesy of the vast tastes, ideas and experiences each person owns and is willing to share at FS, I feel as though I have grown after a fashion. Whether someone chooses to focus on what is held in esteem or admiration versus the sodden weightlessness of contention or self-interest is not essential.
The most important event is that we had the opportunity to be introduced. The most grating or silent person encountered owns the chance of being a teacher. Recognition and hospitality are shown in ways that often derive from the viewer’s frame of reference, with little consideration for the background or history of the imagemaker.
Further, who can hope to feel or think in the same fashion as someone whose only ability to express themselves is carried forth in the form of electronic correspondence? After all, you exercise the sense of touch, when a finger touches a key or mouse button, correct? Is it possible to use this method for allowing a person unknown miles away to feel anything the sender intends? Perhaps, the sense of sight allows a clearer understanding of what touch can make available, provided a venue or vehicle is used.
Luckily, we of the modern, electronic age can physically do with ease what writers, composers, musicians and artists stuggled with for centuries: deliver a message of thought and feeling by physical means. Is this to say the other methods are less valid or useful today? I still have a dandy of a time getting a person to believe how someone can run up and down on a plane without resorting to time-honored methods. Can the rain really whisper on its own? How can a person look "hot" without a way to make sense of such language?
My pen alone, or a keyboard, or a thought, or a feeling, each and of its own accord only take part in both a message’s delivery and interpretation. The combining of such elements, along with the artisian’s intended and possible reactions, play major roles in communicating.Finally, an often neglected role in the chain is that of a responsible auidience. Is the patron happy to make a purchase? Will the …"landlord become the next tenant’s guest" as John Dryden so provocatively put it? Acknowledging the worth of nothing more than the artist’s time and efforts of sharing a minute piece of themselves is preferred to the mishandling of critiques whose values are determined by convenience, instinct, or blindness.
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Funny, in one of the music catalogs I got from ordering, she was supposedly in some new band with other ladies this time around. Before she used to be the bassist for White Zombie. Don’t have time to look up the album now but if I run across it will post it here.
Don’t know about your rumor Tony. That combo scares me. Totally. Can’t begin to imagine what it could sound like in any form with any combination of members.
