clifford_thornton Posted March 30, 2004 Report Share Posted March 30, 2004 OK, though I think the term is as nebulous as 'jazz,' what sort of 'indie rock' bands do y'all bust out on a regular basis? Admittedly, I'm not as up on the new flavors, but my faves tend to be these... Red Red Meat Come Bitch Magnet/Seam Codeine Rex Shellac Sebadoh (the Eric Gaffney era, in particular) Palace other Louisville bands: Rodan, Slint, Bastro/Gastr... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John B Posted March 30, 2004 Report Share Posted March 30, 2004 great choices! Ones I listen to a lot that are not on your list: Unwound Fugazi My Bloody Valentine Spacemen 3 Yume Bitsu Bardo Pond Flying Saucer Attack Vibracathedral Orchestra the Jesus Lizard Dinosaur Jr Sonic Youth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clifford_thornton Posted March 30, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2004 Funny, Spacemen and SY I love but never think of as 'indie' (the latter has approached Neil Young status anymore). Spacemen I would put in league with the great psychedelic bands of the '60s and '70s (FSA, MBV and Windy & Carl, too). It's like jazz: the category is too disparate. Come and Spacemen in the same category? I knew I should've gone about this thread in a different way! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clifford_thornton Posted March 30, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2004 By the way, what is Vibracathedral Orchestra? I am instantly reminded of that Polvo song "Vibracobra." Uh oh, here we go! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John B Posted March 30, 2004 Report Share Posted March 30, 2004 Funny, Spacemen and SY I love but never think of as 'indie' (the latter has approached Neil Young status anymore). Spacemen I would put in league with the great psychedelic bands of the '60s and '70s (FSA, MBV and Windy & Carl, too). It's like jazz: the category is too disparate. Come and Spacemen in the same category? I knew I should've gone about this thread in a different way! I guess I still think of Sonic Youth as "indie" since I started listening to them back when they were on SST. There are an infinite number of genres to break down non-major label guitar based music into, if you really think about it for a while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John B Posted March 30, 2004 Report Share Posted March 30, 2004 By the way, what is Vibracathedral Orchestra? I am instantly reminded of that Polvo song "Vibracobra." Uh oh, here we go! Polvo! Can't believe I forgot to list them. Vibracathedral is very lo-fi, very drony. Kind of like FSA, but with more psychedelia mixed in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clifford_thornton Posted March 30, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2004 (edited) It's funny, I was reading this new book on psychedelic music at a bookstore the other day, and the author said something like "The Flaming Lips' performance on Beverly Hills 90210 is something akin to Amon Duul II playing The Brady Bunch." Classic! It's pretty natural to come into jazz, and especially free jazz, from the punk/indie perspective (ditto psych), the bonding over rare 45s and the infinite number of obscure artists to chase down. Free jazz was the punk music (self-produced protest music) of its day. Wonder what Ash is up to these days? Edited March 30, 2004 by clifford_thornton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John B Posted March 30, 2004 Report Share Posted March 30, 2004 Wonder what Ash is up to these days? The last time I saw him he was still playing in Helium, but that was years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clifford_thornton Posted March 30, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2004 Helium... I liked "The Dirt of Luck," but couldn't get beyond that one. Mary Timony does have a great voice. I love Tara Jane O'Neil, too. Gorgeous voice, and I'm always gaga at her shows. Too bad she's taken (by that Ruby Falls chick, no less)! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John B Posted March 30, 2004 Report Share Posted March 30, 2004 I only saw Helium live three times, and never thought they were all that impressive. The first show was opening up for the Dambuilders and Julianna Hatfield. The last was opening for Sonic Youth and was, by far, the worst of the three. The Amon Duul quote is fantastic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon Burke Posted March 30, 2004 Report Share Posted March 30, 2004 Polvo! Can't believe I forgot to list them. Interesting that you bring this up. Just yesterday I got a wild hair in me and bought Celebrate the New Dark Age on the way home from work. Haven't heard it in ages but it was always my favorite of theirs. To my surprise, I still liked it a lot. This is not the case for much of the indie stuff I liked in undergrad. Bands I still actually listen to: Guided By Voices (up until about '96 when the original members left) The Bats The Clean Yo La Tengo Teenage Fanclub Animal Collective Thinking Fellers Union Local 282 Bedhead The Clientele (easily my favorite current band) Volcano Suns Gastr del Sol Smog Palace (mostly just Arise Therefore but I do love that record) Stereolab (but they lost me after Mars Audiac Quintet) Unrest Cardinal Richard Davies Butterglory Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Posted March 30, 2004 Report Share Posted March 30, 2004 I have developed a hankerin' for the Super Furry Animals!!! Eric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.:.impossible Posted March 30, 2004 Report Share Posted March 30, 2004 Red Red Meat: Clifford, please tell me you've been checking out the Califone discs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon Burke Posted March 30, 2004 Report Share Posted March 30, 2004 (edited) Damn dude.... You mentioned a few that I either forgot or decided were out of the scope of this discussion. So I offer you these reactions: * The Minutemen were a profound influence on me in many ways (some of them, non-musical). I don't really think of them as indie rock, though I guess they are in the grand scheme of things. That's the only reason why I left them off. * I can say the exact same thing for the Mekons but I don't really listen to them as much as the Minutemen. Sometimes, despite the fact that it's one of the reasons why I love them, the concept album-after-concept album-after-concept album thing gets on my nerves. As it stands now, there are realy only a few that I can still get into. They are great live, however. I think maybe I just like them more in theory than in practice. Certainly, their M.O. was a greater influence on me than the jams. * I can't get into those early Unrest records. Good songs pop up here and there but on the whole they're too silly. I actually prefer the later material with Bridget and Phil. (Actually, I need to hear Malcom X Park and Kustom Karnal again before I make that statement.) * No one mentioned Beat Happening (including me). * I have the first Slovenly EP and their first full-length. Songs from each of them have appeared on many a mix tape over the years. * Dig the Tall Dwarfs stuff as well (and totally agree with you regarding the Bird Nest Roys). * Iron & Wine are great but I've never sat down and listened intently to their stuff which must surely be the way to really 'hear' it. It's always on the the background when I'm somewhere else. They were great as SXSW. * I can't listen to Spiderland anymore. I love both the instrumentation and the engineering but those vocals take it into "emo" territory and I hate that shit. Edited March 30, 2004 by Brandon Burke Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clifford_thornton Posted March 30, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2004 (edited) Red Red Meat: Clifford, please tell me you've been checking out the Califone discs! How's the new one? I like the previous... But for me, RRM had the sloppy improvised rock thing going a little stronger. I mean, "Smoky Mountain Double Dip," er, smokes! The 'lab kinda make me cringe anymore. Too bad about the cute one dying. Slint unfortunately spawned a lot of wankers, but I still love Rodan no matter what. As I've said on other occasions, 'emo' only lost for me when it moved to DreamWorks. I wish I still had those Kerosene 454 records, as well as the first two Sunny Day Real Estate albums. Sorry! Edited March 30, 2004 by clifford_thornton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clifford_thornton Posted March 30, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2004 As much of a sacrilege as it might be, Thurston smokes as an improvising guitarist. He was taking some Ray Russell "Secret Asylum" pills before I saw him last. Jesus... heaviest guitar terrorism I've seen in years. Too bad the SY records haven't lived up to their indie glory days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.:.impossible Posted March 30, 2004 Report Share Posted March 30, 2004 I think its great. At the time of its release, I had just heard Christian Fennesz for the first time, along with Neil Young's On The Beach and a couple of Pillow/Terminal/Town and Country albums. Heron King Blues formed a logical bridge between all of these, and introduced some new influence into the band's sound. These guys are getting really good at what they do. I thought Roomsound was one of the best things I had heard in a long time. They've really developed that sound. I say, "Git it." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WD45 Posted March 31, 2004 Report Share Posted March 31, 2004 I think its great. At the time of its release, I had just heard Christian Fennesz for the first time, along with Neil Young's On The Beach and a couple of Pillow/Terminal/Town and Country albums. Heron King Blues formed a logical bridge between all of these, and introduced some new influence into the band's sound. These guys are getting really good at what they do. I thought Roomsound was one of the best things I had heard in a long time. They've really developed that sound. I say, "Git it." Speaking of Fennesz, his latest has been tempting me at the local record store every week for some time now. I dig Hotel Paral.lel and Endless Summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John B Posted March 31, 2004 Report Share Posted March 31, 2004 I think its great. At the time of its release, I had just heard Christian Fennesz for the first time, along with Neil Young's On The Beach and a couple of Pillow/Terminal/Town and Country albums. Heron King Blues formed a logical bridge between all of these, and introduced some new influence into the band's sound. These guys are getting really good at what they do. I thought Roomsound was one of the best things I had heard in a long time. They've really developed that sound. I say, "Git it." Speaking of Fennesz, his latest has been tempting me at the local record store every week for some time now. I dig Hotel Paral.lel and Endless Summer. You need to hear his Live in Japan disc then. It is a logical extension of Endless Summer, in some ways. I've enjoyed all of the Fennesz I have heard and am looking forward to hearing his duo cd with Keith Rowe that is coming out on Erstwhile next month. From what people who have heard it are saying it should be radially different than all of these other discs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clifford_thornton Posted March 31, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2004 Town and Country never really wore that well for me -- I loved those records at first, but then ended up renouncing them for other things. There are some great moments of harmonium and contrabass harmonics on the first record, though. I remember being like "holy fuck..." on listening to it one weekend afternoon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.:.impossible Posted March 31, 2004 Report Share Posted March 31, 2004 Yeah, I'm kind of with you Clifford. Not bad, but not great. I assume this style of music had already been explored by classical composers during the second half of the twentieth century, but I'm not all that familiar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ralphie_boy Posted March 31, 2004 Report Share Posted March 31, 2004 I haven't been following the indie scene in a while, but I still listen to the following 80's-90s bands: Minutemen Volcano Suns Replacements Husker Du Sonic Youth Thin White Rope Butthole Surfers Dream Syndicate Flaming Lips Yo La Tengo Afghan Whigs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon Burke Posted December 7, 2004 Report Share Posted December 7, 2004 I started an altogether different thread in Misc Music but perhaps this is a better place to post this information.... From Pitchfork.com: "Slint is touring the States. Hell yeah. Slint is playing only three cities in the States so far. Ah, crap. Yes, only couple of months after the Louisville deities resurfaced to announce their curatorship of the February 2005 All Tomorrow's Parties hoedown in Camper Sands, England, Slint is announcing plans to spread that love back to the continent that spawned them. The newly reunited post-rock legends are now promising 15 dates total in March, spread out over England, Europe and yes, the United States. After ATP quickly sold out-- despite the fact that, other than Slint, the festival has yet to announce its lineup-- the band quietly added a solo gig March 1st at London's Kentish Town Forum. Then that sold out too. So now Slint's added another one-- and gee, the guys haven't been to San Francisco in a while, so.... Dates/details are still sketchy as the Slint Reunion Machine grinds into gear, but four initial U.S. dates are official: 03-11 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall 03-12 Seattle, WA - The Showbox 03-25 Chicago, IL - Metro 03-26 Chicago, IL - Park West As previously reported, the initial ATP announcement listed only Brian McMahan, David Pajo and Britt Walford as the "core Slint members" behind this new incarnation, though the band is better known as a quartet. No word yet on whether the full tour will swell the band's ranks. When the lineups and additional dates come rolling in, someone here at Pitchfork will stop listening to Spiderland long enough to give you the news." Also see: the venue's page. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave9199 Posted December 7, 2004 Report Share Posted December 7, 2004 HUSKER DU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost of miles Posted February 4, 2006 Report Share Posted February 4, 2006 I read a book a few years ago that other 1980s/90s indie-rock fans might enjoy: OUR BAND COULD BE YOUR LIFE. Happened to re-read it last week and got into a conversation with a friend about Dinosaur Jr., only to discover that the original trio (Mascis, Barlow, and Murph) is touring again. Then I found out two days later that they're coming to Indpls. in April. Supposedly they're playing only material off the first three albums plus "The Wagon"... think I'll go check 'em out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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