Various Artists
London 7" vinyl
Plastic Cowboy. plastic-004.
by Keith McLachlan.
January 9, 1999.
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If only life was as thrilling as a
Hefner song. If it were then I'd probably be on the plane to somewhere
exotic tomorrow and my soundtrack for the flight would be half of the four
songs presented here from four underappreciated (though some deserve that
status) pop heroes. The first track is from my favourite London band of
the moment, the aforementioned Hefner, and it is a slow achey bit of drama
with a dillipidated wheezing drum beat, typically heartfelt lyrics from
Darren Hefner and their inimitable charm of delivery, splendid!
Next up is Spearmint, a band I know nothing about except they always receive heaps of praise in reviews and the singer is a man named Shirley which is ace of course and so is their song 'Sky' which is an example of the sort of song for which the term 'perfect pop' was created.
The second side is a bit iffier. First up is Junior Blanks and they sound like the Stereo MCs covering Tricky (I know that description makes me queasy too). It comes off as not too terrible but not really extraordinary except in its dullness.
Then comes Penthouse and in spite of Tom Quickspace being involved it struggles to rise above listenable as it comes off like The Blue Aeroplanes playing inside of a trash can.
So half of the four songs here are absolutely essential and luckily they are nicely packaged on one side, we'll call it the A-side and the others are more disposable, we'll be nice and simply label them missable rather than horrible.
Various Artists
Meet The Scene CD
Rhythm Barrel. brrl 001.
by Keith Mclachlan.
January 1, 2002.
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Once, long ago, well sixty-some odd years then the
world turned its eyes to Finland. It was the Winter
War, the Soviets had just invaded and the brave Fins
though tiny and enormously outnumbered managed, with
their famous Moti battle tactics (named after a cord of
firewood--ooooo!!! scary), to expose the Russian Red
Army as the fraud it was, how the Germans failed to
conquer this backwater is still one of life's great
mysteries. The death of one million red army grunts,
dead in less than a year even, gave the world hope
but sadly because the 1930s Europeans were as weasly
and wet as the current crop the Fins running low on
equipment and supplies and not supported by the
western powers who were afraid of offending Hitler
were forced to sue for peace. Still, it stands as a
brave moment for the entire country (even if they did
eventually go commie), unfortunately this CD does not
represent another moment of national greatness.
Apparently some of the kids saw the deaths of their
grandpappies so near the arctic circle as the display
of courage meant to fight for the right for their
future grandchildren to waste their life trying to
sound like J. Mascis. Kids these days, what good are
they? It is not only J. Mascis who gets a working
over but some Barenaked Ladies inspired blandness, or
is that the Smithereens?! who, incredibly, are
actually used as a positive name-check here in the
notes. Ugh. The band names are ace though, my
favourites being Hairy Hunks, Cheerleaders United and
One Hundred Million Martians but even the smiles
engendered by this bit of sunshine is quickly
throttled by the endless parade of graceless, musical
nonsense. Finland then, it's no Greece.
Various Artists
Munch (Part 1) VHS Video
Season. Season Two.
by Scott Zimmerman.
December 31, 1994.
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Since the advent of MTV, music videos have become increasingly important
in catapulting bands to mega-success. What is perhaps MTV's most
important contribution to late 20th century musical philosophy is the
notion that a new single without an accompanying video is simply
incomplete. And it's this new slightly tongue-in-cheek philosophy that
leads many bands to film music videos, even while knowing that it is
infinitely easier to get a song played on the radio than a music video
played on broadcast television. Lending additional motivation to bands,
filming a music video is fun -- sort of a group's award to itself for
another song completed!
It is probably this latter reason that led to the filming of most of the twenty videos on the Munch compilation. It is doubtful that even one of them was made with the goal of having it end up on MTV's Top 20 Video Countdown. Slick production is only briefly touched upon. The common trait of these videos is a joyous, and refreshing "we did it ourselves" naiveity. And certainly the nature of the music fits well with less-than-hollywood-esque production techniques, as videos by wholly un-pretentious bands such as the Haywains, Magnetic Fields, the Sugargliders, and Heavenly made it to this compilation.
Munch would be recommendable solely on the grounds of the quality of the music. So considering the bonus cheery video wackiness, and the pure novelty of the tape, it just about qualifies as a must see. It should provide signficant amusement for most indie-pop fans, especially those who's interest lean towards twee soundscapes.
Various Artists
Pop Jingu CD
Sonorama. 004.
by Scott Zimmerman.
October 12, 1997.
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Sweet red strawberries falling from rainbow filled skies, if you're not
being Lucy Van Pelt-ed into full-on crushdom, then the romantic,
sugary-sounds of 800 Cherries or Plain Cream Puff Spray will surely knock
you into that blissful state of delirious love-filled wonder so
overwhelming that an Internal Revenue Service agent could suddenly come
knocking upon your door and you would still, without the slightest
hesitation, swing it open, wrap your arms around the beast and plant on
the lips the biggest, cheeriest of kisses. Presuming you're a pop fan, of
course.
While this ceaseless cavalcade of saccharine would quickly annihilate most weaker individuals, for the lover of twee-pop, Pop Jingu is a remarkably exhilirating catalyst to craziness.
From the very Rocketship-y sounding lead-off track by Drum Solo (now Hour Musik) to the closing track from Color Filter, it's a 56 minute frolic of joy through the poptart-iest of organ sounds, the jangliest of guitars, and the loveliest of guy/gal vocal mixtures. lalala!
Are you man or woman enough to go for it?
Seventeen songs, eleven bands, all from Japan, find it if you can!
Various Artists
Relict/Clientele split 7" vinyl
Johnny Kane. Kane 004.
by Keith Mclachlan.
April 7, 2001.
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First off, this is not really a split single is it?
These are the same bands, I am not fooled. Well,
except on this record, for each band chose a female to
join them in recording their identical brands of
loveliness. It appears that the Relict chose much
more wisely. Their singer is named Abi and while she
is generic enough to be forgotten instantly she still
manages to beat the Clientele's unfortunate choice of
Pam Berry by many leagues. I am not a fan of Pam's
and I never have been really, I find her voice shrill,
indelicate, flat and uninspiring and her Aggi tossing
sentiments always infuriated me and her efforts here
don't distinguishe herself from my earlier
assessments. Also, I, being a resident grump it
appears, am starting to somewhat dislike Mr. Clientele
too, I find his arrogance whenever he appears in
written words to be somewhat ridiculous considering
that his band has had more than their share of sour
moments. Yet, pain me as it may to admit it, this is
not one, this is the Clientele showing they may be on
the path to greatness, truly this is one of the more
fantastic seven-inch singles I have ever heard. The
Relict's side being better is a bit of a salve for my
begrudging recognition of the Clientele's impending
greatness. Those are the nicest words I can muster
but enough of the limited edition singles already!
Various Artists
Shoeshine Chartbusters CD
Shoeshine. shoecd001.
by Keith McLachlan.
December 28, 1997.
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This is a compilation of all the
super sunny singles from Shoeshine records, the label started by Frances
BMX Bandit, and well all the bands might have the same ideas but that
doesn't stop it from being maybe the breeziest release of the year.
Included in the collection of "supergroops" are members of Teenage Fanclub, BMX Bandits, Eugenius and of course Alex Chilton. Most of the tunes, save the three from country enthusiasts Radio Sweethearts, are Big Staresque jangly inflected pop anthems. The best are the contributions from the 'Bandits and Frank Blake. Even the old codger Mr. Chilton harkens back to days of yore and sounds like he is having fun again with his 5 songs which were recorded live in Glasgow. It is a remarkably consistent collection, in both sound and quality, and more fun than not.