Well, hello there, and happy 2013! I apologize for my extended absence, but I was called back to the land of my birth, the land of WHRB and WMBR and In Your Ear Records and all the things that made me the kind of person who delights in poring over dusty old records written on by dusty old record nerds.Sonic Youth should require no introduction, and the same goes for their epic double album Daydream Nation, celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. Yes, I have covered Sonic Youth a time or two here, but if there's one thing that you just can't have enough of at a college radio station, it's Sonic Youth.
Bonus Sub Pop trivia: Eric's Trip, the first Canadian band signed by this stalwart local label, was named after a song on this very album. Kinda brassy to name one's band after a song that's just a couple years old, but I guess that's the kind of forward thinking that grabs the attention of tastemakers such as Sub Pop Records. (Note to self: Dig up an Eric's Trip record for a future installment.)
"Finally their 2 record set... could they be the next RUSH?!" "No No No!!!!!!!!!!" "Sure they could with just a little push. God what a question." "These guys aren't worthy enough to do covers of "Working Man" or "In the Mood," let alone decent Rush." "Of course, they'd also have to inhale tons o' helium to get their voices to sound like Rush... no, they're developing along their own lines. No need to castrate them for not doing what may be expected of them." "Interesting direction for the band this time out. Just as I was expecting mx dirge, I hear this. Influences from a ___ different bunch are heard, depending on my state of mind. No one can touch these guitars!" "Some new directions + some mediocre boredom." "I think this will be liked the more it's listened to." "Beautiful dischord!" "Since I like most of this does it mean they've sold out?" "Heard 'Teenage Riot' on KISW the other day (on their new music show)." "'Rain King.' Play 'Rain King.'" "Great!" "If you ask me, they get better every time. This deserves to stay in H for a long, long time." [Added later: "Long."] "Are they the best 3-songwriter band since... since... oh, I can't say it..." |
Crime and the City Solution are one of many Australian bands that never really got their international due. For example, I first heard of them via their appearance in Wim Wenders' film Wings of Desire. My attention was further drawn to them by the involvement of Mick Harvey, whose name you might no…
Unlike many of the bands I tend to cover in this space, Soul Asylum were a college rock band who made it out of the '80s to become one of the biggest "alternative" rock bands of the '90s - they were one of the alternative-era major label signings that stuck, having been affiliated with a major labe…
