Been so long since I posted here

 

It's been some time since I've posted anything here. This seems like an appropriate song to share and a fitting segue considering the content of my last post about D.C. Berman. You may be thinking: what is the connection? Well, keep going and you'll see. I got into the Pastels, the Scottish indie pop group, somewhere around the turn of the century. I used to mine Soulseek for obscure indie pop/rock and electronic music around that time. Searching for the Pastels there I came across the American doowop group of the same name from the late 50's. I found I liked them, too! 

Recently, I have departed social media (mainly Facebook) for the sake of my own sanity. I am unable to deal with the methodical way people are being turned against one another as the disinformation machine kicks into high gear ahead the election. Facebook has become the boomers' echo chamber and I have no interest in being bombarded with willful ignorance, racism, hateful rhetoric, and the constant stream of bad news. Having said that, in lieu of Facebok, maybe I'll post here more often. And now I come to the Pastels/D.C. Berman connection: The Pastels covered 'Advice to the graduate' from the Silver Jews' 1994 record, Starlite Walker, during a Peel session at Maida Vale in 1997. Again, it was something I found by mining the esoteric in the days of Soulseek. It was a version of that song that made it onto many mixes from those days. What could be better than the crossing of wires from two of my favorite groups? I was super excited when it was announced that the song would be issued as a 7" single for Record Store Day. Sadly, it was not released stateside, but being as I am, I ordered it from Rough Trade UK. It has arrived and sits safely in one of my 7" bins. 

The only thing I'll really miss about Facebook is getting to flex my music collection and knowledge as I did in a group called Present Listening where people post whatever they are listening to, as the name suggests, presently. It's a group where music and record store nerds could congregate and commiserate. So maybe I'll use this space to that. Now, without further ado, The Pastels covering Silver Jews:

 

But this kind of hurtin' won't heal

I can not accurately begin to explain what it was D.C. Berman meant to me that hasn't already been more adequately expressed by so many other more qualified writers. It's somewhat ridiculous when you consider he was a person I met briefly one time. But the perspective and companionship his writing and music offered me is not quantifiable in terms outside of wishy-washy prosaic speak; the kind of language I will spare you of at this time. What I will share with you is the aforementioned one time I met David. He gave a reading in the town where I live: Gainesville, FL. Some lovely soul had the forethought to record this event and upload it to youtube. For which we all are richer. Thanks to that person.

Hokey rhymes on the day DC Berman died

Ice cubes melting in my glass
why is everything such a pain in the ass?
I want to smoke a million cigarettes
And be buried in the ash

The sound of my own steps endlessly retracing
The droll mediocrity I'm forever facing
Never giving up hope to make something good
I'd do it, I swear, if only I could
Always trying to take this feeling that is so god damn old
and spin it into lines of shimmering gold
I have to put on my sunglasses so all the callous passersby
Won't have the satisfaction of seeing the tears in my eyes
I'm afraid what will happen to me under my own influence
Living a life of unearned affluence

Can we just go on a bike ride forever
And never come back?
Ride our puny minds into the void
and disappear into the black


bcfl
8.7.19

Continuer

Back in 2009 I had assembled what had probably been my favorite iteration of the Hifi Envelope I've ever had. It consisted of my friend Adam Hallock switching between drums and guitar, Charlie Pond on Bass, Shannon Sisco on guitar, violin and vocals, and none other than Steve Clay on guitar. It was a unit that worked remarkably well. Adam's drumming was perfect for the kind of soft, guitar-led indie pop I tend to like to make while my more assertive, fluid drumming suited Adam's songs on guitar to a tee. Add to it Shannon's knack for nailing a melody on the violin, her diminutive vocals, and capable rhythm guitar chops, Charlie's exactly what each song needed bass parts, and Steve's incredible ornamentation and second to none, understated style; we made for an impressive group.

Unfortunately for me, I did not push us to record as I ought to have done and the band began to dissolve as people were pulled in different directions by various academic, personal, and professional commitments as tends to happen to bands in a college town. Save for a few live videos from shows or from practices(like this one), sadly nothing much was documented from that period of this project.

After we went our separate ways Adam, Charlie, Shannon, and another drummer, Steve Freddo(who would go on to drum in Summer Swells) came together to record some songs Adam and Charlie had written. They played a couple of shows and recorded a really terrific ep which you can hear below.

https://continuer.bandcamp.com/

Herbie Hancock

A brood of orphans

I sometimes lament the fact that I have been recording and releasing music for no one much more than myself for some 23 years at the time of writing this. I like what I do or wouldn't keep doing it. Having said that, I am often surprised that more people do not respond to it. I have weird taste and I tend to trust my instincts so maybe the fact that it can be hard to classify what it is I am doing is part and parcel as to why I have not built a substantial following. Add to it that I rarely perform live, am not one given to self promotion, and one can begin to understand why I am not a raging success as a musician.

Then there are those dear unfortunate few that are immensely talented, get signed to big labels, and even tour the world, and still cannot connect with the public at large enough to eek out even a modest living from their art. Like Shelleyan Orphan, for instance. I was introduced to them by the video for "Burst" when I saw it during an episode of 120 Minutes on MTV in the early 90's. Not long after I found a promo cassette of 'Humroot' somewhere. I didn't know what to make of it at first, but it grew on me. Eventually, I would come to know their whole catalog intimately, as well as some of the story that accompanies it.

It's not an especially pretty one either: two young people with very specific tastes and ideas set out to do something true to themselves. They find some advocates on the way(enter Geoff Travis of Rough Trade), as well as some adversaries(namely the British music press), even embark upon a world tour as an opener for the Cure for which they were selected by Robert Smith himself, but still weren't able to find a larger audience. They disband and reform some years later to release a strong comeback album. They do not release another studio record before Caroline Crawley dies from breast cancer.

As a maker of dejected music I feel like it partly my duty to collect and honor other dejected musics so if you've read thus far, good on you. Might as well read this interview with Jem Tayle and watch a couple of youtube videos while you're here. Thanks for visiting.

The song/video that introduced me to them:

One of my favorite tunes from them:

The performance in 1987 on The Tube that caught the eye of Robert Smith:

 And one more just to represent their second record: