January 2004

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Mallman/Olcott: "Digi as Fuck"

Filed under: Imported

Hey, Mark, cheer up, man! You recorded one of the first great singles of 2004! Here's my forthcoming review of the Future Wives' Dark Side of the Man EP:

Is this Mark Mallman's and Ryan Olcott's homosexual love album? I realize it kicks off with the evocative sound of a whip cracking and a cat screeching--which suggests the reverse of being pussy-whipped, or the use of a cat o' nine tails. There are admittedly two female voices credited by first names, Alberta and Missy (hey, is that Missy from Lily Liver?!), and one raps the phrase "split the kitty" at some point. There's even a slowed-down male voice straight out of Prince's "Bob George" bragging about being an "ex-wife maker" who'll "take your basic homemaker, take her home and make her!" But that sounds kind of strained, doesn't it?--like locker-room talk with an eye on other cocks? The track is called "Dark Side of the Man" (it surfaced last year on a compilation from the Brooklyn label Mogul Electro, E2: ElectroClash Vol. 2), and Man's needs are the great subject of Mallman and the 12 Rods singer, whether or not they'll need each other as future husbands.

In case you hadn't guessed, these gifted art rockers have convened an electro sidebar: This is their late entry into Minneapolis's synth singalong sweepstakes, where Telephone and Mr. Hawaii Dude run the party and Har Mar Superstar is our Prince. Coming from guys this creative, the results feel like warm up, but there's still a great single--and maybe a great b-side--at the heart of this six-song CD. At first I thought the chorus of the grinding, crackling, hilarious "Digi as Fuck" was "bitchy-ass fuck." Then I thought it was "bitchy as fuck." Now I think it's actually "Digi Ass-Fuck" in disguise: Check out how, above the firecracker beats and bone-simple synthesizers, the female voices return to squeal what sounds like a paean to rough trade: "We entered through the back door/Rear-ended in the trap door/We meet and part as strangers/Though our hearts will meet as rangers/The dress code is restricting/Nothing is loose fitting." And then the male voice introducing the catchy-as-fuck "Chiki Chiki Boyz" (which sounds like "cheeky cheeky boys") seems to suddenly catch itself in the mirror, laughing: "That's right/That's right/That's kind of gay, though."

The listening party for the CD will be held on Wednesday, February 4, at the Imperial Room, 612.376.7676. The Future Wives press release notes: "Future Wives will not play live. Mallman probably won't even be there because he's too fucking depressed right now. But Jake Rudh will be playing the record."

Rough draft of a forthcoming Mason Jennings review...

 

The latest from Mason Jennings would be worth owning if it contained nothing other than "Ballad of Paul and Sheila," his song for the Wellstones. I say this as somebody who wishes he felt more passionately about both the singer and the subject. But Jennings gets across the weariness so many of us felt in the face of loss: "October morning, little plane on the forest floor/Up on the TV between a rerun and another war." Turns out Jennings was far away when it happened: "Here in a hotel, trying to make some sense of this/Two thousand miles from my family in Minneapolis."

But by the time he reaches chorus, he's home and no longer alone: Amy Jennings, who as Amy Turany sang in February and Astronaut Wife, lends her husband the cool outline of her voice, doubling the melody to suggest closeness and solidarity: "Hey Senator, I wanna say/All the things you fought for did not die here today."

I can't remember the last time a local musician grappled so plainly and honestly with the meaning of a shared event, or did so in real time--Jennings wrote the song soon after the news broke, and posted it on his web site. You might remember he got a ribbing for the politics and bossa nova of his second album, Birds Flying Away, which I quite liked. But I'm glad he's retained the idea that "sophisticated" is another word for not singing what you feel, and his sense of melody hasn't deserted him. Jennings manages what I thought would be impossible: He rises to the occasion of national disaster. Where "Pride (In the Name of Love)" had you rooting for the music against silly lyrics, and "The Rising" asked you to fill in its emotional blanks, Jennings knows blatant marks the spot when you're getting it right, and when the "it" is your reaction, and not the event itself.

That he pulls off the same with a breakup conversation, in "Fourteen Pictures," demonstrates that righteousness has nothing to do with it. "We're still talking but it's a memory," he sings, his gentle but arch voice sounding as frozen and weird and old as ever. The rest of Use Your Voice isn't as good, but how could it be? I'm frozen in these songs, going over them like old photos on a bad day...

Posted by Peter S. Scholtes at January 30, 2004 10:56 PM

 

A Beginner's Guide to Rocksteady

Filed under: Imported

                       (from Dance Crasher)

Because it puts me in a good mood: Here's another old compilation tape I threw on this fun ILM thread, with links for puchasing CDs:

The Rulers, "Don't Be a Rude Boy"
Delroy Wilson, "Dancing Mood"
The Valentines, "Blam Blam Fever"
The Jamaicans with Tommy McCook and the Supersonics, "Ba Ba Boom"
Alton Ellis, "Cry Tough" (extended version)
The Melodians, "You Have Caught Me"
Derrick Morgan, "Tougher Than Tough"
Desmond Dekker and the Aces, "007 (Shanty Town)"
Alton Ellis, "Girl I've Got a Date" (alternate version)
The Paragons, "Happy Go Lucky Girl"
The Melodians, a.k.a. the Gaytones, "Swing and Dine"
Hopeton Lewis, "Take It Easy"
The Paragons, "Tide Is High"
The Techniques, "Queen Majesty"
Dobby Dobson, "(I'm a) Loving Pauper"
Derrick Harriott, "Do I Worry?"
The Sensations, "Everyday Is a Holiday"
Phyllis Dillon and Hopeton Lewis, "Right Track"
The Melodians and U Roy, "Everybody Bawling"
Dawn Penn, "You Don't Love Me (No No No)"
Keith & Tex, "Stop That Train"

From: Duke Reid's Treasure Chest, Tougher Than Tough: The Story of Jamaican Music (though "Dancing Mood" sounds slightly better on the collection compiled by London Calling producer Guy Stevens, Club Ska '67), Rudies All Round (ignore the confused customer who says this a Desmond Dekker album), Feel Like Jumping: The Best of Studio One Women, The Roots of Reggae Vol. 2: Rock Steady.

 

TC punks look beyond Babylon

Felix Von Havoc reports that the Independent Music Foundation, which booked punk shows at the Babylon in Minneapolis, is down but not out. "We still have a solid cadre of volunteer staff and we're looking for a new show space," he says. "We're working on putting together a new PA and hopefully will still open our own all ages show spaces in the next few years."

The January 18 Hardcorefest, which had to be relocated to a suburban Elks Lodge after the Babylon burned down the day before (some great photos), drew only about 150 kids, but all the bands played, according to Havoc. Many bands asked to play next time around. "We'll keep doing two hardcore fests a year until people get sick of them," he says. Stayed tuned for details about Thrash Fest 5, coming in May...

 

First Babylon, then Bangkok...

Eerily, the day after the Babylon and its adjoining Club Apocalypse burned down in Minneapolis, the Bangkok City Supper Club in St. Paul was also totalled by a fire. Though better known to many as the former Club Metro (as it's called in that story), the weird venue with the large, underground, windowless performance space opened in 2001 as an Asian dance club, but immediately began pissing off the neighbors (read Britt Robson's excellent story about the place from 2002). Hmmm... do I smell arson?

 

An Iraqi version of The Pianist

From Minnesota Public Radio's piece on Iraq's first female composer, Beatrice Ohanessian, now living in Edina:

Ohannessian describes life in Iraq as difficult. There were long lines for food and never enough supplies to live off of. Often she practiced by candlelight. During Desert Storm bombs would go off during concerts. But it was never so bad as to make her want to leave. She says she and her friends didn't know all that Saddam Hussein did to his prisoners:

"Not everything...not everything," she says. "But a few things, yes. We'd say best is just to continue in our work and not meddle in politics, so that's the way we lived." Beatrice Ohanessian's years performing for and mingling with ambassadors has taught her amazing diplomacy. She expresses concern for the war in Iraq, but without placing blame on any one side. She says she has such affection for both Iraq and the United States that it's hard to watch what's happening in her native country.

 

A B-Boy/B-Girl Battle Tonight ...

Sorry to post this so late. This is where I'm headed after finishing some work--here's my A-list in this week's City Pages:

Hosted by the St. Paul hip-hop collective SP Style and b-boy promoter-about-town Reason, this breakdance competition marks the scene's arrival in a new Minneapolis downtown--at the club formerly known as South Beach, and with a $300 prize for the winner. Performances by local popping and locking stars Boogie Monsters and the female-dominated Hip-Hop Co-Op dance company share the stage with live rap sets by Stereotype Click (here's Keith Harris's 2000 profile on the group) and T La Shawn & MoRocco. With DJs Dudley D, Dr. Strangelove, D.Mil, and Special K. Open registration at the door 18+. $7. 9:00 p.m. Thursday, January 29. Tabu 325 1st Ave N, Mpls.; 612.204.0790

And here's a bunch of other shit I've written about breakdancing on this blog.

 

Bus 174 Revisited

Before heading to Gallery Schmallery for the First Avenue party on Tuesday, I finally saw Bus 174, which I recommended here based on friends' praise. I'm not sorry I did: When dealing with the hostage-taker's life, the doc makes daily existence for Brazil's street kids feel vivid for the first time since that Brazilian '80s punk movie whose name I forget (it was from Discount Bob's personal collection, and he's gone now). But this aspect of the doc seems trapped inside a vehicle I'm much more ambivalent about--and I think Jim Ridley captured it well in his City Pages review. It's not that the movie isn't empathetic or curious when turning its attention to the slumworlds of Rio (over which the camera soars at the start of the film, letting the sheer expanse of tiny houses overwhelm us). But the climax, and the live footage taken of the hostage situation, is fawned over as if this were the only thing selling the rest.

The emotional tenor of these scenes is nothing more that putting the audience through it, like bad horror. My jaw is still aching from clenched teeth, but as far as satisfying my curiosity about things not having to do with "PLEASE LET THIS SITUATION END WITHOUT ANY OF THE HOSTAGES DYING," the movie seemed oddly complacent about the crowd's violent reaction to the events--the most shocking turn of them all, to me.

 

The nice thing about seeing the Ice Castle in St. Paul in 10-below weather:

Everybody dances like kids to the light show, featuring "Funkytown." Deeply silly fun--thanks, Toasty!

Posted by Peter S. Scholtes at January 29, 2004 5:34 PM

 

A Hang Ups Family Album

Filed under: Imported

(The Owls, photographed by Darin Back: from left, Brian Tighe, Maria May, Allison LaBonne, and John Jerry)

 

I first saw the Hang Ups playing in a basement at a house party 12 years ago, under the alias they used when shuffling their instruments, the North Pole. I was new to Minneapolis, new to the neighborhood (south of downtown), and new to the idea of finding a great band near the furnace. The Hang Ups went on to make some of the best music in the American pop underground, and so did the bands they helped populate and propel, my favorites being the Legendary Jim Ruiz Group and the Owls (above), whom I wrote about in today's City Pages. (I first saw them in a basement, too, come to think of it.)

 

If there's a single reason why you haven't heard of any of these bands, I'd say "shyness." The initial trio of art students who formed the Hang Ups took their name from the fact that each was afraid to show the band his songs. In the coming years, the slow withdrawal of reclusive guitarist John Crozier, and of singer/drummer/artist Steve Ittner (who stayed with the Owls for a while, but left last year) seemed to conspire with label flakiness to keep the Hang Ups a widely shared secret.

 

Now the Hang Ups and the Owls play the 400 Bar Friday, each apparently and suddenly stable of lineup and ready to invite the world into their basement. So to celebrate, here's a...

 

Selected Hang Ups family discography:

 

 

1986

The Funseekers, "We Is The Funseekers" 7-inch  (Susstones, 1986)

The Funseekers, "The Special Sound Of The Funseekers" 7-inch (Susstones, 1986)

Funseekers, "It Should Be You +3" 7-inch  (Susstones, 1986?)

 

1989

The Funseekers, Frenzyfying (Treehouse Records, 1989)

 

1990

The Funseekers, "Welcome To My Love"/"Psycho Daisies" 7-inch  (Treehouse Records, 1990)

 

1992

various artists, OXO 5 (Oxo, 1992?, featuring Muskellunge)

 

1993

Muskellunge, "Determined"/"Happy" 7-inch (Oxo, 1993?)

various artists, Dü Hüskers: The Twin Cities Replay Zen Arcade (Synapse, 1993: featuring Muskellunge covering "Chartered Trips" and the Hang Ups covering "Eight Miles High")

The Hang Ups, He's After Me (Clean/Twin Tone, 1993)

The Hang Ups, Comin' Through EP CD (Clean/Twin Tone, 1993)

 

1994

Muskellunge, "Dear Pino" 7-inch  (Oxo, 1994)

The Hang Ups, "Top of Morning"/"Wishin' I Was on a Plane" 7-inch  (Grimsey, 1994)

 

 

1995

The Legendary Jim Ruiz Group, Oh Brother Where Art Thou? (Minty Fresh, 1995)

 

1996

various artists, Operation Break Even (Amphetamine Reptile, 1996: featuring the Wahinis playing "You Will See Me Tomorrow [If You Don't Go Blind Tonight].")

various artists, Stuck on AM: Off the Record in Minneapolis (TRG/Radio K, 1996: featuring the Wahinis playing "I Woke Up this Morning and My Head Turned All the Way Around" and the Hang Ups playing "Sweet Tooth")

Shebrews, "Leave All Your Old Loves"/Ninian Hawick, "Scottish Rite Temple Stomp" split 7-inch (Grimsey, 1996?)

 

1997

The Hang Ups, So We Go (Clean/Restless, 1997)

Ninotchka, "I've Got Wings"/"Green Dream" 7-inch (Grimsey, 1997?)

 

1998

The Legendary Jim Ruiz Group, Sniff (Minty Fresh, 1998)

Ninian Hawick, Steep Steps (Grimsey, 1998)

 

1999

various artists, Stuck On AM 2: Live Perfomances On 770 Radio K (No Alternative, 1999: featuring the Legendary Jim Ruiz Group playing "Bobby Stinson's Guitar" and the Hang Ups playing "Black Licorice.")

The Hang Ups, Second Story (Clean/Restless, 1999)

The Hang Ups, "Long Goodbye"/"Flying Over" 7-inch (Grimsey, 1999?)

 

2000

The Waves, Flame Alittle Brighter (Grimsey, 2000)

(The Hang Ups live on Newsnight.)

 

2001

The Shebrews, Off With Their Hearts (Grimsey, 2001)

The Owls, Baby Boy/Summer Clothes/Laura CD-R (unreleased, 2001)

 

2002

various artists, Apartment Music (Free Election Records, 2002: featuring the Owls playing "City Girl" and "Black Hands of Tyme.")

 

2003

The Hang Ups, The Hang Ups (Trampoline)

 

2004

The Owls, Our Hopes and Dreams CD EP (Magic Marker Records, 2004)

The Owls, unreleased practice tape: "The Apocalypse," "Yellow Flowers"

 

 

Note all the overlapping band members:

 

guitarist John Crozier played in:

 

the Funseekers

Muskellunge

the Wahinis

the Hang Ups (up through So We Go)

the Legendary Jim Ruiz Group

the Shebrews

Ninian Hawick

Ninotchka

 

singer Brian Tighe played in:

 

the Hang Ups

the North Pole

The Waves

the Legendary Jim Ruiz Group

the Owls

 

singer and drummer Stephen Ittner played in:

 

the Hang Ups

the North Pole

the Owls

 

guitarist, bassist, and singer Jeff Kearns played in:

 

the Hang Ups

the North Pole

the Waves

 

singer Maria May played in:

 

the Hang Ups (singing backup, at least, on three albums)

the Waves

the Owls

 

singer Allison LaBonne played in:

 

the Legendary Jim Ruiz Group

the Owls

 

singer Stephanie Winter played in:

 

the Legendary Jim Ruiz Group

the Shebrews

 

And producer Brian Hanna recorded or played in just about all of the above. For more details, see the Hang Ups' old site, packed with goodies.

 

 

 

Bonus feature:

 

A Suggested Compilation of Hang Ups Family Highlights:

 

The Owls, "Baby Boy"

The Hang Ups, "Walkin' Around"

The Legendary Jim Ruiz Group, "Stormtrooper"

The Waves, "Hey Boo"

Ninian Hawick, "Scottish Rite Temple Stomp"

Posted by Peter S. Scholtes at January 28, 2004 5:36 PM

 

The Rock&Roll Clash of Civilizations - Part Three

Filed under: Imported

The conservative Washington Times reports that anti-U.S. pop songs are hot in Iraq:

Such songs have appeal even for Iraqis who generally support the U.S. presence in their country, such as driver Ahmad Hossein, who plays Mr. al-Jenabi's songs in his car.

"I like the music and the lyrics," said Mr. Hossein, a member of the Shi'ite majority that was oppressed under dictator Saddam Hussein. "I don't know why. I don't agree with what it's saying. It just makes me feel good."

(See The Rock&Roll Clash of Civilizations and The Rock&Roll Clash of Civilizations - Part Two)

 

 

Muja Messiah rapped with the Roots...

 

Running into me at the Electric Fetus Sunday, JonJon Scott amusingly described the Roots' recent two-week open recording party as a jam session with strippers. Sounds to me like a last ditch effort by a band simply out of ideas. They invited countless guests, including Jill Scott, Musiq, and Minneapolis's own Muja Messiah. Scott, who represents Muja and Graph Noble for Black Corners, was told, basically, "Look, all we need is a good riff." Obviously, he hopes Muja gave them something they'll use. The Roots are currently sifting through some 80 hours of tape...

 

 

Atmosphere rocked latenight TV...

 

Speaking of old Electric Fetus employees, did you catch Atmosphere on Jimmy Kimmel Friday? The next night I watched Magnolia for the first time, by coincidence. (I didn't dislike the film as much as Rob Nelson, maybe because I was softened by the charms of Punch-Drunk Love.) Turns out Slug borrowed the "respect the cock" line in "Trying to Find a Balance" from the film, and for his first national network TV appearance substituted "respect hip hop." Also, for his Ice Cube swipe ("Yeah I've got some last words: Fuck all y'all!"), he let the audience fill in the blanks to dodge the censors...

 

Too bad about the cock line, 'cause Paul Thomas Anderson might have been watching, and should still cast him in a romance opposite Michelle Rodriguez. Still, it was the most edge-of-seat jazzed I've been about a live national TV performance by somebody from Minneapolis since the Replacements changed into each other's clothes between sets on Saturday Night Live. By the way, Atmosphere's Loveline appearance ended up on Wednesday here in Minneapolis, not Tuesday, but is apparently downloadable (or will be soon) via one of these links. If I get a second, I'll try to track down something more specific...

 

 

Life's a Riot, Grrrl

 

I was home Friday night, yeah. My apologies to the local music community for basically sitting this weekend out. Sometimes you gotta hole up, and sometimes you gotta seal the envelope of love from the inside. I should say, though, that we went out long enough to see an incredible photo exhibit at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, with pictures of refugees and kids in post-WWII Europe by Werner Bischof. While we were there, we also saw the closest thing I've seen to riot grrrl art in a while, drawings and prints by Jenny Schmid and Faye Passow...

 

By the way, here's a suggested riot grrrl compilation I scribbled down a while ago, from my contribution to a fun thread at I Love Music:

 

A Beginner's Guide to Whatever The Fuck Riot Grrrl Was or Wasn't

Bikini Kill, "Feels Blind" (Revolution Girl Style Now! cassette version)
Bratmobile, "Cool Schmool" (single version)
Tiger Trap, "Words and Smiles" (single version)
Heavens to Betsy, "Me and Her" (single version)
Scrawl, "Clock Song (Go Girl Go)" (live)
Autoclave, "Dr. Suess"
Huggy Bear, "Her Jazz"
Slant 6, "Time Expired" (single version)
Heavens to Betsy, "My Red Self"
Bikini Kill, "This Is Not a Test"
God Is My Co-Pilot, "Crushing A Girl"
Babes in Toyland, "Handsome and Gretel" (Australian single version)
Bratmobile, "The Real Janelle"
Bikini Kill, "Rebel Girl" (single version)
Team Dresch, "She's Amazing" (live)
Bikini Kill, "Outta Me"
Sleater-Kinney, "Anonymous"

 

 

DJ Boogie to broads: I'm single now!

 

DJ Boogie called me again today to tell me I'm cutting into his pussy rate, whatever that means. So females coming across my very entertaining article on him from 2000 should consult my brief item from June for an update on Boogie's romantic status, namely that he is single. Hear that? Single.

 

My Year in Rock&Roll 2003 - Part Six: The Movies

 

9 movies I loved from 2003:

 

The Hulk

Kill Bill Vol. 1

Seabiscuit

Big Fish

School of Rock

Festival! (1967)

Wattstax (1972)

Long Gone

Power Trip

 

Here's Rob Nelson on The School of Rock, Stuart Klawans on The Pianist, Matthew Wilder on Kill Bill Vol. 1, Rob Nelson on Big Fish, and while it's available only to Nation subscribers, here's Klawans's review of Seabiscuit (scroll down and click), the best I've read.

 

8 releases from 2002 that I loved in 2003:

 

About a Boy

Far From Heaven

Kin Kiesse (1982)

The Pianist

Adaptation

Punch-Drunk Love

Solaris

Secretary

 

75 other 2003 movies and videos I wouldn't kick out of bed (in progress):

 

8 Mile (scroll down)

25th Hour

A Mighty Wind

All Or Nothing

An Injury to One

Anonymously Yours

Asurot ("Detained")

Barbershop

Bend It Like Beckham

Biggie & Tupac

Blue Crush

The Bourne Identity

Bowling for Columbine

Bus 174

Can: The Documentary (scroll down)

Catch Me if You Can

Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle

Chicago Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger Part 4

Comedian Confessions of a Dangerous Mind

The Core

Cuba Feliz

Daredevil

Die Another Day

Dirty Pretty Things

Drumline

Elf

Final Destination 2

Gangs of New York

Gaza Strip

Good Kurds, Bad Kurds

High School

The Hours

If I Should Fall From Grace

Insomnia (remake)

The Italian Job