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Telegraph 01
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| T ++ _ . ._.. . __. ._. ._ .__. .... || issue #1 June 1994 |
+---+| t/ e/ l/ e/ g/ r/ a/ p/ h/ ++ we did it our way! |
<<*>>+---------------------------------++--------------------+
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(*) administrivial pursuits
Mark Cornick - mcornick@nyx.cs.du.edu
This is the first issue of Telegraph. La-di-da-di. (We like to
party. We don't cause trouble. We don't bother nobody.) If it seems
like a few people are responsible for the whole thing, they are.
We'd like to see some input. The Indie-List started this same way,
so we're not really concerned about going out of business or
nuttin'. It's just that, sooner or later, you're going to get tired
of reading stuff Sean and I wrote.
We're taking mail for Telegraph at <mcornick@nyx.cs.du.edu>, which
always forwards to wherever I'm actually reading mail. Given the
frequency of my net.moves, I thought this would save a bunch of
aggravation. Currently, this forwards to <ga03613@char2.vnet.net>
(an account I got free with something else), but this is subject to
change. (Like, when I get back to JMU...) If and when it does
change, <mcornick@nyx...> will change to point to the new place.
So: <mcornick@nyx...> always reaches me eventually. Any other
address is used at your own risk.
The theme for this issue is "The man busted our music!" In addition
to my, er, effort, Sean has a very good article that deals with
this. We also have a somewhat insightful and peculiarly wry
interview with Gerard Cosloy of Matador fame. And, just so there's
some actual entertainment value, and so that we have an article
that doesn't deal with the Man, we have a delightful interview with
Aaron Oppenheimer of Combustible Edison.
Enough bullshit for now. On to the meat 'n' potatoes (that oughta
get us some mail from Chicago for sure...)
Mark
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(*) Vinyl: Don't Call It A Comeback!
Mark Cornick - mcornick@nyx.cs.du.edu
(one of my first attempts at a rant - I'm really not that good at
it - so bear with me:)
Wow! I step into my friendly local record store and peruse the 12"
vinyl racks. Look at all these major-label bands with LPs out!
Sonic Youth, Soundgarden, Beck, Pearl Jam, Green Day, Nirvana,
Dinosaur Jr, Pink Floyd, even Frank Sinatra! Whoopee! Vinyl is
back! The major labels are admitting their mistake! Yee-haw! This
is cause for great celebration!
Er... no. I'm as happy as anyone to see vinyl return to the stores.
But I'm very suspicious of the motives.
Like many of you, I've got memories of spinning cool LPs (and, in
retrospect, some not-so-cool LPs) on my turntable as a kid. First
LP? _Signs!_ from Sesame Street. First musical LP? _Pac-Man Fever_
by Buckner & Garcia. First punk rock LP? _Sandanista!_ by the
Clash. First CD? Christ, I don't remember now. I remember living
next door to Sam, The Beast From The East, a disco DJ who always
had cool beats blasting off his vinyl (it's probably thanks to Sam
that I have a taste for soul.) Sam never had no CDs. I remember
hopping on my bike after school and riding over to Record Corner,
back when they had a store at Jefferson Park Avenue and Fontaine,
in Charlottesville. I remember buying some crucial LPs there.
Record Corner's no longer there - that store closed around '88, and
the other location closed last year. I don't remember seeing CDs
there. I've never seen CDs at Fantasia Records near UVa, either,
but I found Lou Reed's _Transformer_ LP there back around '87.
(Fantasia's still there; it's primarily a comic shop now. My
brother likes it. Although they still keep the LP crates around for
the old school.) Point is, I've got vinyl memories just like lots
of people. And although a lot of us have broken ties with a lot of
our past, I'm willing to bet a lot of us still have our Duran Duran
and Hall & Oates records. (I think my sister has my Simple Minds
45s now.)
When CDs overtook LPs, I resisted for a while. But eventually, I
could find LPs almost nowhere. There was one store in
Charlottesville, Plan 9, that still stocked vinyl when I graduated
high school in 1989. (Plan 9's still there. They've still got
vinyl. But a lot less of it.) And my then-girlfriend Anne knew
about cool record stores in D.C. with vinyl, but D.C. was two hours
away. (Those stores are still there, and still two hours away. My
friend Anne got married this year. Some of you probably know her as
Ardvark, from the rec.arts.bodyart newsgroup. I always had weird
taste in girlfriends.) I finally gave up in 1989 - the LP was
nearly extinct in my world, and my turntable was fucked anyway. I
got a new stereo, without a turntable, for graduation. It had a CD
player, so I started buying CDs.
Sometime around 1991, I had my "indie epiphany." I discovered the
world of indie labels, and the little bands that could. I also
discovered that I wasn't going to be able to play a bunch of this
cool stuff because it was only on vinyl. Now, I'm an intelligent
guy, but I must admit I never saw this coming. After all, weren't
we all supposed to be using DAT by now?
In 1992, I bought a cheap Radio Shack turntable and started buying
vinyl again. The first 45 in my "vinyl renaissance" was Velocity
Girl's "My Forgotten Favorite", on the Slumberland label. (Never
mind that I've ended up liking almost nothing VG have done since.)
This was followed by some bands from my then-hometown of
Harrisonburg, Sexual Milkshake and Rake. I could never see either
of these bands doing a CD. (Sexy Milkshake proved me wrong a few
months later with their smash _Sing Along In Hebrew_ CD. Rake are,
I think, working on one now. Guess I was wrong. But that's not the
point.)
In my mind, and in the minds of lots of you (I suppose), vinyl had
come to symbolize the spirit of doing things for yourself. The
money-makers had given up on vinyl; those who valued the music over
the payoff went for the familiar, economical, simple format. (It's
still a lot easier to conceptualize manufacturing an LP, as
compared to a CD. And a good deal cheaper, too.) Like the hand-
xeroxed zine, the vinyl LP was something personal - it may not be
pretty, it may not be technologically advanced, but you did it
yourself and you were *proud.*
Re-enter the Man. Somewhere along the line, the Man got tipped off
to the fact that people were daring to challenge the CD behemoth.
Like the government, and like certain large religions, the Man
(that is, the record-industry Man) hates what he can't control. You
can almost see someone up at Sony-Warner-MCA-Capitol-Co going "Hey!
These DIY freaks aren't doing so bad! I want a piece of that
action!" So here's what they did: they pretended to care, and re-
invented themselves as merchants of the revolution (the televised
revolution, that is.) To show their love and respect for the
disillusioned indie folks, they adopted the indies' favorite
format: vinyl.
So that's where we are now. The Man is trying to get us to buy into
their latest music marketing scheme (grunge? gangsta rap? tropical
Armenian polka discs?) by preying on our familiarity and our
sentiments. They're doing it by releasing vacuous, malodorous
commercial tripe on a medium that we have come to equate with
quality, heritage, integrity, and pride.
Given a choice between a major-label CD and a major-label LP (with
"nothing at all" not being an option) I'll still go for the LP -
for the sentimental attachment, the jumbo artwork, and the extra
four or five bucks left in my wallet. (And there are, indeed, some
major-label LPs worth considering. The new Sonic Youth,
f'rinstance.) But I'll go home wondering. I'll wonder if this LP
will still be available in six months. I'll wonder if I'll still be
able to buy LPs after MTV decides they're uncool again. But I
definitely won't wonder where the major label's heart is in
releasing this LP. I know exactly where it is. It's in the bottom
line. Don't believe the hype.
------------------------------------------------------------
(*) Music, Myths, and The Man
Sean Murphy - grumpy@access.digex.net
Hmm... recently I've been thinking a lot about music. I guess it's
one of the few things that I have some knowledge of, that I care
about, that I enjoy. And yet there are large parts of music that
make no sense. A large part of the nonsense arises from certain
artificial constructs which come not from music but rather from
society or a sub-section of society, that particular subset which
listens to a particular kind of music. There are many legitimate
divisions in the music world, but there are twice as many divisions
created by mass media for the commodification of music, divisions
like "contemporary hit radio" and "commercial alternative" and "hot
urban hits" and the other crap found in the back of Billboard or
the Gavin Report.
At the simplest level, all music is the same - there is some beat
or sense of timing, there is some form of instrumentation, and
there is a resemblance or opposition to other things that have been
called music in the past. I realize that this definition leaves
major gaps - but realize I'm trying to tie together everything from
Superchunk to Grandmaster Flash, John Cage to John Coltrane,
Stockhausen to Beethoven, in this one quick sentence.
Wittgenstein's "familial resemblance" theory, coupled with the
natural tendency for oppositions, does the job pretty well... When
people complain that something is "classic rock" or "alternative"
or whatever mass- produced-label-they-use, it is a meaningless term
at the pure musical level, yet it carries major significance at
another, more socio-cultural level, and this bothers me.
These artificial divisions do grow from legitimate ones - it is
fair to class Stravinsky and Mozart together in a way that one
would not group Eric Dolphy and Lou Reed. The blatant overuse of
the artificial destroys the original intentions of the terms -
there is no music which can adequately be described as merely
"alternative" or "oldies" or "classic rock." (Well, maybe the Steve
Miller Band is classic rock... but I'll come back to this in a
minute.) Fake terms have allowed people to willfully ignore large
classes of music without truly listening or considering the music
in question. These terms also destroy the creativity of artists by
lumping them together without giving any considerations to
individual merit or talent. Combined with the force- feeding
mentality of the corporate beast in all its forms
(radio/stores/labels) and an assumption of total idiocy on the part
of consumers and a corresponding lack of intelligent, original
thought in response to music, contrived pigeonholes wreck the world
of music and those who respect and enjoy it.
Often I find myself in discussions with friends about music - many
of my friends are DJs at the station where I worked. This station,
WPRB (based in Princeton, NJ, at 103.3 on your FM dial) plays what
I would call "free-form" and "independent" music. Independent
denotes not a genre but a frame of mind inherent to the artist or
the label. Free-form describes the programming - rock, jazz,
classical, blues, soul, folk, traditional world musics, country,
rap, metal - all appear on the station, some all in the same three-
hour show. These terms tend to scare people, however, and so I
sometimes defer to the mass term of "alternative" music. Our
discussions wander as much as the various genres of music played,
but one thing remains fairly constant: someone who actively likes
rock music released before 1977 (with a few obvious examples) must
be prepared to constantly qualify and defend those tastes.
As a person who does like older music (and does not confine his
tastes to exceptionally obscure, Pebbles/Nuggets/Boulders style
garage-punk and psychedelia, Neil Young, the Velvet Underground,
Black Sabbath, the Stooges, and perhaps one token "rock" or "pop"
band), I wind up spending at least one part of each of these
conversations explaining how something really was legitimate. It
frequently becomes the cliched argument of "wait, [insert name of
favorite "uncool" band here]'s first two LPs were really good!" but
the fact remains that many people totally ignore the music because
it has attained the "status" of classic rock. Nostalgic discussions
are acceptable when they veer toward the campy - Abba is a big rage
among many people I know, Tommy James and the Shondells are
minimally acceptable, and my love of Petula Clark can be
successfully included in a discussion of music without anything
more than joking ridicule. To mention CCR, the Allman Brothers,
Fleetwood Mac, Blue Cheer, Steely Dan, Yes, Pink Floyd, King
Crimson, the Animals, Van Halen, Aerosmith, or the Who with any
sort of respect, however, is to invite a long series of disparaging
remarks along the line of "how can you like that shit?" to which I
can't really respond except to say, "look, I don't know, it's good
music... if I could explain why I liked it, I wouldn't have to
listen to it." That's where I have problems.
I was having one of these discussions a couple weeks ago with two
friends, Mike and Guy. Mike is my age (22) and actually shares much
of my interest in music outside the traditional college spectrum
though he is a devoted punk/HC listener. He first started listening
actively to college radio/punk/etc. in 8th grade, and has evolved
in his musical appreciation since then - he's the only person I
know here at school who's seen Crash Worship, yet owns a
substantial portion of the Lookout and Very Small catalogs. Guy is
two years younger than us, and consequently has little respect for
"classic rock" which was ubiquitous in his high school. (A side
note - as far as I can tell, "classic rock" radio stations first
started as such around 1987, with "all-oldies" stations being a
little older; prior to classic rock, there were just hard-rock and
album- rock stations, with the latter veering into artsier music
while the former turned toward metal and newer music.) Guy also
said that the song which hooked him on the concept of "alternative
music" was R.E.M.'s "Losing My Religion." I'm not passing judgment
on Guy for this admission - it led him to check out Murmur and
Fables and Chronic Town, records which most people would readily
place in the independent camp. It was quite peculiar, but hell,
everyone reacts differently to music.
So, the discussion rambled on, with Mike and I delving into things
like Cheap Trick and Black Sabbath and Blue Cheer and whatever, and
Guy just mumbling how he didn't understand any of that music. He
could honestly say that he wasn't exposed to it growing up because
he was listening to an alternative station feeding him the Cure and
Depeche Mode and Erasure and R.E.M. It's not like Mike and I lived
through the music we were discussing - we were roughly in first
grade when Rick Nielsen wrote "Surrender" - but we had heard all
this stuff and found something interesting in it. Guy is part of a
musical generation which can claim ignorance of the past except for
what their parents fed them - for him, it was Simon and Garfunkel.
(For me, it was side one of "Abbey Road" and Del Shannon and "the
little Nash Rambler...") He has no concept of the roots of today's
music, alternative or not. I can't make meaningful references to
Neil Young to him - Guy sees that style of guitar playing starting
with Dinosaur Jr. and continuing through Bettie Serveert. I think
the singer in Tindersticks sounds a bit like Ray Davies at times -
Guy has probably heard "You Really Got Me" and maybe "Victoria" but
otherwise couldn't care less about the Kinks. And I blame this on
the compartmentalism of today's music world - it's considered
uncool to like certain music, not because it represents your
parents, but because it's not considered relevant to today, to the
cutting edge.
It's just rather odd... my earliest memories of "different stuff"
on the radio are a mixture of U2 (I Will Follow, Sunday Bloody
Sunday, New Year's Day), R.E.M. (Radio Free Europe, South Central
Rain), the Lyres (Don't Give It Up Now, Help You Ann), Mission of
Burma (That's When I Reach For My Revolver, Academy Fight Song),
Throwing Muses (Green), Buzzcocks (I Believe) and Pixies
(Gigantic), along with snippets of other things which I scribbled
down from time to time and caught on radio tapes - Wedding Present,
Oingo Boingo, millions of bands whose names I didn't understand.
Yes, I grew up in Boston, MA - this skews my musical heritage in
that I had 3 good college radio stations to choose from along with
the normal collection of top-40, hard-rock, classic rock, and easy
listening stations. To place this in some time frame, I guess I
started checking out the "left of the dial" around 1987 but didn't
start sticking to college radio until my senior year of high school
- 1989/90. In 1987, U2 and R.E.M. had started crossing into
mainstream consciousness but were still making some decent music,
while the Pixies were still a "Boston band" and hadn't released
"Doolittle" yet. I spent the summer of 1987 listening to the
Beastie Boys "Licensed To Ill" on repeat play thanks to two of my
fellow summer-camp staffers. Another kid on staff was into
Metallica and Iron Maiden, and we generally made fun of him though
I liked some of what he was listening to. Growing up near the city,
I also had some exposure to rap beyond the Beasties - everyone knew
Doug E. Fresh and the Sugarhill Gang and Grandmaster Flash and Run
D.M.C. - "King of Rock" was a huge record in my town - and the
whole "Roxanne, Roxanne" series.
Behind all this was a backdrop of other music - the discoveries of
Led Zeppelin, The Who, the Kinks, Aerosmith, occasionally hearing
something like the Sex Pistols late at night. My mom had a whole
bin of records which I raided - The Band, CCR, Santana, Hendrix,
Simon and Garfunkel, Dylan - I didn't care that it was old music,
just that it was good music that I enjoyed listening to. Then radio
stations started popping up that would play this music regularly,
without the new crap like John Cougar or Journey or Starship -
they'd play "Freebird" and "Money" and "Cinnamon Girl" and "Blinded
By The Light" and occasionally a _really_ killer tune like the
Amboy Dukes' "Journey to the Center of the Mind" or the Moody
Blues' "Legend of a Mind" (timothy leary's dead... no, he's
outside, looking in). I would rejoice at hearing all of "Court of
the Crimson King" or that nine minute Grand Funk Railroad song or
even "Stairway to Heaven" during an "A to Z Rock Weekend" or "The
Memorial Day Top 500 Countdown." I could claim all that as my music
because it was music I enjoyed and drew from. I guess I don't draw
the same lines between classic rock and alternative rock that most
people do because I don't necessarily see those lines as hard and
fast rules.
Regardless of its appointed name, music is music. Some is good,
some is bad, some can be appreciated for its complexity or
simplicity or instrumentation without actually enjoying the sounds
produced. If one chooses to use a label in a derogatory sense as
"classic rock" often is, then that person must be prepared to
defend the assertion that all the music lumped in that category is
bad or else set up a web of exceptions which ultimately ruins the
original assertion. I'm guilty of this as well - I can make fun of
classic rock, and often wind up saying things like "[bands x, y,
and z which I like a lot] aren't classic rock, Steve Miller and
later Fleetwood Mac and Lynyrd Skynyrd are classic rock." It's
natural to use a common term, but dangerous because then all the
connotations of that term have to be categorically accepted or else
knocked out on a case-by-case analysis.
Though many of today's alternateens find it convenient to bash
classic rockers (and their totally reprehensible sub-breed, the
dead-head), the fact remains that there would not really have been
punk without art rock and arena rock, in the same way that there
would be no Elvis, Beatles, Cream, or Zeppelin without the blues.
The ironic part is that it's acceptable in many "alternative"
circles to like Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson, and Howlin' Wolf
because they "originated" music which was "appropriated" by
musicians in the fifties and sixties. To cut off one branch of
music from the continuum is to destroy its vitality and excitement
and creativity and validity. I may listen to my Unrest records more
than my Big Brother and the Holding Company record, but I find both
to be equally valid musical expressions which hold significance for
me, regardless of the inherent originality - Mark Robinson will
freely admit that he learned everything he knows from early 4AD and
Factory and Cherry Red bands, while Big Brother... did Big Mama
Thornton covers and basically took the blues on an acid trip.
So where does "the man" fit into all this mumbling? I hold the man
responsible for the divisions, compartments, and pigeonholes that
rule the record industry today. Without the man's marketing scheme
of dividing radio into little tiny compartments, we could all still
listen to radio stations which give the same consideration to the
Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Mission Of Burma, and Rodan. There are still
some stations which have the courage to do this, but they have been
marginalized and pushed aside by corporate money-makers who have
unilaterally decided that people can only like one type of music.
And, I'm not saying that my station is one of these - for all its
good points, WPRB is stridently anti-classic-rock, to the point of
my being regarded as a total freak for bothering to listen to or
play older music. No martyr complex here, just an honest
explanation. Remove the influence of major record labels and
broadcasters simply looking to improve their profit margin, and we
might see a return of interesting radio. People should be able to
hear Philip Glass, Bob Marley, and Tsunami in one hour on one radio
station. It takes a certain amount of experience and skill on the
part of the DJ to pull it off in a coherent manner, but it can and
should be done. (I'm not saying that labels and stations and
musicians can't make money - I'd like to see everyone earn a living
through music who has the ability and talent to do so. I do
believe, however, that there are better ways than the current
situation to make money with music, a system which will level the
playing field a little bit.)
Get the man out of music, and you'll see music grow again. Of
course, without the man, there might have never been psychedelia or
punk or new wave. It's a difficult situation, since revolutionary
musical trends need a certain amount of repression and oppression
to get started. In the end, though, I believe that music will
continue to evolve and get more interesting without the man sitting
there and dictating stunts and gimmicks that order M*ch**l B*lt*n
to desecrate more 1960s soul music. It's not just for my benefit or
your benefit, but for the benefit of all music lovers and
performers.
------------------------------------------------------------
(*) Gerard Cosloy: The Man, The Myth, The Guy From Matador
Mark Cornick - mcornick@nyx.cs.du.edu
[ NOTE: In typical Freshmaker Filing System fashion, I lost my copy
of the questions shortly after mailing Cosloy. Thus I have done my
best to recreate the questions. I apologize for any resulting
confusion. - Mark ]
Gerard Cosloy may not have invented the "indie" state of mind, but
his name is invoked often by people when they talk about it. In the
early to mid 80s at Homestead Records, and since the late 80s at
Matador Records, Cosloy has been involved at many turns, both as
impresario and ruthless critic. Maybe you've read his diatribes in
_CMJ._ Perhaps you remember his late, great zine _Conflict._ You
might have seen him fronting Envelope. However you know Cosloy, you
know he's got opinions, and Mark coaxed a few out of him via e-mail
in April.
TELEGRAPH: Did the man bust our music?
GERARD COSLOY: Yes. No. Maybe. Who is "the man", anyway? Jim
Fouratt? Dave Marsh? Steve Ross? Curtis Taang? Barry Tenenbaum?
Alternative culture has been subject to watering down all
throughout history...'cept now they/we sell you the shit under a
"pure" label 'cause someone told us you like it that way. Besides,
"our music", isn't necessarily "my" music or yours. Paige Hamilton
on Headbanger's Ball represents nothing to me other than the climax
of a successful marketing campaign. Same thing w/ Pavement on
"Saved By The Bell".
TG: When did the "indie scene" emerge, in your opinion...
GC: this is a tough one to trace, 'cause the obvious answer is the
day "Smells Like Teen Spirit" came blaring out of any car radio.
But punk rock had been seeping through the cracks for years and
years, and the groundwork laid by Sonic Y., Big Black, Husker Du,
Big Boys, SSD, X, Wipers, Mission of Burma, etc. with all their
touring and macaroni eating, is where you can lay the blame. None
of those bands hit it big, but they helped create the creative
environment where Nirvana et al. flourished. And don't forget all
those older siblings passing the SST records down the family tree.
TG: how are things different NOW compared to THEN?
GC: Distribution has improved, the overall exchange of information
is much quicker (thanks to cable TV, the NET, etc.)...certainly
there are more people who actually give a shit about this stuff,
as opposed to a couple of misfits in each town. On the other hand,
we were close enough to the '60's in the '70s, so that meant
there's no way anybody could've pulled off this modern deadhead
thing. And if Killing Joke and Big Black still existed, people
would know just how lame Helmet and Prong really are. The other
good thing is that it seems like there's the odd chance that women
can make records, 'zines, whatever in the '90's w/out being subject
to some kinda Go-Go's litmus test...
TG: Please describe how Matador and Atlantic came to do business
together.
GC: They kept asking us out on dates. We turned them down 'cause
celibacy seemed cool. Then we got pregnant w/ debt and unreleased
records (kind of like Julie Christie in Demon Seed) and we needed
someone to pose as the dad. Since Danny Goldberg IS a dad (and he
looks more convincing in a sweater) it all made sense in the end.
Now, our records come out on time. The bands get their statements
on time. Our records are easier to find. They stay in print, too.
If anyone can give me an example of how any Matador band has gone
on to make music any differently than they did before...well, we
won't give you a refund, but you can have a free Teenage Fanclub
poster.
TG: A lot of people seem to think that Matador Records and Gerard
Cosloy are one and the same... is this true?
GC: Matador is a partnership between me and Chris Lombardi (who
started the label). Every artist signed to the label is the result
of a joint decision...we only work on stuff we're both into...
There are plenty of artists I like who aren't on Matador...and
that's why there are so many other fine labels out there. Matador
is an accurate reflection of my tastes and ideas, but NOT ALL OF
THEM. And that's good too, 'cause nobody really wants to deal all
that stuff at once. Luckily, I have some other creative outlets
besides the record label...
TG: How much control over Matador does Atlantic's money buy?
GC: Atlantic's $$ buy them 50% of our profits (of which there
aren't any, so far). Believe it or not, that's it. We still decide
what we're gonna release and tell them about it later on (OK,
sometimes we tell them beforehand. But conversation's important,
right?). Packaging, marketing videos, advertising, choice of
singles, etc. are always up to us (and by extension, usually up to
the bands themselves). I realize this seems very far fetched. But
if you look at what we've signed since the Atlantic deal
(Moonshake, the Fall, Yo La Tengo, Helium, SF Seals, Kustomized,
Pizzicato 5, m&d deals w/ PCP and Scat) I think you'd have a hard
time making a case for Atlantic-pulling-the-strings...
TG: How will the death of Kurt Cobain affect the industry?
GC: aside from helping Geffen have a good fiscal 1994, I really
don't know. As tempted as I am to point a finger, Kurt Cobain was
ultimately responsible for his own life. As Barbara Manning said,
he could've pulled a Cat Stevens and dropped out. Except whatever
was hurting him went a lot deeper than the pressures of fame,
record sales, issues of credibility, etc. None of us really know
what he was feeling. Record companies will start assigning 24-hour
minders (ie. "security dudes") to their troubled stars, ala Axl,
Bret Michaels, Nikki Sixx, etc. Mark Smith's minders keep quitting,
however. He beats them up.
TG: What does Matador look for in a band?... you've certainly got
an impressive winning streak...
GC: good songs, wit, piercings, not in that order.
TG: What are the undiscovered "gems" in the Matador catalog?
GC: Toiling Midgets LP, both Dustdevils albums, Chain Gang CD.
TG: who do you respect in the music industry? do you have a shit
list?
GC: I respect some people in spite of the fact they are in the
music industry. A short list (and this is far from complete) would
be Chris Lombardi, Robert Vodicka, Paul Ashby, Craig Koon, TJ Lax
and Mac Siltbreeze, Robert Griffin, Mark Robinson, PK, Kathy
Molloy, Steve Albini, Adam Lasus, Martin Bisi, Steve Fisk, Craig
Flanagan, Christof Ellinghaus, Roger Shepard, Paul McKessar,
Calvin Johnson, Lesley Wimmer, Bill Peregoy...OK, is that enough?
I don't really know Corey Rusk but I've always admired the way
Touch & Go represents its bands---fairly, intelligently, etc. I
don't really have a shit list. Suffice to say that anyone who
thinks they deserve some sort of special treatment because they are
a journalist, A&R person, dj, booking agent, promo creep, etc.,
isn't someone worth knowing.
TG: Are there any regrets at Matador?
GC: a few. I regret that we never got the _Hippy Porn_ soundtrack
out on time, and I wish we hadn't made so many promises we weren't
able to keep with that project. Then maybe Jon Moritsugu wouldn't
have come into our office and set the contract on fire. I also wish
we had done a better job getting records by Mecca Normal, Toiling
Midgets and Babylon Dance Band out on time...but hey, we're getting
better (I think). I also regret sending Karen Schoemer the letter
where I said I was gonna poke her eyes out. I should've just done
it.
TG: Is there anyone not on Matador whom you'd like to have aboard?
MC: Only band who aren't on Matador that I wish _was_ is Codeine.
But that would've been kind of impossible, 'cause I didn't even see
them play until they already had records out. I don't mean it as
though I'm saying "we should've signed Codeine..." 'cause I have no
reason to believe that we would have ever had the chance (nils,
bruce, jonathan, I have checked this out w/ Commissioner David
Stern, and he says this is not tampering). I think Codeine are the
only band I ever hear that makes records so amazing, I wonder why
anyone buys the stuff on Matador. But then the CD ends and I stop
worrying about it.
TG: Do you have any advice for musicians who want to succeed on
their own terms? (whether they seek a Matador gig or not...)
GC: I have no advice for anyone. Musicians are like anyone else,
they have all kinds of different goals and versions of success. I
just wish people would spend more time trying to create something
original...as opposed to the formula crap that gets
dropped on my desk every day. Pavement and Sebadoh soundalikes are
just as lame as any other generic career move...except
Ozzy tribute bands don't have entertainment lawyers on both
coasts, nor do they already have publishing deals. I guess my best
advice for musicians is to never give Karen from Brownies your home
telephone number.
TG: What got you interested in the Net?
GC: I thought it would be a great way to scam on underage females.
And if I weren't the 9 millionth person to think of that, I'd be
doing just fine, thanks. E-mail is fun 'cause I end up
corresponding w/ pals from around the world who used to only hear
from once or twice a decade. The bad news is that I now receive
[unwanted] postings several times a week. Much like going to
Maxwell's, it's barely worth the trade off.
TG: What are your current favorite records? why?
GC: current faves include the new Versus album, 18th Dye _Done_ and
_Crayon_ (Cloudland), Tony Conrad CD (Table of the Elements),
Arcwelder _Xerxes_ (T&G), Flophouse _Oh Fuck_ dbl 7" (Stickshift),
Catpower "Headlights" 7" (Making of Americans), Unwound _New
Plastic Ideas_ LP (KRS), Wingtip Sloat "Return of the Night of the
Ardent Straggler" 7" (VHF), Erik Voeks _Sandbox_ CD
(Dorkville), Pony CD (Homesick)... I think the next Schramms album
will be better than any of the above, however. And I also think
that record stores should institute a new rule where you aren't
allowed to purchase GBV's _Bee Thousand_ without buying the new
Strapping Fieldhands album at the same time. I realize this isn't
legal (nor does it make sense), but I think it would make the world
a nicer place for a few days. I'm sorry, but I don't really like
discussing why I like anything anymore. (ie. I no longer know
how).
------------------------------------------------------------
(*) Combustible Edison - So Debonair In Formal Wear
Dann Medin - DLM94001@UConnVM.UConn.Edu
aaaahhhh! the soothing and friendly sounds of the vibraphone...the
tantalizing tickle of the persuasive percussions...and the sultry
suave of the savory vocal... who might this be, you ask? be it the
jazz lords of the 50's? the fab surfer boys of the 60's? or just a
dream too ticklish to possibly be true? well, folk and friends, as
you may have guessed, it is none of these things but the magic of
combustible edison. have you already picked up your copy of "i,
swinger", the fabulous debut performance? well then, settle
yourself down by the fireplace,(extension cords?) make yourself
cozy, and let's examine the inner demons of combustible edison via
email response from drummer and more, the enigmatic aaron
oppenheimer. and don't forget to wear your favorite coctail.
-xo love, dann medin ox-
TELEGRAPH: who are you?
AARON OPPENHEIMER: The lineup includes Miss Lily Banquette singing
and playing the bongos and other provocative percussion, The
Millionaire on the electric guitar, Mr. Peter Dixon on the hi-fi
organ, Nick Cudahy on the double bass, and myself (Aaron
Oppenheimer) on vibes and traps.
TG: how did y'all come around?
AO: Here's the official history: Once upon a time, the Millionaire
wrote something called "The Tiki Wonder Hour" which was a two-hour
cabaret explosion, featuring an exploration of the seven wonders of
the cocktail hour, hosted by Satan himself. It had a huge talking
easter island head, a bubble-blowing volcano, literally dozens of
performers, and above all, a 14-piece band called the "Combustible
Edison Heliotropic Oriental Mambo and Foxtrot Orchestra." It played
two sold-out shows in Providence and one in Boston in the fall of
1991. Lots of fun, but getting 14 people who aren't getting paid
together to practice turned out to be a little unwieldy. After the
TWH was done, the five of us who consistently showed up to
rehearsals decided to stay together. The name was shortened
appropriately, and here we are, the dynamo you see before you.
TG: what's in the name? (besides 10 consonants and 7 vowels)
AO: Well, we like to think of it as conjuring up nutty turn-of-the-
century nicknames of the Devil, like "Old Nick" or whatever. In
reality, it's been a name in search of a band for several years
that finally found something to stick to.
TG: how long have you been together/have any of you previously been
a project we may have heard of? (is lily really john coltrane or
kurt cobain in disguise?)
AO: Well, Combustible Edison in it's current form has been together
for two and a half years, give or take. The Millionaire and Miss
Banquette were involved in a "rock 'n' roll" act called "Christmas"
for many years. Mr. Dixon was the original third member of that
group, and Nick was also in that act for a time. I myself was never
in Christmas, which makes me the special one!
TG: how do you describe your music?
AO: I've given up trying to describe it to people; it's easier to
hand them a tape. Of course, that doesn't work in print. Maybe this
should be a multimedia interview. We'll answer to "lounge music,"
"leisure music," or, in our first attempt to coin a phrase to
capture the cross between exotic moods and metropolitan flair, our
personal favorite, "Metropical."
TG: major influences?
AO: I think for most of us, our parents' record collections was our
first influence in this kind of music. In some ways, playing what
we play is us returning to our "roots," such as they are. Watching
a lot of television our whole lives has been another major
influence. Martin Denny, Esquivel, Nino Rota, Henry Mancini are
obvious. Indian and Spaghetti Western film scores, the Rat Pack,
etc.
TG: favorite lounge party pastimes?
AO: Pin the tail on the hostess is always popular. If you know what
I mean.
TG: what's the story w/the compact touring c.e.?
AO: Peter and I, having actual jobs, are remaining in the Boston
area to hold the fort, while the rest of the band takes the country
by storm. Duly authorized audio-animatronic replicas will be taking
our places.
TG: just where did the millionaire get that winning wonder of a
white smile?
AO: More importantly, where did Miss Banquette get her beautiful
long hair? The answer is a secret, but here's a hint: Prosthetics.
TG: cocktail suggestion?
AO: Drink in moderation. Nobody likes a sloppy swinger.
TG: how on earth did you get signed to sub-pop?
AO: And it came to pass that we made a demo tape, called "This Is
Combustible Edison," which was handed out to about five people at
the New Music Seminar in New York. Somehow it ended up in the hands
of the College Music Journal folks, and showed up on the cover of
CMJ. After that, it's all just a blur of industry types throwing
money and begging. Sub Pop just seemed like the right place to be,
and it's worked out very well - they're great to work with.
TG: any live stories?
AO: The strangest shows are the ones where we're sandwiched between
loud rock bands. We opened for Yo La Tengo at CBGBs a year and a
half ago, and there was basically dead silence when we came out
wearing our fabulous outfits. When we played at Lollapalooza last
year, half the crowd really got into the show, and half suddenly
remembered that they liked Fishbone. We played at the party after
the New York premiere of the new Roman Polanski movie, which was,
uh, interesting. Lots of schmoozing. Tina Louise was there, but I
didn't see her.
TG: you mentioned outfits?
AO: Yes, dressing the part is a large component of the lounge
scene. We have several matching ensembles designed for us by Miss
Tamara of Winchester. We also encourage our audience to dress more
fabulously; we recently played at the Luau Hut in Providence and
the crowd really went all out to dress up. It really enhances the
evening; it gets everyone involved in the show.
TG: plans for the past or future?
AO: Well, we've gotten this far without an actual plan, so we're
not about to start now. The touring band (or "ejecto-pod" as we
call it) is on the road now, and hopefully we'll be recording again
soon.
TG: fun bands to play w/?
AO: Playing with the Coctails was fun. I guess we haven't really
played *with* too many other bands; usually we'll play by
ourselves, two sets or so. We've also opened for Shonen Knife and
Yo La Tengo and a few others, but that's about it.
TG: best bad habit?
AO: The number one Combustible Edison Rule of Conduct: Be
Fashionably Late. This includes being late to practice and gigs.
TG: what kind of airplay are you getting?
AO: Good question. I haven't heard anything from "I, Swinger" (our
just released Sub Pop tour-de-force (plug, plug)) on the radio here
in Boston, though I've seen it show up on college radio playlists
that get posted to the net. We recently met a band goal by having
some of our music used as background to a story on NPR. We've done
a video for "Millionaire's Holiday" which has apparently been shown
on MuchMusic (Canadian MTV) and a few local video shows. That was
fun to do.
TG: anything else?
AO: Just be fabulous! We also like getting mail - 21st century on-
line types can send mail to comed@subpop.com, or write to the
address listed in the CD. If anyone out there sees the touring
band, drop Peter and me a note and tell us about it so we can
pretend we were there.
Tour Schedule
When Where At
5/13 Danbury, CT The Flying Squire
5/14 Bard College (w/Coctails)
5/16 Toronto, ONT El Mocambo
5/17 Toronto, ONT Lee's Place (w/Superchunk & 3Ds)
5/18 Montreal, QUE Woodstock
5/20 New York, NY Mercury Cafe
5/21 Washington, DC 9:30 Club
5/22 Richmond, VA Grace St. Cinema (w/Coctails)
5/24 Columbus, OH Stache's
5/25 Cincinnati, OH Sudsy Malone
5/26 Detroit, MI Burns Room @ St. Andrews
5/27 Chicago, IL Empty Bottle
5/28 Madison, WI Club DeWash
5/29 Minneapolis, MN Uptown Lounge
6/1 Seattle, WA Crocodile Cafe
6/2 Vancouver, BC Starfish Room
6/3 Seattle, WA (TBA)
6/4 Portland, OR (TBA)
6/6 San Francisco, CA Great American Music Hall
6/8 Las Vegas, NV Huntridge Theater
6/10 San Diego, CA Casbah
6/11 Highland Park, CA Fuzzyland
6/12 Los Angeles, CA Jack's Sugarshack
6/13-6/20 Several Southern Stops (TBA)
------------------------------------------------------------
(*) and a few parting thoughts
Jodi Shapiro - jodi@dsm.fordham.edu
I'm sick of pigeonholes, categorical adjectives and the like. I
want to make two more entries in the record
company/rocritter/retail outlet Jargon File.
Since "Commercial" and "Underground" are two music-industry terms
that have been overused to the point of being meaningless,
"surface" and "non-surface" seem to serve the purpose of dividing
popular (ie moneymaking) music from non-popular music.
"Surface" music is the kind that you hear when you turn on the TV
or the radio (it doesn't matter what station). It's everywhere,
you can't escape it, and if you're not careful it'll haunt you
wherever you go. I work in an office where it plays 13 hours a
day. And the day is only 24 hours long!
"Non-surface" music is stuff that sometimes comes on the radio or
TV, but usually in the form of background music. A good example
of this is the Residents--they did a lot of music for the kids show
_Pee Wee's Playhouse_, reaching an audience of people who probably
never heard the Residents in their lives.
Both types are made by (presumably) hardworking people who really
love what they're doing. It just so happens that "surface" music
makes more money than "non-surface" music. Popular music is
popular because it appeals to a lot of people, but that doesn't
mean that it's better than non-popular music. I think if we
instated these new terms, the public's urge to categorize
everything would probably cease.
[sarcasm off]
------------------------------------------------------------
(*) Coursing Through The Wires
Mark Cornick - mcornick@nyx/cs/du.edu
since we don't ordinarily publish reviews, each issue we'll devote
a few lines to a subjective listing of recent records, zines, etc.
we think are cool. If you want an address for a label, etc. listed
here, write us:
Mark
----
* Unwound - "Mkultra/Totality" 45 (Kill Rock Stars): you couldn't
sleep through this if you tried! this is the kind of record Sonic
Youth wishes they could still make. Awesome.
* Wingtip Sloat - "Return Of The Night Of The Ardent Straggler" 45
(VHF): Long-awaited new platter from DC's favorite non-scenester
family men. Prime spazz-rock and look, they even mixed it this time
so we can hear what's going on. Nice.
* Facts About Israel - 45 (Torn Chord): Small Factory shares
reefers with Pavement and steals Aerosmith's tour bus. 'Nuff said.
* Lois - "Wet Eyes" track from _Strumpet_ LP (K): the whole LP is
great but this duet with Stephen from Codeine is tragic beauty
personified. Tape it for your favorite goth!
* "Wind-Up Toy" zine: Published by Indie-List alumna Liz Clayton,
#3 in the user-friendly series is of course the best yet, featuring
interviews with Guided by Voices and King Loser, the Extra Glenns
(John Mt. Goat and Franklin NPB) interviewing each other (egad), Yo
La Tengo and the Coctails TV-stylee, and, of course, a Shrimper ad.
Plus typically many live reviews.
Sean
----
* Kicking Giant - old demo versions of "Fuck The Rules" and "If Not
You" (Loose Leaf)
* Rodan - "The Everyday World Of Bodies" (Quarterstick)
* Guided By Voices - everything on "Propeller" except the first
half of the song "Ergo Space Pig" (once it starts covering "Ramble
Tamble" it kicks) (Scat)
* Grenadine - advance tape of "Nopelitos" (if I knew the song
titles, I'd pick the long instrumental thing that sounds sorta like
Stereolab but not quite) (this will be a Simple Machines/TeenBeat
split release)
* Tindersticks - "Marbles" and "Jism" (Bar None)
* Isaac Hayes - "Hot Buttered Soul" and the big fold-out poster I
got with my copy of "Black Moses" (Enterprise - check the soul cut-
out bins)
* Polvo - the song on the new EP that sounds sorta like King
Crimson's first LP transplanted in southeast Asia and "Thermal
Treasure" (Merge)
* Peter Laughner - "Amphetamine" and "Dear Richard" from the
amazing double LP, "Take The Guitar Player For A Ride" (T/K)
* Brian Eno - "Baby's On Fire" (Editions E.G. / Virgin)
Jodi
----
Be cool and check out these records:
* _Arkadelphia_ by Steakdaddy Six (12 Inch)
* That new Mount Shasta CD
And these other 'zines:
* SuperStupidSlambook (e-zine)
* Beer Frame
* Spiffy!
------------------------------------------------------------
Telegraph is published monthly by the Telegraph Pioneers Of
America, a division of the Indie-List Infotainment Junta.
Editor: Mark Cornick mcornick@nyx.cs.du.edu
Subscriptions: Sean Murphy grumpy@access.digex.net
Archives: Chris Karlof karlofc@seq.cms.uncwil.edu
ftp://ftp.uwp.edu/pub/music/lists/indie
and, of course, our bitchin' contributors:
Dann Medin, Jodi Shapiro
Unless indicated otherwise, all articles are free of
copyright and may be freely reprinted.
------------------------------------------------------------
please send your submissions for the next issue to Mark.
------------------------------------------------------------
"The Partridge Family were neither partridges nor a family.
Discuss."
