Steve Albini RIP

 

I have been writing about 90s music and coincidentally this week, everyone has been writing about the passing of Steve Albini. 

I don’t have any passing insight that you won’t read elsewhere. He famously said he was an engineer and not a producer. He captured bands in a raw, live sound. This was occasionally controversial with PJ Harvey’s second album Rid of Me.

I didn’t have the same tastes as Albini but I would say he worked best when that sound was needed. So on that record as with his most famous recordings Nirvana’s In Utero and the Pixies Surfer Rosa, it was usually a compliment to the band’s style. 

Albini was prolific and had some high profile clients. Again, it only meant that we crossed paths at certain times. His most recent records that I really enjoyed are as often was the case a motley bunch- Flogging Molly (Swagger, Drunken Lullabies), Gogol Bordello (Gypsy Punks, East Infection), the Stooges reunion (The Weirdness), and the Cloud Nothings (Attack on Memory). 

He worked with a range of styles and artists- the Breeders, the Wedding Present, Neurosis, Sun0))), Ty Seagall, Man or AstroMan, Page and Plant, the Manic Street Preachers, Chevelle and Jon Spencer Blues Explosion but really dozens. 

One of my favorite albums was that perfect mix of an unexpected artist with a light sound (the Auteurs) taking a different route with the stark and tough approach (After Murder Park). It is without a doubt one of my favorite albums. 

Albini was active on social media and I consider that I could have interacted more with him (I don’t know what I would have said except telling him how much I loved After Murder Park). 

Albini based in Chicago was a pioneer and not someone who got a lot of national press before In Utero. But as he was well known in Illinois - his bands did have a reputation and it was apparent in their names- Rapeman. Big Black and later, Shellac. Of course, the band the Jesus Lizard eventually made a name for themselves with that noise rock (David Wm Sims played on both Rapeman and the Lizard and Albini produced the bands work). 

Big Black lasted from 1981 to 1987 but by the time the 90s rolled around, they started to get some attention. Many heard Ministry and Nine Inch Nails and said they were only doing what Big Black had done. I listened to their album “Songs about F*cking” and immediately went out to buy it. 

I don’t consider myself a huge noise rock fan but I thought it was a great album. In subsequent years, Pitchfork and the Guardian would herald them as an all time great band. 

In 1994, Albini again put himself in the drivers seat with the trio Shellac and again unexpectedly I was drawn to their debut At Action Park. I haven’t followed the band that closely but their sixth album was expected this year. 

There’s so much that has been written about Albini - a real rock character. Like his peers and predecessors, he embodied the eccentric Producer. He would be in the limelight again as a World Poker champion, of all things, with his biggest winnings in 2018 and 2022. 

Death brings review and in this case, not always glowing. As much loved as Albini was, he equally was a provocateur and his obituary surely would include that part of his life with a focus on how much Albini hated hip hop and dance music, a view that was probably short sided at best and racist at worst. 

Albini’s biggest remembrance may be as that old crank- a meme. He hated certain bands with passion and he had a probably improbable view on technology. I find it funny that there is even a Shellac profile on Spotify at all (any music posted there is surely not his). Albini’s claims that Compact Discs would degenerate was at odds with the professional opinion in the 90s that they would last forever, but time has proven Steve correct. 

 By coincidence, I was watching a documentary the week he passed that had Albini in it (Albini is in a few, he’s pretty inescapable in modern music). I was always struck at the difference in his sound and his appearance. He looked more like George Martin or Joe Meek than he looked like Rick Rubin or a Mutt Lange 

90s…Whatever: Alice Donut

 

I miss some of those fringe bands from the 90s.  Those bands that quietly disappeared, and you only think of when you run across them on streaming or mentioned in a music blog.

I don't know anyone so punk that Alternative Tentacles (the record company ran by Jello Biafra) was their favorite label.  There were a couple of bands on there I really liked, but Jello specialized in signing the most uncommerical acts around (Japanese noise band Zeni Geva, Wesley Willis, dykecore band Tribe 8, the Crucifucks, Dutch punk jazz band Dog Faced Hermans).

Another one of those love-em-or-hate-em bands signed to AT were Alice Donut.  I always thought Donut were kind of like what would have happened to the Smashing Pumpkins if they took a left turn at Gish, or maybe if Sonic Youth wanted to make big dumb rock. They were firmly in that Butthole Surfers/NoMeansNo/fIREHOSE camp of just being too weird in everything they did to become mainstream.

I always kind of dug that psychedelic punk thing they did.  Everything they recorded was pretty interesting, and 92's The Untidy Suicides of Your Degenerate Children is sort of a commercial (as it was) and artistic peak. They got a video played on public access shows and I really seriously love the album. 

That particular album is a song cycle of American angst that Allmusic has retroactively compared to the work of Marilyn Manson, which is odd but possibly fair. 

Even in the age of Lollapalooza and people like Daniel Johnston getting major label deals, AD were never going to crossover, but  they put their effort into making their most mainstream sounding album Pure Acid Park .  Unfortunately it’s kind of a dud to this listener and critics at large who it seems always compared it to the Butthole Surfers Electriclarryland. 

The band broke up soon after, but reunited in 2003 and since recorded three albums with 2009s Ten Glorious Animals coming out on Alternative Tentacles.

There seems to be a certain radio silence since 2016 when a new album was on the horizon but their Last Fm profile proclaims that they will record albums until they die 

90s …Whatever : Brainiac

 

There were plenty of indie punk bands in the 90s that all kind of fit the same mold.  Every once in awhile you ran into one that fit the bill, but added something more, and Dayton's Braniac was that.

They covered Tones on Tail's "Go" and there was an element of synth-pop to their noisy rock.  Maybe you could compare them to Beck or the Flaming Lips (or a loud Stereolab), but they were something altogether different bringing the Moog to the indie masses.

They were always a bit of a cult band, but the list of people who claim their influence is impressive: Nine Inch Nails, Muse, Death Cab for Cutie, the Mars Volta.

The band broke up after lead singer Tim Taylor died in a car crash in 1997, leaving 3 albums and several 7"s and EPs as their recorded legacy.  Band members have since played in Enon, John Stuart Mill, the Breeders, the Dirty Walk, O-matic and Shesus.

I was lucky enough to catch the band live and they were something else - a true jewel of 90s indie rock.

I wrote the above words over a decade ago. I probably wouldn’t add much except to say Brainiac were something special. Their cover of Go that I referenced appeared on the 1994 Mammoth Records compilation Jabberjaw: Pure Sweet Hell. 

Those compilations showed how varied and wildly imaginative 90s bands were. The first (1994s Good to the Last Drop) would feature artists like Helmet, Hole and Beck but also bands like Karp, Unwound, Chokebore, Surgery and many more - a variety of sounds of noise rock and post hardcore punk.  Pure Sweet Hell featured Man or Astro Man, the Bomboras and Low. 

In 2019, Hotshot Robot made Transmissions After Zero- A Brainiac documentary. 

In many ways, it is the perfect 90s indie band doc. Taylor’s death has frozen the band in time. It’s no doubt that they were one of the most interesting bands of the era. 

But perhaps there’s no better story of the way a band goes up and down. Brainiac feels the push and pull of commercial and artistic, of touring and working full time jobs, of being loyal to the indie label and being courted by the majors. 

Being from the unusual locale of Dayton , Taylor and gang make their own legend. It’s not all great as the band unceremoniously dumps their guitarist Michelle Bodine. But it also (like the other recent doc I saw about another Ohioan Stiv Bators shows how needle sized close bands can go from making it to breaking up and staying obscure)

Of note, a concert that I (and most everyone I know) attended is mentioned here so that was cool. 

It is hagiography but I don’t really find a problem with that. Taylor has the charisma to lead a documentary the way say Anton Newcombe did in Dig. I hate to say it, but the death froze the “What if”. 

Band producer Eli Janney mentions the way his band Girls Against Boys went through some of the same things and though he didn’t intend to, it feels like Brainiac would have ran a certain course. 

Yet that’s thjs cynical middle aged indie fan’s view. I can’t argue Brainiac was not a unique talent. One can draw an arrow to the latter success of superfan Cedric Bixler-Zavala in Mars Volta and At the Drive In. There’s no doubt that a major label, production from Rick Rubin, a tour with Rage Against the Machine could easily have made the band a household name. 

But the doc is much more than that. You might think Taylor was a genius as doc guests like Melissa Auf de Mar, Steve Albini, Fred Armisen, David Yow, Buzz Osbourne and Zavala proclaim (though if doubt few won’t find the music at least interesting). 

It is about the push and pull of creativity. The imagination of youth and finding similarly minded individuals. The make or break of going after your dream no matter what it costs. The fight between art and sales. 

The impact of Taylor’s death is perhaps the most affecting thing in the doc. The band members struggle to finds themselves once the band is gone. This emotional gravity definitely makes it a much watch.  

In 2023, the band got together to finish demos that they had been working on in 1997. These 9 songs form The Predator Nominate EP

90s Whatever: Licorice Roots

One of my favorite 90s records and great “lost album” is Licorice Root Orchestra by Raymond Listen.

In 1993, the Edward Moyse fronted Newark Delaware band released that album on Shimmy Disc Records. Unfortunately, the quirky record label that released albums by acts like King Missile, Daniel Johnston and Ween among many others was going out of business. So did the band Raymond Listen.

I thought of the album often. I remember thinking of them during the MySpace days. There wasn’t a ton of info but of course, these days there’s a bit more. They even have a rather reverential Allmusic profile.

What had happened after the band broke up, was Moyse reformed them after a brief hiatus, renamed them the Licorice Roots and released Melodeon in 1997. Albums followed in 2001, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009. These last four self released albums are available on streaming services.

Neutral Milk Hotel references pop on the few band reviews I have seen. I definitely sense some Marc Bolan/ T Rex but the Flaming Lips psychedelica is certainly there. Articles on the band are scattered over the years, but fun to read as most everyone who heard them fell in love with them.

If there is any criticism it’s the more recent stuff does sort of blend in together. One critic blamed Moyse’s distinct vision. But it’s also worth making note of Allmusic’s biography- that the band predates NMH, Olivia Tremor Control and Apples in Stereo

 

1993 - Shimmy Disc

90s…Whatever.: Mepiskaphales

 I can't do a series on alt-music in the 90s without some mention of 3rd wave ska. Being a big fan of new wave and a total Anglophile, I always loved the "second wave" of 2 Tone crowd (Specials, English Beat, Madness). And yes, I do love the original Jamaican stuff. 

Third Wave ska took that Two Tone sound and added a 90s punk feel to it. Bands came across the country and across labels, but in many ways, Moon Records in New York was the home.

Critics generally didn't go for it, but cult genres like this, it doesn't matter. Ska has went in and out of favor over the years, and seems to be back again. For the most part, when ska did break through, it either was heavily polished with a pop sound (No Doubt, Mighty Mighty Bosstones) or as a joke (Less than Jake, Bowling for Soup, Reel Big Fish). Even bands like Goldfinger, were still generally held to a modicum of success.

I am glad that I saw quite a few of these bands who almost always were a fun time, whether they became national acts or regional acts that have grown via the internet years. The Bosstones were one of the best live bands on the planet.

I also saw ska and ska-adjacent bands: The Toasters, Murphys Law, Rancid, Hepcat. MU330, Johnny Socko, Skankin Pikcle, MU330, Blue Meanies and the Dance Hall Crashers.

One of my favorite albums is 1994's God Bless Satan by New York's Mephiskapheles.

If you can't tell from that, at least the track listing would let you know it's a bit of a joke mixing the Devil and Ska. I can only imagine it owes a great deal to 1990's Devil's Night Out - the Bosstones' debut- which was one of the first albums to give ska a metal edge.

Produced by Bill Laswell, it's an album that seems likely to have connected with a big crowd if more people had heard it- catchy tunes set to strong musicianship played fast and tight. On the other hand, of course, as with much of the third wave genre, it's all played for jokes. Still, it's an incredible example of what the best of the genre was.

The band released two more albums before breaking up in 2001, riding the ska wave to its top and then fading along with the scene.

The band did reunite in 2012and have been pretty active touring since; as the Third wave becomes popular again. They have recorded two EPs since the reunion - 2015s self titled six song EP which was engineered by All/Descendents guitarist Stephen Egerton and 2019s four song Never Born Again. 2023 saw the release of a live album "Live at Supernova Ska Fest 2021"

1993 - Koch/Moon/Pass the Virgin Records

Doc Watch: Looking for Johnny: The Legend of Johnny Thunders

 There is something about Johnny Thunders. I have spent many of my years seeking out every tidbit about him. Separately, I have run into others who have done much the same.

I got into the New York Dolls and so it was only a matter of time, I suppose. But after 1977s LAMF and 1978s So Alone, there’s not much else held in critic acclaim. But that didn’t stop me from picking up the two ROiR cassettes and as the internet opened up sharing, I sought out every recording I could find

What is it about Thunders? I suppose that so what the #rockdocs 2014 Looking for Johnny: The Legend of Johnny Thunders is trying to find out.

The doc does a fairly in depth look at the Dolls career- going light on some of the early years but hitting the highlights and doing good coverage of the final days including the stint in the band by Pure Hell’s drummer Spider Sanders.

Even as someone obsessed with the Dolls, I learned stuff.

The doc has the right mix of important people. Of course, many are no longer with us. Dolls guitarist Sylvain Sylvain is probably as expert as anyone, as was Thunders friend famed photographer Bob Gruen. Sylvain has passed away now as has Dolls manager Marty Thau, and Heartbreaker sidekicks Walter Lure and Billy Rath. Thunders compadre Jerry Nolan has long gone but two significant others are interviewed. Thunders biographer Nina Antona is here as are musicians who played or toured with Thunders.

Malcolm McLaren who was famously the Dolla manager in their final days is present via interview footage. And of course, most of all, Thunders himself is telling his story via archive interviews.

The Thunders story isn’t often told, as it’s such a mess post So Alone. But here it is - a life and career where success is constantly being snatched away by Johnny’s penchant for self destruction.

The Heartbeakers hit the London scene as talented veterans led by Thunders and Nolan. Their playing heads and shoulders over the young punk crowd. Unfortunately, the LAMF album is sabotaged by crappy recording. Nolan fights it, but it is released as is. The record label (Track Records) has become a bit of a joke propped up as a way to still collect royalties from the Who's catalog)

Thunders finds compatriots in Peter Perrett and Phil Lynott for his next album So Alone but success is to elude him.

Over and over again, Thunders seems to sabotage himself. His dependence on drugs ruin his road to the fame he wanted and wrecks his family life. Meanwhile, his stage show becomes more and more about the car crash he had become. He breaks up and continually reforms the Heartbreakers to make money off final and reunion gigs.

Thunders joins with MC5 guitarist Wayne Kramer to start a band called Gang War. Drugs always seem to get in the way. He works with producer Jimmy Miller (Beggars Banquet, Exile on Main Street, Sticky Fingers) but it doesn’t lead to a successful album.

There’s a lot of great footage of Johnny. He pursues acting and occasionally records. He definitely had the rock n roll look. Whether they knew it or not, every American glam band of the 80s were trying to copy Johnny as did plenty of hip indie bands like the Strokes.

Johnny’s story doesn’t lend itself to a cohesive story as there are more downs than ups but this movie tells it well.

Famously, Thunders dies in New Orleans and it has always been controversial. Some suggest he was killed, but the police classified it as an overdose.

Thunders seemed to be making peace with himself in those final weeks which imply that his heart wasn’t ready to go on. At the same time, the details seem sketchy and inconsistent.

This movie is down really well and really tells the story of someone who became a cult personality. Someone who had become a bit of an unknown and yet a legend. Someone who was the life of the party but also often sad. This at least presents a document that will keep his legend alive.

90s…Whatever: Pony

In the 1990s, Homestead Records was this cool indie label and in 1994 they released an eight song album called Cosmovalidator by a band called Pony. 

 I immediately fell in love with the band who this day are probably the closest thing that I have heard to replicating the Pixies. There are other influences or sounds but the fact they start off a song with the lyrics “I met Black Francis in a dream” let you know their intentions. I was hoping for big things but even with a tad bit of media attention, they broke up after.

 In 1996, Homestead released El Dorado- ostensibly a second album but really just an odd and sods cleaning of the closet. I thought they were going to break through, but what I didn’t expect was how. 

You see the drummer and vocalist for the trio Jimmy James would become much more famous as James Murphy who does business as LCD Soundsystem. Info on Pony seems rare probably not helped by many artists with the same or similar name. Even Murphy’s Wikipedia bio neglects detail on the band. 

 There was for a time a MySpace presence but now the top Google hit is a years ago Reddit thread on the LCD Soundsystem subreddit. Both albums are on streaming now. Allmusic and Spotify listeners also tend to group 2006s Motorcar with the bands work and though it sounds similar, Last FM distinguishes it as a separate three piece band based out of Boston. That the band broke up in 95 and were New York City based leads me to believe the new band is not related. As does the band’s Last Fm bio, whose short two paragraphs is perhaps the closest thing to a definitive bio on the internet. 

It says the band had a lot of inner animosity and these days, guitarist Dallas Crowe teaching at a Liberal Arts College and bassist Kitty DuBois running a successful business on the lower East Side. Anyway, I love this album (EP or double EP if you will) and still think it’s great 

1994 - Homestead

 

90s…Whatever: All

As a teen in the early 90s, I started hanging out with skaters and digging teh hardcore punk rawk.  I had already got into MTV style alternative rock but these new friends were digging their older brothers' cassettes like the Descendents, Minor Threat , and Minutemen  Now, by the time we were old enough to buy our own music, those bands were all gone, and so we waited with baited breath for any new music from All, Fugazi or fIREHOSE.

All never really hit the heights of the Descendents (though it basically was the same band with a different singer), but they were a perfect soundtrack for skater youth.  In famous punk lore,Descendents lead singer Milo Aukerman was more interested in pursuing a career as a scientist)

All went through three singers in the 90s, and I caught them live (Scott Reynolds on vocals at the time) and they were a fun punk show.  The bald headed guitarist Stephen Egerton being one of the more memorable characters of the punk scene. 

In 1995 (with singer Chad Price), they made their bid at the big time, signing with Interscope and releasing Pummel.  Pummel is generally disliked by critics (Allmusic gives it only two stars out of five), but it’s not a bad disc. It has a seemingly radio ready single “Million Bucks” and sounds like a precursor for what rock radio would play for the last part of that decade. 

As time has gone by, nearly every critic will make some statement that the Descendents were before their time and their influence far exceeds the money they made. This is true. The band captured the nerdy American teenager with melodic pop played super fast in a way that hasn’t been done before. 

Now, of course, you can list dozens of bands from Blink 182 to Green Day and from more obscure bands that appear on the WarpedTour to bands that appear on the radio like All American Rejects and Fall Out Boy. (As an aside, I generally hate most of this genre, but it’s almost impossible not to find some Descendents songs that you will like)

But even though Pummel would seem to be a mix of the right band and the right time, even with MTV coverage and an appearance on Conan O Brien, never became a household name. 

In 1996, the Descendents would reunite. and a generally successful comeback.  Both Descendents and All continued to tour and record in subsequent years.  In many way, the Descendents had overshadowed All, though All’s constant touring made plenty of fans in the 90s. These many years later, All seems almost forgotten since Milo’s return 

I just watched Filmage, the 2013 documentary covering the Descendents and All. It’s a strong case for the band of humble beginnings. Unlike the stories of art school some bands have, it starts with some fishing buddies. Unlike previous punk bands who sang about politics, this band sang about food, unrequited love and being picked on at school. Their drug of choice was coffee. 

The film has to feature drummer Bill Stevenson who has been the driving force of both bands, but does a great job of featuring all members. 

The band was strongly influenced by a somewhat forgotten Los Angeles band The Last. The doc features some of the people who were in the scene that followed- Keith Morris, Mike Watt, Kira Roessler and Chuck Dukowski and then the bands well known fans who came later like Dave Grohl, Mark Hoppus of Blink 182, Fat Mike of NOFX and a list of others like members of MxPx, Pennywise, Less than Jake, Rise Against and others. 

Even casual fans will like the documentary which does a nice overview of the band in a light hearted way. Stevenson’s personal life features at the end. The band comes out at the end, perhaps not famous or rich like those who took their formula did, but largely pleased with what they have accomplished.