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. 

90s…Whatever: Matt Keating

1 love to write about music and I want to include all matters of records, maybe even great albums  that got miscategorized.

There is no doubt, Matt Keating should be in the initial batch. Even his allmusic profile seems like a bit of a slap in the face. Accurate as it may be, it paints a picture of Keating at the same level in the 90s as budding singer-songwriter like Elliott Smith and Mark Kozelek (I might throw in labelmate Mark Eitzel as well) except he never took off.

I realize "underrated" and "unheard" are subjective. Someone like Freedy Johnston probably fits that, but at least there are a fair amount of people who have heard him.

Keating's first two albums are incredibly strong. I pick Scaryarea as my favorite because I really love it but Tell it to Yourself is also good.

Allmusic damns Scaryarea to 2.5 stars and stops reviewing him after his fourth record- 2002s Tilt A Whirl. Probably not surprising that the attention dropped off after his last album with Alias Records- 1997s Killjoy.   

It does occur to me that I do think I have Killjoy in my CD storage. 

It also occurred to me that I should see what Keating has been up to, and he has 12 albums listed on his website. The most recent being re-recordings of Alias material appropriately called Greatest Misses which was released in 2019. 

The album before that was 2015s The Perfect Crime. I have dropped the needle on some of it and I don’t share the enjoyment of the hype on his press release page, but Keating still strikes me as someone who could have more great albums in him. 

I am probably not doing a good job here of expressing how much I do love his first two albums. I can only imagine the difficulty in his career was tied to the Rise and Fall of Alias Records - which went from these weird (but great) bands like X Tal and Hypnolovewheel to a point where they were launching bands like American Music Club and Yo La Tengo to major labels. 

I recently thought of Keating again when talking about the College Music Journal Presents Ten of A Kind- a stab at capturing the best unsigned bands in 1988. That compilation has one bona fide success (Material Issue) some almost famous bands (Gunbunnies, Paul K and the Weathermen) and some ‘never was’. 

The best song on there (outside of the brilliant pop song “Valerie Loves Me”) is by a Boston band called Circle Sky, whose credits make it clear is a vehicle for Keating. 

Anyway, I am glad that every couple of years or so, he comes back to mind and I get these records out again. Scaryarea is (no hyperbole) an all time favorite of mine. . If you like smart songwriter pop, look him up. 

Doc Review- Gimme Danger

 Finding unexpected time on my hands, I am watching musical documentaries of which there are an infinite amount 

I decided I better watch Gimme Danger - the story of one of my all time favorites- Iggy Pop and the Stooges. I am not sure how serious you can take the Stooges but they legitimately are near the top for me- with their crude ramshackle and yet perfect three albums. And directed by my favorite indie movie maker Jim Jarmusch. 

And it was great. I am not sure it has Jarmusch’s minimalism but there can be few complaints. The animation to go with Iggy’s wild stories is perfect. The interview with Iggy is one of his most engaged ever. 

The doc covers all the important stuff. The bands early days- a listing of their influences- the Ventures, the Sonics and Harry Partch. It also covers the band’s deep younger sibling relationship with the MC5. 

In a moment that has come to stand out from the doc, Iggy says he doesn’t like to be classified as a punk. But it’s part of a bigger declaration that he doesn’t want to be grouped in with anything. This shows up in the early days of the Stooges where he decides to go an alternate route to the MC5s Political rock. 

The band go to New York and flesh out an album. Not wanting to be pigeonholed, they record the mantra “We will Fall” for the first album and add jazz sax to the second. Cale and Nico are huge influences working with the band, but Elektra’s excitement ends when Fun House is released. 

Bowie is Iggy’s savior but the addition of Tony DeVries- a manager in the style of Colonel Tom Parker and boy band scammer Lou Perlman is catastrophic. Iggy is able to bring the Stooges to the UK and the addition of guitarist James Williamson is inspired. 

It all takes a toll on the Stooges who just want to go home and bassist Dave Alexander dies at age 27. Williamson and Iggy record a new album (Kill City) but a list of possible promoter invites like Art Garfunkel all decline. 

Sadly, most of the Stooges have died, but Jarmusch has all the right guests to interview. Metallic KO and the early Williamson songs like “I Got A Right” get rightfully covered as does the often played Cincinnati 1970 tv news segment where Iggy goes into the crowd and then smears himself with Peanut Butter. 

There isn’t enough room for cover all of Iggy but the doc does a good job of tracking the other post- Stooges work - Ron Asheton in The New Order and Destroy Allen Monsters, Scott Asheton in Sonic’s Rendezvous Band and most famously and bizarrely, Williamsln in Silicon Valley - not a band but a tech career. 

I know the Stooges reunion doesn’t get a lot of press these days - but it makes an interesting story and is covered well here - originating and coordinating mostly by J Mascis and Mike Watt first via the Todd Haynes movie Velvet Goldmine then via collaboration with Ron Asheton and then lastly with record company pressure for Iggy to make an All Star album (but Iggy decides asks who are bigger stars than the Stooges). 

The reunion ironically taking a similar path as the original when Ron passed away and again James Williamson stepping in to the new lineup. The band is inducted into the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame. Jarmusch then features the many followers- The Sex Pistols, Dead Boys, Damned, Sonic Youth and so on. 

The two reunion albums are covered here but generally critics reviled 2007s The Weirdness and liked 2013s Ready to Die is liked, though my opinion was the opposite. 

As a Stooges fan I loved it but even from the perspective as a documentary in itself, it’s top tier- well paced, fun and funny, emotionally touching when it should be. With all the right people- Iggy, Williamson, reunion Stooge Mike Watt, Fun House era Stooge Steve MacKay, Asheton sister Kathy (Ron had passed but footage is used), early Stooges (and later Ramones) manager Danny Fields. 

Criticism that there’s not enough coverage of Raw Power or of solo Iggy’s Berlin years may be valid but I feel it was appropriate to focus on what Jarmusch chose. I loved hearing about the early days of the band, the Fun House sessions and the lives of the non - Iggy Stooges. 

As a personal aside, I acquired Metallic KO (the 1976 version not the updated twelve track reissue) and Kill City from a friend who discarded it. The crowd baiting live performance Metallic KO is legendary and I think it’s peak punk rock. 

I used to think Kill City was a flop album (and was treated as such anyway) but it does sound better these days in the context of a mature almost post punk (though conceived in 1975) sensibility. Some rock critics even elevate it to classic status. I won’t go that far though it’s a decent start to end listen 

I feel I must add one more personal antidote that is important not only to my Iggy fandom but also my life in general

I was in the next generation of American hardcore punk (born in the early 70s). It belonged to the preceding class - the “older brothers” born in the late 60s. 

My friend’s older brother was the knowledgeable punk of the town and sadly, he passed away at a young age. 

From the younger sibling, I borrowed, ‘dubbed’ and adored two cassettes. One was a collection of hardcore punk now-classics like “institutionalized”, “ Mommy, Where’s Daddy” and Flipper’s “Ha ha ha”. The other was Iggy Pop. 

That 1983 release of I Got Right by Enigma Records was a mix of seven Stooges outtakes on the A Side and the near entirety of Kill City on the second. The 1987 release that I eventually find and own, cuts two songs off both sides. 

I have heard many postulate that the tape recorder must have been present every time the Stooges picked up their instruments. I may have lost track of all the recordings I have bought by the band. But one worth mention is Heavy Liquid- released in various permutations-notably in a 2005 six disc set

I wouldn’t change Raw Power but those “lost” (and yet readily found) tracks like “I Got A Right”, “Tight Pants” which eventually became “Shake Appeal”, “Scene of the Crime” are really among the most extreme songs of all time- influencing punk and metal.

What I am listening to: Graham Parker

2023 brought Graham Parker back into the light with the Last Chance to Do the Twist album. 

Word of mouth has changed over the years, and much like another legacy artist Blue Oyster Cult, the buzz brought him back. 

In this case, the Americana crowd. I have written about Parker whose Squeezing Out Sparks is a critically acclaimed album and is a favorite, but after a lot of buzz in the early 90s, has generally been ignored since 1996s Acid Bubblegum. 

 But Parker wasn’t quiet and probably weirdest of all had a mainstream moment playing himself in the 2015 movie This is 40. He wasn’t silent- he was surprisingly proficient- but outside of the aforementioned cameo and a 2005 tour backed by the Figgs- the media largely ignore him. 

 At least I had too until the end of 2021, when I jumped back in with 2007s Don’t Tell Columbus And it rocked me. It isn’t often that Parker (or anyone) was firing on all cylinders. I would consider a Mount Rushmore of late 70s angry young British Angry Songwriters- Parker, Elvis Costello, Joe Jackson and Nick Lowe. And for some reason Parker never seems to get as much attention as the others (also possibly connected, he never had that evergreen radio hit the others had). 

 It’s hard to imagine why this album never found a bigger audience, though at that time, I doubt even Springsteen would have been able to get that kind of material on the radio. 

 The almost title track I Discovered America is a first listen hit but the album is surprisingly deep. In fact, I may have been less excited about his 2023 album since I had been listening to this one. There’s humor in Stick to the Plan, ballad in All Being Well and another radio ready single in Total Eclipse of the Moon. 

 I don’t know the band details except they seem to be New York based keyboardist Ryan Barnum and the Figgs Mike Gent on drum with Parker handling all or nearly all guitar and bass work himself and produced by Figgs producer Eric Ratchet. Anyway, it’s hard to get excited about a decade and half old album I know and that’s generally not what I try to review and push, but this one particularly grabbed me, I couldn’t resist!

New Music Initiative: Brigitte Calls Me Baby

Describe the Smiths in one sentence and you might say “Crooner fronts rock n roll band”. 

That was never completely true but it became a template for everyone to follow. Like “Beatlesque” or “Morrisonesque” or “Elvis influenced” the sound of the “children of ‘Moz” has become a sound into itself. 

The bands in this category likely sound more like each other than they actually sound like the Smiths.  

Suede, Echobelly and the Dears all put their spin on the sound over the years, but it may be Gene that most closely evolved into rhetorical new stereotype - 70s art rock influence meet tragic lyrics with pit stops in Punk, Motown, and Guitar Hero riffery. 

In the US, the Smoking Popes kept it to its most basic- predating some of the most successful 21st Century rock bands by stripping it to an American punk sound only with a heart-on-his-sleeve lead. 

Another American band, Harvey Danger had a Top 40 hit with “Flagpole Sitta” perhaps the most successful chart example. And also perhaps the most Americanized version of the template - crooning over a power pop band with some Green Day style wiseassery. 

From the ambitious to the mundane, there always seems to be someone who follows the template, but I have to admit it’s been a few years since one of these bands have caught my ear. 

But with 2023s This House is Made of Corners EP, Chicago five piece Brigitte Calls Me Baby stakes out their claim as the next to the coiffed throne. The EP was produced by Dave Cobb who’s a produced a who’s who in Americana (Isbell, Stapleton, Shooter Jennings, Highwomen, Brandi Carlile, Sturgill Simpson). 

Frontman Wes Leavins’s CV includes performing as Elvis in the Million Dollar Quartet and playing on Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis biopic. That means the debt it owes will likely make it a deal breaker for some and an obsession for others. 

The five song EP is pretty great though. Staking some claim to the Popes (whose bio includes the band self destructing after being Morrissey tour support) and the Dears (who evolved into so much more than Smiths soundalikes). My excitement builds for a full length.

 

What I am listening to: Sam Barber

Now is probably as good of time as any to talk about reality singing competitions.

The discussion for American shows has to start with American Idol. Love it or loathe it, that first season was so huge you couldn’t avoid it. I still keep tabs on these kinds of variety shows. 

The most interesting aspect to me is how The Voice has seemingly overtaken American Idol in popularity. However, Idol still has the unknown to pop star pipeline, while the Voice stars' post-show fame still reminds me kind of a Gong Show word of mouth talent. 

I watched the two seasons of Rockstar which was more my speed. I loved INXS and although I think we would all agree Michael Hutchene cast a Jim Morrison sized shadow, I never faulted the Farris Brothers et al for trying to continue. It did seem doomed from the start, but it was enjoyable. Similarly, the second season supergroup put together by Dave Navarro and Tommy Lee also had an extremely short shelf life. But I watched every episode. I don’t fault bands for trying to gain attention though. 

Take OK Go, an otherwise fantastic power pop band who would be an obscure power pop band if not for their viral videos. And I have to admit of being one of those people who want to hear stuff first. 

I was the right age to pick up CMJs 1988 compilation Ten of a Kind- their picks for the best unsigned artists in the US. And they got Material Issue right so my teenage self would have expected more, that’s probably a better average than they could have hoped. As for the others, the Gunbunnies had some degree of success, though their 1990 debut was also to be their last. Paul K and the Weathermen achieved a cult status and made an album for Homestead in 1992. Circle Sky frontman Matt Keating would end up having a long solo career and made one of my all time favorite records 1994s Scaryarea for Alias 

In any case, I find I don’t fault anyone for going on these shows. The days of Clay and Ruben are long past. Missouri born country singer songwriter Sam Barber gave the American Idol route a try, even making it to Hollywood though Wikipedia says his performance didn’t make it to air. Aged 20 Barber is a bright young talent. Part of that first generation that grew up on Tyler Childers, Chris Stapleton and Zach Bryan (all mentioned frequently in his interviews). 

Barber is a perfect fit into the Bryan-style sound. His debut EP last years Million Eyes had success on country and rock charts. Like Bryan and another recent hitmaker Noah Kahan, it's the current sound that straddles country and post-Mumford and Sons folk- it wouldn't sound out of place on the radio or in some jamband-heavy playlist Early 2024 saw the release of a live EP. He’s playing some middle sized venues around here and his future looks bright.