0 IS C^Oft pf« -jrmfcFft 20&2 ^ \^V\ _ ^ -_ CCTOfcfR 2002 thai CrU^ttr '" MAG/WE f*0M citr /oi.? f/m ftPMTC|f HONORS AjOWIKATE WJTMinf THE DARKEST of W H/uS/Df TIMETsi INTERPOli OXESJ GOSS/Z'I WHILE Y<W CA*, »»«*"' fU£/ llfigMaEMMcUE^^ I 1 I I I ! 1 1 I 1 1 ! ! I I I I 3 1 1 i i i i 1 i i 1 1 1 1 1 ! 1 Jof)n £or CLBCTRIC MASADA JOHN £ORN Saxophone A ARC RI50T Guitar JOHN AEDE3KI Organ JA AIE 5AFT Keyboards TREVOR DUNN 5ass raM wouxsm Drams GIRO BAPTISTA Percussion >■ FRIDAY NOVEABER 8* VOGUE THEATRE Tickets: Blac*) Svan, Hicrtyife, Scratcl), &ilu, Ditd) Records and Ticketmaster (60I.Z&0MU vw.tic^etmaster.ca) Tickets purchased for original venue vill be honoured at the Vogue ^-Ulfl event 60i.679.i990 WVZUlaca rgrgrgrgrgrijjrcir^^ DiSCORDER Bend Sinister by Michael Schwandt p.l 1 Gossip by Brace Paine p. 12 Oxes by Black Dimerapp p. 13 Darkest of the Hillside Thickets by Chris Eng p. 14 Mecca Normal by Christa Min p. 16 Bum Tribute by Chris Eng p.l 6 Interpol by Luke Meat p.l 7 mmm Vancouver Special p.6 Fucking Bullshit p^ 7 p.7 Kill Your Boyfriend p.7 Radio Free Press p.8 Strut, Fret & Flicker p.9 Over My Shoulder p.9 Panarticon p.10 Under Review p.18 Real Live Action p.20 Charts p.23 On the Dial p.24 Kickaround p.25 Datebook p.26 Robin Bougie provided the gut-wrenchingly horrific illustration of the Darkest of the Hillside Thickets that graces the cover this month. He also draws funny pictures and dirty pictures. See his other stuff in his zines, Deviant and Cinema Sewer. editron: Chris "King in Yellow" Eng ad rep: Steve "He Who Shall Not Be Named" DiPo art director: Lori Kiessling production manager: Bastien Salabanzi editorial assistant: Donovan Schaefer real live action editor: Duncan McHugh website design: Esther Whang layout and design: Lori production: Merek Cooper, Keith "haxOr" Turkowski, Vicky, Lucas TdS, Luke Meat Ubyssey on the dial: Bryce Dunn charts: Luke Meat datebook: PJ LadcT distribution: Matt Steffich us distro: Richard Trimble publisher: Linda Scholten © "DiSCORDER" 2002 by the Student Radio Society of the University of British Columbia. All rights reserved. Circulation 17,500. Subscriptions; payable in advance, to Canadian residents are $15 for one year, to residents of the USA are $15 US; $24 CDN elsewhere. Single copies are $2 (to cover postage, of course). Please make cheques or money orders payable to DiSCORDER Magazine. DEADLINES: Copy deadline for the November issue is October 16th. Ad space is available until October 23th and can be booked by calling Steve at 604.822.3017 ext. 3. Our rates are available upon request. DiSCORDER is not responsible for loss, damage, or any other injury to unsolicited manuscripts, unsolicited artwork (including but not limited to drawings, photographs and transparencies), or any other unsolicited material. Material can be submitted on disc or in type. As always, English is preferred. Send email to DiSCORDER at discorder@club.ams.ubc.ca. From UBC to Langley and Squamish to Bellingham, CiTR can be heard at 101.9 fM as well as through all major cable systems in the Lower Mainland, except Shaw in White Rock. Call the CiTR DJ line at 022.2487, our office at 822.3017 ext. 0, or our news and sports lines at 822.3017 ext. 2. Fax us at 822.9364, e-mail us at: citrmgr@mail.ams.ubc.ca, visit our web site at www.citr.ca or just pick up a goddamn pen and write #233-6138 SUB Blvd., Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z1, CANADA. la, Shub-Niggurath, Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Youngl printed in canada 3 DiSCORDER orawTucfDAy r fTiiRTriY LookdMn©, get past fhe Hnol Disco gear ensures mcvelv©t k Si Xr\-f^r drblue sugar cookies prizes OUHTCJ OF 1^4 _ j-.. divine, get past the line! Disco gear ens ariortry entry - fttzes for best disco duds iliRl ■<-."'--^'" IT4M:HI1 Noble House Entertainment Presents sas/iaairdrawndagger Sasha <*-•*•"»" 4HourSat SeanCusick 9pm„ J C0MM0D0BE BALLBOOm j ■*W PTEISURI i ' mm . 1 ? idi.iliiifiL.'nIfli I RICHARDS ON RICHARDS I OCTOBER 13 f violentfemmes vith special guest John Bisagna TICKETS ALSO AT ZULU AHD HIGHLIFE COMMODORE BALLROOM I SPECIAL RESIDENCY TOUR FROM NEW ZEALAND ■BiCRUNGA October 15 October 28 • November 5 Green room , *rrH IF I VANCOUVERICENTRE OF PERFORMING-ARTS k'FORMERLY. THE FORD CENTRE1 777H0M5R STRKT CANADIAN FALL TOUR 1 COMMODORE BALLROOM | an [ String Cheese Incident AFTER PARTY FROM BOSTON, CRUCIAL JAZZ-FUNKATEERS EARLY SHOW: (**\ DOORS 8PM 4 Mmm mm m. f.d m m ^ p 1 * %#J ! s I OCTOBER 17 €S3 p/n^lffSP GEM iv £~f2 'r 1 nTP™ BARNONE RECORDING ARTIST mason 1 the JENNINGS BAND | jijAl WITH SPECIAL GUESTS I RICHARD'S ON RICHARDS i 1 RICHARD'S ON RICHARDS I live.progressive with guests GAVIN FROOME live PA (Nordic Trax) LUKE |Ws I RICHARD'S ON RICHARDS I PURCHASE TICKETS @Q0S0Q AT hob.ca OR ticketmaster.ca ■ FRIDAY OCTOBER 18 f i OCTOBER 25 0W'ifm JlJllASSIC 5 i ^^ffliik^ PRBFUSE 73 BDnDBD POWER BY NUMBERS TOBR PLANET ASIA I SATURDAY OCTOBER 26J | COMMODORE BALLROOMJ 1 OCTOBER 27| [OMMODORE BALLROOM K l!l«iHll 1 RICHARD'S ON RICHARDS I early show f Emm ffl TH6 WTCH IS PACK TOUR 2002 1 Gryner & Andy Stochansky tickets also available at Zulu & Highlife CHRP. born in the 80's tout J COMMODORE BALLROOM L I COMMODORE BALLROOM B I RICHARD'S ON RICHARDS I i:iun:nH SUNDAY NOVEMBER 101 | bostonk NEKO greenwheet 3ft f mfe feSisIa' I RICHARD'S ON RICHARDS 1 COMMODORE BALLROOM! ltseish I orton special acoustic performance with special guests u..th special guest SIGGIflRfUflnn thievery corporation mwiMUHU TICKETS ALSO AT ZULU AND HIGHLIFE at LARGE entertainment All shows are 19+. OCTOBER OCt OH) $12 The Royal [1029 Granville] THE GOSSIP [Kill Rock Stars] A LUNA RED [GSL/ Action Driver] THE NONS OCTOBER €4)1 ©O $14/$15 Richard's on Richards [1036 Richards] the punk-o-rama tour! GUTTERMOUTH AUTHORITY ZERO 1208 octm OCTOBER WI/ "US) $11 The Picadilly [620 W. Pender] ENON [Touch N Go / ex-Brainiac] THE HELIO SEQUENCE with guests :tober €4)1 HfU $12/$14 Richard's On Richards [1036 Richards] PEDRO THE LION [3ade Tree] SELDOM SCIENTIFIC :tober €4)1 H(§) $13/$15 Richard's On Richards [1036 Richards] BRIGHT EYES [SaddleCreek/ with full touring orchestra] M. WARD THE BRUCES €d OCTOBER HOT WATER'S THRICE COHEEDANDC COMING SOON: The Scene Hot Hot Heat / The dismemberment Plan, The Anniversary / Burnjjjg Brides, Add N To X Wesley Willis, The Tiger8bjeat6 Tour aij vg n co mv€ r adcciq local reviews by Janis McKenzie VARIOUS ARTISTS The Acrustic Age (Crusty) Most of the time an acoustic compilation means that you can expect to hear something pretty, gentle, or subtle. Most of these 24 tracks make use of nothing more than a guitar and singer, but in the fine tradition of the Crusty label this CD is still loaded with roaring male vocals and songs that are prickly, smart-assed, snarly, and even rude. In an environment like this, tracks from Tall, Dark, and Lonesome and JP5's inimitable Gerry Jen (one of the two female entries) are standouts, but it's the lyrics that make some of these songs truly fun. "You'll always come in second to my guitar, but I love you like I love drinking beer," Ryan Thomson starts off on his track, and continues, "Show me your tits and then take me to your alcohol." Austin, Texas's Tall, Dark, and Lonesome manages to deliver a truly touching song that grows unexpectedly out of the lines, "You were a punk/You had your hair striped like a skunk/And held it up with some kind of junk/That smelled so sweet it stunk." Nipples Areola sings about a guy with a piss and shit fetish, and the aptly- named Vancouver's Shame have a song called "Your Face, My Ass," which is even ruder than it sounds. Then of course there's Joe "Shithead" Keithley, Mr Plow, Ani Kyd, and more. <crusty_records@hotmail.com> THE DEPARTMENT Be Your Friend (Trapp) The Department (formerly Hot Bingo Bitch) is almost entirely a guy named Tyler Brett, with a voice that's a little like Donovan's on a melancholy day. And this turns out to be just the thing for a lot of these tracks. Brett does have a sense of humour, though,' and does things like mock Van Halen's "jump" (okay, an easy target) and lift the piano from the Carpenters' "Close to You." While most of the songs would have to fall under the general category of mopey indiepop, there are also vaguely industrial (although perhaps ironic) moments, satellitey sounds, and even a kind of children's song, "We're Mad," that runs for less than a minute. <thedept_@hotmail.com> SPARROW s/t (Independent) I've been waiting a very long time to review this one, mainly because I keep thinking I'll suddenly know what to make of it. Sparrow is Jason Zumpano, someone who has a reputation for playing in actual bands and writing catchy songs. If it wasn't for Blaine Thurier s explanation and endorsement on the back of the cover, just about anyone would think they'd put the wrong CD in the machine because Sparrow is entirely instrumental, and a great deal of this is just a single piano. Often built on slow arpeggios, the tracks are sometimes pretty, sometimes dreamy, and sometimes a little ominous, yet always so understated that it's hard not to yearn for things to pick up a little. But the extreme restraint seems to be the point here. Breathe deeply and don't fight it. • fucking btilfcUfti bullshit by Christa Min I am more beautiful than stained glass! I am more colourful than a rainbow! The marks on my skin are brighter than a star at night! I just got a new tattoo! I have six tattoos in total. I got my first one when I was 16. It's a tilted can of beer with a Canadian flag on the label. It's located on the small of my back, so it looks like beer is being poured down my ass crack! I love that tattoo. It's still my favourite, even though so many years have gone by. The biggest tattoo I have is on my ass. It's a drawing of Mick Jagger's bare ass. Actual size! I was obsessed with the Rolling Stones when I was 19, so I had Jock, my tattoo artist, ink Mick Jagger's ass right on top of my ass. It's funny 'cause when people see that tattoo, they know it's Mick's ass right away. I think the colour of the outline, the exact red from the Rolling Stone tongue, gives it away. I also have a tattoo on my tongue, right down the middle. It says KISS. Isn't that clever? I love KISS, and having that band's name on my tongue, well, what can 1 say, except that it's poetry. The secret tattoo I have is on my left breast. I'm going to tell you about it since most of you have no hope of ever seeing it. The only band I ever loved more than the Rolling tials. It has so much meaning. I got his initials engraved in my skin because I thought we were going to be together forever. It's a beautiful work of art, but I have to admit that I'm glad that I can only see it with a mirror. It makes me miss him a little when I catch a glimpse. When I heard "Under the Bridge" I was so blown away by its poignancy that I rushed to Jock's Parlour and asked him to tattoo the RHCP logo around my left nipple, so it could be close to my heart. Stones was the Red Hot Chili Peppers. When I heard "Under the Bridge" I was so blown away by its poignancy that I rushed to Jock's Parlour and asked him to tattoo the RHCP logo around my left nipple, so it could be close to my heart. The only tattoo that I regret getting is the one on my back. It's the outline of the letters T and V with a picture of Tom Verlaine inside them. See, TV stands for Television, Tom's band, and it's also Tom's ini- So anyway, the new tattoo I have is great. In Fajita, my favourite font, and rainbow colours, I got the words "All in all it's just another brick in the wall" written down my arm, from the inside of my elbow to my wrist. I'm hoping that one day I'll meet someone who knows what obscure song the lyrics were taken from, and they'll know exactly why 1 would want them to be a permanent part of me. • 6 October 2002 piff raft by Bryce Dunn _ _ _ell somebody took my \ A /veiled threats to heart. V V when I mentioned in last month's column about the lack of wax coming my way, and all of a sudden there's a tidy stack ready and waiting for criticism or commendation, depending on where the needle drops, of course. Sure I had to elicit a small favour from our dear Editor to extend deadline privileges just a P*"*8! infuse some metal and early '90s hardcore influence into their similarly brutal, but honest songs about the horrors of war that clock in at under five minutes. A 1-2 punch in the gut courtesy of... (Prank Records, PO Box 410892, San Francisco, CA 94141-0892) Still sticking to the aggressive side of the tracks for a bit longer, WHAT FEEDS THE FIRE spark up some decent mid- wee bit, but cut me some slack, will ya? At least he won't have to pretend to be me and write about the second coming of Silkworm or how Television- ness is next to godliness... puh- leeze, that's Christa's column. In-jokes aside, 1 think I've collected a damn fine assortment for your reading pleasure, so here goes: Something wicked this way comes from the folks at In The Red Records, and its name is THE HUNCHES. Known for its prestigious roster of beautifully messed-up blues, rock and punk bands galore, this is a match made in heaven. The musical equivalent of a car losing its grip as it speeds down a deserted, winding highway, this Portland, Oregon foursome take any and all pre-conceived notions of so-called garage rock purity, and steer these two cuts ("Got Some Hate" b/w "Lost Time Frequency") headfirst off a cliff, resulting in a twisted, mangled heap of screeching guitar, gasping-for-breath vocals and low-end bass rumbling that erupts into a firebali of Cheater Slicks-inspired cacophony. In other words, sweet. (In The Red, PO Box 208,1118 West Magnolia Blvd., Burbank, CA 91506.) A different kind of fireball, but no less powerful is WORLD BURNS TO DEATH, a fast-core outfit outta Austin, Texas. On their latest offering, Human Meat... Tossed To The Dogs Of War, they deliver three tracks of politically-charged thrash and burn with enougjn grit to peel the paint off the walls. Team them up with Oakland, California's Artimus Pyle and you've got a scary tag-team on your hands. The aforementioned tempo hardcore complete with nice matchbook packaging; thick production, but not too thick you can't make out the lyrics and finger-pointy in all the right places. Kudos to local kid, Aram, for starting a label to keep the scene alive and informed on great new bands; speaking of which, make sure to check out Champion next time they blaze a stage near you, or go out and get their swag on Bridge Nine. Colour me shameless... (Anchor Records, PO Box 154, 3495 Cambie St., point with its heavy guitar and bass attack. They toss in a cover of Chain Of Strength's " Best Of then pass the torch to OVER MY DEAD BODY for more positive (if maybe a little pissed) hardcore vibes with the singer spitting out the lyrics to tracks like "Broken Backs" and a wicked version of Reagan Youth's "No Class" like he's about to throw up a lung or two. Cool Pushead influenced artwork graces the cover and you've got yourself a winner. In the "I Don't Get It" Dept., Gold Standard Laboratories provide for us two new releases: First, THE MONITOR BATS serve up a rather quirky pairing of sparse guitar, honking sax and pep rally vocals, one song in which they scream "Nurse! Nurse!" My sentiments exactly. On the flip is THE CHROMATICS' blend of new wave disco that seems to be on the rise lately—a little easier to stomach and a little easier to understand the rump shakin'-ness of it all when I scan down the credits to see they laid down the grooves at Dub Narcotic Sound Laboratories, a virtual haven for those with a need for getting down. And for the second, we will get on up to our last entry for the electro-geeks among us courtesy of SEMIAUTOMATIC, a duo with lots of high tech gadgets and a penchant for early Prodigy on the three tracks represented. Speed it up, slow it down, it all sounds Vancouver, BC V5Z 4R3) East meets West on a split from the above mentioned Bridge Nine Records (PO Box 99052, Boston, MA 02199- 0052), with DEATH THREAT delivering an awesome trio of 7 Seconds-inspired posi-core, "As One We Stand" being the high- the same to me. For use with other equally interchangeable techno records, some assembly required. (GSL, PO Box 178262, San Diego, CA 92177) See y'all next month-and remember to hug your vinyl today, 'cuz it may not be around tomorrow. • Lill vomt b IIIIIIIIHEi rrendh: comics and graphic art by Robin SIGN ALTO NOISE Neil Caiman and Dave McKean (Dark Horse) Perhaps it's due to their mutual and individual output being so varied and fantastic, but in all of my years reading comics, I've only encountered one creative collaboration that's loved by people from all walks of life: Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean, who are, without question, the "supermen" of comic literature. They've worked on countless projects together—from kids' books to graphic novels, from illustrated books for young adults to comic series—and as a team' they're exceptionally versatile. Still, out of their collaborations, only one spoke directly to me. Only one left me contemplative and evoked deep thoughts and feelings—Signal to Noise. Like the title, the book is multi-faceted and multi-layered. It's about death (not Gaiman's cute incarnation from Sandman, but its eventuality); it's about man's struggle for immortality; it's about man's exasperation and acceptance concerning the futility of life and death; it's about giving up and not giving up; it's about being heard and it's about leaving your mark. Signal to Noise is Dylan Thomas, Woody Allen, sad, exhilarating, hopeful, hopeless, brilliant, human and disgustingly true to life. Specifically, it's about a director who finds out he has terminal cancer just before he prepares to make his Citizen Kane. He doesn't fight it; he accepts it and continues to write, formulate and create his movie, simply because his vision must be shared. The movie provides an interesting juxtaposition between the dying man and his dreams via its subject matter— the impending apocalypse of 999. On the eve of the second millennium, people gathered, waiting for their impending doom and the end of the world. Their responses were individual and myriad. Patient, jubi- lent, sorrowful, desperate, emotionless, placid; some kicking and screaming and some resigned—their reactions mirror how we all will someday face the end. I hate thinking about death and why we will eventually cease to exist, but Gaiman forces us to examine our fears. He makes us experience the director's death process without the benefit of fanfare, just his dying dreams, yet manages to weave a somewhat hopeful tone throughout, as if to say, "Yeah, we all die; get over it. everywhere. His use of computer graphics emerges with the chapter breaks, adding a certain coldness to the director's death through quotations and cyan glowing stats, giving me a subtle, unsettled feeling each time they appear. Each page was laid out with such hyper-real intensity and precision it almost seemed like part of an elaborate ritual. Doing a Enjoy the now." After each of the five times I've read it, I've been forced to take a step back, remove myself from my surroundings and collect myself. But that's Neil Gaiman for you. He makes you think and maybe, in that, he can't help himself. Art-wise, the story is perfect. Signal To Noise is a high- calibre piece. Dave McKean outdoes himself. The majority of the book was done using his organic art styles (as opposed to his current fixation on pho- tomanipulation): oil, etching, charcoal, text, scratchboard, collage, and mixed media million things at once, the colours swirl and cling, climb and blotch, scribble and flow— each line adding more clarity to a chaotic, mixed-media barrage. McKean's lack of boundaries in his art falls just short of madness, but is still clean and concise. It is completely beautiful, and manages to take the content to the next level. And in the end, that's all you need to know about this comic, and that's all you should need to convince you to read it. It goes beyond and maybe— just maybe—answers some of the questions it raises. • DiSCORDER IS NOW AVAILABLE ON-LINE. SEE OUR REGULAR COLUMNS AND MONTHLY FEATURES ANY I TIME YOU WANT AT WWW.CTTR.CA. ON THE INTERNET. CLICK ON "DiSCORDER." WITH YOUR MOUSE. ON YOUR COMPUTER. OR JUST FUCK IT, AND PICK UP THE PAPER OFF THE STREET. K^^ *l -P 7 DiSCORDER endearing re cords PAPERMOON WED, OCT 23 RAILWAY with p:ano and d! (dion x-salteens) THUR, OCT 24 PIC PUB WITH BRUNDLEFLY AND YOKO CASIONOS "COMBINING A CLEVER BRITISH SENSIBILITY (THE SMITHS) WITH WONDERFULLY FEMININE INDIE POP THIS QUARTET COULD GIVE LESSONS ON WHAT a pop song is." Chart "these ex-members of b'ehl, bonaduces, the electrosonics and bossanova have managed to distill all the best moments from their past bands to create a damn fine pop record." scene 111 1 ■ if 1 i Ml Ww* ^fB Hl RADIOGRAM FRI, NOV 22 RAILWAY SAT, NOV 23 RAILWAY "one of 2002's best kept secrets, in the territory of mojave 3 and recent wilco, folk rock with psychedelic upholstery - but more likable" Globe And Mail "a folk-country-pop noir classic, their gig is an early contender for live show of the year." Americana UK "further cements Radiogram's status as one of canada's best bands." Pop Matters THEMELIGR?VOT LET IT GROW IS THE SECOND ALBUM FROM TORONTO POP SAVANTS, THE MELIGROVE BAND. BEATLES AND BEACH BOYS INSPIRED ROCK SONGS. PRODUCED BY STEVE PITKIN OF THE FLASHING LIGHTS MORELLA'S FOREST TINY lights of heaven the 1st cd in 4 years from dayton, ohio's morella's Forest. 12 dreamy pop songs being hailed as their best record to date. "guitars combined with the voice of sydney rentz and perfect keyboards that draw melodies, make the songs intimate, pretty, simple and effective." IRONSKIES.COM po box 69009.winnipeg.mb.r3p 2g9 cds: $11 us. $14 end, $13 us overseas, credit card ordering available online (free samplers with orders) visit endearing.com for mp3's, tour dates & news, for our newsletter email subscribe5endearing.com radio fn zines. etc. by Bleek DOWN THE LEFT COAST I've always loved the West Coast. As a youngster I had the opportunity to travel the entire US, but I always loved coming back home, which in those days was Tacoma. I spent my teens in Gig Harbor, Washington, but eventually grew out of those locales and tried my luck in Seattle. Loved it. All of my immediate relatives lived in Washington and Oregon—still do actually. To each their own, I know, but I've always been hooked on everything in this region. Now in Vancouver, things feel pretty much the same. Laid back, wet, casual and fairly progressive (so vote, damn it). This year, my wife and I took a road trip down the coast again, but this time we continued on into California, intriguing when done well, but my favourite zines are the punk rock and music zines. The photocopied zine, though still widely available in places, is on the decline. Many of the surviving underground zines have professional qualities and more closely resemble magazines. Truth be told, these are the things I read the most. Why? Well, they usually offer more bang for my buck, what with all the interviews, reviews and columns and shit. The more fun and the more 1 learn from a zine the better. Plenty of these zines were found on this trip, but I'm only going to focus on a few West Coast punk zines for this month. From Nevada City, California, DREAM MAGAZINE is full of book-length reading niv i i/.nTi » "• City Lights in San Francisco down to San Francisco (home of personal faves Flipper and Star Pimp). I'd been through there many times but never really spent time goofing around there, getting to know the city. Loved it, just loved it. All the way back up the coast I felt so lucky to be a Pacific Coast kid, even through Oregon, which in places took me by surprise by how funky it could be. The things I love to discover in cities and unassuming towns are the local public and university radio stations (KPFA, KMUD, KEXP, KWVA, etc.), book and music stores (Amoeba, Fallout, City Lights, etc.) and zines, lots of zines. Oh my gawd, what a lot! More than I can actually read, but I just can't resist poring over the creations and delving into the minds of the editors and columnists. A lot of the stuff out there is unfathomable poetry, and while that's all fine and good, I can't be a good judge of it, so a lot of it gets passed by—sorry. Then there's comic zines which are usually too short—and thankfully so— 'cause they're not easy to look at, either. Personal zines are with hundreds of reviews and bands. Only on issue #2 so far, DM has a similar feel of Ptolemaic Terrascope, a Brit mag featuring bands in the psychedelic and space-rock mode. This mag features Abunai, Hood, Bid, Can, Greg Weeks, Jim Woodring and gobs of other indie heroes. ($10 [comes with CD], PO Box 2027, Nevada City, CA 95959-1941) SKRATCH magazine is a thick, juicy, free publication, but only free in certain locations around the States. They don't give subscription rates, but you can go to their website and find out more (and download an entire V/A compilation!). They've been around forever, already celebrating 78 issues as of August. In this one issue alone you can read about Atom and His Package, Bloodlet, Dick Dale, Piebald, Melvins, Chubbies, Toxic Narcotic, Original Sinners (Exene's new band), Keepsake, Death Threat and tons more. So cool, so punk. So check it out. (www.skratch- magazine.com) In the same category as the above with a twist of MRP. thrown in is HEARTATTCK. At #35 they take a look at punks over 30, featuring our own Submission Hold, as well as Pushead Pezz, Dawn Cook, Dregs of Humanity and a stellar letters and columns section. It is astounding how many committed contributors this zine has; the opinions and rants are fantastic. Oh, and zine reviews. Lots of them, right after hundreds of record reviews. Send them in. The burnt-out editor is taking an overdue hiatus so help them out by participating. (PO Box 848, Goleta, CA 93116.) Another California newsprint rag is PANACHE MAGAZINE. File this under the more offbeat section. Inside is comedic train wreck Neil Hamburger, The Fire Show, The Walkmen, Vespertines and 400 Blows, plus articles with titles like "Inside Humboldt's Bathrooms," "Are You Ready to Rubble?" (basically another article about how there's a terrorist behind every "Bush"), "Mrs. Christ," "Tweakers Suck" and some punk rock blahblah here and there. Funny, weird, informative, endangered. (www.humboldtmusic.com/pa nache or PO Box 300, Eureka, CA 95502.) Most interesting new title goes to SINCERE BRUTALITY, up and running with issue one, even as we speak. This comes from Portland, a town with lots of potential seen long ago in the much missed Snipehunt Magazine that died about seven years ago. The zine opens with little bios on a handful of bands and gets into features like "Whatever happened to Steel Pole Bathtub, Interview with Dale Flattum." It gets even better with Erase Errata, Xiu Xiu, Point Line Plane, Gogo Airheart, Johnny X and the Groadies, etc. Pretty good—this one's going places. Check out www.sincerebrutali- ty.com and send gunk to PO Box 5964, Portland, OR 97228. On the way back to Vancouver, you have to stop in Seattle again and pick up a copy of BACKFIRE MAGAZINE, packed with garage punk and old Rocket Magazine refugees among a staff of many. Now at Volume 5, issue 3, this issue says goodbye to Dee Dee and John Entwistle, talks to The Hives, Brant Bjork and The Spits, and contains East Bay Ray's side of "The Dead Kennedys vs. Biafra." (Sigh.) The usual stuff as the above zines but with a Northwest angle (which is almost imperceptible, really). Anyway, write to Backfire at PO Box 77311, Seattle, WA 98177-0311. Geez, there's not enough time in the day. • 8 October 2002 over mv /shoulder ■min In Which the Book Review Portion of This Column—Which Is Subtitled "Book Reviews By Doretta"—Does Not Even Make a 50 Word Appearance. If you read last month's column, you'll know that 1 flaked out on the new DiSCORDER editor, Chris. I didn't hand anything in and he had to write a column for He'll have you believe that it was because 1 was working 13 hours a day around production day, but the truth is, I was performing an age-old hazing ritual This is the real story: I refused to turn in my column and then I forced him to shotgun 12 cans of cheap beer. He was a total sport about the whole thing, even though his Bikini Kill t-shirt became stained in the process. After he smashed the last can against his forehead, I locked him into the office. He banged on the door, screaming, "I really need to pee," but I remained steadfast in my tough love routine. After 10 minutes he stopped pleading and started crying. Still, I refused to let him book reviews by Doretta out. No editor of mine was going to be a weak little weenie. I have to admit that I felt kind of bad when he told me that he ruined his favourite jeans, but I urged him to stay strong. "Hey, at least you don't have to pee anymore," I said, trying to be as comforting as possible. This was kind of difficult to do because the hall outside the office was beginning to smell like the bed-wetter kid at Girl Guide camp and I was getting squeamish. "Breaking in a new editor is tough work. It's grosser than ketchup," said Christa Min. She could see that I was starting to get sick. Okay, I'm lying. Christa never said that. She, Steve and Donovan went to pick up pizza and didn't witness the torture I inflicted upon Chris. An hour later I opened the door. Chris had a puddle at his feet and a completed Over My Shoulder on the computer. "I read a book just for you," he said. "Before your column, I thought reading was a waste of time. But now I see that David Lee Roth's autobiography Crazy From the Heat is a work of genius. I sleep with it under my pillow." "Thank you," I said, and I meant it, though I wasn't sure how he knew that I thought Crazy From the Heat was such a seminal work. In my apartment, it has migrated from the coffee table to the top of the radiator in the bathroom. For the low price of one dollar, I have been entertained for months. "There's a gem on every page," I said, still focused on Crazy From the Heat. But Chris was already reaching for the bottle of J D. Three hours later, he listened as I cried about the fact that I was having writer's block. I had rewritten my column three times and it was bad. (Not that this column isn't bad, but I couldn't afford another flat of beer, so I had to write this one myself.) All he said to me was "Don't make me resurrect Dorito again." In the space of one evening, the hazing had turned him into an editor of steel. "Let's drink to that," I said. And we did. Join me next month when the book review makes a comeback. • *trut and fret performance/art by Penelope Mulligan SHIRKA URECHKO The Worm Wednesday, September 18 The Blinding Light!! With her latest work, The Worm, multi-media artist and contemporary dancer Shirka Urechko has pulled off a disarming inversion of one of burlesque's seamier sub-genres —exotic dance—which felt neither borrowed nor safe. Structurally and choreographi- cally simpler than her previous shows, The Worm's complexity, and ultimately its greatest impact, lay in the contextual upheaval it provoked. For the first 20 minutes, Urechko inched her way across the stage wrapped in a clear plastic casing which resembled a drycleaning bag tied into worm-like segments. Undulating, rolling and contracting, she seemed to have plopped straight out of the moist, green vegetation depicted onscreen. Reaching a stripper's pole which had been looming rather conspicuously in the foreground, she folded herself around its base in a lovely moment of transition, then shucked her cocoon, stood up and went to work in a flesh- toned thong and strappy sandals with impossibly high heels. But Urechko wasn't just sampling. What ensued was a 40 minute pole-dance—wonderfully elastic, aesthetically pleasing and damn titillating. The film images had been tossing out some interpretive possibilities: Was the worm escaping a habitat despoiled by humans? Was this a metaphor for loss of innocence and self- actualization? As the dance went on, I began wondering what made this any different from a good night at the Cecil. The venue? Urechko's status as a contemporary dancer? An implied psychological journey? Nothing suggested that these boundaries were being intentionally tweaked. They just seemed to dissolve as Urechko worked that pole. Some narrative texture was added with the eventual arrival of guest choreographer and performer, Braden Jones. Although his presence had been prefigured onscreen, it was still a jolt to see him standing black-suit ed and sinister at the lip of the stage. But as he robot-danced his way on, looking like a lost soul coughed out of an old Tubeway Army video, he clearly posed no threat to the obliviously rippling Urechko. The soundscape, which had often been electro wallpaper, gained some muscle and drove both the pole-dance and Jones' angular lurching. In an unexpected display of vulnerability, he slowly and awkwardly undressed, folding his clothes into a neat pile as he tried to emulate the dancer's fluidity. It was really quite touching and I wanted more, but the door closed on this bizarre little episode and Jones exited, naked and robotic. As for Urechko, she finished what she'd started. Having shimmied halfway up, she doffed her thong and spiraled to the floor. There was something innocent and audacious in Urechko's refusal to merely package the pole-dancer's art for the concert stage. The Worm grabbed you by the senses and messed a bit with your head—just as multimedia should. • Chemical-free Method I don-c worny DIVISION OF VITAMIN A INDUSTRIES, INC. Record South of the Border! n 2" 16/24 track Analog A Large"Live" Room, Real Echo/Reverb Chamber I _ No Bullshit,Satisfaction Guaranteed! ' (206|525-0628 \hqranl fhcords m -* MM K4TTIF WA email- studio@vagrantrecords.com JMTTU WA new music coming this fall: eight fm "thought process disorder" cd&lp [demented electronics from so.cal] timeblind "rastabomba" remixes cd&ep [devastating dancehall from dj/rupture, kid606, kit clayton & timeblind] stephan mathieu & ekkehard ehlers "heroin" reissue + remixes 2x cd&lp [original full length + remixes by nobekazu takemura, akira rabelais,christian fennesz, kit clayton, oren ambarchi + more] gold chains "the game" vinyl ep [new single + remixes by luomo & lafata/clayton] plus releases from lucky kitchen and Vancouver's own, secret mommy! buy online and listen to mp3's at www.musork.com 9 DiSCORDER Ville Valo of His Infernal Majesty, Finland's cutest export CD played most often on your show: Hard Rubber Orchestra's Rub Harder fills a lot of gaps. The most played artist would be a tie between Frank Zappa and Finnish Goth band His Infernal Majesty (a.k.a. HIM, a.k.a. HER). CD you would save in a fire: Another tie—David Sylvian's box set Weatherbox and Shooting Gallery's self-titled album, but probably also my copy of The Fragile signed by Trent Reznor because I waited three hours in the pissing rain for him to come out of GM Place. CD that should burn in Hell: Everything by POD, but Hell's too good for their proselyte garbage. Worst CD that you like: Everything Duran Duran put out after 1982. First CD that you bought: Shooting Gallery when it came out in 1991; this was Hanoi Rocks' guitarist/songwriter Andy McCoy's band for a year. Drake The Vampire's Ball Saturdays 04:00 - 08:00 Last CD you bought: I just ordered Live Faust, Die Jung by Canadian swing artist Big Rude Jake, direct from Big Rude Jake. Musician that you would most like to marry: Ville Valo, the singer/songwriter from His Infernal Majesty—he's cute, he's young, he's exactly my type, he has a good voice, a great ass, a cute foreign accent, and I think I can train him to cook and do housework. If not, I'll just molest him and not marry him. Favorite show on CiTR: Being Arts Director, I'm here a great amount of time and so 1 listen at the station. I think my favorites would be Anoize, Parts Unknown, and Blue Monday. Strangest phone call while on air: None so far as this is a brand new show, but I'm sure I'll eventually get my share. • *ti< VIDEO IN we offer technical training in video, audio and new media production and post- production including: we also have a 2000 sq. ft. studio available for rental for production purposes, screenings and audio and music events, for more information contact us at 604.872.8337 info@videoinstudios.com www.videoinstudios.com final cut pro avid xpress protools digital audio editing / sound design camera, lights and sound aftereffects photoshop hours: 11-6 mon - sat m the sound of spectacle by tobias THE WORK OF DISSENT: VULGAR ANTI-AMERICANISM I find myself exhausted when confronted with the work ahead of me. The insurmountable frustration that is encountered when attempting to critique the unilateral advances of force dictated by the US and other powerbrokers (as well as the attendant consideration of veils of media [disinformation) is enough to dissuade even the spunkiest writer. Surprisingly, it is often not in Europe or alternate countries that one finds the most critical and sustained of analyses. Within the United States itself it is the tireless resistance—from the lobbying and court-cases of the ACLU, to the alternative media outlet www.indymedia.org— that re-draws a distinction that must be made: that between the policies of the US Government and the diasporic, multicultural and vibrant country that is the United States. The more our contemporary crises begin to resemble the Weimar Republic, the more there is a vulgar move to assert an anti-American stance. As Toni Negri notes in a recent interview conducted by Ida Dominijanni on nettime.org: "But to think that Bush's government is America does not make any sense. Despite all that is happening, American society is still a completely open machine. Therefore even if Bush's project is monocratic and imperialist it is wrong to regard the United States as such as monocratic and imperialist. But there is more: the anti-American position coincides with a position of re-evaluation and defense of the nation state as the anti-imperialist trench—this is a temptation not extra'neous to some sections of the movement of movements... However this would really be a wrong posture since it would prevent an understanding of how the world is made, who has got the command and who can subvert it." HOMELAND SECURITY, CULTURAL BUREAU (CECl N'ESTPAS...) www.hscb.org: The closure of the White Box NYC art gallery marks the first significant step by HSCB, the culture-oriented offshoot of the US Department of Homeland Security. The politically-critical gallery was closed by order of HSCB Director General Carolyn Parker Mayes, who, in a written Notice of Closure, states that "the Art Gallery WHITE BOX constitutes a danger to state security." It would appear that the HSCB is working in tandem with the US Department of Art and Technology, which was created during the reorganization of US Governmental Departments whereby many law enforcement and national watchdog and protection sectors of government were coalesced into the Department of Homeland Security under Tom Ridge. The USDAT further created the Office of Political and Economic Insecurity, headed by Abe Golam, with the mandate "to confront rising insecurity in the nation and around the world as a result of the administration's plan to restructure the US government. (www.usdept-arttech.net) Sources close to Panarticon report that Darpa's Information Awareness Office may be providing the technological profiling, found in their TIA (Total Information System) and GENOA II (advanced multi- crises identification and management) systems to "sniff out" (and thereby destroy) cultural activity that may prove contentious in the future to US interests and national security. (www.darpa.mil/iao) FREE RADIO PENGUINS AND GNUS http://radioqualia.va.com.au/fr eeradiolinux: As 1 discuss net.art and other net.intervention in print, some might question why I simply do not utilize the internet for such purposes. It's a question of translation. To affect the internet and propagate its movements through its own media repeats message into redundancy. To translate the net to print (and vice- versa) is akin to the Free Radio Linux project, which is broadcasting the entire Linux ker- nal—4,141,432 lines of code—through a speech.bot built by project originators radioqualia and using the open source codec Ogg Vorbis. Akin to copy-pasting the DVD crack- code on your webpage, the freedom of open-source is posed in unstable mediums as attempts to not only raise awareness, but further the possibilities of spreading the open.source platform—and by this I mean not Linux, but the platform that Linux stands upon: that information wants to be free. In a land of penguins, it is the gnu that maintains the escape lines to the sea. www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl. html: GNU is an open-source Unix platform based upon the following principles: "The freedom to run the program, for any purpose (freedom 0). The freedom to study how the program works, and adapt it to your needs (freedom l). Access to the source code is a precondition for this. "The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbor (freedom 2). The freedom to improve the program, and release your improvements to the public, so that the whole community benefits, (freedom 3). Access to the source code is a precondition for this." The prerequisite access to the source code gave rise to GNU-GPL, or the GNU Public Licence. Independent audio codecs such as Ogg Vorbis are GNU-GPL. This means that the source code must be distributed with any product derived from the original code. Simply, a commercial company cannot step in, transform or steal the code, and not distribute their modifications without facing legal repercussions. Note that the GPL does not restrict one from selling the software product; it does mean, however, that the sale includes the source code, which for most of us means nothing—however, for communities of developers, it means that the means are redistributed constantly through networks of modifications and improvements that overall strengthens the software's mobility, flexibility, security, and enhancibility, as well as fundamentally putting into action notions of networked freedom and nomadism. A FEW GOOD NOOZE The European Data Protection Commissioners have rejected current proposals from the UK and the EU for mandatory data retention by phone companies and ISPs; the Swedish Young Left party has made a donation to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) in order to challenge its inclusion on the EU's proscribed terrorist organizations list; "warchalking" sends Nokia and corporate behemouths into paranoia over practically noth- And on a bad note, AMD is supporting Microsoft's demonic Palladium "Big Brother" encryption technology in their next Opteron chip. (My bets are in: contrary to Paul D Miller, the new battle will be fought over the hardware construction of the internet as it becomes cor- porately owned. Say goodbye to digital privacy. Remember Hitler: we couldn't have done it without radio.) • 10 October 2002 Bend Sinister by Michael Schwandt Bend Sinister is an instrumental band who have been playing shows in Vancouver for about a year.They have long songs and short songs and can play in more time signatures than you can tap your toes to. They have fairly impressive grammar. Their first self-produced CD sold out in a jiffy, but they might burn you a copy if you ask nicely. They have a new album coming out soon, as well. This interview was conducted by e-mail with guitarist Naben Ruthnum, over the course of several complex iterations. Naben took great pain to include the collective input of the entire band in his replies. First of all, names and instruments. Please. David Buck: Usually bass, sometimes guitar. Dan Goughnour: Usually drums, sometimes guitar. Dan Moxon: Usually guitar, sometimes drums. Naben Ruthnum: Usually guitar, sometimes bass. Bend Sinister is the title of a book by Vladimir Nabokov. Sum up the book in 14 words or less. Manipulation and control. How and why did you choose this as the name for the band? I was reading it at the time of the band's inception, and I really took to Nabokov's explanation of his title in his introduction. "This choice of title was an attempt to suggest an outline broken by refraction, a distortion in the mirror of being, a wrong turn taken by life, a sinistral and sinister world." Nabokov is a playful author, but his craft is serious. Our music is something like that, too. So, after a lot of discussion, we settled on that name. Overall, is the band (a) Bent, (b) Sinister, (c) Both, or (d) Neither? Explain. Definitely more Bent than Sinister since everything is slightly askew, but not necessarily threatening. How did this operation come to be? The KSS [Kelowna Secondary School] high school band program was instrumental. Dan Moxon (whom we'll refer to as Mox), Dave, and myself met as guitar players in Grade 10 Jazz band. Dan G played trumpet in school, but guitar was his first love. Our friendship was based on Metallica and Guitar World, and lengthy jams in Dan G's attic were the beginning of our musical bond. Usually, there were three guitars playing at a time, with someone grudgingly taking his place behind the Goughnour family drum kit. Lots of 12-bar blues. A chance conversation in the school hallway led to Dave, Mox and I forming our first band, Formica, with vocalist Emma Pierce. She recently sang on Jon Rae Fletcher's River record. Formica was good fun, sounded vaguely like Elysian Fields and Portishead. That ended. Anyways, Mox had a stockpile of riffs at the end of first- year university and, upon returning to Kelowna in the summer, the four of us began to shape them into songs. Bend Sinister's members are all from Kelowna, right? What is that city like for new bands? Yep, we're all from Kelowna. Since everybody here who gets really into independent music ends up being friends or acquaintances, the people in bands and the guys who put on shows usually know each other, so it's relatively easy to get a show for your band. In terms of crowd response, it all depends on what kind of music you're playing. Emo and punk definitely go over well. As far as response to our band goes, some people really like us while others are pretty indifferent. But I guess that would be the same in any city. I understand that the band members live in different cities now. Is this the case? How do you manage to write songs? Yes, Mox and I live in Vancouver while Dan G and Dave live in Victoria. The songwriting usually starts with Mox writing a skeletal structure for the song, the rest of us deciding what instruments we want to play on it—Dave and I are both getting pretty fond of bass-playing, so we're starting to split guitar/bass duties more evenly—and finally fleshing out the song when we all happen to be in the same town. A lot gets added on to that initial skeleton. Because the band has no vocalist, whoever is playing second guitar has to ensure that the music doesn't just sound like a rock rhythm section without a melody line. How do you find the climate in Vancouver, in terms of what's called "The Scene"? Well, there's a lot of nice people with good and open taste, but there are also a lot of fashion-focused people who seem to view music more as a platform for snobbery than anything else. As far as bands here go, I haven't really found too many that I'm extremely enthusiastic about. P:ano and Jon-Rae Fletcher are really good. Bend Sinister gets really well received when we play here. How do you find the climate in Vancouver, in terms of what's called "The Weather"? Rain doesn't really bother me, mood-wise. One thing I dislike is getting the back of my pant leg wet from walking through wet streets. What have you been listening to lately? Naben: King Crimson, Mr. Bungle, Isis, Naked City, Fripp/Eno, Tool, The Black List, Dimmu Borgir, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum. Dan G: The Sea and Cake, Archer Prewitt, Tortoise, Hot Snakes, Jim O'Rourke, Converge, Botch, Nick Drake, Calexico, Tool. Dan M: Aphex Twin, Calexico, Hot Snakes, Ruins, Mastodon, Fucking Champs, King Crimson, Jim O'Rourke, Yes. Dave: Pink Floyd, Rush, King Crimson, Isis, Tool, Tortoise, Botch, Steve Reich, Faith No More, Dillinger Escape Plan. If you could open for any band, who would it be? Naben: Mr. Bungle, if they haven't broken up. DanG: Hot Snakes. Dan M: Shellac. Dave: Tortoise. Do you find that a lot of music coming out today excites you, or no? Yeah, there's always good music being released, but it's gotta be dugout. If you look at what we put on our "current listening" lists, you'll see that a bunch of those bands/musicians have put out stuff within the last year. Can you describe the worst show you ever played? That would be the infamous Rampone's Vegetables show in the wilds of the Mission area of Kelowna. The venue was a small, sweaty shed lined with rows of garlic. We snapped more strings in that set than ever before, had massive tuning problems, and the crowd was too hot to care about anything. Tell me about The Line. The Line is a now defunct metal band that featured myself, Dan Moxon, and the brother Shaw. One last summer show and that was that. A new band called Kill the Arcade with the Shaws, Kevin Keegan of The Black List and myself has taken up where The Line ended. The other guys in Sinister always have something musical going on on the side as well. Mox does some singer/songwriter stuff, Dan G plays straight jazz, and Dave has an acoustic project with a friend in Victoria. Any immediate plans for Bend Sinister? Hmm, well we're going to try to find someone to release the album we recorded this summer. Nothing too ambitious, we're not expecting to get signed to any extremely reputable label—but we definitely want to get a quality release out there. Any less-than-immediate plans for Bend Sinister? Looking forward to another summer of compositional madness, and perhaps a year off after our first degrees to focus on menial labour and this band. What would you like to say to DiSCORDER readers? Um, big crowds of scenesters make us nervous. We clam up when we're nervous. • 11 DiSCORDER THE GOSSIP 2002 TOUR DIARY, GREATEST HITS!! by BRACE PAINE Thursday, May 9th This is the kick-off date of the tour and we're playing in the living room of the GOXXIP house with our favorite no-wave band SLEETMUTE. It's a costume party and we're (as a salute to CRIME) dressed in full cop gear. SLEETMUTE showed up dressed as grunge supergroup TEMPLE OF THE DOG. Halfway through our set the real coppz showed up and we proceeded to play "Rise Above" by BLACK FLAG. Saturday, May 11th This marks GOXXIP's first Canadian show ever! We played as part of the ultra-lame New Music West and we then thoroughly chilled with our many Vancouver homies. We also ate five Crunchie bars and decided that we will relocate (very illegally) to Vancouver on the date of January 23rd, 2003. Also, when we do move to Vancouver, we will be buying out Zulu records and turning it into an American night club called "The Lionel Ritchie." Sunday, May 12th We arrived in Victoria, BC, and it seems no kids there seem to know of the infamous band THE NEOS. Weren't they from Victoria? Where's their punk history? Friday, May 17th Winnipeg=depressing. The owner of the venue looked like half Woody Allen and half Sinead O'Connor. I also threw a,tuna fish sandwich at a 13 year old boy. (I SWEAR he flipped me off!) Wednesday, May 22nd We played at the Fireside and at the Empty Bottle. After the shows we met up with Shippy and Thax and chilled with punx at a super secret SHELLAC basement show. Also, WHITE- HOUSE opened for them! YES! Sunday, May 26th We played in Detroit with VIKI HOTT and she blew us away many times. She is the new SUICIDE or maybe SPK! I also DJed this show and here is my playlist: POINTER SISTERS—"I'm So Excited" MARS—"Puerto Rican Ghost" WEIRD AL YANKOVIC—"Amish Paradise" THROBBING GRISTLE—"Hamburger Lady" INFLATABLE BOY CLAMS—"Snoteleks" As our last song on that night we did a noizze-fukk version of "I Wanna Be Your Dog" by THE STOOGES with the KRO- MATIXX and VIKI HOTT and, while we were playing, VIKI threw firecrackers into the faces of the audience! Saturday, June 1st Our NYC show was quite the celeb hangout. We met Janeanne Garafolo, Jared Leto, Claire Danes, Chloe Sevigny and Jay Leno. We played with this band SIGHTINGS and during their set I had to carry Claire Danes to the bathroom because she was SO wasted! Also, Beth kissed Jay Leno on the chin. (SICK!) Tuesday, June 5th Philadelphia was wyld. For this show we did a very special JOHN CAGE tribute in which we performed the first side of the Sonatas and Interludes for Prepared Pianos LP (each of us on one piano). As the kids anxiously waited for rock music they came to appreciate it. Monday, June 21st San Francisco is always crazy to the maximum. We played three shows in one day. The craziest was the house party we played with GLASS CANDY and NUMBERS. There were 400 people crammed into one house and I fell out of a window Melanie (the drummer of GLASS CANDY) found a gun on e shot it!) Thursday, June 23rd We have now arrived back home in cozy Olympia where we are surrounded by hippies, annoying K Records fans and hobos. We decided that we are changing our name to THE BLAQ HALOZZ and will be relocating to Vancouver much sooner than expected. CANADA, HERE WE COME! • 12 October 2002 Irony and sarcasm are no longer feasible within the mass-marketed and shit-stained entity that is underground music. Call it post-rock, call it indie rock, call it what you will—but if you are the type of person who still thinks you are the baddest on your block because you heard the White Stripes first, the joke's onyou, pal. Corporate marketing engines are indeed behind much of what passes itself off as "cutting edge" or indie. This is no news bulletin; it's been happening since the 1970s. It's where the "money" comes from so to speak. To achieve a level of indie credibility it takes an uncompromising ability to resist the almighty dollar. In this day and age, that's extremely hard to do. It isn't cheap to run a band; or more specifically, it isn't cheap to deliver the unsoiled goods to an uneducated and unapprecia- tive audience—an audience that is used to having it handed to them anyways; downloading music for nothing. Enter Oxes, three young men from Baltimore whose quest, literally, is to smash the post-rock status quo, destroy the pretense that belongs within the corporate-rock boardroom and deliver a good lickin' to anyone that stands-in their way. Three young men known to their inner circle of east coast rowdies as Mr. Windsor Castle, New York City, and one, Prison. They are articulate, energetic, and still more interested in having fun and causing trouble than bringing in the ducats. Oxes may come across sometimes as the world's most hyperactive band, and it may appear that the boys have no driving purpose; chaos is the only mandate. Make no mistake, brother, these guys mean business. I've been listening to them for over a year now, and I can only say that it's not for everybody. It can make you laugh, make you rock, or it can make you cover your ears in irritation. And this will usually take place within one song. It's a small price to pay when you know what you are getting is 100% anti-corporate rock. It's Oxes'brand of business. Because to them, this is a battle... and the band with the wireless axes looks prepared. By Black Dimetapp DiSCORDER: On your new EP there is a reference to vintage chocolate bars, and, as well, a "melted chocolate sandwich." Can you elaborate? Oxes: We only use the finest vintage chocolate bars when we record. We only record with steam on paper, and the sound of the older chocolate bars are far superior. Are these "brown" references a sign of your penchant for brown things? Or is it some kind of code you have with music industry insiders? I wouldn't say brown, just communist. We were blacklisted once for having brown things. It seems the whole Hollywood industry, of which we are a big part of, hates independent thinkers. Go figure, you know? Are you privy to why steam, chocolate, paper or any combination thereof, is advantageous to the recording process? I made a call to the local rock "uberstudio" and they have never heard of such a process, but they are interested, nonetheless. The paper must be run fast through the steam—at about 27 cm/sec. That way you get scribbles with larger curves. That makes the recording process more fluid, you see. It's not digital. I don't really understand what you're trying to say with that. It's NOT digital, okay? You guys play wireless guitars on-stage. Does this help control the "hero" factor when playing for belligerent and overzealous music lovers? It really does. I usually shove a pie in their faces. A pie made of wires. Electric wires with bees on the ends... with razor-sharp apple pie on the ends of their stingers. Has there been any attempt to "unchain" Prison from his static position on stage—i.e. "wireless" drums? Yes, usually we only have him play bongos now. Last night we played a show, sans Marco, ended up with 11 people in a drum circle, and a lot of broken glass and screaming. Two Moogs and two Grooveboxes and two bongos; all reeling. We wanted to commemorate September Uth. What do you have on your September 11th tree to connote the falling people? I used little pink plastic babies. I might tie a complimentary shoe-horn from Cantor-Fitzgerald to it. Keep it corporate, you know. Or, because I'm Canadian, possibly a Labatt Genuine Draft key chain. Oxes, to me anyway, has a quality to it that could be described as maddening, or nerve-busting. Is there a way I can avoid getting into traffic altercations while listening to Oxes as I drive in rush-hour traffic? Or is this, indeed, the soundtrack to Road Rage? Release your neck forward and up; everything else will fall into place. Speaking of soundtracks, since first reviewing your material, I've found myself wanting to ask bands such as yours (Champs, Bozart, Don Caballero, etc.) how the hell you guys remember such complex riffery? Do you play sober? Or is there some sort of concentration game you like to play to warm up for live performances? We play drunk. Sometimes stoned. We always write sober though. Otherwise we wouldn't remember it. We get to the point where we can play the songs without even thinking about it. Then we play them live so we can run around and shit. So are you going to tell me which Ox you are, anyway? You know for posterity? It's only one Ox... answering your little bitch questions. My name is Bad Transmission (formerly Blind Ambition). Have you guys ever played in Canada? Yes, our funnest trip ever, to Montreal, Toronto, Hamilton, and then on to the Michigan fest, earlier this year. We picked up this hilarious girl, Lori, on the way out there, and the whole experience was just amazing. You Canadians constantly think you're funny. I noticed that. Sometimes you are, and I suppose always thinking you're funny is better than the American way of always thinking you are the best nation in the world. Do you have any plans to come up here? No solid plans right now. Do you guys like hockey? Shame about the Caps, eh? 1 do, but 1 really hate watching sports on TV, so 1 can't really get into it. Shame that they were a professional sports team that reinforced the idea, that to "sport," is to be angry and compete with each other? Nah. This is Nat Fowler. The black-guitar guy. There're no black people in Oxes. You listed on your website's tour journal many months ago, a challenge that a fan had issued regarding your "vacant" bass position. [Fan wanted to play bass. Oxes replied, "Only if you fight us, and win."] Is this offer still open to large Canadians who may want to challenge three slightly built, American musicians for this esteemed title? We aren't even slightly-built, dude. The bass position, if filled at all, would be filled by Prison. Now, we're looking for a drummer. Does the band still encourage concert-goers to bring their own instruments so they can join in the musical celebration? We do. I'm just wondering because what if the audience all had wireless guitars, and bigger, louder amps? What if they all brought basses? And huge bass cabs? That would be amazing! Hopefully it would get so loud that I would have to leave. That would be the best show in Oxes history. I bet if Oxes came up to Canada the audience would bring "coke and hookers." Does "coke and hookers" make lots of noise? You guys have a crew out in Baltimore known as the Baltimore Rowdy Crew, or something along those lines. Is it fraternally organized? Why is it important for a band to recognize its hometown? Isn't Trans Am from Baltimore? No, Trans Am is from DC or, rather, Tacoma Park, the extremely, rich suburb. If you don't recognize your hometown, then you just move to Chicago. That's the way it works in the music scene. Yeah, we are fraternally organized. We had a kegger last night. • 13 DiSCORDER TH£ H®RROR OVfF TH COAXT: MEETING THE Dr\*H$T Of By Chris Eng "/ shall plan my cousin's escape from that Canton madhouse, and together we shall go to marvel-shadowed Innsmouth. We shall swim out to that brooding reef in the sea and dive down through black abysses to Cyclopean and many-columned Y'ha-nthlei, and in that lair of the Deep Ones we shall dwell amidst wonder and glory forever." -HP Lovecraft, "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" "He made love to the fishies." -The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets, "The Innsmouth Look" I put these words down on paper in the hope that there will be some kind of record to stand against the horrors that have been visited on me in recent days. I do not spare any hope for myself— the forces at large are much too aware of the knowledge that has been imparted to me—I can only pray that when they come for me, and come for me they will, that they will overlook these notes and someone may yet find them and bring them into the light as they deserve. Let me elaborate on my tale, though, and try to shed some light on how I came to find myself in this predicament. Recently, a close friend of mine, half-blind with drink, suggested that we head down to one of the squalid watering holes found in Vancouver's seamy East Side to partake in a bit of the nightlife. I acquiesced and, fortified with no small amount of liquor myself, managed to seat myself among the locals, their eyes bulging unnaturally and their skin wan and pasty. It was a matter of two hours later, when sobriety started to reassert itself, that a manifestation of evil took the stage in the dingy bar and let loose a chorus of ungodliness and unrestrained evil. Possessed of nothing righteous in talk or manner, this pop-punk/metal band—The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets—asserted their love for a man, one HP Lovecraft by name, and the blasphemous creatures he expounded on in his fevered scribblings. I felt disoriented and the club spun about me wildly, pitching me back and forth, as power- pop chanting filled my ears ("la! Shub-Niggurath! The Goat with a Thousand Young! la! Ygolonac! Cthulhu fhtagn!") before I slipped into a grateful blackness. I awoke the next morning in my own bed with full recollection of what had gone on the night before. As unreal as it had seemed, or perhaps as I might have wanted it to be, I knew it had its groundings in reality and made my way to my bookshelf to study the book of Lovecraft's stories contained therein. Though many would dismiss it as the work of a crank, I now saw through it and perceived the taint of the unclean running black to its very core. These were not the work of a delusional madman; these timeless horrors from beyond the stars he described more than a half century before in his "fantastic tales" were all too real and were being paid homage to by this band with their frightful paeans. Eager to find out more about these men, I wrote to them, posing as a fan. In short order I received a reply from their lead singer, Toren Atkinson, who was pleased to have received my missive and would be happy to answer any of my questions. I started gently, in 14 October 2002 order to gain his trust, and ast^JPhim if he Ojpld shed so£p»Jight on the origins of his band. The response came quickly and was to the point. "Well, that's a question that we always get asked. Because it's SO WEIRD, I guess. According to some people it's weird to have an HP Lovecraft band. But this was in 1992 and we were way into Lovecraft. Especially me. Mainly me and Warren, our guitarist. I met Warren, actually, in college. In ceramics class or something. We had a mutual love of role-playing games and cartoons. So, Warren and 1 decided to start a band—Warren never having played guitar before; 1 never having sang before. We knew not having any talent we'd have to distract the audience somehow from our bad, non-existent talent, so we decided costumes and HP Lovecraft were the way to go. That was going to be our schtick, so if nothing else, we'd have at least that. Then we had our show; we had our papier mache monster costumes; we had our antics and we received a smattering of applause. And that was good enough for us to do it again. No tomatoes were thrown, so that was encouraging." I quickly penned a response, thanking him for the promptness of his reply and asked him about the importance of their costumes, trying to delve further toward the heart of the matter in smooth, gradual steps. Not two days later, a letter sat in my mailbox and I opened it on the street, hastily devouring the contents therein. "Well," he elucidated, after his opening pleasantries, "we've been playing with the costumes for so long that I can't imagine us going on stage without them for two reasons. One, 1 personally would feel really stupid not wearing a costume. I know that's weird to think, because normally most people would feel stupid wearing a big monster head. Most people would, but 1 would feel stupid not wearing one. And the other reason is that the fans demand it now. If we went on stage without our costumes, we'd get no end of trouble from our die-hard, beloved fans. Our geeky but beloved fans." "Do you have groupies?" I wrote back. "Do you want to get into this?" came his response, scratched out on yellowed parchment in a thin, severe hand. "Yeah, yeah we do. We have some groupies. Mostly... male. I don't have to tell anyone what the ratio is between male and female gaming people and computer geeks. Because that is our core audience—I'd be the first to admit it. Yeah. We have groupies. They're mostly virtual groupies, but they're groupies, I suppose. We have a decent fol lowing in Vancouver, I would say, but apart from two tours across Canada, we're not that well known. But we have lots of fans— California is full of Thickets fans—and they're all across the world, which is pretty cool. They're just unhappy that they never get to see us play live." Convinced, at this point, that I had established a rapport with Atkinson, 1 endeavored to arrange a meeting between the two of us and he agreed, inviting me to his house for a cup of tea and conversation. I arrived at the appointed time, perhaps slightly early, and he answered the door bespectacled and dressed casually. Ushering me into the sitting room, he retrieved a pot of tea for us and sat, pouring cups for both of us. I was, however, determined not to waste any time beating around the bush and dove right to the meat of things. "When did you discover Lovecraft?" I asked, sipping gently at the bone china. "Most people discover Lovecraft in high school and I was a late bloomer, I guess, because I think I was 19 or 20 when somebody gave me a book, and it was just BANG. I was there. There was no question. This was like nothing I'd ever read before. It captured everything I thought was cool. You know, the monsters, the style of writing and the philosophy that mankind is an insignificant speck. It all clicked with me and it wasn't long before I was into the role- playing game and started up the band. It was a couple of years later. But the thing is, once you become a fan—a lot of the people I know, they're Lovecraft fans tried and true for the rest of their days." I continued to sip at my cup, hoping it might mask my nervousness, and pressed him further on the eldritch and timeless creatures that adhered to no natural laws. "Do you have a favourite Great Old One?" "It's so hard to choose; I love them all so much. Cthulhu's great. I think he appeals to the widest masses because he's one of the more accessible of the Great Old Ones. He at least has a definite form, if flabby and grotesque and horrific. And the octopus and the bat-wings? 1 mean, c'mon—that's great visual. And he's on Earth. He's not at the centre of the universe like Azathoth; he's not in- between the spaces we know like Yog-Sothoth. He's definitely the most popular and I think he strikes a chord with me as well. "There are those who think of the Great Old Ones or Elder Gods as evil," I continued; the sweat palpable on my brow and my heart fairly beating out of my chest. "Do you?" "They're not evil, they're just misunderstood. I think a lot of people—even myself, back in my younger days—say that Cthulhu is evil or that the Cthulhu mythos is full of evil gods, but really they're above the concepts of good and evil. They don't follow human laws." The terror on my face could no longer be contained and Atkinson was looking at me with deepening suspicion. Still, I could not hide the disgust and almost overwhelming compulsion I had to flee that house and never peruse the works of Lovecraft or Thicket again. Why? Why would someone worship these star- spawned beings? Who would embrace such lunacy and proclaim Cthulhu—a dead squid-god whose immense corpse lies dreaming in the sunken city of R'lyeh—to be their savior; their squat, bloated deity? The answers to these questions no longer interested me and, excusing myself abruptly, I careened down the hall and out the front door into the stark daylight. I hazarded a look back as I stumbled up the street as fast as I could go, nausea beginning to overtake me and saw Atkinson staring after me from the porch; the light in his eyes leaving no doubt as to what would be my eventual fate. I had angered him, and in so doing, I had angered others far more powerful than he. It is three weeks from that meeting now. Strangers have knocked on my door every day and things clamber on my roof at night! I know not else how to describe them, the insectoid horrors! They come for me now, deafening me with the beating of their membranous wings outside my window, but i refuse to look. And their buzzing! Ah, buzzing so loud I can barely hear the clattering of the typewriter keys! They call to me—the Mi-Go, the fungi from Yuggoth! They're trying to coax me out. When I don't comply, they'll force the jamb and I'll be lost. There it is! I have mere seconds left. My gun is at my side, for all the protection it will afford me. Let these notes find you safely. Goodb • Lovecraft: An Introduction By Chris Eng HP Lovecraft was the Ramones of horror fiction. Where they never had a hit album, he never had a collection of his stories published in his lifetime. They were both prolific and both worked in underground genres. Both would have massive impacts on the mainstream and, sadly, when both their contributions were finally recognized, it was to be posthumously (with admission to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame falling after Joey Ramone's death, and with the hardcover publication of Lovecraft's Best Supernatural Tales coming a scant number of years after his passing). Cited by almost every modern horror author as one of the greatest practitioners of the form in the twentieth century—perhaps ever—Howard Phillips Lovecraft lived a brief, solitary life spinning weird tales for Weird Tales magazine and others which offered him a pittance in exchange for them. Not even able to support himself from his writing (he did so from an inheritance fund), he died in relative obscurity in 1937 at the age of 46. For someone whose achievements went, in the main, unnoticed during his life, his contributions to horror fiction are almost incalculable. On top of leaving behind a brobdingnagian corpus of work for future authors to pore over, he also wrote one of the first treatises on the genre, Supernatural Horror in Literature, and opened it with a simple and powerful deduction: "The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown." And what could be more fear-inspiring than living out your humdrum daily existence, only to find out that not only are we not alone in the universe but our company is a race of ancient beings with god-like potential, living just beyond what we can perceive as the fabric of reality? The Great Old Ones, the Elder Gods: frozen under the Antarctic icecaps, imprisoned in a sunken city below the Atlantic, or biding time on one of the other planets of our own solar system—one only needs to uncover the slightest bit about them to be pushed over the brink into madness. And, in that, is one of Lovecraft's most enduring storytelling trademarks. Even more than his love of adjectives ("gibbous," "eldritch," "Archaean," "febrile") or his ability to skirt description by expounding at length on something's indescribability (hence enforcing the fear of the unknown), was his unwritten edict that almost no-one should emerge unscathed from his stories. It didn't matter where the peril came from—once the truth about the universe was discovered (there is no God, only a race of omnipotent aliens who view humankind as insignificant specks), there were only two ways out: madness or death. The outsider's viewpoint has been quintessential^ lodged into almost all of his work, but it is perhaps most notable in his stories concerning the Great Old Ones (also known as the Mythos or Cthulhu Mythos stories, after "Call of Cthulhu," one of his best known and most-enduring works). Men (for women were rarely mentioned in stories, and even then only in passing), already isolated, came into strange knowledge that no one else would possibly believe on their say-so, isolating them further and often only being brought to light in the form of journal entries, which is the format for many of the tales (a trend which continued itself in the work of other writers who expanded on the Mythos after his death via stories like Robert Bloch's "Notebook Found in a Deserted House"). Their last entries reek of the author's sanity cracking about the edges or complain of strange beings coming for them in the night, and there is never any hope of salvation. The misunderstood or lonely are the only ones who see the world as it truly is and seek refuge in either death or the comforts of their own mind. In that context, it's really not hard to see where Lovecraft's universality stems from. He ironically provided long-desired feelings of kins- manship and understanding to those who stand at society's fringes—the gangly, over-educated, socially awkward and hermitlike—but perhaps it's his other message that gives his work such widespread appeal: The proposal that if there is a god, maybe we're better off not meeting Him... or It. • 15 DiSCORDER smwmmmsi Dove Tales: The Art of Mecca Normal By Christa Min Who Shot Elvis (Matador, 1997) Five summers ago, I drove to Alaska. I wanted to go north, so 1 borrowed my brother's car and left the city early in the morning. 1 brought a blanket, a can opener and a bag full of CDs. An hour out of town, 1 had to stop for gas. While I was in the bathroom, someone stole everything out of my car, except for the CD in the player. I listened to Who Shot Elvis 10 times that day, and everyday after that, until I got to Alaska. The record is exactly 41 minutes and 19 seconds long. After 413 minutes and 10 seconds had passed, I would stop driving, open the door, and go to sleep on the floor of the road. The Eagle and the Poodle (Matador, 1996) Four years ago, my boyfriend left me with a broken bicycle and torn photographs. He moved to Toronto to go to school. He called me in December to tell me it was cold and to ask if I missed him. No, 1 said, even though I did. 1 turned up the music, so I couldn't hear the sound of his voice. He asked what all the noise was, and I said It's called "When You 16 October 2002 Know." Listen. 1 held up the phone to the speaker until my arm went numb and the song ended. Hello? I said, and I heard him start to cry. Who is that? he said. Dovetail (K, 1992) When 1 was 12 years old I had a neighbour who was psychotic. She lived alone, and she would only leave her apartment to buy frozen hamburgers and cupcakes. Her purse was big and gray with a shoulder strap that she held onto tightly. She clenched her fist around her purse strap until her knuckles turned whiter than her teeth. For my 12th birthday, my 17-year-oid cousin gave me Dovetail. I thought my cousin was cool because she drove a red car with no roof and she had a boyfriend who was taller than my dad. So 1 thought the record she gave me was cool, I played it one night, before 1 went to bed. There was a knock at the door. It was my crazy neighbour. She started screaming, "Shut up! Shut up! Tell her to stop screeching in my ear!" and she pushed me down with her shoulder while gripping onto her purse. She ran into my room, pulled Dovetail off the record player, and threw it against the wall. I cut my finger open when I picked up the pieces. I smeared blood on the record sleeve when I threw away each of the black fragments. The next day, I called my cousin and made her buy me another copy. / can't say that the stories above are true exactly, but I can say that although they never really happened, I have proven myself to be a TRUE ARTIST! Jean Smith and David Lester are artists too. Mecca Normal really is one of the most original and amazing bands ever to come out of Canada. They will be performing and showing their ART from the last two decades at the Western Front (303 East 8th Avenue) from October 8-12, viewing from 12-5pm. There will be an interactive workshop (October 8,9,10, and 12 only, 8pm) showing how ART AND MUSIC CAN CHANCE THE WORLD! It would be a good idea to go. For more information go to http://mecca_nor- mal.tripod.com. • ^OT gots wmw ?© ma Tribute albums are so ubiquitous these days. It seems like a week after you've started your band, have four songs and maybe a demo, you're entitled to have one. Whatever happened to the tribute part of the equation? The part where people are supposed to be showing respect to a band that actually made some kind of difference, displayed some kind of amazing song-writing or skill or was simply fucking amazing? For example: The Beatles deserve tribute albums; KC & the Sunshine Band do not. The Pixies deserve a tribute album; Great White do not. Jimi Hendrix deserves a tribute album (though few could do him justice); Savage Garden do not. And just for the record: Bum definitely deserve a tribute album. Luckily, Gareth Gaudin of Magic Teeth Records has taken it upon himself to give them one, in the form of the new release / Said Sometimes. Born in Victoria in the late '80s, Bum emerged as part of the power-pop invasion and rode the wave that propelled other contemporaries like the Stand GT, Mr. T Experience, Sicko, the Smugglers and the Fastbacks into the spotlight. Singing about nothing more original than love and lost love and only releasing two studio albums (and one live LP), Bum probably should have faded into a distant memory by the end of the '90s, but enduring (and endearing) song-writing and simple honesty in their work have managed to keep them alive these past years in the hearts and minds of their fans, if not in actuality. "There's lots of smarmy rock bands who have an attitude that they've cultivated or stolen," Gaudin says from his Victoria home, "but Bum just seems to be four guys who have their own personalities and enjoy rocking more than being famous." And Gaudin would know. Sharing a hometown with the band allowed him to spend his formative years going to shows and checking them out. And guitarist/vocalist Rob Nesbitt developed a rapport with Gaudin by frequenting the comic shop Gaudin worked at, looking for Star Wars Memorabilia. From there it was just a short step to being able to put out some unreleased Bum tracks on his own record label, for reasons which Gaudin is unabashed about: "I just love the songs—almost everything I've heard—and it's stayed with me. Heartfelt in the grand tradition of lost love and exuberance with sugar-buzz fun. Throw it all together and it spells rock and roll. And when I got the opportunity to start putting out the unreleased Bum songs that was just kind of a bonus. I could have my small part in being part of the Bum experience, as it were. I never saw the Beatles; I didn't see Nirvana when they played Victoria, but 1 released a Bum record and that means something in my stupid little head." Still, after exhausting the unreleased Bum catalogue, Gaudin realized he either had to stop putting out records or to shoot for something bigger, so, realizing that Bum had a bigger fan-base than most people gave them credit for, he put the word out that he was assembling a tribute album and waited for the contributions to start flowing in. "Everyone was pretty gung-ho about it. People had fond memories of Bum, so that was nice. Like the Stand GT—there's some stories that as far back as '92—'93 they were touring around and all they ever played was Wanna Smash Sensation in their van and they played 'I Hardly Breathe' live all the time, and they finally recorded it for me." And not just the Stand GT, but Lisa Marr, Carolyn Mark, Run Chico Run, the Fastbacks and 22 others from all across the world. "Four continents. Japan, Canada, US, Australia, Spain. Five countries, four continents." 27 tracks covering every Bum song ever recorded but a track off of an obscure European single. In the end, though, it's not the music that keeps Gaudin on course; it's the knowledge that he shares a bond with music lovers around the world. And having the potential to give something to them makes the album worthwhile. "It was nice to get an email from some kid in Japan who was amazed that I live in the same city as Bum. 'Do you see them on the street?' Yeah, our hometown heroes are rock gods to people elsewhere." • 1 Said Sometimes comes out this month on Magic Teeth Records. Members of Bum can still be seen on the streets of Victoria. Interpol By Luke Meat Full disclosure: When 1 was in high school, every May 18th, myself and two friends would smoke a ton of pot and get cop- sluggin' drunk on Big Bear whilst blasting every Joy Division album we owned. For in 1981, that was the sacred day Ian Curtis hung himself, and dammit, we had to come to terms with the fact that we would NEVER get to see Joy Division live. So needless to say, reports that New York band Interpol were the second coming of Joy Division were met with mixed skepticism and hopefulness. Either way, it was a delight to hear that they would be playing our fair city on Saturday, September 14th, and that I would be able to judge for myself. First and foremost, Interpol are NOT the second coming of Joy Division, and understandably, they're not wild about the expectations raised by this constant comparison. They are simply a beautiful amalgamation of moody early '80s music that oddly sounds unique and original today. And while they may not be Joy Division reincarnate, they're a damn good band that put on a damn good show, despite numerous obstacles (including the by-now famous guitar-theft incident). I found them in The Royal Hotel shooting pool, drinking, and reading the article about themselves in The Georgia Straight. This prompted me to ask... Photographer Michael Edwards DISCORDER: Are there any questions from journalists you particularly hate? Daniel Kessler: We get pretty tired of the Joy Division question. Or our clothes... Nevertheless, you are compared to them quite frequently. Is that a positive or negative thing? DK: It depends. When it's yourself reading the paper or a review sometimes you're a little more sensitive. I don't mind doing press, but I try not to read it afterwards because it's out of your hands. All I care about is giving a good interview and being honest. You can't get too wrapped up in what people say about your style and your musical direction. We can only control what we as a band do. Has there ever been a comparison [to another band] that Interpol viewed as completely unfounded? DK: The Magnetic Fields... that was a weird one. It's strange because when we started the band, none of us discussed influences at all. Someone said we sounded like Kitchens of Distinction. I've never heard them. I think it's unfortunate that in this day and age we have to refer to one thing to describe another; we all do it. If we remind someone of something that's okay. How does one look stylish without becoming a fashion victim? Carlos Dengler: It's funny you should mention this because we were all reading this week's issue of People Magazine's "Best and Worst Dressed" issue! I think Kelly Osbourne is the cutest thing on the planet. Only she can get away with certain styles. It's always about what you feel looks good on you. One thing I can't stand is when people experiment with a style they can't walk in. Clothes on a rack are a completely different entity than when you put them on a person. What has been playing in the tour van lately? DK: The Warlocks. Personally I've been listening to Can, Tago Mago. Can really did the blueprint for a lot. We all listen to Afghan Whigs when we're on the road. Favourite Matador band? DK: For a long time, Mogwai. What is the true definition of a gentleman? CD: Someone who treats every single person he meets with the utmost respect, that everyone on this planet deserves, irregardless of who they are; anyone who is on top of their own game, in the sense that he doesn't have any issues. For instance, Gideon Yago (MTV news VJ): he has no attitude with anyone he talks to. Chivalry is very important as well. Alcoholic beverage of choice? DK: Strictly beer for me. Carlos and Paul tend to get stuck on very specific cocktails; y'know, "This is the best Bloody Mary I've ever had" or "This is the worst Martini I've ever had." Hangover cure? DK: There's nothing that a good greasy breakfast can't cure! We stopped at a Denny's as soon as we crossed the border! The song "PDA" has appeared on three out of your four recordings. The song "Da Da Da" by the German band Trio appeared on three of their recordings. Have you ever driven a Volkswagen? DK: [Laughs] PDA was recorded after we were together for five months. We did it on a four-track in our basement. We then recorded it again, only really slow. Listening to that version it was like, "Man, were we really stoned or something?" And then when Matador approached us about doing the full length we wanted to do the defin- i of PDA, which is what I think that version is. In "PDA" the lyrics state, "we have 200 couches where you can sleep tight." Have you yourself ever couch-surfed? DK: I'm too conscientious to do that sort of thing. Many people 1 know have, but... The first Interpol EP is going for $38 US on eBay right now! What is the most expensive thing you have ever bought and was it worth it? CD: I spent about $180 on a traditional, late-19th century tuxedo coat with tails. I only bust it out on special occasions, but it fit perfectly and I just had to have it; it's a beautiful thing. What is the next historical era to be revised in fashion? CD: I don't want to admit this, but since fashion is so cyclical... For example, when I was younger, I went to all these so-called "cool" parties dressed the way I am now but all the style was, was '60s soul or '70s disco, and yes, I'll be the first to admit there is an '80s revival happening. So what comes after the 8? 9! And I really don't want grunge to come back. That's my prediction, but I hope it won't come true. For Interpol, is this as good as it gets? DK: It is in one sense, but we're so levelheaded. We've been around for four years so we've paid our dues, but yeah, it is kinda whirl- windy. I mean, we went to Europe, we did a John Peel show—which was amazing—playing in the same place as Bowie, the Beatles and Led Zeppelin. We're just trying to keep everything really chill and keep focusing on songwriting. That's all that matters—maintaining control and putting out good records. That's all that should matter at least. Past or present: Who's the best dressed band? CD: It's a tie between us and Duran Duran. • 17 DiSCORDER under review IIBIIBIIIIIH^HIH recorded media AUTECHRE Gantz GrafEP/DVB (Warp) in perusing almost 10 years of reviews of Autechre albums, you come to realize that they represent a dismayingly limited literary genre: terms like "abstract," "granular' "fizzle," "austere," "clinical," "complex," 'metallic," and (for those for whom the term "pseudo-intellectual" is more than a label, but, rathei, a way of life) "deconstructed" are shuffled and spliced togethei, applied to portions by various critics with seeming arbitrariness. Autechre, to their immense credit liave resisted this attempt to debase ' eir musk to a verbal disburse. Hence, my own difficulty in assessing Gantz Graf. Autechre aspires to recreate the consciousness of (a) Shockwave—the intellect of an abstract (there's that word again), chaotic entity. Sometimes it's beautiful and sometimes it's not. Sometimes I see transformation, demolition, expansion, and genesis, and sometimes 1 see a couple of guys outsmarting themselves. And, by corollary, sometimes it's worth buying, and sometimes, as with the three songs on Gantz Graf, it's not. All in all, these tracks are a regression from the more interesting and coherent work on Confield. That said, reviewing an Autechre album is rarely a productive act of musical criticism; any individual's reaction to their music at a given time will be the product of a complex and ultimately unpredictable set of intellectual, aesthetic, and emotional factors. Besides, they have enough of a core following now that Vancouver's Buddy Holly glasses-wearing pretentiati will buy this EP no matter what I say. for the included here (on DVD), the only new one—for "Gantz Graf" itself, directed by Alexander Rutterford—is uninspired: it features what I can only presume to be a hyper- spatial Constructivist kitchen appliance trapped in one of those screen savers that generates abstract visual patterns in time to the beat coming from your speakers. An interesting premise, perhaps, that feels underdeveloped, and also, somehow, fundamentally pretentious: the roving camera angles and accelerating/dece- larating action are a convention in contemporary pop 18 October 2002 videos that more sophisticated visual renderings (cf. Plaid— whose music, n my opinion, lends itself infinitely more to visual representation) know to avoid. As for the other videos. "Basscadet" and "Second Bad Vilbel", both are available for download from, autechre.nu, in forr lan DVL Donovan STEVE EARLfc yerusalem (E-Squared) The cover of Bruce Springsteen s born in the USA is red, white and blue. The cover of Jerusalem is orange, beige, and green. "Born in the USA" is about a Vietnam vet. "John Walker's Biues" is about a Jihad vet. Bon: in the USA is a pretty shitty album. Most of the ongs usalei pretty good. Bruce Springsteen has a hot ass that chicks love and he has never been in jail. Steve Earle has been married six times, and he was a heroin addict and an alcoholic. Do you see the pattern here? Me neither. Christa Min IRON AND WINE The Creek Drank The Cradle (Sub Pop) What is it about slide guitar? Something about the way a slide blurs notes together just pulls me in. So 1 was a pushover when the strangely restrained, thrumming tones of unknown Sam Beam's guitar filled my earphones. His solo, home-recorded The Creek Drank the Cradle blends country, folk and the blues into a sound that is at once utterly distinctive and comfortingly familiar. Each song is comprised of delicately layered vocals and acoustic guitars, with slide, banjo and pedal steel providing melodies over Beam's exquisitely subtle strumming and finger work. Whispered three- and four- part vocal harmonies reminiscent of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young are mellow, heartfelt, and startlingly poetic (from "Lion's Mane": "Love is a tired symphony you hum when you're awake/love is a crying baby mother warned you not to shake."). The production is as bizarrely perfect as the music: recorded in his garage on 8-track tape, Beam's recordings have an ethereal, grainy quality reminiscent of early acoustic recording processes. It is hard to believe this music was recorded in the present day, let alone in suburban Miami Beach, where Beam works as a film instructor at a local college. However, it is for real. And Sub Pop has their grubby little hands on another 13 tracks.... Susy Webb JAZZSTORY S/T (Guildwood) n't I t the jrn you away. Jazzstory isn't the hippest name for a jazz group, or an album for that matter. On top of that, I've never been a fan of self-titled alburns to begin with, but. I wa throw any misconceptions aside when 1 listened to this disk. This Toronto-based quartet's debut is haunting, full of conversational interplay between four wonderful musicians. Trumpeter Lina Allemano takes the iead from opening second of sound, giving melodies composed by guitarist Tim Postgate a brooding atmosphere. She displays both technical skill and melodic sensibility throughout. Drummer Jean Martin adds to the atmosphere nicely, using a wide palette of sounds to keep the percussion interesting, while bassist Rob Clutton uses his bow much of the time to create a thick wall of sound. Particularly fine is the group interaction on "If Boats," an introspective piece full of quiet tension. This disc was recorded live in March last year. Some live recordings strike me as inspired and interest me greatly; other times, I find them quite inaccessible. Sometimes you get the feeling that the group would have been great to see live, but on record it all sounds dull. Thankfully, this performance is almost as enjoyable on disc as it would have been live. The music leaps between Euro-classical ideas and bop phrasing with ease throughout, and the playing is so inspired that I wish I were there. Lucas TdS KARIYA Let Me Love You For Tonight 12" (Stakka and Skynet "Sunrise" Remix) (Retro) In D&B circles, opinion is divided on the merits of using vocal tracks. Opposed are the so- called old skools, the so-called hardcores—and even a few residual so-called b-bwoys— bent on preserving the original UK D&B sound; inclined are the exponents of the newer generation, receptive to the notion of fusing the original vibe with more melodic elements from house and trance, some even going so far as to endorse the integration of D&B as a culture with the commercialized mainstream This schism has led to the proliferation of vicious debate on our own, peace-loving homegrown forum—the typically tranquil rtwdnb.bc.ca. As an intellectual and a mystic, I transcend these petty divisions. Locking D&B into its primordial state would mean more of the beioved old skool vibe, but would also threaten D&B as a genre as a site of ongoing nnovation; assimilation into, the mainstream is even less a| pea ng: nc genre can retain its potency or its intellectual integrity when it's being played back to back with 'N Sync on commercial radio. No, my friends, the,way forward is the way of balance— the way of the electronic :ult. ethe D&B has relevant electronic genre today through its fundamentally triangular structure—a depressive bassline, a confused, neutral (but propulsive) rhythm and an enthused (from the Greek en theos—"in god") treble—which has evolved over the course of its history. We see the triangle imprinted in the spirit of every truly profound cultural/mystical trope in human history: hence the Vedic, Babylonian, and Hellenic triads, the three phases of the White Goddess and her lunar consort, the Hegelian dialectic, the three consolations of Buddhism, the alchemical rite of putrefaction, the Saussurean formula for the emergence of linguistic (and cultural) meaning, the numerological speculations of Pythagoras, the cosmology of the Transformers (Autobot/ Decepticon/Unicron), the Pseud system of Tension, and the Christian Trinity. Vocals (primarily female or falsetto male) can be readily adapted to the treble component of this formula; more complex permutations are an inevitable— and desirable—vicissitude as the genre continues to develop. Certainly, overuse of vocals will spell the untimely end of D&B, but the balance of producers creating vocal tracks and non-vocal tracks is, at this moment, ideal, with excellent work being done on both ends of the spectrum. On the vocal side, we take, by way of example, the Stakka and Skynet remix of Kariya's house classic "Let Me Love You For Tonight." The deployment of the formula is raw (though creatively contrived through the skillful adaptation of the original track's piano line as a component of the bass), and the result is impressive. It can be difficult to mix due to its rapid, difficult to disguise intro, and the vocal sample is overused by the end, but if you don't mind getting ripped off on the B-side (not that the original mix is bad in its own right, but you won't be able to use it in a set), this is an awesome track. Donovan LUNA Close Cover Before Striking (Jetset) Luna s new reiease, Close Cover Before Striking, is just that: striking. Their album cover is simple but striking, and the music follows suit: simple, clean, lyric-driven, and with exceptional guitar handling. Dear- Wareham sings lead— soft, fairly mellow; Sean Edem on guitar—fabulous; Lee Wall offers strong and grooving drums; and Britta Phillips— who you might better recognize as the voice of JEM!—a recent addition on bass, is great. The style is a little reminiscent of Mercury Rev, but not too much. Just enough. 1, for one, am very pleased with this album and while it's been a year since they last visited Vancouver, I'll be keeping my ears and eyes out and my crossables crossed for their Renita Long MAYFLIES USA Walking in a Straight Line (Yep Roc) If Rock Boy wanted to throw a romantic dinner for Rock Girl, he may very well have had this CD going in the background to assist the candlelight. It's not that Mayflies USA are Coldplay-boring or Oasis- monotone, but they're close. The problem is they've found one OK sound and dedicated everything to it. Every song: same fuzzed guitar, same vocals with harmony, same lack of drumming, same EVERYTHING. After listening to the album for what seemed likev30 seconds, I checked to see if the first song had ended yet, but apparently it was already on Track 7. Good God man, it's like one long song. Oh, and if you're into lyrics, have fun decoding the sometimes half-audible vocals (due to the half-assed engineering job). PS. Rock Boy, if you're reading this, hope you get some action tonight. Eurassia OPERATION MAKEOUT Hang Loose (Mint) Finally able to rise above their unfortunate reputation for sounding exactly like Sleater- Kinney, Operation Makeout has made some steps since their First Base EP. Hang Loose has a little more in the way of visceral energy, and they're starting to carve out a more idiosyncratic sound for them selves with a few more angles and some added aggression courtesy of a stronger vocal presence from Jesse. Their main strength, though, has always been their talent for a solid hook which is as evident as ever, especially on tracks like "Life On Your Windowsiil," and "Take the Rains" (a little postcard to Vancouver?"! The recipe is sweetened further by the natural evolution of the same satisfyingly complex guitar-work they've employed before, complemented nicely with boy-girl vocal trade-offs The hidden remix of "You And Me Geometry by Secret Mommy (a.k.a The Epidemic Andy Dixon of Red Light Sting fame) is also surprisingly coo: Catchy punk rock tunes don't really lend themselves to IDM makes it work, coming off iike the bastard ch;:d of Matmos and Kid606. In fact, after a few listens. I'm finding this remix to be one of my favorite tracks on the album. It starts off a little rocky—different elements just banging around like FM radios in a garbage can— but it eventually gets distorted beyond recognition into a sue tion-y click-pop groove before swinging back into an exploded, processed repetition of the chorus. All-around, Hang Loose is a solid first full-length for a popular local band with a lot of potential. I don't doubt that we'll see more and even better things from them soon. Saelan THE PUPILS S/T (Dischord) This album will never reach much of an audience—regardless, I'll try and convince you that you should run out and buy it. Daniel and Asa (of the band Lungfish) have crafted an impeccable collection of songs that are capable of subtly rocking. The starkness of Daniel and Asa's two-guitar, balls-out rock is amazing, coming off at times a minimalist version of Led Zeppelin. It's not all rock in the Pupils' universe, though, and the duo also employ a chilling quiet side in which they further explore their imaginative lyrical abilities. Still, I doubt I convinced you to buy it. But I tried. Jay Douillard QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE Songs for the Deaf (Interscope) The Queens of the Stone Age return in full force with a sound that defies description, but rocks hard just the same. It's always been hard to classify this group's music—is it neo- grunge, metal-lite or so-called "stoner rock"? The Queens prove it doesn't matter with this collection of 14 hard-hitting songs. The opening track, "Millionaire," starts off the album with a bang, as Nick Oliveri's vocals scream across Dave Grohl's primal drumming. Grohl's drumwork is so unbelievably powerful, you'll wish it was 1991 all over again. "No One Knows" is blessed with an addictive guitar riff, supplanted by Josh Homme's reassuring voice. "Go with the Flow" showcases the band's ability to deliver biting lyrics alongside a catchy hook: "I want something good to die for/To make it beautiful to live." "Another Love Song" brings back memories of old country with organs and tambourines ringing in the background. Perhaps the greatest strength of this album is its sheer variety. Three musicians share lead vocal duty here, and the songs range from punk ("Six Shooter") to lush instrumental pop ("Mosquito Song"). Songs for the Deaf is far from perfect, though—the album may be a bit too long, the great songs are found exclusively in the first half, and phony radio- station introductions to the songs attempt to tie the album together, but become tiresome with repeat listening. That's not to say that this is a bad album. Far from it. If you're looking for pure rock and roll, you've found it. James Hsu ROOTS MANUVA Dub Come Save Me (Big Dada) Here's a shocker: a dub-remix album that's not only worthy of the original, but actually better! Last year, Roots Manuva's Run Come Save Me earned rave reviews as the best British hip-hop album of the year (admittedly not a tight race), and while Roots' dancehall-flavored rhymes were smooth enough, it fell a little short in the production department. Word is, Roots did most of it himself while learning to use his Pro Tools, so if ever there were a prime candidate for a dubwise redux with a talented producer, this is it. Lord Gosh steps in to handle production duties and delivers all the rolling, hazed-out, speaker-rattling basslines that every dub-freak dreams about at night. For "Revolution 5," Chali 2na of Jurassic 5 lends his superbly rhythmic vocal stylings to the mix, trading off lyrics with Roots for a stunning track that's as good or better than anything else that he's recorded to date. And, like a good spliff, this album gets deeper and more potent as it burns down. "Tears" veers in a darker and heavier direction, tuning into a Bristol vibe that delivers everything I'd hoped that the sadly disappointing partnership between Mos Def and Massive Attack would provide. Most surprising of all is that the rubbery remix of "Dreamy Days" is by none other than those eclectic Welsh pranksters The Super Furry Animals. If the liner notes didn't print it, though, it would have been impossible to tell, and while not the strongest track on the album, it's still solid. "The Lynch" follows directly on its heels with a colossal synth-driven bounce that can get even an ass as white as mine gyrating like a chimpanzee in heat. After a few more Lord Gosh haze-outs and a guest appearance by Riddla, the album closes out with a smooth and satisfying dub of the Run Come Save Me B-side "Witness (I Manifest)" that's so hot you'll need roach clips to finish it off. Saelan RUN FOR COVER LOVERS The Difficult Nature of Interpersonal Relationships (Good Fork/Rockin' Pussy) A surprise act from out of nowhere (well, Oakland, CA, actually), the Run for Cover Lovers take a lesson from the old rock cookbook. In this casserole they've thrown in some guitar-based rock, some pumping organ (uh... never mind), and good driving pop. And in the mix, if that weren't enough, is a light sprinkling of the Pixies and Beat Happening. Perhaps a little bit of X thrown in there as well, especially on the title track. "Kubota Tractor" sounds a bit like the Berlin, adolescent, spazz-rock band Pop Tarts, and that's a plus. Also included within the 14 tracks is the long lost Von LMO's "Monoshock." How often do you come across an album with more than two good songs? This breaks the trend with humour, weirdness, heartache and confidence. Bleek SNITCHES Star Witness (Write Off Records) The Strokes, The White Stripes, The Hives, The Vines. Now add to that list, The Snitches, Canada's contribution to "rawk." At first listen, 1 thought they could easily be grouped in with the above bands, but upon closer examination, I found Star Witness couldn't be explained that easily. This is an extremely varied CD. Songs like "December 21" and "Sugar Mommy" are pretty typical of the latest sound, but "In My Head" has a Ramones rhythm all over it and a lyrical style straight out of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The melodic and sweet "Wednesdays On My Mind" sounds like Elvis Costello should sing it. "Gets Me Down" starts off sounding like a Doors song but ends up (thankfully) with an up-tempo return to raucous yelling, which seems to be Snitches' trademark. Listening to this album makes me want to see them live, just to figure out if their musical spastic energy is physical as well. Star Witness should be delivered to mainstream radio so stations can stop using Nickelback to fulfill those Canadian content rules. Actually, scratch that. This CD is much too fun to meet such a fate. Jana STRUNG OUT American Paradox (Fat Wreck Chords) My first exposure to Strung Out was several years ago at a small show in an unventilated third floor room on East Hastings, with Good Riddance and I can't remember who else. They blew me away back then, in the good old days. I had never before witnessed such intensity. I'm sad to say that I am disappointed in this recent release. What used to be new and exciting has become cliche. God, I feel old. This is a slickly produced CD that sounds pretty much like everything else out there. The lyrics are not interesting and the layout features a heavily made-up woman with a gun. I would complain more, but I already feel like an old fart. Kids these days.... Michael VARIOUS ARTISTS Oscillate (nice+smooth) If you know something about D&B culture in North America, you probably know that Toronto, Canada is considered to be one of this continent's few true Meccas; if, like me, you lacked evidence of the merit of this reputation, correct your shameful ignorance now with Oscillate. The tracks on this album are spectacular, from Dynasty w/ Sunya's exquisitely, autumnal "Glass Slipper" (and its masterful mix out of Illfingas' "Union Station"), to Liquified's balanced but propulsive "Perspectives," to Visionary w/ Sol Azul's lugubrious, Latin- based anthem "Sola Bossa." Former Vancouver D&B deity Andy B also contributes with "October," giving the already impressive Toronto natives' tracks some healthy competition—and proving that Vancouver is a vital and talented scene in its own right. The narrative flow of the track selection is sinuous and ambitious but clean. The only drawback is the digital mixing, which lends itself to some uncreative transitions on the last half of the album. All told: more than worth tracking down, and go see the nice- smooth.com website while you're at it. Donovan Want to look simply this Halloween? J AVAILABLE AT SALONS, HEMP STORES, AND ONUNE! Mfww.knottyboy.com • dread kits • wax Wholesale Inquiries call 604473-8631 Sorry, I Wasn't Listening: Reviews of CDs I Didn't Listen To By Chris Eng BLACK DICE Beaches & Canyons (DFA) Gritting is a fine art. Being able to take people along for a con—either big or short—is a singular ability and, while it generally doesn't emerge overnight, it does require some innate talent. Emerging from the loose partnership of three young con-artists working the casinos and clubs of New York, Black Dice were faced with two simple options: stop working the casinos and get into music (which all of the mem bers were doing on the side, anyway) or risk giving themselves away (by getting sloppy and throwing pair of "black dice," as it were) and end up wearing a pair of cement overshoes. The boys opted for the latter and, instead of actually scamming people, now they've pulled off the ultimate job—singing about grifts and establishing maximum cool and credibility. Advice common to the point of cliche contends that people should write about what they know and, in line with that, Beaches & Canyons is a concept album about living a life of crime. "Seabirds" kicks things off with a beach-side meeting before the biggest job of their career; "Things Will Never Be The [Same" is about the job going wrong; and "Big Drop" covers the last job they commit before they leave the life. It's all raw and earnest, but their intentions lay cloaked behind a veil of what's left unsaid, and that's where Black Dice's true power lies—because they don't need to say everything; they know they've been there and once you've listened to their new disc, you will too. • 19 DiSCORDER S3? CINEMA ES2J OCT! Hi HIGH STRANGE NEW MEXICO STAN BRAKHAGE'S A CHILD'SGARDEN AND THE SERIOUS SEA [291 REFUSE. REWIND, REPLAY DANIEL KRAUSS' JEFFTOWNE fJQV live music reviews Britta Phillips of Luna daydreams about opening for the MC5 and screaming out, "KICK OUT THE JAMS, MOTHERFUCKERS!" Photo by Sarah Rowlands. WILCO THE BOAS Saturday, August 31 Sunday, September 1 Commodore Ballroom Do me a favour and invest your memories with genuine hope, please forget everything they've told you, cross your arms and close your eyes. 1 could tell you what I saw, maybe what some others said, and perhaps the universal experience as clear as "Simon says," but I won't. Don't get me wrong; this wasn't epiphany or biblical harmony, just a band, just another rock and roll band. So why all the guile? Or am I simply playing coy? You want to know and you want words—like drywall for your mind—so you cry, then shiver and wake in the fury of some other man's thoughts flying through your mind. Fine, all right I'll give in. Take this, and then let it drift and die alone in the longing dawn of the day and understanding. A two-night stand in the Commodore Ballroom and suddenly I've forgotten everything. Two nights with a band named Wilco, and they're not just another band in the Ballroom. Mr. Tweedy says "I am trying to break your heart/ but still I'd be lying, if I said it wasn't easy," and its so clear and 35mm perfect, with his intention so blunt and stated. How can you break a heart at its ecstatic and euphoric peak? How can you hate a man who tells you that? 1 really don't want to waste your time and tell how the lighting accented this or how spot on the so and so was. If you were there, I'm happy; if not, then wait patiently for your turn. But how the night disappeared and the world seemed to turn over, and all the sorrow seemed irrelevant for a while. Standing in the Ballroom, I felt years go by as I finally got to see in-person and up-close a band whose albums mean so much to me. Every song was a whisper of a bad day and lost love, and every word a portrait of a night sky-through a city bus window. I'm man enough to know when my tears are true and when they simply get by. On the first night, they left two songs out of their set—two songs I ached to hear. The second night, they played those songs—is it so simple, is it so fucking simple to break my heart? If you see them, ask Mr. Tweedy, 'cause I'm sure he saw when he silenced and strummed into "Red-Eyed and Blue." Man, he wasn't lying; it was so easy. Oh, by the by, The Boas were a nice little discovery: new to the road and genuine in their intent. Some old Neil Young/Buffalo Springfield vocals fed through Byrds-era Gram Parsons style guitar work and a beautiful rhythm section. They were right in the depths of it on the first night, lost in the brilliance of their own songs. The second night they were cut short on time and punctuation, more stuttering than steering their set, but I grew rather fond of the mop- pish fellas from Chicago. PS: When 1 woke after each night (like Angels dream the universe sleeps), I was uncertain of who I was, and the peace of that moment shook me awake to the relevance and serenity of my life, my own life, and all our lives. Thank-you, Wilco Derek Sterling Boone LINTON KWESI JOHNSON Monday, September 2 Commodore Ballroom Despite the fact that it was a Monday night of a long weekend, the Commodore was full- ish, if not packed to capacity, showing the appeal of the legendary Dub poet Linton Kwesi Johnson and his backing band, fronted by bassist Dennis Bovell. Johnson looked and sounded exactly the way I imagined him; that is, like all pictures I've ever seen and all the albums I've ever heard—his voice completely rhythmic and heavy as a bass drop. Bovell provided an interesting figure to watch as he grimaced his way through the set as Johnson busted out hits spanning his entire career of some 20 odd years, all of them, of course, politically and socially charged. His poems dealt with racial issues in England, police brutality, somewhat current Eastern European events and society's loss of leisure time. There were some notable tunes missing in my opinion, however, when the crowd tried to interact with him by shouting out a desired track, Johnson made a point of informing us that he would decide which poems he would deliver. This concert was definitely a sermon, delivered by a master, no doubt, but with the audience kept at a distance- possibly because Johnson wanted to maintain a dignified and detached air, but maybe because he's simply unhappy with touring. Karen Larsen LUNA SECRET THREE Tuesday, September 3 Richard's on Richards Making new couples happy to have someone to spoon and sway the night away, Luna staged a show for the hopeless Romantica in all of us. Singletons; however, were left to reconsider how hastily they ended their last relationship. The New York four-piece (plus a guest keyboardist, who doubled as a videographer), delivered a set of quirky guitar pop songs that celebrate the sweet idiosyncrasies of relationships. They played a few from their latest album, Romantica, but a lot of old hits like "Pup Tent," a tune that starts off with "sneaking a kiss from the fire escape/a little game of pup tent with a blanket and a broom." What keeps Luna from being sugary sweet is the edgy guitar playing by lead singer Dean Wareham and lead guitarist Sean Eden. The two appear to share a genuine affection for one another on and off stage, as Wareham teased Eden about his growing dependency on Shreddies. Bassist Britta Phillips, who some may recognize as the pill- popping drummer in Satisfaction, seemed to be in her own little headspace. Playing a bass that looked like it weighed more than her, Phillips occasionally looked up from her blond wisps with an impish smirk, letting the almost all male crowd know that she was aware of their gawking presence. Even when she slinked up to the mic to lend backups in a couple of songs, including "Tiger Lily," she was demure and somewhat detached. Despite her demeanour, Phillips' voice was warm and inviting. Her honeyed vocal contribution con- i trasted harmoniously with Wareham's voice, who at times sounded like a more nasal, less ornery Lou Reed. Openers, a local instrumental band called The Secret Three were, in fact, four. They played digestible jazzy music with intermittent Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet undertones, proving to be a perfect prelude to the maestros of eccentric love songs. Ending with three encores, Luna finally wrapped things up with a well-received cover of Fred Neil's "everybody's talking" from Midnight Cowboy. Apart from that, Luna played the same songs to much of the same crowd as the last time they were here and their loyal following didn't seem to mind. Couples went home and tried new positions, while the rest of us went home in a lonely drunken stupor, fighting the urge to make that regrettable midnight call to an ex. Sarah Rowland BURNING CAGE Thursday, September 5 Festival House You know the posturing that goes on when you know you're about to receive bad news— folding your arms tightly around your stomach and grabbing at your back fat for comfort, all the while wishing that you didn't have back fat? When I entered the theatre (or pottery studio?) where Burning Cage was playing in early September, my body language was altered. I wasn't snapping my gum and I wasn't talking to my friends. I haven't been to a lot of plays, but I'll tell you, it's really alarming to realize that by the time you enter, the actors have been on stage for 10 minutes and they have to maintain those awkward positions, gnarled on the floor, for 20 minutes more until the show "begins." It was like being on one of those quiet buses where nobody wanted to be the one jackass who talks. It was an appropriate beginning to a play that literally stopped my digestion. Burning Cage, written and delivered by Mary Jane Gibson and Nicole duFresne tells the story of two women in a 20 October 2002 Boston asylum for the mentally ill and criminally insane. Celeste is in jail for murder (of the man who was raping her at the time) and Olivia is in jail for taking a female lover. Both "crimes" are textbook cases of documented "mental problems," and the subjects are being treated with electroshock and LSD. Take that with the fact that they haven't had a conversation with anyone in over two years who wasn't administering them drugs or strapping them down, and it makes for quite a scene when they encounter a way to connect despite their cell wall. Burning Cage is about isolation and connection in a time when women were "treated" for problems like assertiveness, post-partum depression, prostitution and jealousy. It's an unsettling play concerning attitudes that have yet to be entirely eroded. Eat lightly. Shawster SHiNDiG! YOUR FUNERAL A VIRGIN IN HOLLYWOOD HUMAN HIGHLITE REEL Tuesday, September 10 Railway Club ShiNDiG! First night! September 10 was the first of 13 consecutive Tuesday evenings devoted to CiTR's annual live music competition. Three bands entered the Railway Club, but only one advanced to the next round. Your Funeral, A Virgin in Hollywood, and Human Highlite Reel were an impressive start to the contest. Your Funeral is a punk band, and a tight one. The lead guitarist, whose long hair perhaps belies the band's buzzsaw sound, dropped great solos into short and smart songs. The song that must be the band's theme, "Your Funeral," was a highlight. With choruses shouted by the entire group, and synchronized skyward punches, this high-revving machine called Your Funeral set a high standard as the first band of Shindig! 2002. A Virgin in Hollywood plays pop music, as in "tapping your hand against your beer and smiling even though the singing tells such sad stories" pop music. Theirs were easily the most hook-laden songs of the night. Their bassist is their lead singer, and her no-nonsense bass lines held things together well, even when her singing became perhaps too theatrical. This band, obviously confident in their musicianship, put on an energetic show, maintaining high spirits through the entire set. Human Highlite Reel plays pop music, as in "some fairly off-kilter keyboard-based" pop music. Their frontman, from the back of the stage, used a couple of keyboards and a Radio Shack Boxing Day sale's worth of gadgetry to provide all of the melody, while shouting his lyrics in a matter-of-fact tone. His constant mock-chiding of his bandmates was hilarious (to the sweating drummer: "Why did you wear a sweater?!"). When not joking with each other and the crowd, Human Highlite Reel found the place where creativity and technical proficiency meet, and stayed there for each of their • songs. The band's drummer and bassist made like a metronome and clicked, as they say. After the ballots were cast and counted, it was found that the panel of judges had deadlocked. A tie-breaking CiTR volunteer had to contribute an extra vote, and that put Human Highlite Reel on top of the pile and into the next round. Note: The segment of the night during which would-be comedians are given beer for telling jokes—"Jokes for Beer"—was a painful exercise. The audience listened to joke after played-out joke, giving the collective shout of approval to very few jesters. The hecklers, frankly, offered the best laughs. My hint: if the joke appears in a volume titled 101 Jokes to Crack Up Your Friends at Recess, leave it there. Please. Michael Schwandt WIRE HOT HOT HEAT HINT HINT Tuesday, September 10 Showbox (Seattle) Three songs into Wire's set my friend turned to me, pointed at Bruce Gilbert, and asked, "Is he a senior citizen?" Gilbert isn't fat or crippled, just gray with osteoporosis. His guitar sounded like abrasive death. It was great. Colin Newman held the mic as if he were singing karaoke and pranced around while strumming his headless wedge guitar. He doesn't slouch; he's just kind of fat. His voice sounded like 1978. It was great. And despite the fact that they didn't play a single song from Ideal Copy or Manscape (we screamed "Children of Groceries!" every five seconds to no avail), Wire were great. We had to settle for a couple from Pink Flag. Oh well. Christa Min SHiNDiG! WOODY MY PROJECT: BLUE GOSHEN Tuesday, September 17 Railway Club Week Two of SHiNDiG was an odd one: my feelings upon attending were the opposite of how I'd thought I'd react based on the website's demo songs. The Railway Club was already pretty packed when I arrived— the centerpiece being a birthday party wherein several men were all dressed as Vegas-era Elvis (paunch and puffy face included in only one of the getups, although I suspect it wasn't makeup). I was most excited to see the first band, Woody, whose track "Kitsilano Cowboy" was hilariously ironic and alt-country. They presented well on stage, with three of them in matching black bowling shirts with a wide blue stripe. Unfortunately, their performance was not nearly so inspired as a synchronized wardrobe. A mix of country and surf guitar, what had promised to be intelligently humorous was, in actuality, just plain silly. The best moment was when the singer left the stage, forcing the three guys to play a surf-guitar track. 1 immediately thought that perhaps they were originally a surf act and the singer was their Yoko Ono. I'd noticed that, during Woody's set, the crowd was unusually boisterous, but it hadn't bothered me. Unfortunately, My Project: Blue, who were the second act of the night, really deserved some quiet. A quartet featuring two acoustic guitars, drums and mini-moog/bass, they had a soft, ethereal sound that seemed suited to artsy coffee- shops. Backed by grainy 8mm video of random families doing family-oriented things, they sung about—well, I'm not entirely sure what they sung about, but it sounded pretty mournful, which I probably should have expected, given the name. The singer, hiding behind hair, has the Thorn Yorke-style wail down pat, making anything sung sound slightly sad and angry. The tracks in which they added the bass generally sounded better, although the richest sound came when the singer put down his guitar to take up the synthesizer, and they left me in a meditative mood as they walked off-stage. Goshen was... atmospheric rock? An instrumental three- piece, they cruised through their set, each song morphing into the next until I suddenly realized I never noticed any difference between them all. Each felt like just one more iteration of the previous with negligible differences. Despite this, or perhaps because of this, they succeeded in creating a definite atmosphere in the room, which had thinned out noticeably by then, although the Elvi were all still going strong. They were instantly forgettable and, as I write this, I'm having a hard time recalling anything about them. They were completely anonymous on stage as well, with no introduction or interaction with the audience—they just played through their set and got off. Despite this seemingly negative review, I did somewhat enjoy Goshen, although it may be more apt to say that I didn't dislike them. I'm not sure they had enough presence to really sway me either way. The judges had it easy this night—My Project: Blue was so much better than either of the other two bands; indeed, I'd say they've an excellent chance of winning SHiNDiG this year. Steve Tannock SHiNDiG IN MEDIAS RES THE BASEMENT SWEETS THE SKELETON FOLK Tuesday, September 24 Railway Club The third week of SHiNDiG was all about the rock I grew up with, sequentially. First up was In Medias Res, who hearkened back to the days of plaid flannel and post-teen angst of Seattle Grunge. In the middle was the pleasing pop-rock of The Basement Sweets echoing the Halifax pop-rock scene full of quirky, songs, easy-to-Iisten- to music and something interesting to say. We ended the night with a return to today's pared-down garage rock via the two-piece, The Skeleton Folk. It was a great trip through the last 10 years of my life. in Medias Res started the night off just right with an old- school but immediately accessible sound. They were grunge to a T in sound and attitude: from the "I'm too cool to know what to say" mumblings of the lead singer between songs ("It looks like you're just watching us," "W-W-W...W...no, 3-w's," "This is our next song"), to the slow/furious mix that made it all work so well, and it paid off with a pretty kick-ass show. 1 was suspicious of The Basement Sweets when they came on. They have one of those "funny-at-first, less funny every time afterward" names and looked like they might start into weird, introspective art-rock, but ended up playing pretty straight-up pop- rock. Unfortunately, they were appallingly mistake-prone, which I found somewhat charming, but I suspect others may be less forgiving with. Running the gamut of pseudo- Sloan to pseudo-Talking Heads, their charming little observations made for some interesting pop songs, but their sound was a little barren and would probably do well with an additional instrument. After a rather tepid Jokes For Beer segment, The Skeleton Folk—a girl/boy two-piece featuring she on drums, he on guitar and vocals—took the stage and immediately started having problems. He broke a string on the first song, but fortunately had a spare guitar, so they continued a meandering, pleasingly banal set of songs. As I'd expected from the halfway pointof their set, In Medias Res carried the night, rounding out the finalists for the first semi-final. It'll be an interesting battle, I think, between these three winners. Steve Tannock SLEATER-KINNEY Saturday, September 28 Showbox (Seattle) The only thing better than having your favourite band play for an hour and a half on your birthday is having your girl friend surprise you with tickets for the show, shortly after waking. This September, both of these happened to me. She had been commanding me for weeks not to make plans for that night and I agreed, because I'm a sucker for a good surprise and besides, my last few birthdays had sucked, so I thought maybe by leaving it in somebody else's hands, I might be able to coax something good out of the day. Five hours later, 1 found myself rocketing toward Seattle in a Chrysler LeBaron, hopped to the roof on sugar and high with the promise of a hot night of rockin'. We stopped for Red Bull across the border; we stopped for Taco Bell, and when we hit Seattle we stopped for beer. Only then we were ready to face the gale-force phenomenon known as Sleater-Kinney. There are those skeptics that said that S-K had mellowed, that Corin's baby had removed the fire from her, that the band had lost their edge. I would not only like to proclaim those nay-sayers wrong, I would like to call them out into the parking lot so I can boot- fuck them old-skool style for 90 minutes while a boombox plays One Beat at max volume, just to give them a crystal-clear image of what the show was like. Because they hit that hard. Playing almost all of the songs off of One Beat, plus assorted tracks off every album but their first, they lost nothing from performances of previous years. Carrie still did her super rock-kicks; Corin still screamed loud and heart-breakingly enough to tear the world in half; and Janet still beat the drums with intensity enough to make John Bonham sound like a church-bound Hammond organ set to bossanova on the slowest setting. * The fans refused to leave and S-K came back for a second encore (for the first time on this tour), belting out a cover of my favourite B-52's song ("Private Idaho"), continuing with possibly my favourite of their songs ("Good Things") and finishing things with maybe my second favourite song ("Little Babies"). Not a bad birthday present, all in all. I stumbled into the night with an ear to ear grin permanently etched on my face, buoyed for the long drive home by the knowledge that sometimes, even when you think it's impossible for bands to continually top themselves, they can still manage it for six albums, seven years or one amazing fucking night. Chris Eng refinery) OCTO&ER 3. VieAson V\«r>f\"cks G©w»aflS,3o^f, &oU«K ^^V/ParkstRec. 7-'C0 Rfaef De<u\N(^na J ci release J 7- Jessica E-«Aoc\ cYPxr>3 uyfcoJ otT\aifs ar>-l tDtoke* cro)(We-\ (AW \m^ov- ^ftijl O-AJv/Loeqe .. 14. CVOSed(exx*) \(o ■ Ue*e F\C0\)STiC 17. Coco Uve Klcofo 2-H Mcvi* Ra«»0i.f $$ & 25s - Suyud>?*rw,N>y) Net* \M) (fl^Res*fcV»ML 3l.l{^bwe-vertW"irkfV^ fc*d mk\ Sorne aOoi \efliW\OLrA f^i. 21 DiSCORDER Attn: The Dirtmitts Get On .... album from this Vancouver alt-pop four-piece. Recorded at Burnaby, BC's Greenhouse Studios (Nickelback, Matt Good) and mixed at Vancouver's infamous Warehouse Studio (R.E.M., AC/DC, Slayer), Get On was tracked and mixed in three weeks by former Matthew Good Band |"j guitarist Dave Genn and his production partner Tridon. V Available now at Zulu Records \k ALSO AVAILABLE sectorseven sectorseven suncdo?7 Punk ideology fused with ele Frank Black & the Catholics Black Letter Days suncdosi Frank Black & the Catholics Devil's Workshop suncdo82 Too much great music to fit on one album. And why not? kitchens & bathrooms utter a sound suncdo83 Stellar math rock that's both jarring and melodic, fragmented and cohesive SONIC UNYON RECORDING COMPANY PH0KI.7/^ PO Box 57347 Jackson Station Hamilton ON Canada L8P4X2 orders@sonicunyon.com ALL MUSICIANS Post your profile ONLINE )GIGSTAR.COM Vancouver's "Yellow Pages" for musicians phone 604-806-0333 toll free 1-888-805STAR (7827) , ReD CAT ReCORDS them^ '-tf4M«cirawt Edmonton Block Heater and guest Tanya Philopovitch Fri Oct 4 Toronto\ Michelle Rumball *i special aucsis Adrienne Pierce and Marcus Martin tlll,.ll>.JIJi.,J,J.JJ.,ii.PI,,lIJJIll Thur Oct 10 Sandman the rappin' cowtw from Olympia. Washington w/ travelling companion... Jen Grady Sat Oct 12 surviving on a steady diet of tequila and rattlesnake steaks... Swank w1 Guest PH. 708-94224 eMAIL BI/DDKgReDCAT.CA Sat. October 12 October Long Vinyl October Short Vinyl October Indie Home Jobs 1 Notes From Under... S/T Stutter 1 New Town Animals Fashion Fallout Dirtnap 1 Sharp Teeth Complications 2 Interpol Turn on... Matador 2 Frog Eyes/JWAB Split Global Symphonic 2 The Department Be Your Friend 3 Spoon Kill The Moonlight Merge 3 Cato Salsa Picture... Emperor Norton 3 The Red Scare Will Always Come For You 4 Danko Jones Born A Lion Universal 4 The Spitfires Juke Box High Glazed 4 Barfburn Softserve 5 Zubot and Dawson Chicken Scratch True North 5 Kung Fu Killers S/T TKO 5 End This Week With Knives Let's End This Here 6p:ano When It's Dark... Hive-Fi 6 The Riffs Such a Bore TKO 6 Winks April Fell 7 Cinch S/T Stutter 7 Get Hustle Who do... Gravity 7 Collapsing Opposites War and/or Peace 8 Mecca Normal The Family Swan KRS 8 V/A Presents... Modern Radio 8 The Feminists Me and My Army 9 Operation Makeout Hang Loose Mint 9 Destroyer The Music Lovers Sub Pop 9 Byronic Heroes I'm a Drunk 10RJD2 Dead Ringer Definitive Jux 10 Scat Rag Boosters... Zaxxon 10 Bend Sinister Untitled 11 Sahara Hotnights Jennie Bomb Jet Set 11 The Cleats Save Yourself Longshot 11 Hinterland Destroy Destroyer 12 Tegan and Sara If It Was You Superclose 12 Mirah Small Scale K 12 The Perms So the Stories Go 13 Nasty On City Sick Stutter 13 The Agenda Are You... Kindercore 13 Your Funeral Wee Hours 14 Ron Sexsmith Cobblestone Runway Linus 14 Veal 1 Hate... Six Shooter 14 Chris Lindsay Electronic Free Trade 15 Ladytron Light And Magic Norton 15 Lupine How Don't Lose... Vinyl Hiss 15 Felt Phallus Slip it In 16 Sights Got What... Of Rome 16 Chromatics/Mon tor Bats Split GSL 16 Jordan Mackenzie If You Were My Girl... 17 Organ Sinking Hearts Global- 17 The Evaporators Honk... Nardwuar 17 The Organizers Grannysmith 18 Nightmares on Wax Mind Elevation Warp 18 Gene Defcon Baby... Modern Radio 18 The Accident Just Relax 19 Low Trust Kranky 19 The Lollies Channel... Evil World 19 Crop Circle Mexican Cock Fight 20 Apples in Stereo Velocity Of Sound Spin Art 20 Gentlemen of Horror S/T Independent 20 Oddnoxious Heart Races 21 Sleater-Kinney One Beat Kill Rock Stars 22 Prefuse 73 '92 Vs. '02 Warp 23 Amy Honey S/T Independent 24 Liars 25 Bangs iney mrew us an in... /vture Call And Response KRS ( HOW THE CHARTS WORK) 26 Black Rice Rice Lightning . Independent 27 RFTC Hot Charity/C&P Swami 28 Microphones Song Islands K The monthly charts are comp iled based on the number o f times a CD/LP 29 Boom Bip Seed To Sun Lex ("long vinyl"), 7" ("short vinyl"), or demo tape/CD ("indie home jobs") on 30 Queens of the Stone Age Songs For... Interscope CiTR' playlist was played by our DJs during the previous month (i.e., "Octo- 31 Fubar 32 Radio 33 Riff Randells OST Disclosure Project S/T Aquarius Independent Delmonica ber" charts reflect airplay over September). Weekly charts can be received via email. Send mail to "majordomo@unixg.ubc.ca" with the command: "sub 34 Pixies S/T Sonic Unyon scribe citr-charts. • 35 Yeah Yeah Yeahs S/T Touch And Go CiTR Station Manager Job Posting The Station Manager shall work with and report to the Executive of CiTR but ultimately shall be responsible to the Board of Directors of the Society. The Station Manager shall: -manage the day to day operations of the radio station; -exercise guidence and leadership with respect to the operations of CiTR while at the same time working harmoniously with the Executive; -organize the volunteer membership of CiTR; -organize and attend meetings of CiTR, the Executive and the Board as required; -prepare an annual operating budget for the radio station; -keep up to date on CRTC Regulations and ensure adherence by CiTR to the same; -assume responsibility for licence renewals; -assist the Executive with long term planning for the Radio Station; -organize special projects in connection with the Radio Station as required. This full time position will run on an annual contract with a salary range of $28,000 - $30,000 and includes full benefits (three weeks paid holiday, medical benfits after the first month, dental, extended health, group life insurance, and group pension after three months). Phone 604.822.1242 for application information. Deadline for application is October 9th, 2002 23 DiSCORDER om flic: dial your guide to CiTR 101.9fm SUNDAY ARE YOU SERIOUS? MUSIC 9:00AM 12:00PM All of time is measured by its art. This show presents the most recent new music from around the world. Ears open. THE ROCKERS SHOW 12:00- 3:00PM Reggae inna all styles and fashion. BLOOD ON THE SADDLE 3:00- 5:00PM Real-cowshit-caught-in- yer-boots country. CHIPS WITH EVERYTHING alt. 5:00-6:00PM British pop music from all decades. SAINT TROPEZ alt. 5:00- 6:00PM International pop (Japanese, French, Swedish, British, US, etc.), '60s soundtracks and lounge. Book your jet set holiday now! QUEER FM 6:00-8:00PM Dedicated to the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transsexual communities of Vancouver. Lots of human interest features, background on current issues and RHYTHMSINDIA 8:00-10:00PM Rhythmslndia features a wide range of music from India, including popular music from Indian movies from the J 930s to the present, classical music, semi-classical music such as Ghazals and Bhajans, and also Qawwalis, pop and regional language num- TRANCENDANCE 10:00PM- 12:00AM Join us in practicing the ancient art of rising above common thought and ideas as your host, DJ Smiley Mike lays down the latest trance cuts to propel us into the domain of the mystical.<tran- cendance@hotmail.com> THE SHOW 12:00-2:00AM BBC WORLD SERVICE 2:00- 6:00AM MONDAY BBC WORLD SERVICE 6:00- 8:00AM BREAKFAST WITH THE BROWNS 8:00-11:00AM Your favourite brown-sters, James and Peter, offer a savoury blend of the familiar and exotic in a blend of aural delights! LOCAL KIDS MAKE GOOD alt. 11:00-l :00PM Local Mike and Local Dave bring you local music of all sorts. The program most likely to play your band! GIRLFOOD ah. 11:00- 1:00PM PARTS UNKNOWN 1:00 3:00PM Underground pop for the minuses with the occasional interview with your host Chi FILL-IN 3:00-4:00PM ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS 4:00 5:00PM A chance for new CiTR DJs to flex their musical mi Surprises galore. WENER'S BARBEQUE 5:00 6:00PM Join the sports dept. for their coverage of the T-Birds. CRASH THE POSE alt. 6:00 7:30PM Hardcore/punk as fuck from beyond the grave. REEL TO REEL alt. 6:00-6:30PM Movie reviews and criticism. MY ASS alt. 6:30-7:30PM Phelps, Albini, V me. WIGFLUX RADIO 7:30-9:00PM Celebrate the triumphant return of DJ Vyb. Listen to DJ Vyb and Selecta Krystabelle for your reggae education. THE JAZZ SHOW 9:00PM- 1 2:00AM Vancouver's longest running prime time jazz program. Hosted by the ever-suave Gavin Walker. Features at 11. Oct. 7: Celebrating the birthday of the most forward thinking ham- mond organist in jazz, the late Larry Young (Khalid Yasin) with Into Somethin' with Sam Rivers (tenor sax) and drum great Elvin Jones. Oct. 14: Multi-reedist Jimmy Giuffre in concert with pianist Don Friedman and bassists Barre Phillips. Avant-garde jazz with warmth and melody. Oct. 21: Celebrating the birthday of jazz giant Dizzy Gillespie, his trumpet, and big band with Dizzy at Newport. Note: This feature will start at 10:30pm. Oct. 28: Soul Summit, a warm blast of sound by two of the most earthy tenor saxophonists in jazz—Gene Ammons and Sonny Stitt along with brother Jack McDuff at the Hammond. VENGEANCE IS MINE 1 2:00- 3:00AM Hosted by Trevor. It's punk rock, baby! Gone from the charts but not from our hearts— thank fucking Christ. PSYCHEDELIC AIRWAVES 3:00- 6:30AM DJ Christopher Schmidt also hosts Organix at Club 23 (23 West Cordova) on Friday nights. TUESDAY PACIFIC PICKIN' 6:30-8:00AM Bluegrass, old-time music, and its derivatives with Arthur and "The Lovely Andrea" Berman. HIGHBRED VOICES 8:00AM- 9:30AM THIRD TIME'S THE CHARM 9:30-11:30AM Open your ears and prepare for a shock! A harmless note may make you a fan! Hear the menacing scourge that is Rock and Roll! Deadlier than the most dangerous criminal! <borninsixtynine@hotmail.com> BLUE MONDAY alt. 11:30AM- 1:00PM Vancouver's only indus- trial-electronic-retrcKjoth program. Music to schtomp to, hosted by Coreen. LA BOMBA alt. 11:30-l 2:30 (First three Tuesdays of every month.) BEATUP RONIN 1:00-2:00PM Where dead samurai can program music. CPR 2:00-3:30PM Buh bump... buh bump... this is the sound your heart makes when you listen to science talk and techno... buh bump... ELECTROMAGNETIC PULSES alt. 3:30-4:30PM ELECTRIC AVENUES alt. 3:30- 4:30PM Last Tuesday of every month, hosted by The Richmond Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday REGGAE LINKUP ARE YOU SERIOUS? MUSIC ROCKERS SHOW BLOOD ON THE L SADDLE CHIPS WITH I Po I SAINT I Po everything!- TROPEZ L__ BBC WORLD SERVICE BREAKFAST WITH THE BROWNS m LOCAL I KIDS MAKE GOOD PARTS L1 UNKNOWN ABSOLUTE BEGINNERSL MEAT EATING VEGAN(Ec PACIFIC PICKIN' HIGHBRED VOICES L THIRD TIMES THE CHARM BLUE MONDAY BOMBA (Gl) (Wo) BEATUPRONIN fc CPR Dc/Jk BBC WORLD SERVICE SUBURBAN JUNGLE FOOL'S PARADISE L THE ANTIDOTEL RADIO FREE PRESS L MOTORDADDY1- BBC WORLD SERVICE END OF THE WORLD NEWS m PLANET LOVETRON CANADIAN LU] LUNCH RHYMES & REASONS BBC WORLD SERVICE CAUGHT IN THE RED T*J SKA-T'S L SCENIC DRIVE THESE ARE THE L BREAKS LEO RAMIREZ SHOW NARDWUAR \}^\ PRESENTS THE VAMPIRE'S BALL I Rts I THE SATURDAY EDGE GENERATION [m ANNIHILATION POWERCHORD CODE BLUE | Rts m 7 8 9 10 11 12PM 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 11 12™ 1 2 3 4 5 WENER'S BARBEQUE (Sp) 10,000 VOICES (Tk) QUEER FM RACHEL'S SONG NECESSAf FLEX YOUR HEAD OUT FOR KICKS WIGFLUX RADIO L RHYTHMSINDIA SALARIO MINIMO AND SOMETlMES| WHY REPLICA REJECT ON AIR \?L WITH GREASED HAIR FAREASTSIDE SOUNDS TRANCENDANCE THE JAZZ SHOW VENUS" FLYTRAP SOUL I SONIC WANDERLUST LIVE FROM... ■—I THUNDERBIRD HELL Y VOICES ELECTROLUX HOUR AFRICAN RYTHMS SYNAPTIC SANDWICH STRAIGHT OUTTA L JALLUNDHAR |Wo| VENGEANCE IS MINE! HANS KLOSS' MISERY HOUR BREAKING l1 WAVES IN YOUR HEAD PLUTONIAN NIGHTS s TH BBC WORLD SERVICE AURAL TENTACLES PSYCHEDELIC AIRWAVES FIRST FLOOR SOUND SYSTEM BBC WORLD SERVICE MORNING AFTERL SHOW THE VAMPIRE'S BALL REGGAE LINKUP TO Cf= conscious and funky • Ch= children's • Dc= dance/electronic • Ec= eclectic • Gi= goth/industrial • Hc= hardcore • Hh= hip hop Hk= Hans Kloss • Ki=Kids • Jz= jazz • Lm= live music • Lo= lounge • Mt= metal • No= noise • Nw= Nardwuar • Po= pop • Pu= punk Rg= reggae • Rr= rock • Rts= roots • Sk = ska »So= soul • Sp= sports • Tk= talk • Wo= world 24 October 2002 Society For Community Living. A variety music and spoken word program with a focus on people with special needs and disabilities. THE MEAT-EATING VEGAN 4:30-5:00PM 10,000 VOICES 5:00-6:00PM Poetry, spoken word, perfor- FLEX YOUR HEAD 6:00- 8:00PM Up the pun*, down 1989, yo. http://flexyourhead.v hardcc SALARIO MINIMO 8:00- 10:00PM VENUS FLYTRAP'S LOVE DEN alt. 10:00PM-12:00AM <loveden@hotmail.com> SOULSONIC WANDERLUST alt. 10:00PM-12:00AM Electro-acoustic-trip-dub-ethno- groove-ambient-soul-jazz-fusion and beyond! From the bedroom to Bombay via Brookyln and back. The sounds of reality remixed. Smile. <sswander- lust@hotmail.com> AURAL TENTACLES 12:00- 6:00AM It could be punk, ethno, global, trance, spoken word, rock, the unusual and the weird, or it could be something different. Hosted by DJ Pierre. WEDNESDAY BBC WORLD SERVICE 6:00- 7:00AM THE SUBURBAN JUNGLE 7:00-9:00AM Bringing you an entertaining and eclectic mix of new and old music live from the Jungle Room with your irreverent hosts Jack Velvet and Nick The Greek. R&B, disco, techno, soundtracks, Americana, Latin jazz, news, and gossip. A real gem! <suburbanjungle@chan- nel88.com> FOOL'S PARADISE 9:00- 10:00AM Japanese music and talk. THE ANTIDOTE 10:00AM- 11:30PM ANOIZE 11:30AM-1:00PM Luke Meat irritates and educates through musical deconstruction. Recommended for the strong. THE SHAKE 1:00-2:00PM RADIO FREE PRESS 2:00- 3:00PM Zines are dead! Long live the zine show! MOTORDADDY 3:00-5:00PM "Eat, sleep, ride, listen to Motordaddy, repeat." RACHEL'S SONG 5:00-6:30PM Socio-political, environmental activist news and spoken word *ith s. FILL-IN 6:30-7:30PM AND SOMETIMES WHY alt. 7:30-9:00PM (First Wednesday of every month.) REPLICA REJECT alt. 7:30- 9:00PM Indie, new wave, punk, and other noise. FOLK OASIS 9:00-10:30PM Roots music for folkies and non- folkies... bluegrass, singer-songwriters,worldbeat, alt country and more. Not a mirage! <folkoasis@canada.com> STRAIGHT OUTTA JALLUND- HAR 10:30PM-12:00AM Let DJs Jindwa and Bindwa immerse you in radioactive Bhungra! "Chakkh de phutay." HANS KLOSS' MISERY HOUR 12:00-3:00AM FIRST FLOOR SOUND SYSTEM 3:00-6:00AM THURSDAY BBC WORLD SERVICE 6:00- 8:00AM END OF THE WORLD NEWS 8:00-10:00AM PLANET LOVETRON 10:00- 11:30AM Music inspired by Chocolate Thunder, Robert Robot drops electro past and present, hip hop and intergalactic funkmanship. CANADIAN LUNCH 11:30AM- 1:00PM STEVE AND MIKE 1:00- 2:00PM Crashing the boy's club in the pit. Hard and fast, heavy and slow (punk and hard- THE ONOMATOPOEIA SHOW 2:00-3:00PM Comix comix comix. Oh yeah, and some music with Robin. RHYMES AND REASONS 3:00- 5:00PM LEGALLY HIP alt. 5:00-6:00PM PEDAL REVOLUTIONARY alt. 5:00-6:00PM Viva la Velorution! DJ Helmet Hair and Chainbreaker Jane give you all the bike news and views you need and even cruise around while doing it! www.sustainabil- r^c m/dinos/radio OUT FOR KICKS 6:00-7:30PM No Birkenstocks, nothing politically correct. We don't get paid so you're damn right we have fun with it. Hosted by Chris B. ON AIR WITH GREASED HAIR 7:30-9:00PM The best in roots rock 'n' roll and rhythm and blues from 1942-1962 with your snap- pily-attired host Gary Olsen. <rip- itup55@aol.com> LIVE FROM THUNDERBIRD RADIO HELL 9:00-11:00PM Local muzak from 9. Live bandz from 10-11. http://www.stepan- dahalf.com/tbirdhell WORLD HEAT 11:00PM- 1:00AM An old punk rock heart considers the oneness of all things and presents music of worlds near and far. Your host, the great Daryl-ani, seeks reassurance via <worldheat@hot- FRIDAYS BBC WORLD SERVICE 6:00- 8:00 AM CAUGHT IN THE RED 8:00- 10:00AM Trawling the trash heap of over 50 years worth of real rock V roll debris. SKA-T'S SCENE-IK DRIVE! 10:00 AM- 12:00PM Email requests to <djska_r@hot- mail.com>. THESE ARE THE BREAKS 12:00-2:00PM Top notch crate diggers DJ Avi Shack and Promo mix the underground hip hop, old school classics and original breaks. THE LEO RAMIREZ SHOW 2:00-3:30PM The best mix of music, news, sports, and commentary from around the local and international Latin American communities. NARDWUAR THE HUMAN SERVIETTE PRESENTS... 3:30- 5:00PM CiTR NEWS AND ARTS 5:00- 6:00PM A volunteer produced , student and community newscast featuring news, sports and arts. Reports by people like you. "Become the Media." To get involved, visit www.citr.ca and click "News Dept." FAR EAST SIDE SOUNDS alt. 6:00-9:00PM AFRICAN RHYTHMS alt. 6:00- 9:00PM David "Love" Jones brings you the best new and old jazz, soul, Latin, samba, bossa, and African music from around the world. HOMEBASS 9:00PM- 12:00AM Hosted by DJ Noah: techno but also some trance, acid, tribal, etc. Guest DJs, interviews, retrospectives, giveaways, and more. BREAKING WAVES IN YOUR HEAD 12:00-2:00AM THE MORNING AFTER SHOW 2:00-4:00 AM SATURDAY THE VAMPIRE'S BALL 4:00- 8:00AM Dark, sinister music of all genres to soothe the Dragon's soul. Hosted by Drake. THE SATURDAY EDGE 8:00AM-12:00PM Studio guests, new releases, British comedy sketches, folk music calendar, and ticket giveaways. 8-9AM: African/World roots. 9AM-12PM: Celtic music and performances. GENERATION ANNILIHILA- TION 12:00-1:00PM Tune in for a full hour of old and new punk and Oi mayhem! POWERCHORD 1:00-3:00PM Vancouver's only true metal show; local demo tapes, imports, and other rarities. Gerald Rattlehead, Dwain, and Metal Ron do the damage. CODE BLUE 3:00-5:00PM From backwoods delta low-down slide to urban harp honks, blues, and blues roots with your hosts Jim, Andy, and Paul. ELECTROLUX HOUR 5:00- 6:00PM SOUL TREE 6:00-9:00PM From doo-wop to hip hop, from the electric to the eclectic, host Michael Ingram goes beyond the call of gospel and takes soul music to the nth degree. SYNAPTIC SANDWICH 9:00- PLUTONIAN NIGHTS 11:00PM- 1:00AM Loops, layers, and oddities. Naked phone staff. Resident haitchc with guest DJs and performers. http://plutonia.org THE RED EYE alt. 1:00-4:30AM EARWAX alt. 1:00-4:30AM "noiz terror mindfuck hardcore like punk/beatz drop dem headz rock inna junglist mashup/distort da source full force with needlz on wax/my chaos runs rampant when I free da jazz..." Out. —Guy Smiley REGGAE UNKUP 4:30-9:00AM Hardcore dancehall reggae that will make your mitochondria quake. Hosted by Sister B. • :K "$ tO UhJ ^oVer tool] LISTEN LIVE ON-LINE WWW.CITR.CA 25 DiSCORDER datebooL what's happening in October SUBMISSIONS TO DATEBOOK ARE FREE. FOR THE NOVEMBER ISSUE, THE DEADLINE IS OCTOBER 28. FAX SHOW, FILM, EVENT AND VENUE LISTINGS TO 604.822.9364 OR EMAIL <DISCORDER@CLUB.AMS.UBC.CA> FRIDAY, OCTOBER 4 UBC Symphony Orchestra featuring Bruce Hencze!@Chan Centre; Carolyn Mark and Her Roommates@Railway Club; Doves, My Morning Jacket@Commodore; Shake City, Speed to Kill@Pic Pub; Subb, Fiftynutz, 1NS1P1 D@Brickyard; Neil Diamond@GM Place; I Mother Earth, Billy Talent, Peppersands, 30 Seconds to Mars@UBC Rec Centre; Detroit Cobras, KO and the Knockouts, The Dirtbombs@Crocodile (Seattle); Bob Dylan@Key Arena (Seattle); Michelle Rumball, Adrienne Pierce, Marcus Martin@The Main; Means to an End, Che: Chapter 127, Tribal Wizdom, Ryan Andrew Murphy, The Youngms@Video in (Benefit for the Yourk Global Education Network) SAT 5 The Gossip, A Luna Red, The Nons@Royal; Solar Baby, All Tribes Mission, Virgins in Hollywood@Railway Club; Wave of Mutilation, Clover Honey, My Project Blue@Pic Pub; JJ Cale, Loudon Wainwright Ui@Commcdore; Dizzy Gillespie Al!-Stars@Chan Centre; (International) Noise Conspiracy, Promise Ring, Poison the Well@Showbox (Seattle), Cinch. Spitfires, Hollywood Hitlist, The Sweet Fuck Alis@Brickyard; Ciay George, Dave Gowans, John Guliak@The Main SUN 6 Standing Wave@Vancouver East Cultural Centre; Cave Catt :-; >mmy@Marine Club; Dalek, Isis@Graceland (Seattle); Sharks@Canucks; Three Years Down, KO and the Knockouts, The Gung Ho's@P;c Pub MON 7 De La Sou!@Atlantis; Tom Petty@David Letterman's TUE 8 CiTR PRESENTS SHiNDiG!@RAlLWAY CLUB; The Art of Mecca Normal (performance and workshop)@Western Front; Ravi Shankar@Orpheum;Gomez@Commodore WED 9 The Art of Mecca Normal (performance and workshop)@Western Front; Guttermouth Authorty Zero, 1208@Richard's; Safa@Vancouver East Cultural Centre; Dimitiri from Paris@Lucia; Queens of the Stone Age, Dillinger Escape Plan. The Icarus Line@Showbox (Seattle); Bad Wizard, Spreadeagle@Pic Pub THUR10 The Art of Mecca Normal (performance and workshop)@Western Front; Hard Rubber Orchestra, Hugh Fraser@Vancouver East Cultural Centre; Canucks@Flames; Sandman, Jen Grady@The Main; erk With a Bomb, Love Life, Kill Me Tomorrow@Pic Pub FRI 11 The Art of Mecca Normal@Western Front; Mecca Normal, El Guapo, Biack Rice@Pic Pub; 54-40, A;armbell@Commodore; Joseph Arthur@Richard's; The Greasy Kings@The Main; Lederhosen Lucil, Tne Ewoks@Ms. T's; Bon Jovi@Today Show SAT 12 ihe Art of Mecca Normal (performance and workshop)@Western Front; Mr Show@Vogue; 54-40, Salteens@Commodore; Supreme beings of Leisure, Baldwin Brothers@Richard's; Ncn-Phixion, fhr beatnuts@l-Spy (Seattle); Sharks@Canucks; Spygirl@St. Jame Community Square; Swank@The Main; Shake City, Qumcy Goic Cremona©?* Pub; Shellac, Nina Nastasia@Kmttmg Factory SUN 13 ■koient Femmes@Commodore; / Put a Spell on You@Blmding Light MON 14 • ames@Canucks; / Put a Spell on you@Blinding Light!! TUE 15 CiTR PRESENTS SHiNDiG!@RAILWAY CLUB; Jack Johnson, Alan Davis@Orpheum; Sever,dust@Commodore; Pleaseasaur@Richard'j Enon, Helic Sequence@Pic Pub WED 16 String Cheese Incident, Alpha Yaya Diallo@The Centre; Masoi Jennings, Damnwells@Richard's (Early Show); The Slip@Richard' (Late Show); Bruins@Canucks THUR 17 String Cheese Incident, Alpha Yaya Diallo@The Centre; Nev Deal@Richard's; Hollywood Hit List, Smears@Pic Pub FRI 18 Just for Laughs Comedy Tour@Orpheum; Pedro the Lion, Seldorr Scientific@Richard's; Jurassic 5, Planet Asia@Commodore Canucks@Anuslime Mighty Fucks; Leah Abramson, Ken McAllister@The Main; The Sparrow, The Secret Three@Blindin Light!! SAT 19 Antonio Sardi de Letto@UBC Recital Hall; Oktoberfest@Commodor« Dreams Come True@Orpheum; Bright Eyes, M Ward, Th 26 October 2002 Bruces@Richard's; Rebecca Gates, Sally Timms@Chop Suey (Seattle); Spoon, Treasure State, Oranges@Graceland (Seattle); Canucks@Kings; Ryecatchers. Slow Nerve Action@Pit Pub (UBC); Goiden Wedding Band, Geoff Berner@The Main; Speedealer, The Ones, Hi-Test@Pic Pub; Melt Banana@Pat's Pub SUN 20 The Strokes, Sloan@Orpheum; Mr. Scruff@Sonar; Hard Soul Review, The DT's, Makeout Choir, Honky Meters@Pic Pub MON 21 Canucks@Sharks; Essence o/theSea@AMS Art Gallery; The Hangmen, Widows, Rumours@P:c Pub TUE 22 CiTR PRESENTS SHiNDiG!@RAILWAY CLUB; U-ziq@Moore Theatre (Seattle); Essence of the Sea@AMS Art Gallery WED 23 Essence of the Sea@AMS Art Gallery; Glass Candy@Pic Pub THUR24 Peaches, Chicks on Speed, Tracy and the Plastics, WIT, DJ Larry Tee@Sonar; Borealis String Quartet@UBC Recital Hall; Amon Tobin, Prefuse 73, Bonobo, Dj P Love@Commodore; Do Make Say Think, Fly Pan Am@Richard's; Anusiime Mighty Fucks@Canucks; Essenct of the Sea@AMS Art Gallery; Grdina, Smith Holmes@The Main; Brundlefly, Paper Moon@Pic Pub; Vancouver New Music Festival@Sugar Refinery, Western Front, Scotiabank Dance Centre; Rush@MSG (New York) FRI 25 Chris Murray Combo, The Hoodwinks; Nickelback, Default@Pacific Coliseum; Bobby Previte's Bump@Capilano College; JT King@The Main; Witness Protection Program, Che: Chapter 127, The Wolfnote, Deadsure@Pic Pub; Vancouver New Music Festival@Sugar Refinery, Western Front, SDC; Silkworm!g)Beat Kitchen (Chicago) SAT 26 Beenieman@Commodore; Stars@Canucks; Hard Rock Miners@The Main; Spitfires, Midnite Thunder Express, The Seizures@Pic Pub; Demolition Dollrods@Pat's Pub; Vancouver New Music Festival@Sugar Refinery, Western Front, SDC; Calexico, Destroyer@Abbe> Pub (Chicago) SUN 27 Gwar@Commodore; Bodys/ams@Blinding Light!:; Vancouver New Music Festival@Sugar Refinery, Western Front MON 28 Veda Hi|te@Chtllrwack Arts Centre; Campfire Girls, The Donnas; Your Enemies' Friends@Richard s; Amy Annelle, Zak Riles(SThe Main TUE 29 CiTR PRESENTS SHiNDiG!@RAILWAY CLUB; Ani D Franco@Queen Elizabeth Theatre; Tea Party@Orpheum; Hot Water Music, Thnce@Richard's; Sabres@Canucks WED 30 An Evening of Gloom feat. Last Pen Sick Sow, Lee Hutzuiak@Cat's Eye Cafe; Cineworks Salon de Refuse@Blinding Light!! THUR 31 Avalanche@Canucks; Faust, Eye of Newt@Biindmg Ught!! special €V€MfA MELT BANANA SATURDAY, OCTOBER 19 PAT'S PUB Melted Bananas are sick. Deep fried bananas are good. Melt Banana is SICK. They're from Japan. They'll be playing in East Van. EAT ME: VANCOUVER NEW MUSIC FESTIVAL OCTOBER 24-27 VARIOUS VENUES Performances by Eyvind Kang, Amir Koushkani, Nobukazu Takemura, Masa Anzai, Mimi's Ami, Alcvin Ramos, Ikue Mori, Martin Tetrault and more. Panel discussions, too. Go to www.newmusic.org for times and venues. THE VANCOUVER CANUCKS, FUTURE STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS Jump the bandwagon now, kids. The Vancouver Canucks are going to win the cup this year, fuck. SHiNDiG! EVERY TUESDAY RAILWAY CLUB This is more fun than sitting at home, Asshole. Beer + Battle of the Bands ~ Fun. place* to be bassix records 217 w. hastings 604.689.7-734 pic pub 620 west pender 604.669.1556 beatstreet records 3-712 robson 604.683.3344 railway club 579 dunsmuir 604.681.1625 black swan records 3^.09 west broadway 604.734.2828 richards on richards 1036 richards 604.687.6794 1 blinding light!! cinem i 36 powell 604.878 3366 ridge cinema 3131 arbutus 604.738.6311 j cellar 3611 west broadway 604.738.1959 red cat records 4305 main 604.708.9422 j club 23 23 west cordova royal 1029 granville 917 main 604.685.2825 scrape records 17 west broadway 604.877.1676 | commodore ballroom 868 granville 604.739.4550 scratch records 726 richards 604.687.6355 crosstown music 518 west pender 604.683.8774 sonar 66 water 604.683.6695 futuristic flavour 1020 granville 604.681.1766 sugar refinery 1115 granville 604.331.1184 highlife records 1317 commercial 604.251.6964 lotus hotel 455abbott teenage ramapage 19 west broadway 604.675.9227 the main cafe 4210 main 604.709.8555 Vancouver playhous hamilton at dunsmui r 604.665.3050 mesa luna 1926 w. broadway video in studios 1965 main 604,872.8337 ms. t's cabaret 339 west pender western front 303 east 8th 604.876.9343 orpheum theatre smithe at seymour 604.665.3050 WISE club 1882adanac 604.254.5858 pacific cinematheque 131 howe 604.688.8202 yale 1300 granville 604.681.9253 pat's pub 403 east hastings 604.255.4301 zulu records 1972 west 4th 604.738.3232 DIVISIONOFLAU RALEE BLACKCITY BIVISIOHOFUURAIEE^^^;; , . « >4T~ * *^ Go into Zulu Records and enter to win a Division of Laura Lee prize pack SHPEKHSS UFE ON OTHER PLANETS IN STORES NOW. KZClWDS 1972 West 4th ave. TTfJiuiCTTuTTkv DESTROYER This Night CD/2LP Transformation! The musicians change like ball players after halftime, rolling up their sleeves as they take the field. And in the stands, the seats above - anticipation, a muted questioning. Hey! Settle down - all's fair! So...how is it? Maybe a little more rock in the old slow roll that we already love. But what does this mean, exactly, that the headier finesse and filigree is lost and gone for some proper lower- body oomph and punch? Well, somewhat. But nothing is 'missing," per se, not really. And besides, difference doesn't need a hierarchy. Maybe it's a little rougher and probably a bit sweatier but it's right and true for here and now. And the words, the coded messages to ponder, can we hear them, are they lost in noise? Please see next year's syllabus: The "inside idiom' of Daniel Bejar Yes, this is a great record. DUE BY OCTOBER 8. CD 16.98 2LP 19.98 FLAMING UPS (finally the punk rockers are taking) Acid 3CD Sometime in the early '80s in the heartland of the USA, a glowing silver-orange spacecraft was seen repeatedly buzzing close to major city centers, like Oklahoma City. So many people saw this otherworldly craft firsthand that the media and the government had no choice but to investigate with an open mind, if with caution. They discovered many unexplainable occurrences, including plant mutations, human telekinesis, talking animals, melting cars, and sentient buildings. It was stunning, demanding a paradigm shift, a greater recognition of space and nature. Indeed, of all existence. Of course, the evidence was destroyed and the story covered up. At the same time, however, the FLAMING LIPS formed, starting what has become an amazing trip - and they continue to tell the forbidden truth of those fantastic events! Acid catalogues the LIPS' early years on three CDs of ET inspired rock. While supplies last, Acid comes with a "choice tracks" CD handpicked by lead astronaut, Wayne Coyne, including material from Acid and the upcoming Egg collection. Eyes to the sky! 3CD 39.98 PORCELAIN I've got a really important thing to do right now... CD Night sky falls on the coast of Normandy and the tides rush silently across the flats. A particular serenity hangs like a desolate phantasm begging to be given a tune. Indeed, the music comes.... Church-like organs blessed by guitar reverberations, deep rumbles and surreal passages of French poetry in translation. Duck down into tall grass and watch this sublime night pass! Introduce yourself to PORCELAIN, the latest sonic finding from the Zulu research team, who bridge the intercontinental sounds of Low, Mogwai and Sigur Ros! An absorbing listen destined to invite you into obscurity. GUIDED BY VOICES The Pipe Dreams of Instant Prince Whippet CD These rock-pop aces turn on and then turn up their amps for another rousing session of classic rock music making. Well, actually it's a ten-track compilation of Universal Truths and Cycles and Isolation Drills-era b-sides. But, trainspotting aside, the end result is the same for those of us who love GBV but don't have the pocketbook endurance to keep up with all the collectible bits and bobs they release on 7", or however. In any case, all you need to know is that this is a fine collection of mannish and literate rock for smokers and drinkers and the people who love them. GBV, truly a cult phenomenon - like the David Korsehes of altema-rock. CD 16.98 LOW Trust CD/2LP How can something become better and better by being worse and worse. Ask LOW. They never cheer up and we admire them for it. Our admiration and thanks is something other than cheap THIEVERY CORPORATION Tlie Richest Man in Babylon CD72LP When the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame finally recognizes "down- tempo" as a fully legitimate genre, and they're eventually going to have to, then the Thievery Corporation should - no, must - receive a special tribute or monument of some kind. It better be huge and colourful. Anyway, what can we say - y'all love these guys! The carpet is already worn out near the bin where their section is kept (with the "electronic" music, eh). And we all have blisters on our fingers from handling so many Thievery Corporation CDs and records. Man, it's tough work. But we understand and we're here for you. So here it is - another great and worldly recording from these Washington DC-based downtempo giants. Everything you know and love, all dressed up real nice and new. And with Christmas just around the corner.... Ah, hell - buy it now! ISM1 ■'1'IUI SHAREPUSHER Do You Know Squarepusher2CD/LP You know, it's hard to break new aesthetic ground. Fresh sounds and styles are tough I to come by. Deep formal invention is espe- ! cially difficult to accomplish. No wonder so much pop culture is often mainly the continual reorganization of already recognized stuff. Paradoxically, sometimes a focused program can help push change from the inside out. For example, Squarepusher somehow manages to make exciting new music by being doggedly persistent, even oddly traditionalist. His left-field explorations into drum and bass reveal a new path from old signs. The quality of his programming is breathtaking, crossing drum and bass intensity with musique concrete inventiveness. Still, no matter how far out SQUAREPUSHER gets, and he goes pretty far, he's always musical, even funky. And check the Joy Division cover! This 2CD set also ri CD72LP 18.98 CEX comes with a live set of in Japan. CD 16.98 All PRICK m EFFECT UNTIL OCTOBER 31. 2002 CD 16.98 catharsis, however. It's closer to submitting to the sublime - a capitulation to something greater, something fully beautiful. And here maybe LOW recognize something that most people don't or maybe they just bother to believe. In any case, they've tapped into something completely and utterly emotionally right, even transcendent. Frankly, it's amazing. Ambience doesn't describe the stripped-down and haunting spaciousness of their music. And once Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker start singing and harmonizing.. .oh my, oh yes. Please buy this Pjj ■!0 QO record and then buy it for everyone you know and love. CD 16.98 2LP 20.98 SAINT ETIENNE Finisterre CD/tP Zulu has long endorsed the sweet and cool sounds of SAINT ETIENNE. Seems like every recording of theirs has happily received ad-space from us. Here we go again! We really admire their European flair and all-round intelligent self-possession. They consistently do the right thing, as DJs, producers, performers, or whatever. They're always tasteful and tuneful and this is true for Finisterre Indeed, Uncut magazine has called this their best album since Foxbase Alpha. Now, that's a pretty good record but we admit it's a strong argument. Needless to say, SAINT ETIENNE maintains so many long-term aficionados that we hardly need to say much more than "come and get it." Let the people decide! DUE OCTOBER 8. CD/LP 16.98 BUTTON-DOWNBEATS Various Artists CD When it comes to dance music, some say that Vancouver has a techno and house bias, filling the clubs with waving arms and showers of glitter dust. Probably - and there's nothing wrong with that, of course. However, it seems to us that the slower, groovier and headier stuff is maybe a truer soundtrack for Vancouver nights - If not always in the clubs, definitely at home. Wisely picking up on this always-growing interest, Nordic Trax delivers a great new collection of fine downtempo tunes, featuring Gavin Froome, Morgan Page, Jon Delerious, Scott Flndley, Tom Churchill, and the always-terrific Quadra (who played live - and oh so tastefully at Zulu just last month. Thanks again, guys). Tall, Dark & Handcuffed CD You know how there's always that one crazy kid who'll eat anything? Well, this is like the soundtrack pumping through that kid's head as they shove the most upsetting stuff into their mouth without caution. Man, that's hardcore - hardcore CEX! For those who love him already, you know the score. For everyone else, check this shit out. Tigerbeat6 is the key label in the growing American new digital underground and CEX is right up front shaking hands. Like label-mate and label-boss Kid606, CEX makes some unconventional stuff: sometimes fast and messed up, sometimes nice and sweetly melodic. And what a sense of humour this kid's got. Damn! And since he's stepped up to the mic, he's made his digital tomfoolery that much more human and approachable. Mixing pop, hip-hop and way-out experimentation, CEX will turn you on. 2CD/LP 18.98 BLACK HEART PROCESSION Amore Del Tropico COAP BLACK HEART PROCESSION has developed a uniquely dark and theatrical Americana, a singular mixture of Calexico, Palace, Tindersticks, Angelo Badlamentl and then some. It's a bit scary but totally enticing. Like a David Lynch film, there seems to be a narrative, a sense of purpose but it's obscured and shadowy, slowly revealing itself in pieces and oblique gestures, as if atmosphere alone constitutes plot. To be sure, they've been at this for some time; they know what they're doing. But this is a new level, a real achievement, with occasional moody strings and a sweet chorus of fallen angels embellishing the tried and true BLACK HEART approach. From odd tropicalia to ruined country, Amore Del Tropico is a noir masterpiece. DUE OCTOBER 10. CQ/LP 16.98 AMON TOBIN Out From Where CD72LP Vancouver loves AMON TOBIN. His brand of big beat-Ninja Tune-Latin flavored-drum j and bass-downtempo music is as right as rain on a weekend - something so typically and suitably Vancouver that it could be spun into a sales angle for tourism industry. Also like rain, TOBIN's massively dance-friend- BUCK 65 Square CD Boy, we sure enjoyed Man Overboard round here. Seems like we listened to it twice a day for months. Still fresh and good each time, though, which is remarkable. Thing is, it's nice to hear some hip-hop that tries to be its own thing, that doesn't just copy the latest U.S. trend, or whatever. Good idea - make your own trends. Look, it paid off for BUCK 65. He's on a major now, somehow without a mainstream "suck-up" yet, and the major's even re-releasing his entire back catalogue, as well. What the fuck? Maybe they're thinking Beck size bucks, a real cash in. Hell, whatever Whiteness aside there s not much to compare. ^ ^ "ets people, ahem. wet. Wet from excitement or exertion, and Okay, so maybe he's a little bit kooky sometime but he's the real deal. Good for you, BUCK 65. glad you put down the b-ball and became a b-boy instead. Good for us, too. DUE OCTOBER 8. CD 16.98 20 YEARS OF DISCHORD Various Artists 3CD The good times and the bad times - that's what history is. For those of us of a certain age and with a long connection to punk, this anniversary collection is somewhat intense. Wow, 1980 to 2000. However, with 73 songs, one from every Dischord artist ever, plus lots of unreleased material, this is a pretty sweet compensation for so much passed time. Listening back, it still sounds awfully good and still hard: rousing anthems, boiling emotions and full-on Dischord style punchy pop punk. And the deluxe, 134 page booklet helps make this, um, "mosh down memory lane" that much more vivid and informative. But you know, history doesn't stop - just like the venerable Dischord label. This set is also a great introduction to newer Dischord artists, too. Looking back, looking forward, always rocking out. DUE OCTOBER 7. 3CD 34.98 usually both, depending on the circumstances (and innocently enough we mean because of DANCING, you little perverts). In a way, this is also something true about Vancouver: all things considered we possess a fairly liberal, "goodtime" attitude, city councils and provincial politics aside. Basically, we just wanna have fun, is all. Hey Vancouver, here's some more goodtime music to help blow away the weekend clouds. And hey again, isn't he playing here soon? DUE OCTOBER 10. CD/2LP 16.98 DJ VADIM- U.S.S.R: The Art of Listening ESG- Step Off FATBOY SLIM- Big Beach Boutique II MECCA NORMAL- The Family Swan NEGATIVELAND- Death Sentences.... Book & CD PEACHES- Teaches of Peaches 2CD Re-issue SAHARA HOTNIGHTS- Jennie Bomb SOFT BOYS- Nextdoorland SUTEKH- Incest THEMSELVES- The No Music Various Artists- FRENCH GIRLS Various Artists- MORR MUSIC: BLUE SKIED AN' CLEAR ZULU IN THE AFTERNOON" This month* Sunday iihstore perfomiaiices ] A fresh face but an old soul, Vancouver's remarkable JOFI'Rae Fletcher plays some mighty fine old-time music, Sunday, October 20 at 4:00 pm. Let the (lock gather, hear the good word. The first annual Zlilli Laptop Derby! Hey laptop jockey, you want to play at Zulu? Okay, let's do it. You bring your laptop and we'll plug you in. That's right, BYOL! Yes indeed, it's as easy as that — almost ask for details in the store! Sunday, October 27 at 3:00 (please note the earlier time!). XZCdFDS] Zulu Records 1972-1976 W 4th Ave Vancouver. BC tel 604738.3232 www.zulurecords.com STORE HOURS Mon to Wed 10:30-7:00 Thurs and Fri 10:30-9:00 Sat 9:30-6:30 Sun 12:00-6:00
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Discorder CITR-FM (Radio station : Vancouver, B.C.) Oct 1, 2002
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Title | Discorder |
Creator |
CITR-FM (Radio station : Vancouver, B.C.) |
Publisher | Vancouver : Student Radio Society of the University of British Columbia |
Date Issued | 2002-10-01 |
Extent | 28 pages |
Subject |
Rock music--Periodicals |
Genre |
Periodicals |
Type |
Text |
FileFormat | application/pdf |
Language | English |
Identifier | ML3533.8 D472 ML3533_8_D472_2002_10 |
Collection |
Discorder |
Source | Original Format: Student Radio Society of University of British Columbia |
Date Available | 2015-03-11 |
Provider | Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library |
Rights | Images provided for research and reference use only. Permission to publish, copy, or otherwise use these recordings must be obtained from CiTR-FM: http://www.citr.ca |
CatalogueRecord | http://resolve.library.ubc.ca/cgi-bin/catsearch?bid=1190017 |
DOI | 10.14288/1.0049933 |
AggregatedSourceRepository | CONTENTdm |
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