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Organ
JA AIE 5AFT
Keyboards
TREVOR DUNN
5ass
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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
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art director:
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production manager:
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us distro:
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publisher:
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© "DiSCORDER" 2002 by the Student Radio Society of the University of British Columbia. All rights
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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
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I OCTOBER 17
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p/n^lffSP
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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
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PRBFUSE 73 BDnDBD
POWER BY NUMBERS TOBR
PLANET ASIA
I SATURDAY OCTOBER 26J
| COMMODORE BALLROOMJ
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[OMMODORE BALLROOM K
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early show f
Emm
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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
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COMMODORE BALLROOM!
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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
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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. •
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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
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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
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21 DiSCORDER Attn:
The
Dirtmitts
Get On
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(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
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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
Discorder
Discorder CITR-FM (Radio station : Vancouver, B.C.) 2002-10-01
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