Unemployment Will Do That to You

Sorry for the lack of updates lately. I lost my job and have been focusing my energies primarily on that.

Promise to come up with something substantive here; in the meantime enjoy some Nollywood movie previews!

Q And Not U, Where Are You?

I was thinking about Q And Not U, as I sometimes do whenever I hear their songs come up on random. While I was in high school, they were probably my favorite active band of the time, and I was lucky enough to catch them in all of their incarnations. In later years, after they broke up, I underwent a bit of revisionism in my thinking. Listening to Different Damage and especially Power for me is a vastly different experience for me than listening to No Kill No Beep Beep. They aren't terrible albums, but they lack the energy and the frenetic desperation of their first album.

Interestingly, it seems as though the band has attempted some sort of historical revisionism. Their old website is nowhere to be found, and neither is heldlikesound, the 'zine maintained by their drummer John Davis. Most interesting though was their attempt to expunge or at least move on from the legacy of their original bass player, Matt Borlik. This can be seen in their refusal to play most of their No Kill material, and their reticence to discuss his contribution in later interviews or his exit. It's even difficult to find photos of them from this early period.

Anyway, long and short of this post is I wanted to know if anyone had any live recordings or footage of Q And Not U prior to Borlik's departure. I recall that WMUC Third Rail Radio had an archive performance of them from like 2000 (along with one from the Get Up Kids, LOL), but I lost that many years ago. Feel free to let me know in the comments section.

In the meantime, this article is a pretty cool live recap of the band over the course of their seven years.

Riffz and (no) Dunkzzz, Wk. 4/5

As time goes on and I continue to write here it's becoming more and more apparent that Riffz and Dunkz is going to be one of those things that just happens when it happens, kind of like Achewood. Anyway, just Riffs this week with an extra-long installment today Fugazi for those of you who might be interested.

The Riffs



OK, this is unfair. But I don't think I'm the only one who felt a twinge of schadenfreude when Chinese Democracy finally hit and all of the Guns and Roses apologists were finally forced to admit that it was not the Howard Hughes hair metal triumph it was supposed to be. The fact is that Axl Rose, for all intents and purposes, was a great front man but he was nothing without the forces of the other Roses, specifically Izzy Stradlin.

The building up of Axl Rose throughout the 90s might be one of the more ridiculous myth making endeavors ever, fueled no doubt in large part by writers and editors eager to plumb the depths of their own misplaced nostalgia. That's all well and good, but the cult of Axl reached obnoxiously stupid heights, perhaps culminating in Spin's really, really labored 1999 cover feature, "What the World Needs Now is Axl Rose" (message from 2009: it doesn't). Rock stars and fans are a naturally symbiotic relationship, but the lesson of Axl may be that when we enter into that relationship with a pretty well known fuck-up, we can't not expect to be burned (see the above).



Saying bad things about Fugazi, especially if you are from D.C. (like myself), is tantamount to self-exile from the musical community down there. It happened to Pussy Galore, it happened to Jason Cherkis, and it happened to Michael Little. The flurry of angry letters to the editors of the City Paper after that last article was mind-boggling, indicative of the band's vaunted status as the elder statesmen of D.C. post-punk. Well, maybe this is my act of self-exile. It should be clear that musically, Fugazi were truly a great band, capable of incredible moments of tension and release. For any one who needs further indication of this, simply check out Jem Cohen's superb doc, Instrument.

The downside to the Fugazi legend though is the way that they allowed people to perceive them as being morally superior to other bands and figures within the punk community. In large part, this is the fault of Mackaye, who has been seen as some sort of figurehead ever since he was 17 and has had to probably qualify thousands of stupid comments since then. Regardless, the band's strict anti-corporate stance and their willingness to stand have garnered them fans and admiration the world over. But at the same time, it's impossible to see the band on anything approaching human terms. They're caricatures of themselves, of punk ethics taken to such a degree that one can't find a single fault or touch of humanity in them. Ian Mackaye's seeming lack of humor about himself and his band's mission no doubt played a huge role in the making of the legend.

By following the straight and narrow and battling the corporate ogre, by doing everything right, by singing a song that demonizes someone so weak and insecure that he finds himself the instigator of violence (which is such an easy move for a band commonly described as "challenging"), the band essentially insulated themselves from any form of criticism but gave them a vantage point from which to criticize not only those in power (who, let's be honest, couldn't give a flying fuck anyway) but also to their peers (who did in fact care. A lot.).

The result of this king making power is the creation of a scene that is fundamentally self-absorbed and desperately afraid of not falling in line with the Fugazi playbook. Dischord rarely if ever releases records from bands outside the area, and band's from D.C. are doomed to a very short shelf-life primarily because they are such a product of their environment that it seems they can only make their impact there. Nobody takes D.C. seriously anymore as a scene because, a few notable examples aside (Nation of Ulysses/Make Up, Shudder to Think, Lungfish, and a few others) if you've heard one Dischord band, you've heard them all. It's the same message, the same set of tools, and the same presentation.

Nation of Ulysses Proposal

So, just to show that I'm not one to sling shit without expecting anything in return, I've c/p'd the bulk of my 33 1/3 proposal for The Nation of Ulysses' Plays Pretty for Baby (leaving out unnecessary personal information). I definitely went in a much more "traditional proposal" route than I probably should have, but given that Plays Pretty for Baby is more quietly influential than a no-brainer, I wanted to make sure they understood where I was coming from and why the record deserved to be written about.

I'm still waiting for feedback from series editor David Barker, but in the meantime I'd love to hear what some people who read it have to say about it, constructive or otherwise. Also, check out some scans of the band's hysterically funny and ridiculous "organ of propoganda," Ulysses Speaks!

EDIT: Guy mus be clairvoyant. David Barker's response:

Hi Nick

Good to hear from you - thanks for getting in touch.

I enjoyed reading your proposal: it was well written, nicely organised, and made a compelling argument for the importance of the album. I thought it lacked a couple of things, though. First, I thought you could have spent longer outlining how you'd structure the book, how you'd break it down over the course of 30,000 words. Second - and this is much more nebulous and subjective - it didn't quite have a *spark* that most of the best proposals had. Really hard to describe that, and it may be that it just didn't hit me from quite the right angle. It was a very competitive process, this time around, as I'm sure you can tell!

Anyhow, I hope that's at least vaguely helpful, and doesn't seem too harsh.

Very best wishes,

David

Very helpful and not at all harsh, David. Thanks.

----------------------------------------------------

The Nation of Ulysses can probably do a better job of explaining why their 1992 record, Plays Pretty for Baby, deserves to be a part of the 33 1/3 series better than I ever could. The opener, “N-Sub Ulysses,” begins with crowd noise, an obvious nod to the NoU’s predilection for canned “live” records of the 1950s and 1960s (A motif that would carry on through to The Make *Up). A speaker then intones ominously, introducing the band as though he were introducing the members of a secret society, “To you, the bold and foolish lambs . . .” Suddenly, the band launches into a lurching garage punk drone, equal parts The Gun Club, Black Flag, Ornette Coleman, and the Guess Who. Over all of this, lead singer Ian Svenonius steps up to the microphone and belts out perhaps the most virulent act of musical and generational patricide ever committed to tape.

I’m not talking ‘bout a Beatles song, written a hundred years before I was born…

It’s a brush off far more sinister and violent than the Who’s (failed) promise to “Die before I get old” and more convincing than the Sex Pistol’s cry of “No Future!” It’s a lot funnier too. The Nation of Ulysses arrived seemingly fully formed on their 1991 debut Thirteen Point Plan to Destroy America, hitching MC5 inspired garage rock to an abstract idea of soul, youth rebellion, political insurrection, fashion, and insomnia. By Plays Pretty for Baby, their sound and mission were almost bursting at the seams, overloaded with ideas, critiques, cryptic jokes, and righteousness.

True, the Nation of Ulysses was never as popular as their contemporaries in Fugazi. Nor were they as long lasting. Shortly after the release of Plays Pretty for Baby, guitarist Steve Kroner left the band, and shortly thereafter the band disbanded, with the bulk of the group (Svenonius, drummer James Canty, and bassist Steve Gamboa) regrouping first as Cupid Car Club and then as the longer lasting and equally influential Make *Up. Tim Green moved to San Francisco and formed metal revivalists The Fucking Champs.

So how is it that a record released by a relatively unknown punk band that broke up right after its release deserves to be written about? For one, Plays Pretty for Baby has gone on to influence dozens of punk, hardcore and post-hardcore bands. Swedish punk rockers Refused essentially lifted the NoU’s feverish agenda entirely, leaving in the fiery political attacks and the stylish Soviet propaganda inspired liner notes but leaving out the NoU’s well-developed sense of humor and subversive play that held the whole thing together. Other bands took the group’s fashionable presentation as inspiration, leading many bands to adopt matching suits/uniforms, a trend that would see its moment in the spotlight when bands like The White Stripes and The Hives broke through to the mainstream. The fact that these bands play propulsive and sometimes noisy garage rock is no accident either.

What ultimately makes Plays Pretty for Baby an interesting and worthwhile record though is the profusion of ideas that run through it. It works on so many different levels that one can never grow tired of listening. On one level, the record is a tongue-in-cheek send-up of the early 1990s indie scene. The often hysterically funny youth revolt jive talk in both their lyrics and liner notes can be seen as a poke in the eye of hardcore and punk’s (especially the D.C. punk scene) often overly sanctimonious peachiness. On another level the record is a fiery protest record, with both barrels aimed at a politically bankrupt society. The song “The Kingdom of Heaven Must Be Taken By Storm” isn’t so much a metaphor for rebellion so much as a blue print. Yet on another level the record is a Situationist critique on political radicalism itself, turning their efforts at subversion into a cryptic spectacle of abandon. As their liner notes point out:

Political Objectives/Target Audiences: Wreck society through direct action by destroying its institutions and the men who serve it, and by relying on the people's forces to spread the doctrines of "P-Power" and "Ragnarok." To consolidate the New Nation, while never forgetting the need for constant purging, as the nation shall resemble a self-cleaning oven.

On the one hand, the band was dead serious. On the other they’re laughing all the way to their graves.

Additionally, The Nation of Ulysses articulated the idea of a rock band as something more than just a band while simultaneously lampooning the idea. The Clash presented their band as a romantic group of outsider ruffians and early Scritti Politti dabbled with the concept of band as collective, but the NoU took these ideas to their logical conclusion by declaring themselves a sovereign political entity and even going so far as to announce their succession from the United States of America. As Svenonius noted in an early interview, “The Nation of Ulysses is basically about a shout of secession. We don't want to be involved with the United States and the structure that exists. We've introduced a whole new form of currency that takes its form in garbage.” This sense of band as a nation, diametrically opposed to the United States, in many ways provided a tangible spiritual connection to the black culture they celebrated, from Parliament/Funkadelic to the Black Panthers as well as a tongue in cheek critique of rock bands as rebellious figures. What could be more rebellious (or more ridiculous) than a sovereign nation that supports Latin American guerrilla movements such as the Shining Path and declared American youth to be an oppressed class?

Finally, the music kicks ass. Plays Pretty for Baby takes inspiration from the 1980s hardcore of Black Flag and Flipper, the jagged garage rock of the Monks, and the caustic post-punk of the Birthday Party and the Fall. Injected into this heady brew is a jolt of soul, doo-wop, and free jazz. The band sounds as though they could come apart at any moment and yet songs like “The Hickey Underworld” and “A Comment on Ritual” reveals a band capable of some serious dynamics. Their co-option of jazz, not just as a genre but as a culture as well, makes Plays Pretty for Baby especially unique. Finally, there’s Ian Svenonius, whose absolutely unreal vocals veer from a sneer to a caustic shriek, sounding like an unholy marriage of Prince and Iggy Pop.

My approach for this book would be journalistic, similar in style to Chris Ott’s book on Unknown Pleasures and Michael Fornier’s work on Double Nickels on the Dime. For a band that created an often confusing and contradictory legend for itself, I think it would be enlightening and entertaining to read about the formation and early years of the NoU. How did their surroundings in Washington, D.C. influence them? What musical, political, social, and philosophical influences went into the pot of ideas that produced such a quixotic and exciting platform? I’d also like to focus on the album itself. How did the band approach following up Thirteen Point Program to Destroy America, itself a highly regarded album that did much to raise the band’s profile (Sassy anyone)? Sonically, Plays Pretty for Baby sounds much heavier and noisier and the rhythms are much looser than Thirteen Point Program, much more indebted to free jazz. The lyrics are more abstract, as are the liner notes. It removes the strict hardcore vibe that often permeated the songs on the first record, creating a more ominous and foreboding atmosphere. Was this an attempt to purposely alienate fans that liked the more traditional fair found on the first record? Or was it a natural progression, honing in closer to the true sound of Ulysses.
I hope to interview members of the band, specifically Ian Svenonius and James Canty, for this project. I also hope to interview other figures from this era as well, such as Dischord Records owner Ian Mackaye and other prominent figures in the D.C. scene from this era. I would hope that they would be able to provide me with insight into the band and the record and will aid in my attempt to tell the story of Plays Pretty for Baby. Additionally, I intend to utilize other sources, such as Mark Andersen and Mark Jenkins’ Dance of Days and fanzine back issues (including the NoU’s own Ulysses Speaks!) to place the band in the specific context of Washington, D.C. in 1992 and the American indie scene.

It is my belief that this is a record a lot punk and indie fans, as well as casual readers, will want to read about. It is a record whose whirling dervish intensity and stylistic approach has been imitated many times over by bands like Refused, The (International) Noise Conspiracy, The Hives, Swing Kids, Plot to Blow Up the Eiffel Tower, and a litany of other garage, hardcore, post-hardcore, emo, and agit-punk bands. The legend of Ulysses continues online on message boards and in comments left under live footage of the band on YouTube. As the band themselves purported, “Schoolyards now more than ever chime with the chant: "Ulysses, Ulysses, little flower, beloved by all the youth.”

Potential 33 1/3 Shortlist Proposals

So 33 1/3 just released their shortlist of potential books in their ongoing book series focusing on culturally significant records. That faint grinding noise you hear is the wailing and gnashing of teeth from over 400 dejected writers, bloggers, and grad students, myself included. The list that remains is, as you can imagine, a pretty interesting cross section of musical tastes. Now, I recognize that the 33 1/3 Series is all about bringing a fresh perspective on records that are infamous, influential, and important, but there are a few records that made the list that, for some, may call into question the intent of the series (as well as the general well-being of those who proposed them).

Most of the people who submitted are trying to be good sports in the comments section and say how excited they are about titles that did make it, all while valiantly defending against the few malcontents who grouse on about how their proposal didn't make it but a proposal for Garth Brooks' Chris Gaines project or Kanye West's 808s and Heartbreak, a record released just a few weeks ago, did make it. "33 1/3 isn't about just a straight retelling of the facts it's about the authors interpretation, maaaaahhhn..." Well, yes and no. 33 1/3 certainly places a premium on creativity and unconventionality, but at the end of the day it's about the album, not your precious little creative nonfiction project.

With that in mind, here are a few thoughts about what we could potentially see from 33 1/3 more "radical" shortlist nominees. And for those of you who are crying "foul" and demand to see my proposal I'll be posting it separately in the next few days.

Britney Spears - Blackout

Tracing Britney's roots back over several generations, our intrepid author links Ms. Spear's Louisiana roots to her great, great, great, great-grandfather, Butterford DuBois Spears, the illegitimate child of a wealthy white planter and his black mistress. Through groundbreaking genealogy research and scholarship, the author pieces together the fragments of Butterford's life to create a picaresque tale that in many ways parallels Ms. Spear's life. From obscure poverty to the heights of 19th century Louisiana society, Butterford became one of the most influential men in New Orleans until a series of professional and personal misfortunes caused him to become a reviled figure. Returning to the relative anonymity of his sugar plantation "Croisement" (French for "Crossroads"), Butterford reinvented himself as a prolific inventor and solidified his comeback when he gained a patent for an early form of mechanical shears. Drawing parallels to Ms. Spear's own life, the author investigates questions of celebrity, the cost of fame, and the legacy of family in our contemporary society.

The second proposal is actually a no-holds-barred tell-all account by Kevin Federline.

Kanye West - 808s and Heartbreak

Utilizing 808s and Heartbreak as a launching pad, the author weaves a classic story of inter-galactic romantic longing that will not be soon forgotten. Set aboard the International Space Station, it's the story of Dr. Jim Jacobson, a brilliant pilot and physisist who, at 3 years, 6 months, and 17 days is the longest serving crew member at the ISS. Physically and emotionally isolated, he is incapable of forging a meaningful connection with most of his crew. When new crew member Vanessa Lane arrives and takes a liking to the fumbling, awkward Dr. Jacobson, his emotional walls begin to crumble and he soon forges a connection with Vanessa. But when a new arrival, the dashing chemist Dr. Rick Vanworder, begins a flirtatious friendship with Vanessa, Dr. Jacobson must decide whether it is better to love and be hurt than to never love at all.

Slint - Spiderland

Finally digging up the truth to one of indie-rock's most cryptic and influential records, the author discovers that all those rumours about the band having a collective nervous breakdown during the recording were simply the result of some childish meddling on the part of David Pajo and Will Oldham.

The Hold Steady - Seperation Sunday

WELL FR. McGEE WAS A RIGHT OLD DOG, HAD SISTER MARY HELEN DRINKING UP A FOG. AND DOWN AT THE BAR "THEIR ON FIRE" BUT THEY CAN'T SEE EACH OTHER THROUGH JAMESON DESIRE.

NOW DEBBIE CAME FROM THE WRONG SIDE OF THE TRACKS STILL DIDN'T STOP TOMMY BOY FROM SAYING NOW HOW ABOUT THAT. SHE SAID I WOULD LEAVE THIS DUMP BUT I GOT A GOOD LIFE, PITCHING ROCKS AT THE SWELLS AND THE NEAR DO WELLS.

M.I.A. - Kala

It's 2057 and the small island nation of Sri Lanka has been at peace for over thirty years following the final defeat of the Tamil Tiger Liberation Front, which had been agitating for a seperate Tamil state since the 1970s. Brutally repressed since the cessation of hostilities, the Tamils live in urban squalor and enjoy the status of second-class citizens in Sri Lankan society. Into this world, a young Tamil man named Erambu discovers a beat up cassette tape in a refuse pile. The tape, though scratched and inaudible in parts, bears the music of a long forgotten musician, whose message of political radicalism and Tamil pride was surpressed years ago. The tape is a revelation to the fatherless Erambu, who begins to disperse clandestine copies of the tape throughout the Tamil community. Pretty soon there is an explosion of Tamil activity and Erambu finds himself at the center of a revived Tamil Tiger organization. Utilizing the music of M.I.A. as a vehicle for the possibility of radical change, the author explores ideas of national and ethnic identity and the glamourization of poverty and resistance.

Lou Reed - Metal Machine Music

This book will simply be the author typing the letter "R" for 90 pages, with some variation on pages 49, 62, and 77, respectively.

Girl Talk - Night Ripper

Taking inspiration from Girl Talk's own stylistic cut and paste technique, the author will utilize a variety of stylistic approaches, often on the same page, to analyze the cultural weight of Night Ripper. Jumping from first-person narrative to investigative journalism to memoir to second person flashback, the author turns his study of Night Ripper into a piece of meta-writing that calls into question issues of ownership, inspiration and the quickest way to a dance party.

Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend

A surprising inclusion perhaps given the album's relative short-lived existence, but like 808s and Heartbreak, its forceful appearance on the pop culture radar demands analysis. Here, the author links Vampire Weekend to a long tradition of racial and cultural pirates, from Black Beard to the Beastie Boys. He argues that though their ransacking of disparate musical styles such as reggea, afrobeat, and highlife may have seemed an innocent by-product of our quickly globalizing world, Vampire Weekend are actually at the center of a vast tradition of exploitation of oppressed peoples by white males. (Please Note: This paper is based on a presentation delivered at the 2008 Atlantic History Conference at Duke University).

Lil' Wayne - Da Drought 3

This book, written by the artist in question, will simply be drunken boasts and slurred metaphores delivered over backing tracks from a variety of superstar producers. It's release date will be continually delayed.

Well, there you have it. If you ask me, it's gonna be a good year for 33 1/3, particularly if they can ever get Lil' Wayne to complete his book.

Riffs and Dunks, wk. 3!

Good things come to those who wait, don't ya know?

The Dunks



Julius Erving, Dr. J to you, is often seen as the bridge between the old style of play and what we have come to know as modern basketball. Other people had dunked but none had done it with the grace and athleticism that he brought. Surviving the 1976 NBA-ABA Merger, he found a natural home in Philly where he continued to play until 1986, retiring while still at the top. As far as legacies go, the "Rock the Baby" dunk, as well as his infamous 1980 behind the backboard layup against the Lakers, is pretty much unimpeachable.



It's kind of a punk move there with the pointing at the end, but this dunk, a sort of brutalized take on MJ's majestic 1988 slam dunk competition winner kind of warrants it. Dude apparently has possibly fathered 19 kids, all of them 6'9" and 220lbs.



My high school history teacher was Georgetown grad who had a few classes with Iverson during his tenure there. Apparently he spent a lot of time sleeping in the back.

The Riffs



Did we really need an NME-approved hair metal band to make it ok for us to dust off those Pretty Boy Floyd LPs and let 'er rip? In 2003, the idea of a hair-metal revival appeared to gain a lot of traction, especially over in Britain where it seems they missed the first go round. But here in the U.S., where Brett Michael's hair extensions control VH1's programming department and people still get misty eyed over Use Yr Illusion, it seemed a bit strange that hair metal was being repackaged so as to be culturally acceptable to US audiences. Poison still sell out concerts and hipsters spent most of the late 90s and early aughts trying to pretend they really loved Cinderella the first time about. The Darkness were such a strange pop-cultural blip that burned out faster than anyone expected that I become concerned anytime I hear that song of theirs any place outside of a light beer commercial.



Just the idea that the Stones had this shelved for so long because they thought the Who outdid them is pretty great. Obviously, the Who destroyed the Stones, who were dealing with Brian Jones' increasing slide into drug induced stupidity.



I'm not badass enough for this song to be played at my funeral but I wish I was.

IT'S BIDEN TIME

Are you bummed that now that W. is back in Texas you'll be devoid of the classic "What Me Worry" facial expressions you've come to know and love? Well, never worry friend, Joe Biden is here to satiate your need to laugh at our leaders. Like W., the guy has got a flair for great facial expressions and completely off the wall malapropisms. Unlike W though, the guy is pretty bright, foot in mouth disease aside. In any case, the warped geniuses at Hipinion are already hard at work. I am proud to present. . . BIDEN TIME


A little fire in the background...


And finally. . .

When the world needed a hero...

YES I WILL BE RUNNING RIFFS AND DUNKS TOMORROW. I'M SORRY, I DIDN'T GET A CHANCE ON FRIDAY.