earle@smeagol.UUCP (Greg Earle) (09/26/86)
Alfke keeps poking me with an electronic blunt stick, so, herewith, is The Thinking Man's Guide To Skinny Puppy And Severed Heads >he makes them out to be the saviors of industrial music, Erm, ... no. In fact I wouldn't call either of them `industrial', in the sort of sense that I would call Lustmord, Gerechtigheits Liga and Controlled Bleeding industrial. What they do is play synth-based musics which on the whole place one foot in discernable-melodyland and the other foot in wild psycho-dramaville noize damage. Both bands skirt the edges of tuneless noize and accessable melodies, and deftly intertwine the two. Let's just say you're not likely to hear them on the RAK of th' Eighties ... I wouldn't compare them to TG at all, only Skinny Puppy have an element whose precedent is known (severly mutilated/altered vocal tracks, a la early Cab Volt). They are spiritual brethren of Chris and Cosey, perhaps, in that they all manage to put out tracks that are simultanoeusly dancable on the one hand, and subversive and musically inventive/interesting on the other hand. >the record came out a lot more, um, accessible than I thought it would. I never said otherwise. Remember, judge not by one single record (out of 11 records, see below). It is definitely more `accessible' than their other efforts, yet does not cross the border into pandering to commercial interests. Still not K-RAK fodder ... >(So what are Skinny Puppy like, Greg?) Like Severed Heads with more prominent drum machine and the aforementioned CV derived vocals. Shit, spend some money, find out for yourself ... [Ian Langley & Michael] > We are interested by the amount of talk in the newsgroup about >the Australian group "Severed Heads". As you have probably guessed from the >pathname we hail from that 51st state of the union and we actually saw >SH at a humble night club in Newcastle (NSW). The audience could have been >counted on your fingers and toes. By now I have accepted this criterion as that denoting a great band (`audience could have been counted on your fingers and toes'). First time appearances by great out-of-town bands are often in this category. Have you guys Down Under seen Scattered Order? The Moodists? The Scientists? Dead Can Dance before they bailed for England? etc. etc. >By the way what is this "Red Mecca" thing that everyone keeps bagging. Cabaret Voltaire's 4th LP, released in 1981 By now I'm sure you've all made up your minds about whether you like any of this shit, so for those that do, here's the ticket: Severed Heads ------- ----- Blubberknife Cassette INK records INK IT-00A 1983 Since The Accident LP INK 2 1984 Dead Eyes Opened//Bullett/Mount 12" EP INK 122 1984 Goodbye Tonsils/The Ant Can See Legs//I Stand On My Head/Acme Instant Dehydrated Boulder Kit 12" EP INK 129 1985 City Slab Horror LP INK 9 1985 Dead Eyes Opened (Remix 3)/Petrol (Remix 5)//We Have Come To Bless This House (Remix 2)/Oscar's Grind/Mambo Fist Miasma 12" EP Nettwerk 17NTWK 12 1985 Clifford Darling, Please Don't Live In The Past LP INK 16D 1985 Stretcher EP (Tracks: Halo//Big Blue Is Back/Heat Seeking Susan/New Explosions) 12" EP INK 1214 1985 Propellor EP (Tracks: Propellor Two [Rotation Mix]/Propellor Three [Kamikazee Mix]//Twenty Deadly Diseases (Terminal Mix)/Harold And Cindy Hospital) 12" EP INK 12/22 1986 The Big Bigot LP INK 22 1986 Come Visit The Big Bigot Nettwerk NTL 30003 1986 (Different Cover; substitutes `Twenty Deadly Diseases' for `George The Animal') Other Artists You Might Like On INK Records C Cat Trance, Anne Clark, Scattered Order, The Nightingales Skinny Puppy ------ ----- Remission Mini-LP Nettwerk 12NTWK12 1985 (Re-released as NTM 6301 1986) Cassette Nettwerk 12NTWKC12 1985 (Cassette has extra tracks) Bites LP 15NTWK 1985 (Re-released as NTL 30002 1986) Cassette 15NTWKC15 1985 (Cassette has extra tracks) Dig It/The Choke (Re-grip) 12" EP NT12-3002 1986 Just released Other Nettwerk Artists Moev, Chris and Cosey, Grapes Of Wrath, Severed Heads ANyhow, that's the compleat scoop on these two ... remember they're coming to your area (maybe) this winter ... (Still don't have tour dates yet ... Nettwerk has left their answering machine in charge of their phone :-) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Alfke again] >Well, some more new records but little time to write... >Hula "1000 Hours" ??? Hate to be a weenie and Pick Nits but I've had this for 8 months !?!? I would hardly call Hula `industrial' either ("Sheffield's reigning industrial kings"), nor would I say "Chris and Cosey ... are going downhill" [do you have `Take Five'?] Mebbe I'm lame but I think I raved about this way back in January or Feb... Oh well I guess no one listens to me anyways .. (It's great though ... and pick up their more-recent 12" while yer at it) >"Oh no, our legs are touching > touching on THE BUS" [Note: This is an Executive Slacks lyric quote] Hardest LP to find in all of LA is the Slacks' newie `Fire And Ice' ... Looks like maybe 15 copies made it into the city ... we had to get ours direct from Fundimental Music ... Those of you on the West Coast (sp., Frisco, LA, SD) may be interested to know that we are likely to be promoting some Exec Slacks gigs out here ... tentative timeframe late Nov.-early Dec. (old rabid rock fans never die, they just become Promoters :-) Possible venues include the BACKDOOR in San Diego, ROXY or PARK PLAZA HOTEL (where Chris & Cosey played) in LA, and Who-knows-where in SF ... stay tuned for further details --------------------------------------------------------------------------- To IED and anybody else that deals with Jukebox Japan ... if you know him well enough, ask him about bootlegs ... he gets some real tasty ones in occasionally (a double Sisters Of Mercy `Posession' my most recent from him). Observation: Many people like to drink at gigs ... I saw Faith.No.More last week, and after 2 Double Margarita's my brain & body got disconnected ... as a result FNM sounded like so much splurgh ... mebbe that's why nobody really cares about live music (in L.A.) any more, they just get wasted and it all sounds the same anyway ... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Unheard Vinyl Dept. First Prize for Best 4AD Look-alike goes to IN THE NURSERY's latest LP, `Twins' ... I dare you to pick up the cover and not think, `23 Envelope' ... meanwhile the music's a killer, imagine the best of Industrial Noize blended with some of that 4AD moody atmospherics ... one of my Pix of 86, out now on Sweatbox (same people who put out that recent Abstract compilation) ... THE CASSANDRA COMPLEX's `Datakill' (12") sounds like KROQ electro-synth damage for the first coupla minutes ("Quick, Martha get the volume dial!") then suddenly turns into something quite deranged and manic with screaming guitar and roll-around-the-headphones-wall-of-sound drumbeats ... B sides are even more interesting ... Last LP but not least GARGOYLE SOX's newie `Headless Horseman' sees one of America's most unique bands (all right, Jim-Bob, so I know you think they `suck' and, yeah, it ain't `Atomizer', I still like it) exploring new ground. "America's answer to The Sisterhood" occasionally comes to mind but that isn't really a good description either ... let's just say they're probably the most original band from the Detroit area that's going right now, and thankfully they've nothing to do with the Amurikan Back To The Basics Guitar Raak movement ... for the adventurous of heart and ear ... [Take note of this Fidelis Lovecat] Still waiting for the Death Of The Glam Revival and the Start Of The 1979 Revival ... Oh yeah - Subject line @P. Weller, And Son Music 1979