Heavens To Betsy/Bratmobile Split

Running a bit behind today, battling basement flooding. Fun stuff.

OK, so I thought I was done with the box of Riot Grrrl stuff. Wrong. Found one more. This is it.  

Both of these songs sound like they were recorded underwater, and "Cool Schmool" suffers from that wandering rhythm section problem. The songs themselves are fine.

A: Heavens to Betsy - My Secret
B: Bratmobile - Cool Schmool
Enjoy!

Fifth Column - Donna

Named for Spanish Civil War insurgents, which is pretty damn cool. Toronto's Fifth Column was very much involved with the whole Riot Grrrl scene, writing for zines and so on, but somehow managed to avoid getting the label themselves. Maybe it's because they're Canadian. They're more on the experimental side of post-punk according to a google search or two, but this single sounds very Riot Grrrl-y to me. They apparently started a whole movement of gay punk bands in Canada. Solid musicians, with none of that weak rhythm section stuff that I've complained about.

A: Donna
B: All Women Are Bitches
Enjoy!

Beat Happening - Red Head Walking

The pile of done stuff is starting to approach the size of the pile of stuff yet to be done. Almost, but not quite halfway. It's been fun so far, not sure what to do when there is no more pile of "to-dos" left, except to find some vinyl to buy I suppose.

Another influential Pacific NW band. Beat Happening were a minimalist, Lo-Fi trio with a male and a female "singer" neither of whom really seemed to sing.

They founded the successful DIY label K Records so that they could record and distribute their stuff, and through K helped launch all sort of other acts out of Olympia, such as Courtney Love (the band...) and a lot of the Riot Grrrl bands.

Despite their running K Records, they maintained a relationship with Sub Pop, and this is one of a few things that Sub Pop put out for them. As Sub Pop was taking off at the time, this was probably a smart business move by the band.

Calvin handles the vocals on both tracks. His voice is so deep and low, it sounds like he smoked and drank quite a bit the night before.

Not sure where or when I got this. Probably picked it up because I'd heard of them, but hadn't heard anything by them, and it was on Sub Pop. Interesting enough, but not really my thing at the time. Not bad though.

A: Red Head Walking
B: Secret Picnic Spot
Enjoy!

Courtney Love - Highlights

The Olympia duo (not Mrs. Cobain) are back, with another set of poppy-jangly-acoustic songs. "Highlights" draws its title and cover art from a reference in the song to Goofus and Gallant, reminding me of time wasted in pediatricians' offices as a young boy.

In "Disappearing Lessons" Lois Maffeo changes up her usual rhythm a bit. It's a bit more downcast instead of the usual upbeat cheery rhythm thing she's usually got going on. Her songs, while pretty good, do sound alike, so some variety is welcome.

A: Highlights
B: Shaniko, Disappearing Lessons
Enjoy!

Courtney Love - Uncrushworthy

Note that this is the 2-piece band with Lois Maffeo and Patrick Maley, not the Mrs. Cobain.

I dug a hand into the trunk and came up with this little gem today, taking us from one coast to the other, from hardcore to acoustic indie pop. Unlike the fun revolutionary wannabes in Nation of Ulysses, Lois Maffeo really is a sort of revolutionary, credited with influencing the Pacific NW scene (and the Riot Grrrl movement) of the late 80’s/early 90’s with her music and radio show in Olympia, Washington. She also bucked the trends of the time, crafting these catchy acoustic pop songs when it seems like everyone in Washington was plugging vintage Fenders into Marshall stacks. She's got a great voice, and writes these sweet sounding songs about love and all of the awkwardness that can accompany it. Maffeo recorded a lot in the 90’s simply as “Lois” and then sort of faded away, but she’s apparently still active in the Olympia scene as a writer.

This is not the type of thing I was buying in 1990. I was buying the noisy stuff the guys in Seattle were making. I got this from an old girlfriend. We were together when I was buying all of those other records, and she’d tag along and pick out something a bit more, well, girly. This, for example, or some Bratmobile, Bikini Kill, that kind of thing (these will all show up here later…you’ll see).

Anyway, a decade after we split up, she emailed asking for my address. A few days later a box showed up on the doorstep, and the 7” records she bought way back when were all inside, with a note saying that I would appreciate these more than her. I took the records from the box and put them in the trunk with my old stuff, ending their long, roundabout journey. The last time I saw these, I was pulling them out of my collection, placing them into another box (probably the same one they were mailed to me in, come to think of it...) so that she could take them with her on her way out the door.

I was glad to see these again. Some of these are great, (this one in particular) and I figured they’d have a nice home here, and that the music on them would eventually see the light of day again. And so the idea for this little project was born. It only took a few years to get it going.

Coincidence! Lois is actually like Nation of Ulysses in that she is also connected to Brendan Canty, releasing a critically acclaimed album with him (The Union Themes) in 2000.

A:  Uncrushworthy, Sunny Day
B: Motorcycle Boy, 2nd Most Beautiful Girl In the World

Enjoy!