His Name Is Alive

Artist: His Name Is Alive

LP: The Dirt Eaters EP

Song: "The Dirt Eaters"

[ listen ]

Have you heard about the new compilation the British-based 4AD label is releasing later this year? It features all the artists that are currently signed to the label doing a cover of a song that was released by 4AD sometime in the past 41 years, after the label first launched in 1980. 

One of my favorite bands on 4AD now (and then) is The Breeders. They've chosen to cover "The Dirt Eaters," from the 1992 His Name Is Alive EP of the same name. His Name Is Alive is another of my favorite 4AD bands (they were booted from the label in the early 2000s after an at-the-time-seemingly-4AD-incompatible foray into R&B) so I have to keep pinching myself to make sure I'm not dreaming. My arm is covered in bruises, but the LP and CD will be available in July!

 

[ His Name Is Alive ]

Fastbacks

Artist: Fastbacks

LP: Alone In a Furniture Warehouse [10" EP]

Song: "Eyes of a Child"

[ listen ]

I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I'm just now—finally—getting into Fastbacks, the Seattle band that was together from 1979 to 2001. Better late than never!

[ Fastbacks ]

Throwing Muses

Artist: Throwing Muses

EP: Firepile (Part Two)

Song: "Jak"
[ listen ]

I went on another online 4AD shopping spree, this time picking up a few things to fill gaps in the collection of some of my favorite lady-lead bands. I got a Tom Tom Club single (ok, not 4AD), along with two EPs by The Breeders and the two "Firepile" EPs by Throwing Muses, which I already have on CD. I'd never even seen them on vinyl before. The b-sides of these EPs offer some neat covers, like "Jak," which was originally recorded by Volcano Suns.

[ Throwing Muses circa 1992 ]

Liquorice

Artist: Liquorice

LP: Listening Cap

Song: "Trump Suit"
[ listen ]

So it seems the uneducated masses are perfectly willing to believe that the world is flat, as long as the person who tells them it's flat is wearing a power suit. Welcome to America in 2017. You can read about Liquorice here.

[ Liquorice ]

Belly

Artist: Belly

EP: Slow Dust

Song: "Low Red Moon"
[ listen ]

A few months ago I became awfully excited when I saw that Belly would be appearing at The Crocodile here in Seattle. I went to the venue's website to buy a ticket but then discovered that this is the artist I would be going to see. I felt silly. The Belly I wanted to see had disbanded 20 years ago. How had I been so easily fooled into thinking they were suddenly back together and playing a show in Seattle?

Fast forward to just a few weeks ago, when my friend Adrien told me over a vegan breakfast that Belly had gotten back together again and they would be playing a show in Seattle! He said they would be appearing at The Neptune at the end of the month! Now I hadn't been out to see a musical performance in nearly four years, but I figured I had to go. If Belly could come out of retirement, then so could I. 

I first encountered Belly when I came across their 4-track "Slow Dust" EP on CD at an alternative/indie record shop in Orem, Utah back in 1992. Still collecting all things 4AD at the time, I snapped it up and took it home, eager to hear the music behind this deliriously colorful cover. Here's the artwork from the CD, which has a slightly different layout than my vinyl copy, pictured above.

I hadn't yet heard that Tanya Donelly of Throwing Muses and The Breeders had left both of those groups to focus on writing and performing her own songs in a new band she'd started called Belly. (It takes a while for this sort of news to reach Orem, Utah.) But once I realized who was in the Belly, I was an instant fan. The music is so dreamy and delicious.

Fast forward 24 years and there I was last Thursday morning on something they're calling "the internet," purchasing my ticket to see the better Belly performing in Seattle! I was actually able to see the group perform from afar once—in the mid-1990s at an overcrowded warehouse venue filled with a motley throng of dim-witted Green Day enthusiasts. But the last time I'd been in close proximity to a Tanya Donelly performance was in Salt Lake City back in 1991, when I took my shitty and entirely unreliable camera to a Throwing Muses show on the front lawn of the University of Utah. The group was touring on the heels of the release of "The Real Ramona," the last LP Tanya recorded as a member of the band. I only got one good photo of the show (well, two actually...but one was just of Tanya's shoes. My flash didn't go off for the others, so all I ended up with was a photo set of handsome silhouettes). But the one picture that did turn out is this one of Ms. Donelly. 

I waited around after the show in hopes of mingling with The Muses, and I got someone to take a photo of me with Tanya. Have I mentioned that my camera was a steaming piece of crap?

I've lightened the image with Photoshop, but it's still not entirely clear that I'm with Tanya Donelly. Let's face it, that could just as well be Suzanne Somers or even Carol Channing from what we're able to see here. Anyway, I remember asking her if she'd written "Giant" (I knew she had), after which I confided that it was my favorite song by Throwing Muses.

Okay, fast forward again—25 years this time. I arrived way too early at The Neptune last night, so I ended up front and center with some free local-arts reading material I'd picked up to keep me occupied until the performance began. Fortunately I've since replaced my horrible camera with a multi-purpose telephone, so I've interspersed the artwork images from the back of Belly's debut EP with my photos from last night's show. Tanya and her Belly were fantastic. Down-to-earth, glittery dynamite. You can read more about Belly here, go here to visit their website, and here's more information about Belly bandleader Tanya Donelly.

[ Belly, circa 1995 ]

Spirea X

Artist: Spirea X

LP: 12" single

Song: "Chlorine Dream"

[ listen ]

The a-side of this 1991 12" single from short-lived 4AD band Spirea X has always been one of my favorite things to listen to in the springtime. It's different from the version included on the group's full-length LP—livelier, crisper, more springlike. It's one of the best 4AD releases of the '90s, if you ask me, partly also because it features bold and classy cover art made of neon lights. Sadly, I have to admit I liked the song a little bit more before reading just now that frontman Jim Beattie bragged that it was simply impossible to classify his music into any established genre of the time. He also occasionally claimed to be God, and sometimes he said he was Jesus. yawn. Silly, silly pop star. Spirea X features Beattie's girlfriend, Judith Boyle, on backing vocals. I bet it's not easy to date a guy who thinks he's Jesus.

[ Spirea X ]

Stress

Artist: Stress

LP: Stress

Song: "My Father Once Said"
[ listen ]

After checking out the music and arts festival going on in downtown Baton Rouge, I drove over to the next record store on my list, Music Treasure Chest. Owned and operated by twin brothers Noel & Joel Jackson, the Music Treasure Chest is filled with Rap, R&B, Blues, Jazz, Gospel, Christian, Pop, Country, Zydeco, Cajun, Rock, Alternative, and more! All LPs are just $4.99, no matter if they're actually worth $1.99 or $109.99. Joel, the friendly twin working when I stopped by (his brother was probably busy doing his radio show), says he likes to price all records at $5 so that people from the neighborhood stop by often to see what's available, perhaps even finding a musical treasure! I found several treasures in the chest myself, including this 1991 self-titled LP by the short-lived British group Stress. I once owned this one on CD back in 1991 and liked it a lot, but some Mormon roommate/thief stole it from my bedroom, along with my Primus and Red Hot Chili Peppers CDs, in our large shared house in Provo, Utah. I'd rather own it on vinyl anyway, so if you're reading this, asshole, you can just go ahead and keep that CD. Unfortunately I wasn't able to find any more photos of the group, since my Google search for "Stress band" only conjured up images like this one, this one, and this one. But you can read a little about the Stress band on Wikipedia here. I sure wish they'd made another record.

[ Joel Jackson at Music Treasure Chest — Baton Rouge, Louisiana ]