Big Dipper - Slam

Slam. Duh duh duh, duh duh duh. Let boys be boys.

I pulled this one back out after acquiring a copy of the Embarrassment's discography a few weeks ago. Big Dipper was, of course, staffed with two members of the Embarrassment, along with former members of Volcano Suns. And if you know how any of those words relate to independent music...well, congrats, unc; you probably played vinyl only on your 3am radio show back in 1988.

"Slam" was Big Dipper's third and final full-length in their first iteration. It was also their only LP on major label Epic Records, with their first two coming on Homestead. If I had to guess, their Epic A&R, who also signed Living Colour, probably was looking for the next Hüsker Dü, something tuneful and noisy that'd cross over from college rock into the lower depths of the mainstream. And while I don't love this as much as I do their two Homestead records (still available as part of the excellent Merge anthology "Supercluster"!), it's still really good, and probably primed for a Music on Vinyl reissue.

Discogs

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various artists - A Matter Of Degrees (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

"A Matter Of Degrees" is the second and final film directed by W.T. Morgan, who is notable for having previously directed "X: The Unheard Music". I've never seen it, probably on account of it having been released before THE YEAR PUNK BROKE, and thus being a bit of a forgotten film. It features a few A+ character actors in the form of Tom Sizemore and Wendall Pierce, with Michael Imperioli making a very early, unnamed appearance. John Doe, Kate Pierson, and Fred Schneider all show up as well, apparently. The plot revolves around a college student refusing to sell out and go to grad school, and rebelling against a corporate takeover of the college radio station. I assure the Gen Z'ers amongst my readers that, yes, this is something we were concerned about in the 90s. It actually mattered.

The soundtrack, however, is best described as "mad solid"...very representative of where the majors were fishing in the pre-Nirvana, post-Replacements college rock pond. fIREHOSE contributes an exclusive track to this soundtrack, as do Yo La Tengo. This, along with the misconception that Lou Reed had something to do with this movie (due to the cover), were the reasons I plunked down a dollar for this. Additionally, you get the Pixies song everyone put on a tape for me in the 90s, a Lemonheads track from their contemporary release, and a Miracle Legion cover of Mission Of Burma that only appeared on the Japanese release of their debut LP. There's a token hip hop track from Schooly-D, and even the great Alex Chilton shows up with "Rock Hard" from his classic 1979 record "Like Flies On Sherbert". Shout out to Jim Dunbar, who was music supervisor on the movie, did A&R for Columbia in the 90s, and also played in Wylde Ratttz for "Velvet Goldmine".

All of this is to say that I'm not going to chase down a copy of "A Matter Of Degrees", but I would probably throw it on one Sunday morning when my wife is still asleep and I'm doing laundry.

Discogs

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various artists - I Give You The Head Of Corporate Rock And Roll Vol. I

If you're like me, and an interest in public radio intersects with a love of punk rock, then this one's for you, pally.

Recorded live on air at KPFK 90.7 in Los Angeles, "I Give You The Head Of Corporate Rock And Roll Vol. I" is a snapshot of the West Coast's edgier left of the dial bands, just as "Nevermind" was starting to really break through.to 14-year-olds like me. Not that I would have heard this, residing, as I did, on the literal side of a mountain in Moonshine Country, Virginia.

But I probably would have enjoyed this immensely in 1992. Calamity Jane, who I've written about here before, provides a cut. Long Gone John's taste is well represented, with Oiler, the Humpers, and Trash Can School all chiming in. Kyle Ryan would probably be stoked to see Anus the Menace, Bulimia Banquet, and Sandy Duncan's Eye contributing cuts. And operating at the center of this fuckin' sick Venn diagram are Distorted Pony and Mudwimin, making circus music for little monkeys like yours truly. There's even a Man Is The Bastard connection, as former PHC bandmate Bob Durkee's band Shoeface can also be found here.

L.A. seems like it probably was fun in 1992.

Discogs

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various artists - CMJ Presents Certain Damage! - Volume 38

I posted another "Certain Damage!" sampler a couple months ago, and while that one was good, anytime you can lead off a mix with My Bloody Valentine/Hole/Pixies/Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet...well, that's a good-ass moment in music. Add in killer tracks from Black Sheep, Matthew Sweet, Manic Street Preachers, Dead Can Dance, Sinead O'Connor, and Enya, and you got a real stew going, doncha?

Discogs

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various artists - CMJ Presents Certain Damage! - Volume 30

When i think of CMJ, the College Music Journal, I think of going to the cool bookstore as a teenager, copping "New Music Monthly", and learning about what the kids a few years older than me were into. I didn't know about publicists or the politics of major labels or the world of college rock; I just knew I was getting drawn into something that didn't play on the radio in southwestern Virginia. It wasn't covered in "Rolling Stone" or "Spin", aside from the occasional 50-word review. And when it did show up on MTV, it was in the "120 Minutes" ghetto, banished to late, late night.

Not that I got cable that far out in the boondocks.

"Certain Damage!" was the precursor to the NMM samplers that I'd swipe out of Borders. I've turned up a few of these recently, all dating from the days before Lollapalooza. Volume 30 here has the last great Replacements song, a Redd Kross cut, the Jane's Addiction song you'd actually hear on the radio in the daytime. There's also a Hank Rollins side project, an appearance by both Fred Firth and Henry Kaiser on the same track, and the first house track I remember hearing (Soho, "Hippychick").

This was what the College Music Journal thought was worth hearing, the month of my 13th birthday.

Discogs

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various artists - Lonely Is An Eyesore

I was sincerely stoked to turn up a $2 copy of this in one of my usual haunts a few months ago because, hey, it's winter time. It's time to listen to This Mortal Coil whilst wearing a cable knit sweater in the dark. Winter! Grey skies! Light winds! Howling wolves!

I have a much greater appreciation of these sorts of recordings now than I ever have before in my life; a strange development, considering it's the first time in my adult life where I've felt like my depression has been under control. This is a soundtrack to being in your early 20s, thinking the deep thoughts all alone and feeling just more than a little miserable. So explain to me why I'm digging this so much now than I'm twice as old and pretty much content to turn my brain off for hours at a time.

I skip over Throwing Muses every time it comes on. Still don't get into any of their music; I'm totally into Kristen Hersh's and Tanya Donnelly's solo recordings and other bands, tho.

Discogs

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various artists - Eye Of The Needle

I am an absolute sucker for spending a few bucks on anything local that I'm unfamiliar with. "Eye Of The Needle", a sampling of 1990-era Seattle (non-Sub Pop categories), fits that description to a T. It took some deep diving on Discogs to determine I was the least bit familiar with even two of the 18 bands/artists here. I'd heard Aaiiee on this Screamers tribute CD that came out about 20 years ago; apparently, they've stayed together as a band of what I'm sure are now 50- to 60-year-old weirdos making weirdo music for fellow weirdos. Laura Love, appearing here as part of "folk-funk feminist foursome" Venus Fury, did a couple of records for Mercury in the last 90s; possibly the major's bid for some Lilith Fair dollars? Other than that, it's a wide swath of music from folks who, I presume, provided a vital enough portion of the greater scene in the Emerald City 30+ years ago, when wee folks like me on the other side of the country were being bombarded for the first time by Mudhoney and Melvins and Fastbacks. A cross-section, if you will. I loved diving into this without any larger context than, "here's a little slice of history that you'll be completely unfamiliar with."

Discogs

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various artists - Freedom Of Choice: Yesterday's New Wave Hits Performed By Today's Stars

The joys of crate digging lie in the discovery of the unknown and the rediscovery of the forgotten. For example, I'm sure I should have known that, in 1992, Caroline Records and City Slang did a benefit record for Planned Parenthood that was bookended with Sonic Youth and Superchunk covering Plastic Bertrand and Devo (respectively). But I wasn't familiar with it until I turned up a copy on CD this week for $2.10 (plus tax). And what a joy it's been to rediscover it.

There are the aforementioned SY and 'Chunk tracks. I was a bit surprised to hear Mac sing in a lower register on "Girl You Want", but it wasn't unwelcome. There's a lot of the Triangle represented here, with Polvo and the Connells rubbing elbows with early Merge alums Erectus Monotone and Raleigh natives Finger. Hoboken also gets a shoutout, via contributions from Yo La Tengo and Tiny Lights. I'd also never heard Mudhoney's cover of "Pump It Up", one of my least-liked Elvis Costello songs, but, in their hands, I dug it. The "best" cut here is probably Kate Bush's "Wuthering Heights", covered with great enthusiasm by White Flag. It's a weird choice that works well for me.

It's all pretty peak college rock/Lollapalooza second stage. I don't say that as a bad thing. It definitely took me back to reading about Rock For Choice shows and wondering when I'd make it to the Sanctuary Theatre to see Fugazi. It hurts my head to think that we're nearly 30 years on from this, and we probably need support for Planned Parenthood more now than ever.

Discogs

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