Scandinavian Indie Digest Vol.3 Issue #22
![[The Scandinavian Indie]](/~chief/pics/sid.gif)
Digest
Vol.3 #22
May 14th, 1996
There are 27 messages totalling 1159 lines in this issue.
Topics of the day:
1. Bob hund: new EP, live in Stockholm, etc
2. Small "speedy" notes..
3. Sin's Non-Scan Demo Reviews [April 1996]
4. Sin's Scandinavian Demo Reviews [April 1996]
5. Salt
6. swedish indie labels (6)
7. indie labels (what?)
8. Cloudberry Jam @ Dublin Castle story (2)
9. Trastocksfestivalen opening party (2)
10. BQ (4)
11. NON-SCAN: Sebadoh in Roskilde.
12. Texas Jesus from Iceland
13. Short Quick Notes again
14. Salt Review found on the net
15. Fidget
16. Add Addresses to Demotape Reviews
17. Salt Free Surprise
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Date: Sun, 5 May 1996 16:29:09 +0200
From: mp93ks@mc.hik.se (Kristofer Samuelsson)
Subject: Re: Bob hund: new EP, live in Stockholm, etc
Just another bob hund mail...
>Live last Saturday in Stockholm they were even better. This year's
>crop of new songs are quite breathtaking -- you really get the feeling
>with BH that no one else is ever going to sound like this, ever. Go
>and see them. You _owe_ it to yourself...
I agree. They new songs are truly great. As usual.
>PPS They've also been interviewed by Benno.
Yes, I interviewed Thomas and Mats H. two weeks ago and now you can see the
result in the new issue of Stokage at this URL:
http://www.mc.hik.se/benno/Home/Stokage/8_Stokage/s_8_stokage.html
Sorry only the Swedish version available at the moment. The English one will
be up within a week, I hope.
>PPPS I've now got my English translations page going again, and it
>now includes 'Ist{llet f|r musik: f|rvirring' as well. The URL is
>http://www.astro.su.se/~robert/bob_hund.html .
I printed out a copy of Roberts translations and gave to Thomas. He enjoyed
it very much and he was impressed by the fact that people were so dedicated
to them.
/Kristofer
In the speakers:
Starmarket "Calender"
Shredhead "Melting Pot"
-------------------------------
Date: Mon, 6 May 1996 07:48:44 +0200 (MET DST)
From: chief@lysator.liu.se
Subject: re: Small "speedy" notes..
On Sat, 4 May 1996, Chris Forsberg wrote:
>>May 4th * In case you missed _Fidget_ (2 songs + interview with the ever
>> crisp and clear Nina Natri...) on the program Pop TV Live on ZTV
>> yesterday, tonight (May 4th) is the re-run of said program at
>> 00.45.
>
> Y'know.....I'm just curious: does anyone on this list ever videotape any
> of this stuff?? Because if they did, I would LOVE to get a copy, either
> in trade or for $$$. I already know about the PAL-NTSC conversion thing,
> and I dont care about paying the big money to convert for a tape full of
> Cloudberry Jam, Cardigans, and stuff like that. I mean, I'm sure not
> gonna see any of these bands on American TV. Please, if anyone tapes,
> let me know.....
Sure do. :-) Well, I have a bunch of stuff with CBJ, Cardigans, Fidget,
Mouth, Velvet Belly etc. Interviews, playback songs, live songs, and
so on. Maybe I should make a list? Kind of a good idea really - maybe
(if people help out that is) we could compile a Scandinaivian Indie -
The Video!? That would be neat...
//Erik (chief@lysator.liu.se)
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 6 May 1996 07:49:16 +0200 (MET DST)
From: chief@lysator.liu.se
Subject: Sin's Non-Scan Demo Reviews [April 1996]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scandinavian Indie NON SCANDINAVIAN DEMO REVIEWS Scandinavian Indie
May 5th, 1996
by Erik S|derstr|m (chief@lysator.liu.se)
"Never paid, always honest."
Contents:
Mass Exhibit
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* Mass Exhibit - "Mass Exhibit", 1996, Time: 18.47
1. Creepy J (3.52)
2. Spoken (3.14)
3. Can It Blind? (3.57)
4. Wrong Again (3.41)
5. Warped Sex (4.03)
Scandinavian Indie Review: Metal/Hardcore is probably the most hard music
style to review. At least when there are such a vast number of bands playing
this kind of music, all over the world, it gets pretty tricky trying to
compare one band to another. And that is exactly why I will not do that.
"Creepy J" is pretty clean metal/hardcore. That is, no walls of thundering
guitars to drown in, but instead, economical drums and vocals. The guitar
rattles, just like it should, but in a much slower and easy pace. In
"Spoken", the rattling guitars takes another form in the way of an echo-
effect that makes me just want to press that pedal to the metal and roar
down the road. It creates a amazingly addictive soundscape. "Can It Blind?"
is the best song on the demo. Hard hitting, thundering guitars with
unexpected twists here and there that gives it all just that little extra.
The vocals build on the music and makes it all sound very professional. I
love the whining guitars between the east coast bullet rain sections in
"Wrong Again", but the guitar solo in the middle is hideous! "Warped Sex"
is the strongest song, and will probably get this band signed. It starts
pretty interesting with a modem call... to a 28.8kbps modem... Anyway,
the song has got all the ingredients (except a Biohazard singalong) that
makes a heavy hardcore track. The bass has finally been given a place where
it can be heard. The breaks between the thundering parts and the bass line
sections are fantastic! And the vocals are strong and confident.
Overall, I must say that in some places, the demo is a bit thin. I like
to hear songs with guitar-walls that knocks me down, even if it is somewhat
refreshing to hear economical metal/hardcore once in a while.
(April 1996 Review by: Erik Soderstrom / Scandinavian Indie)
Contact: Avalon Entertainment Management, 55 Crystal Ave - Suite 298,
Derry, New Hampshire 03038, USA
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
All Demo / Tape reviews are available on the Scandinavian Indie WWW:
http://www.lysator.liu.se/~chief/reviews.html
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
//Erik (chief@lysator.liu.se)
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 6 May 1996 07:49:53 +0200 (MET DST)
From: chief@lysator.liu.se
Subject: Sin's Scandinavian Demo Reviews [April 1996]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scandinavian Indie DEMO REVIEWS Scandinavian Indie
May 5th, 1996
by Erik S|derstr|m (chief@lysator.liu.se)
"Never paid, always honest."
Contents:
Blonk, Lousy, Rottingdean (x2), Sodabuzz (x2)
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* Blonk - "Senex Semper Diu Dormit", 1995/1996, Time: 25.23
1. Stupid People (3.40)
2. Tu Me Manques (4.31)
3. With Me (5.49)
4. Je Mors (2.41)
5. Babe (2.17)
6. Pretty? (3.15)
7. Komm Nicht Zu Mir (3.10)
Scandinavian Indie Review: After listening to this demo a lot, I must define
the sound as upper class pop/rock. The reasons behind this definition lies
in the fact that they mix lyrics in english, french and german. They mix the
music styles of Sebadoh-punk, Mouth-false guitars with calmer sections and
sometimes the vocals reminds me of Salt, especially in "Pretty?" when the
vocals splits into two voices, but then again, like a friend so frankly put
it, most of the time it sounds somewhat like a Cranberries-Dolores wannabe.
What saves the vocals is a stereo delay in "Je Mors" which makes it sound
really good.
Love the drums in "Stupid People". Like the guitar section at the end of
"Tu Me Manques" and the dynamite bulldozer guitars in "Komm Nicht Zu Mir",
but the hit-track on the demo must be "With me". False Mouth riffs, vocals
slightly disted with a calm, simple Mouth-like middle section that builds
up to a vast and beautiful music landscape without disturbing vocals to the
end. The whole demo leaves me with somewhat of a confused impression, but
that is probably the thought behind it. I think.
(April 1996 Review by: Erik Soderstrom / Scandinavian Indie)
Contact: Karolina, Sjomansg. 7, 413 15 Goteborg, SWEDEN
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* Lousy - "the Unofficial demo", March 1996, WSMR 006, Time: 22.10
1. Canada (2.39)
2. Okay (0.51)
3. Heavy Metal (2.30)
4. Overkill (1.41)
5. Kewl (1.53)
6. Teentime (1.45)
7. Snazzy (1.15)
8. Downer (2.27)
9. Blunt (1.53)
10. Ouch! (1.40)
11. About You (1.12)
12. Bug (2.24)
Scandinavian Indie Review: It only gets better and better! On this demo, I
find no less than five songs that are absolute hits! "Heavy Metal" is of
course their hit from the past, and that is pretty easy to understand. One
can hear that it has been worked through thoroughly, and it sprawls out in
different directions, from slow beats to fast skatepop, from slow, light
vocals to fast and hitting.
"Kewl" is a really good song. Loads of guitar-walls, great vocals and nice
drums (especially in the slower sections), and great lyrics, but did they
add that long whiney synthesizer sound at the end just to annoy me?!
"Downer" is another hit! Extremely beautiful, dreamy, echoing and tingling
synthesizer (!) sounds in the middle of the usual fast, guitar-smashing
Lousy-sound. "About You" is a cover of Eric's Trip's song with the same
name (of course), which, if you listen to the original, has received just
the right Lousy-treatment. I like this version better than the original!
Finally, "Bug". Psychedelic dream-vocals together with a single guitar.
Muffled, simple, but beautiful! This is shoegazer-lo-fi!
Other songs I would like to mention is "Snazzy" that comes with party-
background, cool vocals, one-guitar riffs and a swooshing drum sound that
ends mysteriously with something that sounds like a radio. "Teentime" and
"Okay" are both somewhat in the spirit of Mouth. I still have a hard time
accepting the whiney Lousy synth, but I probably will like it one day.
Other than that, it sure is time for someone to discover this band and
sign them.
(April 1996 Review by: Erik Soderstrom / Scandinavian Indie)
Contact: Lousy, Box 137, 560 27 Tenhult, SWEDEN
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* Rottingdean - "Rottingdean", 199?, Time: 15.25
1. Swell (3.14)
2. So Suddenly (Went Away) (3.52)
3. Less Too Soon (3.42)
4. Pleased To Be Eased (4.37)
Scandinavian Indie Review: I do not care much for britpop, which makes it
kind of hard to give this demo a good review. All the songs here are in some
way linked to that type of music. "Swell" is a perfect example with Morrissey-
like vocals. That is also the case with "So Suddenly", but here the music
builds up slowly through echo-effects that soon evolves into beautiful, simple
and jazzy pop which in turn changes into a noisy and early Boo Radleys
euphoria at the end. "Less Too Soon" is probably a mix of Gene, Blur, Pulp
and Smiths in some way. Gorgeous guitars in any case. "Pleased To Be Eased"
starts off in a lo-fi way that plunges into a Boo Radleys-esque easy breeze
with muffled vocals, only to move into a noisy mixture with background vocals
in the "Aaah Aaah" class, that I find difficult to cope with. I actually do
not own one single record with any of the britpop bands, but I do like early
Boo Radleys (that is before 1993) and for that, Rottingdean scores a point.
(April 1996 Review by: Erik Soderstrom / Scandinavian Indie)
Contact: Rottingdean, c/o Saarnak, Spolegatan 24, 222 20 Lund, SWEDEN
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* Rottingdean - "Phaser", 1996, Time: 10.48
1. Glorious Gardens (5.14)
2. Excuse That Boy (5.34)
Scandinavian Indie Review: Well! Things have indeed changed since their last
demo. "Glorious Gardens" is a wonder beyond belief! Beautiful, light, floating
and swirling male vocals together with a simple guitar, drums and a bass steps
into the world of guitar-walls in the ultimate shoegazer school. (I really
gaze at my shoes to this one!) And everything debouch into an ordered chaos
of sounds with a talking voice, alarming guitars and horrendous noise, and
it still sounds very well produced.
But when we step into the room of "Excuse That Boy" we're talking of a
completely different sound. Here, we are partly back to the previous demo.
A slow pace, a bit of Antony Kiedis but without the heavy weight behind the
voice, a bit of Morrissey with a long swinging middle section. But, if
Rottingdean continues to create wonderpieces like "Glorious Gardens", I
can promise that they will indeed find themselves with a record contract.
It is a song made out of gold, and right up my alley with a fragrance of
guitar-walls, of floating and hovering songs.
(April 1996 Review by: Erik Soderstrom / Scandinavian Indie)
Contact: Rottingdean, c/o Saarnak, Spolegatan 24, 222 20 Lund, SWEDEN
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* Sodabuzz - "Demo #2", January 1996, Time: 12.00
1. Ginger 400 (2.06)
2. Outdated (3.01)
3. Sunday (4.20)
4. Tv-Song (2.33)
Scandinavian Indie Review: Gulp! Gorgeous noisy guitar-walls in a fast pace
together with extremely confident vocals that are amazingly similar to Rob
Dickinson's of Catherine Wheel. Yummy! Bob Mould in a space-suit! Lots of
guitars, nice effect-boxed vocals and a sturdy tempo. That is all I can say
about "Ginger 400". Beautiful! Great vocals, guitars following in the
footsteps of Smashing Pumpkins and a fast beat with cool pauses and breaks.
That is what I get out of "Outdated". Slower parts with somewhat sad vocals
can be found in "Sunday", but don't be fooled! Soon enough it changes into
noisy guitar walls with angry vocals, kind of like a reply to the sad ones.
A captivating song. Can it get better than this? "Tv-Song" is filled with
Smashing Pumpkins walls together with vocals so good it scares me! And that
crumbling snare that builds up from a thin bass-line/drum-part is fantastic!
One would say that all of this amounts to something like Catherine Wheel in
a higher gear.
(April 1996 Review by: Erik Soderstrom / Scandinavian Indie)
Contact: Petter Baggeryd, Ribbingsgatan 2, 416 52 Goteborg, SWEDEN
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* Sodabuzz - "Demo #3", April 1996, Time: 12.20
1. Fruitless Bigamies (3.35)
2. Anxiety Closet (3.32)
3. Paperdolls (2.44)
4. Move You (2.29)
Scandinavian Indie Review: I'm puzzled. Their third demo does absolutely not
sound like the second one. It is a mile away from that sound. An example
would be "Move You" that is pure britpop, like Blur, Pulp or something, even
though I like the guitars, it is nothing like the Sodabuzz I used to know.
"Paperdoll" goes in a completely different direction. Fast guitar-pop with
way disted vocals gives me somewhat of an experimental feeling about it all.
All in all, the demo sounds a bit like Monostar used to sound when they
played live and was called Midnight Moses. That is to say that a common
ground to stand on is missing. A very strange development indeed, from demo
#2 that was recorded only three months earlier. Go back!
(April 1996 Review by: Erik Soderstrom / Scandinavian Indie)
Contact: Petter Baggeryd, Ribbingsgatan 2, 416 52 Goteborg, SWEDEN
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
All Demo / Tape reviews are available on the Scandinavian Indie WWW:
http://www.lysator.liu.se/~chief/reviews.html
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
//Erik (chief@lysator.liu.se)
----------------------------
Date: Tue, 7 May 1996 00:08:44 -0400 (EDT)
From: Chris Forsberg
Subject: re: Salt
On Sun, 5 May 1996 chief@lysator.liu.se wrote:
> On Thu, 2 May 1996, Chris Forsberg wrote:
>
> > BTW, there lots of free Salt "tour sampler" cassettes lying around the
> > club....it has a cardboard cover and the songs are: Honour Me, Witty
> > (remix), and one called "Occasion"......does anyone know if those 2 last
> > are on any other Salt releases, like a single or something? Just wondering.
>
> Well, I have been working on _that_ Web-page for ages now... oh well, here's
> a short version of the (still not ready.. I don't have the info for all UK
> releases, and could you send me the info from that cassette? Thanks!)
OK, here it is, Chief! :-)
"Honour Me" Tour Sampler, cassingle - PRCS 7229-4 - Island - 1996
1) Honour Me (3.53)
2) Witty (remix) (5.04)
3) Occasion (3.06)
Same program on both sides of cassette
-Chris
-------------------------------
Date: Tue, 7 May 1996 13:01:05 +0300 (EET DST)
From: Sami Rouhento
Subject: Re: swedish indie labels
Robert wrote, in reply to Toby's incisive post:
> Well speak for yourself. As I see it the point is making good
> challenging music, and well, if Blur and Oasis and so on make good
> challenging music (sometimes they do, I think) then that's fine by me.=
> The thrill is in the _music_ for heaven's sake, not helping your
> friends release singles.
Well, while I'm sure that's the case with many people, it's certainly
not the case with me. The thrill is *not* just in the music, like it's
not just in helping your friends release singles - it's in all the
things that makes your life worthwhile: the music, the friends, the
fanzines, the letters, the gigs, the overwhelming sense of community
and the feeling that you are doing something yourself, not just passively
taking in what you're offered. I'm not saying major labels don't
release any good music. Of course they do; but when you buy major
label stuff, music is all you get. If you're happy with that,
fine. I expect something more.
I don't see how this could be difficult to understand for anyone, but
then sometimes I feel trying to explain things like this to people who
are reluctant to understand in the first place tends to be futile,
like two people speaking in different languages. Maybe I should just
return to my indie pipedream world where I can be safeguarded form the
harsh 90's reality...
Sami
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 8 May 1996 13:16:05 +0200
From: tobbe@ccn.se (toby)
Subject: indie labels (what?)
maybe i should clear things up a bit here 'cause there seems to be some
huge kind of misunderstanding going around...
i don't mind major labels and the bands on them, all i wanted was more
indie labels, as i said... music for everyone, by everyone. it's got
nothing to do with bands being popular or selling millions of records, if
thats their game then good luck to them. it's about creating a scene where
you participate and get active and produce instead of consuming.
maybe it all boils down to the politics of everyday life.
for me the ethic (or idea) of "indie"-pop has always been one of simple
socialism. for me, hearing this perfect day and happydeadmen for the first
time made me want to form a band and be just like them. and for the first
time i realised that i didn't have too be as good a guitarplayer as johnny
marr or as eloquent a lyricist as grant maclennan to form a band, i could
just be someone like mats or magnus or janne or whoever. and realising that
they were releasing singles (in happydeadmens case all on their own and tpd
thanks to skellefte=E5 scensters developing what we now know as west side)
made me feel even more empowered, if they could do it so could i.
and i think many of us did, thinking back, i realise that almost all the
bands that are swedish indies on major labels started out on small
indies...
eggstone released two 7" on their own, popsicle, this perfect day and the
wannadies all started out on west side, brainpool, the cardigans and naked
started out on ceilidh, happydeadmen on their own, bear quartet are still
on west side, cloudberry jam on north of no south. the list could go on...
i want to be part of an expanding "indiepop" community, sharing ideas,
sharing bands, chords, guitar-strings at gigs, favorite icecreamflavors,
whatever, smiling at unknown popkids at gigs and saying hi even though you
don't know their names, just the feeling that they share the world with
you. thats what i feel "indie" is about. a feeling of empowerment.
and maybe thats whats lacking, the empowerment of the indiekid.
all i wanted to say was that more indie labels are a good thing, they're a
tool in order to empower yourself, just like forming a band and playing you
own songs filled with your own emotions. or publishing a zine or organising
a show. thats what the bands that were the spark that started this mailing
list were doing.
i just thought maybe we should be doing it too...
toby
-------------------------------
Date: Tue, 7 May 1996 13:27:11 +0200
From: Robert Cumming
Subject: Re: swedish indie labels
Sami Rouhento wrote:
> Robert wrote, in reply to Toby's incisive post:
> > Well speak for yourself. As I see it the point is making good
> > challenging music, and well, if Blur and Oasis and so on make good
> > challenging music (sometimes they do, I think) then that's fine by me.
> > The thrill is in the _music_ for heaven's sake, not helping your
> > friends release singles.
[...]
> it's in all the things that makes your life worthwhile: the music,
> the friends, the fanzines, the letters, the gigs, the overwhelming
> sense of community and the feeling that you are doing something
> yourself, not just passively taking in what you're offered.
[...]
> I don't see how this could be difficult to understand for anyone,
> but then sometimes I feel trying to explain things like this to
> people who are reluctant to understand in the first place tends to
> be futile, like two people speaking in different languages. Maybe I
> should just return to my indie pipedream world where I can be
> safeguarded form the harsh 90's reality...
OK, well we're coming at this from quite different angles here, and
maybe neither I nor Toby realised that. You _make_ music, and really
good music at that, and I don't. Not so much because I didn't want
to, it just never happened, and I don't play guitar. So I just
listen, and I suppose I was a bit angry that Toby took it for granted
that everyone here is involved in more than that. Some of us just
aren't.
For me, so far, being into indie music has been something I've done
almost entirely on my own. I was the only person at my school who was
into Aztec Camera and the Associates and Prefab Sprout, the only one
who listened to night-time radio. So I made friends in other ways,
and it's still the case that most of my friends have quite different
music tastes from me. It is beginning to change now, but
slowly...
Robert, who also (for the obvious reason) spends a lot of time with
gay people, who seem to be entirely uninterested in indie-type
music :(
-----------------------------
Date: Tue, 7 May 1996 12:59:44 +0100 (BST)
From: Sean Kyle-Price
Subject: Re: Cloudberry Jam @ Dublin Castle story
On Tue, 7 May 1996 chief@lysator.liu.se wrote:
> Great story Sean! Thanks for posting it to the list!
Why thank you. It was nice to be able to contribute for a change arther
than just lurk.
> I talked to Jennie Medin the other day, and mentioned your funny story to
> her and she said that she had already heard it!?
Wow!
> Anyway, she said that
> you were extremely nice, and I am supposed to send a big "hi" from her
> to you as well. So there you go! :-)
Aw, shucks! I'm blushing. Please say hi back.
> By the way, did you go to the Honeymoons gig at Dublin Castle?
Uh huh. I thought they were really good but then that kind of melodic,
foot tapping pop is right up my street at the moment. It was a shame that
the masses who were there for "Sun" didn't stay to see them.
Notable incidents from the night:
Telling some guy that Pippi and the Butcher Birds* were a lot, lot better
eighteen months ago (he asked me what I thought) only for him to mention
that he was their manager and he had started managing them eighteen months
ago. Oops!
Being given a bunch of North of No South CDs. Excellent.
Bumping into Liam Gallagher which, personally, I thought was no big deal
but a lot of other folk seem to disagree.
Getting drunk and ripping my jacket so bad that I can't wear it anymore.
What is is with going to see Swedish bands and my jackets? At least I
managed to get into my house without being arrested this time.
Sean
* Are these guys known at all in Sweden? They feature two Swedish girls
and the ex drummer from Flowered Up. But, then you probably know that
already.
-------------------------------
Date: Tue, 7 May 1996 15:13:14 +0200 (MET DST)
From: Per L}ngstr|m
Subject: Re: swedish indie labels
toby is right on target here. the "indie-rock" scene in this country is
indeed close to dead and the sprit of "doing-it-yourself" (diy) is nowhere
to be found. i don't think it's anybody specific to blame, but it's simply
sad that young bands are concentrating more to suck-up to the majors than
making a difference in creating an environment they, as an "unsigned"
band, would want to be a part of.
and to hopefully broaden a few people's minds..
On Mon, 6 May 1996, Martin Eksten wrote:
> Let me just ask this. Why do you listen to a certain kind of music?
> Is it simply because it's good or because it is released in a
> morally - to you anyway - correct way?
why do you drive a volvo instead of a mazda, bmw or chevrolet? probably
because you a) think volvo is simply a better car and/or b) volvo is a
swedish car, supporting swedish-built products feels important to you
and/or c) you can better relate to the ethics that goes behind the making
of the volvo (ie. the focus on safety, simpleness and durability).
the same goes for any product, records included. so, there's more to a
record than just the music on it. there's the artwork, format, the
people in the band and the people releasing it. and with all these
people involved in making the record come *their* ethics and morals too.
so, whether you choose to buy oranges from kenya or germany you also
choose to buy your music from sony or the kid next door own micro label.
and that's what so fucked up about all this, because, 99 out of a hundred
stores carry the german oranges, not neccessarily because they are of
better quality, but because germany is a richer country and can afford to
promote their oranges in a completely different way (and in being able to
do so, sell more oranges, ie. *make more money*).
it's the lack of being able to present an alternative and make the
alternative available to more people that's the core of this. why do you
think ahlens can keep their prices pretty low in comparison to smaller
records stores with a bigger selection? maybe because the labels give
ahlens discount for not carrying a lot of other labels' records and by
doing so increase the possibility that every record ahlens sells is one of
the labels' own..?!
it's all about money and that's what more people should react against, by
starting their own labels, by supporting smaller bands and by buying more
independent released records.
or do you feel that comfortable with being fed right off the spoon?
> Well, you are unfortunately not the only one. A friend of mine used
> to LOVE Green Day (he listened to them before "Dookie"), but as soon as
> Basket Case became a number 1 hit and MTV began their endless playing of
> it, he suddenly hated them. I asked him why their music all of a sudden
> was so bad, but all he had to say was that "it's so boring when
> everybody likes them".
>
> I listen and enjoy music because of the way it sounds. Bands like U2,
> R.E.M., Oasis and Suede will always be among my favourites no matter
> how big they are or get.
it shouldn't matter how "big" a band get, but have you ever thought of the
fact that there might be bands out there that you would just *love* if you
ever got the chance to hear them, but you never will because they were
never signed by a major label?
> There is now way I would like to listen to Michael Bolton or Ace of Base
> even if they were on an extremely small label and handled the distribution
> all by themselves. I simply dislike their music because of the way it sounds.
true. but, why would ever stick with eating german oranges if you didn't
like the way they taste to start with? even if they were the easiest to
find? or would you maybe go on to find oranges from somewhere else even if
you had to spend some time looking?
-----------------------------
Date: Tue, 7 May 1996 17:31:47 +0200 (MET DST)
From: Petter Tiilikainen
Subject: Trastocksfestivalen opening party
According to chief@lysator.liu.se:
> > Yeah, but surely with your good connections you will find a way for
> > all the scan-indie listers to get in?! :)
> Heh Heh, well, I did get invited to it myself, but I don't think there
> will be a problem bringing the rest of the scan-indies. I'll call Jocke
> tomorrow anyway, so I might as well ask him about that too.
Yay! Go Erik, Go!
;-)
Petter
----------------------------
Date: Mon, 6 May 1996 10:50:44 +0200
From: d-sunjan@jmk.su.se (Jan Sundstrom)
Subject: BQ
>Btw, Matti Alkberg reviews records and writes music articles
>in the local morning paper, he's not given a good grade to any
>band yet.
And MA was featured in the flashy monthly edition of the magazine Dagens
Nyheter recently. His pal Po Tidholm wrote something about the big forests
in the north, and Matti was peeping thru a window of a deserted building
somewhere in Norrland. Strange...
Jan Sundstrom
----------------------------
Date: Mon, 6 May 1996 13:14:26 +0200 (MET DST)
From: Petter Tiilikainen
Subject: Re: BQ
According to Jan Sundstrom:
> >Btw, Matti Alkberg reviews records and writes music articles
> >in the local morning paper, he's not given a good grade to any
> >band yet.
Well, that is changed now, A Shrine's new record "Unisex" got a
4 out of 5... Apparently they still make the very New Order:ish
music, which in my opinion is just equally as "innovative" as
guitar pop/rock... Even though, there's not as many New Order:ish
bands.
Anyone ever slightly bothered by the lack of originality in sweden
independent label music? I know I am. I just wish there were more
bands who'd dare to expand their boundaries a bit more.
whiney and cranky,
Petter
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 6 May 1996 13:18:26 +0200 (MET DST)
From: Petter Tiilikainen
Subject: NON-SCAN: Sebadoh in Roskilde.
Ok, Sebadoh are playing in Roskilde.
It's confirmed. All tickets sold out
tho :-( Oh well, I wasn't sure if I
could make it anyway.
Petter
-------------------------------
Date: Tue, 7 May 1996 16:14:20 +0200
From: tobbe@ccn.se (toby)
Subject: swedish indie labels
now there's a thread to keep spinning....
where are the swedish indipendent record labels, with ceilidh folding,
north of no south and west side left to do loads of work. where are the
small and thrifty labels who dare release stuff by bands that don't attract
major label attention, or better yet, snatch the bands out of the grips of
major label boredom.
H. Lime are out there doing realy cool work wether you like the stuff
they're releasing or not, at least they're trying. the same goes out for
sunspot and slask i g=F6teborg.
maybe it's time to take a look at the hc/punk scene and check out how
they're doing it, 'cause it seems like their scene is realy thriving while
the "indie" kids are left to trading demo tapes (which is way cool!) or
buying major-label-rip-offs disguised as "indie" products.
and what's even worse is the fact that the bands are forgetting what
"do-it-yourself" is all about, the idea of the indielabel is dead in
sweden, all the young bands want to be on a majorlabel, west side isn't
cool enough and neither is nons, the whole indie scene is being run by a
bunch of middleaged execs in solna (just north of stockholm) trying to cash
in on the trendset by blur, oasis, pulp et al. and in the meantime we're
losing what was ours, the thrill of helping your friends to release indie
singles and the defiant stance of an indie label.
using a mailing list as a distribution channel, doing mailorder, bugging
your fave shop to sell indielabel records ('cause i know most of you go to
small shops to get your stuff anyways, so there's realy no need to explain
to Ahlens or whatever that they're record section sucks), selling records
at gigs or festivals or whatever. there shouldn't realy be a that big deal,
records are for everyone, by everyone!
ahhh, i'm rambling and i realy should be getting work done, i'll get back
with some more controlled thoughts after this short break...
toby thorsen
-----------------------------
Date: Mon, 6 May 1996 16:44:30 +0200
From: Robert Cumming
Subject: Re: swedish indie labels
Tobbe wrote:
> where are the small and thrifty labels who dare release stuff by
> bands that don't attract major label attention, or better yet,
> snatch the bands out of the grips of major label boredom.
'Boredom'? for whom?
> and what's even worse is the fact that the bands are forgetting what
> "do-it-yourself" is all about, the idea of the indielabel is dead in
> sweden, all the young bands want to be on a majorlabel,
I don't see how you can say that. I bet you don't know what 'all the
young bands' want...
> west side isn't cool enough and neither is nons,
Who says what's cool enough? You? Me? Erik? :)
> the whole indie scene is being run by a bunch of middleaged execs in
> solna (just north of stockholm)
Who? Names, ages? Why Solna? (I just don't _know_ about this.)
> trying to cash in on the trendset by blur, oasis, pulp et al. and in
> the meantime we're losing what was ours, the thrill of helping your
> friends to release indie singles and the defiant stance of an indie
> label.
Well speak for yourself. As I see it the point is making good
challenging music, and well, if Blur and Oasis and so on make good
challenging music (sometimes they do, I think) then that's fine by me.
The thrill is in the _music_ for heaven's sake, not helping your
friends release singles. I wish I had friends that release singles,
but I don't...
> using a mailing list as a distribution channel, doing mailorder,
> bugging your fave shop to sell indielabel records ('cause i know
> most of you go to small shops to get your stuff anyways, so there's
> realy no need to explain to Ahlens or whatever that they're record
> section sucks),
You don't have any idea what 'most of us' do! Actually I end up
buying most of the stuff I buy in Ahlens. I don't even get to _hear_
the mailorder/underground stuff you seem to be talking about.
> selling records at gigs or festivals or whatever. there shouldn't
> realy be a that big deal, records are for everyone, by everyone!
I'm not really sure I understand what you're getting at... You're not
just annoyed that now _everyone_ buys Kent and Bob Hund records, by
any chance?
Robert, poor imitation of an indiekid
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 6 May 96 14:21:59 +0200
From: etxsahm@cyber.ericsson.se (Marten Sahlen)
Subject: Re: BQ
Petter Tiilikainen wrote:
> Anyone ever slightly bothered by the lack of originality in sweden
> independent label music?
> I know I am. I just wish there were more bands who'd dare to expand
> their boundaries a bit more.
Then you should have joined the tape chain for my cassette
with Swedish industrial and dark ambient music.
There you can talk about bands who dare to do the unexpected and
expand their horizons. And you better believe there are a lot of
those bands, if you bother to search for them. Sure, it ain't your
standard indie pop, but it's still "independent label music", as
you put it.
----------------------------
Date: Mon, 6 May 1996 19:09:43 +0200 (MET DST)
From: Petter Tiilikainen
Subject: Re: BQ
According to Marten Sahlen:
> Then you should have joined the tape chain for my cassette
> with Swedish industrial and dark ambient music.
I've heard Brighter Death Now and XXX Atomic Toejam, pretty
good stuff on that Cold Meat Industry label...
> There you can talk about bands who dare to do the unexpected and
> expand their horizons. And you better believe there are a lot of
> those bands, if you bother to search for them. Sure, it ain't your
> standard indie pop, but it's still "independent label music", as
> you put it.
I don't know if you've heard Mortiis "kjesere av en ukent dimension",
good ambient (satanic?) music from Norway. Some black metal guy's
side kick... Pretty damn good.
Petter
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 6 May 1996 21:34:26 +0300 (EET DST)
From: Albert Svan Sigurdsson
Subject: Texas Jesus from Iceland
Hi
This great Icelandic cartoon rock group will be playing in Denmark and
Finland in the next weeks.
Denmark:
8. & 9. May Sjaelland (Ritmiske Hojskole)
11. May (Sat.) Aalborg (Tusand 3 club)
Finland:
15. maj (wed.) Helsinki (Semifinal)
18. May (sat.) Tampere (Laderna, 3rd floor)
Denmark:
20-26 May they will play some gigs in Copenhagen.
Place yet unknown (contact me if you wanna be informed).
Texas Jesus has first released their first CD (they had a tape in 1993
and some songs on combilations since then). This CD is well introduced
on my Icy Icy tape chain casette. If you want to buy the CD itself then
I think I can arrange that also.
Here's their introduction:
David Coresh became world famous in February 1993 for declaring that he
was the brand new Messiah and locking up his front door in Waco Texas
and got his fifteen minutes in the world media when after prolonged
siege he and his sect burned down. Just like his famous precessor,
Jesus Christ, woke up from the death three days after his crucifixion,
the Texas prophet sprang alive in an Icelandic bar (a place where it's
good to know how to change water into wine) in the form of the rock
group Texas Jesus. And now the living word will be going to Denmark
and Finland.
Texas Jesus is the only Icelandic band who plays cartoon rock, based
mainly on the music of the great social-realistic cartoons of
East-Europe, but although funny melodies are their specialty it is far
rfom the only kind of music they play. You may hear disco, jazz, ska,
country, punk and new wave in the songs.
Texas Jesus has gotten good credits from the beginning, starting out
using the name Love Duet in 1991, and changing it only after they became
posessed in 1993. For their debut Nammsla Tjammsla (13 track casette) 2
songs on combilation cd's and one on soundtrack. And now they are
working on a new cd which will be published in April-May this year. But
Texas Jesus is mainly a concert band and were anonimatet for the best
concert band of the year 1994 at the Icelandic music awards. The gigs
are full of power, humour, surprices and the band's extraordinary joy of
playing. If you dont believe it, go and put your finger through their
palm.
----------------------------
Date: Mon, 6 May 1996 23:44:12 +0200 (CED)
From: Martin Eksten
Subject: Re: swedish indie labels
Let me just ask this. Why do you listen to a certain kind of music?
Is it simply because it's good or because it is released in a
morally - to you anyway - correct way?
Well, you are unfortunately not the only one. A friend of mine used
to LOVE Green Day (he listened to them before "Dookie"), but as soon as
Basket Case became a number 1 hit and MTV began their endless playing of
it, he suddenly hated them. I asked him why their music all of a sudden
was so bad, but all he had to say was that "it's so boring when
everybody likes them".
I listen and enjoy music because of the way it sounds. Bands like U2,
R.E.M., Oasis and Suede will always be among my favourites no matter
how big they are or get.
There is now way I would like to listen to Michael Bolton or Ace of Base
even if they were on an extremely small label and handled the distribution
all by themselves. I simply dislike their music because of the way it sounds.
Martin
Martin Eksten (eksten@df.lth.se)
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 7 May 1996 05:15:59 +0200 (MET DST)
From: chief@lysator.liu.se
Subject: Short Quick Notes again
* Bob Hund - will be featured on ZTV (ZTV-Nytt) tomorrow (tuesday).
* Sobsister - who appeared on swedish television's program Soda today
performed two songs, "4 Greune Freunde" and "Promenade".
Also featured were Cloudberry Jam in an interview and
some clips from their Japan tour. In case you missed it,
the re-run is on saturday (11/5) on TV2.
Well I said quick notes, didn't I? :-)
//Erik (chief@lysator.liu.se)
-----------------------------
Date: Tue, 7 May 1996 05:16:25 +0200 (MET DST)
From: chief@lysator.liu.se
Subject: Salt Review found on the net
Here's another review that I found on the net:
//Erik (chief@lysator.liu.se)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
REVIEW: Salt, _Auscultate_ (Island)
- By Mario J. Lia
Salt doesn't waste time. The band members met while in an art school
in Stockholm, Sweden. They opened a club on a houseboat and signed a
deal with MVG Records. Get this: all of this happened within two years!
And now with their video "Bluster" making it's rounds on MTV, this band
is well on its way to stardom.
"Don't try to stereotype us, just open your ears." says Salt's lead
singer Nina Ramsby. After this eclectic debut on Island, you won't know
what exactly to call Salt's sound. But you will love it.
The best way to describe Salt would be fuzz-pop songs of Nirvana with
Kim Deal singing. Nina's singing is most beautifully showcased on the
only ballad of the album, "So". This one starts off with a really
jangly guitar for the verses and then a more distorted chorus.
The song "Honour Me" starts off with some distorted single notes
similar to Nirvana's cover of Bowie's "The Man Who Sold The World". After
the intro, the song kicks in to high gear and you know you are in for a
treat. The drums and bass provide thick groove for Nina's guitar and
singing. If the radio stations ever discover this song, Salt would
really take off.
The last song on the album is "Undressed". During the verses the
there's a steady bass/drum foundation with the guitar coming in stronger
during the noisy choruses. From the beginning to the end Salt is sure to
leave a good taste in your mouth.
----------------------------
Date: Tue, 7 May 1996 05:16:39 +0200 (MET DST)
From: chief@lysator.liu.se
Subject: re: Fidget
On Wed, 17 Apr 96, etxsahm@cyber.ericsson.se (Marten Sahlen) wrote:
> I got sort of the same feeling with Fidget, which was combined with the
> wackyness of Sugarcubes. Plus that Nina's voice reminds very much of
> Bjork, in the way she "whisper-sings" and breathes in the mic (though
> of course she lacks Bjork's range of voice).
Heh heh, well, and they _hate_ that comparison... I'm not sure, but
I don't feel that Fidget are as .. umm, crazy as the Sugarcubes were -
though Nina does breathe in the mic, has got highs and lows in her
voice and a funny ... hmm, jumping stage act, but I feel that's where
all the comparisons end.
//Erik (chief@lysator.liu.se)
... and you thought I never read the messages posted to the list! :-)
-----------------------------
Date: Tue, 7 May 1996 05:17:11 +0200 (MET DST)
From: chief@lysator.liu.se
Subject: re: Add Addresses to Demotape Reviews
On Apr 17th, Andreas Kierst wrote:
> Now I have a suggestion: Can you please ad an address to the Demotape
> reviews, so that you now where you could ask for a copy? Well, I'm not
> from Sweden and it might be not so easy to get them here in Germany :)
I listen and act. :-) Now all the demo reviews has got addresses to the
bands, on the Web and in the lists posted to the mailing list. I really
didn't think of that at the time... Kind of dumb really.
//Erik (chief@lysator.liu.se)
...listening to Eva Dahlgren "Kom och h}ll om mig" on ZTV.. yeah....
----------------------------
Date: Tue, 7 May 1996 05:17:30 +0200 (MET DST)
From: chief@lysator.liu.se
Subject: re: Salt Free Surprise
On Thu, 18 Apr 1996, Chris Forsberg wrote:
> Daniel said he didn't know anything about this "free surprise" us US
> scan-indie subscribers were supposed to recieve via email. I told him
> that his management had set it up through the scan-indie list......he
> said he'd have to check with her,
wait just a second there.. check with _her_ ? I have actually _met_
their manager, Jeff, and he is definitely not a woman. And, finally,
according to Jeff (didn't I post this before?) Island Independent (US)
wanted everyone's _postal address_ in order to send out some goodies
to us scan-indies. Though that was during their last US tour, and I
don't know if they're still up to it? Maybe I ought to ask Jeff about it?
//Erik (chief@lysator.liu.se)
----------------------------
Date: Tue, 7 May 1996 05:18:11 +0200 (MET DST)
From: chief@lysator.liu.se
Subject: Trastocksfestivalen opening party
On Fri, 19 Apr 1996, trkisa@uta.fi (Kimmo Saaskilahti) wrote:
>> Trastocksfestivalen
>> [...]
>> festival will be opened on July 18th with a big party
>> in downtown Skelleftea with all the West Side bands,
>> but from what I know, this is not a public happening.
>
> Yeah, but surely with your good connections you will find a way for
> all the scan-indie listers to get in?! :)
Heh Heh, well, I did get invited to it myself, but I don't think there
will be a problem bringing the rest of the scan-indies. I'll call Jocke
tomorrow anyway, so I might as well ask him about that too.
//Erik (chief@lysator.liu.se)
-----------------------------
Date: Tue, 7 May 1996 05:18:38 +0200 (MET DST)
From: chief@lysator.liu.se
Subject: Re: Cloudberry Jam @ Dublin Castle story
On Tue, 23 Apr 1996, Sean Kyle-Price wrote:
> Friday 19th April 1996.
>
> So, a few drinks after work and then it is straight to the Dublin Castle
> for the long-awaited Cloudberry Jam gig.
[snip]
Great story Sean! Thanks for posting it to the list!
I talked to Jennie Medin the other day, and mentioned your funny story to
her and she said that she had already heard it!? Anyway, she said that
you were extremely nice, and I am supposed to send a big "hi" from her
to you as well. So there you go! :-)
By the way, did you go to the Honeymoons gig at Dublin Castle?
//Erik (chief@lysator.liu.se)
-----------------------------
End of SI Digest #3.22
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