When Orange Juice Reigned Supreme

Since I am playing the Illuminati Wristband/Prices that only a non broke rock fan Sxsw week under official IOC protest.(And for final clarification, peeps know that IOC stand for Ian Olympic Comittee.) However u should look for me at day parties. But as some might know, the BIG news is that fucking Portishead reunited to perform a new song or two the other night in da UK. bombness.
Onto this weeks band Orange Juice.





Who they were: Ok after Punk Rock took over the UK, Scotland decided "We need to rock out too." Two bands stood at the top. Orange Juice and Josef K. You can't really mention one without the other, but today we're doing Orange Juice cuz I feel like it.
So, as the legend goes Orange Juice essentially created indie pop and said fuck it before even releasing an album. While this may or man not be true, their power and influence has stayed consistent over the years.

The Lineup:
lineup 1
Edwyn Collins – guitar, vocals, songwriting
James Kirk – guitar, vocals, songwriting(not captaining starships sadly)
David McClymont – bass
Steven Daly – drums
lineup 2
Edwyn Collins – guitar, vocals, songwriting
Malcolm Ross – guitar, vocals, songwriting
Zeke Manyika – drums, vocals, songwriting
Stephen Skinner – guitar
David McClymont-bass

When they ruled the world: That's tough to say. Orange Juice deserves mad respect for one main reason in my opinion. They just kept moving. They never settled on anything. The only thing certain about all of their recordings is that with a wink and a nudge the band channeled this Motown 60's crooner style to go with their angular guitars and stuff.
The first release You Can't Hide You Love Forever, is an interesting album of weird rhythms , bridges and the same scratchy tone you hear on every PIL record. But what it really sounds like is if the Smiths' ever made a post punk album. Edwyn Collins and Morrissey both have this smug baritone delivery of lyrics about love, books, but Edwyn never seems to lose hope.(i.e. he never wanted a double decker bus to kill two people cuz it's more romantic sounding.)
Basically, It's an excellent complement to your copy of Chairs Missing by Wire, Entertainment by Gang of Four and Real Life by Magazine.
But, really it's the second lineup of Orange Juice that is really interesting. First change, African drumming. Second Change, more gloss, more irony, more horns. Third Change, Malcolm Ross(of Josef K fame) joined adding abit more fury to the overall playing. It was this second lineup that recorded the album Rip It Up, and it's easily the band's definitive statement.
During this phase of post punk all of the bands started moving into this danceteria style sound that was less punk and way more new wave.(The best examples of this sound are either Knife Slits Water by A Certain Ratio or I Love A Man In Uniform by Gang Of Four.) It's tough to explain the sound of Rip It Up sheerly because each song sounds totally different.(Even using three different lead vocalists) There's the funky African romp, "A Millon Pleading Faces." Absurd Lounge Crooning in the form of "Flesh Of My Flesh." and of course top ten UK hit Rip It Up, which is a slow burning funky mix that stands among the great songs of 82. SImply put, Rip It Up is a MUST HAVE post punk album

Here's another way to describe this era of Orange Juice, They are the funkier wittier, better, version of ABC(the band that Look Of Love and Poison Arrow) or the Style Council(the semi great/semi crap lounge pop band of the Jam's Paul Weller.)

So What Happened: Ego. Being slightly too far ahead of their time. If they could have kept the second lineup together for one more album maybe Orange Juice perhaps could've been bigger than the Cure or the Smiths.(Even though those bands weren't half as chipper as.
Malcolm Ross did go on to be in Aztec Camera, and of course Edwyn Collins(gotta love any dude with Collins as his name) ended up with two GIGANTIC soundtrack hits, the most famous of which was Never Known A Girl Like U Before from Empire Records.(back when Liv Tyler was actually hot.) Sadly he's pretty sick now, but a comeback could yet happen.

But, what did it all mean.
Belle and Sebastian, early Primal Scream, Camera Obscura,Franz Ferdinand, any slightly jangly/winsome/indie band from Scotland, has ripped off or been influenced by Orange Juice.(Not even Josef K can say that.)

Availability: I'll admit it, I picked something that is a bitch to find. Unlike the brilliant, newer Josef K release that gives you every great song they put out, Domino TOTALLY fucked up the Orange Juice comp. It's called the Glasgow School and if you already know about the band it's sweet, because it gives you the original version of the first album and early singles.
BUT, you get nothing from the second album or even the ill fated third album. And frankly speaking the bigger, harder, stronger, more studio cash version of Orange Juice is WAY better than the "raw indie pop" version seen on Glasgow School.
So that means you have to find the original albums in either expensive out of print import versions or try and find it somewhere on the information superhighway.(which is possible, that's how I have my copies of the records.)


Three Vids this week just cause they kept moving so fast and I was amazed to find some clips.

Falling and Laughing(from the first album)


Rip It Up(on Art Brut's fav show Top Of The Pops)




I Can't Help Myself(live on the Old grey whistle test)

When Suicide Reigned Supreme

Alright dudes, I've been writing this blog too stiffly. Now we're just gonna do it right and less like an informational pamphlet.

Who they are:
Two artists hanging out in the old school soulful uber dirty dangerous NY came together to form one of the noisest, meanest, most infuential bands of all time. That's right I'm talking about Suicide. Yes I know it sounds like a metal band or even a punk band, but here's the thing they are an electronic act. A strange one at that.
They formed around 1973 around the time the NY Dolls were setting the stage for what would become punk rock. Of course it was Suicide who actually coined the term on some of their early fliers. For a the next few years you could walk down the street and here these two guys were making a racket/creating musical history in whichever building they were squatting in.

Lineup:
Martin Rev: Synths/Electronics
Alan Vega: Vocals

What you should get/when they owned it
Suicide's first two albums are definitely must owns. The first self titled album came out in early 1977 right in the middle of the Punk explosion in NY and the UK. And in fact nothing may have been more in your face than Suicide. Here's why. About 10 bands in the world were using synths at the time, let alone using synths in a 10 minute song about a man who kills his wife, baby and himself. Strangely enough it was this song, Frankie Teardrop, that made Bruce Springsteen an early fan of the band.
Now don't let that scare you off, the rest off the album is a strange mix of 50's rock and roll style vocals,dark moody electronics, and a minimalist low ebb for a drum machine. The best example of this comes in the form of the first two tracks, Ghost Rider and Rocket USA. It's here you get the beautiful essence of what the band does best. Not to mention the classic Cheree, which brilliantly soundtracks Basquiat getting the girl at the end of classic no wave film Downtown 81.
Suicide's second release, essentially knows as The Second Album or Suicide 2, was produced by none other than Ric Ocasek of The Cars. He not only added abit more atmospherics and gloss to the production, but he ultimately became one of the few champions of the band during it's heyday. The thing is every synth pop album you've ever heard, sounds like Suicide 2. Unlike the low ebb off the first album, Suicide 2 actually moves.(As jazz players would say it swings.)
Shadazz, Diamonds Fur Coat and Champaign, Dream Baby Dream, move with the kind of stiff rhythm that Devo and Soft Cell would've killed for. Of course the lyrics stayed just as dark, and the rock and roll crooner persona Vega was an even bigger part of the sound.
Oh and if you really wanna here how pissed off/how much people didn't get it you can hear the classic 23 minutes over Brussels where they fight with the crowd Fear style while doing these dark ass electronic tunes.

So What Happened: They never got as dance as Cabaret Voltaire or Kraftwerk and they weren't goth enough to be industrial or punks, so ultimately Suicide got left behind by many music fans. They just didn't really fit in anywhere. They did have more fans in Europe, but it didn't matter. The band was more underground legend than massive stars. Sporadically they would do small tours, and release an album once every few years. Time finally caught up to their sound, and Suicide actually gained some long deserved respect, but to this day they still do the same thing. They disappear, do a solo album, an art show, then they FINALLY put out an album and some 6 date tour.


What does it all mean
There are certain levels in the hierarchy of electronic music. And when you are looking at the top, Suicide is up there with Cabaret Voltaire, Kraftwerk, Yellow Magic Orchestra, Tangerine Dream, Brian Eno, and Tomita in the land of influencing and pioneering lots of shit.

Availability:
Suicide albums made a triumphant return back into print around 01' so you can still find the stuff, just on a limited scale. And there should be some with it peeps that have it uploaded somewhere.

Vids
Ghost Fuckin Rider


Dream Baby Dream from their appearance on the Cars primetime special.(Yes u read that right, a network special for the cars and they put suicide on it. Didn't tv used to be awesome.)

When The Cardigans Reigned Supreme

Who the fuck were they?:
Actually "are" is the correct phrase this week.
As far as lounge pop bands in the 90's, only three are worth a damn, Pizzicato Five, Stereolab, and The Cardigans.(with apologies to all you Komeda fans), It was the Cardigans railed against a boring mid 90's rock scene,populated by such crap bands as Better Than Ezra and Tonic, by making every song satirical yet sunny. All their lyrics were just so depressing, yet for some reason every song jumped with grandiose instrumentation and the kind of loungy sensibility that made Martin Denny not so famous.
But, you probably know em for one of two reasons.
1.They did that damn "Love Me Love Me" song(also known as Lovefool).
2.Nina Persson was just oh so cute.

The Lineup.
Peter Svensson - lead guitar
Magnus Sveningsson - bass
Bengt Lagerberg - drums
Lars-Olof "Lasse" Johansson - keyboards and guitar
Nina Persson - vocals

When they took over?:
After a pretty solid debut album, Emmerdale, The Cardigans pretty much rerecorded the same album except this time it was bigger, faster, harder, stronger(Daft Punk style) and even more tongue in cheek. This new version of the album was known as Life and simply put, it was a masterwork. The strings, the horns, the pluckiness of the vocals it all works in brilliant harmony. The first single "Sick and Tired" was a wistful depressing tune about modern loneliness, yet the instrumentation suggested Bacharach at his happiest. "Carnival" weaved it's chipper madness into your head and Austin Powers final scene. And to prove the band had a sense of humor, they closed the album with a happy lounge version of "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" by Black Sabbath. Rarely does pop madness work so perfectly, that you almost wished the band would gain superstardom, which happened with third release First Band On The Moon. Of course it had "Lovefool" "Your New Cuckoo" and even more loads of sugary lounge madness. It made millions of men fall madly in love with Nina Persson's pixie cuteness, sold tons of records and also earned a huge backlash due to the afore mentioned "Love Me Love Me" song.
So the band is huge and what they do, they change sounds COMPLETELY. They went off into a darker more Bristol trip hop influenced sound for Gran Turismo. First single "My Favorite Game" was fucking everywhere, including a censored video that ended with the decapitation of the lovely Ms. Persson. "Erase/Rewind" became single two and it made mad lucre on like 8 soundtracks, but after a long tour the band disappeared back up the globe.


So what the fuck happened?:
Well the band never really went away. Aside from a pretty good Talking Heads cover with Tom Jones for a soundtrack, they were silent for about five years. Gone was cute Nina's blond pixie look. She returned with this dark long hair which was in line the band's NEW SERIOUS ROCK feel. Super Extra Gravity came out last year across Europe and may be available in the States now. Both albums have their moments, but every time they I break out newer records, I must admit it makes one long for their salad pop days. We can all hope that one of these days it will happen, but until then lets just go to the vids and dream in the happy language of their album Life.

Sick and Tired by the Cardigans is still one of the best pop tunes of the last 15 yrs


Carnival by the Cardigans(this was how I first saw em)


Next Time: One of the most influential Electronic bands of all time.

When Ikara Colt Reigned Supreme

Who the fuck were they?:
Ikara Colt had the typical starting point of every British punk or semi punk band ever. Basically, 4 art students got bored and wanted to smash shit up. Luckily for us, they did. In a period of absolutely stagnant rock and roll,aka 2001-2002, only a few bands remembered how to rock out. Of course the Strokes, Hives, BRMC were some of the others and we all know how pussy/played out they became over the next year or so. But, one of those bands stood tall and didn't sell out. They walked with a swagger that flat out said we're better than you. They said once you get old you should stop being in bands, because you have nothing else to say. They were loud, sloppy, and snotty, just like the classic punks that were actually good. They were Ikara Colt. It was Ikara Colt that was left standing after their compatriots became "wankers", and you know what they really didn't give a fuck about them anyway. It may have ended up a short Wire influenced reign, but at least they released one of the finest/most unappreciated records of the early millenium, Chat and Business.

The lineup:
Claire Ingram (guitar/vocals)
Paul Resende (vocals)
Dominic Young (drums)
Jon Ball (bass) 1999-2003.
Tracy Bellaries (bass) 2003-2005.

When and How they Took Over?:
As soon as you put on the first song on Chat and Business, you knew something was happening. "One Note" was the song and the only word you could use to describe it, was messy. And this was far before the Libertines made "messy rock and roll" cool again. It was a frenzied one and half minute burst of heavily accented snotty lyrics, angular guitar playing, and brilliant rhythm. I swear that as soon as I heard it, I not only had to hear the song again, but I could tell that this band was somebody. I dug how Paul Resende and Claire Ingram (who was way hot with her guitar) traded vocals like a meaner Sonic Youth and how frenzied all of the playing was. And as a former shitty drummer, I know when somebody is really fucking good and Dominic Young, my friends is a fucking genius. There was such urgency in their playing, and since they sounded like Wire and The Fall, it was now official. This band not only reigned supreme, they were a juggernaut. They were fucking unstoppable.
Oh and on a side note. Lets not forget that not only did the band look like fucking art stars(pre Karen O, of course) the packaging of the CD was absolutely brilliant. It was like a photo album with weird photo stickers that you could apply to the cover or trade with peeps to get the whole set. Not that anyone really gave a fuck here in the States. Meanwhile in the UK...
Sink Venice became the first frenzied/gigantic single, and they were all the rage with the kids and the NME. Of course in the Oasis tradition they followed it up with loads of brash quotes basically proclaiming their status as the best band in the world.(A more modern example is what Kasabian does in the media.) And frankly when they went to town, it was tough to stop.
Ruud, which followed One Note so perfectly on the album, became the second single and added to the fire and the carnage of this rising band.(see the video below)
UK Tours were sold out and a small US tour happened with fellow shoulda beens Sahara Hotnights(yet another all girl band from Sweden) and then just like that it seemed to be over.

So, what the fuck happened?:
Well that's a tough one. Ikara Colt was on Epitaph records in the States, while all of their compatriots were on majors, so maybe it was a marketing question.(I still remember how the Strokes became a dirty code word for indie and The Hives became THE band for 10 year olds who knew nothing about the Stooges or rock and roll, so maybe this wasn't such a bad thing.)
I guess we could blame the 2nd album Modern Apprentice, which certainly didn't have the frenzy of the first record. But, it certainly resembled Chairs Missing by Wire, with its liberal use of synths and experimentation and less snottiness.
Some have blamed the loss of bassist Jon Ball, and while he was missed on the second albu it should not have killed the band.
What really got Ikara Colt was their own words. They said being in one band for more than 5 years is a waste. And sure enough Modern Apprentice came out pretty close to the five year mark, leaving not only the album buried, but the band is well. It was a waste, but at least they were true to what they believe.

But,ultimately what did it mean?:
The closest band in terms of sloppy brilliance is easily another wasted/way more famous band the Libertines. But, really if you think about it, Ikara Colt happened TOO soon. Their impact came before the rise of all the new post-post punk bands(i.e. Franz Ferdinand, Rapture), perhaps a third album would've made a big impact. If nothing else my beloved Art Brut TOTALLY sounds like them, musically and thematically. There may or may not be any lasting effects of their existance, because if you nobody really gave a fuck that Wire or Gang Of Four put out great albums until many years after they were gone. So that could end up being the case with this band.

The Verdict/Can I actually get these records?:
I swear Chat and Business by Ikara Colt is worth having if you are a real rock and roll fan. If you like Pink Flag era Wire or The Fall, you should like Ikara Colt.(Which u can find out now, by watching the vids, I posted.) Online there are some WAY CHEAP used copies, but it looks like the album itself is actually out of print now in the states. Their second album is still out in Import pressing, but it's like 30 bucks. And no it isn't really worth that.(I paid 18 when it first came out for the import)
Of course there's always the torrent school of grabbing albums/acquisition/ze limewire.

Ruud by Ikara Colt from the album Chat and Business

M8b1day by Ikara Colt also from Chat and Business


Next time: the best pop band of the 90's. And here's a hint, they're Swedish.
Comment now.