Embodiment of an Era

The decision was made to spend the afternoon at Eric's before going out for the night.

A train ride from Astoria. A walk.

Eric was there. Tom as well. It was nice out, but the afternoon was destined to be spent indoors.

Certain moments stick out. The rest a fog.

Tom standing. Leaning. Sliding against the wall to the floor.

The Hives. Listening to The Hives.

And what Eric billed as the hot new thing out of the U.K. Provided by a friend.

Andrew W.K.

It was something new. It was something fun. It was something the entire room thought came from England.

Party music. Party punk. It left a mark. Although not one that sparked an interest in import buying.

Virtually forgotten until a return to Philadelphia pushed Andrew W.K. back on the map. He was everywhere.

Everywhere among a certain scene or scenes. Getting bigger. And as it turned out. Definitely not from the U.K.

He being one of those American anomalies that seem to make it overseas before breaking here. Reverse success. The Strokes.

This might not be true. Only an impression. Resulting from the total disregard of the domestic music press.

Missing homegrown hype.

Andrew W.K. - I Get Wet. eBay. New.

Nirvana More Important, Second in Preference

The beds were lofted in their dorm room.

Video game consoles taking up a portion of the wall.

Putting the desks under the beds.

Mike near the door.

Ben closer to the window.

Hours spent. Grades reflected how many hours.

Between games. Music talk. Ben's tastes were slightly different. With some overlap. Even more overlap. Over time.

The singles. The silly videos. Post-Nirvana. Nothing sparking more than a casual interest. Passing.

Not for Ben. Ben owned the album. Loaned the album. Still nothing.

It took the follow up.

Foo Fighters. eBay. Used.

Third Party Politics

Did anyone actually ever subscribe to the politics of an Ian Svenonius project?

Did people adopt the Gospel Yeh-Yeh lifestyle the way others embraced straight edge?

Is there a Hickey Underworld?

Who is living it?

The Make-Up - Destination: Love, Live! at Cold Rice. AKA Music. Used.

Pushing on Others as Genius

We'd drive around listening to music. Stopping occasionally at a seedy bar or two. Games of Golden Tee.

Most of our friends were away at school. I had transferred to Temple. Michael had not yet left for Seattle.

Most of the driving was soundtracked by Frank Zappa. Michael was obsessed with Frank Zappa. Continues to be obsessed with Frank Zappa.

I learned about his history. His various phases. His wit. His sarcasm. Doo-wop. Thing-Fish. His many albums. His "offensiveness."

I learned this was someone I could appreciate.

Before the listening parties my knowledge of Frank Zappa was limited to the PMRC, Dweezil and Moon Unit.

There was more too him.

It was different than what I usually listened to. Musically speaking. But the subject matter. the substance. The sentiment. It was right there.

Almost punk. Sarcastic and sardonic.

Around the same time I started to listening to Momus. This was unrelated to the Zappa car rides. However, it had everything to do with my new found love of Japanese pop and rock.

I made an effort to add Momus to the mix. I believed Momus and Zappa to be kindred spirits. Operating on the genius fringe of rock n roll.

Michael was receptive. Appreciative of the lyrical content. The music, not as much. He was a fan of traditional instrumentation. Guitars. Drums. Bass. Rather than Moogs. Casios. Computers.

Recently he's fallen in love with Kraftwerk. Perhaps the time has come for him to revisit Momus.

Momus - 20 Vodka Jellies. AKA Music. Bargain bin.

Merry Christmas from Iceland

Enjoy your holiday season. Whatever it may be.

Hopefully days off come with it.

Music perfect for a wintry-mix. A snowscape.

More where this came from.

My "Icelandic Period."

Everybody has one.

Apparat Organ Quartet - Romantika. AKA Music. Bargain bin.

Pop Will Not Be Eating Itself

I grabbed the 808 State disc knowing it was 808 State.

The problem with that. I thought I was buying Pop Will Eat Itself.

Or at the very least, the sound of Pop Will Eat Itself.

I saw the 808 State disc. My mind went "grebo."

I had been looking for it. At least I thought I had been looking for it.

That night I realized my mistake. 808 State was 808 State. Nothing to do with grebo. Nothing to do with Pop Will Eat Itself.

All was not lost. I managed to pick up an album featuring Bernard Sumner and Bjork.

My mistake netted me a better album. An unexpected success.

Pop Will Eat Itself continues to elude me.

808 State - EX:EL. AKA Music. Bargain bin.

Fat and Stagediving Were Mentioned

For some reason, the size of the singer was a selling point when Colin first told me about the band.

He had seen them at the Trocadero.

I ended up buying the cassette.

For years, I only had the cassette. Played exclusively in the Volvo wagon.

More recently I only had the cassette case.

The cassette. Lost.

Finally replaced with a compact disc.

Black Train Jack - You're Not Alone. Generation Records. Used.

I'll Find Out Thursday

A lot of time was spent at Sound Garden in Armory Square.

I was there at least once a week. Buying and selling compact discs.

Mostly buying. Although I'm not sure where I was getting the money.

Occasionally I had a job during the school year. My final semester, I didn't do much of anything. I completed Final Fantasy VII. I did not complete any of my coursework.

The lack of gainful employment did nothing to curb my spending. Imports. Full-lengths. Singles.

When it came to box sets. I exercised restraint. A sense of responsibility.

This. I regret.

I passed on two box sets in particular. They were pricey. I shouldn't have cared. I did.

Putting off the purchase. Always for next time. The Jam. The Style Council. No one would buy them. No one ever did.

Waiting for next time. And the next time.

There was never a next time.

I returned to Philadelphia. This time for good.

Paul Weller - Wild Wood. Princeton Record Exchange. Bargain rock.

Mike Judge Music Club

In addition to 120 Minutes, Beavis and Butthead had been one of the better places to see alternative videos on MTV.

These videos were often the subject of ridicule. That didn't matter.

It was more important that the videos were on television. Even if it was for only for a few seconds.

Already listening to some of the bands, it was fun to see them on MTV.

Plenty of others were new discoveries. An introduction. Something to look for.

Another resource for new music. Underutilized.

Whale - We Care. ??? New.

I Can See Japan

I was a fan before I knew it.

It was curiosity that put it on my Christmas list.

My first listen. Driving to work. Imagine my surprise when I recognized songs.

Songs sampled by Kahimi Karie.

The Japanese reinterpretations of Western music, mainstream or otherwise. How they then assemble those reinterpretations into songs. Sampling. Emulating.

It never ceases to amaze me.

The Soft Machine - Volumes One and Two. Christmas 2007. New.

Christmas Should Deliver One or Two

Deluxe editions. Reissues. Remasters. A fan necessity.

The updated release is no reason to abandon the original.

No reason to delete the digital files.

No reason to sell the compact disc.

Double up. Triple up.

Keep them all in play. For playback.

The Cure - Three Imaginary Boys (Original). eBay. Used.

The Cure - Three Imaginary Boys: Expanded and Remastered (Disc 1) (Disc 2). Barnes and Noble. New.

Select Selections

Select provided the introductions.

Blurbs. Reviews. Advertisements. Compilations.

Select made convincing arguments to overlook silly names.

Morcheeba. Gay Dad.

Select expanded listening. Purchasing. Collecting. Completing.

Then one month. It no longer appeared at the newsstand.

The next month. Same thing.

Faded away.

Morcheeba - Big Calm. ??? New.

"Velocity Girl" as a Generalization

There had been a rash of Velocity Girl pretenders within the hardcore scene.

Try to argue that they weren't part of the scene. One of the many sub-genres falling under the umbrella that was hardcore of the nineties.

Today, expressing an interest in many bands of the era often results in ridicule.

Denial after the fact. Running rampant.

At the time. Others were listening. Others were buying.

Proudly standing by some. Copper. Ashes. Endive. Samuel.

Ashamed of others. Beta Minus Mechanic. Baby Gopal.

Idle Hands - Treaty. Generation Records. Used.

Remembering Songs, Not Sights

The same trip. Summer 1994.

A stop in York. Purchased in York.

A walled city? There are photographs of the trip. Scattered.

Adding to the Simpatico! portion of the soundtrack.

Velocity Girl - Sorry Again. Somewhere in York. New.

I Can't Always Tell You What I Saw, but I Always Know What I Listened To

There are two albums I distinctly remember taking with me to the U.K. during the summer of 1994.

The Downward Spiral. Simpatico!

Both received heavy play on my early era Sony Discman. A brick. Nearly three jewel cases thick. Received for my twelfth birthday.

My dad did the driving. England. Scotland. Wales.

The soundtrack to a trip. On repeat.

Velocity Girl - Simpatico! Newtown Book and Record Exchange. New.

Yes, Dance

Nick texted me around 7:00pm.

I was killing time at Urban Outfitters before making my way to the performance at Penn.

He suggested I meet him at the Darker My Love show. The Asteroid #4 were also on the bill. Bobb was with him.

I figured my first experience with watching live dance would last until 9:00pm or 9:30pm.

There was no reason I couldn't make the show as well.

University City to Fishtown. No problem.

Between sets we discussed music. Whether I was wearing a t-shirt of an obscure 90s band. His move. My blog.

I asked for requests. He delivered.

Sugababes - Round Round. Sounds. New.

Questionable Associations

Their careers will always be related in my mind.

I began to read about both bands around the same time.

I first listened to both bands around the same time.

I bought the debut albums of both bands around the same time.

And the follow ups. And the ones after that.

With one release. I'd see the other.

Great debuts. Near-perfect second efforts. Strong thirds. Trailing off. One stronger than the other.

The pattern isn't absolute. It may not even exist.

Late 2008. The trend returned. A new release for one. A greatest hits package for the other.

Stereophonics - Pull the Pin. Amazon.com. Used.

Forever Linked to a Bachelor Party

The event started with early afternoon grilling in Conshohocken.

Dave made the burgers. They were delicious.

The secret was a packet of Lipton Onion Soup mix. A technique used many times since.

After eating, everyone piled onto a rented school bus.

Destination: Day Dreams.

A classy adventure into the Northeast. BYOB. BYOK.

The group brought their own keg.

It didn't last an hour.

It was only a matter of time before the alcohol of others was stolen. And stolen it was.

Before a fight between bachelor parties managed to occur, the group was back on the bus.

The party continued. Things began to wind down. An early start. A long day.

Sleeping on a couch in Bensalem sounded like a good idea. The alternative being a floor in Conshohocken.

Waking up at 2:00am. Making some calls. A drive to Philadelphia.

Listening to the Swiz discography to and from.

Remembering that detail. The night was the most important part of the day.

Swiz - No Punches Pulled. eBay. Used.

Four Letters, an I and an A

I had been hearing a lot about Mika. Mostly from the U.K. press.

I filed it away. Something to keep an eye out for.

The exact same thing had been done with Tiga. Filed away.

At AKA I confused the two.

Buying Tiga. Thinking it was Mika.

Once home, I realized I had made a mistake. It wasn't a real loss. I enjoyed the Tiga purchase.

A week or two later. I ordered Mika.

Mika - Life in Cartoon Motion. Amazon.com. New.

I'd Like to See Bjorn Again Singing Erasure Singing ABBA

Stumbling on Bjorn Again was inevitable.

My love of ABBA made sure of that.

Inevitable or not, the manner in which I first heard of Bjorn Again was surprising.

A Kurt Cobain interview. Referring to Bjorn Again as his favorite band in the world.

He might have been joking. I like to think he wasn't. Regardless. I had been introduced.

Bjorn Again - Erasure-ish. eBay. Used.

He's Something Special

Clueless introduced the world to a number of fine actors.

Hot Stacey Dash. Ageless Breckin Meyer. Trashy Brittany Murphy.

Sisto. Faison.

None matched the on-screen genius of Paul Rudd.

He made an already good movie, great.

He makes all projects better. Bad to good. Good to great. Great to perfect.
Romeo + Juliet. The Object of My Affection. Wet Hot American Summer.

All good films on their own. Add a dose of Rudd. They become something special.

His turn on Friends was a disappointment. Through no fault of his own. It was Friends after all. While the show may not have been worthy of his talent, it brought Paul Rudd into millions of homes. Adding to an already growing fanbase.

Anchorman saw Paul Rudd at the very top of his game. It is the kind of film that comes along once in a lifetime. It was only natural to have an actor of Rudd's caliber cast in the role of Brian Fantana.

As a Judd Apatow Player, Rudd continues to make those around him great. Like Lisa Kudrow before them, Steve Carell and Seth Rogan owe him so much. He is selfless. Sharing in Hollywood glory that is rightfully his. His alone.

Clueless. Cathy compact disc.

[Image via www.geocities.com]

Technical Difficulties

There has been a string of events keeping me from my daily updates.

Holidays. Funerals. And finally, DSL failure.

Regular posting to resume as soon as possible.

Hands Tied. Generation Records. Used.

Repost

Supersuckers - Must've Been High.

Please let me know if a link is down. I will repost. You can leave a comment in the original post or email me at hedancesfornickels@gmail.com.

If you would like something removed, please email me at hedancesfornickels@gmail.com.

My Favorite Band

They were my favorite band. One of dozens.

Some come. Some go. Some hang around longer than others.

Days. Weeks. Months. Years.

Once a favorite band. Not always the favorite band. Yet always a place close to me.

I bought everything. Everything available. Compact discs. Seven inches. T-shirts. Posters.

When the honor of favorite band is bestowed upon you. I deliver. I put forth the effort.

Nothing is forever. But for that moment. However brief it may be. It is everything. All consuming.

Right now. If you asked. The answer would be New Order.

Farside - Rochambeau. Amazon.com. Used.