GUV' NER -- Jousters Do it Knightly 7"

Yeah. Snobby, suburban, yet somehow refined. Elements of pavement style sloppiness and indifference but a great sense of underlying pop prevails above the lo-fi production value. In 1995, pavement was *the* band for an entire generation of indie kids so it was kinda hard for bands not to sound like this. The piano and 12-string coupled with the nearly atonal singing really sell Baby's Way Cruel to my ears. Cameo could be the lost and forgotten pavement b-side.


Side A mp3 -- Baby's Way Cruel
Side B mp3 -- Cameo

Big Black The Model 7"

Hissy, aggressive and good humor. Big Black in '87 covering Kraftwerk from '78. Who would have thought? Albini *IS* the ManMachine!! Instant Classic.
Gotta love the cover too.



Side A mp3 -- The Model

Versus -- Big Head On 7"

Before his relative success with +/- (plus/minus), James Baluyut was in the band Versus, sometimes with his 2 brothers Richard and Edward and sometimes a couple other guys along the way. Teen Beat release this 7" in 1995. Versus specialized in the loud/soft dynamics of so many 90's bands but they focused on good pop song stucture. Big Head On has a great intro, a huge head banger chorus and a really cool off beat accent on the hi hat during the verses. N*I*T*A on the b-side is more tame with a rolling repetitive bassline but the chorus is classic Versus.. I just love that distorted guitar. As an aside, my old band readymaid got to open for +/- in '01 or '02 and James was great to hang out with.

Side A mp3 -- Big Head On
Side B mp3 -- N*I*T*A

See Saw -- Everyone Knows This Is Not Hot 7"

Trevor Kampmann, musician/producer/designer from D.C., records now under the name hollAnd but back in the 90's he used the name See Saw or sometimes Sea Saw. This record grew on me over a few weeks. It was at once familiar like an old Sebadoh 7" yet new in a weird way.. weird, but good. Long live lo-fi. This is from '95 on the Simple Machines label.. Sexy white vinyl with no label!

Side A1 mp3 -- My Stereo
Side A2 mp3 -- Diplomat's Daughter
Side B1 mp3 -- Needle
Side B2 mp3 -- Jeff Koons Three-Way

Air Miami - Airplane Rider 7"

This record is from 1994 and features some really good girl/boy pop. "Airplane Rider" will be stuck in your heads for days so beware.. The B-side is a sad drone-y affair with some sweet vocals that make me think of Blonde Redhead.

Side A mp3 -- Airplane Rider
Side B mp3 -- Stop Sign

5ive Style - Waiting on the Eclipse 7"

This Chicago instrumental band released a handful of 7" singles and here's the finest of the bunch. The guitar work on both songs is very tight and acccurate.. "Waiting" displays probably the finest use of an envelope filter on gutar and "Summer Salt's" hammer on's will leave your head spinning. Cool and funky, get yer groove on with this one! I remember hearing 5ive style for the first time back in '95 and was seriously amazed at their technical prowess and that they were still able to retain a fair amount of feeling as well. I discovered Tortoise a few months after which led me to buying a vibraphone.

Side A mp3 -- Waiting on the Eclipse
Side B mp3 -- Summer Salt

Dynamic Truths 7"

Here's a couple songs from the Dynamic Truths debut. This 7" was released on Merge somewhere around 1998. "You Take It All" is very upbeat and reminiscent of early U2 with some spinkles of Joy Division and The Cult. "Profit From Loss" is much darker sounding and if i were to see this performed live I would imagine an incredible light show during the chorus. The ending could almost be Mercury Rev circa '92 or Flaming Lips circa '87.

Side A mp3 -- You Take It All
Side B mp3 -- Profit From Loss