Liz and Lou

Although I've never had any particular use for Liz Phair (and remember clearly being completely confused by the endless stream of accolades she received in the early 1990's) her 'landmark' album Exile In Guyville (1993) gets the re-release treatment today. So, I dug out an old copy that I'd not listened to in many years. Maybe it's perspective or maybe I'm becoming way too soft but dammit if "Fuck And Run" doesn't now have the same resonance with me as Sebadoh's "Brand New Love" did back then. I can think of one person in particular for whom this will read as blasphemy but it's 5:35 AM and this is what's on my mind. I've now listened to both songs back-to-back a few times over and, yeah, I probably shouldn't have ignored this as much as I did back then.

Sebadoh:


Liz Phair:

Good Times

What did I do this past weekend? Unlike most of those here in Athens I jumped the local ship of AthFest and headed to Atlanta to see R.E.M. Yes, it was completely worth it. I though The National was great (I had first seen them a few years back when they were on tour with The Walkmen) and Modest Mouse was surprisingly solid and confident in the huge shed of the Lakewood Amphitheater. Still, the whole night belonged to R.E.M. and it's hard to believe that it's been almost 22 years since my first R.E.M. show (Fox Theater/Atlanta, GA/November 24, 1986).
A particular thrill for me was seeing Johnny Marr and Peter Buck play guitar together during "Fall On Me" and "Mon On The Moon" (you can see about 15 second of the latter here.). There's not a whole lot more to say except the night was really awesome and I stood and danced the whole time and completely retreated into blubbering fan-boy during several key moments (i.e. "Driver 8", "Harborcoat" and "Auctioneer (Another Engine)".)

This video was shot by someone at the very opening of the show. R.E.M. started with "These Day" and then went into "Living Well Is The Best Revenge". The proof is here.

Let Them Know

This is much more important than any Rock and Roll writing today. Please pass this on.




Residents in Central United States Urged to Register with Safe and Well

Wednesday, June 11, 2008 — As rising floodwaters continue to destroy homes and threaten communities across much of the Midwest and West Virginia, the American Red Cross urges affected residents to register themselves and their loved ones on the Safe and Well website. In the past 24 hours, more than 31 individuals have registered, allowing family and friends around the country to know of their status. Disasters often make it difficult to stay in touch with loved ones but Safe and Well is an easy way to assist people seeking to locate those who’ve registered their status during emergencies.

Once an individual registers on Safe and Well, loved ones across the country can search the site and read messages. As residents of five states continue to feel the full impact of the recent tornadoes, severe storms and flooding – in Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, West Virginia and Wisconsin – registering on Safe and Well can bring great peace of mind to people trying to contact them.

“At the American Red Cross we want to make difficult situations like this a little bit easier by giving families and friends a resource to get this important information,” said Joe Becker, Senior Vice President, Disaster Services. “Knowing that those we care about are safe is a relief that allows people to focus on what to do next.”

The Safe and Well website is easy to use:

Visit www.RedCross.org, and click on the Safe and Well link.
If you are currently being affected by these disasters, click: “List Myself as Safe and Well”, enter your pre-disaster address and phone number, and select any of the standard message options
If you are concerned about a loved one, click “Search” and enter the person’s name and pre-disaster phone number OR address. If they have registered, you will be able to view the messages that they posted.

If you don’t have internet access, you can call 1-800-RED-CROSS (1-800-733-2767) to register yourself and your family. Follow the prompts for disaster information. Safe and Well is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and is accessible in both English and Spanish.

All American Red Cross disaster assistance is free, made possible by voluntary donations of time and money from the American people. You can help the victims of thousands of disasters across the country each year, disasters like floods and tornadoes by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, which enables the Red Cross to provide shelter, food, counseling and other assistance to victims of disaster. The American Red Cross honors donor intent. If you wish to designate your donation to a specific disaster please do so at the time of your donation. Call 1-800-REDCROSS or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish). Contributions to the Disaster Relief Fund may be sent to your local American Red Cross chapter or to the American Red Cross, P. O. Box 37243, Washington, DC20013. Internet users can make a secure online contribution by visiting www.redcross.org .

Taking Stock In Terrastock

The 7th Terrastock Festival will happen in Louisville, KY June 19-22. Taking place in the gorgeous Mellwood Arts & Entertainment Center the festival will feature 40 bands/performers and the lineup is incredible. (to wit: Windy & Carl, Damon And Naomi, MONO, Wooden Shjips, Antietam and Bardo Pond to name a very few.)

Terrastock, and the publication from which it sprang forth (i.e. Ptolemaic Terrascope) should be no stranger to Athens music fans as our own Olivia Tremor Control, Elf Power, Neutral Milk Hotel, et al have played past incarnations. You can get the whole history of the Terrascope and the festival by clicking here.

What follows is an interview with this year's festival director Erica Rucker.

24 Hour Party Pooper: How did this occurrance of Terrastock come about and how did you become involved with it?

Erica Rucker: I became involved first with the online mag as a reviewer and then after a conversation with my partner/Sig Oth, Rob about how we could see Motorpsycho. Another Terrastock was our answer but where and how...an Oh, what would it take to host one. So I asked [Ptolemaic Terrascope and festival founder]Phil McMullen what it took and with his very detailed response, began thinking about venues in Kentucky that might work and work with the financial limitation of the festival. Mellwood presented the best opportunity out of their own search to replace a festival that moved. Long story short, Terrastock Meet Mellwood and Phil elected me festival director. Which also means, you've been elected for a huge financial risk. Hence the Fuzz Boutique, LLC to help protect our personal assets.

24HPP: Its seemed to me that since the 1990's the psych-underground, etc. has been even more underground. Like there was a brief flourishing, say, 10-15 years ago and now it's back in the deep underground. Would you agree or disagree?

E.R.: I'd disagree. Underground music always has "its" audience which of course is why it is underground. 10-15 years ago we were ending the mainstream's obsession with "Grunge" and Seattle and what they thought was underground music. Many folks bought into it and thought it disappeared when the grunge bands were replaced by teen pop tarts and boy bands. Underground music remained safely where it has always been accepted. The positive about the 1990's was that MTV still showed videos and 120 minutes wasn't afraid to occasionally show something "underground". But of course they showed Ned's Atomic Dustbin videos so it had its drawbacks too.

24HPP: When Terrastock first began in 1997 there wasn't this culture of each summer having a million festivals. Do you think the massive amount of festivals and major events has helped or hurt the independent music scene?

E.R.: Actually in 1997 the end of the touring summerfest was happening and the advent of localized big summerfests was beginning (i.e. Coachella and Bonnaroo). They did the same things but without the mobility. They invited people to come and join the community taking cues from events like Burning Man. Terrastock is an outsider in that world sort of. One tends not to know where the next one will be. At least that was the idea. Terrastock influenced some of the "Alt-psych-underground" fests like ATP and others which, like Terrastock, has a curator.

24HPP: Can you talk a little about the organizational aspects of Terrastock? How is the event paid for? How are the artists compensated, etc? The reason I ask is because Terrastock has always seemed to function outside of the normal money-driven event culture and operate in a more cooperative way.

E.R.: Terrastock is a project generally taken on by someone (foolishly) willing to risk financial loss and unpopularity to present music that most folks haven't heard of because we think its that good. The event is entirely self financed through ticket sales and merchandise. We tried to get sponsorships but the fact that Terrastock does not have "roots" in Louisville per se makes that difficult. Bands playing Terrastock are given a few things in place of performance fees.

- More press than some might ever get

- Assistance with travel when available. This does not mean all travel is paid.

- Hotels paid for the duration of the festival and food on the day of performance.

Terrastock has lost money before. Because of this, like all the other organizers, we're hoping to change that. We're hoping we don't put ourselves into poverty because of this. That would suck.

24HPP: Could you please talk a little about the culture of Terrastock and what makes it special?

E.R.: Terrastock is a sort of neo-sixties meet punk meets folk meets "when is this song over" type of vibe. It is a very friendly and open community. the bands are accessible to anyone and the fans are encouraged to interact. It is almost like a conference where you can come to learn, enjoy and share ideas.

24HPP: I'm embarrassed to say this, but I've never been to a Terrastock. I've had several friends that have played it but never attended myself. What should a first-timer expect at Terrastock that he wouldn't get from any other festival?

E.R.: A first timer should expect great music and a relaxed atmosphere. For sure it won't be perfection or without a hitch but the music erases all of that.
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MP3: Wooden Shjips-Summer of Love Part 1
MP3: Antietam-Sink or Swim

Want more? Go digging. It's not called "the underground" for nothing.
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UPDATE: Just received this notice.

"Kemado Records has pulled Marissa Nadler from this year's Terrastock 7 Festival.
Terrastock founder Phil McMullen has stated, "I am surprised and not a little disappointed that Marissa Nadler's record company felt it necessary to let her fans down, particularly at such short notice"."

Contest This

Along with, hopefully, several other sites 24hourpartypooper.com is hosting a contest surrounding the new album by From Bubblegum To Sky. The new album is named A Soft Kill and it's a really fine pop record which ostensibly showcases the bands love of 'retro-pop' but I've never understood why things need to be called 'retro' when they're much better classified as simply 'classic'. There's nothing kitschy or smarmy about From Bubblegum To Sky. Check out the MP3s below.

But, yeah, this is a contest which means you must compete for the prize package (pictured above). What you need to do is answer the questions below and drop the answers in an email to 24Hourpartypooper[at]gmail[dot]com. Since we're always so busy around here we'll only be responding to the winner so if you send in a response and don't hear back that means you lost. Be sure to send me your mailing address! You can lose even if you get the answers correct because we're only taking the FIRST set of correct answers. Them's the breaks.

So, on with it. I created these questions myself and tried to run a short pop gamut with them.

1) In the movie version of A Clockwork Orange what movie soundtrack is very clearly on display in the record store scene?


2) Olympia, WA's K Records owes it's success as much to this person as it does the more visible Calvin Johnson.

3) What do The New York Dolls and Bow Wow Wow have in common?


4) What do you call a skinhead who has grown his hair a bit?



5) Which band almost made Mike Damone work at 7-11?

6)What does Z-Man have and what does it do to him?
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MP3: From Bubblegum To Sky-I Always Fall Apart
MP3: From Bubblegum To Sky-Guest Relations
MP3: From Bubblegum To Sky-Even The Sunbeams