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I
was a huge 4AD fan in my teens. Would buy records sound unheard just
because it was on the label.
The top two were very early efforts. Not
perfect. They often aren’t. The white and black one stair stepped a bit
along the top, and the grey and black one had the thread get messed up
in one area. I can fix it.
I made them fairly large, because my early experiments seemed to indicate that they needed to be large-ish. After a while I figured out that wasn’t necessarily the case, and I did a much smaller version.
Wait in the Car – The Breeders
I knew about this ahead of time ... and then forgot to post it on the day it came out.
Soooo much fun. Only downer is that it’s 2 minutes long.
The Breeders are back. And doing it better than many others.
And a video by Chris Bigg!
Polyesterday – Gus Gus
I don’t know why, but I’ve never paid attention to Gus Gus. It’s like my radar somehow discounted them as an insignificant blip. I think I may have somehow, wrongly, gotten them conflated with Sigur Rós. Who I think are like nails on a blackboard.
But Gus Gus are nothing like them – and they’re good. Now I’m kicking myself for ignoring them all this time.
Cut The Tree – Wolfgang Press
Off of Lonely Is An Eyesore. With a suitably obscure video. Love that slow bass line.
Facing the Other Way: The Story of 4AD – Martin Aston
I’ve talked on here a bit about my love for the incredible 4AD Records.
I bought their records in the 80’s sound unheard, simply because they were on 4AD. But as someone with limited amounts of money to spend on imported music, I didn’t get many of the magazines that may have talked about the music. I read bits here and there, heard stuff on the radio, friends imparted what little they knew. So there was a lot about the bands and the label that was a mystery.
So when I saw this book mentioned in an Exclaim review, I
was overcome with excitement and ordered it. Wasn’t sure what to expect,
but I was pleasantly surprised to see that it is a massive 650 page tome.
Covers mainly the first 20 years, with a more cursory look at the last 15 years. It’s very complete, with a lot of minutiae that non fans might not care for, but I ate it up. Perhaps only
interesting for the obsessive 4AD fan. (Although...is there any other
kind of 4AD fan?)
Getting to read the stories behind the music, of what
were often bands who shunned the limelight, is both edifying and kind of
depressing. When it was a guy who loved music and had a very developed
sense of what to release and operated on instinct, things went well.
When it became about running a record company, and having to break bands
big in America, and “move units” in order to make it all financially
viable, and babysit prima donna cokeheads, it stopped being fun.
There was quite a bit in this book that made me sad. Fragile egos, inflated egos, mental illness, drug addiction, domestic relationships, creative relationships, domestic and creative relationships intertwined, dysfunctional relationships, relationships torn asunder.
To read how Vaughn Oliver and Nigel Grierson, or Mick Allen and Mark Cox haven’t spoken to one another in years, just made me sad. Reading how Robin Guthrie was an insufferable asshole just disappointed me.
Just
like the old adage that one shouldn’t see how sausages are made, maybe
it’s best if one doesn’t learn too much about the inner workings of a
revered record label.
I noted the parallel between my waning interest in the label, and Ivo Watts-Russell’s waning interest in the label, which seemed to coincide. It began to taper off for me from the early 90’s, and by the mid 90’s, when Wolfgang Press put out their last record, that was it for me, and shortly after, he sold his interest.
4AD went through quite a lull, but they are again on the upswing. After being in the doldrums for years, they are again signing an eclectic mix of acts.
The limited edition version is something else.
Sixteen Days / Gathering Dust – This Mortal Coil
Originally 2 Modern English songs that they would close out their shows with. Ivo Watts-Russell brought together M.E.’s Gary McDowell on guitar and Michael Conroy on bass, Colourbox’ Martyn Young on keyboards, Cocteau Twins’ Elisabeth Fraser on vocals and Robin Guthrie on guitar and Cindytalk’s Gordon Sharp on vocals, to record this cover.
Alothea – Zomby
Wow, 4AD isn’t the label of my youth any more. Love this shuffling beat, but it sure is different than what they had on the label in the 80s.
Nothing Natural – Lush
Incandescent song from a fantastic band. Glad I got to see them live, but bummed they are no longer a going concern.
A Girl Like You – Tom Jones
I was at first surprised to hear that Tom Jones covered this Wolfgang Press song. They also wrote a track just for him. Then I found out he had also done something with New Model Army. This was an artist I had never given any thought to, and if I had, it seemed like he was a corny Vegas crooner. But finding out that he was working with these two acts gave me a whole new appreciation for him.
Oomingmak – Cocteau Twins
From the great Victorialand, after which I think the cocaine really started to wreak too much havoc.
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