Cause & Effect : Pixies to Slowdive

This weeks #TBT is focused on a section of this Pitchfork documentary on the English shoegaze band Slowdive. The band discussed that one of their biggest hits was in their mind, very much an ode to The Pixies. (discussed at the 24:41 mark) 

The cause:

The effect (base line and dynamics):

Throwback Thursday w/ a Purpose : X

It is MS Awareness Week and in tribute to the disease that took my mother's life, I have chosen the band X as member Exene Cervenka announced in 2009 her diagnosis of this often debilitating disease of the brain and central nervous system. In MS the immune system attacks the protective cover of nerve fibers that causes the communication between the brain and the rest of the body. Over time, these nerves begin to deteriorate and can become permanently damaged causing a variety of symptoms including the inability to walk, use of arms, and major cognitive issues.

X is an American band that has been making music on and off since 1977. They feature a distinctive male/ female dueling vocals straddling the line between punk and roots Rock. Many thought at the time that a punk band could never cross over into the mainstream but X were among the first groundbreaking bands to do just that.

Throwback Thursday : A.C. Temple

Here is a little something I wrote about the band back in 2008.

Artist - A.C. Temple

Catalog
Songs of Praise 1987  - Further / Mute
Blowtorch - 1988 - Torso
Sourpuss - 1989 - Blast first (Jon Langford produced)
Belinda Backwards - 1991 blast first (and I am sure I am missing some!)

Singles :
Band of Susans split 7" 1989 - Blast First
Wedding Present split flexi 1993 Ablaze! Magazine insert

Hometown- Sheffield, UK

They are a perfect blend of so many genres and bands I love…only A.C. Temple was doing it before many of these newer groups. I was undeniably an old school emo indie rocker kid (still am I suppose minus the kid part) so my point of reference here is the early to middle years of Dischord Records. Some of the great guitar bands to come from San Diego like Pitchfork and Drive Like Jehu. The classic Chicago / Touch and Go sound. American and British variations of Riot Grrrl. Anything Sub Pop from the late 80’s up until the mid 90’s. UK and US 90’s shoegaze and last but not least the more slightly dissonant noisy groups like Sonic Youth.

In high school I didn’t know about groups like Lilliput, Kleenex, Delta 5, The Slits, The Au Pairs,Th' Faith Healers, The Raincoats….but I have discovered these artists between 1988 and now and still I wonder how A.C. Temple records didn’t make their way into my collection sooner. This band and their catalog of music is equally as poignant and pertinent as any of these other groups yet for some reason A.C. Temple never made it to the underground music hall of fame.

Does A.C. Temple really fit into the same musical family as ALL the groups mentioned above?

YES! (I suspect for some people this group might sound a little too derivative of that decade but they were ahead of their time damn it so be nice!)

Throwback Thursday : Savage Rose

Check out this powerhouse of a Danish prog rock group Savage Rose with lead singer Annisette. Her vocal style carries the rock and roll energy of Janis Joplin and Grace Slick and like her peers, their dynamic range also includes elements of Jazz, Soul, and Gospel. Annisette's acrobatic and massive vocal range (part siren, part whisper) is often described as proto-Kate Bush which makes this exciting and complex musical group all the more ahead of their time.