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Most know of the late, great Adam through his association with (the highly underrated power-pop band) Fountains of Wayne. Or b/c he was the musical brains behind films like "That Thing You Do" or "Music and Lyrics."
But many weren't familiar with Ivy, his project with record producer Andy Chase and (Andy's now-wife) Dominique Durand.
These guys could seemingly never catch a break; record label drama, their studio burning to the ground (along with all the instruments and recorded material within it), no real "hits" to speak of despite the use of their music in TV and film.
RIYL Go-Betweens, House of Love, Pastels (and the whole C86 movement), Prefab Sprout, the Smiths, Edwyn Collins/Orange Juice, Saint Etienne, Lloyd Cole. Maybe even Air? Everything But the Girl?
They also recorded an amazing covers album in 2002 called "Guestroom" that is well worth discovering; if you wanna hear woozy, French-accented covers of Steely Dan, The Cure, The Ronettes and Papas Fritas (among others), this is your jam.
I miss Adam on the reg. Such a lovely guy and an amazing talent that COVID took from us very early in the trauma cycle.
Jul 31, 2024
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âIâve never been too good with names but I remember facesâ
A story about a specific imaginary person who has disappeared.
Evan Dando is HIGHLY underrated. đ
Apr 13, 2025
I am still kind of in shock, just processing this loss.
Albini was SO central to the late 80s and 90s underground.
Not just the music (that he created, but also "engineered" since he loathed the word "producer") but the ethos.
He's irreplaceable. He was irascible, difficult, a crank. But he was our crank and vital to the sound of so many bands and artists: PJ Harvey, Slint, Tar, Helmet, Pixies, Urge Overkill, the list goes on and on and on.
I interviewed him once for "Paste." My editor from that time wrote me this morning, saying he remembered that it was a "hard edit" (ha; Albini was a "hard guy" in his way). I remember him being prickly but principled. That's a good summary of who he was.
RIP Mr. Albini. This is a left-field musical choice but is pretty much perfectly emblematic of his desire to translate the sound of a band almost perfectly uninterrupted to tape and to listener. A purist in the best sense of the word.
PS: Engine Kid became SUNN 0))) for those who dig the heavy stuff.
May 8, 2024
The Basher (so called because of his rough/ready "bash it out, we'll tart it up later" production style) remains one of the most underrrated/unsung artists of the last 40 years.
He produced so many great records -- punk/new wave period classics you'd know from Elvis Costello, the Damned, Wreckless Eric, Pretenders, Graham Parker, Dr. Feelgood, Johnny Cash, Carlene Carter, Paul Carrack from Ace/Squeeze fame -- plus his time as a member of the bands Brinsley Schwarz, Rockpile and Little Village. But it's solo work I've kept closest to me over the years and this one has a special place in my (busted) heart. â¤ď¸
Mar 24, 2025
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Hey tyler hopefully this doesnât violate some PI.FYI golden rule
But after nearly two years of writing, editing and arguing, my book about the EP is coming out in May and can be preordered here:
https://hozacrecords.com/product/aifl/
The book is about the origins, history and cultural impact of the EP since these little objects first started coming out in the 50s.
Over 50 of my music biz friends then helped me shape the list and review the top 200 ever released, according to us (ha).
For those of you who are into this kind of geekery/snobbery, I canât wait to hear what you think. A labor of love, as all books are! â¤ď¸
Mar 27, 2024
âSongs Of a Lost Worldâ coming to a goth listening station near you Nov 1 đ¤
The fr FW Me Friday the 13th the world was looking for
Sep 14, 2024
I will fail to explain just how much this band meant to me in the 90s.
So I will borrow from AV Club who did a fine job of distilling it:
âUnwound is the best band of the â90s. Not just because of how prolific, consistent, and uncompromising it was, but because of how perfectly Unwound nested in a unique space between some of the most vital forms of music that decade: punk, post-rock, indie rock, post-hardcore, slow-core, and experimental noise. That jumble of subgenres doesnât say much; in fact, it falls far short of what Unwound truly synthesized and stood for. Unwound stood for Unwound. But in a decade where most bands were either stridently earnest or stridently ironic, Unwound wasnât stridently anything. It was only itself. In one sense Unwound was the quietest band of the â90s, skulking around like a nerdy terror cell. In another sense it was the loudest, sculpting raw noise into contorted visions of inner turmoil and frustration.â
R.I.P. Vern Rumsey.
This is their finest song, from their finest album.
I really canât say enough about the sheer bloody minded genius of this group. đ¤
Mar 23, 2024