bitch magnet: C or D

Classic, classic band. Find myself on occasion wishing I still had the LPs.

Seam: yeah, pretty good for at least the first two LPs and the first EP. Actually, I listened to the first LP the other day, it's the only thing I've still got by them. Got boring quickly, which is too bad.

Vineland: I've got the 7", it's okay. I think there might be more stuff out there or in Jon's possession. Multiple lineups. Were kinda fun live. Oh, I still have a Vineland t-shirt.

I think Orestes was in Walt Mink for a while. Duddudduddud.

Coptic Light: great. Might have to miss their show Saturday, though.

is sooyoung in coptic park?

i bought it on the same day as galaxie 500 today, bloody hell what a way to kick the madchester habit

indeed. nice one!

Wish I had those 7-inchers. I've only got the "Pea" one (which is great: recorded in Louisville, first appearance of Steve "Codeine" Immerwahr!).

Sorry.

vs.

He's so dreamy now (guy in the middle):

Motor your Joyless Street

Yeah that isn't a bad song. I can see the Seam connection. I never was able to get into this band full scale, though.

i have a lot of time for this band, tho the later stuff is preferable.

also the name is pretty hilarious

Aww man, so good to hear this song again ^^^

Dave Grubbs looking mean.

I had Umber back in 94 or so but didn't get too immersed in it. I liked Seam more - but even they got a little tiresome after a while. The songs were good but Sooyoung Park has got to take the cake for most lifeless singer.

i got "are you driving me crazy?" by seam pretty early in my ventures into indie music and as a result whenever i hear a singer with a certain type of whispery voice it makes me think of park

i reminisce...

also, bring back die9o

I had Umber back in 94 or so but didn't get too immersed in it. I liked Seam more - but even they got a little tiresome after a while. The songs were good but Sooyoung Park has got to take the cake for most lifeless singer.

― scott pgwp (pgwp), Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Recanting what I said a year and a half ago. I re-acquired all the Bitch Magnet albums when I was re-engaging with my 90s self while writing my book on Slint. Umber has some great moments and Ben Hur has even more. Still not sure if I'd call it a capital-C Classic, but I do think it's an important record for that brand of music / that era.

I bring all that up because I heard yesterday that Temporary Residence is going to reissue their discography.

They're back: http://www.atpfestival.com/events/nightmare2011.php

wow, here's hoping they might do a few other UK dates whilst they're over.

I remember the days when people were offended by their "sexist" name. Or people confusing them with Monster Magnet.

This edition of ATP is like the senior circuit for 90s indie... Magnum, OTC, Archers, Bitch Magnet...

Wish I could catch BM but according to their Facebook page they don't plan to do any US dates.

Bitch Magnet was more of a late 80s thing iirc and I'm pretty sure I rc.

Yeah but their influence is all over the 90s.

I always used to see their name back in the day, but was put off by it (which is odd, in retrospect) and then I never thought much of Seam aside from the odd song or two.

Anyway, the reissue is on Spotify now, and I'm liking it a whole lot (and it sounds fantastic). At the moment I'd probably take it over Slint, who never amazed me as much as they amaze everyone else. Very fond of Americruiser at the moment. Also, if you listen to that on headphones on the subway, it really sounds like the girl voice is an announcement over the PA system: the spacial location is very interesting...

Umber is a great album - Goat-Legged Country God and Punch & Judy are so fucking good.

these reissues are v well done

I loved Seam but completely ignored Bitch Magnet. it might have been a case of being unable to find or otherwise access the albums. if it was something else then I was pretty stupid. these reissues are fantastic.

Seeing them tonight at the Empty Bottle!

Their last show ever. http://www.emptybottle.com/show/4807885/

http://fastnbulbous.com/bitch-magnet-at-empty-bottle/

The Seattle and SF shows a week or so ago were amazing.

http://www.amazon.com/Your-Band-Sucks-Failed-Revolution/dp/067002659X/

Jon Fine keeps popping up in my social media streams today thanks to this -->

10 Bands You Weren’t Cool Enough to Like in the 80s and 90s
http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2015/05/jon-fine-your-band-sucks-playlist

i liked 7 of those bands in the 80s and 90s btw if yr counting. never got round to hearing pitchblende, autoclave or breadwinner

"Walking About" is such a fucking awesome song

lol "tedious" Dischord

Has anyone started the book?

I've caught two excerpts online.

excerpt on Pfork piqued my curiosity, altho he seems kinda like a dick (full disclosure I never paid any attention to Bitch Magnet, primarily because of the godawful name)

i started and finished the book like 2 days later in spite of it committing two of my least favorite acts of writing about music
i have a lot of thoughts but mostly it confirmed my suspicions about that particular time of rock music.
i was not into bitch magnet at the time, but i definitely was around and his descriptions of the scene, however you wanna put it, were illuminating in a number of ways

he is definitely kind of whiny and dogmatic -- not sure if that = dick

not whiny -- petulant
but dedicated for sure

also there is a whole chapter about that last show mentioned upthread

LL,

Would you recommend the book? I was a fan of BM back in the day, but probably more of a fan of JF's bands post-BM.

ARB

ARB,
Yes, I would, esp if you already like this band/Jon Fine and his other bands. He goes into excruciating detail about the ebb/flow of the personal relationships and their relationship to the music/work of creating it. Also fun to see inside something I could only otherwise observe from the outside.
The way he was describing Coptic Light made it sound like something I'd be interested in. I might check them out now!
LL

Thanks, might pick up a copy tonight. Coptic Light was fantastic.

has anyone else read this book?

Yeah, I liked it OK. I was a pretty big BM fan and I like Coptic Light a whole lot, but I found the tone pretty off-putting. I also don't love the way he writes about women, but then again, dude was in a band called "Bitch Magnet."

For nerdy inside baseball stuff, it's probably worth a read.

Yeah that's about right. I strongly disliked the way he wrote about women -- reminded me of the olden times and confirmed my anecdotal experience.

sooyoung's not a dick though, right?

if he is, don't tell me

Would it be off base to suggest that the way this guy writes/tone is a bit Albini in Forced Exposure, except he's about 50 and it's a bit unbecoming?

he definitely has strongly held beliefs that he expresses without hesitation, and admits that the even more strongly dogmatic beliefs of his younger days were kinda ott

dunno if that's what you mean. doesn't matter how old he is but dude wouldn't stop talking about his hair (and eventual lack of it), that's for sure.

I thought the book was an interesting and entertaining read despite finding Fine not really remotely likable (to be fair I don't think Fine is pitching himself as likable either).

sooyoung's not a dick though, right?

Sooyoung was definitely pretty aloof, in my years-ago experience, but not a bad dude.

I liked the book, I felt it didn't come off nearly as misogynist as it comes off a half-dozen or so posts upthread, I feel like JF championed quite a few female/mixed-gender bands/artists. Well... unless maybe if you were a Simple Machines fan, that may have been pretty pointed.

What stuck with me was how low-/pre-tech life rather recently: payphones, cheap gas, no internet/email, etc. Looking back it seems incredulous anything got done but somehow it did.

JF definitely pulls no punches about himself and his flaws, and not in a cutesy self-depricating manner. Might be a metro NYC cultural thing tho, or possibly a cathartic therapeutical "let me get this off my chest" memoir.

Is he (or SYP) a dick? I think they're both nice guys, JF is still seems enthusiastic about music as ever whereas today SYP is more reclusive and/or purposefully obtuse*.

*Can't remember if it's mentioned in the end of the book but SYP & Orestes kind of anonymously/pseudonymously joined this band shortly after the BM reunions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7DCkI4iATY (SYP is off-camera stage right playing bass).

The hardcover of Fine's book is £3.69 on Amazon UK right now, which is weird considering the paperback is £12.

i must have missed this when it was posted but i saw it with this latest bump

I felt it didn't come off nearly as misogynist as it comes off a half-dozen or so posts upthread, I feel like JF championed quite a few female/mixed-gender bands/artists.

1) I didn't say he was a misogynist, I said I didn't like the way he wrote about women.

2) Championing bands with women in them is not some kind of misogyny-free pass