(TV) not completely OT--MM reference

[Jay <piazzasanmarco@yahoo.com>]

Just picked up Slint's Spiderland and it has blown me
away....



This is an article written by Steve Albini after
Spiderland came out. It appeared in the March 30, 1991
issue of Melody Maker

"Since about 1980, America has been host to an
ever-increasing parasitic infestation of rock bands of
ever-dwindling originality. It seems there is no one
left on the continent with an aspiration to lay guitar
that hasn't formed a band and released a record. And
that record sounds a little bit like Dinosaur Jr.

Trust me on this; all but maybe three of those records
are pure bullshit.

My primary association with rock music is that I am a
fan of it, though listening to the aforementioned
nearly killed that. In its best state, rock music
invigorates me, changes my mood, triggers
introspection or envelopes me with sheer sound.
Spiderland does all those things, simultaneously and
in turns, more than any records I can think of in five
years.

Spiderland is, unfortunately, Slint's swansong, the
band having succumbed to the internal pressures which
eventrually punctuate all bands' biographies. It's an
amazing record though, and no one still capable of
being moved by rock music should miss it. In 10 years
it will be a landmark and you'll have to scramble to
buy a copy then. Beat the rush.

Slint formed in 1986 as an outlet and pastime for four
friends from Louisville, Kentucky. Their music was
strange, wholly their own, sparse and tight. What
immediately set them apart was their economy and
precision. Slint was that rare band willing to play
just one or two notes at a time and sometimes nothing
at all. Their only other recording, 1989's Tweez hints
at their genius, but only a couple of the tracks have
anything like the staying power of Spiderland.

Spiderland is a majestic album, sublime and strange,
made more brilliant by its simplicity and quiet grace.
Songs evolve and expand from simple statements that
are inverted and truncated in a manner that seems
spontaneous, but is so pricise and emphatic that it
must be intuitive or orchestrated or both.

Straining to find a band to compare them with, I can
only think of two, and Slint doesn't sound anything
like either of them. Structurally and in tone, they
recall Television circa Marquee Moon and Crazy Horse,
whose simplicity they echo and whose style they most
certainly do not.

To whom would Pere Ubu or Chrome have been compared in
1972? Forgive me, I am equally clueless.

Slint's music has always been primarily instrumental,
and Spiderland isn't a radical departure, but the few
vocals are among the most pungent of any album around.
When I first heard Brian McMahan whisper the pathetic
words to "Washer", I was embarrased for him. When I
listened to the song again, the content eluded me and
I was staggered by the sophistication and subtle
beauty of the phrasing. The third time, the story made
me sad nearly to tears. Genius.

Spiderland is flawless. The dry, unembellished
recording is so revealing it sometimes feels like
eavesdropping. The crystalline guitar of Brian McMahan
and the glassy, fluid guitar of David Pajo seem to
hover in space directly past the listener's nose. The
incredibly precise-yet-instinctive drumming has the
same range and wallop it would in your living room.

Only two other bands have meant as much to me as Slint
in the past few years and only one of them, The Jesus
Lizard, have made a record this good. We are in a time
of midgets: dance music, three varieties of
simple-minded hard rock genre crap, soulless-crooning,
infantile slogan-studded rap and ball-less
balladeering. My instincts tell me the dry spell will
continue for a while- possibly until the bands Slint
will inspire reach maturity. Until then, play this
record and kick yourself if you never got to see them
live. In ten years, you'll lie like the cocksucker you
are and say you did anyway.

Ten fucking stars."


=====
It doesn't matter what you do
It doesn't matter what you say
There will always be one who wants things the opposite way
We do our best, we try to please
But we're like the rest we're never at ease
You can never please
Anybody
In this world
 
--The Shaggs






















		
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