Notes from the underground Independence Makes Distribution Difficult Various artists Buzzmonger This compilation from Buzzmonger is the musical equivalent of the ‘zine that spawned it–loud, wacky, abrasive, abusive, as worthless as it is worthwhile. And like the fanzine culture itself, which thrives on an us-versus-them attitude, Independence Makes has a…
Lots of cash and free time P P Capitol Records Johnny Depp needs Gibby Haynes for the credibility, the kind every actor-turned-rocker needs to be taken seriously; and Gibby Haynes needs Johnny Depp for the high-profile visibility, the kind every art-punk needs to be taken profitably. And so P, the…
In the eternal debate between nature and nurture, saxophonist Joshua Redman might cause adherents from both sides of the argument to scratch their heads in wonder. On the one hand, he’s the son of free-jazz saxophone legend and Fort Worth native Dewey Redman, whose tonal qualities and agility are certainly…
Son of Tupelo “Wilco sounds like Wilco, but Son Volt sounds like Uncle Tupelo.” So said a member of Wilco before their astonishing show at the Sons of Hermann Hall on November 18, and he didn’t mean it as an insult or even a boast, just as a declaration of…
As the co-owners of the local Leaning House Records label, Mark Elliott and Keith Foerster are two young men fueling the bebop flame, twentysomething purists enamored with a jazz sound that first flowered decades before they were born. To that end, they have released albums by saxophonist Marchel Ivery (1994’s…
Gang of snore On the face of it, which is about as deep as you can go with this band, there’s nothing much to like about Elastica and everything to hate about them: They’re such a rip-off of Gang of Four and Wire they’ve been taken to court on charges…
Mike Daane, the bass player for Ugly Mus-tard, welcomes his guest in his elaborate home studio with a hearty smile. You might know Daane’s name or his face: For years, he has been known as the friendliest and busiest bassist in local music, a man who has loaned his talent…
Blow fi the American Analog Set the American Analog Set Independent Them indie-rockers are a tortured lot–torn between two worlds, weary of rock and roll but unable to exist without it. They see these rock and roll instruments strapped over the shoulders, these drum kits standing in front of them,…
A languid harmonica, the trumpet of the downtrodden, is the first sound you hear on Bruce Springsteen’s new LP The Ghost of Tom Joad. Then comes the gentle tug of guitar strings and a voice too wise, too weary to worry about enunciating last syllables. “Men walkin’ ‘long the railroad…
Beached boy Orange Crate Art Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks Warner Bros. Records Whatever their collaborations in the past wrought–most of which was an album nobody’s ever heard in its entirety, the legendary Smile album, plus the single “Heroes and Villains”–this isn’t the promised return to form. It lacks…
No performer ever had to grow up in public like Frank Sinatra. No one has ever had every second of his adult life chronicled with so much detail and tenacity–in film, in photos, in books, and most certainly in song. As a result, he is man and myth in one…
Soul survivor There’s a genius in there somewhere–a genuine artist instead of a bullshit artist, Prince instead of Lenny Kravitz. But that’s Terence Trent D’Arby for you, an egomaniacal would-be superstar when he debuted in 1987 with the audacious Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent D’Arby (hit single: “Wishing…
When Rita Webb left KNON-FM (89.3) a year and a half ago under the most trying and disheartening of circumstances, it was like being kicked out of the house she had grown up in. Her departure from the community radio station came during a difficult period in the station’s decade-long…
It’s Neu! and improved Acid/Opium Matt Castille Vas Deferens Organization The third cassette in the 10-tape series from local avant-noise collective Vas Deferens Organization, this is indeed the sound of men playing with their penises in public. But God love ’em, they aren’t ashamed about it. Art-rock, Krautrock, trance-rock–whatever the…
Before his November 7 appearance at the Dallas Music Complex, Bob Dylan hadn’t performed in Dallas since his 1990 concert at the Fair Park Music Hall. It was a sit-down (and scratch-your-head) affair, with Dylan blurring the line between mattering and muttering, lathering and butchering, as he rendered his own…
Fade away…please…God Stripped The Rolling Stones Virgin Records The title hints at an “unplugged” set-up–acoustic guitars, no overdubs, live and in-person–but the only thing Keith Richards is unplugged from is a life-support machine. This is rock and roll that sounds as though it were recorded in a museum or an…
Vaughan, not forgotten Greatest Hits Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble Epic Records A best-of that kicks off with a previously unreleased cover of a Beatles song that should have stayed that way–that is, unreleased; that is, a Beatles song–this is the marketing gimmick for those who only know and…
Moody music Original Soundtracks 1 Passengers Island Records The Passengers are Brian Eno and U2 with special guests; the sound tracks may or may not exist in places other than their own minds; the album is more or less a sequel to Eno’s own brilliant, ambient “sound tracks” of the…
When Mac Curtis visited England in December 1977, it was not as a tourist, but as a long-awaited hero. Maybe even as something of a god. Curtis had not performed in front of a crowd like this in nearly 20 years, but when he stepped up to the microphone at…
In 1992, when I began performing Monday nights at the Winedale Tavern on Lower Greenville Avenue, it was Skid Row’s royal palace in Dallas. There, some patrons behave as if released from Parkland Hospital’s observation ward directly to the Winedale; others, as though sprung from the dog pound. The audience…
Middle-age riot The early albums led to it, the later ones strayed from it in varying degrees of brilliant: 1988’s Daydream Nation was the album, “Teen Age Riot” was the Epiphany, and the noise was never again so catchy or perfect. Those who’d claim not to “get” Sonic Youth–those who…
Soul survivor In the Mood Ernie Johnson Waldoxy Records According to Ernie Johnson’s legend, as he recounted to the Observer last year, the 44-year-old soul singer recorded his first track 27 years ago (“Lovin’ You,” by Fats Washington), performed with Texas guitar slinger Lowell Fulson, and was encouraged to sing…
