Three Imaginary Girls - Beep Repaired

Beep Family Orchestra in action

elle — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 03:05:19 +0000

One particular local collective I cannot stay away from is the Beep Repaired crew.

You Who Pretend to Sleep

JimiC — Fri, 18 May 2007 05:47:43 +0000

7.5

http://cdbaby.com/cd/joywantseternity

I don't generally like instrumental music. If you don't have time to write lyrics, I don't have time to listen to your record. It always feels a bit lazy to me, skipping the words.

Don’t get me wrong, I respect a lot of it, I recognize the instrumental prowess of many proponents and intricacy of the best instrumental works, and I understand the aim, more often than not. I just tend not to like it. This may stem from my subconscious belief that instrumental bands are that way for one of two reasons (sometimes related):

They have discovered that all singers are ego-centric douchebags who manage to remove all sense of joy from the artistic process with their persistent preening and polyamorous distractions. And/or...
No one in the band is capable of singing (which is would be a strange excuse given the existence of “autotune” and “singers” like the Fall’s Mark E Smith or Art Brut’s Eddie Argos).

By now you may have used your keen sense of detection to pick up on my casual disdain for “singers” as a breed. But just like politics and Diet Pepsi, they are a necessary evil. Some of them are even pretty okay (but don’t let them know I said so). Often, I don’t care what they’re saying (which is good, given the lyrical content of the average pop/rock song), just so long as they’re saying something -- preferably something catchy and/or memorable. Language is a powerful thing and the human voice is an affecting instrument… combined they tend to add significant emotional heft and value to popular music.

All that being said, there are instrumental songs I like, love, even. Hmmm… sounds like time for a list.

15 instrumentals I really, really like (or love, even), in no particular order:

“Oscillate Wildly” by The Smiths
“Sleepwalk” by Santo & Johnny
“Rumble” by Link Wray
“Your Dragging Feet” by Polyrock
“Terrorist” by The Teardrop Explodes
“Pipeline” by The Ventures
“Miserlou” by Dick Dale (yeah, I kinda like surf rock)
“Rebel Rouser” by Duane Eddy
“Saudade” by Love and Rockets
“Spirea X” by Primal Scream
“Green Onions” by Booker T & the MG's
“Girls” by Death in Vegas
“Remote Luxury” by The Church
“Guitar Voodoo” by The Darkside
“Elegia” by New Order (I like this one so much I’ll even listen to the over indulgent, unedited, warts-and-all 20-minute-plus version on the Retro box set.)

A varied list, but one thing the above share is focus. They are tight; they don’t dilly dally around with meandering build ups and false stops or gently build to a massive climax. They sell their hook or create their mood quickly and effectively. In fact, I hesitated to include things like Booker T and Link Wray, as they existed in a time where songs in excess of 3 or 3 ½ minutes were almost unthinkable in the rock/pop genre, which would have tended to force an artist to say what they had to say in a much more concise (and IMO, enjoyable ) manner. This brings me to the point where a good deal of instrumental music wanders off the path for me, and, unfortunately, most instrumental bands head down the fork in the road opposite mine (mine being the one which I like to call “the right way”). It seems to me most instrumental bands like to replace their singer with more music, not concurrently, but consecutively, that is to say they stretch things out and then tend to go on and on, building on and changing dynamics, which is a pretty effective (and easy) trick to pull off, but one that’s difficult to pull off well. Godspeed! do it very well (and I actually dig them quite a bit), but many of the associated side projects seem to miss the mark a bit. Locally we’ve got Kinski, who’ve mastered the form to great effect (though they throw the occasional lyric in, and rumor has it they’ll doing a bit more of that on their forthcoming new album), but more often than not I find this type of instrumental post-rock band bo-ring.

You may have guessed by now that Joy Wants Eternity is an instrumental project. Well, you guessed right. What you might not have guessed is that their new album, You Who Pretend to Sleep, is one that while taking the “wrong” way, manages to do a whole lotta stuff way right.

Right out of the gate, “Existences Rust” is filled with aggressive energy. There's no slow build here: no verses, no choruses, just a surge of noise. “Above the Clouds Lies Eternal Sun” takes a more typical soft to loud path, but keeps it under four minutes, passing by before it’s worn out it’s welcome, delicate guitar/Rhodes passages punctuated by percussive bursts that give the song added power without disturbing the entrancing spell created by the quieter parts.

“From Embrace to Embrace” stretches out a bit, mixing early passages of layered melody that build to a chaotically restrained noisy guitar lead, which recedes back as the song reaches its dénouement. Tremulous feedback and reverbed clicks on the pick-ups create an otherworldly bed for a mournful Fender Rhodes (does anything do “mournful” as well as a Rhodes?) progression as “Death is a Door that Opens,” um, opens. A siren-like guitar wails softly in the background as the song expands without ever building to a climax. It goes against everything I look for in a rock song (as discussed in some detail above), but is probably the most effective piece on the album, as it manages to set a unique but familiar mood that is genuinely affecting. The following track, “What Lies Beyond,” as the name implies, seems to be an effort to extend or supplement it’s antecedent, but lacks the depth. It’s a short one, though, so before I can get bored the album moves on.

This is probably a good place to point out the pacing of the album, which is really excellent. The best parts ebb and flow in and out, while the less interesting and dynamic bits move out the way quickly, often serving as an effective “palate cleanser” between the main courses. (Can you tell it’s lunchtime as I type this?)

“Yet Onward We March” seems by title to be the third in a trilogy with the previous two songs, but shares little musically. It’s generally a by-the-numbers soft to loud build set apart by the tremendously good guitar sound in the noisy build that the band have captured in the recording. The staccato fits and start of the percussion also help make it a little more atypical and less predictable. “Uriel” utilizes a simple but engaging guitar figure to capture my attention before quietly wandering off into a fragile decrescendo, even the drums blending quietly into the mix giving the passage more life than the “soft bits” usually have on offer. Closer “You are the Vertical, You are the Horizontal,” after a familiar-feeling opening passage, feels like a lullaby… right until the explosive end, which is more than just a “loud bit,” with two prominent guitar melodies overlapping and giving the climax an unexpected depth, all of this in just a shade over four minutes, therby avoiding that very common pitfall (as far as I’m concerned) of instrumental rock music, unnecessary length. And while I’m on that topic, four of the eight songs on the LP clock in under four minutes with the longest being a bit over six minutes, certainly lending to the aforementioned excellent pacing, a trait I find very rare in this type of album and one that I must say adds so much to the listening experience.

The last two songs, “Uriel” and “You are the Vertical, You are the Horizontal,” have similar vaguely uplifting chord changes that have a way of making the record feel triumphant as it comes to it’s end. It seems an apt ending to a well-crafted and well-played instrumental rock album. In their bio, the band mentions Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Explosions in the Sky, and Mogwai as “recommended if you like” touchstones, and I would certainly second that claim, but I would also advise record buyers not to be scared off by those comparisons if they don’t typically “like” those bands. Joy Wants Eternity has done something similar in quality to them (even occasionaly exceeding their high self-set standard), but unique in its focus and clarity, and more immediate and accessible (at least to vocal-needing cretins like myself) for it.

Joy Wants Eternity has done something similar in quality to their influences (like Mogwai and Explosions in the Sky), but unique in its focus and clarity, and more immediate and accessible (at least to vocal-needing cretins like myself) for it.

Beep Repaired Family Tree

Cal Ledbetter — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 04:31:01 +0000

yes

5.9

http://www.beeprepaired.com/catalog/index.htm

beeprepaired07feb.jpg

The "Family Tree" compilation is a schizophrenic journey through the roster of the Seattle label Beep Repaired. Containing 18 disjointed tracks that somehow fit together, the CD takes twists and turns like a long road trip where in the end your memories of the miles behind are hazy, but for some reason you look forward to turning around and doing it again backwards.

A few songs may be thrown on for the sake of a compilation, but none of the songs are throw-away.

There are a handful of songs by bands that seem to be pumping in the veins of the deceased (rest in peace) At the Drive-In, such as "Sclatica" by Free Jail, "Pretty Girls" By The Born Losers, and "Hotry" by Lake of Falcons. Throw in the mix you also find the surf-rock of Smile Brigade's "Dear John," and the trippy folk rock of "Crowning" by Correspondents.

Other stand-out tracks include the song, "Alcohol" by McGovern Goldwater Ticket. This pretty little ballad about nostalgia and self deprecation ("Everything goes wrong when I open my eyes") could have landed itself next to the Devotchka and Sufjan Stevens tunes on the Little Miss Sunshine soundtrack. The jerky drums and tingly guitars sound like a stretch of freeway in the summer in a yellow van you have to push-start.

The silly, blippy soul in Plenty Face's "Stuck to its Gunk" evokes both Beck (circa Midnight Vultures) and Prince (circa 1979). It's the kind of song that, if listened to on a middle-of-the-night stretch of dark highway where everyone takes turns driving and sleeping, you'd end up fearing alien abduction if you were to pull over to pee.

Commodore Duchess sings about the glossed-over neighborhoods south of L.A. on "Orange County" in a way that would make Joni Mitchell proud. Her shaky, sun-dripped voice pleads for a loved one to make a change by getting in the car and going north to where. "The girls don't wear mini-skirts all the time."

"And We Went in Love to the Circus" sounds like the Great Gift Idea could be the adopted little brother of the Shins (babysat a few times by Modest Mouse) with a toe-tapping, finger-snapping song about, what else, change and the open road. The lyric, "Pack a suitcase, turn the engine on, take the interstate, drive away from here," makes you want to do just that, even with the uncertainty of where it will take you.

Not every song on this compilation fall in the same genre, and not every song has the same kind of sound, which leads to an inevitable truth: You won't like all of it; you may like most of it, you may hate most of it. But what we have here is a journey, and not every journey is a smooth ride. There are tight turns, bumpy roads, and every once in a while, a flat tire. But it's when we get to our final destination, relieved we've made it, we seem to always look forward to the backwards trip home.

This pretty little ballad about nostalgia and self deprecation could have landed itself next to the Devotchka and Sufjan Stevens tunes on the Little Miss Sunshine soundtrack.

EP

Chris Estey — Thu, 01 Sep 2005 07:00:00 +0000

5.8

http://www.beeprepaired.com/catalog/index.htm

pomeranian05sept.jpg

Nate, Emory, and David of Pomeranian take their seductive time with most of these six songs — a keyboard trill leading to boyish hums and background thrushes in "Kaboom"; then on the next track, "Sound Cloud, No. 1" delivering an Attention Deficit Disorder elevator-dystopian shuffle, a confident sound collage made up of original, hip-hop and jazz based riff-shifting.

They did not one win the title of cutest band in last year’s Seattle’s Cutest Band Contest (3IG Liz: "They were cuter than Pocky, pink peeps, and, well, Pomeranians, combined and 3IG Char: "They‘re certainly a band to be followed, seen, and heard"), but Pomeranian is as intelligence-exhibiting, buoyant, and cocky as its canine namesake. They’re the kind of ideal, commanding trio to have played at last February's Capitol Hill Arts Center’s "Beep Repaired SEE-SAW Festival," in the center of acts such as the fantastic Transmissionary Six and The Pharmacy.

David was in a band called Wimbledon, and this kind of music is described as "thrift-rock explosion! Glorious sweaty mono!" on its website, which gives you a pretty good idea of what's going on. They obviously know what they’re doing — it might remind Seattle music fans of the "original karaoke" sound of the Long Ranger. Sounds created specifically for artful body movement. Music for the brain to dance to; gravity perceived as a challenging stimulus.

Even though a Pomeranian is a smart dog, it is also a vivacious one, and these guys probably know how to bring this stuff to life when performing it on-stage. On disc, it still has a way to go to be at all captivating, but as Char said above, it's something to look out for.

Pomeranian is as intelligence-exhibiting, buoyant, and cocky as its canine namesake.

AstroPOP! for June 2005

three imaginary girls — Thu, 02 Jun 2005 07:00:00 +0000

Your monthly imaginary horoscope told in album reviews!

June 2005 AstroPOP! is brought to you with musical reviews by igDana, igLiz, Imaginary Curtis, JimiC, Mad Professor, and Chris B.

Aries
Find your muse. Sharpen your pencils. Get ready to go on your long-overdue personal journey to the place where you figure out what you were placed on this funny round planet to accomplish. Perhaps you should go to Sweden. Clearly, Sweden has found its niche: creating dreamy fey pop bands. I think there's a factory in Sweden (possibly in Upsala...) that churns out delectable pop bands. Latest case in point: My Orchard's Silhouettes (Not Lame), which comes off that line ready to delight with their keyboard-tinged guitar driven power pop. Perhaps it will provide just the sunshiny optimism you need to take that first leap forward.

Taurus
It's time to redecorate! Or perhaps it's time to full-on renovate. Either way, it's time to update your home/wardrobe/CD collection to the latest and greatest. Oh lookie — just in time, here's Trent Reznor's five-yearly effort to shift a few units and at the same time keep everyone convinced that he's both the King of Pain and the Prince of Alternative. Ah well, Nine Inch Nails' latest With Teeth is not bad, a totally enjoyable effort this time around — as much as NIN can be enjoyable. But if you really want to hear NIN with teeth, then I suggest listening to The Downward Spiral or my favorite — Broken — played as loud as you or the neighbors can bear. Perhaps it will drown out the sound of your table saw and power drill.

Gemini
Good news, Gemini: if you've been struggling between the dayjob work to pay the bills and the creative work to feed your soul, this might be your time to make a go of it, all art-stylee. Step away from your desktop (or cash register, or fry station) and step into your guitar (or paintbrush, or pen). There may be windfall: consider Black Horse. This Northwest guy/girl rock duo features two guitars and a drum machine. Imagine classic Earache sludge-core bands such as Fudge Tunnel and Godflesh backed by Jesus & Mary Chain's original rhythm section with X's male/female vocal trade-off, and you have an idea of their demo. While the recording quality leaves something to be desired, a little extra time in the studio and these guys could be the next Kills. The lesson here? Don't wither away in the office. Make the most of all your creative potential this month. We see big things. Oh, and Happy Birthday!

Cancer
You can dance if you want to, Cancer. New wave has made a big comeback recently; in fact, it's come so far back, it's already gone again. Don't tell Sunshine, 'cause they're having too much fun. Moonshower and Razorblades manages to hit the right eighties revival notes (albeit a bit more darkly than most), but manages to sound a bit fresher than most of the bandwagon, er, bands. Stop thinking so hard about the origins and reprecussions of the past, both musically and otherwise, Cancer — just experience without judgment. Note how fun it is. And dance.

Leo
A very wise fictional character once told me that adversity breeds character. It's certainly working for Garbage. Divorcing her cheating husband has clearly been good artistically to Shirley Manson, who is back to her very best lyrical form of earlier days and the likes of "As Heaven is Wide," "Subhuman," and "Suffocate Me." Bleed Like Me has more energy, passion, and vitriol than anything since their stunningandimpossibletofollow 1995 debut, and is book-ended by two of their best yet — the deliciously raunchy and wicked "Bad Boyfriend" and the gloriously sweeping and cathartic "Happy Home." C'mon Shirley, be our bad girlfriend once more.

Virgo
Spend some money and make some changes to your physical self this month, Virgo. Ooh, that new tattoo looks nice; it's so very non-Virginal of you. Now how about a new wardrobe? Manic Panic hair? You might want to consider some tight leather pants and extra Aquanet. Why? Seattle band Girth. Damn, their record Living in Truth (Hector Stentor Records) has enough changes to make four Rush records. It's razor-sharp playing, well-recorded instrumental metal. Fans of spaz attack bands like Dillinger Escape Plan or Cave-In and art freaks like John Zorn and Frank Zappa will have a lot to sink their teeth into with this release. Better skip the coffee before this one. But definitely proceed with the body modifications...

Libra
This month may bring big changes, and we all know how that unsettles you, oh balanced one. Try to roll with the punches and enjoy Minmae's brooding release I'd Be Scared, Were You Still Burning (Greyday Productions). You might not understand what titles like "Dimorphic Hips Have Chances Still" mean. Just quit trying, and enjoy their Pavement-esque melodies, Smog-like vocals, and oddball song names. Give the unknown a chance, and yourself a rest. Next month will bring balance to those scales, and if we're lucky, will also bring this talented Portland-based band to Seattle (ahem, hint).

Scorpio
Get planning those post work-day beer parties. These days you're a social superstar on the job, and should have no trouble interacting with even the most persnickity of co-workers. No one understands this better than Josh Homme. On Lullabies to Paralyze, the latest from Queens of the Stone Age, absent are long-time bassist Nick Oliveri and occasional drummer/Foo Fighter Dave Grohl. Instead, you can indulge in the cameos from rock's best sex symbols: Shirley Manson and Brody Dalle, and the same accessible kick-ass rock that somehow consistently makes QOTSA the favorite metal band of musicians and metal-haters alike. Bring it to your next kegger.

Sagittarius
Sometimes romance is hard. Does your partner take out all the woes of this sad world on your unsuspecting self? Soured romance can make you write a lot of songs. There are many examples of songs on Take You Apart by Screamfeeder. These songs are only examples, and are not recommended for repeated use. If you like these songs, you will like songs by the Jam much, much more. To that end, if you like romance, we predict you will like the romance of another partner much, much more. So buck up, little Sadgie. It doesn't have to be as hard as it's been.

Capricorn
Cappy, it's time to get caught up on your inbox. What do you mean you still haven't returned that email to your estranged Republican sister? The more you hold on to grudges, the longer they take to resolve. Perhaps that's just the way you like it, you old goat, you. Better go play The Frank Boscoes then. Frank Boscoe brings his signature vocals from iconic underground indie pop bands Wimp Factor 14 and Vehicle Flips. With his crystal clear, hypernasal voice and pointed lyrics, he navigates through an overtly idiosyncratic world, one in which we can imagine it's okay to let go of the ironic, but not of those grudges. In this world, it's okay for a 30-something hipster to drink Margarita wine coolers. Why not chug a four-pack and tell that strange sib exactly how you feel about the Bush...?

Aquarius
Ancestral issues weigh heavily on you this month. Is it conflict with an older relative? Or are you shouldering the weight of those who came before you? Speaking of forefathers, ever heard of Godspeed, you Black Emperor? Joy Wants Eternity have, and I mean that in the best possible way. Must You Smash Your Ears Before You Learn to Listen with Your Eyes (Beep Repaired) covers similar territory with consistently superior results. Epic, cinematic, dynamic and a bunch of other -ics, but never icky. Highly recommended. See? Just because something looms in your past doesn't mean it's a bad thing. Use it as a source of inspiration.

Pisces
One Pisces dear to this imaginary astrologer's heart recently proclaimed Sonny Votolato as his guitar hero. And with just cause — Votolato has graced tons of Seattle bands with his Rickenbacker skills, including Bugs in Amber, Fields of Mars, and currently, the dazzling Slender Means. Now Sonny has a solo project in the works under the moniker Blue Checkered Record Player. This three-song demo displays Sonny with acoustic guitar and atmospheric orchestral layers — it's earnest, intimate, and lovely. I'd tell you how he evokes the dazzling gentleness of Elliot Smith, except that every tenor singer with an acoustic guitar gets compared to Elliot Smith; the comparison will not sufficiently describe the delicacy and ingeniousness that breathes through these songs. On the track "Reality" he croons, "But there's music it's more than in my dreams. Don't wake me now, I just want to sleep." Pisces, your dreams come true later this summer, when the full BCRP record will release on Esoterick Musik Records. That other dream you've been pining for will follow shortly thereafter. {Aside to Seattle folks: catch BCRP at the High Dive on 6/15 and the Crocodile on 6/22.}

astropop.gif

See what's in the stars -- and the record stores -- for you for June 2005, including reviews of Black Horse, Girth, Minmae, Queens of the Stone Age, and My Orchard.

TIG on KEXP for April 2005

three imaginary girls — Tue, 19 Apr 2005 07:00:00 +0000

Saturday April 2nd, Three Imaginary Girls stopped by the KEXP studios to play some tunes during the local Northwest music show, Audioasis. This time our gracious host was DJ Abe Beeson who, in addition to having a fabulous DJ voice {which we already knew}, is a super-nice fella with a passion for cassette tapes {and Sabre!}.

Here's our set list, with a bit of off-the-air imaginary commentary. If you want to hear the songs and our on-air ramblings, go to the KEXP Streaming Archive, and select April 2, 2005 at 7p to hear our set. Listen soon as the archive will only be up until April 15,2005 {give or take a day}.

{7:04} Pomeranian - "Pom Pom Pow"
Any band that names a song "Pom Pom Pow" deserves a listen, and when the remaining tracks sound like Pomeranian, you're gonna giggle and dance and maybe throw something breakable and then laugh as it shatters. Pomeranian offers dance beats, screams, and catchy riffs, and the resulting sound is much like their canine namesake: yappy, brash, loyal, and cute. And their website kicks ass.

The funny thing about Pomeranian is that we keeping judging them. And, erm... they keep losing. Not because they aren't winners. We first met them at the Seattle's Cutest Band competition, where they were really cute, and really good, but didn't win. Then we encountered Pomeranian front-guy Emory Lu at Iron Composer last year. He was competing against Paul Jensen {of Dudley Manlove} and we were the three judges... and again, we voted against the man from Pomeranian.

But the thing is — we love the Pom!

{7:06} Panda and Angel - "The Disco Song"
Panda and Angel is a super-group of sorts, featuring, among others, Josh Wackerly {of the band S}, Carrie Murphy {of the band Touchdown Eagle}, and Sera Cahoone {of the band Carissa's Wierd}. Their songs roam from brooding lo-fi {"Woolfe"} to shimmering lite-electronic instrumentation {"The Disco Song", which we played tonight}. They're gonna be opening for Horses {another Carissa's Wierd alumni band} and S at Neumo's on April 7th.

{7:10} Corbin Gets It Right - "Bottom of My Closet"
Bellingham's Corbin Gets It Right play infectious indie-pop on their self-released album The Color Scheme, which was produced by Cameron Nicklaus of the Pale Pacific. This track is called "Bottom of My Closet."

{7:16} Luke Temple - "Someone, Somewhere"
Singer-songwriter Luke Temple releases his debut full-length Hold a Match for a Gasoline World on Mill Pond later this month. The song we played, "Someone, Somewhere", shows off his gorgeous vocals and stellar pop-folk song-writing skills. Talents such as these elicit {fair} comparisons to Sondre Lerche, Bob Dylan, and Paul Simon. As one brilliant writer once said, "With his perfect (and I do mean perfect) vocal pitch, and his crisp-linen songwriting, Luke explores his relationship with himself, others and his maker in a way that shows wisdom beyond his years."

HEY! That quote came from the review of Luke's EP that ran on Three Imaginary Girls.

You can't quote our own website!

That's like Internet incest!

I can, and I just did. I can't help it if Salvatore Santos is so much smarter than I am.

{7:20} The Cloves - "Ignored"
Anyhoo, next up we played The Cloves' song "Ignored" from their recently self-released their debut album Waiting for the World to Be. Fans of Doves, Travis, and all things Brit-radio-pop flavored should pay attention and pay their respects. Even their cover-art looks all retro-70s British. We all just missed their Seattle CD release show on April 1st {boo!}, but you can catch the Tacoma CD release on April 10th at Jazzbones, with Doxology {yay!}.

{7:23} Love Hotel - "Ahoy Supercool"
Love Hotel is the band with a most impressive Northwest pedigree, with band members hailing from Harvey Danger, Severna Park, and the Typing Explosion. Love Hotel write smart pop-songs in the vein of Exile in Guyville-era Liz Phair. The track we played tonight {"Ahoy Supercool"} even references losing a lighter and a map, a clear reference to Phair's "Divorce Song". Front woman Sarah Paul O'Campo's smart-mouthed, independent — yet vulnerable — lyrics, and her husky, clear vocals remind me of Jenny Lewis {Rilo Kiley, Postal Service}.

{7:27} The Senate Arcade - "Problem"
We played a sneak-peak demo from the Senate Arcade, called "Problem." No, you can't get this song yet. No, they don't have a release date. Or an album title. Or a label — yet. So don't even ask me. 'Cause I don't know.

I do know their next show is at the High Dive on Fri, May 20th with Verona and Juhu Beach.

After a six-song monopoly of the airwaves, Abe took a turn, playing us "Sever Heavy Hands" by Psychic Emperor. Each of us oooh'd and aaah'd over the new project from Tristian from the Vells and Jeremiah from Modest Mouse.

{aside to Imputer Records: your imaginary friends would very, much love it if you would send us a copy for review. Thankyouverymuch.}

OK, out with the new... in with the cassettes! Because April is local music month at KEXP, each Audioasis show will have a special theme'd portion to celebrate a particular piece of Pacific Northwest music heritage.

Abe chose to focus on late 1980's - early 1990's cassette phenomenon. With that direction, we sniffed around and found boxes of contenders to bring with us. It was difficult, but we narrowed it down to four songs that deserve their own altars at the EMP.

{7:48} Oklahoma Scramble - "Mine"
Oklahoma Scramble was an Olympia, WA band that existed for a brief time in the mid-1980's. The band, consisting of Jennifer Seymore and Argon Steel, only recorded five songs {which pretty much only saw the light of day via fortuitous friend-to-friend tape exchanges} and played two shows during OS's 1986 to 1987 lifetime, but still made an impression.

In 1987, Calvin Johnson {K Records, Beat Happening and Jenny's neighbor}, released some Oklahoma Scramble songs {including "Mine"} on one of K Records' first releases - a compilation cassette entitled Birdcrash in 1987. Besides the OS songs, the cassette also had tracks from Spook & The Zombies {featuring a pre-Seaweed Aaron Stauffer} and instrumental tracks by Calvin Johnson's the Go Team {see below for more information on the Go Team}.

You can find another Oklahoma Scramble song {"Boy"} on the first Yoyo studio compilation Throw which was released in 1992. Other reasons to pick up Throw sampler include rare tracks from Heavens to Betsy, Bratmobile and Crayon.

{7:51} Kicking Giant - "Teen Angel"
There were a few Kicking Giant songs that were in the running to bring with us, but this one won out because no matter who was in the room, we'd all be on our feet spazzing out by the end of the first verse.

This song, "Teen Angel" was recorded at Yoyo Studios and originally released in August 1991 on a hand handmade cassette, Drum Girl Dream {a short run that was primarily given to friends and such} and later released for public consumption on tape as Secret Teenage Summer in late 1991 on Loose Leaf.

In the band consisted of Rachel Carns {who has also played in The Need}, and Tae Won Yu {who has moved on to solo work under the name the KG}. You may also recognize Tae for his designing accomplishments - most notably for designing your favorite Built to Spill cover art.

{7:55} Rich Jensen - "Nice Pagan Go!"
The oldest pull from our Cassette Closet, "Nice Pagan Go!" was released on a tape entitled The Animal Box in 1984 {during the cassette-only days of K Records}. Although Rich Jensen released a series of tapes around this time, nothing beats the line "Beacha-beacha-beacha-beacha-Steve" of this song, "Nice Pagan Go!". You might also recognize Rich's name from his grunge-era days at Sub Pop, his co-founding of Up Records, or his founding of Clear Cut Press.

I like nice Pagans too.

{8:02} The Go Team - "Keep-A-Way"
Last song — and we barely got to play it, so thanks again to Abe for letting us sneak this one in — was the Go Team.

The Go! Team?

Nope, not *that* one... not the newfangled, "I'll add an exclamation point after the second word and I've got my own original band name" folks... this song, "Keep-A-Way" was brought to us by the Go Team that doesn't have an awkwardly placed exclamation point and were the original GTs.

The Go Team was:
Calvin Johnson, Tobi Vail {Bikini Kill drummer}

AND, during the course of their history, a rotating cast of characters including: Kurt Cobain {Kurdt Kobain}, Rich Jensen, Lois Maffeo {Lois, Courtney Love - the band}, Billy Karren {Bikini Kill guitarist}, David Nichols {The Cannanes drummer}, and Louis Olson {who was in one of the earliest incarnations of Some Velvet Sidewalk}.

"Keep-A-Way," was released in 1989 on the cassette-only / never reissued on CD album Archer Come Sparrow and features a minimalist line-up of only Calvin and Tobi.

I have old cassettes too. They're by Def Leppard and the Scorpions and I think they're melting in my mother's garage in South Florida about now.

That's probably for the best.

Indeed. And KEXP is the best! We can't wait to go back on the air. Our next appearance will be May 7th, again at 7p for Audioasis.

KEXP.jpg

Saturday April 2nd, Three Imaginary Girls stopped by the KEXP studios to play some tunes during the local Northwest music show, Audioasis, including Pomeranian, Love Hotel, The Cloves, and many more.