Yellow Mica Recordings

Yellow Mica Recordings is an indie pop label from Sweden that releases CD-Rs and 7"s. They have released records from such musical sunbeams as The Capstan Shafts and Boyracer. I mention them for no reason.

>link<

The Pine

The Pine

Since I was involved in the music scene in Geneseo, NY, I was also interested in the music scene in Oswego, NY - home to another college of the State University of New York. Although the label located there, Alone Records, might only be loosely associated with the college, I like to imagine that it takes over Oswego and everyone there knows about the bands on Alone Records. Thus, I was browsing their website one night looking for bands to hear, and stumbled upon a track by the group The Pine.

Although I always say I love punk and hardcore, I only recently realized I only like about 1 percent of it. Probably less; but it's that small portion that I love intensely. But then I hear The Pine and I can not escape them. Their self titled record is the hardest record I have bought in the last year. They sound similar to a Rockets and Bluelights cover band composed of members of Still Life with Matthew Good on vocals. They are really heavy, but also very dynamic.

That, and they attempt to only release music on vinyl.

The first song I ever heard by The Pine was a track called "Growing Calm Together." It was taken from one of their newer albums. Here is a link to it. The Pine - "Growing Calm Together"


Then I heard their early stuff, taken from their first full length and first seven inch. Although some of the titles sound more like Linkin Park tracks, they are great and intense and I love them.
The Pine - early tracks

Links:
Alone Records, Oswego NY
http://www.staticpulse.com/pine/releases.html
http://www.heroine.org/index1.html
http://www.gridsector.com/owsla.html

Notes on The Nineties at Noon

Lately i have been listening to a lot of 94.7 FM "Alternative Radio." I had just assumed that there would be a lot of great stuff on the radio here - incredible stuff on caliper with KEXP or WGSU or WFMU or KCRW - but no.

Instead, I have been enjoying a station that "gets you through your alternative weekday" and plays "the nineties at noon" (despite playing an overwhelming amount of nineties alternative music during all hours of the day).

Anyway, I have still been listening, and thinking about these songs and what they mean. I have listed them in a spectrum - from best to worst - to try to figure out some things about "alternative music." Some bands are listed with actual songs I heard on the air, while some are not.

To prevent this from becoming a cumbersome (lol!) essay, I've left this in the form of notes.

Good:
The dBs "Black and White" By far the best thing I've heard on this station.*
The Cure - anything other than "Friday I'm In Love"
Blur "Charmless Man" and anything other than "Song 2"
Nada Surf "Popular" and "Do It Again" (new one!)
Sublime - yeah love the 'blime
Cake "Frank Sinatra"- anything by them
Primitive Radio Gods "Standing outside a broken phone booth with money in my hand"
Daft Punk - are great! yay!
Hum "Stars" ok this song is great.
Dinosaur Jr. "Feel The Pain"- ok great awesome - Sebadoh too!
The Lemonheads - anything, even "Mrs. Robinson" is well-recieved by me.
The Strokes "12:51" ok this song's guitar used as a synth and great lyrics win me over, no probs
The Smashing Pumpkins - anything by them, even "Perfect" is great.
Weezer "Say it ain't so" (always great especially when DJ announces song as "Say It Isn't So" lol)
Matisyahu - "King without a crown" - this is some reggae dude or something that is a big change at any point and is listenable so I give it the thumbs up!
The Talking Heads, The Clash, Green Day, Radiohead (with an enthusiastic YES!)
Beastie Boys - still fun
The Ocean Blue
The White Stripes - because why not?!
The Verve "Lucky Man" - ok I bought this album back in the day. yeah orchestral britpop i'll take it.

Middle Ground:
Gorillaz "Dare" - I like this but the song doesn't really go anywhere and isn't dynamic enough. The Gorillaz are awesome, though, so I have high standards.
Poe "Angry Johnny"
She Wants Revenge - Who is this band? Sounds like a rip off of Interpol and Interpol is a rip off of Joy Division so i can't hate them for that. anyway i guess this is the middle ground because I don't care either way about this band, but still stomach it as something new.
Everclear "I Will Buy You A New Life"
Blink 182
Sponge "Wax Ecstatic" : woke up with this one in my head and I guess that means it doesn't suck REM "It's the End of the world as we know it (and i feel fine)" please play anything by REM besides this

Bad:
Pearl Jam - anything
Luscious Jackson "With my naked eye" (they played a jungle remix or was this the original. who cares this sux.)
Coldplay - anything except "Yellow" that song is ok.
Beck "Devil's Haircut" - sorry Beck you don't do it for me...
Weezer "Such a pity" (man this song blows even though it's new. It sounds autotuned, even, which is just sad for such a talented group. The lyrics are horrible and sound like they were translated back and forth between english and japanese a handful of times, literally. - see addendum)
Temple of The Dog - I am never hungry for that "i'm going hungry" song
Stone Temple Pilots
Blur "Song 2" aka Blur "Whoo hoo"
Dishwalla "Counting Blue Cars"
The Cure "Friday I'm In Love" played on a day other than Friday
U2 - Bono is cool but I just don't ever feel like listening to U2, sorry dudes.
The Police "Roxanne" not this one again, please
Nirvana
Foo Fighters
Queens of The Stone Age
Jane's Addiction "Jane Says"
Bush "Glycerine"
Soundgarden
Audioslave "Be Yourself"

* - this was heard on a late night sunday broadcast, not an alternative weekday.
--
Addendum:
Lyrics to "This Is Such A Pity" by Weezer

How is your heart, little darling?
I didn't mean to get so made
Let me just hold you closely
How did things get so bad?
I know how to pick on you
You push me over the edge
We cause so much agony
We can't seem to move ahead

This is such a pity
We should give all our love to each other
Not this hate that destroys us
This is such a pity(This is a pity)

What kind of future will we have?
Will we ever find peace?
Everybody thinks we're crazy
They're about to call the police
I don't want to be a chump
You think I'm a fascist pig
Right now everything is black
I don't think we'll ever give

This is such a pity
We should give all our love to each other
Not this hate that destroys us
This is such a pity(This is a pity)

This is such a pity
We should give all our love to each other
Not this hate that destroys us
This is such a pity(This is a pity)

This is such a pity
We should give
We should give our love(Destroys us)Our love...

Pictures

Kalpana / L-R: drew, blair, aaron, michael / march 2004


The GAN / L-R: dan, jeff, zach / march 2004


The Detachment Kit (NYC) / September 6, 2004


The Pink Cammies / L-R: russell, brad, jeff / feb 11, 2005

[I was checking up on WGSU, and it seems they have a gallery of pictures. Many of these pictures were taken at shows I organized or promoted at SUNY Geneseo, and surprisingly many were shots I had not seen. These four are some of the best ones there.]

[click on the pink cammies one - it gets bigger]