Wednesday, December 13, 2006

but i know i'm a fool

i had tackled my bloody valentine. i was thirsty. i wanted more, though i had learned my lesson; i wasnt looking for imitators...just something with the same soul. the same drive. the same power. somehow, i ended up leaving Blue Dog with mazzy star's "so tonight that i might see," one of the most lazy-night-time, slowest tempo records that i own. this became night music; the soundtrack to my sleepless youth. you cant listen to this record during the day. you just cant. it doesnt make sense.

on some random weekend home from college, i wandered into Blue Dog with $7 in my pocket (i had spent the other $8 i had at the coffee shop just up the block). after sifting through every used 12" and 7" they had, i wandered up to the too-cool-for-school cashier, paul, the guitarist in local shoegaze heroes Skywave. we talked for a bit before i noticed, on the counter, the handful of singles and rare import ep's they had in a small make-shift stand. amidst all the brightly colored singles from AWESOME bands like smash-mouth, was this subtle, black slip-cased 4-song ep. it was like an epiphany. it's understated cover called to me 'hunter, pick me up.'

it read, simply, 'hope sandoval and the warm inventions-at the doorway again.' i couldn't believe it. hope sandoval of mazzy star fame?!
my bloody valentines colm o'ciosoig?! how could it be? i should note these were the days where the internet was used to download songs off of napster. usually you typed in a band you already knew, and selected ALL of their songs they had released and hit 'download.' or i would use the web to track down new artists by going to mp3.com and link hopping (this is how i found a great band called moonbabies i highly recommend everyone checking out especially if you can track down their "June & Novas" LP). i never thought to surf the web to find updates about bands i already liked. so how was i to know members from these two staples of my aural diet had combined forces? i was blown away.

the ep alone, were that the only thing we would have heard out of this group, would have made my list. i hastily snapped up the ONLY vinyl copy that blue dog got in stock. but then i then learned this ep was a pre-cursor. needless to say, upon the release of the full-length, i went nuts. as nuts as one can go to 100bpm. its soft and sexy. the ambiance drives this record almost as much as hope's sultry voice. when i listen to this at night, it's night music; the haunting drones become more apparent. when i pop it in during the summer, the warm words and loose acoustic guitar make so much sense. in the winter months, the chilling honesty, and pin-pricks of glockenspiel and vibraphone make their presence known. this album is a mood ring, and i am the hippy wearing it. there isnt much of a story to relay other than that, as when i listen to this record time stops, and everything else goes away except me, hope and colm.

hey papa shoegaze, cut me off a slice!

#13


HOPE SANDOVAL & THE WARM INVENTIONS-bavarian fruit bread
RELEASE DATE: October 23, 2001
LABEL: Sanctuary Records/rough trade

****in case anyone is excited about this as i am, apparently hope sandoval, colm
o'ciosoig, kevin shields (my bloody valentine) and david roback (of mazzy star) have contributed some work to this record: Le Volume Courbe-I Killed My Best Friend****

1 comment:

Papa Shoegaze said...

as if she needs more play...