Gig #40: Sebadoh

‘As much a collective of musicians as a band, Sebadoh was the quintessential lo-fi band of the ’90s. Sebadoh’s music was a virtual catalog of ’80s alternative rock and ’90s indie rock, featuring everything from jangle pop to noise rock experimentalism. The band began as a home-recording project that Lou Barlow and drummer/ songwriter Eric Gaffney began in 1987. Sebadoh soon developed into a backing band for both Barlow and Eric Gaffney, as each submitted home-recorded tapes for release and toured behind the albums. Eventually adding bassist/ songwriter Jason Loewenstein, the trio became an indie rock sensation, as well-known for the size and inconsistency of its output as the music itself. Often, Sebadoh sounded schizophrenic, flipping between Barlow’s sensitive folk-rock and Gaffney’s noise experiments without warning. This very diversity became the band’s calling card, and by 1992 the band had earned a devoted following.

‘In 1987, Barlow released Weed Forestin’, a cassette of acoustic songs he had recorded at home on a four-track recorder, under the name Sentridoh. The cassette was sold at local Massachusetts record stores. Eric Gaffney contributed percussion to Weed Forestin’, and when Barlow had a break from Dinosaur in 1988, the duo recorded The Freed Man, which consisted of songs by both songwriters. Also released as a homemade cassette, The Freed Man worked its way to Gerard Cosloy, the head of Homestead Records. Cosloy offered to release the cassette on his record label, and the tape was revised and expanded into a full-length album. Homestead released The Freed Man in 1989, and shortly after its appearance Mascis kicked Barlow out of Dinosaur, and Lou turned his attentions toward Sebadoh. A revised and expanded Weed Forestin’ was released in early 1990; the two records were combined on the CD The Freed Weed later that year.

‘By the end of 1989, Sebadoh added a full-time drummer, Jason Loewenstein, on the suggestion of Gaffney. Sebadoh began playing concerts regularly, concentrating on Gaffney’s material and throwing in a few Barlow songs for good measure. Where their albums were acoustic-oriented, their concerts were noisy ventures into post-hardcore and Sonic Youth territory. Over the course of 1990, the group was active only sporadically, deciding whether they wanted to pursue a full-fledged career; a few 7″ singles of primarily acoustic material appeared that year. As of early 1991, the band began recording electric material, as evidenced by the EP Gimme Indie Rock! Released early in 1991, Sebadoh III was divided between Gaffney’s electric songs and acoustic material by Barlow and Loewenstein. The band was prepared to embark on its first major tour when Gaffney abruptly left the band before its start. Barlow and Loewenstein carried on, initially performing shows as a duo, but soon hiring Bob Fay as a drummer. Upon the completion of the tour, Gaffney returned to the band, but during his absence, the direction of Sebadoh’s music had shifted away from his songs and toward Barlow’s.

‘Following a full-length national tour in the fall of 1991, Sebadoh recorded five of Barlow’s songs as a demo tape that served as its gateway to contracts with Sub Pop in the U.S. and City Slang/20/20 in the U.K. Gaffney left the band at the end of the year, and the group again hired Fay as a replacement. With Fay, Sebadoh toured America and Europe in early 1992, recording the British EPs Rocking the Forest and Sebadoh vs. Helmet, which were combined later that year on the Sub Pop album Smash Your Head on the Punk Rock. Gaffney again returned to the band after Sebadoh released these recordings, with Fay again leaving the band. Barlow and Loewenstein had begun to tire of Gaffney’s constant sabbaticals, and Lou returned to his Sentridoh project, releasing a series of EPs, 7″ singles, and cassettes over the course of 1993 and 1994. Sebadoh released its fifth album, Bubble and Scrape, in the spring of 1993 and spent the remainder of the year touring behind the record, building their cult across America and Britain. Gaffney left for a final time in the fall of 1993 and Fay became his permanent replacement.

‘Before recording the sixth Sebadoh album, Barlow began a new band with John Davis called the Folk Implosion; the duo released three recordings over the course of 1994. Sebadoh returned with Bakesale, their first album without Eric Gaffney, in the summer of 1994. Boasting a somewhat more accessible sound, Bakesale became the group’s most successful album to date, generating the near-modern rock hit “Rebound.” The band took a break in 1995 and the Folk Implosion recorded the soundtrack to the controversial independent film Kids. Surprisingly, Kids spawned a genuine hit single with the haunting, hip-hop-tinged “Natural One,” which climbed all the way into the Top 30 of the U.S. pop charts. In light of the success of “Natural One,” Sebadoh’s next record, Harmacy, was expected to be a hit upon its fall 1996 release. Though it didn’t match commercial expectations raised by “Natural One,” Harmacy expanded the success of Bakesale, becoming the first Sebadoh album to chart in the U.S..’ — collaged

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True Hardcore (1989)
‘Feeling alienated by his bandmates in Dinosaur Jr, Lou Barlow began using spare moments to delve deeper into his long-term hobby of home recording, finding life in a 4-track tape recorder his parents had supplied him with as a youth. He soon located a kindred spirit in hardcore fanzine scribe Eric Gaffney and the two set about experimenting with found sounds and recording short, hooky songs, inspired by their newfound penchant for dope smoking. … ‘ — Drowned in Sound

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Ocean (1989, live in 1996)
‘… In the summer of ‘88, the pair compiled a tape’s worth of songs which they distributed to local record stores and sold for $1. The title The Freed Man was, in part, a reference to Barlow’s increasingly fractious relationship with Dinosaur Jr mainman J Mascis, but also painted a succinct picture of a record that allowed every stoned idea and jokey aside to flow free. A beacon of non-conformity in the slick, sheeny hard rock landscape of late ‘80s America, The Freed Man stands up alongside works by Daniel Johnston and Half Japanese as an intimate portrait of the abounding creativity that flourished outside the glare of the spotlight.’ — Drowned in Sound

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Sexual Confusion/Three Times a Day (1990)
‘In 1986, while Lou Barlow was tracking You’re Living All Over Me with Dinosaur Jr., he made a cassette of four-track recordings titled Weed Forestin’ in his parents’ basement. It was Barlow’s first collection of solo home recordings, released under the name Sentridoh in 1987 in an approximate edition of 100. It included versions of future Sebadoh songs like “Brand New Love” and “It’s So Hard to Fall in Love”. Later, in 1990, it was released by Homestead under the name of Barlow’s other band, Sebadoh. Barlow and friend Maxwell Wood are now reissuing Weed Forestin’. They unearthed the original four-track recordings to “restore” the tape’s fidelity.’ — Pitchfork

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Ride the Darker Wave (1990)
‘The press release to Weed Forestin’ boasted that it, unlike their debut, “was actually recorded with the knowledge that it would be released.” Apparently Lou Barlow and Eric Gaffney had a pretty clear crystal ball; the music was taped in 1986 and 1987 but didn’t actually come out on vinyl until 1990. Sebadoh’s first LP, The Freed Man, boasts some of the most deliberately awful fidelity of all time (against some stiff competition); this is somewhat, but only somewhat, more hi-fi. Barlow’s gifts are often in evidence: his appealing voice, sensitive wit, and knack for affected burned-out acid-folk.’ — allmusic

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The Freed Pig (1991)
‘Reviewing an album that functioned as such a personal watershed obviously presents the opportunity for nostalgia-induced hyperbole, but even after taking a step back from III it still deserves every last bit of praise. Sebadoh followed this effort with other fine moments; nowhere else did they so perfectly meld rickety folk, tin-can guitar, Shrimper-style ambiance, feedbacking “power sludge,” eccentric compositional constructions, carcinogenic hooks, and poetic sincerity. Over the years since its release, the “I’m just me! Listen to me! A whole all-American original!” mantra that surfaces amid the trembly acoustic boom of “Downnmind” has become more than just tongue-in-cheek tomfoolery: Even if Lou, Eric, and Jason didn’t know it at the time, those stoner fucks created something essential. I haven’t heard anything like it since.’ — Brandon Stosuy

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Truly Great Thing (1991)
‘Sebadoh III, a pillar of ’90s indie rock, really was an instant classic, worthy of this beefed-up re-release to mark its fifteen-year anniversary. Just like it’s been said that the Ramones simply took Beach Boys prettiness and rapidly sped it up, the members of Sebadoh can bury their tunes in as much bong resin and garage fuzz as humanly possible, but none of that can truly hide the underlying beauty of the music. Sebadoh III was a sprawling, magical mess. Often mentioned in the same breath as Pavement’s Slanted and Enchanted, it’s easy to forget that this was Sebadoh’s third full-length, not its debut, so should more rightly be compared to Wowee Zowee. But even that wide-ranger had only eighteen tracks, compared to III‘s twenty-three.’ — Prefix

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Perverted World (1991)
‘Along with Pavement’s Slanted & Enchanted, Sebadoh III is one of the cornerstones of ’90s indie rock, establishing the dubious lo-fi style as a credible subgenre. Though the recording techniques give the album a distinctive, hazy atmosphere, the music itself is fascinating. Divided between contributions from Lou Barlow, Eric Gaffney, and Jason Loewenstein, Sebadoh III doesn’t necessarily offer a coherent listen. Instead, it’s a variety of unexpected detours, with each track offering something different from what preceded. Barlow immediately distinguishes himself with his folky acoustic musings, which not only have sensitivity to spare, but also strong melodies. Gaffney, on the other hand, consigns himself to the role of hardcore noise rocker, often with varying results. Loewenstein falls between the two extremes, acting as a bridge between the two songwriters. With such a variety of styles and sounds, Sebadoh III is a kaleidoscopic summation of various American underground rock genres of the ’80s, as well as a launching pad for the introspective obsessions of ’90s indie rock.’ — collaged

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God Told Me (1991)
‘Hitting the record bins after The Freed Man and Weed Forestin’, III added bassist/drummer/third vocalist/middle man Jason Loewenstein, solidifying the band’s prime formation. Song-wise, Barlow was still smarting about his unceremonious firing from Dinosaur Jr.– along with his anxious relationship with on-off girlfriend and future wife, Kathleen Billus. Accordingly, his best songs call out Mascis (“The Freed Pig”‘s insistently angular guitar jab) and/or pine for/praise his lady (the gorgeous “Kath”). Gaffney, on the other hand, displays a darker vibe, documenting his fucked-up family life (“As The World Dies, The Eyes of God Grow Bigger”, with his dad fried on liquid LSD, young Eric’s head hitting concrete, grandma getting stoned), “Violet Execution”, and “Scars, Four Eyes” (co-written with Barlow). Even the covers– the Minutemen’s “Sickles and Hammers” and a warped rendition of Johnny Mathis’ “Wonderful, Wonderful”– comfortably snuggle into the grainy, duct-tapped landscape. There are some Loewenstein-penned stinkers (see “Smoke a Bowl”) and average bits (the country jangle of “Black-Haired Girl”), but the lows are so fucked up and indulgent, they become an integral part of its imperfect charm. If you remove one, the structure topples.’ — Brandon Stosuy

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As the World Dies, the Eyes of God Grow Bigger (1991)
‘The culmination—and III’s ultimate and logical conclusion—is the autobiographical anti-tune, “As the World Dies, the Eyes of God Grow Bigger,” a sort of nervous breakdown sneeringly set to tape. This is Gaffney in nuce—exaggerated into pure parody. The lullaby lyrical delivery is alternated with demonic raving; the instrumentation responds in kind until the whole thing disintegrates into pure energy. Ever eager to don the jester hat, Gaffney brings down the big fucking bummer over the heads of every university jock that decided to ingest a bit of windowpane and rock some “lo-fi.” Blood on the walls.’ — Stylus Magazine

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Brand New Love (1992)
‘Sebadoh made its Sub Pop debut with Smash Your Head on the Punk Rock, which collects the highlights of the import compilations Rockin’ the Forest and Sebadoh vs. Helmet. Lou Barlow’s contributions are the gems here, especially the transcendent “Brand New Love,” which first appeared in acoustic form on Weed Forestin’ (and was later punked up by Superchunk); almost as good are “Vampire” and “Good Things,” while an apt and poignant cover of David Crosby’s “Everybody’s Been Burned” underscores the emotional frailty which binds all of Barlow’s work.’ — allmusic

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Vampire (1992)
‘Recorded in a slaughterhouse, Bubble & Scrape took 1991’s III‘s improved focus and spread it over a whole LP. That’s impressive, given that founder/drummer Eric Gaffney was barely present and would soon quit (until 2007’s reunion tour). Good thing bassist Jason Lowenstein shouldered a greater load, writing and singing equal to ex-Dinosaur Jr. staple Lou Barlow, who himself was coming into his own. Gaffney still contributes six atonal-racket, anti-pop Sonic Youth-like numbers (welcome variety), but Lowenstein and Barlow demonstrate an abiding jones for bitingly catchy passages. In particular, for every “Sacred Attention” Barlow offers in the mode of III‘s hot “The Freed Pig,” he now sprinkles lovelorn folk-ditty laments, such as the opening, gripping “Soul and Fire.” Meanwhile Lowenstein’s “Happily Divided” and “Sixteen” proffer loud, hard adrenalin pop.’ — collaged

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Happily Divided (1993)
‘Originally released in 1994, Sebadoh’s Bubble And Scrape caught the fiery experimenters in a somewhat bewildering mood. There are, broadly speaking, two colours to this record: black and red. The black stuff rarely trickles over two minutes per nugget, the red stuff is slightly longer and sweeter. A lot of Bubble And Scrape is stoner’s whimsy (who can forget the guitar harmonies and DIY bong references in ‘Homemade’?), but behind the humour and workhouse-style manner of songwriting and production lies some of Sebadoh’s purest and most humanly conceived songs. There are several corners of squall and screaming that remind us that we’re dealing with the slightly deranged but ultimately, despite its dualities, Bubble And Scrape has always been one of the band’s warmer records.’ — Drowned in Sound

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Homemade (1993)
‘The reason I love this album and consider it superior to anything else Sebadoh ever recorded is actually pretty simple: Bubble and Scrape is a team effort. It’s not just about Lou’s seven contributions or Eric’s six; the four Jason Loewenstein compositions are just as vital to the record’s success. There are no bad tracks, and while most of the record could be classified as lo-fi indie-rock there is far more variety than on the more polished latter day Sebadoh albums. Eight years on from my first Bubble and Scrape experience, I’m still finding new things to enjoy in the record. Over-familiarity has certainly killed a few great tunes (Lou Barlow’s “Soul and Fire” springs to mind) but the better Eric Gaffney offerings still sound mind-blowing on the right stereo at the right volume.’ — No Ripcord

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Flood (1993)
‘Their first entirely studio recorded release, Bubble and Scrape is a genuinely democratic effort. Songwriting duties are shared between the three members, creating a feel akin to wandering the rooms of an abandoned, seedy motel where strip lights flicker and shadows advance and retreat. Barlow offers folkish nuance and fragile invective on tracks like “Think (Let Tomorrow Bee)” – one filter tip away from disintegration. Many have dubbed Bubble and Scrape Sebadoh’s first truly accessible album; a slightly Pyrrhic victory, and one that sounds a touch pejorative to their complexity on this record.’ — BBC

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Rebound (1994)
‘One of the strongest pillars of underground music during the ’90s—and part of the lo-fi holy trinity that also included Pavement and Guided By Voices—Sebadoh put its best foot forward in 1994 with Bakesale, giving frontman Lou Barlow vindication and validation after Dinosaur Jr. booted him five years earlier. With Eric Gaffney no longer part of the songwriting equation—he just plays drums on four tracks here—Barlow and Jason Loewenstein stepped up and delivered a steady stream of classic pensive indie rock and unhinged rockers, and it rightfully catapulted the band into the upper echelon of the genre. (Though it took another year for Barlow to gain mainstream attention, via Folk Implosion’s improbable radio hit “Natural One” from the Kids soundtrack.)’ — The AV Club

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Got It (1994, live in 2011)
‘The early- and mid-90s were great years for albums that brought punk’s two-minute punchiness together with the earnest relationship laments that briefly defined that slippery terrain known as indie rock. And Bakesale is one of the era’s best. If it’s got fewer romance-gone-wrong epics than Superchunk’s Foolish and lacks the emphatic guitar-snarl of Archers of Loaf’s Icky Mettle, it combines bits of both tendencies into 15 songs that rarely outstay their welcome. Unlike Sebadoh’s scattershot early albums, it works as a brief, memorable whole. The band probably wasn’t trying to make a statement– that sort of ran counter to the whole aesthetic back then– but by tightening up and aiming for clarity, they managed one anyway.’ — Pitchfork

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Drama Mine (1994)
‘Much has been written about Lou Barlow’s lo-fi songs of love and heartbreak (he remains something of the eternal teenager), much less so about Loewenstein’s turbulent, sometimes furious moments. Yet Bakesale was not just the moment that he came into bloom as a songwriter – it also perhaps marked his premature creative peak. Songs like “Got It”, “S. Soup” and, especially, “Careful”, are as vital in the Sebadoh catalogue as anything Barlow has written. Whereas Eric Gaffney could be frustratingly obtuse, Loewenstein was aggressive, direct and untamed in his delivery. His songs here have the unmediated raw energy of punk, but with a much rarer melodic skill. His vocals are impressive throughout and “Careful” remains one of the key songs of this era of American indie.’ — Music OMH

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Skull (1994)
‘Even if it flew under the radar a bit, though, you can hardly call Bakesale underrated. It landed on its share of year-end lists (and even fell in Spin’s top 20 albums of the year) and garnered plenty of praise. It’s also an album released on the same day as Barlow’s old band, Dinosaur Jr, put out an album (Without a Sound) that is considered their worst. Meanwhile, many consider Bakesale the height of Sebadoh’s powers, and the line on it has always been it is their most direct and tuneful album. Tuneful as it may be, it is also the most brooding indie rock record of the bunch mentioned here, but it can also hold its own with any of them (and yes, that includes the untouchable Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain). Before 1994, Sebadoh records were unpredictable, often lo-fi, slapdash affairs. Lou Barlow delivered the moody indie-pop, Jason Loewenstein slowly but surely grew into the band’s jagged rocker, and Eric Gaffney was their agent of chaos (check Sebadoh III’s unruly “As the World Dies, the Eyes of God Grow Bigger” for evidence). Without Gaffney–sort of, he plays on four tracks —Bakesale lost its structureless, screeching antics but not its sense of shifting tones and tempos.’ –collaged

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Ocean (1996)
‘Part of Sebadoh’s charm is that their records are always rather inconsistent, flipping wildly between sonic extremes as well as musical genres. In a sense, Harmacy is no different than its predecessors, but there are some crucial differences that makes it their most accessible effort. Previously, that title was held by 1994’s Bakesale, but in between that record and Harmacy, Lou Barlow had a genuine Top 40 hit with the Folk Implosion’s “Natural One.” Although nothing on Harmacy sounds much like the hip-hop hybrid of “Natural One,” its success did have an effect on Barlow, leading him toward more straightforward song structures and cleaner productions — “Willing to Wait” even features strings. Instead of diluting the impact of Sebadoh’s music, the clearer production actually strengthens it.’ — allmusic

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Love to Fight (1996, live in 2012)
‘Lo-fi indie rock is probably the greatest thing since ejaculation, and I’m not taking any chances. I’m loving it full-on. Show no mercy. No holds barred. Full-on, baby. I mean, come on! Home recordings of people mixing the pop sounds of ’60s with the firey glam-rock of the ’70s! What’s not to love? And Sebadoh clearly stand out as indie rock champs along with other home tapers like Guided By Voices and Jack Logan. These are the guys that are going down in history as The Real Shit. Harmacy just further proves Sebadoh are among the rulers of the rock-n-roll wetdream they call “independence.”‘ — Pitchfork

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Zone Doubt (1994)
‘As with its predecessor, Bakesale, the songwriting on Harmacy was handled primarily by Loewenstein and founding member Lou Barlow, with Fay contributing the lone track, “Sforzando!,” and the band covering “I Smell a Rat” by American hard rock band The Bags. Their cover was featured on the soundtrack for the 1998 American comedy-thriller film Homegrown. Like Bakesale, the album found Sebadoh flirting “with (relatively) polished production”, as well as a pervasive use of electric guitars and longer song structures, marking a clear departure from the band’s lo-fi, often acoustic earlier albums like their landmark release, Sebadoh III (1991).’ — collaged

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p.s. Hey. So, I seem to be back. How’s it? The Scandinavia theme park-centric road trip was incredible, and I guess I’ll put together a post about it since there’s way too much to go into in this p.s. intro context, and I have a ton of comments to catch up with now, so I’ll see if I can do that before I head off to Japan, if possible, although my traveler pal Zac did the documenting, and I don’t know if I can coordinate the editing and transfer of imagery with him in the shortish time between trips, and I also have the busyness around the premiere of ‘The Pyre’ on Wednesday to deal with, but I’ll try. For now, here’s Zac’s and my ranking of the theme parks we visited in order: (great:) 1. Bon Bon Land (Denmark), 2. Astrid Lindgren’s World (Sweden), (really good:) 3. Tivoli Gardens (Denmark), 4. Liseberg (Sweden), 5. Kongenpark (Norway), 6. Djurs Sommerland (Denmark), (good:) 7. Gronalund (Sweden), 8. Tusenfyrd (Norway), (okay/weird:) 9. Bakken (Denmark), 10. Farup Sommerland (Denmark), (bad:) 11. Legoland (Denmark), 12. Frieheden (Denmark). Also, it wasn’t technically part of our trip, but rather a kind of bonus track/p.s., but Efteling in Holland is really great and one of the best theme parks we’ve ever seen. Okay, now I’ll catch up. Given that I have a lot of days to do, I’ll keep my talk brief ‘cos I have to get out and about soon, so apologies, and at least we’ll get up to date. ** 5/13 ** David Ehrenstein, Long time so see, sir. Good morning. ** Rewritedept, Hey, man! That amp sounds sweet. Have you got it now? Wait, you said ‘end of the month’, so probably not. Won’t make it to LA for that gig barring the unforeseen, but, hey, enjoy the shit or its opposite out of it. ** Steevee, Hi! Did you sort out the didacticism issue/fear? ** Misanthrope, Hi, George! I think you might be on UK soil by now, no? Are you hooked up? I’ll see you in just a few days, whoa. ** S., Hi there, S! I see I have a lot of Emo stackage to catch up with, which is, if course an awesome thing, and I’ll start with ‘Visual Lies’. Everyone, the first of a least several no doubt superb Emo stacks by the maestro S. that I’ll be alerting you to today is here. ** _Black_Acrylic, Hi, Ben! I’ll be meeting and seeing you super pronto! When do you get here? Let me know. I remember that list of strangest amusement parks that you posted while I was gone, and I’ll be going to one of them (Harmony Land) when hit Tokyo next week. ** 5/14 ** Rigby, Hey, R! Why aren’t you following George over here to Paris? Or maybe you are? Thanks for saying that about the then-contemporaneous posts! ** Bill, Howdy, Bill! Trip was excellence incarnate, and I imagine it was excellent on the day that you asked me if it was excellent. I think you’re already in Korea now? ** S., Wait, this second stack is the same one as the first stack. I’m confused. ** Misanthrope, As your comment appeared on the day of the ‘Sad Story’ post, I’m assuming that you were referring to that related comment on FB. I actually found that comment quite ugly and disturbing at the time, although now it’s just a hazy memory. ** Thomas Moronic, Hi, T! Your book must be out now! I need to get one from Kiddiepunk! I will! Sweet story about Jonathan Brandis. I think I told you back when that I used to see him around occasionally because we had the same favorite DVD rental store, and I think that in-person time contributed to his death being especially sad and shocking to me. Are you good? ** Jeff, Hi, Jeff! I am indeed very glad that my relaunching of your great post brought you back here, and thank you again for making it too. Antoine Volodine: No, I haven’t read him, I don’t think, but his stuff does look very interesting, so I’ll get a book of his and start. Thanks! ** 5/15 ** Tosh, Hi there, Tosh! How’s everything? Thanks re: the month’s escorts. My understanding is that Gondry’s ‘L’écume des jours’ didn’t do very well here, or wasn’t the success, critically or commercially, that it was expected to be, but I don’t know the details, and maybe you do by now. ** Cobaltfram, Hi, John! Hm, I guess it makes sense if the escorts seem like characters from my books since I selected them, but I’ve never thought about it that way before or maybe only fleetingly. Yeah, I read the entirety of ‘GFoL’, which is rather unusual for me. Usually I read novels until I feel like I’ve completely gotten how they’re doing what they do, and then I tend to move on. What did you think of it, ultimately? ** David Ehrenstein, A hearty hello. ** S., Scandinavia was/is awesome, yes. How’s it going? I don’t agree with you about Jonathan Brandis’ external virtues or lack thereof, I don’t think. Wow, again the new stack linkage keeps bringing up the same stack. Are the multiple titles part of its meaning? ** Bill, Hey. No, the Scandinavia trip did neither invite nor require the input from the area’s escorting crew. Glad that that gig went well, network lack of full cooperation not withstanding. ** Rigby, Hah! ** Sypha, You couldn’t have been any quieter than I was, so high five to you, fellow silent one. I’m hoping and even assuming that your mood has improved over the course of the succeeding days. ** Steevee, Hi, Steve! I’ll go check back on Ryan Sharp. Oh, the porn star. Hunh, interesting. ** Rewritedept, Hi, man. No didn’t see that festival line-up. I’ve been indisposed. Nice about the puppy. You still into him/her? The trip was going great when you asked and continued to go that way. ** Un Cœur Blanc, Hi! How really nice to see you! I was vacationing too. And working while I was vacationing too. Are you doing okay and hopefully much better than okay? ** 5/17 ** David Ehrenstein, ‘Oslo, August 31’ was indeed an excellent film, I agree. ** _Black_Acrylic, ‘Car crash’? Oops, interesting. I’ll see the show when I’m at the Pompidou for the final dress rehearsal tomorrow. ** Sypha, Really? That was my first rerun of your handiwork? Strange. I’ll continue to rectify that lack. ** S., Same stack? ** Steevee, No, no Black Metal Oslo tour. We had hoped to go to the Black Metal Museum while we were there, but it no longer exists, sadly. ** 5/18 ** Unknown, Hi, Pascal! How’s life and everything that it has to provide? ** David Ehrenstein, Yes, it was legalized while I was gone, and chaos of a sort from the worst corner of French ‘society’ has seemed to ensue, from what I read. ** Colin, Wow, Colin, hey! How are you? Holy shit, it’s really nice to see you! I’ve missed you! What’s going on? Any chance for a catch up? ** Thomas Moronic, I read your excellent Deerhunter review on the road. Kudos, and I agree! Everyone, if you missed it, here is Thomas Moronic’s great review of the new and great Deerhunter album ‘Monomania’ over on the great Fanzine site. A must read. ** MANCY, Hi, man! The new Greenaway is a good one? Cool. He’s so uneven. It must have been super interesting to see/hear him talk. Very excited to watch your new Vimeo thing, which I’ll do just a bit later. Great! Everyone, the amazing artist MANCY aka Stephen Purtill is ready to fuck you up genius-style anew over on Vimeo, and, more specifically, right here. ** S., Same stack again. Weird, but part of your complicated and dastardly plan, no doubt. ** Nemo, Hi, Joey! Oh, okay, I’ll get in touch with Joel if I can. I think he’s still on his vacation. Hm.  Love, me. ** Grant Scicluna, Hi, Grant! Awesome to see you! Bellamy-wise, I would start with ‘The Letters of Mina Harker’, although she’s always great. Excellent about your having finished the first pass! Are you past the first pass by now? I get weird and distant when I’m heavily into writing too. I think it’s a positive sign. Wow, did I know you’re adapting a Todd Grimson story? Wait, maybe I did. What a fantastic combination: you/Todd. I’ll be in LA for at least a big chunk of October, but when do you think you’ll come to Paris around then? Maybe we can coordinate something. ** David Ehrenstein, Hi, D. ** Kevin Killian, Ah, Kevin! Here! In my humble ‘abode’! Welcome, and thank you, buddy! It is really hard to imagine Twitter central being around the corner from you. And the news of the collateral damage is a sound for sad ears. Great that, apart from the super weirdness at the country’s border, your Toronto trip went so well. Wow, ‘Dear World’, I hadn’t thought of it in ages. What a fine zine that was. And you saw all those incredible fellow superstars! I salute you infinite times over, K! ** Bill, Hi, Bill. Scandinavia was, in fact, very sunny. I have a very impressive tan, I think, if I don’t say so myself. ** Misanthrope, Ealing, wow. Yeah, that’s, uh … you’ll survive. Where are you staying in Paris? ** Brendan, Big B! She is! ** Steevee, Hi, Steve. ** 5/20 ** David Ehrenstein, Thanks for the taste of Godard. Oh, the guy who shot himself in Notre Dame? I had never heard of him, and my French friend Zac had never heard of him either. Oh, surely he wasn’t very respected in France apart from perhaps on the far right of things. Can’t imagine otherwise.  ** Rigby, Hi, Rigby! A library system for the blog? I’m not sure that I completely understand, but that sounds amazing. I mean, yeah, if you want, and if you would enjoy, that seems like it would be incredible. ** S., And yet again! ** Misanthrope, Yeah, Ray Manzarek: RIP. Sorry for your loss, pal. ** Steevee, Hi again, S-ter! ** 5/21 ** David Ehrenstein, He does seem kind of pleasant. ** Sypha, Happy to please! ** Colin, Ha ha, happy to please! Thanks a lot for the link to your Taylor Mead obit. I’ll read that as soon as I’m done. So sad. The great Taylor Mead! I hope his writing is collected and published in a manner that allows it to disperse widely at last because he’s a lovely scribe. ** Steevee, The Notre Dame suicide was weird. You’ve probably read by now that it turns out he was near-death from cancer, and that the anti-gay marriage statement aspect of his suicide now reads as the way he tried to go out with a meaningful bang. ** 5/22 ** Rewritedept, The five days went pretty fast, right? They did on my end anyway. I returned to discover that my TV is broken and in the shop. Have you gotten any forward momentum on that possible novel in the last days? Uh, I think that, re: the Zac Efron ass post, I found the ZE chat/obsession site from which the pieces were taken via … I’m not sure what route anymore. I don’t think I’ve ever watched the Disney Channel even for one second. ** David Ehrenstein, The postman ringing thing: nice. ** _Black_Acrylic, That overcrowding thing seems like something the Pompidou would do, yeah. ** S., Okay, I’m getting it. You deleted all the stacks apart from the most recent one, right? You’re a king of temporality, you are. ** 5/23 ** David Ehrenstein, Hey. Yeah, Zac. I’m pretty sure I mentioned here that he and I were doing the trip together. He’s my best friend. Oh, were you confused by my use of the word ‘companion’? I meant companion in the sense of traveling companion, not in the sense of the coopted meaning re: gay coupledom, if that’s what caused your question mark. ** Paul Curran, Hi, Paul! Oh, we should talk. You leave really soon, no? I’ll hit you up by email, and we’ll figure it out. ** Chris Dankland, Hi, Chris! Yes, you took the words right out of my mouth. ** Bill, Thanks, buddy, re: the thumbnails. They were kind of pretty, right? ** David J. White, Greetings, David! Really great to see you! That’s cool, obviously, about ‘UM’s’ well-being at the Strand. Wish I could have been at your party, natch, and I’ll console myself with the Vimeo version. Thanks! Take care! ** Steevee, Great, I’ll read your ‘BM’ review in a bit. Everyone, here are Steve Erickson aka Steevee’s thoughts on the new Richard Linklater film ‘Before Midnight’, i.e. hit that. ** 5/24 ** S., Hi. ** David Ehrenstein, I missed you too. ** Cobaltfram, I did! Hi! ** Bill, They’re from an episode of the old 60s TV show ‘Flipper’. I am in Paris. Sorry about the lack of details on the trip so far. I’ll get on that. Plus, Zac and I are going to make a collaborative book about the trip, so there’ll be a book for those who want the full scoop. ** _Black_Acrylic, Yeah, I obviously dug that Carney digs GbV. Nice. ** Steevee, Thanks for the Sade essay. It looks really interesting. I’ll read it asap. ** Rewritedept, Those are some cheekbones, you’re right. Everyone, want to see Rewritedept’s slightly younger self’s cheekbones? Uh, I just got home late last night, so it’s hard to tell, but, yeah, I think I’m enjoying being home. That would make sense. ** 5/25 ** Bill, That’s cool. I mean that the post helped tip you in to Evenson’s stuff. So, you are in Korea! How the heck is it? ** Steevee, Somebody answered your question about the R. Zombie tie-in book(s), I think. ** Pilgarlic, Hi, man! Loveliness to see you! The insurgence in Stockholm started about three days after we left. There was no sign that it was coming when we were there, or not that we saw. The drive was intense, and my poor friend Zac had to do all of it due to my expired driver’s license and, more significantly, due to the manual drive rental car, since I can do manual drive cars. But it was great. We took a drive from Oslo to Stavanger, Norway that was the most beautiful, mindblowing drive/landscape I’ve ever seen. Norway is really, really something, geographically. I don’t make outlines for my fiction, but I make these weird graphs that lay out the structure I want to use in advance, so that’s kind of similar. Everyone, here’s a question for you from the great Pilgarlic. Please answer, if you can. Here he is: ‘A young friend of mine who has taken up the mantle of writing posted a blog about “pantsing”, or, the act of writing by the seat of one’s pants, forgoing an outline. She asked if I did the same, and I had to answer that for non-fiction I was a pantser, but, for fiction I wasn’t. On my part, an outline helps me consolidate my ideas, and keeps me from going off on so many tangents. How about you ? How about all you d.l.’s ? ‘ ** Steevee, Mm, I’m not sure, but the French don’t tend to confuse culture with real/life politics as a general rule, so my guess would be the far right won’t try to exploit the Cannes thing, or barely, but we’ll see. ** Jeff, Hi, Jeff. Cool that you looked up Ollier. I’m going to try another repost of that post during my Japan trip, and hopefully it’ll work this time. Like Guyotat? Hm, I don’t know. It never occurred to me before, but I’ll have an actual think-fest about that possible comparison. Interesting. Thanks, Jeff. I hope all is well with you too. ** Paul P., Hi, Paul! I’ll look for the Roth package. Nice. It might have arrived while I was away. I haven’t asked Yury for my accumulated mail yet. Super great if you guys come back to the Recollets this fall. Would be very sweet. ** Chris Dankland, Hi, Chris. I still really want to see ‘LoS’. I don’t think it has arrived here yet. Evenson is very interesting, yeah. Blake is right. No, I was in Scandinavia: Denmark, Sweden, Norway. We didn’t have time to include Finland, sadly. I head off to Japan next week. Mm, I think the best place we went on the trip was the incredible drive from Oslo to Stavanger. Otherwise, like I said up top, Bon Bon Land was the best theme park. Insane! Worth a trip to Denmark in and of itself. ** S., So, I’m going to have a guess and say that the stack I have clicked over to and seen a number of times this morning is in fact the one titled ‘Around’, no? Looks great. I’ll check it for complexity shortly. ** Right. I think we’re up to snuff or whatever now. Someone around here asked for a Sebadoh post a while back, and here it is. It’s been a while since I’ve said ‘See you tomorrow’. But I will!