Marine Research - "Queen B" 7"

Marine Research – “Queen B” 7”

Where It’s At is Where You Are, 1998

Acquired: End of an Ear, Used, 2008

Price: $4

 

From the ashes of Heavenly came Marine Research. Actually, Marine Research is basically just Heavenly without drummer Matthew Fletcher, who tragically committed suicide in 1996 (The Hold Steady paid tender tribute to Matthew and the band on the track “We Can Get Together” from their album Heaven is Whenever with the line “He wasn’t just the drummer/He was the singer’s younger brother”). Somehow, Amelia Fletcher soldiered on and though Marine Research’s discography was limited to one LP—1999’s Sounds of the Gulf Stream—and three singles (one a split with Built to Spill, which have I mentioned, is totally wonderful), their more subdued indie pop  was a lovely and fitting goodbye to one of the best twee pop bands. If not thee best twee pop band. Amelia Fletcher had a way of singing that was both cute and surprisingly commanding. There wasn’t anything to write off, because like the best twee, all the cute sweet stuff was undercut with a little sadness. Something she could elegantly layer into Heavenly’s songs with real elegance. I could listen to her sing all day long. Anyone can learn to be a great, professional singer, and though many might find Fletcher’s vocals to be a bit plain, a bit normal, a bit nasal, this is the stuff that makes her songs so human and easy to identify with.

“Queen B” is Marine Research’s finest hour and serves as a great little bookend to Heavenly’s absolutely unreal run of singles. Fortunately, Amelia Fletcher is still around and making music with Tender Trap, and while I don’t think she’ll ever recapture the pure pop bliss of Talulah Gosh and Heavenly, there’s something comforting about knowing she’s still out there making music (and based on the clips I just listened to from Tender Trap’s latest album—2012’s Ten Songs About Girls—her voice is still one of my favorite things on Earth.

"Queen B"

B-side, the gorgeously melancholic, "Y.Y.U.B."

Note: For what it’s worth, Austin’s End of an Ear is in my top 3 favorite record stores in the country. Much better than the maybe more acclaimed and known Waterloo!

Mail Order Children - Thinking of Raising a Family 7"

Mail Order Children – Thinking of Raising a Family 7”

Asian Man Records, 1998

Acquired: Asian Man Records Mail Order, New, 2002

Price: ~$.50

 

While I generally have a certain affection for late 90s ska-punk, Mail Order Children make me feel like I’m on a Tilt-a-Whirl on the verge of vomiting. It’s too fast! This is often a rally cry for certain bands. The whole “We play so fast you can’t keep up with us!” vibe. I guess it works in hardcore punk, where everything gets washed out by power chords and distortion. Here, the music is going 45 RPM and the vocals are going 33. It’s unsettling, and I feel like the grandpa yelling at the teenagers walking on his lawn. Even though I find this whole affair very exhausting, I totally understand how important this stuff was to so many teenagers in the late 90s. The first show I ever went to was an all ages ska show when I was 16. I learned to skank, I had a fucking awesome time, and though this music doesn’t hold up it doesn’t really matter because it was never meant to hold up (you could argue that trumpets and quickly upstroked guitars are the cheesy sax solo of the 90s). Kudos for the horn players for being able to play their instruments blisteringly fast. Another musical trend from the late 90s ska/punk scene that tends to get overlooked is the focus on gross-out humor. Though these songs are fairly tame, the credits feature such jobs as “Bass Rapin’  & Heartbreakin’,” “Trumpetin’ & Bumpinin’,” “Alto Saxin’ & Crotch Waxin’,” “Tenor Tweakin’ & Deep Throatin’,” and “Baritonin’ & Goat Blowin’.” While Though these hopelessly juvenile antics have mostly gone the way of the buffalo (Juggalos excluded), I gotta say, reading the words “Goat Blowin’” warmed the cockles of my heart just a little bit.

Here is an example from an anthology, as the tracks on this 7" are nonexistent in Internet form:

Blindfolded from Mail Order Children on Myspace.

IQU - "Can't You Even Remember That?" Remixes 7"

IQU – “Can’t You Even Remember That?” Remixes 7”

K Records, 1998

Acquired: Half Price Books, Used, 2012

Price: $1

 

It’s kind of fun listening to remixes of a song you haven’t heard. It’s like hearing Jeff Buckley’s version of “Hallelujah” only to realize it’s a Leonard Cohen cover. You listen to the original and your entire impression of the song is a little distorted, because the versions are so different. It’s a worldview-distorting thing. Like realizing you’ve been mispronouncing some word for twenty years. It’s kind of fun. This 7” features two remixes of a song from Olympia based electro trio IQU from their 1998 album Chotto Matte a Moment! The remixes themselves are culled from an album of remixes of their track “Teenage Dream,” which for whatever reason has the remixes of “Can’t You Even Remember That?” tacked on the end. I hate remixes. I should just get that out of the way before going any further. I just plain don’t care. Any time a single has a remix on the b-side I consider it a sign of laziness because most remixes tend to be very whatever. But then again, I’m not a sound designer or a producer or a real musician and I’m probably not qualified to judge remixes, I just personally can’t care. The funny thing is that I can’t track down the original track on the internet and all I have are these two quite different remixes to give me an idea of what the original sounds like. K.O.’s (Q

The Sonic Boom remix.

Can't You Even Remember That (*sonic Mix) from IQU on Myspace.

The K.O. remix.

Can't You Even Remember That (Q>c Mix*) from IQU on Myspace.