Ok. turning this into a blog solely about music; what I’m listening to, what I’m buying, and why…and possibly where - followed by anecdotes and tall-tales alike.
Today we start with “Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons” by Blonde Redhead. I remember first hearing this band when I was sixteen. My friend Liz had told me that she had in her possession an extra ticket to “This Ain’t No Picninc –– a music fesitval at which Jimmy Eat world and Guided by Voices were scheduled to be the co-headliners. Also in the lineup were The Mars Volta (immediately following the release of their first EP), No Knife, and finally Pinback. Alongside them would be Blonde Redhead. I had never heard them before, and was curious, as there was a lot of buzz surrounding this then up-and-coming band. When they took the stage I was immediately impressed, and a little unnerved; two Italian identical twin brothers wearing identical argyle sweaters, and a Japanese girl wearing a blue lace dress and a white veil. They opened their set with this song. The soundscape they created instantly blew me away. What haunting melodies! What infectious drums! What an eerily still and constrained, yet vehemently alive energy. I subsequently purchased the album, and was thrown into a world of tragic and fragile beauty that collided with raw and terrifying aggression. I can honestly say that this album spurred what was to become a dive into independent music and Art Rock. Today I leave you with my first encounter of such an immense and hidden underbelly. Enjoy.
