Summer Sludge Part 1

Summer Sludge:

Part one

Back in high school, going to summer school meant you were a total fuck up who couldn’t pass your class during the regular semester. Going to summer school meant getting teased by the nerds who passed the class and beat up by the thugs who were stuck with you all summer. Summer was really hot in Irvington High School because we couldn’t afford air conditioners. So, imagine being stuck in a classroom full of sweaty and violent fuck-ups all summer and you have the definition of summer school. 

Fortunately, I never had to endure the ridicule of summer school. At least not until I got to Kean College. At Kean, summer school equals brains and money. Brains, because it means getting ahead of everyone and getting out of this institution (“All I wanted was a Pepsi”) faster. Money, because Financial Aid doesn’t usually pay for it. At Kean, it’s not even called summer school. It’s “Summer Session”. I had to go to Summer Session Biology last year and I got a D. So much for advancement. 

Anyway, since ya’ll are stuck here this summer, we here at The Indy have decided to keep you company this year. We are putting out two Summer Session issues, this one here being the first. We do this so you don’t feel left out and all alone like the rich geeks you are. (Hey, It’s hard to break out of old ways of thinking.)

Front 242 have just released a video compilation of their music films. The video cassette titled 8 x 10 features the clips for “Headhunter”, “Rhythm Of Time”, “Take One”, “Masterhit”, “Tragedy >For You<“, “Quite Unusual”, “Funkadhafi”, and a short montage named “Front By Front”. Front 242  is a highly creative musical group, but unfortunately most of their videos fall short of the imagery conveyed through their music. Most of the clips provided here, tend to linger along the boring edge. They dance along the tightrope of boredom but never truly fall in. The last two videos, “Tragedy >For You<“ and “Rhythm Of Time” were directed by Coil’s Peter Christopherson and they prove to be the most visually stimulating. The clip for their biggest hit “Headhunter” is directed by frequent Depeche Mode collaborator Anton Corbijn and gets creative points for its interesting use of nudity and eggs. But that’s about it for this video tape, which really does not do justice to the impressive sound of Front 242. 

The release of the video tape is meant to coincide with the reissue of Front 242’s entire back catalogue now that they have signed on to the Epic label. The re-releases of these tapes and CDs contain new artwork and a plethora of extra tracks not included in the original releases. If you are not familiar with Front 242’s music, now is a good time to catch up. 

I just got two new tapes and I want to tell you all about them. Ready? Okay!

First up, is TV SKY by The Young Gods. This tape is fantastic! It combines the metal lace of Ministry with the dance groove of Renegade Soundwave while retaining the attitude and feel of Big Black. I think this is the first Young Gods album in which the lead singer Franz sings completely in English instead of his native French. Standout tracks are “Gazoline Man”, the dance smash “Skinflowers” and the 20-minute, Doors influenced “Summer Eyes”. Pick it up and start your worship of The Young Gods.

The other tape I recently “acquired” is Soul Rotation by the Philly gods The Dead Milkmen. I was very let down by it at first, but it has grown on me. The reasons I was let down were: 1) Rodney Anonymous, the usual singer of the group only sings about three songs on here, leaving us instead with whiny guitarist Joe “Jack” Talcum as lead vocalist; 2) All the songs sound like ballads or country-rock songs because that’s what Joe’s voice lends itself to most easily; And 3) It’s not as funny as their previous releases. In the past, The Dead Milkmen’s humor came from Rodney Anonymous’ quick-wit and rapid fire vocals. With his voice gone, most of the humor is gone as well. He is still present as the keyboardist, but his vocals are no longer the center of the music. 

Now the reasons it has grown on me: 1) Musically, it is a departure from their usual sound, with many obvious jazz influences, which I guess is a bit exciting and shows their range; 2) It has a couple of pretty good pop songs, especially the single “The Secret Of Life”; And 3) The humor is still present, just not as obvious as before. Songs like “Big Scary Place” and “God’s Kid Brother” are hysterical, just a little more subtle. You have to dig a little deeper for the funny stuff. I ended up liking it and it has proven to be worthwhile after repeated listenings.

Now, you know I can’t wait to get my paws on the new Erasure  E.P. which features cover versions of four classic ABBA songs. I just have to get some chump change to lay down for this one. I just love “Dancing Queen”! What’s next? Will Pearl Jam be releasing an E.P. of Village People songs?

One of my favorite local bands Sweet Convulsions has just shot a video for their single “I Will Survive”. This remake of the Gloria Gaynor disco classic (Hey, what’s with all the 70’s retro stuff?) was the high point of their last E.P. and are in the preliminary stages of recording their next effort. You must see these guys live! They put on quite an amazing and visual show.

Speaking of 70’s retro stuff: Let’s get a summer contest going here. In  a very famous 70’s song by a man named Rupert Holmes, a bar named O’Malley’s is mentioned. What happened at that bar in this song? The winner of this useless bit of trivia wins something. Maybe a gift certificate for a tape? Or maybe just $10.00 to buy a tape? Or if I’m feeling especially cheap, I’ll give you a very good quality compilation tape of songs I feel are essential to survive “Summer Session”. 

On a final note, I’d like to take this moment to offer a prayer for Ms. Pauline Ferriola, who was involved in a serious automobile on the morning of June 7th. As of this writing, she is at JFK Hospital in Edison, hanging in there. I hope she recuperates quickly. She is a very important person in my life, being the mother of my friend JD, and the hostess of the surreal, if not mythical, JD’s House. This was the place where I left some of my childhood behind in exchange for some of the house’s mystical ideology. God bless her.