Tuesday, July 24, 2007

This Moment in Slack History: Morsels from the Last Great Era of the 7 Inch Record

"This Moment in Slack History" collects songs from 90s indie 7 inches. For further explanation, please see my original post here.



The Grifters "Queen of the Table Waters"
Okay, so maybe the first two cuts in this series were a bit disappointing as it turns both tracks were albumized and not 7 inch only. This one though is a killer and I'm nearly positive it's unavailable anywhere else. The Grifters are a strong contender for most underrated band of the 90s. (That title actually probably belong to the Kent 3 but that's another post.) I've always sort of considered them lo-fi's Rolling Stones to Guided By Voices' Beatles. (Apparently, All Music Guide feels the same way.) They never achieved the following the GBV did despite putting out some fine records, both as full-lengths (I'm particularly fond of 1994's Crappin' You Negative) and as slew of singles. In fact, no band in the 90s with the possible exception of GBV had more great material left off their albums, released only on 7 inches. Both bands are long overdue for definitive retrospectives of this material and hopefully some label with more money than sense will correct this. In any case, this one is one of the Grifters' best. I believe this was their inaugural release for big time indie Sub Pop and it was a fantastic introduction to the world at large. However, the public (by which I mean CMJ types) was nonplussed by the band's obvious greatness and after two very good full lengths for Sub Pop were met with indifference the Grifters called it a day. This was shame but now you can listen to this track and once the inevitable lo-fi revival begins you can pretend you were hip to these guys back in the day.

Oh, and there will surely be more Grifters songs from other 7 inches posted here in future. That is, unless, some label manages to put together a Grifters comp in the meantime. Come on, labels. Relieve me of this responsibility.

Play or Download The Grifters "Queen of the Table Waters"

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