The Unblinking Ear Podcast: Snow Day!

(It was either this or a picture of the guy who did "Informer")

Et tu, Staten Island Chuck? On the very same day that New York City's own weather-predicting groundhog got legal representation to protect his name and likeness (a story which raises such important questions as "Does anyone at the Staten Island Zoo realize that 'Charles G. Hogg' sounds a lot like 'Charles Jihad' and "Don't Quinnipiac pollsters have anything better to do?"), the small mammal had his own incompetence proven. Despite his prediction that we get an early spring, the NYC-area was hit a blizzard which forced the city's public schools to close to due snow for the first time in five years.

Of course, having that day off allows people to perhaps catch up on some chores, take a mid-afternoon nap, spend a good chunk of the day watching Spongebob Squarepants, or making a new podcast. (Ed. Note: I did three of the four.)


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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. And if you like what you're hearing please check out Mike Lupica's Anti Static podcast, which has a similar concept but much better execution. You can check it out here or subscribe to it via iTunes.



The Grifters "I'm Drunk"

I had previously posted a Grifters song a while back. Since no one has headed my call to put out a proper compilation of all their marvelous 7 inch releases, I'm just going to have to post another one. "I'm Drunk" comes from their split single with Guided by Voices on The Now Sound label. The 4 GBV tracks are nothing spectacular but the lone Grifters cut on the flip is awesome, approximating something like Can covering Johnny Thunders covering "Steppin' Stone."

Play or Download The Grifters "I'm Drunk"

Update: Apparently someone has beat me to the punch on posting this. The You Shall Know Our Discography blog. You can find the contents of the entire 7 inch including the GBV cuts here. I stand corrected on saying the Guided By Voices cuts are nothing special. Three are Pollard throwaways but "Uncle Dave" sounds like prime lo-fi GBV to my ears. Thanks for posting this YSKOD so I don't have to. Check the rest of their blog for lots more 90s indie obscurities.

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"