Today, for the first time in Swan Fungus history, we have a guest writer. His name is Ian. You’ve heard his name mentioned here frequently if you read this blog regularly. Please treat him and his prestigious law degree as professionally as you would treat me. That is to say, show him no mercy. Thanks, Ian!
Each of the following albums was suggested to me by Evan either by his geeking out in high school, in college, through Instant Messenger, during one of our countless trips to-and-from Princeton Record Exchange, or through various phone calls since he moved to the West Coast. So, we’ll starting at the beginning…
15. Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy – Everything – I despised Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy for a long time. I never found any of his music to be catchy, or even enjoyable to listen to. On a recommendation from Evan I sought out the Palace album Days in the Wake, which he had purchased during the first few months of our vinyl collecting obsession, from an overpriced store in the West Village called Subterranean. I was finally hooked. There was one track, “No More Workhorse Blues,” where you could hear thunder crashing in the background and I realized that I loved how organic and real his music was. I am not a lyrics person. I think it took me so long to get into his stuff because it is not overly complicated music. On the same day I bought Days in the Wake I got Superwolf. I happens to think that one is his catchiest and most accessible release. Also, my enjoyment of Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy albums was not hurt by hearing Evan and Ilya constantly covering his songs when we used to jam. Listen to “Pushkin” (Live)
14. Bear Claw – Bear Claw – I bought this album for $2.99 from Amazon.com on a recommendation from Evan, who had heard about the album from a friend of his in Chicago. To be honest, I was not that into it at first — maybe because I am not a huge “Evan Rock†fan — but after we saw their performance at Knitting Factory’s Old Office during the 2006 CMJ Music Marathon CMJ, I was totally enamored. Still, it hasn’t bee enough for me to seek out their new album. I think Evan might have to hook me up with that on… Listen to “Jigsaw”
13. Van Morrison – Astral Weeks – During the summer of 2001, our vinyl collections began to rapidly swell. We would take long drives down to Princeton (which usually followed excessive partying the night before). On one of those drives, Evan introduced me to one of the finest albums ever crafted: Astral Weeks. This was another album I had a hard time really getting into. Now I listen to it at any and all times, whether happy or sad. It is one of those great albums that can mean many different things to many people. It can be uplifting on one listen and depressing on the next listen. Thanks Evan. Listen to “Slim Slow Slider”
12. Bill Holt – Dreamies – Evan introduced me to Dreamies a few years ago after he’d read about it on an Aquarius Records New Releases list. Ironic, of course, because it was originally recorded and released in the 1970s. I was immediately sold on the album due to its wildly psychedelic nature, complete with trippy vocals and handmade samples running throughout the entire album. Nice find, Evan.
11. Nick Drake – Pink Moon – Another album that for some reason I never liked. I guess I have a long history of hating albums or bands at first, but then slowly learning to love them over time (ie. Velvet Underground, Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy). I think Evan would add this to his CD rotation during drives to Princeton, and I eventually picked it up. It might be the best 27 minute album I have ever heard. [And how many 27-minute-long albums have you heard, Ian? – Ed.]
10. Gary Higgins – Red Hash – Evan and I were driving into Manhattan one day, and we were stuck in traffic on Canal Street (of course). I remember hearing the creepy keyboards on “Stable the Spuds”, and I was completely sold on this record. I don’t remember if this was before or after we saw him hop on stage and play a song during a Ben Chasny show at the much-missed concert venue Tonic, but I definitely was familiar with his name because the Six Organs Of Admittance release School of the Flower contained a cover of the Higgins song, “Thicker Than a Smokey”. Still, this one is incredible.
09. Emery Reel – For and Acted Upon Through Diversions – This recommendation came in 2003, during Evan’s “Post-Rock” phase. He was obsessed with bands on Constellation, or anything instrumental with lots of crescendos. One day I picked him up to go to Princeton (after sitting in my car for an extra 10 minutes waiting for his slow-ass), and he came outside with a CD-r and exclaimed, “You have to hear this”. We listened to it and of course I was immediately sold. To this day I still listen to this Emery Reel album, and I specifically remember listening to it the night before I took the bar exam in an attempt to calm my nerves. There you go, Evan, you can have some credit for me passing the bar. Listen to “A New Beginning”
08. Cosmic Jokers – Cosmic Jokers / Galactic Supermarket – All I remember was that Evan and I were at Kim’s on St. Marks after driving to Brooklyn so he could buy a drum set, and they were playing Galactic Supermarket in the store. It was right around the time that he and I were really getting into Krautrock, especially Ash Ra Tempel. I remember exclaiming, “Holy shit this is amazing,” then Evan ran up to the counter and bought the store’s only copies of both CDs. That motherfucker stole those CDs from me. Lo-and-behold, I got the last laugh, because while I paid $20 for both CDs, he got suckered into paying $20 for each. I AM THE ULTIMATE CHEAP JEW! [Wasn’t that the same night we bumped into Ilya and then went back to my basement to get trashed and record the Magic Space Cowdogs stuff? – Ed.] Listen to “Galactic Joke Part 1”
07. White Hills – Everything – This one relates to “Demon Spawn.” Long ago (February 2007), I lived in a shithole called Battery Park, which is a neighborhood that the honor of being too far from everywhere in Manhattan. On a particularly cold night that month (like, -28 degrees with wind-chill), Evan went to that shitty club Lit to see Titan — a band we had seen open for Boris the previous Fall. I decided to pussy out, with the encouragement of “Demon Spawn,” and to this day I regret it. Evan came home gushing about White Hills, calling them one of the greatest bands he’d seen in ages. I have since seen both White Hills and Titan twice, but I imagine this twin bill would have melted my brain like nothing else. I have become a huge fan of White Hills. I have to get my hands on every release I can, and I’ve even semi-stalked Dave Weinberg when I’ve seen him shopping at Other Music or Kim’s. Listen to “Eye to Eye”
06. Boris – Pink – This one was also first heard on a ride home from Princeton Record Exchange. I think I discovered Boris first. [You did – Ed.] In the summer of ’05 I bought a copy of Akuma No Uta on the same day that I got Pelican’s March Into the Sea EP. [You then told me not to buy Mabuta No Ura on vinyl when I was in San Francisco. Nice one, Ian! – Ed.] Anyway, We were driving home in my car with “Demon Spawn” talking incessantly in the passenger seat, and we blasted the first track on Pink, “Farewell”, to shut her stupid ass up. Damn, those were good times. [Were they? – Ed.] Listen to “Farewell”
05. Maserati – The Language Of Cities – I don’t remember much about the details other than we had gone to Princeton one day and Evan sat carefully flipping through the rather large “M” section of their CD bin looking for a used copy of this album, and he actually found one for $5.99. On the ride home, he popped this album into the CD player, and I went on to become a huge Maserati fan. Though, I do agree with Evan that their new album is boring as shit.
04. The Rapture – Out of the Races and Onto the Tracks / Echoes – I think this came about when we were both still in college. We had — and to this day still have — an unhealthy infatuation with the book/movie “The Rules of Attraction”. There is a scene in this God awful movie where everyone is having a good time at an outdoor keg party, and the EP’s title track “Out of the Races and Onto the Tracks” is playing. It happens to have a great bassline and is probably the catchiest Rapture song. We ended up seeing the Rapture at the Curiosa festival, thanks to Evan’s father’s generosity. It was a 75 dollar ticket that I never paid Walter for, rather, I paid Evan — like I pay most of my friends — in beer and records. Good business deal, Evan!
03. Blur – 13 – The memories surrounding this album go way back to my senior year of high school at Livingston High School in 1999. It was the first time my parents ever let me have a study hall. That’s where I met and befriended a then-sophomore (and definitely sophomoric) Evan. I remember hating this album vehemently at first, but Evan would talk incessantly about Damon Albarn and his giant moose cock or something so I figured I would have to give it some more time. [WHAT? Moose cock? Are you serious? – Ed.] Eventually I bought a used copy from our friend Bret for maybe four dollars, and I have been in love with it since that day. There are not many songs better than “No Distance Left to Run”. Listen to “No Distance Left to Run”
02. Danielson Famile – Fetch The Compass Kids / Tell Another Joke At the Ol’ Choppin’ Block – My earliest memory of this album stems back about four years or so, when I was home for my first Christmas break during law school. I remember sitting in the living room at Evan’s dad’s house with either Ilya, Z, or Galanty, listening to this album and laughing at how irritating Daniel Smith’s voice sounded. The next day, Evan and I ventured down to Princeton (yet again) and he put on Fetch the Compass Kids, and attempted to sing along in what was a horrible facsimile of Smith’s still-irritating voice. All I could do was laugh hysterically at Evan. The weird thing was, the rest of the day I kept singing in my head, “Hush hush what’s the rush? / East Coast children do too much.” I think by the end of our Princeton jaunt I had already purchased both albums as well as one of the Tri-Danielson CDs. to this day, whenever I want to annoy people for fun, I just put on “We Don’t Say Shut Up.” Thanks Evan, for a lifetime of fodder to annoy people with! Listen to “Southern Paws”
01 . Smashing Pumpkins – Siamese Dream / Gish / Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness / Adore / The Aeroplane Flies High / Earphoria – Ah, the grand finale. See, in the early days of our friendship, I always saw Evan as Billy Corgan’s biggest fanboy/gay-love-child-in-training, until the day he seemingly renounced his love of Smashing Pumpkins. To this day, I still don’t know what caused his falling out with the band. When we first became friends, we bonded over music like the Pumpkins and Weezer. We used to play 20-minute-long covers of “Silverfuck” — just the two of us, no drummer — in his parent’s basement. I think in a way, the Pumpkins were one of the initial foundations of our friendship, and I still embrace their music to this day. I recently picked up Gish and Siamese Dream on vinyl, and listening to “Mayonaise” and “Silverfuck” brought back all those good memories from the basement at 345 Walnut Street. I even picked up my guitar and pretended Evan was still there… [What am I, dead? – Ed.] Listen to “Silverfuck” (Earphoria Version)
Want to be a Swan Fungus guest writer? Drop me an e-mail and let me know.
