Here is the last chunk of my favorite EPs of all time. Kicking it off with Dinosaur Jr's single for "The Wagon." This was later included in the "Whatever's Cool With Me" compilation which appends some excellent tracks that really make this feel like more of a mini-album than a couple singles. I really love the quasi-cover of Bowie's Quicksand included on this one. Its the "Green Mind" era of Dinosaur Jr that I felt was their peak. Damn near every track on that albums is a winner, and the reissue has that fantastic cover of the Flying Burrito Bro's. In a similar vein, the next track from Primus was so much fun when I came across the "Miscellaneous Debris" EP. This featured covers of Peter Gabriel, XTC, The Residents, The Meters and Pink Floyd all done in that inimitable Primus style. I think Primus covering the Residents is a match made in heaven, and I've got their cover of Constantinople and Hello Skinny on a bootleg.
Then I took things to a sludge metal area with Fudge Tunnel. It was their video for "Sunshine of You Love" on Headbangers Ball that caught my attention, and if I remember the "Hate Songs in E Minor" had that dreaded "Parental Advisory Explicit Lyrics" label and the "Teeth EP" did not, despite having a track named "Shit for Brains." So, I had to go with what my mom would let me buy and glad I started with this one. Its fantastic, and has the song that I already knew. Alex Newport has such a style that dominates everything he touches, I quickly started recognizing his heavy handed production from other albums, a highlight is his two demos he produced for Sepultura from the Roots era. Next up is Bauhaus and their 12" with covers of David Bowie and Brian Eno. A good friend gave me this record because he bought it, and hated it because in his words, "Bauhaus is supposed to be Goth, and this is not." His loss, my gain. I love both of these tracks, and honestly it was a decade or more before I tracked down the original version of the Brian Eno song, which made me appreciate it so much more.
Lush is a group I thought stood out from their shoegazer and indie rock/pop peers. Their early work had a more punkish vibe and more angst, yet was this thing of shimmering beauty. I was fortunate enough to see them live twice, one at Lollapalooza, and then again at the 4AD Shaving the Pavement tour with Scheer and Mojave 3. They never disappoint. It took me a long time, but I came around on their later all pop oriented work and do appreciate that, just not as much as their first three albums. In stark contrast, the next track from Of The Wand And The Moon is about as neofolk as you can get. I sought them out because the name was so interesting, and the music was dark, brooding, and atmospheric in addition to the sing along stylings of the neofolk. This winter themed EP is a highlight, as some of their full albums are a bit much to take in all in one sitting. I used to have the lyrics of this track as my screen saver at work, which certainly raised a few eyebrows at the time.
Novy Svet's later period got interesting, and that says a lot when talking about them. They ended their run with a couple CD EPs saying they were three parts of a trilogy from the Desde Infiernos De Flores sessions. Only two parts were ever released. It was 15 years later that the album Desde Infiernos De Flores was released, tying it all together. Here they are more electronic, and sample based than their earlier noisy, neofolk, and dark cabaret stylings, and it works quite well for them. By this time they had established Nekofutschata Musick Cabaret label and had several other bands to work with that helped contribute to their evolving sound. Then we come to Bowery Electric and their trip-hop infected brand of shoegaze. It was this 2CD remix EP that brought in such obscure but top notch talent that keeps me coming back. Every track is an exploration of some different facet of their sound. Chasm, Osymyso, Witchman, Immersion, Dunderhead, Twisted Science, Third Eye Foundation and Main... can't beat that cast of characters. Granted, with several of these remixes well over the 9 minute mark this is hardly an EP, but I included it here because it is just a wonderful journey start to finish.
Coming toward the end of this mix, my wife is responsible for my appreciation of Cocteau Twins. I'd heard them on compilations, and the only full album I heard was "Heaven or Las Vegas" which I had borrowed from our library. When I started dating my wife, I picked up the BBC sessions album and realized I liked their earlier post-punk work much more than the ethereal beauty of their later work. I even bought my wife the 10CD box of all their singles and thoroughly enjoyed discovering all their deep cuts through that. Years later, I came across "Otherness" and smacked myself in the head for not finding it sooner. I mean, Mark Clifford from Seefeel was given free reign to remix Cocteau Twins? How can that not be amazing. I believe he was tasked with choosing two tracks from their current album, and then two others of his choosing. The result is something that is just as much a Seefeel sound as it is a Cocteau Twins sound. Lastly I chose this EP from Clouddead, though I could have picked just about any of the tracks from their 10" series. A roommate turned me on to them, and so glad she did as I was clearly the target audience for this style of abstract hip hop. Everything they did was such a bizarre cut up of snippits and smooth flows that all came together in digestible 6-8 minute tracks. I was fortunate enough to see them live once, before they split and all went on to greater independent success.
00:00 Dinosaur Jr - The Wagon (The Wagon)
04:31 Primus - Making Plans for Nigel (XTC) (Miscellaneous Debris)
07:49 Fudge Tunnel - Teeth (Teeth)
11:27 Bauhaus - Third Uncle (Eno) (Ziggy Stardust)
15:34 Lush - Second Sight (Scar)
17:57 :Of the Wand and the Moon: - Winter Veil (Midnight Will)
21:02 Novy Svet - La-Bas (Demon Down) (La-Bas(s) Communion)
23:20 Bowery Electric - Without Stopping (Witchman Mix) (Vertigo)
37:13 Cocteau Twins - Violaine (Otherness)
41:54 Clouddead - And All You Can Do Is Laugh (side A) (And All You Can Do Is Laugh)
photo credit: wild turkey
