And how do you think Kool Keith feels?
Today was a solid day. I finally made it down to Luna Music, Indianapolis' finest independent record shop/secret Guided By Voices command center. It was my first trip in months, and I left with a modest haul that I'll be sharing here over the next week or so. In addition to the music, which is quite choice, I also ended up caving to the impulse buy pressure and buying a Dunny, one of Kid Robot's designer vinyl inaction figures. The creatures come in a sealed, windowless box, and some are rarer than others, so the thrill of the unknown plays a large part in a person's willingness to shell out $7.99 for three inches of plastic. I ended up getting the lovelorn bunny, designed by comic artist Tara McPherson, seen here. Precious? You bet.
When I first saw the cover of Country Teaser's The Empire Strikes Back, I thought I'd accidentally wandered into Luna's nonexistant books on tape section. I also thought that Country Teasers were undiscoverd territory. I wasn't totally wrong about that second point. Though the band has been around the block (eight albums in 13 years), their latest, and most heralded effort, has gone virtually unnoticed by even the indie-est of American publications. This, quite frankly, is a shame. In a world where everyone is either overly earnest or too jaded to think, The Empire Strikes Back finds a middle ground that is both entertaining and thought-provoking. Described as "a concept album about race, England, and Star Wars", presented as a textbook, and infused with the musical spirit of like-minded acts like the Butthole Surfers, the album takes a hard look at the currents of racism that form the underpinnings of modern Britain's supposedly liberal society. The album is not always a comfortable listen; many of frontman Ben Wallers' personas offer frank invectives regarding race and class that may cause more sensitive scene kids to shift in their seats. However, when tracks like this one hit, they knock 'em out of the park.
Country Teasers - White Patches. On "White Patches", Wallers tackles a traditional topic: the culture gap between blacks and whites. In the hands of a more sentimental artist, this would end up sounding dated and shlocky, an anti-apartheid anthem two decades too late. However, Wallers takes a different route. Between images of urban warfare, Wallers breaks things down with a simple, self-concious examination of why black people don't come to his concerts. His deadpan delivery, coupled with the manic gallop and ominous organ peals provided by the rest of the band, gives lines like "When you fuck around with words/ You make the siuation worse" added weight. The band also gets bonus points for calling out indie kids for their obsession with certain hip hop acts, ruefully asking "How do you think Kool Keith feels?". How indeed. More on Country Teasers, and others, can be found at their label's page.
BONUS: Country Teasers - Raglan Top On Lonsdale Grey. The softer side of Ben Wallers, and the catchiest song about about a racially-motivated gang beating/murder that you'll probably ever hear.
ah! i missed it. please re-post!
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