January 23rd, 2004 2:44pm
Tussle "Don't Stop" - This is from the new 12"/CD...
My Head Goes Clear
Tussle "Don't Stop" - This is from the new 12"/CD EP of the same name on Troubleman United. If you're into the sort of stuff that DFA and !!! have been putting out, or their antecedents like ESG and Liquid Liquid, then this should be right up your alley. In spite of what the Troubleman and Other Music sites may have you believe, it's not exactly the most original or wildly creative thing in the world, but it definitely works.
Helium "What Institution Are You From?" - Inspired by this ILM thread, I've been revisiting Mary Timony's back catalog throughout this past week. I was a big fan of Helium in high school, and unlike a lot of the music that I was heavily into back then, my love for that band has only increased over time. "What Institution Are You From?" is taken from the Superball + EP, and is a fine example of the band at its mid-90s peak. If you're new to Helium and want to hear more, you should certainly buy the album The Dirt Of Luck, which I believe is one of the best indie rock records of the 90s.
Tussle "Don't Stop" - This is from the new 12"/CD EP of the same name on Troubleman United. If you're into the sort of stuff that DFA and !!! have been putting out, or their antecedents like ESG and Liquid Liquid, then this should be right up your alley. In spite of what the Troubleman and Other Music sites may have you believe, it's not exactly the most original or wildly creative thing in the world, but it definitely works.
Helium "What Institution Are You From?" - Inspired by this ILM thread, I've been revisiting Mary Timony's back catalog throughout this past week. I was a big fan of Helium in high school, and unlike a lot of the music that I was heavily into back then, my love for that band has only increased over time. "What Institution Are You From?" is taken from the Superball + EP, and is a fine example of the band at its mid-90s peak. If you're new to Helium and want to hear more, you should certainly buy the album The Dirt Of Luck, which I believe is one of the best indie rock records of the 90s.
1/23/04 3:01 pm
Woo! Indie Rock! My ears have been crying out for some new indie.
1/23/04 3:04 pm
Have you ever heard Helium, Suede? You’d love it, it’s definitely your kind of thing. They were one of the great bands on Matador in the mid 90s. They weren’t ever as big as Pavement, GBV, Liz Phair, or Yo La Tengo, but they had a pretty good following.
1/23/04 3:11 pm
No, I’d never heard them until now - and I do love it! In fact, I’ve not heard much Yo La Tengo or Liz Phair either. I’ll search out the tracks you sent me (those discs have lasted man!)
I listened to that Elastica/SM track the other day and I was full of fondness. I feel the same way about this Helium track, it makes me feel fond for those girly indie (britpop) bands from my youth. That might not be good for everyone, but I think that’s just the early 90’s vibe for me. Helium sound more Pavement-like than straight ahead brit pop, from what I can tell so far… which makes them even better!
1/23/04 3:17 pm
Suede, email me your home address. I’ve got something I want to send you.
Mary is a really great guitarist - you don’t even get a full sense of what she can do on that song. She’s really great at getting interesting sounds out of her guitar, as was Ash Bowie, who was the bass player in Helium. To my ears, they sounds a bit more Sonic Youth than Pavement, but yeah, the aesthetic isn’t that far off.
1/23/04 3:25 pm
Yeah, I think I just use Pavement at the moment to describe a fuzzier sound, but then I’d probably mention Sonic Youth talking about their earlier stuff, so yeah. It’s nice to have a girl band more in that aesthetic, because like I said, I’m really fond of the more poppy britpop girl bands - but then I love (what I’d describe as) more indie stuff!
1/23/04 3:27 pm
damn, you make me feel like an old man when you say you were a big fan of helium in high school; i was out of college and working my first job when it came out. anyway, yeah, the dirt of luck is a nice album. i wasn’t as crazy about her subsequent releases though.
that tussle track has potential, but just sounds flat. DFA would turn would turn it on its head. everybody’s talking about it, nobody’s getting it done…
1/23/04 3:30 pm
I kind of agree with you about Tussle - it’s pretty good, but it just needs an extra something to push it over the top.
1/23/04 4:39 pm
i also agree about tussle, but thanks anyway for revealing their name, i’ll have to chase their next steps.
1/23/04 11:25 pm
I have to say helium’s pirate prude EP was my favorite, albeit short, album of their career. like many, after seeing mary timony on beavis and butthead, i went out and bought the album.. dirt of luck is a bit inconsistent for me..
1/24/04 7:23 am
like many, after seeing mary timony on beavis and butthead, i went out and bought the album
Hey! I never made the connection, but I think that’s first time I heard Helium as well. They played the video for “XXX” and talked about how sleepy she looked or something. Ha!
1/24/04 5:37 pm
oh, ‘what institution are you from’ is one of my favorite helium songs!! thanks for reminding me to put ‘pirate prude’ on my ipod. yay.
1/24/04 7:10 pm
Magic Box is the one I vote when I think of Helium. It is off the Pop Narcotic compilation and is quite excellent.
1/24/04 10:03 pm
Helium really did peak with this EP — #12 L’Enfant is a gorgeous slab of drone. Don’t forget the earlier Pirate Prude EP as well — all the anger of early Liz Phair, but with none of the pottymouth and twice the production value. It just bums me out how much Timony embraced the faerie/unicorn pretentions that were always lurking in the back of her work on subsequent releases. Wasted potential.
1/25/04 6:46 am
I first was exposed to them, believe it or not, on MTV around ‘93 or ‘94. The video for “XXX” (off of the Pirate Prude EP) was in unusually high rotation for a Matador band (Pavement notwithstanding). Mary’s pre-Helium band, Autoclave, was pretty cool too. It’s too bad they had such a short discography. Ash Bowie’s “other” band, Polvo, has always been a favorite of mine as well, even before I discovered Helium…he’s a perfect complement to Mary’s musical style. Not to mention that motherfucker is/was banging Mary as well. Life aint fair, I tell ya.
The only disappointment I have about Helium is that they sort of fall apart, live. I haven’t seen them in person, but I have a few live boots of thier performances, and they really make you long for the studio recordings (If anyone out there has other recordings that can prove me wrong on this point, please contact me on Soulseek!)
“Honeycomb” is one of the best songs, EVER.
1/26/04 9:06 am
Dirt of Luck was a favorite of mine in high school as well. I grew up next to Chapel Hill, and I always held a minor grudge against Helium for leading to the breakup of Polvo (in my 18 year-old eyes at least). I saw them live once and thought it was an awesome show. On the subject of nineties indie rock, was anyone else into Guv’ner? They put out two really great albums, Spectral Worship and The Hunt, but I don’t think they ever got much recognition.
1/26/04 1:50 pm
was anyone else into Guv’ner?
I was. More specifically, I was into Pumpkin Wentzel.
2/10/04 10:10 pm
Tussle is ok. Better live than recorded. I just heard an advance copy of the Tussle album, and it’s much better than the singles they have been putting out. way more going on, its got a strange my bloody valentine/spiritualized vibe– but dancey.