Ah, once again we find ourselves in the mid 90s. The Periscope compilation that Go Sailor first appeared on also features what I think is the best Excuse 17 song. The comp came out between their first record which was released by Chainsaw and their second (and last) record which Kill Rock Stars released. This song was my introduction to the band so let's start with that and work from there.
Sevenwhateverteen
After hearing and falling in love with that song I promptly bought their first record. The record was almost too catchy to be lumped into the riot grrrl category. The fact that they had 2 guitar players (no bass player) set their sound apart from their contemporaries in Bikini Kill, Heavens To Betsy, and Bratmobile. The lyrical content fit right in with riot grrrl though and that was always how Excuse 17 were described. This song is a great example of the record as a whole.
Imaginary Friend
I loved the first record so much that I was extremely curious to hear their second record. I had a lot of faith that they would change their sound somehow, do something different, and I was excited to hear it. When I first put the record on I immediately sensed that it was going to be angrier. The guitars were louder and more in the front and the record opens with Becca Albee stating, "I'm punker than you, I'm so sure." While there are still the lyrics about dudes being shitty the bigger message of the record is about the music industry and press being shitty. The sense I always got from this record was that disillusionment was already setting in. There were still some catchy songs on the record but overall it was more about being angry and not sugar coating it with hooky guitar parts.
Watchmaker
After Such Friends Are Dangerous came out and they toured supporting it the band ended. Carrie Brownstein hit the road a few months later with Sleater-Kinney and never looked back.
4 comments:
Sevenwhateverteen brings back some incredible memories. This was also my favorite song from them. The Periscope comp was great. I need to dig that out. I loved Orange Juice Star from Raggedy Ann also. Thanks. I need to make a mixtape asap.
yeah, i loved the raggedy ann song as well! that comp was really good - i actually used to enjoy buying comps. i guess i got too set in my ways because i don't really buy them anymore. got burned too many times with more bad than good tracks! however, the yo yo comps were all great. do you have the julep comp?
Although I now regret it, I passed up on the Julep comp. I will probably order it at some point. I have been feeling a bit nostalgic as of late. I was a comp hound for a while as well. While there were many excellent ones(Sarah Records, Teenbeat, Darla, Why Popstars Can't Dance, Pop American Style), many left me a bit disappointed with more throwaway tracks than gems. Is Julep any good? I never heard it in its entirety. Just a couple of tracks from a friend's radio show back in the day.
i haven't heard the julep comp in years. i remember it being solid though. i need to get it again (one of those things that i have NO IDEA where my copy went) myself. i love the tiger trap song on there, it's the only place you can get that track!
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