EVOL-hounds digest :-)

[hsut@ec.purdue.edu (Bill Hsu)]

After desperate hunting for weeks since reading Hof's review of EVOL,
(the new Sonic Youth album, for all you non-Sonic Youth worshippers),
I finally have it stuck permanently (well, for a month anyway :-) to
the turntable. So here's some fanzine drivel to pollute love-hounds
with...

The title: after sleeping on it (and dreaming about it, honest!) I
finally realise that EVOL is LOVE spelled backwards. I'm slow this
week... Well, SOME of the songs on the album are about love... anyone
has a better interpretation?

Secret messages on the vinyl: recalling that Doug used to look for text
scratched on parts of the vinyl that have no grooves, I checked EVOL
out and sure enough, one side has a line from Starpower (on the album),
"Everything turns black to blue", and the other side has "destroy all
record labels". Is this a reference to their abortive attempt to get
on a major label?

The monstrous "thanks to..." list on the lyric sheet: this has numerous
names that I expected to see (Swans, Branca, Lydia L.(unch), Bob Bert
(their old drummer)), names I wasn't surprised to see (Tesco V., 
Buttholes, Greg Ginn, Bukowski, Live Skull, Einsturzende Neubaten),
and tons of names like

	Bruce S. (Springsteen???)
	Jesus and the (sic) Mary Chain
	PKD	(Philip K. Dick?)
	Bangles	(what????)
	The Challenger Crew	(huh?)
	P. Benatar	(no comment...)
	Bob Xgau	:-)
	LL Cool J
	Arto L.	(Lindsay?)
	Cagney and Lacey

Most of the relevant ones are in bold face, while all of the so-out-of-
place-it's-funny ones are in regular script. Well, I thought it was
amusing...

Oh, the MUSIC... sounds like these guys have mellowed a little. There
are actually almost-tuneful little pseudo-ballads, and some really
pretty delicate guitar passages. Certainly not worship-inducing like
the strange and powerful Bad Moon Rising, but I really enjoyed it anyway.
I hope they don't keep mellowing out tho...


			"inside her head my dog's a bear
			 she's insignificant I'm insane"

			 Bill Hsu