(no subject)
Jun. 22nd, 2020 11:11 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bedsitter23Stiffs, Inc.
Nix Nought Nothing
Onion/American Records 1995
One of my favorite records ever. This combines all my favorite things. Musically, it's influenced by late 70s British punk- John Lydon- style vocals, with a mix of Sex Pistols guitar, Buzzcocks melodies, the eccentricities of Wire, and the dramtaics of the Damned., but lyrically, it's this weird idealized Victorian time frame that calls out references to Sherlock Holmes, Jack the Ripper, silent movies, early sci-fi, and late nineteenth century technology.
They dressed the part and released this album on Rick Rubin's custom label- a label which had some remarkably creative bands- Thomas Jefferson Slave Apartments and Electric Company, to name two- and absolutely no impact on the music world at all. In looking up information on this album, I have learned Anohni produced it, and it has to be some of her first recording work- predating the first Antony and the Johnsons record by 5 years.
It is a fantastic record. One I love as passionately as I did upon release. The band released a follow-up on an indie label, and I always hoped to procure it somehow. I was unsuccessful until recent years when it has been uploaded to Spotify. It follows the same tropes, but lacks the magic of the debut.
Since it seems like everyone who heard the record has the same obsession with it, it's easy to play the "What If" game. The band was part of a New York late 90s scene that came with incredible hype (Jonathan Fireeater, D Generation, NY Loose) but was ill-fated, and it was the succeeding NYC scene that had the big success.
I have never heard of any of the resulting projects that came after the band's break-up, but there are indications of some- guitarist Paul "Boring" Arfield is with a band with singer/actress Marti Domination called Beaut that appears to be staying active in the NYC area. Beaut still keeps the spirit of Stiffs Inc live on their website. Singer Whitey Sterling followed his use moving to a more electronic sound with a band called Umbrella Brigade. "Ex Nihilo" was released in 2010. Spotify has one record (Marchen 2012) which I was able to confirm are the same guys via their website).
If you haven't arrived at the same conclusion I have, by now, I will draw it out. If they had arrived a decade later, it would have been possible they could have capitalized on the Steampunk boom. It is easy to imagine them sharing stages with the Dresden Dolls, Emilie Autumn or Rasputina.
Of course, it is nearly impossible not to bring up My Chemical Romance, one of the biggest rock bands on the planet. No one seems to be as close to the Stiffs in image than Gerard Way, who has now ventured into storytelling through comics and television. Interestingly, that is no coincidence, Way is a very vocal fan of the band and cites them as influence.
Recommended track: They're all good. Start out with the frenetic "Blown Away Baby" and "Quick Watson", or if you like a slow build "Mary Pickford, Marry Me" or "Fear in the Night"., and then don't forget the Who/Richard Hell referencing "Generation Crap"
Nix Nought Nothing
Onion/American Records 1995
One of my favorite records ever. This combines all my favorite things. Musically, it's influenced by late 70s British punk- John Lydon- style vocals, with a mix of Sex Pistols guitar, Buzzcocks melodies, the eccentricities of Wire, and the dramtaics of the Damned., but lyrically, it's this weird idealized Victorian time frame that calls out references to Sherlock Holmes, Jack the Ripper, silent movies, early sci-fi, and late nineteenth century technology.
They dressed the part and released this album on Rick Rubin's custom label- a label which had some remarkably creative bands- Thomas Jefferson Slave Apartments and Electric Company, to name two- and absolutely no impact on the music world at all. In looking up information on this album, I have learned Anohni produced it, and it has to be some of her first recording work- predating the first Antony and the Johnsons record by 5 years.
It is a fantastic record. One I love as passionately as I did upon release. The band released a follow-up on an indie label, and I always hoped to procure it somehow. I was unsuccessful until recent years when it has been uploaded to Spotify. It follows the same tropes, but lacks the magic of the debut.
Since it seems like everyone who heard the record has the same obsession with it, it's easy to play the "What If" game. The band was part of a New York late 90s scene that came with incredible hype (Jonathan Fireeater, D Generation, NY Loose) but was ill-fated, and it was the succeeding NYC scene that had the big success.
I have never heard of any of the resulting projects that came after the band's break-up, but there are indications of some- guitarist Paul "Boring" Arfield is with a band with singer/actress Marti Domination called Beaut that appears to be staying active in the NYC area. Beaut still keeps the spirit of Stiffs Inc live on their website. Singer Whitey Sterling followed his use moving to a more electronic sound with a band called Umbrella Brigade. "Ex Nihilo" was released in 2010. Spotify has one record (Marchen 2012) which I was able to confirm are the same guys via their website).
If you haven't arrived at the same conclusion I have, by now, I will draw it out. If they had arrived a decade later, it would have been possible they could have capitalized on the Steampunk boom. It is easy to imagine them sharing stages with the Dresden Dolls, Emilie Autumn or Rasputina.
Of course, it is nearly impossible not to bring up My Chemical Romance, one of the biggest rock bands on the planet. No one seems to be as close to the Stiffs in image than Gerard Way, who has now ventured into storytelling through comics and television. Interestingly, that is no coincidence, Way is a very vocal fan of the band and cites them as influence.
Recommended track: They're all good. Start out with the frenetic "Blown Away Baby" and "Quick Watson", or if you like a slow build "Mary Pickford, Marry Me" or "Fear in the Night"., and then don't forget the Who/Richard Hell referencing "Generation Crap"
