It's Time For L7 to Have Their Own Thread

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What ever happened to those punkers anyway?

They were a major guilty pleasure of mine in the '90s.
Ahh.. Donita Sparks.. fruit from the gods

ZionTrain, Thursday, 5 May 2005 18:26 (eighteen years ago) link

JEANNE FURY TO THREAD!

Hooray!

Their local shows in 1991 and 1992 were rock o' the gods.

Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 5 May 2005 18:28 (eighteen years ago) link

GOD, THEY WERE/ARE TERRIBLE.

ddb (ddb), Thursday, 5 May 2005 18:29 (eighteen years ago) link

That first self titled on Epitaph is fucking ferocious.. say what you want about the later stuff.

Only Dickless could possibly outdo that first record.

donut debonair (donut), Thursday, 5 May 2005 18:30 (eighteen years ago) link

This reminds me to check out Bricks Are Heavy next I'm at the radio station. There was this article in the Bloomington free arts mag when I was a kid where the critic got all upset about L7 getting popular while Scrawl's Bloodsucker was unheard so I never paid them much attention back in the day. I really only know "Stuck Here Again" and "Off The Wagon." I'm pretty curious!

miccio (miccio), Thursday, 5 May 2005 18:31 (eighteen years ago) link

God Bless You, Ned.

ZionTrain, Thursday, 5 May 2005 18:38 (eighteen years ago) link

The entire "Bricks Are Heavy" and "Hungry For Stink" CD's are worth seeking out. There's a few nuggets off in which the titles now escape me, except for a cool track called "Drama" off "The Beauty Process"

ZionTrain, Thursday, 5 May 2005 18:50 (eighteen years ago) link

I really only know "Stuck Here Again" and "Off The Wagon."

Their worst material. All you need is "Bricks are Heavy" and "Hungry for Stink". (xpost)

Dude, the Beauty Process is so awful as a whole that I can't listen to it!

L7 were terrible. but i'll stand up for "shove" and "pretend we're dead."

tonight is what it means to be young (Jody Beth Rosen), Thursday, 5 May 2005 19:14 (eighteen years ago) link

Dude, the Beauty Process is the only one I really like at all. I can't listen to any of the others.

Johnny Fever (johnny fever), Thursday, 5 May 2005 19:19 (eighteen years ago) link

"I Need" is another good one from Beauty Process.

ZionTrain, Thursday, 5 May 2005 19:23 (eighteen years ago) link

Pretend that We're Dead should have been a huge Grunge era hit! Alas, we all know that grunge's popularity was due to the crossover success with metalheads and they hate women!
I think I liked "I Need" ... Shit... I like some of their really slow stuff. Would it be fair to say L7 was the female Mudhoney?
It is near impossible to find a decent picture of Donita Sparks. WTF!

ZionTrain, Thursday, 5 May 2005 19:26 (eighteen years ago) link

http://smelll7.com/Images/donitansuziC.jpg

That is pretty awesome.

sleep (sleep), Thursday, 5 May 2005 19:31 (eighteen years ago) link

They are my life. There's not much more I can say.

Je4nne ƒury (Jeanne Fury), Thursday, 5 May 2005 19:33 (eighteen years ago) link

(Is there a Team Dresch thread?)
Would it be fair to say L7 was the female Mudhoney?

NO!, IT WOULDNT BE FAIR AT ALL.

ddb (ddb), Thursday, 5 May 2005 19:47 (eighteen years ago) link

I love Mudhoney
Weird, I was listening to both those bands last night. Heh.

Je4nne ƒury (Jeanne Fury), Thursday, 5 May 2005 19:47 (eighteen years ago) link

CLEARLY YOU DONT.

ddb (ddb), Thursday, 5 May 2005 19:48 (eighteen years ago) link

Dickless could have been the female Mudhoney had they had more than three songs released.

donut debonair (donut), Thursday, 5 May 2005 19:55 (eighteen years ago) link

WHERE IZ TEH LOVE FOR SLIVERFISH AND THE LUNNACHIKKS?!!??!!

donut debonair (donut), Thursday, 5 May 2005 19:58 (eighteen years ago) link

Donut, I think I've professed my love for the 'chicks about 100 times already. They are my favorite live band in the history of forever!!

Je4nne ƒury (Jeanne Fury), Thursday, 5 May 2005 19:58 (eighteen years ago) link

I saw me the Lunachicks play in 1991 or so, I forget what bill they were on. "Super Strong" pounded my head in.

Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 5 May 2005 20:18 (eighteen years ago) link

EARLY BABES IN TOYLAND!!!!

DICKLESS WERE GREAT!!

TELL THAT TO COLONEL YIN. (ddb), Thursday, 5 May 2005 22:58 (eighteen years ago) link

I love L7's cover of BOC's "The Red And The Black"

Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Thursday, 5 May 2005 23:16 (eighteen years ago) link

love the sub pop stuff, and bits of "bricks".. the rest, no ta.

shine headlights on me (electricsound), Thursday, 5 May 2005 23:19 (eighteen years ago) link

"Pretend We're Dead" has the dumbest lyrics of all time.

Alex in NYC (vassifer), Thursday, 5 May 2005 23:20 (eighteen years ago) link

I love L7's cover of BOC's "The Red And The Black"

I am deeply shamed I didn't even know this existed!

"Pretend We're Dead" has the dumbest lyrics of all time.

Up against "When the President Talks to God" or whatever it is, it's almost serene.

Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 5 May 2005 23:21 (eighteen years ago) link

It is near impossible to find a decent picture of Donita Sparks. WTF!

Which is odd as she has really great features....despite the fact that she went well out of her way to obscure them. Likewise Squid Sid in the Lunachicks.

Alex in NYC (vassifer), Thursday, 5 May 2005 23:21 (eighteen years ago) link

b-b-b-but the L7 album on Epitaph... it's incredible.

donut debonair (donut), Thursday, 5 May 2005 23:22 (eighteen years ago) link

I think she looks great here...

http://girlbands.faithweb.com/L79.jpg (second from left)

Alex in NYC (vassifer), Thursday, 5 May 2005 23:25 (eighteen years ago) link

Donita is/was so hot. Anyone remember the "Andres" video? That was splendid work. Donita playing the end guitar solo in the water only to get crunched under the tide. Or the gals rockin' out at the beauty parlor? Ahhhh....Ahhh.....ANDRE!

Someone torrent this pleeze.

ZionTrain, Thursday, 5 May 2005 23:50 (eighteen years ago) link

Wow, you guys mention every L7 album except the true classic: "Smell The Magic"....

John 2, Friday, 6 May 2005 13:55 (eighteen years ago) link

dude, we worshiped L7 in high school. snuck into a bar to seem them play in high school years. so classic. "girls that rock ROCK!"

definitely way better than a lot of the other bullshit that was mtv popular at that time.
m.

msp (mspa), Friday, 6 May 2005 14:08 (eighteen years ago) link

WARGASM WARGASM ONE TWO THREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's the extent of my love for 'em (Bricks is the only record of theirs I ever heard, this was the only song on the record I recall liking) but that song's one for the goddamn rosters -- I wish someone contemporary would cover it as it's got mad modern relevance.

Raymond Cummings (Raymond Cummings), Friday, 6 May 2005 14:15 (eighteen years ago) link

Who remembers the competition that Kerrang! ran where the prize was a night out and a bunk-up with one of L7?

DJ Mencap0))), Friday, 6 May 2005 14:41 (eighteen years ago) link

I liked "Smell The Magic" but it didn't resonate with me the way that "Hungry For Stink" or "Bricks" did. Maybe I hadn't become hot blooded enough yet towards the Riot Grrrls yet.. ;)

What was it about these gals and the olfactory system anyway?

ZionTrain, Friday, 6 May 2005 17:34 (eighteen years ago) link

it's all about The Lure of the Animal TM.

http://benjanaway.users.btopenworld.com/Graphics/Kramer.jpg

m.

msp (mspa), Friday, 6 May 2005 17:37 (eighteen years ago) link

"I Drink", "Runnin' From The Law" and especially "Ms. 45" were kinda rockin', but in general, L7 sucked - at least, compared to Girlschool.

(Now, Girlschool: They were C-Moon.)

Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), Saturday, 7 May 2005 05:38 (eighteen years ago) link

four months pass...
I'm listening to 'Wargasm' right now and I have to say, not only has it aged well, but it has a surly intensity and zombie-like, apathetically brutal fury that makes it sound more dangerous than it ever has before.

moley, Thursday, 29 September 2005 11:26 (eighteen years ago) link

And as for 'Running From The Law' - that's a stone cold classic. One in a thousand rock bands ever write a rock song as classic as 'Running From the Law'. People dream fruitlessly about writing a song that good for every decade of their dismal lives, and die bitter, cursing their guitars, which, though the onset of the drugs administered to the dying, take on a haunting, ghostly aspect even as they lie abandoned in the corner of the room, half demon, half Donita, mocking them as they lie in their beds, screaming for even a tiny taste of the kind of inspiration that filled the rocking hearts of L7 as they wrote that classic fucking song. Yeah.

moley, Thursday, 29 September 2005 11:35 (eighteen years ago) link

Good on yer, Moley. :-)

Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 29 September 2005 12:01 (eighteen years ago) link

L7=the first all grrl band (right beside the Breeders) who made me realize that perhaps guys w/ gtrs didn't have the rawk thing cornered. then seeing made think that the guys had something to learn.

i heart me some L7...
gawd bless-
Masses Are Asses
Shove
Fast+Frightening
the Beauty Process
and so much more...

eedd, Thursday, 29 September 2005 17:35 (eighteen years ago) link

So, not El Seven the powerpop / new wave band from Reading who released "Magnifico" and "Radio Tokyo" then?

Don't wanna be L7
I had enough of this
This is brainwash
And this is a clue
To the stars who fool you

Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Thursday, 29 September 2005 18:12 (eighteen years ago) link

four years pass...

Ned's "Not Just The Ticket" series recently covered a couple of L7 shows and goddamnit I miss them a lot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7b00jXAscEI

Elvis Telecom, Wednesday, 2 June 2010 09:06 (thirteen years ago) link

I once saw them supporting Faith No More, so got most of Bricks Are Heavy followed by most of Angel Dust. I heart 1992.

Wargasm, Pretend We're Dead, Shitlist (especially in its Natural Born Killers OST incarnation) and Shove still rule.

Haunted Clocks For Sale (Dorianlynskey), Wednesday, 2 June 2010 09:22 (thirteen years ago) link

My first thought when I saw this revived was that they had reformed and would be curating a forthcoming festival at Butlins Minehead.

Matt DC, Wednesday, 2 June 2010 09:35 (thirteen years ago) link

That would be something.

Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 2 June 2010 12:39 (thirteen years ago) link

two years pass...

Blasting "Smell the Magic" right now. Truly a big, fat piece of heavy. It's great! They don't get much credit, really.

Mule, Friday, 16 November 2012 22:19 (eleven years ago) link

two years pass...
two weeks pass...

From their Facebook page today:

ATTENTION! A personal message from the band:
Greetings People! We want you to know that the love and support you have shown us here on Facebook this year has taken us all a bit by surprise. What started as a simple band page for us to post some archival photos we had been sifting through for an upcoming L7 documentary has turned into a wellspring of enthusiasm for the band. For this WE THANK YOU!
Many of you have asked when we might return for a reunion. Well, it’s been 14 years since our last show, longer if you consider our original line up. But we (Donita, Suzi, Jennifer, and Dee) are hearing you, we are talking about it, and we kinda agree. Why the hell not?
Here’s the situation…
They say to raise a child it takes a village, well to get interest from promoters for L7 to do reunion shows it’s going to take an ARMY. An army of you all. No joke.
Here’s what we need…
We need your continued enthusiasm, your spreading the word by “Sharing” our posts and getting your friends and enemies to “Like” our page.
First and foremost WE NEED YOUR EMAIL ADDRESSES at our new website http://l7theband.com/
We need to reach you all directly. No spam, no problem.
Let’s show ‘em all! Your love and support will make this happen!
For those about to rock, WE SALUTE YOU.
Love, L7 xo

Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 10 December 2014 21:30 (nine years ago) link

I had kinda forgotten how good Smell the Magic is.

always felt like Courtney Love ripped off their sound tbh

Οὖτις, Wednesday, 10 December 2014 21:39 (nine years ago) link

"Death Wish" rules so hard

some kind of terrible IDM with guitars (sleeve), Wednesday, 10 December 2014 22:59 (nine years ago) link

one month passes...

Okay folks, the news comes tomorrow:

L7 Email Subscribers!
Check your email tomorrow at 1:00 pm Eastern US.
As promised, you will be first to know some BIG NEWS! xoxo!
For those who haven't signed up yet, you can sign up to the left of this page or here:
l7theband.com

Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 27 January 2015 02:28 (nine years ago) link

oh hey I was just thinking about how good donita sparks' solo album was

katherine, Tuesday, 27 January 2015 03:22 (nine years ago) link

Tomorrow is here.

Mark G, Tuesday, 27 January 2015 16:45 (nine years ago) link

it's not 1 pm yet

katherine, Tuesday, 27 January 2015 17:37 (nine years ago) link

Mail just went out. First tour dates:

6/19: Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain @ Azkena Rock Festival
6/20: Clisson, France @ Hell Fest.

More dates announced tomorrow, some more news very shortly...

Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 27 January 2015 17:56 (nine years ago) link

And here's that other news:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/975436123/l7-pretend-were-dead

Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 27 January 2015 19:14 (nine years ago) link

Couple more tour dates...

13 June 2015 – AUSTRIA – Nickelsdorf – Novarock Festival
14 June 2015 – U.K – Donnington – Download Festival

...and the Kickstarter is halfway to its goal, which is cool to see.

Ned Raggett, Sunday, 1 February 2015 18:58 (nine years ago) link

Hello, he said:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/975436123/l7-pretend-were-dead/posts/1133811

We are also offering GUEST LIST and BACKSTAGE MEETING with L7 at their club shows in LOS ANGELES and PRAGUE (in May and June)

No further word on this LA show yet beyond that.

Ned Raggett, Thursday, 12 February 2015 17:24 (nine years ago) link

Prague???

sleeve, Thursday, 12 February 2015 17:26 (nine years ago) link

two months pass...

We have LA show info, this will be the first official reunion show as I understand it. Link is being a bit wonky but -- Thursday, May 28th, tickets on sale in two days.

http://www.attheecho.com/event/830197

Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 5 May 2015 19:06 (eight years ago) link

three weeks pass...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QCvLqOrDZg

Elvis Telecom, Friday, 29 May 2015 06:51 (eight years ago) link

one month passes...

Righteous show last night. The intervening 20 years might as well not exist.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnvgqXc3qnE

Elvis Telecom, Saturday, 18 July 2015 05:52 (eight years ago) link

two years pass...

Anyway, catching up on a few things:

* new documentary is out or about out; I got my DVD earlier this week thanks to being a Kickstarter backer. Had seen a slightly early cut already -- it's good! Relies on the copious footage they took themselves, with the band providing voiceovers. Smart approach.

* finally caught a reunion show the other day, due to missing out two years back as it fell around the time of my Bay Area move and I was otherwise busy in settling in. Per Elvis above: honestly didn't feel like much had changed, and a solid setlist. Would have loved "Wargasm" (one of many songs that sadly haven't aged at all) but what can you do. Playing LA tomorrow as well as an Amoeba set in a couple of weeks.

* new song!

https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/after-18-years-how-do-l7-return-with-a-song-about-trashing-trumps-mar-a-lago-interview/

Ned Raggett, Friday, 29 September 2017 17:09 (six years ago) link

oh cool another chance to talk about how much I like Donita Sparks' solo album

sick, fucking funny, and well tasty (katherine), Friday, 29 September 2017 19:27 (six years ago) link

(it's really good!)

sick, fucking funny, and well tasty (katherine), Friday, 29 September 2017 19:27 (six years ago) link

I reviewed my cassette of Smell the Magic for my first record review in my high school newspaper so these ladies will always have a special place in my heart

Οὖτις, Friday, 29 September 2017 19:45 (six years ago) link

<3 this band and the reunion shows seem well received, good for them

sleeve, Friday, 29 September 2017 20:11 (six years ago) link

I saw the documentary screening in Philly a few weeks ago. It was really enjoyable and a little different, mainly because the hugest portion of it was old video footage the band shot themselves while on tour and otherwise back "in the moment" which gave it a very contemporary feel as opposed to most music docs which almost always come off as the hindsight that they are.

They also kept the interview stuff to a minimum instead of the huge list of names at the end being thanked in order of appearance. Hell, I don't even think Ian MacKaye was in it and he is in every documentary!

Loud guitars shit all over "Bette Davis Eyes" (NYCNative), Friday, 29 September 2017 22:56 (six years ago) link

I saw the reunion tour in 2015 and they fucking rocked.

Colonel Poo, Friday, 29 September 2017 23:25 (six years ago) link

three weeks pass...

MacKaye is in it, but not as a talking head irrc - there is footage of them asking him to dance onstage with them at the Rock For Vote concert in DC.

God, the documentary is so much fun. I could watch hours of the hi8 footage of them goofing around while recording Bricks Are Heavy.

Estella, Damm (stevie), Friday, 20 October 2017 13:21 (six years ago) link

two months pass...

Every time I listen to L7 I'm like this fucking rocks. My heart will always belong to Mudhoney but L7 are so underrated. I don't hate Soundgarden or anything but nah

Colonel Poo, Sunday, 14 January 2018 01:29 (six years ago) link

two months pass...

New album in the works

https://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/l7theband

Ned Raggett, Monday, 9 April 2018 16:19 (six years ago) link

five years pass...

some of their songs are soooo great

Swen, Sunday, 25 February 2024 17:15 (two months ago) link

def not all though lol, my main struggle is the repetitivenessssssss. still some bangers.

Swen, Sunday, 25 February 2024 17:26 (two months ago) link


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