I saw them 3-4 times back in the day & once as Air Miami. They are an absolutely terrific live band! Such simple arrangements & yet such lockstep rhythm b/w the guitars & drums - Mark R has such a huge voice too. Hopefully it has aged well?
I might have to make my way east this July.
― in movie 2001 resurrect thread on planet jupiter (Pillbox), Thursday, 6 May 2010 01:46 (thirteen years ago) link
I saw them the night Clinton was elected. All I remember is them playing "Hydroplane" for 8-10 minutes and Bridget resting her head on Mark's shoulder while they effortlessly jammed out.
― bug holocaust (sleeve), Thursday, 6 May 2010 01:50 (thirteen years ago) link
One of the best double-bills I've ever attended: Unrest & Stereolab in '93 @ St. Andrews Hall in Detroit - touring for Perfect Teeth & TRNBWA respectively.
― in movie 2001 resurrect thread on planet jupiter (Pillbox), Thursday, 6 May 2010 02:29 (thirteen years ago) link
^^^ was at that same show...awesome
― henry s, Thursday, 6 May 2010 02:39 (thirteen years ago) link
One of the best triple bills I ever saw: Unrest, Volcano Suns, Wesding Present at the 9:30, 20 years ago. Anyone else going to the Cambridge show?
― dad a, Thursday, 6 May 2010 02:43 (thirteen years ago) link
Suki is pretty catchy. I've seen a couple lists that rank Imperial ffras the number one indie album of all time - DO NOT AGREE. But I can't deny it's a pretty attractive album, all the songs are very well done. But holy shit, talk about iconoclasm. I'm sure people have seen the list I'm talking about.
― kelpolaris, Thursday, 6 May 2010 02:47 (thirteen years ago) link
xxp - have we been through this before, henry s? I think we were probably at a lot of the same shows.
― in movie 2001 resurrect thread on planet jupiter (Pillbox), Thursday, 6 May 2010 02:48 (thirteen years ago) link
Caught that bill out here at UC Irvine, with Idaho opening. Hell of a triple bill.
― Ned Raggett, Thursday, 6 May 2010 02:52 (thirteen years ago) link
idaho, unrest and stereolab in one concert? why wasn't i there?
― alex in mainhattan, Thursday, 6 May 2010 10:26 (thirteen years ago) link
I think we both piled on some thread about Detroit venues, or St. Andrews Hall, or something like that...(I live in Boston now, but am from the D, and went to a ton of shows there in the 80's and 90's)...
― henry s, Thursday, 6 May 2010 11:31 (thirteen years ago) link
Got my tickets to the NYC show!
― kate78, Thursday, 6 May 2010 23:37 (thirteen years ago) link
^^^jealous
one of the few bands I would be excited to see a reunion performance by (the other one was Camper Van Beethoven)
― the sound of a norwegian guy being wrong (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 6 May 2010 23:38 (thirteen years ago) link
Gotta buy my plane tickets next!
― kate78, Thursday, 6 May 2010 23:43 (thirteen years ago) link
Would killllllllllllllll to see that.
― Tonight I Dine on Turtle Soup (EDB), Friday, 7 May 2010 00:04 (thirteen years ago) link
Brooklyn show sold out!
― kate78, Friday, 7 May 2010 05:40 (thirteen years ago) link
Come to Hoboken, people.
― Evan, Friday, 7 May 2010 13:09 (thirteen years ago) link
http://www.boston.com/ae/music/articles/2010/07/02/mark_robinson_and_his_little_teenbeat_label_celebrate_a_big_legacy_and_a_26th_anniversary/
― curmudgeon, Friday, 2 July 2010 19:54 (thirteen years ago) link
huh, a designer for Houghton Mifflin
― has arlen specter never heard clarence thomas's laugh? (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 2 July 2010 19:59 (thirteen years ago) link
I love that he writes hand-written notes for mail orders (I got one for that Maybe It's Reno CD)
will anyone be at the Friday 7/9 show in Brooklyn?
― kate78, Friday, 2 July 2010 20:21 (thirteen years ago) link
man i was so disappointed at that maybe it's reno album :\
― 69, Friday, 2 July 2010 20:53 (thirteen years ago) link
really? I thought a lot of it was very much of a piece with Perfect Teeth
― has arlen specter never heard clarence thomas's laugh? (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 2 July 2010 20:55 (thirteen years ago) link
Yeah, maybe it's reno is great. Takes a few listens to kick in.
― dlp9001, Saturday, 3 July 2010 01:04 (thirteen years ago) link
I love that he writes hand-written notes for mail orders
Hah, yeah! I only ever ordered from Teenbeat once, got Vomit Launch & No Trend CDs because they were impossible to find here, and got a note from "Mark" I did wonder if it was really him ; )
― a fucking stove just fell on my foot. (Colonel Poo), Saturday, 3 July 2010 01:13 (thirteen years ago) link
3 versions of Unrest were great in DC tonight ( Versus were as well; and Rondelles weren't bad....Missed the first band...Jonny Cohen in between band was well Jonny). Unrest did "Cath Carroll", "Teenage Suicide," "Suki," "Makeout Club" and many more. Mark's got that wonderful boyish grin as he strums away and sings.
― curmudgeon, Sunday, 11 July 2010 06:22 (thirteen years ago) link
Unrest were great in Hoboken.
― Evan, Sunday, 11 July 2010 06:28 (thirteen years ago) link
a crucial influence on the transition of american indie aesthetics from B&W photocopies of skulls to colour photocopies of 70's airport lounges.
― fritz, Monday, February 18, 2002 5:00 PM (8 years ago) Bookmark
all time 2nd response HOF
― good news if you wear cargo shorts (contenderizer), Sunday, 11 July 2010 06:53 (thirteen years ago) link
Pals of mine who dj'd at the University of Maryland's WMUC and who hung out with Robinson in the mid to late 80s and early 90s shared Mark's interest in Factory Records. While such interest may not have been prominent as a musical theme in America at the time, it was not necessarily unusual.
― curmudgeon, Sunday, 11 July 2010 16:00 (thirteen years ago) link
Mark's lost a ton of weight.
― kate78, Monday, 12 July 2010 02:43 (thirteen years ago) link
I had not seen him in so long, I missed the heavy phase.
― curmudgeon, Monday, 12 July 2010 13:50 (thirteen years ago) link
I was trying to determine the best Unrest record.
the first one a little too juvenalia for my tastes, and perfect teeth never did it for me. a noble failure.
that leaves malcolm x park, kustom karnal, imperial. kustom karnal is great, but a little too genre-bound. imperial has their best songs, but
malcolm x park is their best record.
― dude (del), Monday, 20 September 2010 16:10 (thirteen years ago) link
the pre-Imperial stuff I've heard seems half-formed to me. don't think I've ever listened to Malcolm X Park tho
― Dr. Lol Evans (Shakey Mo Collier), Monday, 20 September 2010 16:12 (thirteen years ago) link
you should check it out.
"pop" song highlights-- redo of can't sit still from their first lp. ]Christina, which is a tribute to lawrence hayward vox.
other highlights-- lucifer rising not sure if this references beausoleil/jimmy page origins, but it is fab. raucous cover of kiss' Strutter. Elvis Presley cover. Cramps-informed rockabilly workout. eloquent piano instrumental, recalling vin guaraldi high on lucy shwag, mondrian.
a brilliant mix of self-indulgence and hitting just the right notes for the crowd at each prompting to change over the record. i think large part involved regurgitating influences in a compelling way and not being confined by genre.
one of the best shows i ever saw involved a capella rendition of lord shiva from kustom karnal with his bandmates looking on like "ugh, i'm so embarrassed"
― dude (del), Monday, 20 September 2010 16:26 (thirteen years ago) link
a brilliant mix of self-indulgence and hitting just the right notes for the crowd at each prompting to change over the record.
funny, i can't parse that sentence either.
what i mean, is after each song when you might be tempted to be "ugh", the next track totally switches gears.
i think their eclecticism played a large part in their genius. other big names falling under indie rock from that period, pavement, superchunk, whatever seem so stifled in comparison
― dude (del), Monday, 20 September 2010 16:36 (thirteen years ago) link
can't get past how ugly the sleeve is tbh. from Imperial on all their stuff looks SO great.
― Dr. Lol Evans (Shakey Mo Collier), Monday, 20 September 2010 16:41 (thirteen years ago) link
yeah, maybe not the best artwork choice ever. i try not to pay too much attention to that stuff. i mean, "unrest" is sort of a ridiculous name for a band.
i agree, though. imperial + the singles around that time, bavarian mods, skinhead girl, etc., are perfect-looking
― dude (del), Monday, 20 September 2010 16:46 (thirteen years ago) link
also, you should check out "headringer" from twister cassette. great early unrest song, man
― dude (del), Monday, 20 September 2010 18:56 (thirteen years ago) link
if you like stuttering epiphones
― dude (del), Monday, 20 September 2010 18:57 (thirteen years ago) link
Drummer Phil Krauth is now my son's English teacher. They had some tough essays on Crime & Punishment.
― curmudgeon, Monday, 20 September 2010 19:19 (thirteen years ago) link
!!
that's so cool
― Dr. Lol Evans (Shakey Mo Collier), Monday, 20 September 2010 19:20 (thirteen years ago) link
yes!
― dude (del), Monday, 20 September 2010 19:23 (thirteen years ago) link
Just realized after 15 years of looking at them that the sleeve photos of B.P.M (1991-1994) are Pachyderm Studios in Cannon Falls (I've hung out on that overhang!), where Simon Le Bon stopped by and passively watched the band recording long enough to get a joke "producer" credit on Perfect Teeth. That album's first two songs sure stand up as something else (and very Duran Duran), I gotta say.
― Pete Scholtes, Monday, 20 September 2010 21:25 (thirteen years ago) link
have always wondered about that LeBon credit
― Dr. Lol Evans (Shakey Mo Collier), Monday, 20 September 2010 21:34 (thirteen years ago) link
yeah, me too!!
man "angel i will walk you home" is one hell of a song. the fast-strummy stuff is pretty obv the (deserving) focus of their late-oeuvre, but i looooove the slow pretty stuff a lot, too.
― 69, Monday, 20 September 2010 21:41 (thirteen years ago) link
^^
never got all that much into malcolm x, but when i first heard it i was a huge imperial head so maybe i'd feel differently about it now
― the groin transfer (electricsound), Monday, 20 September 2010 22:42 (thirteen years ago) link
from imperial on their stuff looks great. and uptight, anal, entirely defined by conventional (mid-to-late 20th century) thinking about "good design" and "good taste".
malcolm X park cover art seems to come from a mirror universe wr2 those buttoned-down aesthetics. raw, sloppy, deliberately ugly, crude, badly designed. somewhat appealing on that level, and representative of the messy, homemade, splattery music within.
― having taken an actual journalism class (contenderizer), Monday, 20 September 2010 22:44 (thirteen years ago) link
as a record, i can't go with malcolm x park as their best. think they were still defining themselves at that point, working to find an individual voice within a whirl of then-current punk, post-punk, art & indie influences. the follow-up, kustom karnal blaxploitation, seemed like an attempt to align themselves with the likes of sonic youth (creepy tunings, "rock" posturing, dark subject matter), and a triumph within the band of their prog over their pop tendencies, but it's a failure, and a brilliant one in that they were so quickly able to learn from it. boring as it may be to say, imperial still stands as their masterpiece. it's their sound, not an approximation of anyone else's, and it never falters, doubts itself, breaks stride.
― having taken an actual journalism class (contenderizer), Monday, 20 September 2010 22:52 (thirteen years ago) link
great post. let me think about this.
yeah, i think kustom karnal is brilliant, defiantly so, maybe
as i said above, i think imperial is the best song-wise. during that time i was blown away by their singles run of cherry, skinhead girl, factory tribute, bavarian mods. maybe i'm just a sucker for contrarianism, but i loved that they went directly from kustom karnal to jangly pop songs. kinda like writing a sparkly almost radio-ready song like skinhead girl but dousing it in four-letter words, provocative subject matter
think i like mxp so much b/c it is brash in a clueless first album sort of way...enthusiasm trumping everything. lots of confidence, too many ideas. i realize it's not their first lp, but it has that vibe almost. and i feel like it's aged really well. 'fuck pussy galore' or whatever it's called is something of a mess, kustom feels strangulated somehow and maybe too much of a pose, imperial for all of its greatness sounds thin to me sometimes, and i never really got into p. teeth.
― dude (del), Monday, 20 September 2010 23:34 (thirteen years ago) link
entirely defined by conventional (mid-to-late 20th century) thinking about "good design" and "good taste".
yeah, especially the cover of the animal park 7"!
― the girl from spirea x (f. hazel), Tuesday, 21 September 2010 00:46 (thirteen years ago) link
well, almost entirely ;D
― having taken an actual journalism class (contenderizer), Tuesday, 21 September 2010 16:18 (thirteen years ago) link