Brainiac - - - - - C 'o D ?

enon are great, but they suffer live, because John's too busy trying to play the songs to be the dynamic frontman they need.

God I miss this band. I've been listening to their catalog non-stop on the Pod. Everything they released was great. Smack Bunny Baby is way overcriticized, although I liked Bonsai and Hissing Prigs a lot more as full albums. And soooo glad I saw them twice.

Give me back my turquoise Albert Schweitzer doll.

i still miss this band
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lftZcBhFVsY&feature=related

I liked Brainiac in theory but couldn't quite get into Hissing Prig for ages, but then someone just recommended me Bonsai Superstar and wow! This album hits all the right spots for me. It sort of like a weirder version of Polvo mixed with a lysergic-inspired carnival barker/evil clown. Fun!

Years ago @GriffinHamill turned me on to an incredible band called #Brainiac-Now the documentary about their influence (& tragically short career) is out on ITunes/Amazon/Vimeo & DVD- a really touching & funny film on a brilliant band! Check it out here: https://t.co/0WIeG0Z6sA pic.twitter.com/NLX3Quztcj

— Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) March 7, 2020

good news + best possible vehicle for delivering it

wow
need to go see this, going to be playing at a film festival here

Got to see Brainiac once early on after "Smack Bunny Baby" came out with Bloomington's Pencil (guitar player now master mastering engineer Carl Saff's band). They were label mates on the Grass Records label at that time. Taylor was quite an entertainer on stage. I seem to recall that Brainiac played another all ages show in B-ton about a year later and I heard that one was a total burner but I did not go (probably had to work).

Love to check out the documentary. I got to figure there will be documentaries about all sorts of 90s indie rock bands continue to happen over the next decade.

Saw em just the once at London's Garage on the Electro Shock tour. One of the greatest bands I've ever seen - Timmy was extraordinary, he was impossible to take your eyes off of. I was offered the chance to interview him for my zine, but I had too much day-job stuff going down and figured I'd catch them next time. One of my big regrets.

Brainiac: Transmissions After Zero documentary is now up on Prime.

yessssss

Watched this last night

One of the best music docs I've seen in a while

What a fucking band

Melissa Auf Der Maur like..... really loves Brainiac, dang

she's awesome. i interviewed her when her album came out and she is Good People.

yeah she seems really cool

I had no idea they'd reunited! supporting Mogwai in the UK and playing a couple of headline shows next Feb

Feel like an important member might miss the gigs sadly

yeah I have no idea how they are going to handle that, new singer or someone else in the band doing the vocals? dunno.

I love Brainiac but Taylor seems about as irreplaceable as a band member could be

Timmy is irreplaceable, but those songs are great, and it would be good to hear them played live again, and it would be good to hear them played by those musicians whose careers were cut short in the most tragic circumstances. Still no idea who will handle vocals, though John Schmersal sang great in his subsequent band Enon.

I've bought tickets already and am crazy excited for the show. Seeing Brainiac headline the Garage in London on their last tour was one of the most unnerving and unforgettable shows I've ever seen.

What timing, this ran the other day

https://daily.bandcamp.com/lists/brainiac-album-guide

Missing the best, most weird, most infernal, most brilliant Brainiac LP, Bonsai Superstar, which I believe the band would love to reissue but still belongs to the long-shuttered Grass Records.

Yeah there's a lot of Grass stuff still tied up in the ether, really sucks.

Still kicking myself for giving away my vinyl copy 20 or so years ago, as I'd """upgraded""" to a CD copy...

I got to interview the surviving members for this piece, 26 years after I stupidly turned down the chance to interview Brainiac for my fanzine because I figured I could catch them next time they were in London.
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/jan/23/brainiac-on-life-after-tim-taylor-he-used-to-walk-offstage-with-bruises-in-the-shape-of-his-effects-pedals

BETTER BE GOOD (I have no doubt it is good).