I Wish I Was a Mole in the Ground

A rare triple play because I'm still adding shit at a furious pace and can barely keep up.

You're welcome.

Spend the Future in 1994 (1998)

Vince Mole & his Calcium Orchestra started life as a 4-track project led by Chris Parfitt that began while he was still a member of Apples in Stereo.

Katina (2000)

That being said, you know that there's a strong connection to the Elephant Six Recording Co. and aesthetic.

This one was #4 in the Happy Happy Birthday to Me label's 2000 single of the month club that I kind of randomly picked up.

Kevin Whiskey (2002)

This was the last that they were heard from.

Though if you, as a responsible dabbler in internet musical auditioning, are interested the band offers a "deluxe" version of this particular record on their Bandcamp page.

Be a pal and toddle off and get the extra tracks and make them a buck or two.

There's a good chap.

Make Your Own Richard Gere Joke

But now that I think about it, I'd probably have to explain that reference to anybody under the age of 45, so what's the point really ?

Glue (1997)

The Gerbils were one of the bands that appeared on the Elephant 6 recording co. roster in approximately the middle part of the 90's.  Scott Spillane, John D'Azzo and Will Westbrook were the band with Spillane also doing duty in Neutral Milk Hotel.

Looking this shit up on a Neutral Milk Hotel gigography, I see that I saw them perform on the 24th of April in the year 1998 opening up the night at the 400 Bar in Minneapolis to be followed by Elf Power and the fucking be all of Neutral Milk Hotel shows that I witnessed for an "In an Aeroplane Over the Sea" tour.

 I'd even forgotten that Elf Power played. NMH were just so amazing that particular night.

But the Gerbils were good enough as I remember that I got these two singles at some point. (Maybe at least one that night. I know that I got my NMH t-shirt that night)

 

Lucky Girl (1997)

Granted at that point, NMH weren't quite at the same level of revered as they became after Jeff Mangum dropped out of sight for a long while. The they were just another Elephant 6 band with a new and really good record that none of the hip kids wanted to hear about because they were too cool for that shit.
Elf Power had a couple more albums to their name but the Gerbils were the new kids with only a handful of singles. I suppose that's why they opened. 

So here they are. It was really quite nice to listen to these again. It's the magic of the Tascam Porta-One distilled and dispensed at 45 revolutions per minute.

Kindercore Single of the Month Club: September, October

Last two

  September

 Of Montreal & Ladybug Transistor

I'm not a fan of Of Montreal. They're a little too precious even for me. I gave them one cd and a couple of live shows, but they ended up just annoying me. Their bass player at this time was quite attractive though, so they had that going for them. Ladybug Transistor put out a couple of rather entertaining albums and here do a cover of "Galveston" composed by the legendary Jimmy Webb and made famous by Glen Campbell. It does not suck.

  October

Papas Fritas & Masters of the Hemisphere

Papas Fritas are well enough of a known entity now, but were still toiling in pop obscurity at this time. I don't know Masters of the Hemisphere from Adam. On either side of this the bands cover Fleetwood Mac to varying degrees of success.

And thus ends the Kindercore Singles of the Month collection until such time as the final two singles are made available somehow lo these many years later. I'm not holding my breath.

Kindercore Single of the Month Club: July, August

We continue....

  July

Dressy Bessy & the Four Corners

Another peripheral Elephant 6 band in which Apples in Stereo guitarist, John Hill also played. They're very adorable and a boy could have had quite a crush on Tammy Ealon. Their first cd "Pink Hearts Yellow Moons" is quite fun. (Unfortunately it seems like there seems to be much less emphasis in singing in tune on the follow up discs which kind of mars my personal enjoyment.)  I have no idea who the Four Corners are. The do a cover of Spinal Tap's "Gimme Some Money"

  August

Etienne Charry & Babalu

No clue. Enjoy.

Kindercore Single of the Month Club: May, June

Here we go again.

  May

Great Lakes were one of the slightly later generation of Elephant 6 Recording Co. bands but no less good. I listened to their first cd a lot when it came out. Elf Power were a mainstay E6 group and I saw them live a number of time with various other E6 bands. Quite enjoyable live. For this one Great Lakes nail a cover of the Zombies "This Will Be Our Year", while Elf Power bang out the Byrds "Feel a Whole Lot Better" It's a good time to be alive.

  June

Vermont & the Mendoza Line

These two were unknowns to me and remain so. You know how to google, don't you? Pleasant pop songs all around

Kindercore Single of the Month Club: March, April

And now for the next installment of the 2000 Kindercore Single of the Month Club

  March

Japancakes & I am the World Trade Center

I don't doubt that a year later that second band may have regretted their choice of name. Japancakes give us a sweet instrumental with steel guitar. I Am the World Trade Center do a Promise Ring cover.

  April

Chronicle Ape & the New Sound and Freedom Goose & the New Situationalists

Evidence suggests that both of the musique concrete audio collages heard here were the work of the Frosted Ambassador, aka Eric Harris, the drummer for Olivia Tremor Control. Drop a tab and partake if you dare.

Kindercore Single of the Month Club - January, February

Way back in 1999 I forked over something like fifty bucks cash up front to Kindercore Records to join in on their proposed Single of the Month Club. It was a fair chunk of change to me at the time. (Still is, actually) But it seemed like a brilliant concept. I give them money and they send me one brand new and usually exclusive split seven inch record by various bands.

Some of these bands I already knew and like, a few were various Elephant Six Recording Co. projects that I wanted to keep up on and mostly

I like pop songs and getting mail. It was a win-win.

And with various kerfuffles and mix ups and outright fuck ups etc... Things came out of proposed order and the final two singles for November and December never actually materialized. I waited and waited, but they just never happened. The identity of the last four bands on those last two is lost to me in the mists of time with the internet strangely enough being of no help in the matter. I do remember being kind of disappointed because at least on of those lost singles was one of the reasons I joined in the first place.

 

 January

My First Keyboard & Marshmallow Coast

 

February

Wolfie & Kincaid

I set the records aside as they came in with the idea that instead of listening to them individually I'd for whatever reason save them all up for the entire year and listen to them all at once in one fell swoop and then make a big compilation tape to listen to at work. I never ended up getting around to it. So after fourteen years I find myself finally sitting down and listening to them and while making these little sonic packets for sharing. There's some good stuff.

I probably shouldn't have waited.

The Elephant 6 Recording co.

The Elephant 6 Recording co. A loose collective of friends and bands that put out lots and lots of varied and interesting things throughout the 90's with long involved names and mostly done independently and at home. Anything with that logo was like a stamp of approval for me and I'd buy it without blinking or question and for the most part thoroughly enjoy it for the longest time. I really enjoyed the modern lo-fi aesthetics (born as much out of necessity as conscious decision) that took certain aspects of 60's Pop & Psych and fed through a meat grinder into a 4-track machine. It worked for me. I'm a sucker for a good trippy pop song.

 Hypnotic Suggestion

My introduction was Apples in Stereo and it was happenstance that would lead me down the rabbit hole for a long time to come. Their first single was released on the Bus Stop Label. I liked Bus Stop records. I bought the Apples in Stereo one. I liked it. I noticed the little Elephant 6 Recording co. logo on the record and started seeing it on other things.

 

Small Fi. no. 4

I got this one for the Apples in Stereo and found myself introduced to Olivia Tremor Control. The bands would tour and I'd go and see them. Apples in Stereo played with Olivia Tremor Control in the 7th St Entry and had some guy who called himself Neutral Milk Hotel playing with them and so one and so forth and then I got a computer and hooked onto the interwebs and a universe opened up and rained down glorious music upon us all and I end up with a drawer full of aging t shirts of nearly every E6 band that came through ton at some point in the following decade and fond memories & impressions of a lot of shows. And everybody lived happily ever after, amen. You should have been there.