March 2001 Parasol Newsletter

Issue #40

I went to see a movie over the weekend and one of the previews screened in my theater was the new Robert Rodriguez film Spy Kids. When I got to work on Monday there was a message from Hidden Agenda band Fonda informing us that they have recorded the end title song for a new movie… Spy Kids. The song is also going to appear on the movie's soundtrack. The Bettie Serveert mini album that we've been advertising for the past few months is no longer happening, but singer Carol Van Dyk is doing a full-length solo album of sorts that should be out on Hidden Agenda late in the Spring. Adam Schmitt delivered a CD of ten new songs last week. Titled Demolition the CD should be out in June.

SPOTLIGHT

Various Artists-Shoe Fetish: A Tribute to Shoes
CD (PAR-CD-065) $10.00

Green Pajamas-In a Glass Darkly
CD EP (AHA!023) $8.00

I love the Green Pajamas. Though a band since the mid-'80s, I didn't really catch up to their recorded output until the release of 1997's Strung Behind the Sun. After a few nights in the office with the CD on repeat and I was hooked. Since then, there has been a flood of Green Pajamas related releases. The Strung Out EP was released in 1998 followed closely by Indian Winter, a compilation of songs from 1985-1996. In 1999 the band released a full-length of new material, All Clues Lead To Meagan's Bed, and early 2000 spawned Seven Fathoms Down and Falling. A CD re-issue of 1990's Ghosts of Love came next and the year ended with an LP (only) of singles and compilation tracks titled Narcotic Kisses. In between, Pajamas chief songwriter Jeff Kelly found time to collect four CDs worth of solo material for his Melancholy Sun box set. Wow. This summer Australia's Camera Obscura label will release yet another CD of new Green Pajamas material, but until then you can satisfy your psychedelic pop urges with In a Glass Darkly, an EP of five new Green Pajamas songs. Jeff Kelly had originally planned In a Glass Darkly as a Goblin Market side project with collaborator Laura Weller, but after further examination and rumination decided it was Green Pajamas material after all. Inspired by the writings of J. S. Le Fanu, In a Glass Darkly is a bit more somber, and dare I say goth, than recent Green Pajamas output. A beautiful escape for the coming days of Spring. In stock March 20.

Signalmen-Falsetto Teeth
(PAR-CD-062) $10.00

When the debut Signalmen album was released a few years back we made much mention of their twin guitar attack, a la Television, which maybe obscured our enthusiasm for their SONGS. Gear Magazine picked up on the band's charms observing, "…twangy guitar lines and mellow drums propel the melodies…Signalmen come off as odd, unique and intelligent." Sticks & Stones reinforced the theme commenting "…how the band combines interwoven guitar figures and off-kilter pop hooks to create something unique." Not Lame's Bruce Brodeen once told me Signalmen sounded like the revered Sugarplastic, a comparison until then I had never made. And now we're on to album #2, Falsetto Teeth. Featuring the songwriting finesse of Mike Brosco and Steve Burton, Falsetto Teeth also includes the playing of drummer Jeff Evans (Turning Curious), guitarist Tim McKeage (Outnumbered, Weird Summer), and June and the Exit Wounds' Todd Fletcher who adds keyboards to four of the twelve tracks.

Coming Soon...

Various Artists-Parasol's Sweet 16, Volume 3 (Parasol) CD due in March
Tractor Kings-Sunday Night (Mud) CD due in March
Waltz For Debbie-Gone and Out (Hidden Agenda) CD due in April
Jack & the Beanstalk-Cowboys in Sweden (Parasol) CD due in April
Absinthe Blind-The Everyday Separation (Mud) CD due in May
Autoliner-TBA (Parasol) CD due in May
Club 8-TBA (Hidden Agenda) CD due in May
Adam Schmitt-Demolition (Parasol) CD due in June

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT...

…noted rock scribe and cultural critic Greil Marcus gave the thumbs up to Twin Princess in the February 20 edition of his bi-weekly "Real Life Rock Top 10" column at Salon.com. Coming in at #3 for the bi-week, a notch behind Bryan Ferry, Marcus wrote, "An arty duo from Seattle -- arty right down to their not-weird version of Frank and Nancy Sinatra's 1967 'Somethin' Stupid' -- but with enough charm to make you want to walk through the galleries where the stuff is playing. No. 1 this week: 'Deep Sleep,' repetition as its own reward. Moving up: 'Gimme a Kiss.'" What Mr. Marcus did not mention, but I will, is the participation of The Posies' Ken Stringfellow as one half of the Twin Princess duo. The recently released mini-album, "The Complete Recordings," includes both songs from the Twin Princess 7" single that Hidden Agenda released in 1997. Adding more credibility to the whole affair, British DJ John Peel played "Somethin' Stupid" on his February 20 radio show. Ken Stringfellow is currently on the road with the Posies…or is it R.E.M…or solo…?

SOME PARASOL RELATED ARTIST ANSWERS SOME QUESTIONS

Fonda's Emily Cook and Adam Flanders

1. Mixing session you wish you could have attended-
Emily: "Can't say I've ever really thought about it.... maybe In Utero by Nirvana."
Adam: "Smashing Pumpkins' 'Siamese Dream.'"

2. Songs you think you probably shouldn't like but just can't help yourself-
Emily: "'Time of My Life' by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes from Dirty Dancing. A great song but probably a bit shameful."
Adam: "Any Poison songs."

3. Favorite record that you can't find on CD (or CD you can't find on vinyl)-
Emily: "Soundtrack to Beneath The Valley of The Dolls. Strawberry Alarm Clock did all the songs for the girl group in the film. I can't find it anywhere.
Adam: "The only records I've ever owned was Christopher Cross, The Spies Like Us theme song and Fonda's Summerland. I have Fonda on CD, and don't really listen to the others much anymore."

4. First Concert-
Emily: "Public Enemy, Eric B and Rakim, and LL Cool J at Hammersmith Palais when I was 15."
Adam: "Tears for Fears' Songs from the Big Chair tour."

5. Favorite Bass Player-
Emily: "Peter Hook from New Order and Nicky Wire from Manic Street Preachers."

LA-based Fonda self-released an EP and full-length CD before hooking up with Hidden Agenda for their new album The Strange and the Familiar. A current Parasol Mail Order top seller, TSATF showcases the band's blissful collision of female vocals, sunny West Coast pop and shoegazery rock.

The Archive February 2001 January 2001 December 2000 November 2000 October 2000 September 2000 July 2000 May 2000 April 2000 March 2000 February 2000 January 2000 December 1999 November 1999 September 1999 August 1999 July 1999