★ I'm about halfway through reading "As Serious As Your Life" by Val Wilmer. Reflecting on what I've read so far currently has me in my office cubicle spacing out a bit, thinking about the geography of music scenes. In reflecting, I reminded myself of another book I read about a year ago, Bruce Adams' "You're With Stupid," which covers the author's time at
kranky and his general notion of Chicago independent music in the 1990s. Admittedly I was underwhelmed by the writing, but I have newfound appreciation for the book as, now in conversation with Wilmer, it's led me to question: What regional scenes still matter as a concept TODAY, if at all? Philadelphia could be argued for certain, and to a lesser degree Chicago, LA, NYC, and the Bay--but somehow I feel like these aren't the apt answers. They're stand-ins for a larger symptomatic issue plaguing the underground. The fact that the current stage of the internet -- where work is remote and happening across the globe, and post-lockdown, where many musicians cannot tour in a sustainable capacity -- creates a strange affect. The kind where distribution and access barriers have fallen to a point where people don't buy things, yet more than ever county/state/regional scenes are lifeblood, and still woefully in trouble. Can there be another kranky (or "chicago moment") in the 2020s? And if there is, is it being bolstered by private press imprints and tape labels? Yeah no shit there's fantastic music coming out across those labels, I can confirm that first hand if you come and look at
my tapes and let me gush for half an hour. It's just that hearing stories of how DIY operated "back then" makes me ruminate about today's lack of venues, and the lack of scarcity and mystery that was previously possible to tap into in the pre- and early internet age.
★ I've been obsessed with this new "adam bread" (AKA hexenzense, Adam Tarango, Pouter) compilation of old songs and demos. Reminds me of Helvetia at its best: a 4-track one-man-band's haphazard collection of way too many songs, all with incredible riffs. And if Helvetia listened to hella Alex G. Sidenote: imagine
if Jason Albertini had a Toronto accent?
