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(Flop in 1993 - Sony was clueless)

Another fine example of a band, after years of struggling, gets signed to a major label who releases their album to weak initial sales and then dumps them like a bad habit a few months later.

Sound familiar? It's what major labels do, especially the past twenty or so years when it stopped being about music and artists and cultivating talent in favor of profit-and-loss statements and bottom lines.

Flop were a combination punk/pop/grunge band that came out of the Seattle area in the early 90s. They had a good local following and a few singles and eps put out by indie labels.

Since Seattle became something of a mecca for all things grunge (with the astounding success of Nirvana) in the early 90s, every major label sent A&R people to scour the streets, clubs and rehearsal rooms in search of the next Kurt Cobain.

Sony found Flop and signed them for their 550 imprint and teamed them with Martin Rushent to co-produce. The results became their second album Whenever You're Ready, a turbo-charged package of 17 cuts of which this track Woolworth is one of them.

It's a great album - loud, fast and out of control. Like a lot of albums should be, but sadly aren't.

Unfortunately, after the Sony debacle there was a personnel change and they recorded one more album for another indie label before calling it quits.

It does however beg the question that if Sony/Epic were an actual record company, would they still have gotten the same fate?

One never knows.

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(Out of control then - out of control now)

Note: This is a repost from July - but this issue hasn't changed, nor has the argument, nor has the paranoia.

As I continue my trek back in the annals of time for the seeming eternal Health care debate, I thought I would add this one to the mix. President Clinton's address regarding his health care plan from September 22, 1993. It is also followed by a rebuttal from Gov. Carrol Campbell, Sen. Connie Mack III and Rep. Nancy Johnson, all staunch opponents of the proposal and all waving fear cards. Johnson, it should be noted, received major financial support from Pfizer and Bayer Pharmaceuticals for her 2000 re-election bid. They also happen to have corporate headquarters in her home state of Connecticut. Fancy that.

Excerpt from the address of September 22, 1993:

Under our plan, every American would receive a health care security card that will guarantee a comprehensive package of benefits over the course of an entire lifetime, roughly comparable to the benefit package offered by most Fortune 500 companies. This health care security card will offer this package of benefits in a way that can never be taken away. So let us agree on this: Whatever else we disagree on, before this Congress finishes its work next year, you will pass and I will sign legislation to guarantee this security to every citizen of this country.

With this card, if you lose your job or you switch jobs, you're covered. If you leave your job to start a small business, you're covered. If you're an early retiree, you're covered. If someone in your family has unfortunately had an illness that qualifies as a preexisting condition, you're still covered. If you get sick or a member of your family gets sick, even if it's a life-threatening illness, you're covered. And if an insurance company tries to drop you for any reason, you will still be covered, because that will be illegal. This card will give comprehensive coverage. It will cover people for hospital care, doctor visits, emergency and lab services, diagnostic services like Pap smears and mammograms and cholesterol tests, substance abuse, and mental health treatment.

Continue reading »

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(Catherine Wheel - Couldn't have been the 90s without them)

Don't know about you, but one of my favorite concerts of the 90s was when Catherine Wheel was opening act for The Charlatans (UK) at The Hollywood Palladium in 1995. It took me straight back to the Delicado/Dope/Red Mountain/Orange blossom-scented days of 1968 when the Shrine Exposition Hall concerts in L.A. went on every weekend and people spent hours mesmerized by whoever was on stage at the time - soaking up sounds.

Because of that association, those two bands that night in 1995 will always have a warm place in my heart. It pointed out to me that times don't change - perceptions do. Good music is timeless.

Catherine Wheel were a band with a long history - one that went from 1990 to 2000; the whole decade. And they were always changing and evolving and going in different directions. No two albums ever sounded the same. They had, and still have, a loyal following. So maybe including this track tonight isn't going to be much of a surprise. But it's nice to be reminded if you haven't played them lately.

This track was issued as part of the Show Me Mary ep, shortly after their second album Chrome was released. These Four Walls didn't wind up on an album until their compilation, "Like Cats and Dogs" of singles and b-sides was issued in 1996.

I think you'll get the idea they influenced a lot of bands in the 90s - and those bands would freely admit it.

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No end of drama for the month of April. The 51 day standoff between the FBI, ATF and the Branch Davidians lead by David Koresh came to a flaming end the morning of the 19th when Government agents fired tear gas into the cult compound. The result was chaos and the controversy over whether the fire was set by the FBI and ATF or by the Davidians has fueled a lot of conspiracy and anti-government sentiment over the years. The most infamous upshot was the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995 - two years to the day Waco went from being a sleepy Texas town to the center of a vengeful universe.