Ned's Atomic Dustbin - Brainbloodvolume

Year: 1994
Label: Sony
Style: Alt-rock
Location: The Great Escape Discount Store (Nashville)
Medium: CD
Condition: Used
Dollar diamond or dud: Dud

Like most of North America, I first came across Ned's Atomic Dustbin with the release of "Grey Cell Green" off their God Fodder record. Also, like most of North America, I wasn't impressed with their duelling-bassists gimmick, although I will admit that I enjoyed God Fodder for what it was, which was ultimately just future $1-bin (god) fodder. Although I liked it okay, I didn't enjoy it enough to pick up Are You Normal?, and I only picked this one up because... well, it was $1. Enjoying something of a minor alt-rock blip with "Grey Cell," Ned's failed to capitalize on anything by releasing two consecutive boring records, before collapsing and fading away entirely...

A blend of Madchester beats, punky riffing, alt-pop dreaminess, and blandness, Ned's sound like about forty-seven British bands at the time, most notably Jesus Jones, except without the hookiness. This isn't awful--it's merely competent. And consequently, it's sort of pointless for anything more than $1. Back to the two bassists, one would play a higher melody line and the other would play the more traditional bass parts, so there's a combination of the typical post-punk British "let the bass carry the melody" ideal with the usual "let the bass fill out the sound' aesthetic, but that's more interesting in print than practice, I'd say.

Pale Divine - Straight To Goodbye

Year: 1991

Label: Atlantic
Style: Alt-rock

Location: The Great Escape Discount Store (Nashville)

Medium: CD

Condition: Used

Dollar diamond or dud: Dud

Not the killer doom metal band, but instead a St. Louis-based you'd-swear-the-singer-was-British early-90s alt-rock band, sort of like a darker Live or something similar. At this point, the biggest claim-to-fame this band would have is the presence of future-G'n'R guitarist Richard Fortus. I've seen the word "industrial" tossed around when discussing this record, but I don't really equate this with industrial music, at least not industrial in the sense of Einsturzende Neubauten or NIN or whatever. Maybe this has some elements of martial, mechanical percussion or general industrial darkness, but overall, this is like a more gothic Live mixed with a depressed U2 or something.

The drumming is bouncy, like Larry Mullen Jr, and the guitars are psychedelic-tinged and generally riff-free, clean and spacey, so this is college-y alt-rock. Nothing here rocks, though--it's all mid-tempo at best, with some almost King's X-y vocal melodies. Vocalist Michael Shaerer possesses a disaffected version of that 90s-alt world-weary I've-got-something-to-say-ness, if that makes any sense--that palpable sense that, for better or worse, these artists meant what they were saying, even if what they were saying didn't make shit for sense at times. (See also: Ed Kowalczyk or Eddie Vedder.)

I'd also read some reports on this band talking about how they were St. Louis' favorite sons back in the day, how they were the biggest band from that area, but here's the deal: at the risk of pissing off a minor major city, I've been to St. Louis--I've got friends there even--and that place sucks. Sorry. It sucks. And this band is good, but compared to Live, for example, they're stuck in Mental Jewelry, without the brilliance of Throwing Copper, and rightfully condemned to the $1 bin. Not an awful purchase, but far from transcendent.

About the Great Escape Discount Store: Nashville's Great Escape is one my favorite stores on the planet, and I spend a ridiculous amount of money there. (The first CD I bought there: a used copy of Malevolent Creation's The Ten Commandments in 1993.) The discount store is just an overflow store for their unsellable CDs, with everything discounted. I find it's a great place to catch up on the last decade's popular bands, like Live or Counting Crows or the Cranberries, all for $1. I'll pay $1 for almost anything.

Poster Children - Junior Citizen

Year: 1995
Label: Sire/Reprise
Style: 90s Indie/Punk
Location: The Great Escape Discount Store
Medium: CD
Condition: Used
Dollar diamond or dud: ehhhh... split the difference



I saw these guys (and girl) live in Chattanooga back before this record came out, and I don't remember anything at all about the show, except sort of what the band looked like. They were opening for the Screaming Trees, if I recall. On the one hand, given that I don't remember much about the show, it must not have been all that awesome, but on the other hand, I was maybe fourteen at the time, so we could ascribe my memory loss as much to time and aging as to any definitive statement of the band's merits. Which leads me to this:

Despite some critical praise tossed in their direction (including a Wikipedia claim that they were on the forefront of enhanced CDs, blogging and webcams), almost everything I know about this band is based solely upon this record. Which leads me to this:


Poster Children ain't that bad. I won't say they're awesome, because they're far from it, but they're worth $1, and perhaps even 2 or (stretching it) 3. Fully in the DIY 90s indie rock scene in spirit, loud and angular with a hefty dose of Mudhoney-esque grungy punk, Poster Children do a bit more right than wrong, even if their blend is/was a little too generic to really step out from the pack. They shine in their dreamier moments (He's My Star, Drug I Need) and get bland in their rockier ones (Get A Life, New Boyfriend, even with its liberal use of vibraslap). I had read that their lyrics are wry and/or witty, but I didn't get that, and given the unreadable one-giant-block album art, I can't be bothered to explore further...

Something here, but overall, unless you're just a die-hard fan of all things Sub-Pop-y, then you're safe missing it.