THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN

OH, THE DIVORCES

Being in a band really is like being in a marriage.  Relationships between band members are key and, when they get strained, they can kill it off.  It’s hard enough keeping it together when you’re just a group of like-minded friends. I have no idea how married couples can function as bandmates without driving each other nuts, so maybe these folks can tell us: 

Cities in Dust – Banshees (Siouxsie Sioux and Budgie, 1991 – 2007).  Ms. Ballion and Mr. Clarke connected in the middle of the Banshees’ run and kept it together as The Creatures after the first band dissolved.

I Give Up – Quasi (Janet Weiss and Sam Coomes, 1990 – 1995).  Divorce didn’t get in Quasi’s way—they’re still a going concern after 23 years.  A lot of fun in concert, too, if you get a chance to see them.

Hotel Yorba – White Stripes (Jack and Meg White,1996 – 2000).  When I first saw them at the Troubadour Jack and Meg were still pretending to be siblings, although their marriage was already over by that point.  All their albums were released after the split, and they kept the band going for another 11 years.

Disappearer – Sonic Youth (Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore,1984 – 2011).  They had a 30-year run, but Thurston’s affair ended it.

Intervention – Arcade Fire (Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, 2003 – 2025).  Mr. Butler’s infidelities also tanked his marriage, although the band did release an album after the split.  It’s a recent development, so it remains to be seen if the lead couple can keep the act together.

Walking in L.A. – Missing Persons (Dale and Terry Bozzio, 1979 – 1986).  Dale and Terry met while recording Joe’s Garage with Frank Zappa.  They released a couple of successful records but, when Color In Your Life flopped, the tensions were too much to keep the band going.  Warren Cuccurullo went on to replace Andy Taylor in Duran Duran for a few albums.  Terry played with high profile legends like Mick Jagger and Jeff Beck.  Dale reformed Missing Persons a couple of years ago, with The Knack’s Prescott Niles on bass.

True Love – X (Exene and John Doe, 1980 – 1985).  X’s two singers were married when the band released their first four (and best) albums.  The fifth record, Ain’t Love Grand!, wasn’t the success they hoped for and it led to guitarist Billy Zoom quitting.  Exene married Viggo Mortensen for a while, but X soldiered on. After a few fits and starts with Tony Gilkyson as guitarist, Zoom returned, and the band are still recording and performing shows.

Seems So – The Apples in Stereo (Robert Schneider and Hilarie Sidney, 1994 – 2004).  The Elephant 6 Collective’s principal act had a married couple for most of its tenure.  Hilarie drummed on the first eight records, including two after the divorce.  The band is theoretically still active, despite Robert’s academic career in mathematics and countless musical side projects, but they haven’t released a record since 2010’s Travellers in Space and Time.

Gronlandic Edit – Of Montreal (Kevin Barnes and Nina Grøttland, 2003 – 2013).  Frontman/songwriter/bandleader Barnes is the man behind this Athens, Georgia art-rock experience and used to record everything himself.  But their live performances are a real spectacle, with costumes and stage sets, and the non-musical dance group the Sneakies.  Nina played bass for a bit and had a daughter with Barnes.  That ended a while ago and Barnes has since come out as non-binary genderqueer, which may or may not have had something to do with the marriage’s end.

Velvet Ring – Big Thief (Adrianne Lenker and Buck Meek, 2015 – 2018).  I read a recent interview with the band, in which Adrienne and Buck described themselves as best friends.  Although the marriage didn’t last, it was sweet that the pair “couldn’t imagine” not making music together.

Bonus Track: Oh, The Divorces – Tracy Thorn.  After 28 years as a couple, Tracy married Ben Watt.  That was 17 years ago for the members of Everything But The Girl, who took some time off for side projects and to raise their three kids, then regrouped for another couple of albums.  They’re the poster children for bands with couples that manage to remain married, but that’s a different post for another day.

HERE COMES THE SUMMER

Happy day-after Birthday to JC, happy Juneteenth today in the States, and happy summer to everyone, which starts this weekend! 50 song bonanza because…

Here Comes The Summer – Undertones.

Feargal Sharkey and I share a summer birthday (August 13).

Summer Babe – Pavement.

The band’s only single on Drag City Records, before moving to Matador.

Summertime – Sundays.

If you haven’t yet read strangeways‘ masterpiece Sundays ICA stop what you’re doing and take care of that.

That Summer Feeling – Jonathan Richman.

From Jonathan Sings! (1983), which the NY Times called an album of “unironic, clear-sighted innocence.”

Summertime Clothes – Animal Collective.

From Merriweather Post Pavilion, the name of an outdoor concert venue in Maryland. It’s not a live recording but Avey Tare and Geologist saw shows there when they were kids.

Indian Summer – Beat Happening.

Calvin Johnson sings like a dial tone, but the song is a classic. Covered by the likes of R.E.M., Luna, Mac DeMarco and Ben Gibbard.

Summer Here Kids – Grandaddy. Third single from the debut album Under the Western Freeway.

The Other Side of Summer – Elvis Costello.

The only good song on Declan’s first really bad album.

The Summer – Yo La Tengo.

Featuring Gene Holder of the db’s on bass.

Summer of Love – B-52s.

Sometimes it’s hard to distinguish between Cindy and Kate but the lead on this track is pure Cindy.

Summer of Hate – Crocodiles.

Title track from the debut album by a band known as San Diego’s own Jesus & Mary Chain.

Constructive Summer – The Hold Steady.

For my money, no one is making better Springsteen records than this outfit.

Summer’s Cauldron – XTC.

Featuring melodica by producer Todd Rundgren.

Lonely Summer Nights – Stray Cats.

The band had the look and the sound and the tattoos and almost single-handedly revived rockabilly. Brian Setzer is a guitar legend but he could have sung for anyone and this tune proves it.

Celebrated Summer – Hüsker Dü.

Kind of weird to hear an acoustic 12-string on a Huskers record but it comes in at about at the 1:40 mark.

Here Comes The Summer – Fiery Furnaces.

Where did this band go? Hoping the Friedberger siblings sort out whatever’s going on and release some new music.

Someone Somewhere in Summertime – Simple Minds.

The Glaswegians were still making good records in the early 80’s. Then they sacked bassist Derek Forbes and I couldn’t be bothered since then.

Long Hot Summer – Style Council.

I was trying to replicate the bass sound on this track until I figured out it was Mick Talbot playing a synth.

A Summer Wasting – Belle & Sebastian.

Harrison‘s pick for this set.

Summer Bummer – Lana Del Rey.

Jane‘s pick for this set. Featuring A$AP Rocky.

Song for the Summer – Stereophonics.

Couldn’t tell you anything about this band except they’re Welsh, have been around 30 years, and the bandleader got some press for calling Thom Yorke a twat.

Summer Dress – Red House Painters.

From the slow core group’s 1995 release, Ocean Beach.

Summertime – Beck.

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is a genius film from 2010 starring everybody: Michael Cera, Kieran Culkin, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Aubrey Plaza, Brie Larson, Chris Evans et al. The soundtrack is great, too, and includes this Beck tune in the expanded edition.

Summer Teeth – Wilco.

Title track from arguably the best album by the Chicago institution.

Summer Turns To High – REM.

From 2001’s Reveal, the second without original drummer Bill Berry.

It’s Summertime – Flaming Lips.

From Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, which band leader Wayne Coyne is adapting into a graphic novel to be released later this year.

A Summer Thing – Cayucas.

The band is named after a sleepy beach town in California’s central coast, but was formed right here in sunny Santa Monica!

Summer Song – Baby Lemonade.

And here’s another Santa Monica band. Mike and Randy are the guitarist and drummer in Petty Theft, a local Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers cover band fronted by my friends Julia and Danny.

Summer-Blink – Cocteau Twins.

In which Elizabeth Fraser sings in understandable English for a change.

Summer Town – Blitzen Trapper.

From the Portland, Oregon champs’ third excellent album, Wild Mountain Nation.

Summer Wind – Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet.

The surf instrumentalists have some of my favorite song titles, e.g. ‘Having an Average Weekend,’ ‘Our Weapons Are Useless’, and ‘Honey, You’re Wasting Ammo.’

Pick-Up Summer – Fu Manchu.

Celebrated as a stoner rock band. I knew the bassist, Brad, when he was a kid still living at home with his parents. He went on to found Creepy Fingers, a boutique guitar pedal company.

Lies of Summer – Aimee Mann.

From 2017’s Mental Illness, which the goddess described as her “saddest” record.

Cruel Summer – Bananarama.

Who were this band? Did they play any instruments? Did they write their own tunes? Always supposed they were a manufactured act but was never interested enough to find out.  (JC’s note to Jonny…..check here!!!)

Suddenly Last Summer – Motels.

One of the biggest hits stateside for Martha Davis and crew, with a title borrowed from a one-act play by Tennessee Williams.

Feel Good Hit of the Summer – Queens of the Stone Age.

Jane was about 13 and barely 5 feet tall when I took her and her friend to Coachella 2013. They wandered into QOTSA‘s mosh pit and I broke a toe getting them out of there.

Indian Summer – Manic Street Preachers.

Fourth single from the Welsh stalwarts’ eighth studio LP, Send Away the Tigers.

Where’s Summer B.? – Ben Folds Five.

Summer Burke was a friend of the band and drew their piano logo. The song is about her returning to Chapel Hill after a long absence.

Summer Was A Day – Pete Yorn.

Lead track from PY’s sixth studio LP, Arranging Time. It was released as a single that didn’t chart, but was featured in American TV shows The Royals and Shameless.

Summertime Is In Our Hands – Michael Franti & Spearhead.

Franti claims not to have worn shoes since 2000.

Summertime is Coming – Paul Banks.

Dude called himself Julian Plenti on his first solo album, but it’s obviously Interpol‘s frontman.

Summer Skin – Death Cab for Cutie.

You never hear anything about ace bassist Nick Harmer, but he’s been right there with Ben Gibbard from the very beginning of Death Cab and appears on all their albums.

Summersong – Decemberists.

Colin Meloy has some pretty lyrics: “And summer arrives/With a length of lights/And summer blows away/And quietly, it gets swallowed by a wave/It gets swallowed by a wave.”

Summer Moon – Raveonettes.

Moody little number by the Danish duo, from 2011’s Raven in the Grave.

Summer Girl – Haim.

Lou Reed is co-credited as a writer on this track, presumably because the sax and twin bass parts are loosely based on ‘Walk on the Wild Side.’

Summer Fun – Tijuana Panthers.

The Panthers are a surf band from Long Beach, California and have released 6 albums since 2010. This is from the debut, titled Max Baker.

Summertime Thing – Chuck Prophet.

It’s the Paisley Underground legend with the ubiquitous pedal steel player Greg Liesz in tow.

Summertime Rolls – Jane’s Addiction.

I met Stephen Perkins a couple of months ago and was surprised that the dude was so tiny. But, damn, what a drummer!

Endless Summer – Superchunk.

From Wild Loneliness (2022), recorded during COVID lockdown and featuring guest appearances by the likes of Norman Blake, Sharon Van Etten, Mike Mills, and Tracyane Campbell of Camera Obscura.

Summertime Boogie – Freaks.

Every Band Has A Shonen Knife Who Loves Them is a compilation of American bands covering Shonen Knife songs. Released on white and pink vinyl in 1989 and long out of print, the collection included some indie heavy hitters: Sonic Youth, Redd Kross, L7 and the Three O’Clock, to name a few. The Reverb Motherfuckers, whom my band Chronic Citizens shared a rehearsal space in the East Village, also turned up to cover ‘Elephant Pao Pao’ from SK’s debut album, Burning Farm. I don’t know the first thing about Freaks, but I love their version of this track, which first appeared on 1986’s Pretty Little Baka Guy.