Dear Friends,
You’ll forgive the brevity here today, I hope. Today is a get shit done day. I may feel like adding more to tomorrow’s blog, but for now, I’m focused on the mess I’m about to make, then clean it up, and get some drywall on these shower/bath walls.
*****
The Suns are terrible.
*****
There was this place called the Art Cage. It was off of Southern, I think, and about 28th Street, maybe, but I could be wrong on that. It might have been closer to 40th Street or somewhere in between. The point of this is that for a short period of time, there were shows being held there.
It was a warehouse kind of place, and it was big enough for a small show. It was dark and there wasn’t much of a stage from what I can remember, but there were good bands. That’s the most important part.
I think it was 1993 and Girls Against Boys played there. I have the ticket stub somewhere or maybe it was a small flyer. I had only heard how cool they were, and I don’t think I had heard any of their music yet. EJ and Terry and I went, I think, or maybe it was Alexa and I. Either way, I was there, and they were great.
When you get to see a great band in a small place, maybe when they are on the way up or just because you happen to be in the right place at the right time, it’s a wonderful thing. Girls Against Boys had probably just put out Venus Luxure No. 1 Baby and they were really firing on all cylinders. The Art Cage had minimal lighting on stage, so the band seemed really dark and mysterious and cool.
Every time I saw Girls Against Boys in those days, which was three or four times, they just seemed like such a real band. They looked like cool guys from New York City, you know? They dressed cool and seemed like they were right where they were supposed to be: up on stage and being cooler than everyone else in the room.
Venus Luxure No. 1 Baby is a great record. I revisit fairly often. “In Like Flynn” is one of my favorite opening songs because of the simple, yet heavy bass line that starts it off. Eli Janney played this killer Frankenstein looking bass. At least I think it was Eli Janney who playing this crazy monster of a bass. It could have been Johnny Temple, too. Girls Against Boys had two bass players every time I saw them.
I guess it really doesn’t matter. What does matter is that “In Like Flynn” always has my full attention when I hear it. I would put it on mixed tapes a lot in the 1990s. Scott McCloud’s vocals are also excellent on the song. In fact, McCloud sounds great on the whole record.
“Go Be Delighted” is one of those songs where you’re like, “How in the heck do you follow up such a great opening song with another great song?” Then it is another in “Rockets Are Red” and things don’t let up.
“Rockets Are Red” is probably my favorite song on the record. It’s hard to choose just one, but if I could only take one song from this record to a desert island, it might be that one. Alexis Fleisig’s drum roll just starts it off perfectly and serves to keep you just a little off balance throughout the song. The lyrics are also great. The chorus tripped me out for a long time, though. I thought McCloud was singing, “Rockets are red/dead babies are blue,” but “dead” is actually “and.” It’s just as good.
The band slows things down “Satin Down,” at least in the beginning. It’s another one, though, that always gets me because of the plaintive vocals. They only keep the pace slow for the one song, though, before getting back on the horse and rocking the fuck out. “Let Me Come Back” is a upbeat number and then “Learned It” is nice and powerful.
Girls Against Boys could hold their own with the heavier bands of the era. I saw them open for Jesus Lizard on my birthday in 1993 and they were quite fucking good. “Learned It” is a pretty heavy outing. Part of that is the two basses, of course, but they also just had some great heavy riffs.
“Get Down” is a bit of a slow burn. Would make for an interesting Melvins cover. They could really take the song to a new height. “Bullet Proof Cupid” is a pretty good song, too, and I think it was kind of the de facto single from this record, but it’s kind of pale in comparison to “In Like Flynn” and “Rockets Are Red.” Good riff, though.
I find “7 Seas” a bit more interesting, actually, and Eli Janney’s keys on “Billy’s One Stop” kind of make me wish it came early in the record. I think the flow would have improved, actually, rather than keeping this one buried towards the end. It’s noisy and cool and different.
“Bughouse” does sort of feel like a typical ender, but who cares. Girls Against Boys did great work on Venus Luxure No. 1 Baby. I certainly like it.
A lot.
On a side note, I never really gravitated to any of their other records. I should give them all another spin. I know people, for example, who speak very highly of the others. I just kind of fell in love with the first one I got and have clung on tightly for about 30 years.
*****
See you tomorrow.
Even AI knows the Suns are terrible.
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