So let it be written...behold, the final installment of a rather anal retentive and thorough examination of one Mac McCaughan's nascent career, before going on to helm the mighty Superchunk. Evil I Do Not was a 7" box set compilation featuring five bands who each got their very own 45 - Angels of Epistemology, Black Girls, Egg Egg, Slushpuppies, and Wwax. While only the latter two participants are truly relevant to this post, I thought I'd upload the whole shebang, to give you an expanded perspective of the late '80s Raleigh/Chapel Hill "scene" as it were.
Egg Egg and Angels of Epistemology were bound by a common thread, specifically a chap named Jeb Bishop, who served as mouthpiece for both artsy post-punk cabals. Bishop, perhaps by sheer coincidence, bears a vague resemblance to Jello Biafra, at least when it comes to his pipes, just don't expect any sort of overt political ethos.
Black Girls included in their three-piece lineup, Dana Kletter, who would eventually spearhead a swell early-90s indie combo, Dish, who I dedicated a previous post to. Black Girls (later Blackgirls) themselves scored a deal with local indie Mammoth and released two albums which you can read a little about here. Often referred to as "chamber music," the trio's employment of acoustic guitar, violin and piano lent itself appropriately to their stark, refined songs.
As if my earlier Slushpuppies and Wwax dissertations left you drooling for more, consider their Evil I Do Not entries a scrumptious after-dinner mint. "Lost at Ten" from the Slushpuppies Blacklisted sessions makes a repeat appearance, but the exclusive "Assimilation" will be to the delight of aficionados of Husker Du's Metal Circus.
Like the Wwax material I introduced you to in their separate post, referenced in the paragraph above, Mac didn't serve full-time vocal duties. By my estimates, he performs the lead on "Just Like," but don't hold me to that. "All Begins Again," is a a sound-alike of Black Flag's "TV Party," (at least partially) that ultimately becomes Waxx-ified to ok effect. Not a bad way to round out this intriguing, but hardly essential compilation.
I hope this series was as fun for you as it was me. I might do a follow-up mini-series, that shall potentially be christened "Life During Superchunk," which I bet a bunch of you can already imagine what that holds in store.
01. Angels of Epistemology - Good & Dead
02. Angels of Epistemology - Sara Bell, part 2
03. Angels of Epistemology - Bring Us Down
04. Black Girls - Procedure
05. Black Girls - Broken Leg
06. Egg Egg - I'm Cold
07. Egg Egg - No Reason
08. Egg Egg - Remarks of the Man on the Street
09. Slushpuppies - Assimilation
10. Slushpuppies - Lost at Ten
11. Wwax - Just Like
12. Wwax - All Begins Again
13. Wwax - Miss Invite
2 comments:
Speaking of Superchunk, Jim Wilbur (the guitarist) went to college in my hometown and was in a band before Superchunk called HUMIDIFIER. The band also had John King on vocals, who later went on to sing for SPENT, who were on Merge Records.
Anyway, I made a website devoted to the band where you can also download some of their music. Very Superchunk-ish, with a Treepeople sorta sound to it as well:
http://www.humidifierband.com
Glad I found this, cause I was about to spend the time digitizing my own copy. This box was one of the MOST creative packages of any NC recording I'm aware of. From the silk-screened reel to reel box, to the Barefoot Press printed booklet, to a photograph of a painting ripped from an art book (each one different for each box) and the hand numbered limited edition of 1,000; a true labor of love. BTW; the band EGG opened for Sonic Youth on their Sister tour @ the Cat's Cradle in Chapel Hill, NC. (a great show) Thanks for posting this!
Post a Comment