Singles Going SIngle # 82 - m.i.j. - 300 miles 7" (199?, One Percent) + the radio goodnight (2000, caulfield)

Along with such contemporaries as Texas Is the Reason, Christie Front Drive, and The Promise Ring, m.i.j. were part of the last wave of the pre-mainstream "emo" movement. Unfortunately, few people are aware with that last name I just mentioned. Kind of surprising actually, given that this quite remarkable power-trio hailed from a city as big as Minneapolis, and more significantly, had the backing of a fairly prominent indie label that helped spearhead the movement into the '90s, Caulfield Records.

Although no release year or recording details are furnished, the 300 Miles 7" ep on One Percent Records gloriously offers the wail of strained, teen-aged voices and dynamic guitar squalls, amidst a surprisingly heightened sense of melody. "Raw" might be a keyword here, but maybe that's just my perception.

As an extra treat, I'm also posting m.i.j.'s one and only album, The Radio Goodnight, on Caulfield, that damn near completely delivers on the promise of the band's aforementioned nascent recordings. Leadman Jeff Hanson (who packs a mean falsetto by the way) now preforms and records as a solo artist for Kill Rock Stars. You can read about him here.

 

300 miles ep

01. do you miss?

02. lamp light

03. 300 miles

04. (untitled)

 

the radio goodnight

01. say it in woords

02. the radio goodnight

03. right downtown

04. west

05. sometimes in sleep

06. the last time was

07. the swingtown pledge

08. do you miss?

09. your stories

10. again today

 

300 miles: Hear

The Radio Goodnight is now available from: iTunes, Emusic, Amazon Downloads

Revived links for Black Friday.

Your re-up requests have been coming at a fast and furious pace, but I aim to please.  Feel free to keep them coming.  Enjoy

Defenestration - Dali Does Windows and s/t ep
Sorry - The Way it Is
The Squares - Enjoy Yourself and Answer
V/A - Pure British Pop for Raw People Vols. 1 & 2
V/A - Diamonds and Porcupines 
Band of Susans - Blessing and Curse 
Polvo/New Radiant Storm King - split 7"
Splendor Head - Mirth
Swallow - s/t and Sourpuss
fig. 4 (Tobin Sprout) - s/t ep
Voodoo Gearshift - s/t
Get Smart! - Action
True Believers - Live, Harder... tape
Dreams So Real - Nocturnal Omissions, live in Charlotte 1988, Bearing Witness 7", interview promo tape
Young Officers Movement (pre-Dreams so Real) - 7"
Gigolo Aunts - Everybody Happy
V/A - Hotel Massachusetts 
V/A - Loud Ugly Pop
Tubetop - singles
Cinderblock - Greatest Hits
The Sneetches - Starfucker ep, Think Again ep, Sunnyside Down 7"
m.i.j. - 7" ep
Let's Active - Afoot demos & Cypress demos
Sheriff Jack - Let's Be Nonchalant ep 
Velvet Elvis - What in the World and s/t
Enuff Z' Nuff - demos
seade - (perf)
The Volcanos - s/t

Fire in the Radio - Red Static Action (2000, Wednesday)

Fire in the Radio were a little known turn-of-the-millennium outfit from State College, PA (a town who's moniker is as curious as 'King of Prussia,' but I digress). This ever so slightly wet-behind-the-ears quartet bridged the gap between indie-rock and emo, putting them in league with contemporaries The Get Up Kids, Juliana Theory, and to a more negligible extent, Superchunk. Red Static Action may not have been particularly seismic, but it wielded the potential for a much more incendiary follow-up album - one that sadly never came to pass, for reasons unknown to myself. This fleeting ten-song disk appears to be the first and final word on Fire in the Radio. Physical copies may still be available from Insound. Furthermore, if you enjoyed this, check out my recent m.i.j. post.

01. A Separate Piece
02. Hold My Pocket
03. Answering Machine
04. Tryst Affair
05. Probably German
06. The Bean and the Cod
07. The Flight in Miles
08. Distress Call No. 416
09. Lessons
10. Talk for the Tired

Hear