Tuesday, May 16, 2006



v/a TWISTED
SLOAN "Stood Up b/w Same Old Flame"

I bought in. I jumped right on that Canadian power pop bandwagon sometime around 1993 and never got off. It's really hard, really really hard, to not have a massive love affair with the underrated and crunchy Beatlesque melodies that have been coming from places like Halifax, Vancouver, Toronto, and even Winnipeg. Yes, sometimes it's not all that innovative, but there's something distinctly unique about the chord progressions and sweet vocals. Clearly Canadian.

Both of these rare singles were acquired on one of my many visits to Halifax for their Pop Explosion festivals they hosted in the early-mid 90s. Twisted, a 4 band compilation, features The New Grand, Cheticamp, and The Super Friendz, a group I was working with at the time. Twisted was the inaugural release on Poster Girl Records, blue colored vinyl, 123 out of 500. Sigh, remember those days? Anyway, thanks to the nice girl who handed me a couple of copies during the festival. I'd completely forgotten that Zumpano, the short lived pre-New Pornographers project of AC Newman, had contributed the likable "The Moment Business". Definitely no throwaway, the band named after their beloved drummer (Jason now plays under the moniker, Sparrow) raves up a nice piece of jagged little pop here.

Sloan are undeniably the godfathers of the indie Canadian music scene, showing everyone what to and not to do. They even mentored a few of their favorite bands on their Murderecords label, considering and releasing music by the Inbreds, Jale, and other neighbors. Murder released some rare singles, including Sloan's fabulous Stood Up b/w Same Old Flame, in 1994. This single came out around the same time the band had decided to call it quits. However, they 180'd on that, and self-released the gorgeous One Chord To Another album shortly after, which is regarded as one of their best. Some of you might know their "Everything You've Done Wrong" which was highlighted in the movie The Virgin Suicides.

I apologize for the scans here and who knows about the quality of the vinyl (colored vinyl, ick), but I hope you enjoy. Apparently, the Sloan song is available on a Japanese cd pressing of One Chord To Another. Good luck finding it.

Zumpano THE MOMENT BUSINESS
Sloan SAME OLD FLAME

3 comments:

youthlarge said...

me love zumapano.

poster girl - yowza, i went to school with one of the girls who ran that label. she loved her sloan and thrush hermit. and then years later, i met another girl who was part of the label. she was crashing in my living room!

Catonia said...

You are correct Skippy - that Sloan track is on the Japanese version of One Chord. Universal Japan released it.

SAME OLD FLAME
(P. Pentland/Sloan)
Drank it all to the last taste
I woke up with a fresh face
Another date in the U.K.
And everybody surrounds us
Living high on the tour bus
It's not that bad
The best we've had

I ate Italian in Germany
I spent my money on magazines
Tried to talk to me and my friends
But the phone wouldn't reach her
I burned down to the filter
Another day to wait
She should see my face

Are you gonna tell me soon
What the hell I'm supposed to do
To make it feel alright

I've got more to say than you
But I'm not sure what that proves
Steppin' 'round the same old flame
It's not my fault I'm not to blame
Dancing 'round the same old flame
Ahh...

Had some trouble when I went south
You had to come down and bail me out
And that's the damgage between us
When the storm blew me out of town
And when my feet finally hit the ground
I was miles away with no one around

Are you gonna tell me soon
What the hell I'm supposed to do
To make it feel alright

I've got more to say than you
But I'm not sure what that proves
Steppin' 'round the same old flame
It's not my fault I'm not to blame
Dancing 'round the same old flame
Ahh...

It's a major cause of damage between us
It's a major cause of
Damage between us
Damage between us
Damage between us
Damage between us

Cigarettes that burn too fast
But the same old flame justs lasts
I've got more to say to you
But I'm afraid to follow through
Are you gonna tell me soon
What the hell I'm supposed to do
To make it feel alright

Listmaker said...

that sloan song is fantastic.