Quasi//Two by Two

Being in a two person band with your ex-husband: DOUBLE TROUBLE!!!

Yes, yes, I decided we should start the weekend with a rare treat! That rare treat is Janet Weiss singing AND playing the drums, something that doesn’t happen very often at all.

I love Janet Weiss. That’s why (in addition to a very drunken phone call of Kot’s) I named my first and only shot at a record label, I AM JANET! (pardon our mess of a site--I am planning to update it, in my free time!!!).

The times I’ve gotten to see Ms. Weiss on the kit at a slew of Sleater-Kinney and Quasi shows, I’ve always been blown away. In both cases, all members of these groups more than pull their weight. That said, it’s impossible to take your eyes off of Janet, as she kicks the ass of the kit in a way I have never seen before. It is a sight to behold.

Unrelated to almost any of this: I have a pin of Janet holding a Koala bear on my leather jacket. Most people are very confused by this.

This song is a lot mellower than most SK or Quasi songs, but it’s still quite enjoyable.



Two by Two.mp3

Double Trouble: Some other bands that have double word names: Duran Duran, Man Man, Lisa Lisa, The The, The Go Gos, Taxi Taxi, Goo Goo Dolls, Tapes ‘n Tapes, Talk Talk, Frou Frou, Tom Tom Club, Was Not Was, Bow Wow Wow, Xiu Xiu, Mr. Mister,Tap Tap!


You've left at last,
I knew you could,
Leaving nothing to remember you by
Except how to be happy
And how not to care anymore.
Two by two - these things weren't meant for you.

Liquid Liquid//Optimo

Wow! Wow!
Double! Double!
Liquid! Liquid!

I believe my introduction to Liquid Liquid was on some comp. Perhaps a Rough Trade Post Punk thing, perhaps some kind of New York No Wave thing. I had kind of forgotton about their unique brand of minimalist funk until Travis put this song on the mix he made me around Christmastime.

Liquid Liquid, in addition to being a very influential early 80s NYC Avant Garde outfit, has seen its members do some pretty cool things. From Wikipedia:

Dennis Young is still active and producing music, and has been remixed by Hot Chip and Tussle. Richard McGuire is well-established graphic designer with frequent contributions to both The New Yorker magazine, and The New York Times Book Review. Salvatore Principato is active in various electronic music recording projects, as well as DJ'ing professionally around the world.



Optimo.mp3

Some things that have been named Double Trouble: a character in the animated television series She-Ra: Princess of Power, a game for the 1999 FIRST Robotics competition and a Hardy Boys novel.




Double your purpose, double your pleasure?

Fugazi//Repeater

Double Trouble! REPEAT! Double Trouble!

Remember this much-beloved high school tape? Well, this song was on that tape too and I loved it immediately, although it never really influenced much further exploration into Fugazi on my part (something to remedy, perhaps?).

Ian MacKaye is something of a DC punk legend, having also been a major player in the hardcore and straight edge Minor Threat. Fugazi was majorly influential as a band on culture and music. In regards to the former, they carried punk’s banner of anti-consumerism and a diy aesthetic. In regards to the latter, they are a prime example of the highly influential “Dischord sound” (for Dischord Records) and are certainly regarded as forebears of modern art rock, indie and emo.

Yeah, Fugazi!
Say it again!
Yeah, Fugazi!



Repeater.mp3

Some things that have been named Double Trouble: a 1980s teen sitcom, the 64th episode of the French animated television show, Code Lyoko and a 2008 Australia television series.




You say I need a job,
I've got my own business.
You want to know what I do?
None of your fucking business.
But now I'm lying here,
Knowing that business had a name,
But now I'm a number:
1 2 3!
Repeater!
1 2 3!
Repeater!

Blonde Redhead//In Particular

It’s it’s double double trouble trouble week!

I don’t love everything that Blonde Redhead does, but oh my god, this song is so, so worth it.

Talking about signing my name XX yesterday reminded me of this supreme jam, most probably first introduced to me by one Jill Dembowski, who deserves to be honored on this day above all days (I’ll say no more than that), through perhaps her legendary September mix? This is all speculation on my part, since this time was a hazy era of nightly over consumption of Popov vodka and cheap red wine, which seems even more apt considering this song’s fairly melancholic and slightly trashy vibe. I do clearly remember repeatedly yelling “HYSTERICAL! PARANOIAC!!!” on some wasted evening with Jill and Soma on North Campus. This definitely happened.

Yes, yes, the glory of Freshman year, spent carelessly and drunk in one particular smoke-filled dorm room, the East Quad courtyard and hand-me-down cars making trips to shows in Detroit, in the company of pretty-much exclusively art students, rc’ers and assorted queers. I will forever associate this tune with that surreal period of bohemian youth that was at once horrendously depressing and amazingly eye-opening.

A few years later, I saw Blonde Redhead open up for Sleater-Kinney in New York on the day of the first giant Iraq War protest. A lot of things had happened between then and the first time I heard the band on headphones. This dark and seductive recording cannot be beat, and nothing they did live even came close.



In Particular.mp3

Some things that have been named Double Trouble: a 1958 song by Otis Rush, an album by American country music artists George Jones and Johnny Paycheck and the soundtrack to the 1967 Elvis Presley film.



Lying on my back, I heard music.
Felt unsure and catastrophic.
Had to tell myself it's only music.
It blows my mind, but it's like that.
…
Some place safe, I would imagine.
Someone new would be so cruel.
Incurable paranoiac, hysterical depression.

X.
X, X.
Alex, I'm your only friend.
X.
X, X.
Alex, your love will sing for you.

Motel Motel//Harlem

You might think this is a cop out, but yesterday was 2.22, and this seems like as good a reason as any to get a little themey. It’s been a while since we had a “week,” so let’s kick it. I officially declare this last week in February (the SECOND month of the year), Double Trouble Week! Oh Yeah! Oh Yeah!

For those new to OSS and unfamiliar with theme weeks, you might want to check out Michigan Week, Expletive Week, Queer Week and Friends and Family Week.

Double word band names are a thing almost as much as animal band names are a thing. Wolf Wolf doesn’t exist yet though. Anybody game?

Enough with the snark. I really like this song. It’s melancholy and it’s got a hell of a piano line. Where do I sign? If I was to sign this week, would I sign my name or just XX? Hahaha. I mean, ha ha.

I found out about this band because the woman who cuts my hair is friends with their drummer. Oh, New York, you’re alright. Nothing like finding a new cool band while getting bangs. What if the woman who cuts my hair was friends with the band Bangs? I think my head just exploded.



Harlem.mp3

Some things that have been named Double Trouble: a dance group from the late 1980s and early 1990s, a hip hop duo from the late 1970s South Bronx and a DJ Haze/Nu Jerzy Devil album.



She says I’m lucky,
Because I’ve always had a home
And a woman to hold me
When I get stoned.
I may feel lonely,
But I don’t know what it’s like to be alone.