Getting dangerously close to Wilfully Obscure territory here (just kidding)... not sure if The Magnolias ever dug themselves out from under the "second rate Replacements/Soul Asylum" tag, but they even acknowledge it on their website, so I guess they're not looking for any help from me on that one. The Magnolias lean more towards Soul Asylum and Hüsker Dü than The Replacements anyway, as their riffs are far more swirly/jangly than almost anything Westerberg, Stinson, Stinson, and Mars ever tried, outside of that one song. Plus the vocals are way too much on the Dead Milkmen side of things (or way too Those Melvins, for those of you still in Connecticut) to be anywhere near like Westerberg. Then there's the worst cover of "She Cracked" that I've ever heard, although admittedly I've only heard about three or four. This is the kind of stuff that used to be called "college rock", which is sorta funny when you consider what counts as "college rock" now. I mean, at least you can still call this rock, as this is almost as thick-sounding as any of Soul Asylum's records on Twin/Tone, only without all the puns or the hooks. I have no idea why I own this in the first place, other than it being a Twin/Tone record with the names Grant Hart and Steve Fjelstad on the back.
The Magnolias -
"Got No Place"
"Entertaining Bad Thoughts"
"My Own Life"
"One More Reason"
"Together Again"
11 comments:
Nice share. This is my territory alright. Thing is, I'm wary of sharing any Twin/Tone label product since they're technically keeping everything in print on cd-r. Come to think of it I don't even have this Magnolias record, but I think I have everything else.
Well, yeah, they'll make you a personal CD-R for fifteen bucks, but I don't think that should count (besides, it should only be 5 bucks for a damn CD-R).
This girl in high school (Rachel Edes, later Rachel Martin--we'll see if she finds this one day Googling herself) had Those Melvins earrings. I remember seeing them and starting to realize there was a whole other world I was missing. Kinda like when Christine Carnall wrote "Sex Pistols" and "Echo & the Bunnymen" on the wall of the bus in middle school. Anyway, how in the world could Those Melvins earrings exist?? Maybe it was just a TM t-shirt, and she had weird earrings too and I associated the two and my brain has since switched them.
But maybe Greg Vegas or somebody could confirm they actually had ear-merch. (Of course, the girl could have made them herself. But that would be beyond fandom. Actually, after thinking more, I think they could have been guitar picks, possibly even on a necklace.)
I can't almost imagine a worse band to have their own jewelry.
Whenever I think of this band I think of...what the hell was their name?...Railroad Jerk?
I know I've seen one of these bands. Or possibly both, or neither.
There was a band called Railroad Jerk, yes. I think they were from New York. I have one of their CDs, on Matador. They're probably not as good as the Hypstrz.
"She Cracked" was pretty great live. Kind of like Buzzcocks with Devoto might have done it.
I think I would like almost any live version of that song... but, I don't know, when they play it as a straight-forward rock song on the record, it kinda loses the nervous skittishness of the original.
I really like that first Pushbacks LP as it spent much time in my car then and is John Freeman's other band. Would see him around Mpls. quite often working on his white van by the Electric Foetus record store in Minneapple. Never bought a single Mag's record though I guess because my friend had 'em. Fun shows either band though. Hey any progress on that Drunks with Guns comp.? Alright, I wont be a pest. Cheers!
Never heard the Pushbacks....
Whenever I find that first CD in my piles and piles I will post it at DU for ya--your on the list!
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