From: dave@bradley.bradley.edu (David Vessell)
Subject: Re: Negativland
Organization: Bradley University
Date: Sun, 4 Oct 92 22:20:41 GMT

In <TOMSTER.92Oct4125437@wpi.WPI.EDU> tomster@wpi.WPI.EDU (Thomas Richard Dibble) writes:

>Okay, time for some opinions.
>I just recently (last night) obtained for myself a copy (of a copy, of a copy
>... ) of NegativLand's 'I just haven't found what I'm looking for' off their
>U2 album.  I loved it.  First, What is the rest of the album like?  Like I
>said, I only got the one song.  I heard about the last thirty seconds of
>another song (I think) off the same album over the summer, but that's as much
>as I've heard.  

What you heard was one of the two tracks from "U2", which was a 12" single,
not an album.

>I have looked all over for copies of *any* of their albums,
>but the only place I have even *seen* one is in Tower Records of Sacramento,
>Ca.  It was gone the next day.  Since I'm out here in Worcester, I can try
>'special-orderring' albums through Strawberry's, but that will take 6-8
>weeks.

A good independent record store should carry at least a few titles, or
should be able to order any of them.  Don't bother with a chain, unless you
go to one of the few chains who go out of their way to stock alternative
music, like Streetside Records or the aforementioned Tower Records.

>	So:  Does anyone know a Worcester/Boston record store which would carry
>a good selection of Negativland?
>	Also, Which album should I get first?  I enjoy almost any kind of
>music, excluding rap and country (and copy-cat heavy metal shit-bands).
>Any reccommendations?

Their most accessible album (everything is relative) is _Escape_From_Noise_, 
released in 1987 on SST Records.  You should start with that.  If you like
that, check out _A_Big_10-8_Place_, released in 1983 on the band's own
label, Seeland Records.  

Here's an off-the-cuff discography....

NEGATIVLAND (Seeland) 1980
	Recorded while they were in high school.  Blippy, bloopy, and quite
	primative, kinda like The Residents' early albums.  Not bad if you
	like noise.
POINTS (Seeland) 1981
	Recently reissued.  Similar in feel to the first, but their
	execution is a bit better.  
A BIG 10-8 PLACE (Seeland) 1983
	Their masterwork.  Still has that self-produced feel but much more
	involved and more coherent subject matter.  "180-G" may be the best
	industrial 'song' ever recorded by anyone.
ESCAPE FROM NOISE (SST) 1987
	Their 'major' label debut.  Beautifully engineered, imaginative,
	but more 'song' oriented than past albums.
HELTER STUPID (SST) 1989
	First half documents a media experiment they pulled off a year
	earlier, the second half is a lampoon of '70s radio.  Slickly
	produced....a little too slick, actually.
"U2" (SST) 1991
	Beautiful.  Fantastic.  Hopelessly out of print.  Last CD copy I
	saw had a pricetag of $200.
"Guns" (SST) 1991
	Another 12" single, an emergency replacement for "U2".  Okay, but
	not inspiring, like _Helter_Stupid_.
THE LETTER U AND THE NUMERAL 2 (Seeland) 1992
	Magazine has copies of all press releases, correspondence, and
	clippings concerning the "U2" lawsuit.  CD has a 30 minute rant
	about the woeful unfairness and inadequacy of our copyright laws
	in the age of technology.  For hardcore fans only.

Other stuff:

JAMCON '84 (SST) 1985
THE WEATHERMAN (SST) 1987
PASTOR DICK (SST) 1987
DICK VAUGHN (SST) 1990
	Cassette-only releases edited from their weekly radio show
	"Over the Edge" on KPFA Berkeley.  Amazing considering it's
	basically live, on-the-air stuff, but for hardcore fans primarily.
	_The_Weatherman_ is the best of the bunch.
NO OTHER POSSIBILITY (Seeland) 1986
	A videocassette (rereleased in 1991) with some live footage, a few
	videos, and a lot of homespun weirdness.

-- 
=========*davE*.....making the world safe for intelligent dance music.=========
 'Cause I can see the future, and it's a place....about 70 miles east of here.
--------------------------{dave@bradley.bradley.edu}---------------------------
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