I Just Read About That…

SOUNDTRACK: TRAGIC MULATTO-“Freddy” (1987)

I knew of Tragic Mulatto because they were on Alternative Tentacles records (home to Dead Kennedys).  But I’d actually never heard them before, I don’t think. I knew they were a noise rock band, but I had no idea they were quite so explicit.

The main band members were singer Flatula Lee Roth (Gail Coulson), guitarist Richard Skidmark (Tim Carroll) and bassist Reverend Elvister Shanksley aka Lance Boyle (Alistair Shanks).

This five minute song starts like a deranged circus with a swirling saxophone and  a muddled guitar and drum stomp.  Once the music establishes itself, the vocals come in, a deep growly evil spokenish rhyme that I can’t exactly make out.

Around 1:45 Flatuta takes over, singing a refrain of

“Don’t let him cum in your … butt … ear … rear … head … bed … feet … all over your sheets.” etc. that runs for the rest of the song. It’s surprisingly catchy, but you’d not want to sing it at the dinner table.

Fascinatingly, this album is described as featuring more tightly structured music that emphasized melody was less satirical and more serious.

It sounds like Tragic Mulatto, and especially Gail Coulson, (who is said to have possessed a simply astonishing vocals range) were really ahead of their time.

[READ: July 10, 2019] “Marmalade Sky”

I love Nell Zink’s writing and was pretty excited to see that she had a new story.  This is an excerpt from her new book Doxology.

It is 1990, Pam went over to Joe’s place to listen to records.

Joe let Pam in and introduced her to a man holding a piece of black plastic.  His name was Daniel Scoboda and he was holding the Sassy Sonic youth flexi.

Joe said he subscribed to the magazine as soon as he heard about it. But Pam, who introduced herself as Pam Diaphragm, said the magazine wasn’t long for the world.  Whats the demographic? Thirteen year-old girls who fuck?  Advertisers really go for that.

Joe said he’s a Sonic Youth completist. The only thing he doesn’t have is the single “I Killed Christgau with My Big Fuckin’ Dick.”  Daniel said its not a real record, the editor of the magazine made it up.  [I love this Sonic Youth indie rock banter].

Pam was attracted to Daniel who did not ask her real name. They chatted a bit before Joe said “Silence, lovebirds prepare to rock.”

Daniel came to New York with $800 because he wanted to make it in the music world.  Not as a musician.  He wanted to found a record label.  He wanted to release a single.  It didn’t need to be great musically–he knew what it needed to sound like though: breathy female vocals over propulsive guitar drones like My Bloody Valentine, only faster.

Daniel wanted to know if Pam could sing.

It turned out Pam was in a “hard-sucking power duo that had no songs.”  Pam described her band: “If you gotta suck, suck loud.”  She’d love to quit the terrible band but the keyboardist is her roommate.  Nevertheless, she wants the band to suck.  It’s the most self destructive thing shes ever done.

While they were talking, Joe said the three of them should start a band and call it Marmalade Sky.  It could be him on bass, Pam on guitar and Daniel on keys.  Daniel’s label could be called Lion’s Den.

Daniel said Lion’s Den sounds like reggae and Marmalade Sky sounds like bad British psychedelia.

Marmalade Sky is, as predicted, not great. Daniel really wants to release a single but he doesn’t think Marmalade Sky is the way to go. Pam suggest releasing a song by Joe solo (he’s the one with real talent).

The story took a surprising turn–to me–because I thought it was a short story and it seemed to jump so fast.  But as a novel it works.  Suddenly Pam finds herself pregnant.

And the rest of the excerpt follows her and Daniel as they try to decide what to do.  I enjoyed that their upbringing was so different from each other and that their reactions were almost polar opposite.

So much happens in this excerpt that I’m really curious what the novel is actually about.  But I just loved the setting (and name dropping) in this story and I want to read the whole thing because I love Zink’s writing (and because I want to see if any other bands beside Sonic Youth and Tragic Mulatto (!) get mentioned)