100 Best Hoosier albums ever
April 9, 2014 12:54 PM   Subscribe

NUVO is an alternative publication based in Indianapolis that released a list of the 100 greatest albums that in some way have roots in the state of Indiana. The list includes everything from hip-hop to punk to the obvious. Contributors include DJs and record store owners from across the state.
posted by swoopstake (35 comments total) 14 users marked this as a favorite
 
NUVO is a great counterbalance to the Indianapolis Star, in which I would not wrap a dead fish.
posted by double block and bleed at 1:10 PM on April 9, 2014 [2 favorites]


I am a Hoosier. I enjoy music. This is relevant to my interests.

We should do a meetup!
posted by leotrotsky at 1:14 PM on April 9, 2014 [5 favorites]


My college radio station had a great split LP called Hoosier Hysteria with the Gizmos on one side and my candidate for world's best named punk band, Dow Jones and the Industrials, on the other.

It's a great record. The Gizmos side is better but the Dow Jones and the Industrials side ain't bad either and I really love that name.
posted by GalaxieFiveHundred at 1:27 PM on April 9, 2014 [1 favorite]


LOL. I was scanning the FPP's and saw the word NUVO in a post and thought to myself "That would be funny if this was about NUVO magazine." Imagine my delight.

NUVO can, when the desire hits, write some damned good local reporting. That it's a free publication is a huge plus.

Also, this will be the only time in Internet history where Wes Montgomery and the Zero Boys will be on the same list.
Alas, sadly, The Burning Limos didn't make the cut
posted by Thorzdad at 1:27 PM on April 9, 2014 [1 favorite]


Favorited for the inclusion of Everything, Now!, who I can say with zero hyperbole make better Flaming Lips records than the Flaming Lips do.
posted by Strange Interlude at 1:28 PM on April 9, 2014 [3 favorites]


I know nothing about Indiana music, but I really like Arson Garden.
posted by doubtfulpalace at 1:31 PM on April 9, 2014


We should do a meetup!
An Indiana meetup is long overdue.
posted by Thorzdad at 1:35 PM on April 9, 2014 [1 favorite]


Now I want to see if I can track down my favorite early-2000s Muncie, IN band, Arcade (aka Killjoy Confetti), who winked out of existence shortly before MySpace and YouTube and everything existed to document that they were here and that they rocked.
posted by Strange Interlude at 1:35 PM on April 9, 2014


No Vulgar Boatmen?
posted by hydrophonic at 1:36 PM on April 9, 2014


No Vulgar Boatmen
They're originally from Florida. The Wikipedia entry is kind of interesting.
posted by Thorzdad at 1:42 PM on April 9, 2014


No "Indianapolis," by the Bottle Rockets?
posted by entropicamericana at 1:51 PM on April 9, 2014


There Ought to be a meetup? OK!
posted by pjern at 1:53 PM on April 9, 2014 [2 favorites]


No Jim Nabors?
posted by philip-random at 1:56 PM on April 9, 2014 [1 favorite]


...my candidate for world's best named punk band, Dow Jones and the Industrials...

I'll see that and raise you one Pontius Pilate and the Nail Drivers, a punk band that existed for maybe a month or so in Indianapolis in the summer of 1985 or '86. Beyond the name, however, they did not deserve to be put on the list of best 100 anything, so I can understand Nuvo's overlooking them.
posted by JimInLoganSquare at 2:13 PM on April 9, 2014 [1 favorite]


I'm glad to see Sloppy Seconds on this list, but am kind of surprised to not see more out of Sonic Iguana studios in Lafayette.

And I am really happy that the Ataris did NOT make the list.

Also, Vulgar Boatmen are on the list. (Vulgar Boatmen - You and Your Sister
rock - 1989)
posted by bibliogrrl at 2:20 PM on April 9, 2014 [1 favorite]


Favorited for the inclusion of Everything, Now!, who I can say with zero hyperbole make better Flaming Lips records than the Flaming Lips do.

I find E,N kind of boring but if you've never been in a room full of people singing "One day, they'll legalize love, and everyone will sing together!", you're missing a must-have experience. Used to see them around the 505 in Muncie back in the day, they're excellent people.

Speaking of Muncie, I can't seem to find the music of The Three Hour Turd online anywhere, though their site is still online. I should see about getting permission to stick their album on YouTube.
posted by Pope Guilty at 2:53 PM on April 9, 2014 [2 favorites]


Also, Vulgar Boatmen are on the list.

Oops! It was the one thing I looked for and I skipped right over it. I blame their sloppy layout.
posted by hydrophonic at 3:44 PM on April 9, 2014


Bloomington is okay except that virtually everybody you meet- student or otherwise- plans to move away within the next couple of years, which is sad at first and gets progressively moreso the longer you stay. Students I understand, but it seems like most of the people I know who aren't students also seem to view Bloomington as someplace to move through rather than to. But then, I'm getting older, and I'd bet that this is a pretty amazig town to be 21 in.

That said, the people who are here are generally pretty okay. Our local subreddit is run by people who don't tolerate Redditry, and there's a weekly lunch get-together (east side Scholar's Inn Bakehouse, every Wednesday at noon) organized around it that draws some great folks. IU has spent decades trying to attract Asian students, and as a result we've got a surprising amount of cultural diversity for a small town in Indiana, including a ton of restaurants serving various cuisines, perhaps most notably on 4th street right next to campus. If I've got to be in Indiana, I can't think of anywhere else I'd rather be.
posted by Pope Guilty at 4:10 PM on April 9, 2014 [1 favorite]


no one ever made a mistake leaving Indiana.
posted by SteveLaudig at 4:38 PM on April 9, 2014


Well. OK.

A). the Zero Boys have a new album out, written and recorded with a new lineup, and are touring.

B). the pre-Hoosier Hysteria Gizmos, no lineup crossover with the Hoosier Hysteria Gizmos, are doing an Indiana reunion mini World Tour this summer.

C). the Vulgar Boatmen are indeed native to Indiana, although there is a Florida component.

D). Spencer will be amazed to hear that someone remembers Pontius Pilate and the Nail Drivers.

E). Persons who appreciate this post will also appreciate Musical Family Tree, an archive site with vast quantities of Indiana-made music.
posted by mwhybark at 4:58 PM on April 9, 2014 [3 favorites]


I would never consider myself a Hoosier, but I did spend 8 semesters and a summer session picking up a double major at IU Bloomington back in the late '80s. Mad props for the inclusion of Arson Garden, who moved out of my dorm at roughly the time I moved in. But I'm fairly shocked at the omission of Carrie Newcomer and/or Robert Shannon Meitus & the Dorkestra.
posted by jburka at 5:03 PM on April 9, 2014


Bloomington is okay except that virtually everybody you meet- student or otherwise- plans to move away within the next couple of years...

I would wager that has less to do with Bloomington itself and more to do with it being in Indiana.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:31 PM on April 9, 2014 [2 favorites]


Glad to see Gates of Slumber on here, who sadly just lost one of their members.
posted by evisceratordeath at 6:47 PM on April 9, 2014


Nothing from Jeff Tweedy or Jay Farrar? No Uncle Tupelo? No Wilco? No Son Volt?

They are literally the only reason I figured out that Indiana and Illinois are not the same thing.
posted by dotgirl at 7:05 PM on April 9, 2014


Where are you from that you didn't know that Indiana and Illinois are two different states? Or did I read your comment incorrectly?
posted by futz at 7:21 PM on April 9, 2014


Nothing from Jeff Tweedy or Jay Farrar? No Uncle Tupelo? No Wilco? No Son Volt?

They are literally the only reason I figured out that Indiana and Illinois are not the same thing.


wut
posted by Pope Guilty at 8:45 PM on April 9, 2014 [2 favorites]


Dow Jones and the Industrials side ain't bad either and I really love that name.

Man, oh man, what a band.

I mean, I know they were from West Lafayette and all, but they never got the credit or recognition they deserved.
posted by ryanshepard at 8:48 PM on April 9, 2014


I am disappointed that the Electric Amish did not make the list.
posted by bryon at 10:36 PM on April 9, 2014


Huge swaths of that list defined both the soundtrack and the community of my 10 years in Bloomington, from the old Vertigo to Second Story, through the opening of Landlocked Records, and to regular shows at Russian Recording, the Bishop, and Magnetic South.

I've been gone for a year now, and I miss all of that immensely. The people more than anything else, though the cost of living was pretty magnificent. Unfortunately, I had to go: at a certain point, for people with a certain level of education but without academic appointments, there just aren't any more opportunities to grow professionally. I put that growth off as long as I could, centering myself with my ties to the community instead. But the time came when I finally got tired of treading water. I am so much happier now that I'm in a place with so much more room for growth, but MAN. That music. The feels, they are immense.
posted by amelioration at 6:25 AM on April 10, 2014 [1 favorite]


Where are you from that you didn't know that Indiana and Illinois are two different states? Or did I read your comment incorrectly?

From "Not the United States". There are some of us, lurking about.
posted by dotgirl at 10:28 AM on April 10, 2014


Sorry dotgirl!
posted by futz at 12:13 PM on April 10, 2014


Glad to see Coffinworm on the list - their new album is fucking amazing.
posted by Frobenius Twist at 4:23 PM on April 10, 2014


Didn't you see the post where people from other places labeled maps of the US with California, Texas, maybe new york and the rest was basically "here be dragons"? I don't blame someone from not-here for not being able to keep them straight. I probably couldn't label every country in Europe or Asia with 100% accuracy.

Dotgirl: Even though they are right next to each other, Illinois and Indiana are different. Illinois has the vast majority of its population in the Chicago metropolitan area, which is in the NE corner of the state, next to Lake Michigan. Indiana also touches Lake Michigan but is more spread out with a sizable fraction in the Indianapolis area, which is in the center of the state, but the rest distributed among several smaller cities and towns. There are a lot more people in Illinois: almost 13 million vs. about 6.5 for Indiana. The smaller and more widely distributed population make most of Indiana seem rural without having the ghost town feel of Illinois rural areas. We also don't have the horrible crush of people that Chicago has. We in Indiana also have a huge inferiority complex, kinda like New Jersey. We're friendly people and it's not a bad place to live, but it's not exactly the center of excitement, either. We get excited when anyone notices us.

I am sad not to be able to call Jeff Tweedy and Jay Ferrar Hoosiers.
posted by double block and bleed at 4:34 PM on April 10, 2014


Did you see where I said that I was sorry?

You may have an inferiority complex. I don't.
posted by futz at 7:50 PM on April 10, 2014


It's all good, Futz!

So, DB&B, what you're saying is that I haven't learned the difference between Indiana and Illinois. How embarrassing.
posted by dotgirl at 10:18 PM on April 10, 2014 [2 favorites]


« Older In Kyrgyzstan, there was one that was made like a...   |   "I don’t care what you call it," he says. "I care... Newer »


This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments