So what if it's a crummy name for a genre...

December 7, 2004 3:10 PM

Slint to reunite for tour dates! First it was the Pixies and Sebadoh. Now, following announcements of their plan to curate a few ATP dates, Slint is promising 15 additional tour dates in 2005. Arguably the most most influential band your brother never heard of, probably among the handful of groups that formed the bedrock of 90's underground music, and certainly the progenitors of the Louisville-Chicago sound, they're back to post-rock your ass to oblivion! [via Pitchfork]
posted by drpynchon (35 comments total)

Pinch me, I feel like I'm in college again.
posted by drpynchon at 3:11 PM on December 7, 2004

All we need is Shill to reform and we'll have a front page worth buying concert tickets for.
posted by seanyboy at 3:21 PM on December 7, 2004

Meh. I downloaded Spiderland a while ago and it was an annoying guy whispering over droning instruments for a couple of tracks.
posted by driveler at 3:25 PM on December 7, 2004

You say that like it's something bad.
posted by mr_roboto at 3:27 PM on December 7, 2004 [1 favorite]

Yeah, but they did that annoying guy whispering over droning instruments thing first.
posted by petri at 3:28 PM on December 7, 2004

Meh. I downloaded Spiderland a while ago and it was an annoying guy whispering over droning instruments for a couple of tracks.

you kinda had to be there. slint are one of those unfortunate amazing bands who spawned a generation of bad, bad music from other bands.
posted by glenwood at 3:29 PM on December 7, 2004

I used to think that captain song on Spiderland was pretty damn amazing.
posted by Peter H at 3:29 PM on December 7, 2004

...And that recording was meant to be played on vinyl.
posted by sleslie at 3:30 PM on December 7, 2004

> on vinyl.

I will agree with this!
posted by Peter H at 3:33 PM on December 7, 2004

Oh. My. God.

I, for one, am extremely excited about this. Spiderland (on preview: Spiderland on vinyl - good point sleslie) was, for me, way more important that, say, Nevermind, and ranks up there with Peel Slowly and See as the records that influenced me the most.

The first The For Carnation EP is pretty amazing too.
posted by leecifer at 3:36 PM on December 7, 2004

Meh. I downloaded Spiderland a while ago and it was an annoying guy whispering over droning instruments for a couple of tracks.

You need to wait for the shouting and screaming part. (In other words, ye olde "whisper-roar" technique, though back then it had the power to really freak you out since you'd never heard anything like it in your life. Imagine that.)
posted by _sirmissalot_ at 3:39 PM on December 7, 2004 [2 favorites]

I suppose I'd been a fan of bands like Godspeed, Explosions in the Sky, etc. for a while before I learned about Slint, which might have spoiled me. So when I got around to listening to Slint, I just kind of wondered, 'What's the big deal about this?'
posted by driveler at 3:47 PM on December 7, 2004

HELL YEAH!

I actually saw Slint play at a party in Louisville when I was there visiting a friend -- this was Tweez era. I was blown away when later on they became an indie, post-facto powerhouse. I also remember the drummer stopping a song to ask us if we liked his "very tiny hairs."

And it was Tweez that must be played on vinyl, it says so right on my cd. /music geek
posted by undule at 3:50 PM on December 7, 2004

This is pretty cool news, I must say.

OT: Was there actually a Jason Loewenstein/Lou Barlow Sebadoh reunion? I missed it. Frankly, though, I wonder how much expectation there was around it, due to Sebadoh's notoriously Jekyll and Hyde live shows. I saw them four times and they were only what you might call "good" one of those times. I still love the music, though.
posted by psmealey at 3:57 PM on December 7, 2004

Hooray!

psmealy, the "Sebadoh" reunion-thing was some time in July.
posted by interrobang at 4:00 PM on December 7, 2004

Unrelated but related: Did anyone here see the Motley Crue reunion on Larry "Hardcore Metal" King? HILARIOUS!
posted by Peter H at 4:07 PM on December 7, 2004

You've got to love that album cover, as well - hell, just that image of those guys, swimming in a stone quarry, somewhere in those northern Kentucky hills brings back some weird memories.
posted by billysumday at 4:14 PM on December 7, 2004

And of course let's not forget this record, which sometimes gets overlooked or downplayed in many a conversation about Slint, but shouldn't. As much as I love Spiderland, Rusty hit me harder then, and may have more shelf-life to this day.
posted by drpynchon at 4:14 PM on December 7, 2004

that motley crue thing was agonizing. they sounded incredibly awful.
posted by glenwood at 4:26 PM on December 7, 2004

I saw Rodan play. They were freakishly bad assical.
posted by glenwood at 4:27 PM on December 7, 2004

Wake me when Squirrel Bait reforms. Nothing against Slint, mind you, but I was such a freak for SB. I still have nightmares over this conversation:
Friend: "Hey man, didja hear? Squirrel Bait broke up."
Me: "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!"

That being said though, I guess I'll be at one of their shows, along with all the other black plastic frame glasses and thrift store chlothes wearing geeks. If they come down our way, that is.
posted by NoMich at 4:44 PM on December 7, 2004

re: rodan -- the only thing distinctive about them was that they were first in a remarkably long line of slint ripoffs. but they had a leg up in that they were from slint's hometown.

re: quarry photo -- did you know, or care, that that rather remarkable photo was taken by none other than will oldham?

re: sebadoh reunion -- it happened in july and august. jason and lou got in a car (not even a van!) and drove around doing dates. it started as the result of a one-off show for lou's mom's charity. they invited eric, who is apparently still pissed about something, and he turned them down. they talked to bob, who apparently still owes them money, and they couldn't work anything out.

here's one version of the story (self link) :
posted by Hat Maui at 4:48 PM on December 7, 2004

re: quarry photo -- did you know, or care, that that rather remarkable photo was taken by none other than will oldham?

I did not know. I do care. Love that Bonnie Prince. In addition to being a great musician, he's the best 15-year old preacher in "Matewan" I think I've ever seen.
posted by billysumday at 4:52 PM on December 7, 2004

I loved looking at these quarry photos. Ah Slint, the Cutters of indie rock.
posted by _sirmissalot_ at 5:10 PM on December 7, 2004

Just need Bitch Magnet and Codeine on the bill and I wll be partying like its 1991!!!

I actually think I do not want to hear Slint ever again. I had Tweez and Spiderland on a C90 and I listened to it on a crappy car stereo once a day for 4 or 5 months while doing deliveries. They rocked my world but I am afraid that some bands just don't hold up to the memory you have of them in your head.

NoMich, you and me both on Squirrel Bait.
posted by Razzle Bathbone at 5:20 PM on December 7, 2004

Ha, as a Louisville native, hells yeah. I've rented videos from the drummer, I think, for years, and served eggs to Dave Pajo a couple of times, and the idea that they might actually play a few shows again makes me shit my pants.
And Will Oldham is another awesome artist, although he's creepy as fuck, apparently. He used to come into a music store where my friend worked and just stand there, in the corner, staring off into space. I saw him once at a Sonic Youth show, where he walked in, glanced towards the stage, and then immediately headed towards the bar, where he remained for the entire concert, drinking, with his back to Sonic Youth.
posted by 235w103 at 5:44 PM on December 7, 2004

"Arguably the most most influential band your brother never heard of"

Well, what'dya know! I'm me own brother!
posted by Busithoth at 5:50 PM on December 7, 2004

Sebadoh broke up. Crap, I really need to start paying attention at the meetings.
posted by photoslob at 6:04 PM on December 7, 2004

He used to come into a music store where my friend worked and just stand there, in the corner, staring off into space.

Weird? Or just tripping?
posted by billysumday at 6:05 PM on December 7, 2004

Sebadoh broke up. Crap, I really need to start paying attention at the meetings.

They didn't *really* break up. They're just... not... official anymore.
posted by interrobang at 7:15 PM on December 7, 2004

Not to pimp my own site. But I run a Louisville based website dedicated to ... er... Louisville Music. You can check it out here.

We've got the Archive

and current artists here.
posted by jackofsaxons at 8:59 PM on December 7, 2004

Holy crap! I don't know whether to be more amazed that Slint is touring again, or that so many other people here seem to have heard of them. Is this one of those "I thought I was the only one" phenomena, or did I just go to a loser college?
posted by rusty at 8:27 AM on December 8, 2004

This seems like as good a place as any to note that the post-rock founders from across the pond, Bark Psychosis are back together and have a new album out called Codename: Dustsucker.
posted by mike_bling at 10:06 AM on December 8, 2004

Banjo and I are going to be seeing them at All Tomorrow's Parties in Feb, thus explaining her AskMe Question.

Anyone else going?
posted by robocop is bleeding at 10:29 AM on December 8, 2004

I'm happy for all the Slint fans, but I'm still patiently waiting for Royal Trux to reform.

(RTX is not Royal Trux. Nor is The Howling Hex. My world is gray.)
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 10:53 AM on December 8, 2004