Silkworm: C/D?

Not a very popular band, lots of my friends that you think would like them think they are boring.

But something about their obtuse T&G rock meets classic rock sound really gets me....Michael Dahlquist (RIP) was an AMAZING drummer...and Andy Cohen is one of the most underrated guitarists IMO, sort of hits a sweet spot between Crazy Horse Neil Young and Robert Quine.....

but yeah Lifestyle, Italian Platinum, Blueblood are all fav records of mine.

my band got to open for them the last time they played Mpls (I guess the last time ever now), but they were exceedingly nice dudes and played a great set even though I kept yelling out for "Treat the New Guy Right", which they obliged.

Midgett & Cohen have a new band called Bottomless Pit...have some stuff on Myspace, but it hasn't really grabbed me like SKWM.

This is very OTM! See solo on "I Hope U Don't Survive the Night" from Italian Platinum.

Classic. I'm actually astonished that there isn't a thread on these guys already. Smarter and naturally cooler than many of their indie rock peers. I think of Silkworm as in a category with Eleventh Dream Day. I have great memories of seeing them in the living room of a house in 1994 with 10 other people.

Not a basic classic/dud like this -- there's a longish thread on Dahlquist's horrible passing, though. Tragic puts it mildly, of course.

Besides the people you expect to love them who end up thinking they are boring, there are also a small number of Silkworm obsessives who think they are the best band in the world ever. I think I've met like three of them or so.

So, yeah, they're a classic.

The big problem I had with Silkworm is the same with many other mid-90s indie rock bands (Pavement/Sebadoh/The Grifters/etc. I'm looking at you), at some point many of them toned down the spazzy guitar interplay and start thinking they are singer/songwriters like Neil Young and they seem to lose what I liked about them in the first place.

I saw them twice, once being at gig my old band played with them after Firewater came out. They seemed like OK joes and were pretty good live. Andy Cohen is a guitar player that knows a few more chords than most and Michael Dalquist was definitely a unique and very talented drummer.

The last Phelps album was a bit underwhelming (I'm thinking specifically of that one 583-minute track that WILL. NOT. END.), but his solo work is undisputably great. Esp. that covers EP he (self?) released w/ the busted radiator grill on the cover.

but yep, SKWM post-Lifestyle is sort of a different beast than earlier stuff.

the few times i'd seen them in mpls, the crowds would be decent, not great by any means, but there were always a few dudes you'd run into that, like, drove from canada or kansas just to see the show.

couldn't say whether that is classic or dud

I think they managed to make the transition a lot more smoothly than, say, Superchunk, though; they never totally abandoned the big distorted guitar solos and drunken singalong choruses.

I'll second all the "Firewater" recommendations, but the quieter parts of "Lifestyle" and "Italian Platinum," and especially the "You Are Dignified" EP (the acoustic "Prayer to God" cover being the highlight thereof) are pretty great in their own right. I never drove six hours to see them, but Jesus do I love Silkworm.

It was always there. In his pre-Seattle days Andy was as deep into Neil Young and Dylan as he was into Dinosaur Jr, Pere Ubu and Mission of Burma. Which is to say, DEEP.

Midgett & Cohen have a new band called Bottomless Pit...

Indeed, and here's some promo guff I just got:

The first release on the newly formed Comedy Minus One label (formed by My Pal God's Jon Solomon) is the debut compact disc by Chicago's Bottomless Pit, titled Hammer of the Gods which streets on Nov. 6. Bottomless Pit is the new group formed by erstwhile Silkworm members Tim Midgett and Andy Cohen. They are joined by longtime friends Chris Manfrin (Seam) and Brian Orchard (.22). Hammer of the Gods is soulful, emotionally intense, and often transcendent post-punk that is as inviting as it is bracing. The band has a handful of shows coming up and will be touring more extensively in the near future.

Promos available upon request.

Bottomless Pit - Hammer of the Gods Track List:

1.The Cardinal Movements
2.Dogtag
3.Repossession
4.Leave The Light On
5.Dead Man's Blues
6.Human Out Of Me
7.Greenery
8.Sevens Sing

Press Photos:
http://www.forcefieldpr.com/pressphotos/bottomlesspit/

BOTTOMLESS PIT LIVE DATES

Friday October 19 - Cactus Club - Milwaukee, WI
Saturday October 20 - Coral Room - Madison, WI
Saturday November 3 - Brillobox - Pittsburgh, PA

www.bottomlesspit.us

www.myspace.com/bottomlesspitchicago

www.comedyminusone.com

www.myspace.com/comedyminusone

And here's the mp3 for "The Cardinal Movements."

I like this. I'm glad they're still making music, it would have been even more tragic if they stopped after the accident.

i saw bottomless pit live they were good. i'm excited for the double 45s...cool idea...

the Bottomless Pit album is really, really good. Like, REALLY good.

Great to hear. Must check it out.

5.Dead Man's Blues

this was my favorite track on the CDR they sold on tour, very Silkwormy

looking forward to hearing the album

"Reposession" is fantastic

This Bottomless Pit rekkid is just slaying folks - utterly awesome songs - just wish it was longer. Anyone know if there's any US dates on tap?

going to see bottomless pit tonight : ) : )

we were gonna tour together before my health went down the tubes :(

oh really?? jeez that sucks.
i'm sorry yr feeling poorly j0hn get well.

kadane bros. from bedhead are on the bill tonight as well so it sounds like there will be some collabo jamz.

it's all right I'm on the mend thank you matt!

bottomless pit was great, last time i saw them was one of their first shows they've gelled a lot since then.

but yeah honestly great stuff. the kadane bros. did a mix of bedhead, new year, and new stuff off an upcoming album. they are sorta doomed to be the really unpopular Low, but i think they are great.

STNNNG opened and played bunch of amazing shit, the best being "A Tremblin' Blues" which imagines that Physical Grafitti-era Led Zep wrote a 7 minute version of "Salad Days" by Minor Threat.

IN THE WEST

i don't get the firewater love, this band was never the same after phelps left. this brings me back to high school.

i love pre- and post-phelps silkworm, "libertine" and "firewater" are my two faves

libertine is amazing, yes. firewater, i don't mind, but phelps's contributions were an essential part of the trifecta which made silkworm work for me.

btw matador has found some old LPs in a warehouse, firewater and developer on vinyl on their site for cheap

cutty do you have any of the phelps downer trio stuff? it's pretty good too.

i like all eras of this band.

whoa thanks dude! i just picked those up.

i've never listened to phelps-era silkworm; but trio silkworm/bottomless pit is probably top 5 all-time for me

IN THE WEST

i don't get the firewater love

I like In the West but to me they transitioned from (sometimes literal) Pavement followers / noisy indie into more of their own thing (even if their "own thing" has heavy Television + Neil Young vibes). and the lyrics became a bigger deal -- Miracle Mile, Don't Make Plans This Friday, Slow Hands all some of my favorites by them. even if it is sort of a downer record

even if even if

cutty do you have any of the phelps downer trio stuff?

i love the phelps solo stuff, yes. did any here get a chance to see silkworm with phelps?

i've never listened to phelps-era silkworm

this is mind boggling. he has the best songs on the first two records.

my firewater and developer lps got here today; rockin out to firewater now and soooooo happy

please try the earlier records, thank you

ordered libertine 20 minutes ago--just for you, cutty

is in the west OOP? because i will post it here.

amazon sez: physical version has been discontinued, still available from amazon mp3 tho

also check out the marco collins sessions EP

my firewater and developer lps got here today; rockin out to firewater now and soooooo happy

― call all destroyer, Tuesday, April 7, 2009 9:27 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
just curious, is your firewater 1 lp or 2?

No more simple tunes
No more easy poon
It takes so many millions to get laid

great, great opening line

it's 2 lps. 10 bucks from the matastore!

completely addicted to the two bottomless pit records.

particularly "red pen." great, great song.

really into bottomless pit now too

yeah, I keep putting the congress EP on again because I wish there were MORE.

Man every single time I play Lifestyle I'm reminded of why I fucking love rock music when the guitar solo kicks in on "Around the Outline".

fucking incredible record imo

It really is.

the "AIN'T YOU EVER BEEN ALONE IN YOUR LIFE?" part of the chorus to "Treat the New Guy Right" might be my favorite moment in any rock song ever

So hard to pick just one moment though. Really loving the "Ooh La La" cover, so good. Why the hell weren't these guys ever huge?

yepppp

they were huge. for me.

cutty otm

Why the hell weren't these guys ever huge?

I think part of it is that, for the press, they weren't a band that presented any kind of really appealing built-in "story angles"...you know, like for instance Animal Collective or Joanna Newsom or Bonnie Prince Billy or Pavement etc etc

like three/four workmanlike midwest regular dudes playing rock that split the difference between 90s indie and 70s classic rock but not in a flashy way

but isn't that basically GBV's story, too? And they had more success than Silkworm ... I guess GBV had Pollard's bajillions of songs + hard drinking live show as a story hook.

Also Pollard's former life as a school-teacher was a pretty big hook too, especially when you read 90s interviews.

gbv was catchy. i love silkworm's pretty lackadaisical approach to writing choruses.

yeah also GBV were such a drunk circus live

Silkworm was a huge band for me too. I was more of a Libertine/Firewater fan than Lifestyle, but "Treat the New Guy Right" is definitely one of their best songs ever.

also a big fan

I finally got around to seeing Bottomless Pit live about 4-5 months ago and it was great. I can't get into the records as much as Silkworm but it was just amazing to see Midgett and Cohen, they're an intense live band.

the "AIN'T YOU EVER BEEN ALONE IN YOUR LIFE?" part of the chorus to "Treat the New Guy Right" might be my favorite moment in any rock song ever

dude we are fucking soulmates & I wish we could see this song played live at the Triple Rock or Minneap venue of your choice so that we could @ 4 beers deep yell this line in unison

that would be awesome

damn i'm gettin' all melancholy now, i miss this band!

I've probably said this before but I think my entire guitar soloing "style" (such as it is) is based on trying to sound like Andy Cohen (and failing).

fucking love the solo in That's Entertainment

All this love makes me so happy!

I've always loved the solo in "Miracle Mile." It blew my mind that it was this despondent acoustic-guitar-and-vocals tune and then two minutes in you hear this CRACKLE CRACKLE as dude plugs in the electric guitar and then it's just like a minute of BRRREEAAAAAOOOWWW blaring electric guitar solo before cutting back out and he finishes the sad song.

rocking "empty elevator shaft" right now, a favorite & the one I would cover if I could find that passing chord in the second half of the verse

all right I'm in full Silkworm fanboy bloom now...TANGLED IN YR WEB, TANGLED IN YR WEB

also:

possibly fewer percentage of female fans that even Rush

silkworm is serious dude rock.

lol, that is true of so much early/midnineties midwestern indie! shows at the empty bottle ca. '95...all dudes

except my gf obv

so true--though my empty bottle days were more ca. 2000.

j0hn didn't u live in iowa too? did you know gabe's in ia city?

gabes was 2.5 hours from us, but we went there a little...most notably I drove in to see High on Fire circa winter 2000. like forty people there I'd guess. fucking epic.

gabes! i went there a few times as a grad student.

Are you guys into the Bottomless Pit stuff? I love their LP but I cannot get enough of their Congress EP. I feel like the songs are compositionally more fleshed out than the Silkworm material. Really its all wonderful!

except my gf obv

haha and my wife. and my friends' wives. I know a lot of female Silkworm fans actually!

love "Miracle Mile." one of those songs where I had the words memorized before I had ever encountered the New York places named so whenever I'm over on Avenue A half the time that shit pops in my head. "he was fucked in his lung, got shot on Avenue A sucking on some slut's tongue"

I think J0hn was referring more to the mid-nineties Empty Bottle crowd than just Silkworm fans. I can't speak for that myself, I was young and more of a Fireside Bowl kid at the time.

haha and my wife. and my friends' wives. I know a lot of female Silkworm fans actually!

*waves* Hey there!

consistently surprised how most people prefer later silkworm to the joel phelps era. i don't get it.

Both eras were great.

Hey remember when Andy Cohen was a member of Bush?

Man every single time I play Lifestyle I'm...

Yes. Their best record. It was irritating that it didn't make any best-of-decade lists because surely it's one of the best guitar rock albums of the last 10 years.

Right now I'm really into their cover of Let's Kill Saturday Night.

aww damn i missed a skwm lovefest last night i see

my contrib: tracks 1-6 of developer is my favorite sequence of music ever.

i guess i have to reevaluate their later work. really liked bottomless pit, though.

yeah! bottomless pit is great. i hope they put out some more stuff.

Fuck, now I'm stuck at work and badly want to dig out their recs and play'em

Again, I really loved the Congress EP. Anybody else feel like Bottomless Pit have melodically for fleshed out songs than Silkworm? I love both.

I need to check out Bottomless Pit, just haven't gotten around to it yet.

agreed that bottomless pit continues to improve, i like both but yeah "Red Pen" off congress is so amazing..

listened to Blueblood, Lifestyle, and Italian Platinum last night.

goddamn what a band.

michael was such a great drummer ;_;

i think his death is the saddest rock death ever to me. so unfair.

also...cohen is such a weird/awesome lyricist:

There are kike jokes and then the street mimes
In times like these no one seems to mind
But just you wait ‘til the pendulum swings
Toward the inevitable decline

Crossed-eye talk and a halting walk
Blind Willie is down the block
He will never see again

Right after the thread action last night I was going to the gym and I put every Silkworm album I own on my ipod to listen to on shuffle, it was great.

THE GREAT SILKWORM LOVEFEST OF 2010

thank you bookmark function

xp otm--i think recognizing how incredible cohen's lyrics are was a major turning point for me and silkworm

rocking "empty elevator shaft" right now, a favorite & the one I would cover if I could find that passing chord in the second half of the verse

― Lee Dorrian Gray (J0hn D.), Thursday, March 4, 2010 12:09 AM (15 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

j0hn...

i was thinking of this last night and if i may humbly suggest...maybe you could try "Roots" off lifestyle...i could kinda hear that in your steez.

so many killer choruses too

"Was it YOU-OOOOO-OOOoooOOooOOoO-OOOO? You were WOOOOORLD PROOF!"

you guys ever see the video of them doing LR72 with no drummer after dahlquist was killed? chilling, really sad.

i was thinking of this last night and if i may humbly suggest...maybe you could try "Roots" off lifestyle...i could kinda hear that in your steez.

OMG yes! Particularly my favoritest lyrical bit on the whole album:

There's a Puerto Rican in this bar, she's thinking about San Juan
If I could, you know, I'd wave a wand and send her home
But first, you know, I'd send myself back where the river flows
But I can't even see that road, "When" is a secret, and that means nobody knows

For as awesome as the drumming and guitar work is, sometimes it seems people forget just how funny, clever, and genuinely affecting their lyrics could be.

isn't andy cohen a lawyer now or something? am i crazy?

yes he is

i think he was a lawyer for a lot of the time skwm was a band?

that was my impression

he would lawyer onstage between songs iirc

jewish lawyers in rock

when i saw these dudes open for Bikini Kill, he wore a big gold Star of David on his chest--the show was a Friday night, as i recall

http://www.jrp-graphics.com/jb/covers/LawyersInLove.jpg

I'm really trying to put a finger on why I love Silkworm so much, and the nearest I can get is this:

I really grew up on my Dad's records...the Stones, CCR, Neil Young, etc. There's a certain part of me that – although I have grown to love all sorts of music - weird post punk, hip hop, electronic stuff, noisier rock, punk, metal, world music, jazz, etc etc - there's a certain part of me, way down in the lizard brain, that loves classic rock in a way that that stuff can never touch..

just thinking of stuff like "Everybody Knows This is Nowhere" or "Lodi" by CCR or "Rocks Off" by the Stones...like music that basically gives you that "Four beers deep" feeling J0hn mentioned upthread, where you feel a something in your chest and you just want to rip your heart out cuz it's so anthemic and real and makes life seem so awesome and rocking

But at the same time, you can't just be stuck in those songs because there aren't any more of them being made, and any band that tries to be *actual* classic rock is going to fail. Those days are gone and it just seems fake and it won't even sound like those records sound.

So I guess for me Silkworm was a band that gave me those feelings of real "bro" classic rock, but at the same time they acknowledged and used influences from all the other stuff that changed how i viewed rock music - fugazi and mission of burma and sonic youth and the minutemen and gang of four etc – they were a part of that world two, the whole lineage of the "this band could be your life" era

they were able to combine the strange angles and skronk and sorta impenetrable lyrics and sometimes odd sounding chord changes and rhythmic hiccups in a way that still felt as anthemic and huge and heartfelt and full of everything as all the old music did.....but they weren't pretending to be like "hey we're a throwback to the old days" either like kings of leon or dudes that have a whole "let's bring OLD TIME ROCK BACK" jive.

basically they were exactly what i need out of rock, or at least a big part of it.

also a lot of the stuff i just posted might not make total sense when you read it, but i makes sense when i feel it.

(this also figures into why i think Lifter Puller was a great band and Hold Steady is only a good band)

great post

I was about to ask where Lifter Puller/Hold Steady fit into this! That's a really nice summary of a personal aesthetic, M@tt.

yeah, nice post M@tt. Funny, though -- there are a *lot* of bands who try to invoke that classic rock feeling and fail miserably. Like, uh, any band I've been in. It's a weird fine line to tread, and Silkworm do a great job of it. I don't really like the Hold Steady at all, but it seems like I should.

Great post M@tt. Thanks for sharing that.

listening to Lifestyle rn

re: bottomless pit. a different (but not totally different) animal, and man, I love love love it.

I got deep into that congress ep last year as well. "red pen" is epic.

listening to bottomless pit hammer of the god atm

"dogtag" is such a brilliant, oblique and not cheesy tribute to a fallen friend.

interesting thing abt bottomless pit to me is that cohen seems to be doing his thing, as ever, while tim midgett is really kinda pushing the sound forward with the four-piece lineup.

i've really needed silkworm this week, it's been a helluva week.

how do you guys feel about the crust brothers record?

actually never owned that that but always meant to, is it good? i heard it a bit a looong time ago but don't remember

it's just the live thing right? i love their version of

GOIN TO ACAPULLLLCOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

yeah, it's just a live show. has a pretty good vibe, they're just having fun cruising through these songs. wish there was a bit more variety (as opposed to mostly basement tapes tunes) cause i really love the version of tuesdays gone.

And all men knew it
Then God came to take you.
So I said to myself
I would bring that glass of beer.
Thus we used to do
For everyone to see.
So I brought along this beer to give you, to drink.

that dude needs to finish that documentary!

the lyrics for LR72 are pretty remarkable

love that song. such a weird song in a way but it really gets me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEW3hsNVF9M

Joel R.L. Phelps mini-collection posted over here (they're all out of print and all pretty great)

Bummed I missed the thread revival!

wow, thanks, on it.

bottomless pit playing at schuba's in chicago on april 19th, opening for monotonix, which seems like an unlikely pairing but whatever. thinking about making it down for this, if any chicago people wanna meet up for a minifap.

the great indie mag Puncture published a Joel R.L. Phelps profile back in the day that I remember being really heartbreaking. All about him working with disabled kids or something and then playing shows at night and no one really paying much attention.

http://www.joelrlphelps.com/

huge fan of phelps's solo work

Weird, I was just thinking about Silkworm today! I have no idea why exactly. I never owned a record by them but saw them play in Providence once and they completely blew me away.

start at the beginning, in the west.

oh, i love yr display name!

i love you, jed_

thanks x o

I think Italian Platinum is very underrated and so is Blueblood.

cohen's solo on "The Third" off Italian Platinum is WOW

I was so excited when Italian Platinum came out, it was my favorite album they'd done since Firewater. "I Hope U Don't Survive" is right up there with "Treat the New Guy Right" as catchy Silkworm rock-out anthems.

Will anyone rep for Don't Look Back? I was pretty disappointed with it, especially after the resurgence of Italian Platinum. I've tried to go back to it a couple of times but just can't get that excited about it.

do you mean it'll be cool? i fuckin love that album.

oh yeah duh

yeah i never actually bought It'll Be Cool but this thread makes me want to, heard it a few times at a friend's house.

the Chokes EP is another sorta lost SKWM joint

Are You Dignified? is the bomb

oh man chokes is great too

there's a cohen song on it called low blow that is just amazing

for some reason I only have "Bar Ice" (which is great) off that EP, I should buy it

oh yeah Bar Ice kills

much love for "even a blind chicken..." over here

the beginning and end of it'll be cool (don't look back, insomnia, shitty little yacht, the operative) is great but the middle lost me. the guitar solo at the end of shitty little yacht is my favorite solo of andy's - just all over the place - there's almost an extended version of it on "38 souls," one of two new bottomless pit tracks posted on FB today. they both sound great!

ah shit thanks for the tip!!!!! SWEEEEEEEEEEEET!

WHAT

New Bottomless Pit will be called "Blood Under the Bridge." They are hoping for a summer release.

xp - Insomnia is killer. but yeah that album didn't stand up to the two previous, imo

wow, Chokes is awesome. Got that and Blueblood because of this thread. i don't know what the hell "you can keep that piece of Indiana lakeshore" means, but it's been in my head for days.

yeah I finally downloaded all of Chokes after the thread revival and it's really good, especially "Int'l Harbour Of Grace"

blueblood's okay. . . it's like the songs aren't quite there but the solos are. i think they are becoming a new favorite band, i also grabbed the first two songs from It'll Be Cool on emusic.

and "Bar Ice" ... I guess I'm a sucker for the Silkworm songs with female backup vox. Is it Kelly Hogan again on here?

Blueblood has "EFF" on it, right? That song slays. I like "Clean'd Me Out" a lot too.

blueblood will worm its way into yr head eventually. amazing songs on that. i am particularly down w/tonight i'm meat into ritz dance

blueblood was actually the second skwm album i bought and it helped me understand them more. firewater is so big and overwhelming at first.

what is the most masculine genre of music? 40 new answers
Silkworm: C/D? 6 new answers

tonight i'm meat is one of my favorites. empty elevator shaft---> until the end is great. i hated the first song the first few times i listened to it, but i dig it a lot now. cad, i think you're right, it's a grower.

lol i def do not know any girls who like skwm

Eff is such a late 90's Touch and Go type song

i just love love love "from inseam to hem i am a perfect gentleman." the cadence and rhyming is perfect.

(xp re: tonight i'm meat if thats unclear)

their lyrics are so weird, too. or maybe i'm just dumb. LR72, for one. and "everybody's been riding my ramp," what the hell does that even mean? i like it.

n/a is right, i wish i could solo like cohen. he's fucking amazing.

nah they're just both really, really awesome lyricists. i agree tho--no idea where they get some of their lines.

went driving in the warm spring evening last night with the 1st Bottomless Pit album playing...it's really, really, really good

everybody jam that record when you get a chance it will do you right

you heard the ep they put out? progression and improvement from the first record imo.

I keep meaning to get it but I haven't yet. Eventually. I saw the 2" reels for it at a studio tho!

yeah been listening to "Repossession" a lot

the worm is sounding really great these days

Eff is such a late 90's Touch and Go type song

― Mr. Que, Thursday, April 1, 2010 10:01 AM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

this album came out on T&G in 1998 btw

well right, that's kind of what i mean. to my ears, it doesn't sound like any of their other stuff, that much. the first time i heard it, i felt grounded in that certain time and place, and i wasn't sure i wanted to revisit it? does that make sense? i dig the song now, it just seemed dated to me at first. or maybe i just heard it a long time ago, i don't know.

it was the first time they *really* sounded like a "touch and go" type band to me, b/c i had only heard Italian Platinum and Lifestyle before that

ha I just couldn't tell how knowing that statement was

yeah i am not explaining it well, sorry

can't feel the love in a piece of cold steel, can't feel the love in a piece of cold steel

<3

I keep meaning to get it but I haven't yet. Eventually. I saw the 2" reels for it at a studio tho!

oh man, get on this right now!

both bottomless pit records are totally great. but I was obsessed with that EP for a few months.

listening to "Never Met a Man I Didn't Like" and this is just about their best and brightest rock song. big ol open chords by andy, michael just punishing the crash cymbal for the entire duration of the song, save for andy's solo where he only hits the ride for a while, and of course the chorus where he does that awesome hi-hat tug to accentuate the "say it again" line. so many good lines, so much good intonation in the singing too

"never saw such a piece of jap, SHIT"
"it's been weeks since a had a good, FUCK"

and then it's right into "The City Glows," which is kind of a perfect example of the quiet, restrained tension thing they occasionally did? "Moving" was another example, no others come to mind... anyway, love that song also

Hey dudes:

GREAT DEAL ALERT:

Matador must've found some old boxes of Firewater on vinyl, cuz it's only $10 for the record on their online store! : )

https://www.matadorrecords.com/store/index.php?catalog_id=33

taught myself "Treat the New Guy Right" on guitar yesterday (made easier by it not having a solo, I'm not very good at figuring out solos)

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

i want to play the drums on Never Met a Man I Didn't Like

man, the solos on firewater are basically all stunners.

so feeling this right now

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEXtZzwj0uQ

Italian Platinum today, sounded great walking around at lunch.

If you haven't seen it yet, and you're a Silkworm stan, you should read Sebastian Stirling's take on these guys at One Week // One Band, its a great read.

cool thanks for the link

love this band

LIVED OFF OF MY SEVERANCE PAY FROM THE OLD PIPELINE DAYS

"We suffered even greater misfortune/in the armpit of the Americas"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzvdh0E2tKo

;_;

HEY ILM my pal Jon has a request for a project he is working on:

http://www.comedyminusone.com/blog/?p=472

"As you likely have gleaned by now, Comedy Minus One has been working on a deluxe reissue of Silkworm’s third album “Libertine” which will be released later in 2013.
There are going to be several preorder tiers for this 2×12″, one of which shall include a download of live recordings from the band in their quartet form.
Tracking down live versions of songs found on “Libertine” has been an incredible pleasure, yet two dead ends have developed.
This may be a long shot, but if you have leads on performances of “The Cigarette Lighters” and/or “Oh How We Laughed,” please get in touch."

If you can help him out, please hit him up! Thank you.

nice. libertine is a classic. yen + janet forever is my fave joel song for silkworm.

was going through some old CDs and ran across the first Joel R.L. Phelps and the Downer Trio album, really good stuff

"As you likely have gleaned by now, Comedy Minus One has been working on a deluxe reissue of Silkworm’s third album “Libertine” which will be released later in 2013."

GASP! :D

Annnd details on that Libertine reissue are here

http://www.comedyminusone.com/blog/?p=477

I'm a little overwhelmed about all of the releases I'm trying to buy, so I'm glad this one comes out way in the fall.

already have the album, i just want the t-shirt

I want that two hours of Libertine-era live songs that's the bonus!

My old t-shirt is mostly shredded at this point...though I am most exicted to hear the remaster/45 rpm pressing

Developer is so fucking amazing

Stop teasing me for not picking up the vinyl that time I was at Academy 2 years ago.

is it bad if i say i just found a pristine copy of it on vinyl for $15?

No actually, because I would have paid $20 for a VG copy if I did get it then.

seriously that is the record that every time you fire it up there's something new

How does it rank in your opinion?

from Libertine through Lifestyle is such a magnificent run I don't really...I can't really put one ahead of the other in that group without goin' "yeah, but.." I guess I'd say it's better than Blueblood (but it has no "Empty Elevator Shaft," an all-time jam) and probably better than Firewater but Firewater's so fuckin' fierce...Developer really feels in its own zone. So many different looks, and so brooding, in a way. "The City Glows," who can fuck with that? Nobody can fuck with that.

Someday, I'll have it all. I love Lifestyle and Firewater but I've up to this point been such a big fan of the more overall wistful Bottomless Pit stuff. Still got that Libertine reissue in my sights since I do not own it in any form.

developer is prob the most emotionally dense of the silkworm records--unlike their other ones nothing on it is really funny.

xp if you like wistful, developer is certainly the silkworm album for you

developer is a weird one for me. firewater was really important and then in comparison developer seemed slight, in scope and sound. but listening to it now there are def some classic skwm jams on there, esp the first three songs.

Won't pass it up next time for sure.

I love 'em all but Developer is def my fave, one of the times I saw them in the early '00s they were playing a double header in Mpls, early all ager, late id (come to think of it one of the last of those I can remember), which was weird cuz they weren't exactly a big draw or anything. But so I went to both, the all ager in particular was sparsely attended and Tim was walking around putting together a set list, asking if anyone wanted to hear anything. No one really spoke up so I picked two songs, the second of which, "Ice Station Zebra" they apparently hadn't played since the Developer era. But since the show had kind of already taken on a sort of what-the-hell-let's-wing-it vibe, they agreed to play.

Comes to show time they start to play the song and right away completely botch it. They were laughing and I kind of got the sense that maybe Tim and Michael felt like skipping it, but Andy sort of shook his head, then they restart the song and just flat out destroy it.

Best band.

Still got that Libertine reissue in my sights since I do not own it in any form.

yeah you gotta get that. "Couldn't You Wait?" is a classic, Libertine overall is where they're leaving behind the "hey these guys sound like Pavement" phase of In the West and doing things that only sounded like themselves ...

Grotto of frickin Miracles

Lifestyle has generally always been my favorite but Developer is really coming on strong in the last week....I definitely rate Developer higher than Firewater now it just seems so much more, uh, "mature" to use a lame term...

Italian Platinum & Blueblood feel really underrated....I think you could make a case for anything from Libertine through Italian Platinum as the best....if you said anything before that or It'll Be Cool i'd look at you funny

i have trouble embracing the phelps stuff in a way because it doesn't feel like the "real" silkworm to me....i do LOVE the first joel r.l. phelps & the downer trio album a lot.

Tried to reach you every hour
I was strangling on my guts to let you know
End to end a stray
The thief could not decide to stay
Above the radar's eye, or below

just fucking devastating

"The City Glows," who can fuck with that? Nobody can fuck with that.

yes

just fucking devastating

yes!

i get the clearest image from this album, dude who's lived with his folks for the past few years, drinks a little more than anyone realizes, watches a lot of TCM, smartass at work, not much success sleeping...

hah i like that

bentelec is that description autobiographical?

man i am really mad i missed out on that distressed shirt

No one really spoke up so I picked two songs, the second of which, "Ice Station Zebra" they apparently hadn't played since the Developer era. But since the show had kind of already taken on a sort of what-the-hell-let's-wing-it vibe, they agreed to play.

Comes to show time they start to play the song and right away completely botch it. They were laughing and I kind of got the sense that maybe Tim and Michael felt like skipping it, but Andy sort of shook his head, then they restart the song and just flat out destroy it.

Best band.

also i love this story, i don't think it's fair to pick only one skwm song because you need a tim song and an andy song but ice station zebra would most likely be my andy song, it's got the text and the subtext like his best stuff does. it lacks a killer guitar solo but musically it's still pretty out there, so tightly wound and choppy but it just works.

From Michael's tour entry 6/22/2002

I can always write about the rock shows, though. We played two shows in Minneapolis, one in the afternoon for the kids, one in the evening for the grownups. The all-ages show wasn't our idea; and while we'd love for the kids to love us, our music usually seems to be appreciated by - I'm not sure if it's grownups, or drunks. Still, the all-ages show was homespun & fun: the soundman forgot to play music before the show, so we spent many minutes setting up, getting our shit together, putting together a set list w/much audience input, all on full display in front of a small but attentive crowd. I liked it.

And

We skipped the obscure requests for the second show,

Dama/Libra, the new Joel R.L. Phelps project with a dude from Sunn 0)), sounds interesting and different: http://www.avclub.com/article/former-silkworm-sunn-o-members-make-sacred-noise-d-206205

yeah just listened very cool

ooh i like that a lot

that "dude from Sunn O)))" is Michael Dahlquist's brother btw

Reading my own posts up there from last yr got me thinking about something I love about this band that maybe doesn't always come across on the records is just how much ATTACK their sound had live. Esp in a room like the 7th St Entry, Tim & Andy had (and have) their sound dialed in and when Michael would come down so hard of the drums it was as if he was physically throwing the sound out into the room. He was so loud, to the point where it isn't even what you heard, it's what you felt from the music.

It wasn't aggressive exactly, but it was bracing and jarring and such a fucking joy to experience.

Dama/Libra album is interesting. It's cool but I don't think I'm going to listen to it very often.

Fuck, this band is so great. Finally filled in the last gap in my collection with the Even a Blind Chicken... comp. "Scruffy" is such a jam.

http://www.comedyminusone.com/007.php

http://www.comedyminusone.com/images/cmo007x500.jpg

Silkworm
"Chokes!"
lp + digital download - $15

01 Bar Ice
02 Low Blow
03 Int'l Harbour Of Grace
04 Lily White & Cherry Red
05 Wrote A Song For Everyone
06 Spanish Harlem Incident

The basic instrumental tracks for what would become Silkworm's final record "Chokes!" were recorded in 2005 at Electrical Audio, a few weeks before the death of drummer Michael Dahlquist. The songs were finished later that year and issued on compact disc via 12XU at the close of 2006.

Comedy Minus One helped distribute this release digitally two years later but "Chokes!" has been both physically out of print and never pressed on vinyl until now.

Cut by Matthew Barnhart at Chicago Mastering Service and manufactured by Quality Record Pressings, this edition of "Chokes!" is limited to 800 copies and can be ordered here.

The record is housed in a full color jacket and a black/white/grey sleeve.

"Chokes!" comes with a digital download of the record plus a folder of 30+ bootleg SKWM recordings that capture the band live in April of 2001 and March of 2005.

Can't be the only one in here because they thought it was going to be about this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u33sSMvsx4c

Any excitement?

I'm going to order mine I think, along with a copy of the Libertine reissue.

AND YOU RUN INTO THE NIGHT
AINT YOU EVER BEEN ALONE IN YOUR LIFE
MOTORHEAD COMING FOR YOU
YOU GOTTA TREAT THE NEW GUY RIGHT

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jeKiNzV-h4

miss being able to see him play drums, he was so joyful

:)

He didn't actually sign on that track at all did he? I feel like all three of them had the same exact voice. I was surprised when I saw that the two of them trade off singing in Bottomless Pit.

sing...

andy was lead on that i think

yup

Tim and Andy do have pretty similar voices though I can usually figure out who's singing what. Michael is credited with "drums, vocals" on Lifestyle but I'm guessing he mainly chipped in on the gang back-up vocals like the chorus to "Treat the New Guy Right."

Andy lyrics are so much more cryptic in general, stuff like "alone like a wandering Jew" is very Andy too

Silkworm vox guide: On Lifestyle, Michael sings Around The Outline. Andy sings Contempt and Tim sings Raging Bull.

i used to not be able to hear the different voices but once i finally got it i could never figure out why they used to sound the same to me

For me it's more just that I didn't notice it wasn't one person singing the entire time until I saw some footage. Now admittedly I haven't kept track of which song is whose but I can tell they're different. Yet despite that, I still maintain that their voices/delivery are weirdly very very similar.

He and Tim both sing Bourbon Beard

Lifestyle is a damn good record. They also did a thing with Stephen Malkmus once under the name of Marquee Mark, a live performance of mostly covers I believe.

you mean Crust Brothers?

i also heard comedy minus one is gonna be putting out the last albums on vinyl again

Developer is the one that really kills me

ah yes The Crust Brothers yup yes. It's worth seeking out, pretty good imo.

https://www.facebook.com/mintmilemusic/posts/955138131173461:0

https://youtu.be/ibikuBQMsMI

https://youtu.be/xOQKjYPsE58

Hadn't heard of this. Same dudes new rhythm section?

The Mint Mile stuff is Tim, sometimes with Andy, sometimes not, plus the drummer from Magnolia Electric Co, and sometimes Tim solo.

Andy has done some recording with Light Coma as his band, Light Coma being Brian O from BP's other band (and who are completely awesome btw)

The PRFBBQ lineup is "Tim, Andy, Jeff, Howard Draper and Matthew Barnhart (of Tre Orsi), and probably Greg Norman" per Facebook

Mint Mile Big Band

Here's the other YouTube from that show btw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dd5yJblFYsk

The Mint Mile Big Band PRFBBQ set: https://soundcloud.com/mintmile/liveprfbbq#t=0:00

Mint Mile EP is out.

good looking out!

A dude from Popmatters appears to be writing a detailed blog post about every track from "Lifestyle" http://www.popmatters.com/archive/tag/silkworm/

There doesn't seem to be a way to link to those specific blog posts but the Silkworm tag gets you there.

Tried to reach you
Every hour

Only joined this unit
To impress the girls
But the last thing on
His mind was chasing skirts
Going crazy from a radar ping
I bet the russians are thinking
The same thing

We're in a race for ice station zebra

It's mentioned upthread but I didn't know this:

While there’s no denying the looser, Crustier vibe on Lifestyle, the influence of Cohen’s other side gig – as a temporary replacement for injured Bush guitarist Nigel Pulsford – thankfully had no effect on the album’s recording. Though Silkworm themselves are still scratching their heads about the absurdity of it all, the circumstances surrounding Cohen’s brief tenure as an alterna-rock scab are not as bizarre as they first seemed – Bush’s 1996 release, Razorblade Suitcase, was produced by longtime 'Worm cohort Steve Albini, who turned on Gavin and Co. to Cohen’s raggedly glorious guitar mastery. And the fact that Cohen, like Pulsford, is, shall we say, follicularly challenged only sealed the deal.

“Andy actually looks like that guy,” Dahlquist agrees. “I don’t think any of their fans knew the difference, because all they do is just stare at Gavin. But I have seen no musical effect on Silkworm – the Bush thing, as I’m sure you’re aware, was considered very funny by all of us.

"But, oh man, was Andy corrupted – he was so into it, this remarkable lifestyle. I went and saw him in D.C. playing with Bush at RFK Stadium in front of 60,000 people, and I was corrupted myself. I couldn’t believe it. When Andy came back, he was like, 'Let’s sell out now!’”

i guess it's in the movie too. i should watch that movie.

It's hot, summer is finally here & I just want to open the windows, drink an ice cold beer and listen to Silkworm at ear frying volume

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sN5MjSBX-1c

Great song

the best

Love that album

Was just listening to their Comsat Angels/Fleetwood Mac cover single tracks the other night. Amazing work on both.

from the label copy for the new sunn 0))) record:

Tim Midyett, a close friend of Greg and Stephen since the Seattle days of the early 90s (and member of Silkworm, Bottomless Pit and Mint Mile), joined in a foundational role tying earth to sound with wicked performances on aluminium neck bass and baritone guitars: instruments he helped pioneer playing back in the 90s (alongside Steve and Shellac of course). Dark matter is reality.

Yeah, I caught that detail - really cool. I can't say I'd ever have pegged him for a Sunn O))) collaborator, but I'm excited to hear it.

SKWM & Engine Kid (Greg's old band) were deep Seattle bros, I get the sense in no small part to be outsiders to the dominant Seattle scene at the time, but they toured together as well.

Tim told an amazing story once about a crowd not treating SKWM very well and Engine Kid deciding to avenge them by playing through all of their gear AND SKWM's at maximum volume in some tiny club and the end result being a sort of proto-Sunn on the loudness scale.

https://store.touchandgorecords.com/collections/silkworm/products/silkworm-italian-platinum-red-vinyl

ayyyy

nice. great, underrated album.

"(i hope u) don't survive" is an all-time silkworm anthem to me

I hope whatever got to her
Don’t crawl its way over to me

no LR72 or cockfight of feelings??

that's gotta be a typo - no way can this album be this album without the saga of the arrow, the clock, and the beer

Yeah gotta be both of those tunes are classic.

Great album. Bourbon Beard is basically the best drinker's anthem ever..."I don't even like the taste"

i tweeted at tim, confirmed it was a typo. fixed now.

Do not like that re-imagined album cover :(

"Tobacco's a help because it clears the mind/But like all your friend's it is vilified."

Andy Cohen is frankly rock music greatest lyricist

the original cover was not very inspiring either tbh

"Did you ever have a friend/who did much better than you had planned?"

I always forget that Silkworm is the best then I listen to them and remember

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyP9CYAEqbw

michael was just a perfect rock drummer...so understated but amazing groove and hit so hard

i miss this band so much

just found out tim and andy are playing solo sets this sunday at a bar in my general neighborhood that i don't remember ever having live music before

Andy is moving to Boston so I bet this would a must see if you could swing it

planning on it!

oh to stand on the Higgins bridge

I managed to find myself in Missoula today and I walked across the Higgins bridge and I looked northwest across the Clark Fork River and I saw this dude surfin it and I took a picture of it

Silkworm rules

https://i.imgur.com/amrKXwy.jpg

kind of a weird show, there were only about 12 people watching them play, with the loud bar talkers overpowering the beginning of andy's set. but it was nice, andy played some new songs and/or songs i didn't recognize but also played "severance pay" and "summerwind," as well as covers of "warm machine" by bush and "if you want blood (you got it)" by ac/dc. andy and tim played "ooh la la" together in between their sets, a highlight. i had to leave during tim's set but he seemed to playing mint mile and newer songs, and the baritone guitar sounded great.

it did remind me how good the bottomless pit albums are. listened to those this morning for the first time in a while.

That show sounds so much like the time I saw Bottomless Pit. If I recall correctly there were maybe 20 people. In a town of 595,141 people, 20 people coming out to see living rock and roll legends rock and roll just didn't make sense. What is wrong with people. I guess if they don't want to see the stage lights reflecting off Tim's shiny Travis Bean baritone, that can be their problem.

the bottomless pit/mint mile shows i've been to here in chicago were generally well-attended. this bar show just wasn't really promoted much i don't think, i saw it bounce around on twitter but it wasn't listed on the free weekly's website of music happenings for example

The attendance for just about every SKWM/Bottomless Pit show (other than a few notable exceptions) I saw was had..."exclusive" or maybe "elite" is better, turn out

this one was "intimate"

If I'd had known about this, I totally would have gone to this - I had lunch today with a buddy that bought Andy's old house in Chicago some years back and he said he was too Father's Day tired to go, and then I gave him grief for a few minutes for not letting me know! Long Room, I'm guessing was a bad venue, though.

Wow this is great. Debut album coming out

https://mintmile.bandcamp.com/track/likelihood?mc_cid=2fb893e4d0&mc_eid=7756ac9c75

all the Neil Young Homegrown anticipation energy made me put on the greatest classic rock album of all-time: Marquee Mark

had never noticed til now the lil stage banter part between "Never Met a Man I Didn't Like" and "Heard it Through the Grapevine" where I believe it is Andy who says "no we're not playing any fucking Wallflowers songs, who told you that?"

and "Don't Look Back" is the greatest anti-classic rock song of all time.

Absolutely fantastic piece over at Magnet in honor of the 15th anniversary of Dahlquist's death:

http://magnetmagazine.com/2020/09/15/do-look-back-a-brief-history-of-silkworm-one-of-90s-indie-rocks-most-underrated-bands-essential-playlist-included/#more-245353

Thanks for posting that. Thought the track selections were excellent choices.

I thought it was a solid list but Treat the New Guy Right and I Hope U Don’t Survive need to be on any top Silkworm songs list imo

Comedy Minus One recently uploaded a Silkworm show from the Empty Bottle in 2000 that rips:

https://youtu.be/b5AgRFZoM9o

I was at that show and recorded it - need to get it up on dime.

Tim is playing in Sunn O))))) far out. First time I saw Silkworm was at the Butchertown Pub in Louisville with Engine Kid opening, so I dig the connection.

Somehow I'd never heard the electric version of "Couldn't You Wait". This is totally an Albini production if I were to guess, but sounds a little sloppy compared to the acoustic version... which hits harder imho.

Feels like it has more of a Flying Nun/Go-Betweens edge to it.

(the acoustic version id est)

what a band

i think i also heard the acoustic version first. they're both great.

whoa, 'libertine' is incredible. first listen tonight, enjoyed it so much that i spun it a second time. i only had 'firewater' and 'lifestyle' in my library for the longest time.

Firewater for ever

that's the one i started with, it will always be a special one for me

but we met with even greater misfortune/
in the Armpit of the Americas

some of the lyrics on 'lifestyle' were incoherent to my ears for years, but i looked some up tonight and the calibre is off the charts, occasionally hilarious, though i'm not even sure what the joke is, i laugh.

I listened to "Contempt" recently and thought Lana Del Rey could do a good cover of it.

haha that’s a great idea

disturbing lack of silkworm tabs on this cursed internet. currently trying to work out tim's part in "wet firecracker" (on a bass rather than baritone guitar).

Tweet him -- he might help out!

i had a very loose method for playing wet firecracker back in the day, but uh, it's been a few years

I was listening to Firecracker this morning on the way into work to psyche myself up for a board meeting and I was reminded the sound of the bass drum on Tarnished Angel is one of my favorite in all of music. The sound of the guitar firing up on the chorus is just so viciously anthemic.

Got robbed in the recent 90s lists, as per

Criminally underrated then, criminally underrated now

Bottomless Pit criminally unknown, too

all three posts extremely otm

Maybe they need a lavish Numero Group reissue campaign or something to finally get some attention.

It's a little funny since it isn't like they were on labels in the 90s that didn't have high-prtofiles, Matador & Touch & Go, and they were/are close bros with bands with a much higher profile (Pavement, Bedhead, etc) but for whatever reason they never seem to crack into that next level and I've never been sure why. People I know who I always thought should really like them never did and people I wouldn't guess would be fans were crazy fanatics.

I saw them a ton in the 90s/00s and while there weren't always huge crowds if there were 20 in Mpls, probably ten of them had driven 5+ hours to be there.

People seem to either not like them or not know anything about them or they feel like they are the greatest/most underrated band ever and there is no in-between.

Eh I kind of get it... They don't have an identifiable "sound" like Pavement (slacker rock with catchy and/or memorable beautiful melodies) or Bedhead (tasteful slowcore that swells and unfurls). Comparatively it's more of just a straightforward "rock" sound. More dedicated listening is needed for them I think.

as much as i love the sound of their records, i feel like their pop sensibility / popularity may have been stunted by albini at times... underneath that buried vox and abrasion there's some charming lyrics, but they're indecipherable at best half the time...

It's a little funny since it isn't like they were on labels in the 90s that didn't have high-prtofiles, Matador & Touch & Go, and they were/are close bros with bands with a much higher profile (Pavement, Bedhead, etc) but for whatever reason they never seem to crack into that next level and I've never been sure why. People I know who I always thought should really like them never did and people I wouldn't guess would be fans were crazy fanatics.

the press department at T&G were some of the best and sweetest people ever to work in the business but T&G's entire approach to press was radically different from what was then becoming indie industry standard. Pavement, inside Matador & with -- what was it? Atlantic? money in the background, had people consciously thinking "weirder things have happened in recent years than for these guys to get really famous." At T&G fame / the next level / breaking through was not a concern; putting out good records and having them be part of the conversation was. AFAIK that was the sum of Silkworm's interest, too; the whole T&G scene was deeply suspicious of mainstream acceptance, and they weren't alone in this sentiment, but I think an an exponent of it they were certainly the biggest player to hold onto it.

I think that's a pretty apt description from what I understand.

For me, as a big fan, it's more of a feeling of, damn, look at all of the love Pavement is getting right now. Silkworm absolutely deserve to be getting at least half of this shine, they've earned it.

i think there's another thing about silkworm that was true for me at least and may be true for some of you guys--i first heard firewater in high school and did not get it *at all* unlike pavement or any number of other bands of that era and ilk. for me to actually get silkworm, i needed to be in my early 20s, dealing with a recent breakup and some related ennui, needed to have started drinking and going out and wondering why things weren't always as fun as it seemed like they should have been. when i was feeling that way and started listening to developer, it instantly clicked, the rest of their albums clicked, and i never looked back. basically without a certain small amount of lived experience tim and andy's lyrics just don't land, but once you've had that they land harder than almost anyone's.

i bought firewater when i was 16 based on a review in puncture magazine and i didn't get it at first either. the albini "live" production was weird to me, there are a lot of songs on that album, etc. i think it was just that physical media era thing of "well i bought this CD, i guess i should keep listening to it even if it doesn't make sense to me" where i kept putting it on until it stuck with me. i'm sure i still wasn't connecting with the lyrics on an emotional level as a teenager but i came to love the sound of the album and the songs.

the first time I put on developer I rolled my eyes and thought it sounded like a parody of monotonous 90s indie. it was the darker songs like “don’t look back” and the poppier stuff on lifestyle that pulled me in

https://thecrustbrothers.bandcamp.com/album/fight-songs

unreleased crust brothers? five "fight songs" for NFL teams, around 10-20 seconds each

bizarre, never heard the Cars covers either.

Fun. Comedy Minus One is great but I really wish they didn't change the artwork for their Silkworm reissues. I don't like when album art is just basically a press photo, especially when it's needlessly replacing something recognizable and inspired. Not worth the only benefit of immediately knowing it's NOT an original.

i'm guessing the remaining band members had some input tho

Fun. Comedy Minus One is great but I really wish they didn't change the artwork for their Silkworm reissues. I don't like when album art is just basically a press photo, especially when it's needlessly replacing something recognizable and inspired. Not worth the only benefit of immediately knowing it's NOT an original.

― Evan, Friday, 3 February 2023 18:18 (twenty-three minutes ago) link

I believe in the cases of In The West and Libertine it had to do with not having access to the original artwork and jah I'm sure the band had input. The reissue artwork of Chokes! is the same bar the label logo.

Curious about the Firewater and Developer reissues coming sometime in the future...

Yeah it's just disappointing, whatever the reason. No big deal though.

https://www.comedyminusone.com/2023/08/03/deep-tunnel-project-members-of-silkworm-and-tar-join-comedy-minus-one-for-debut-album/

Excited for that, though I wish Comedy Minus One wasn't so CD averse lately (but that's more my issue than theirs).

i'm sure the guy would probably show you all the boxes of unsold cds but yeah wish it were an option more often

it's frustring the live clip they show the soundguy has literally forgotten to turn on the vocals then he "fixes" it to barely audible.

Oh yeah, not casting judgement on them at all, I get it. Just personally would have bought more titles from them in the past if it was an option. I got all the Bottomless Pit ones, which I loved.

fuck yeah the silkworm thread's open. party at the silkworm thread

Crust Brothers "Marquee Mark" physical object original pressing quietly reappeared on bandcamp friday (7 remaining as of posting):

https://thecrustbrothers.bandcamp.com/album/marquee-mark

goin to acuapulcooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

https://mintmile.bandcamp.com/album/roughrider

Nina Nastasia providing guest vocals on one track = ums catnip x2

haha no shit! thanks for sharing

"people who text with Steve Albini" rock

accurate!

kids these days are all Shoegaze this, Slowcore that, while overlooking what they REALLY need, the cure for what ails em: Missoula, Montana indie rock band Silkworm

— keegan (@FranziaMom) December 20, 2023

nice to see some love for silkworm. raging bull is an all-timer

i love the songs on libertine but it's serious earache to listen to on headphones, even by albini's standards. it actually sounds ass backwards to my ears; everything that should stand out in the songs is pushed to right the back. as spoken upthread, i wonder how this band would have done with a just marginally more forward production at times...

I feel like later on they did

if they were ever going to have a minor hit it was going to be this and I don't see how the production or mix could be better

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9nQ8OARDcg

a lot of those earlier albini productions sound dated to me now - kind of muffled or flat or something? like i've never enjoyed how those classic pixies albums sound. sometime in the mid-90s things improved, the drums sound more alive on albums like firewater and at action park.

yeah I know what you mean it does feel like he makes some kind of breakthrough

or honestly maybe some of the bigger paydays meant he could buy better gear

this probably belongs on a Tar thread but i couldn't find one: https://deeptunnelproject.bandcamp.com/album/deep-tunnel-project

Deep Tunnel Project is two former members of Tar, another guitarist, and Tim Midyett on bass. Rick Rizzo of Eleventh Dream Day plays guitar on a song.

Listening now, there are definitely peaks and valleys, but there are some good songs on there. Very much a Chicago indie rock band album, unsurprisingly. Not very far off from Silkworm or (especially) Bottomless Pit and the singer sounds a lot like Andy Cohen sometimes.

Thanks for the heads up, right up my alley. Just grabbed the CD version.

(fwiw I'm glad you posted it here, I might not have clicked on a Tar thread)

They even do a Breaking Circus cover, the record should come with a little fedora

feel like this is a good place to mention that Midyett's Rub is really delicious, thanks to whoever mentioned that

Yr welcome!

I hate this band. Not trying to start nothin', I just do.

You don't deserve them obviously.

I am trying to start somethin'.

lol

The drumming alone elevates it above 90% of other bands.

it's still possible that ice station zebra is the greatest song ever written

indeed

the new Mint Mile album is good

xpost one of the many things I love about that song is that it totally wouldn't work if he didn't pronounce it zeb-brah

Drudge sirens and klaxons!!!

https://www.stereogum.com/2297783/silkworm-plan-fall-reunion-shows/news/

Tomorrow (Feb. 21) Silkworm are releasing an expanded vinyl reissue of their 1997 album Developer via Comedy Minus One. The beloved indie rock outfit was active from 1987 to 2005, and broke up due to the tragic death of drummer Michael Dahlquist who was killed in a car accident caused by a woman attempting to commit suicide. Now, 20 years later, Silkworm are apparently getting ready for some reunion shows.

The band’s Andy Cohen and Tim Midyett went on the Kreative Kontrol podcast and revealed that they’ve put together a reconfigured Silkworm with original member Joel RL Phelps, who left the group in 1994. Cohen, Midyett, and Phelps played some songs in July of last year in Zion, Illinois at a memorial for the late Steve Albini. They were joined by drummer Jeff Panall.

“Well, I’ll tell you up front that I think there’s a very good chance that we’ll be playing a couple shows in September with Joel and Matt (Kadane) will be playing keyboards, from Bedhead who played in the latter day period of the worm,” Midyett said on the podcast.

“So, it’ll kind of be an alternate history worm, where Joel never left,” he continued. “And Matt was in the band, and we met Jeff Pananall instead of Michael. But I think that’ll happen in Chicago (on) September 26, and then a couple of days later in Memphis at Goner Fest.” (UPDATE: After the interview, Midyett clarified the Chicago show will be Sept. 25.)

The new edition of Developer has five Japan-only tracks and a Bob Dylan cover with Pavement’s Stephen Malkmus. But for now, check out the podcast episode below.

I know Jeff! And any additional Bedhead content is always good with me.

nice. i was wondering if something was up since they just launched silkworm social media accounts and posted pics with joel

these shows conflict with work for me, so I'm bummed, but I also cannot believe Phelps is on board -- I think something very special is gonna happen with these shows, hope there are more

copped my ticket to see silkworm (or at least tim, andy, joel, and a drummer) here in chicago on sept. 25!

https://media.brooklynvegan.com/xxrzsfjkyw/uploads/2025/12/03/silkworm-2026-tour.png

got tickets for boston, excited!

Missed them here for those two shows a bit back, but bought tickets for this one. Literally down the street from me!!

who's playing drums? dalhquist was integral to this group, take a real champion to fill those boots...

My friend's husband Jeff, lol.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xkqepYQkYE

I caught one of the Sleeping Village shows (and COVID for the first time - totally worth it) - great song selections and they played their hearts out. Don't miss 'em.

I was at both Sleeping Village shows! such great nights, really liked that venue