The Miscreant - Issue 36 by The Miscreant

THESE DAYS by mary luncsford

Jackson Browne is said to have written “These Days” when he was sixteen years old. I was sixteen when I had to live without electricity for five months; my parents split up, and I moved to my current location at the flat. Needless to say, that year sucked in a lot of ways. Aside from having a killer net of people who loved me enough to make sure I didn’t fall, I had a core playlist of songs that made the weight of all of this ‘stuff’, for lack of a better term, bearable. “Lost in my Mind” by The Head and the Heart When the electricity first went out, I clung to the car radio. It was the only way I could listen to music without my usual CD player or iPod. I remember we were on our way to a wedding in Ft. Wayne before my parents decided to split up, and I was not in any sort of mood to be celebrating the union of two people, but this song came on the radio. “Cause there are stars up above, and we can start moving forward.” I would flip the stations for weeks after trying to catch the name of the song. It was something I could wrap my brain around. This song is sweet and upbeat and everything I needed when I was washing my hair in the sink every day because the shower was too cold to use. “These Days” by Nico I found this song whilst watching The Royal Tenenbaums. When Margot gets off of the bus and this song starts playing, time seems to slow down. Nico’s deep, rumbly voice gives these brilliant lyrics such a depth. “And if I seem to be afraid to live the life that I have made in song, it’s just that I’ve been losing for so long.” These lyrics were the closest thing I had to truth regarding what I was feeling. I felt so helpless and angry and detached from everyone around me. There are countless covers of this song, and each time it’s sung, it feels like it’s the first time because it is so honest. This was my theme song for the worst of it. I find myself humming it from time to time, and I get transported to that first winter in our new apartment. “Paranoia in B Flat Major” by The Avett Brothers I love the Avett Brothers. It is a love that cannot be expressed in words, but must be expressed in a combination of shouts, tears and strange body spasms. This song off of Emotionalism got me through the period of

time where I was at a disconnect with my friends. Going through my parents’ separation and moving put me at odds with a lot of people who used to be able to understand what I was feeling all of the time. In their defense, I shrunk into myself a lot last year. “I find this comfortable place with all my friends and then my friends start telling me that I’ve always been wrong; and I’m so tired of being wrong.” I felt like all I could do was make mistakes. I think going through something personally traumatic sometimes takes some of your empathy away, at least for a little bit. I think a lot of my friends couldn’t understand where I was coming from, so they got angry with me. When I got to see these guys live last September, they played this song and it was so surreal. The tears were definitely flowing, but in a really cleansing way. “Landslide” Fleetwood Mac Sometimes, I think of my family in terms of songs. This song is my mother. She is the toughest woman I know. It wasn’t easy for her to move me away from our old house. Even though it was only the shell of where I grew up by the time we left, it was still so hard to leave the place where we had made some of our best memories. She had to start over on her own. When I hear this song, I think about how my mother did the best she could with what she had until it wasn’t enough. She took her love and she took it down. When we moved, both my mom and I had a rough time adjusting. I was lucky enough to have a lot of friends to confide in, but my mom had to fight that battle mostly on her own. “Well, I’ve been afraid of changing cause I built my life around you.” There are no truer words. “November Blue” by The Avett Brothers This song is my dad. He was fired from his job as a graphic designer when I was in fourth grade. He tried to start up his own company, but then the recession hit, and nobody seemed to need architectural renderings anymore. My mom worked two jobs, but it still wasn’t enough, so eventually things got so bad IPL had to turn our power off. “If I had money would it all look good? And if I had a job now, like a good man should.” When I first heard these lyrics, my heart physically hurt. This song is all about a man who has to move on, but he doesn’t know why. At first, it was hard for my dad to understand why we had to split up. There was so much pain attached to the whole situation. Things with my dad weren’t always the best, but this song helped me to forgive him for a lot of things. “Tomorrow will be Kinder” by Secret Sisters This simple lullaby is at once tremendously sad and sweetly hopeful. Just like the title suggests it is about being in the wake of a storm of one kind or another and looking around you. It was important for me to accept the way my whole life had changed as a result of the situation. I think it’s a really valuable thing for people to be able to deal with their events. I didn’t want it to completely define who I was, but I also didn’t want to downplay the effects it had on me. In the aftermath of moving, which had been a long time coming, I was left standing alone wondering if things were ever going to get better. They did. None of these songs are particularly witty or musically complex; in fact, they are all rather simple chords and honest lyrics. I didn’t need thumping bass lines or catchy lyrics. I needed stability and these songs were there for me. They wrapped their harmonies around my sadness and made my heart quiet for a little while. Now that things are looking up, I don’t know if I’ll need them as much, or if they’ll ever be able to comfort me as much as they did a year ago, but these songs shaped me as much as everything else did that year. And for that, they are invaluable.

this issue is brought to you by naps.

Single of the

Week This week’s single, “No Offense,” comes from SLUTEVER’s EP Pretend To Be Nice. There’s also a really nice version of the song on an earlier release, SORRY I’M NOT SORRY. Check them out on the band’s bandcamp: slutever.bandcamp.com

The Art of the Kitchen Dance by caitlin lytle

For middle school functions there were awkward slow dances. In high school there were party buses of dirty dancing your mother would be ashamed of. In college there is kitchen dancing. Kitchen dancing is dancing that occurs long after the party is over, it is late but you don’t want to make the long walk home, thoughts of papers and job applications have left your mind, you are currently facing what it actually means to be upon your 20s, and there is too much wine but not enough cups. It is a ritual meant to be cathartic, screaming out lyrics of songs that will never leave your mind while stopping your feet and thrashing around and dancing with of course, each other-- partners need not be of the opposite sex, and dancing on your own is always encouraged. The act doesn’t need to be in the kitchen but has been found the most effective in rooms with linoleum floors for sliding in socks, and chairs to stand and shout from. Additional tricks that the pros practice include wearing random masks and drinking from measuring cups. Any way you do it, it is important to sing and dance it out no matter how ridiculous you look or bad you sound because sometimes when you are stuck between a rock and a hard place, it’s the only way out. Best suggested tracks for a real release: 1) The entire Graceland album by Paul Simon most effective with extra shouting to track six, You Can Call Me Al 2) “I Love It” by Icona Pop chorus is best for stomping shouting and jumping all at the same time, oh and most importantly working up a sweat 3) “Dancing On My Own” by Robyn title is pretty self- explanatory 4) “If It Makes You Happy” by Sheryl Crow two words: instant. classic. 5) “Back In Your Head” by Tegan and Sara if you don’t like Tegan and Sara we can’t be friends

IT TAKES TWO by olivia cellamare

There is something so powerful and intimate about duos. The way two people can just make so much noise, or cause such a movement in music more than say- a four-piece band could is incredible. Some may argue that duos work harder, that’s why. I don’t know if that much is true, but it is obvious that at times they may have more to prove. Two people can only do so much; or in some cases, they do a lot more. I was going through some of my music and I realised that the vast majority of what I listen to are duos. Two is a sacred number. I’m going to attempt to give you my favourite duos of all time. 10. Mobb Deep // I remember hearing Quiet Storm in 1999 and my mind being utterly blown. I spent my teenage years OBSESSED with hip hop. I regarded (and still do) Kurtis Blow and Big Daddy Kane to be the best rappers ever. I remember being distraught when Big L died. He was just incredible. Mobb Deep just left me in awe when I heard their music; I just loved how Prodigy and Havoc’s vocals complimented each other’s in such a way they did. One sounded a bit rugged, the other more clearly. The Infamous and Murda Muzik still remain two of my favourite hip hop records of all time. I’m a gentle person, but sometimes you need to expose yourself to some violent lyrics and pretend you’re in a hip hop group. 9. Sleigh Bells // I’m not mentioning them because I was I was Alexis Krauss (strong fringe) but because they are one of the best duos to have emerged in a long time. How amazing was their debut Treats? EXTREMELY. Reign Of Terror followed perfectly. Alexis delicate voice over Derek’s gnarly and fuzzy guitar sounds owns a nice piece of my heart. When their debut record came out, I went through a phase of playing every song on repeat, one by one. The machine gun sounds on Tell ‘em is bloody brilliant. Aggressive but delicate. Maybe that’s the best way to be. 8. Eric B & Rakim // I’ll let you in on a story. I used to walk around school listening to Don’t Sweat The Technique by Eric B & Rakim on my Sony tape player so loud. I was quiet and I took music seriously, I still do. Rakim’s rap style is easily the best there ever was. He’s someone you didn’t just listen to, you studied him. You took in every way he said certain words and how he said them made sense as to why he said them. The partnership him and Eric B had was just perfect. Best hip hop group ever? No doubt. 7. The White Stripes // Anything Jack White does is obviously a stroke of genius. He could make a record about doing his washing up and it’d still be a work of art. His passionate way of playing has inspired so many, as has Meg’s relaxed way of drumming. They had a chemistry that will always want us fans of The White Stripes wanting one more record, one more tour. However, we must hold onto what they gave us because that will never ever be replaced. 6. 2:54 // I know they only have one record out (best debut record of 2012) but 2:54 are a sister combo that make the most enchanting and eerie music my ears have been exposed to in a long time. Colette’s haunting voice over Hannah’s dark guitar sounds won me over back in 2010 when I heard the first version of Creeping. They make you feel as if you are being chased round a desolate forest. You keep on running but you know they will catch up sooner rather than later. Their spooky sounds are constantly played by me and they have that brilliant atmosphere in their music that is found in only one other record, and that is Seventeen Seconds by The Cure.

5. The Creeping Ivies // What do you know about this Scottish duo? Not much maybe? I don’t know much about them but over the past year or so they have blown my mind with their creepy garage rock mixed with hints of Rockabilly. This insane and intense infusion they have going on is enough to inspire you to pick up a guitar and make your own fascinatingly weird sound. I’ll stick to writing awful poetry no one will see though. The Creeping Ivies will make you move in a way that you never expected your body to move. They’ll shake your soul and rattle your bones. What more could you possibly want? 4. Beach House // I always struggle to put my love for Victoria and Alex into words because it is THAT deep. It means more to me than I can wrap my head around. I remember hearing their second record, Devotion and just being totally immersed in what I was wearing. But like most, it was Teen Dream that did it for me. I don’t think I’ll ever hear a record as beautiful as that. Certain songs just mean the world to me, such as Take Care. Even off their recent record, Bloom songs like Myth and New Year immediately meant everything and more to me. The way the lyrics and music are just as open and as honest as each other is something that you cannot help but be in awe of. If heaven was a sound, I firmly believe it would sound like Beach House. 3. Crocodiles // I guess they’re not really a duo now but when I fell in love with them in 2009 it was just Brandon and Charles. I got into them by accident. I had my heart broken for the first time and decided the only way to cure it was getting myself some new records. I saw the artwork to Summer Of Hate and bought it. I rarely do this, and I think it was one of the best decisions I ever made. I went home and played it. I played it to death. Everything I was hearing just opened me up to a different world. At the time I was desperately in need of a band to give me some kind of meaning. They certainly did that, and more. Sleep Forever and Endless Flowers fast became the soundtracks to certain events. Especially their latest. I finally saw them live last year, and it just reinforced everything I love about them. They make noise, bloody hell they do but they also take you by the hand into a different world. One that you can never (and nor do you want to) come back from. 2. The Jesus And Mary Chain // You can say they aren’t a duo if you want to be pedantic about it; but for me the band is all about William and Jim’s songwriting. Of course their fuzzy, reverb sound is what may have lured many of us in. I’m a massive fan of words, and their dark yet romantic words have been a massive part of my life since I was very young. You see, my uncle is responsible for my music taste. He got me into the likes of Nick Cave and TJAMC when I was super young. I dread to think how dull my record collection would be if it weren’t for his influence. For me, TJAMC will always be my favourite band of all time and Psychocandy (closely followed by Darklands) will always be the best record ever made. 1. The Kills // Keep On Your Mean Side is one of the best debut records ever. It is so rugged and so raw. I heard it, and that was when I knew. I knew I had found the band to carry with me through everything. You haven’t lived until you have seen Jamie and Alison live. Their chemistry is astounding. I have never ever seen a band play like that in my life. So much fury, so much lust in what they do; it is truly one of the most inspiring things I have ever seen. Jamie uses the guitar like a machine gun shooting notes disguised as notes that set your soul on fire. Alison stalks the stage like a hungry panther, waiting for her prey. How they are live is how they are on record. You can be watching them in front of you playing with all they have or you can be walking around listening to them through headphones and the energy still comes through. They make you feel as if they are on your side, that even if you are a sensitive soul (like myself) you’ve got brutal yet passionate music like this that gives you courage. It just fuels every single part of you and that is why The Kills (musically) own my heart. Forever.

slutever an interview by quinn donnell

Slutever is a Philadelphia-based, two-piece rock band. Currently on tour and in the process of recording a new release, 2013 has already been a busy year for the duo. Here, Nicole and Rachel discuss their experience writing punk-rock music for little kids, their travels through Weed, California, and their aspirations to get involved in the Now That’s What I Call Music franchise. QUINN: Where did the name Slutever come from? SLUTEVER: it’s a portmanteau of the words ‘slut’ and ‘whatever’...we read a great interview with grass widow that used a really cool word we never heard before (“idioglossia”) so we’re gonna start boosting the interview vocabulary. QUINN: How has graduating from the music industry program at Drexel influenced you as musicians? SLUTEVER: we were in more of a business program, so it really didn’t influence our musicianship. QUINN: You guys interchangeably play drums and guitar/vocals; how do you determine who plays what in each song? SLUTEVER: whoever writes the song sings and plays it on guitar pretty much. but we’re getting kind of bored. maybe we’ll start just flipping a coin. 8

QUINN: Your song, “So Prone,” was recently used in a Forever 21 ad; how did that come about? SLUTEVER: we really wanted to sell out and piss off a lot of our fans and we decided the best way to do that would be to put our song in a commercial for a huge corporation and now we’re rich and life is great. QUINN: If you could place your music in an ad for anything, what would it be? SLUTEVER: it would be cool if we could be in a NOW THATS WHAT I CALL MUSIC 7823648 commercial QUINN: You recently announced you’re going to start releasing a limited tour edition 7” with “1994” and “Spit.” Will these tracks be available on your bandcamp for fans who can’t make it to your shows? SLUTEVER: no but when we get back from tour, if we have any records left, we’ll put them up for sale with all our other crap on our bigcartel. they’ll also be for sale at jadetree.com. we only made 75 of the tour editions which are randomly colored silkscreened, hand-stickered, and hand-drawn. they’re prett-ay, prett-ay, cool. but the regular 7”s will be just as cool and they’ll definitely be available at shows and online this spring. QUINN: I read that you guys made a zine to commemorate your 2011 tour. How did you come up with that idea and what was it like putting the zine together? SLUTEVER: we were out for seven weeks, and drove to some really amazing places around the country 9

so we had some great pictures laying around. there are pictures from roswell, the mall of america, seattle, los angeles, some city in california called WEED...there were a lot of really great memories in a short amount of time so we thought a zine would be a good way to put them all together. instead of just putting the pictures up on the internet we decided to make something tangible. plus it was our first tour, so we wanted to commemorate it somehow. QUINN: In 2011, you guys also started a side project called The Weenies, which was a punk band that made music for little kids. What did you learn from that experience? SLUTEVER: rachel had the idea to make punk music for kids. the world wasn’t ready for the weenies. but playing at a pre-school and teaching kids how to drum was really really fun. QUINN: You guys currently manage yourselves and release everything on your own; what are the advantages of being so independent? SLUTEVER: we haven’t actually released everything on our own, we’ve had some help. our last 7” was put out through our music industry program at school, and our new 7” is being put out on Jade Tree but we’ve been extremely hands-on with both releases. as far as every other aspect of the band, everything has pretty much been just us. it’s really rewarding when things come out the way we want, but it also puts a ton of stress on us personally. being in a two-piece makes things extra difficult because there are less people to carry the weight of booking, putting together mail orders and taking them to the post office, designing and creating the merch, and just all the other stuff we have to deal with. it’s really really hard to get everything done sometimes. and it puts stress on our personal relationship because we are both control freaks. but ultimately, it feels good to know we did something on our own and it came out the way we envisioned. QUINN: As you continue to record new music and play more shows, have you considered working with more musicians other than just the two of you? 10

SLUTEVER: the idea has come up. we love being a two-piece and we are best friends and i think that adds a really personal element to our music and to our general aesthetic. but on the other hand, it’s really frustrating when we can’t execute certain ideas live.when a two-piece band adds another member it’s always kind of like, another one bites the dust...but we also totally understand why people decide to do that and if the right member came into our paths organically, we’re not opposed. but we wouldn’t want to force it. QUINN: It’s exciting to see that you’ll be at SXSW again this year; who are some bands you’re planning on seeing while you’re there? SLUTEVER: it’s kind of futile to plan on seeing anyone because it’s such a cluster fuck down there, but we’re really looking forward to hanging out with our friends that we dont get to see very often. trying to catch cloud nothings, colleen green, the spits, king tuff, jaill … THERE ARE TOO MANY BANDS QUINN: What else is in the near future for Slutever? SLUTEVER: we’re really stressed out and we want to murder each other right now. but if we decide to forego that plan, we’ll finish recording our new release when we get home from tour. we’re trying to tour canada for the first time this summer, and we’d love to do another national tour when our next release cums out. we wanted to round this interview out with another fancy word and ironically enough, dictionary.com’s word of the day is “indite,” as in we just indited the shit out of this interview.

http://SLUTEVERFOREVER.COM http://TWITTER.COM/SLUTEVERFOREVER http://SLUTEVER.BANDCAMP.COM http://SLUTEVER.BIGCARTEL.COM

a miscreant girl by cassandra baim

Now it seems that everyone is writing about Girls. I can’t go on Gawker, or Jezebel, or (God help me) even Thought Catalog without reading some diatribe directed toward Lena Dunham and her colleagues, be it a positive review or a negative critique. It’s an overdone argument: “She’s ugly!” “She’s racist!” “She’s fat!” You name it, some “journalist” has said it. I’ve been watching Girls since the beginning, but I’m joining the conversation late. Sometimes I feel like everything has already been said, and I have nothing left to contribute. I violently defended the show against the critics, always saying, “It’s awesome ‘cause it’s awesome, okay?! Now shut up, you anti-feminist.” Lately I’ve been taking these criticisms to heart because from the moment the show started, I was hooked, because it was like watching my own life play out in half-hour installments. I’m about to graduate, I’m getting cut off financially from my parents, and I have every intention of moving to Brooklyn to become a writer. I’m not what one would call “successful” with the opposite sex, and I can be a very shitty friend. My point being, I can see myself in every one of the characters, and I can identify in some way with almost every plot point. So in April or May of last year, when these criticisms started to surface, I felt as though I was being attacked. Every time some article called Lena (for the remainder of this article and my life, she and I will be on a first name basis) racist or entitled, or her semi-autobiographical character Hannah self-absorbed and whiny, I felt like they were attacking me. I’m self-absorbed, I whine a lot, and my ambitions far outweigh my talent, but does someone who’s never met me really need to call me out on that? But then I remembered that as much as I viscerally and empathetically identified with the women and men on the show, they are not attacking me personally. I have to remind myself that every time I open some new Jezebel or Gawker article stating why Girls is the downfall of television programming and all humankind. I have to take a deep breath and try not to cry every time I one of my over-privileged white male friends calls Lena fat, untalented or unfunny. I know that they’re not attacking me, but lately I’m starting to think that they are attacking everything I stand for. The critics, who for the most part are considerably older than the characters on the show, are judging only what they see, and comparing it to what they think youth and young adulthood is. They think that young adults are simple—that they don’t feel things, that they just suck their parents’ bank accounts dry, and fritter away the money snorting coke on their nights off from bartending or slinging lattes. They think young people are lazy and ungrateful. They think that growing up is easy. Girls proves them wrong, and they don’t like that. They think a stern lecture from a couple of “grown ups” is all it takes for a female in her early twenties to get her life on track. With every mistake Hannah makes, every friend she alienates and every career opportunity she sabotages, Lena shows that “growing up” is FAR from simple. One of the most well-known lines from the series comes from the first episode. When trying to appeal to her parents to continue to support her financially while she tries to make a career for herself as a writer, Hannah says “I think I might be the voice of my generation, or the voice of a generation.” That singular and oft-quoted line of dialogue is what drives most of the show’s criticism. They scoff as they write “this show isn’t the voice of my generation! I feel under represented by the characters and therefore the characters are WRONG.” And to that, I will admit that they might be right. Think about it this way—most of the naysayers are everything that the characters are not: wealthy, successful, and conventionally attractive. What I’m trying to say is, no, Girls does not represent their demographic. But they have their own demographic. They’ve had their own demographic since the dawn of television and media. Please back the fuck off of my demographic. I say “please” because I don’t want to sound like an aggressor. That’s not what Girls is about. Girls is about owning who you are. That’s why I chose to write about it for this issue, even though it has already been done a thousand times. Because being a Miscreant is being brave enough to do your own thing, even if it means you’re not always on your best behavior. It’s about saying “fuck the haters” and learning to embrace what you have to offer the world, flaws and all. And Lena does that. Every Sunday night she says “fuck the haters,” and shows the world a representation of herself that’s rarely flattering, but it’s always brave and painfully honest. And she isn’t perfect, but she’s relatable, and makes zero apologies for putting it all out there. Lena Dunham is a true Miscreant, she’s my Miscreant, and she should be yours too.

Caterwaulcore

or Why You Should Care about Iris Dement by saptarshi lahiri I first encountered Iris Dement’s caterwauling hymnal music on the song that played during the credits of the underwhelming Coen Bros film True Grit. It was a Protestant hymn called “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms” from Dement’s gospel covers album titled Lifeline. I thought it was Emmylou Harris at her affected adenoidal worst at first but a little creative googling revealed this to be false. Some more youtubing led me to the earwormy “Our Town” that was featured on the season finale of Northern Exposure. I was already hooked to an embarrassingly earnest tearjerker ode to the singer’s putative nameless hometown and despite notes to my untethered self at the time that this material is worth deeper perusal, I soon forgot all about this beyond liking an unofficial fansite on the Facepage. However, in 2012, after some major life transforming events my mental note resurfaced upon hearing about her new record and six months later, I was all over her latest release, her first album of originals in 16 years as I found out later on Wikipedia. This is weird music to be sure, but it sure isn’t weirdo music farmed out by rap hating indie kitsch purveyors (cough, Jack White, cough) a la Van Lear Rose or late Wanda Jackson on the ho-hum end of the spectrum nor is it Jo Carol Pierce (more on this in the future) on the awesome end of it. Reports from Middle America you might fetishize, but tales about weird rural, christian people called Caleb this is not (looking at you Joss Whedon). So what about the unflattering comparison to Emmylou at her adenoidal worst? Well, some critics insist it’s because Dement drawls harder than most as she isn’t actually “from” the south. Since south (Global or American) codes as authentic (the only other acceptable carpetbagger substitute for it being “street”), other worthies including but not limited to John Fogerty (raised 16

in Berkeley, Ca. not the bayou) or Stephen Malkmus (raised in Stockton, Ca. not Athens, Ga.) have trod the same path. Dement was born near the Ozarks but was raised in California like the aforementioned male rock titans. Where the lesser Emmylou merely reaps scant mileage from said trademarked southern adenoids, Dement makes it signify if only on songwriting alone, despite lacking the authenticity bonafides of coal belt worthies like Hazel Dickens or Loretta Lynn. The 2012 album directly references the historical south, nay, its synecdoche the delta, in the generic sounding title Singing the Delta and features five excellent tunes and four good ones out of a total twelve. While I have my favorites, the centerpiece surely is “The Night I Learned Not To Pray.” Dement’s agnosticism scores big with her heathen liberal fanbase, but what is really interesting is her secularized relationship to gospel, despite early immersion in the idiom. But, like a true blue evangelical humanist she says about religious music in an old interview “Most of the people who wrote those songs came from poorer settings where they were really struggling with life, and you hear that in the songs. That’s the quality in them I’m drawn to… not the religious dogma.” “The Night I Learned Not to Pray,” then, is an anti-hymn about discovering that praying doesn’t work like a charge card. Sometimes people you love die, and it irretrievably sucks. Instead she pledges allegiance to the reality of our shared humanity on “Whole Lot of Heaven” right here on earth. The secular hymn “The Kingdom has Already Come” using evangelical signifiers and some really clever wordplay in the title establishes heaven as a fragile place on earth. On two songs she explicitly addresses mortality on ballads about her parents, the most touching being a Loretta Lynn-like tale called “Mama Was Always Telling Her Truth.” The weaker “If That Ain’t Love” sentimentally treads corny and describes her deceased churchgoing father who worked as an attendant in a wax museum. Sonically the best songs are the rollicking boogie woogie (or is it honky tonk?) kind, that I’m not musicologist enough to identify firmly. But for the country phobes, there’s nary a pedal steel or dobro. There’s a lot of non-country country elements like Memphis horns and the actual mention of the word “segregation” that allows hair splitters to call this music folk. On my absolute favorite, “There’s A Whole Lot of Heaven” she brings home (that’s right) the simple major chord happy melody on the chorus with the pop prescience of Joey Ramone. And why should you, punky zine reader raised on internalized missives about fucked up parents who are so fucked up care about all this? Because even Milo Aukerman knows that the inchoate unfocused rage of “anti parent” (LOL!) SST records are, but the first step towards recognizing your parents’ qua oppressors’ struggles without abandoning your own. 15

weird weather mixtape by amanda dissinger

I don’ t know about all of you, but New York City is having another annoying week. It was 46 degrees on Tuesday and sunny and officially the nicest day ever (I ran down the street mumbling to myself “HEY WORLD THIS IS THE NICEST DAY EVER!!”) and by Thursday it was near-apocalyptic with enough wind to pick up a cow and move him from 14th street to 114th street (not a hyperbole***). Maybe, I’m just using this an excuse to make a playlist for you all, so I digress. Here are six songs which reflect the constant moody weather of New York- some highs, some lows, but all totally rad. 1.“Ezra” - Flume I’ve been getting really into Flume lately, which is alter ego of 21-year old Sydney musician/producer Harley Streten. The album has a great mix of electronic styles- some more hip hop influenced, some more dance based, but I was just kind of drawn to this song in my first listen for the groove it had. The whole album is just a really nice introduction into a producer who’s likely to become really popular for his ability to control and augment the voices of the guest artists on his tracks and still make a cohesive album that’s true to himself and his signatures. 2. “Electric”- The Men The Men’s brand new album New Moon shows a slight departure from previous releases (like my favorite, their previous album, Open Your Heart), showcasing their softer side and their ability to experiment with different instruments outside of an electric guitar. Throughout the album, they use harmonicas, mandolins, pianos, and lap steel guitar to create a more personal and quiet side to their usual brash guitar distortion. Strangely enough, I’m not sharing with you one of their more intimate songs, but one of the “trademark” ferocious rockers. Either way, check out the album. 3. “Spotlight”- Leagues I heard about this band and specifically this song from multiple people in one week, so I knew I had to check it out. The Nashville trio defines their music as “ethereal joy explosions of pop and rock” and I couldn’t agree more. This song is the best pop jam I’ve heard in such a long time and I’ve slowly been exploring the rest of the album. 4. “Space is Only Noise If You Can See” - Nico Jaar Nico Jaar brings us the moody/dark part of the playlist. I’ve been obsessed with this song after hearing it on the house playlist of a venue I was at frequently and I could never remember to find out whose track it was every time. Finally, I figured it out and have been playing it on and off for the past few weeks. It’s so morose and calculated, but I just can’t move away from it. 5. “Counting”- Autre Ne Veut I’m kind of obsessed with this song and really sad I didn’t get to check out the Santos Party House performance last week. I love the chorus of this song (and especially the line “I’m counting on the idea that you’ll stay” which I scream out whenever I listen to the song alone in my apartment). It has such a cool R&B vibe which carries into the rest of the album- definitely an artist that I’ll be a watchin’. 6. “Pompeii”- Bastille The sheer epicness of this song cannot be described by a mere mortal, so you might just have to listen to it, though I’ll attempt to describe it. It is a anthem for the ages made by a London bloke with a great grasp on pop music. But seriously, just go listen to it.

FULL-TIME PART TIME by victoria pilar nava

Between Texas, New York, and California - the dudes from Part Time bring their 80’s inspired vibes down south to Galax Z Fair II. I caught up Billy via the internets to get the scoop on touring with the Drums and their next album, PDA. How did touring North America with The Drums influence the next album? It didn’t really. We had such a good time with them Drums boys, though. There were maybe a few guitar things I or David came up with in some of the songs we played on that tour that made it onto this next album. Kinda honed in on some of guitar parts, i suppose. What was your favorite stop along the tour? hmm, for me, maybe New York or Toronto, because of food. In NY we ate all the regular NY foods, it being most of our first time there; pizza slice, street hot dog, and our label took us out to an amazing lunch. Toronto because of poutine. Gotta be so bad for you but it’s so good. Being dreamy dudes in a dreamy band, what has been your wildest experience with groupies or fans? I’m not sure if we’ve had too many yet. Can’t say we’ve had a lot of time to play much on the road so far. I do really love it, though, when people that I love musically come to our shows and our fans of ours. Have you ever fallen in love on the road? By the sound of Part Time lyrics, you guys seem like romantic and sensitive dudes. I would make out with you…….oh wait, I have……. Haaha, not sure which one of us you’ve made out with but lucky lucky fella… umm ya, I have fallen in love on the road. Most of us are still looking for love and being on the road definitely expands our tireless search.* What is the Part Time recording process like and how did recording NYC influence the new album? Well, Davida is, um, the main songwriter and he has an idea and me n tony throw our two cents in and a baby song is born. That or we jam and come up with it as a group. As for NYC influence, If you listen really hard, you can hear frankenstorm Sandy in the final mixdown. We milked her for all the inspiration she could give. What kind of sounds can we expect from the next release? Big sounds of smooth, small sounds of heavy, medium sounds of thunder, and a lot of pops, bleeps and hisses. How did Part Time come to flourish? Are you all the original members? David started writing all the jams and tony started playing them with him. After a few line-up’s I came in. After many more line-up’s, in step Wally and Rob. And thus is the line-up you will see before you. When I saw you guys open for The Drums in LA, y’all seemed like a happy little family. Can you spill on any Part Time drama?

Sorry, some things are on a need to know basis only. What bands are you most excited to be sharing the lineup with at Galax Z Fair? Well, im excited about Mac Demarco. The Coathangers are awesome and friends and excited to see them. My friend recently just showed me Merchandise and they’re great, excited bout that. I mean, i think the whole thing will be great, Nu Sensae, white Lung, all them fools… When are you performing at the Grammy’s? I think we may have a shot at it in 2021. Were you sad Justin Bieber wasn’t invited to perform? Tears poured out of every duct, pore, and hole. What do you think of the Justin Timberlake comeback? I’m for as many comebacks as he can muster. What’s the weirdest experience you’ve had with music journalists? When this one asked about love and said she kissed us. That was pretty far-out there. Would you eat tacos on cam if I asked you to? ‘I Wanna Take You Out’ to Taco Palenque when ur here. Best believe I would! Taco’s are my thing. Taco’s and space travel.

Breakin’ up and not Makin’ up by wes wren

Sometimes when you’ve got a big heart and it overpowers your big head and you need to talk to a stranger or get a different perspective on your love life. Sometimes we have ides to start a love page in a music ‘zine. And sometimes both of those happen on the same day, and they should be brought together. The heart is a lonely hunter, or atleast Carson McCullers thinks. The world isn’t as lonely as it seems if you’re heartbroken or confused, and I hope to help brighten the world around you (the reader). So, as the new Miscreant relationship advice giver/receiver/ writer/correspondent, I think I should first address the issue of, “Why is this is a music ‘zine?” Well, why not. So, put on some Lucero, and take a trip with me. Breakin’ up and not Makin’ up “For Ex-Lovers Only” — Black Tambourine “The Curse of Being Young” — Hunx and His Punx “I Could Never Be Your Man” — Bass Drum of Death “Platonic Lovers” — Night Manager “Get Away” — Yuck “The Road” — Best Coast “I Don’t Believe in Love” — We Are Trees “Country Lane” — Telekinesis “You’re a Waste” — Be Your Own Pet “No Offense” — Slutever “I Can’t Keep You In My Mind” — La Sera “Gemini (Birthday Song)” — Why? “Mistakes and Regrets” — …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of the Dead “Don’t Want To Know If You’re Lonely” — Hüsker Dü “Demon to Lean On” — Wavves “Nothing Better” — Postal Service “Breakin’ Up” — Rilo Kiley

various 2012 shows in Bloomington garrettsucks.bandcamp.com www.l-garrett.com/ photos by l. garrett

WANT MORE MISCREANT? Dear Miscreants, Happy Spring Break! Hope you misfits get a little r & r with the time off. I’m so excited to see some of you guys in Austin during SXSW! We may have a busy week ahead of us, but it’s going to be fun as hell. Brace for impact! Many of the aritsts who have graced the cover of this here zine will actually be down there, including this week’s issue darlings SLUTEVER. Also be on a look out for the Coathangers, Pearl And The Beard, Swear And Shake, and Magic Milk. Our friend Dan Croll will also be there all the way from England, as well! I also hope to see you guys at the PORTALS showcase at Hype Hotel on Saturday. As always, I’d like to thank all of our lovely contributors! I’m so honored to have lovely, talented folks like you guys. Also, I’d like to thank SLUTEVER for hanging out last weekend and for being such awesome cover babes. Still wearing my Lisa Simpson shirt I snagged from them when I saw them at Purchase. Never taking it off. Now, it’s time to start on issue 37! For that issue, submissions are due on March 26. Send in your top five songs by the Troggs, your Spring Break shin dig playlist, your interview with your dad’s blues band, anything to do with music. Email your work and questions to themiscreant@miscreantrecords.com. Look to miscreantrecords.com and the Miscreant Facebook for more info on the music you read about here and more! All my love, The Miscreant PS - Check out our friend Nick’s Kickstater project. He’s aiming to supply rockers of the world with one of his handmade, handpainted MOUTHBREATHER fuzz circuits. It’s a truly remarkable product. Go and support his work at his Kickstarter and pick one of thes pups: www.kickstarter.com/projects/807337263/mouthbreather-fuzz