Takin' a ride
I want to point to the Twintones 'Mats bonanza The Replacements - Video.
Two sets of the Replacements taped on a single night around the time
the [Replacements] Stink ep was released, cut up into about 10 bite
sized quicktime streams. Yes this is a month old retread of something I
found out about in Metafilter. My defense: I only got around to viewing
them two weeks ago, and with the songs "Careless" and "Taking a ride"
still echoing in my head beginning a new week ("Customer" I have as an mp3) ; I decided to write about
it. I'm not sure why Twintone is doing this. I thought there was bad
blood between Twintone and the Mats, something to do with Westerberg
supposedly throwing the mastertapes of the first couple of records into
the Mississippi river. But that may be an urban legend. Odd thing to
think about - that Tommy Stinson is only a few years older than my
niece Nicole in these videos.
A year or so after this show was video taped the guy across the hall
from me Alex Schneider says he has a band staying at his house, the
Replacements, who are playing at the 9:30 club. I say. who? So he takes
me up to the campus student radio station to listen to "Sorry Ma,
forgot to take out the trash". He had only to drop the needle
down on the thing, not sure what to say, those boys had a great notion
about something. After this I started hanging out at the radio station
more - listening to more records. This proved to be Alex's first, last,
and only semester at Maryland. I remained for many more, but it's not
as though the final result was any different. As I think about it, Alex
had a roommate named Pierre, who, happened to have a kid sister still
in high school named Nancy...
The next year his friend and band partner Derrick Hsu arrives from
Georgetown Day. Derrick and I ended up friends for the next several
years. Derrick for those who care to trace the DC music scene put out
the Blackmarket Baby, Crippled Pilgrims, Government Issue records as
well as the Artificial Peace/Exiled single. Artificial Peace was later
Marginal Man, Exiled was derrick and alex. This was done by Fountain of
Youth Records run out of Derrick's basement. At various times his hair
was different colors, but always the same crew cut. Nancy had one very
similar to it when I first met her. I remember once Derrick
said his grandfather had been the the first ambassador to the United
Nations for a Chinese government which no longer exists. "How can you
have a government that no longer exists", I asked, but he said it
happens all the time.
Derrick graduated (with a BA in English - maybe American Studies - I can't remember now) and at some point subsequent,
leaving employment at Second Story books, he opened his own book store
in Georgetown. There was also a store in Bethesda. Both were called the
Old Forest, after a short story by Peter Taylor.
During those years he also ran Gut Punch Press, which published
poetry - folks like Richard Peabody and Sunil Freeman. The
stores seem non extant now, I don't even think Derrick lives in this
area any more. But I finally got around to reading that story
(the old forest) today.
1:55:52 AM ;;
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