Go Metric

Are You Receiving Me? #65 – The Mummies

By Mike Faloon

The Mummies
“Just One More Dance” b/w “I Don’t Like It” 7”
Pre-B.S.

Like many people, I found that my early twenties were a great time to be a music fan. By that point, I’d learned a little about the pop and punk rock underground that I enjoyed so much, and I was more open minded than I’d been in high school. It was the early ‘90s and I was also getting into the world of zines and had a growing network of friends with similar tastes.

All of these factors led to lots of lists. Flying Nun bands like the Chills and the Clean that I wanted to hear. Popllama bands like the Young Fresh Fellows and Fastbacks and their infinite offshoots. Local New York bands like the Sea Monkeys and Iron Prostate. There was also the burgeoning budget rock scene (Mummies, Supercharger). Like I said, good times. But I was also wading through the world of part-time work and was usually broke, so the lists generally just got longer.

The Mummies are one of those bands I read about but I couldn’t afford to track down their countless singles and hard-to-find albums. It was years before I bought my first (and so far only) Mummies album (Play Their Own Records!). I have a good paying job now (thank you, collective bargaining!) but Mummies records have become collector’s items, so they remain elusive (temporary end of parenthetical clauses).

Enter the 2016 Burger Boogaloo festival in Oakland. This was a chance to see the Mummies play live and—surprise, surprise—they had a new single for sale, reasonably priced at five bucks. Yes, please!

Both of the songs have quickly become summer favorites. I’ve listened to them five times today alone, which has generated another list.

Reasons I recommend the new Mummies single:

1. The Mummies have sealed the sleeve on all sides using “Budg-edge” technology. It needs to be cut in order to access the single. A little more work before the payoff.
2. The Mummies have included plenty of gags on the sleeve. They’re better seen up close than described.
3. The Mummies have included their mailing address: 30 Westline Dr., Daly City, CA 94015. I don’t know that I’ll write to them but I appreciate the sense of geography, being able to place them on my mental map.
4. The Mummies claim that this single was only available at the Burger Boogaloo, though these songs will probably be available again sometime soon. I base my claim on this disclaimer on the back of the single: “This here record is exactly the same as this one (image of “Go Ass Crazy” single). If you have a problem with that don’t buy this record. We don’t care.” (Ralph Nader seal of approval.) They’ve released ‘em twice, why thrice?
5. The Mummies rock; there’s substance here, too. Both tunes are ripe with high energy, big hooks, and low budget fidelity—cut from the same sweaty bandages as the band’s ‘90s output. Heck, maybe these are Clinton-era leftovers. I can’t say for sure. They’re new to me and they rip.

I look forward to my next Mummies purchase in 2026! 

 

 

 

Vol. 1 Brooklyn

My next book is nearly done. I've been saying that for two years but now it's true. I've been saying that for nearly two years, too, but this next part is new and different: the newest chapter has been posted at Vol. 1 Brooklyn. 

The chapter is title "Fuel Consumption Way Too Fast." It's based on a performance by the Jaimie Branch Trio (with Brandon Lopez and Mike Pride). The title comes from Chuck Berry's "You Can't Catch Me." Branch's nickname, Breezy, reminded me of the line "I'll be gone like a cool breeze."

I think I'm close to finding a publisher for the book. I've been saying that for awhile as well. In the meantime, dig this new chapter. I'd love to know what you think.

 

Are You Receiving Me? #64 – Spokenest

By Mike Faloon

Spokenest
Gone, Gone, Gone LP
Self-released/Drunken Sailor

Part 1: The First Three Listens

The other day at Grand Central Station, I attempted to buy a train ticket, a 10-pass, to be more specific. Summer’s here and the time is right for more frequent trips into my favorite city. Though expensive, $119, I consider the purchase of such a ticket to be routine; upstaters like me buy them all the time.

The bank my wife and I use, People’s United, disagreed that this purchase was routine. Their algorithms sensed some manner of wrongdoing was afoot and unbeknownst to me they suspended our account when I tried to buy the 10-pass. The ticket machine’s screen read “Unable to complete transaction.” I attributed this to a mechanical problems with the machine. Allie found out about the suspended account the next day at the grocery store when her card was declined. She called the bank.

Allie: “You have no idea what a disruption this is.

Bank rep: “We’re trying to prevent fraud. Fraud is a much bigger disruption.”

In addition to running through the “how”s and “why”s of what happened, the bank rep said that we could prevent this problem from happening again by calling the bank when we plan to visit the city. Financial institutions will tell you all kinds of things. I believe few of them.

Spokenest, comprised of Adrian (drums/vocals) and Daryl (guitar/vocals), make a lot of claims, too. One of them is that they sound like Superchunk. I don’t believe this. Daryl’s guitar sound is harsher; I hear more Sonic Youth in the six strings. And the dirgy breakdown in “Sense,” that’s SY > SC as well. Not that Spokenest lean too much in the direction of Kim and Thurston. Spokenest often opt for breakneck tempos, like they can’t play fast enough, like the whole thing is going to careen over the cliff and maybe part of them wants it to.

Part 2: Subsequent Listens

You know, on fourth thought, there is some early Superchunk here—like when they play steady eighths. And the slower part at the end of “Lose” with the poppy “oohs” sprinkled in. A bit of No Pocky for Kitty? Sure. And Spokenest’s lyrics are far too earnest to cozy up to Sonic Youth’s detached sneers. So maybe Spokenest can be trusted on this whole “we’ve got a bit of Superchunk” thing.

But now I’ve implied that Spokenest are a couple of Superchunk diehards aping their favorite band. There are traces of that on Gone, Gone, Gone but they have got moves a plenty of their own. “Tell Me” punches and kicks and tries to shake it all off, while “Reasons” mixes these elements—snarling and stomping and oohing and aahing—to a whole different effect. This one makes the summer playlist.