Sometimes I click just for the fuck of it. What the hell, I never heard it, might be good, you never know... Sometimes I find something that hits me in the right way. One listen to Silver Apples, about a minute, and I had to hear more. This is about where the asshole guy who has too many references in his collection might start spewing names like the Screamers or Suicide as comparisons and expect everyone to follow along. I'm not that guy. I'm the guy who says that if you don't know who the Screamers or Suicide are, uh, you're on the web. Figure it out. That's what I'm doing know with Silver Apples. I know I've gotta be late to someone's party, Silver Apples are probably really popular to collectors, hipsters, synth geeks or all of the above. The name does seem vaguely familiar. Regardless, these predate the Screamers and Suicide by several years. I would have loved to hear them when they were released in 1968, a couple years before synthesizers were even widely used. And it's not even a true synthesizer. It's some sort of contraption of multiple oscillators made by it's player, Simeon Coxe. Check the band bio at Wikipedia. The way they morphed from their previous band into Silver Apples is a crack up. Imagine something like "Revenge of Radio Shack".
Silver Apples - You And I mp3 at Internet Archive
Silver Apples - Water mp3 at Internet Archive
Silver Apples - Ruby mp3 at Internet Archive
Silver Apples - Silver Apples (first LP, streaming) at YouTube
2 comments:
:) Hey, Tom! Though not identifying with any of the categories listed (collector/hipster/synth geek), I did already know of Silver Apples, and to tell you the truth, I thought your blog was my source for that. This time, obviously not. I have their first release, but didn't know there was a second - will check it out. Also love the Pan Am anecdote linked to the cover shot of that second LP!
Have even been lucky enough to see "them" (only one apple; Simeon Coxe) live at a local venue - in what must have been 2016 according to www. White haired guy in a floppy hat behind a stack of diy synthesizers and criss-crossing wires. Suitably wierd.
PS. But The Screamers were new to me. Good stuff. Thanks. Espen
Hey e!
The Screamers were so out of left field when they were together (roughly 77-80). I saw them often and knew the lead singer, who was a super nice guy. They were so forward thinking that they never released anything on vinyl because they were waiting for laser discs to become popular enough to be a viable medium. Jello Biafra once said that they were the best punk related band that had never released anything. (Multiple bootlegs are now available, mostly demos and live tapes). I used to have a cassette I taped from a show I put on with some friends in 1978. They played to about 150 people. (Gave the tape to a roommate. Damn!)
The videos don't really have the tension that their live show had. They were loud and enthralling. Definitely commanded your attention.
Post a Comment