Scott Jacobson - “Emily” from 2002’s Seldom Is Heard A Discouraging Word EP

Since this EP’s release on Tape Mountain (and available for download), New York’s Scott Jacobson has:

• been a writer on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
• been a writer on the TV Funhouse segments featured on Saturday Night Live
• co-authored the sex guide parody bookbuster Our Bodies, Our Junk
• directed the acclaimed music videos for Superchunk’s “Digging For Something” and The National’s “Conversation 16”

Naturally, and unfortunately, Seldom Is Heard A Discouraging Word is overlooked in Jacobson’s oeuvre. The EP doesn’t fit into his career trajectory of humor as easily as the rest of his work. Still, in this relatively short amount of music, Scott Jacobson traverses a number of styles of indie-pop.

“Emily”, featured here, is the Club Hit. The airy homemade percussion/breakbeat serves the highly catchy song well, as do the odd lyrics and fuzzed out guitars. Most importantly, the song is extremely fun, making it reminiscent of New Zealand greats Chris Knox and Alec Bathgate i.e. Tall Dwarfs.

Another choice cut and proper epic ending is the mostly solo “Angie It’s Okay”, with self harmonies and guitar layers The Byrds would pine for, post Notorious Byrd Brothers.

Overall, if you have any affection for the classic early 90s era Indie Pop 7-inch Single, you should have this. If Pitchfork magazine didn’t have a restraining order against me, I would give this an solid 8.3!

Once again, thanks to the fine folk(s?) at Tape Mountain in Portland, this EP can be yours in digital file format.

Wire “Eardrum Buzz (single version)” from 1989. Wire’s biggest hit. Tons of cameos! Wire at their wackiest!  Colin almost Stooge-esque! (As in The Three Stooges, not the, um, Stooges.) Graham with a military cut, sans mullet! Bruce with a hat, wig, makeup, shades, and tambourine!  Robert Gotobed being very Gotobed.  And one of the best prototypes of modern indie pop ever recorded.

Volume All*Star’s “Alpoboy” from 1997’s Close Encounters Of The Bump and Grind.  Heavy hip hop beat + girly singing + swervy synths + Peter Hook basslines = I’m there. I’m on a major Slabco roll.  LUCKY YOUZ!

Here I was being all protective of Slabco from the evil “Chillwave” moniker, yet the first thing I think of when I hear “Alpoboy” is TWEE HOP.  Way to go, mackro.

There’s a rumor that one of the people behind Volume All*Star goes by “single_ape” in certain virtual circles.  Ssssh.

Land Of The Loops’ “Patience” featuring Heather Lewis (ex Beat Happening) on lead vocals (from 2000’s Puttering About A Small Land.)

Chillwave Shmillwave. There’s no discernable connection.  Slabco artists in the 90s were smart enough to filter out the fun elements of both trip-hop and indie pop, and combine them into something highly replayable — at root. From there, each artist went off within his/her respective creative vector.

Fun with genre names is fine, but let’s not drag Slabco into this particular game. The Slabco family deserve much better.