ishyface | In which we ruminate on being a fan and the importance of makin' shit.

One of my favourite films (maybe even my favourite film, period) is Velvet Goldmine. (If you have known me for less than five minutes this may be news, but even then I doubt it.) I first picked it up four years ago mostly because of Ewan McGregor, and I've worn out my copy since then. It's got everything I require of a good movie- conspiracy theories, glam rock, gay sex, beautiful visuals, Toni Collette being her wonderful self, Oscar Wilde references, apocalyptic visions of the future, and sequins.

Um. I ask a lot of good movies, apparently.

This has always been one of my favourite scenes. Not just from this movie, but from everything. Context sees Christian Bale as a British schoolboy in the seventies and Jonathan Rhys-Meyers as the totally-not-David-Bowie pop star he's recently become obsessed with.

I've felt that way about music- not just about music, but about the people making it. It's a strange thing to be a fan, really, to identify so wholeheartedly with the words and music and art of someone who will probably never meet you. It brings you closer to them and at the same time reminds you of how far you are from this person you idolize. It even fucking hurts sometimes, because you think if I could just tell them, if I could just let them know somehow...

And you can't, really, because there's no way to say "your music changed my life" or "your book makes me want to write" or "your film is the one I come back to, always" and make someone fully understand that you mean it. How much you mean it. Art makes you responsible, and that can be scary- the idea that something that comes from inside you can actually change someone's life, can do for them what it did for you, can feel almost ludicrous from the outside. That's the frustrating aspect of being a fan.

But the rest of it is fucking awesome.

I know there are some people who disagree. They listen to music if it's on the radio, and they watch movies if there's nothing else to do, and they read books if they're stuck in an airport, and at the end of the day they can take it or leave it. I know that, objectively, but I don't really understand it because it's alien to my own experience. Being a fan makes you biased that way. (It even makes you a little self-righteous, sometimes.) Loving something so much it hurts doesn't really make sense from the outside, but it's also one of the most important things in the world. Feeling passionate about something, identifying with something, takes you away from that notion that life is all about eating and sleeping and passing on your genes. Being a fan is about that passion, in the same way that most important things are.

The things that people make have changed my life, and I fucking love that. I love that people have the power to create things that will make people sit up, take them outside the petty, mindless bullshit in everyday life and make them realize that there are whole worlds full of wonderful things and terrible things and beautiful things and twisted things and people like them.

Oh, no, love, you're not alone.

Because that moment where you stand up and you shout "That's me!" matters. It does.

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Joanna Bolme, who plays bass in the Jicks and Quasi and dated Elliott Smith[RIP], also played bass for this band called The Minders, who is based out of Denver, Colorado. The original members of this band were also in The Apples In Stereo, and were part of the Elephant Six Collective, which also includes Dressy Bessy and Neutral Milk Hotel. Naturally, Joanna lives in Portland. Also, parts of Elliott's self titled album, Either/Or and New Moon were recorded in her house.

Connecting on to this is that Wayne Coyne, of the Flaming Lips, was also a friend of Elliott Smith, and helped him come up with the title of the song, "A Distorted Reality Is Now A Neccessity To Be Free". As well, Corin Tucker of Sleater-Kinney dueted with him on a cover of Black Sabbath's War Pigs one New Year's. As well, at a different show Corin hauled out her son Marshall Tucker during a Flaming Lips show, where he reportedly danced with Iggy Pop.

Basically, anyone can become connected to Janet.

Janet was a music fanatic long before she was a drummer[she began drumming at 22 when the drums found her-she had been playing for two weeks when this band called the Furies asked her if she wanted to tour and she learned as she went, essentially]; which is how she had at least two awkward teenage meeting ups with Joe Strummer of the Clash. She was a longtime fan of this little known musician named Sam Coomes, who played in this band called Heatmiser with an unknown Elliott Smith and Neil Gust. Janet fell in love with Sam [aw] and moved to Portland from San Fransisco. Janet really, really loves listening to music, and is responsible for having the White Stripes and Cat Power open for Sleater-Kinney. She saw The White Stripes play in a little seedy bar for like 20 people around the De Stijl era, and convinced Carrie and Corin that they should open. I don't know the circumstances in which Cat Power opened. In 2005, this came full circle when Sleater-Kinney opened for The White Stripes at the Gorge.

Remember the Hardest Button To Button video? Corin's son has one of the drumsets in their house.

Not to mention the whole "Janet and Sam divorced but continued on playing together and their music got so much better" thing that Jack and Meg also have.

[Although, Janet basically blows Meg out of the water. There was this great quote in Spin where Carrie Brownstein said, "If Corin's the glass half full, and I'm the glass half empty, Janet smashes the glass."]

Continuing on with Janet, before Sleater-Kinney but during Quasi she played in this other band called Jr.High, who had Joanna Bolme and Sean Croghan in it as well. Both of these people were interviewed by Autumn De Wilde for her Elliott Smith book that was released earlier this year. Autumn De Wilde, besides her work with Elliott, also took all the photos for The Raconteurs first album, Broken Boy Soldiers, and shot the video for "Salute Your Solution". Autumn has also photographed lots of other amazing people, including Beck, Spoon, Tegan and Sara, and Rilo Kiley. http://www.autumndewilde.com

She played on a song for Sarah Dougher, which I have not actually heard. However, the Doog also played in Cadallaca with Corin Tucker[in which Janet is thanked in the first few names in the LP, "Introducing Cadallaca", and the Doog also dated Carrie Brownstein. She is the subject of the songs "Funeral Song" and "The Remainder" on One Beat. The Doog is currently teaching at a university in PDX, and one of my LJ buddies had her two semesters ago for a course on women in rock and roll.

Also, the song Get Up was written in Calvin Johnson's basement. He founded K Records, which The Moldy Peaches/Kimya Dawson are signed to [Juno, anyone?] Miranda July directed the video, and Mirah appears in the video a couple of times.

Janet [and Sam!] also played on a Go-Betweens album, which connects all three members of S-K to Australia [Go Betweens are Aussies, the first S-K album and tour were in Australia].

Janet is also friends with Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Sleater-Kinney are thanked in the booklet for Fever To Tell.

Janet and Elliott went to early Death Cab shows, which apparently scared the crap out of the band. This is discussed in aforementioned Elliott book.

The drummer from Death Cab tutors the drummer from Smoosh, who also labels Janet as a role model.

Apparently Janet met Heidi Fleiss. You know, the Hollywood Madame? Yeah. Her.

The night after Elliott Smith died, Quasi and Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks played a set in....Europe somewhere. Apart from that,Janet had never played with Malkmus before the Jicks, even though she was a pretty long time friend and fan.

I still don't quite know how she ended up with Bright Eyes last year. I love that album, but to me it doesn't really sound like Janet at all. It sounds more muted, which is weird because Janet likes to say that she considers her instrument as melodic as anything else.

Continuing on with yours, Melissa Auf Der Maur hails from our lovely country, and has been friends with Rufus Wainwright since childhood. Also, like Janet, Melissa is an accomplished photographer. [If you look at early Quasi photos, Janet is the one taking them. She actually has a B.F.A in photography.]

I'm going to leave it here, but I will have probably thought of something else come morning. Really.

Basically, the argument is that between her work with Conor Oberst, Elliott Smith [they toured], Sam Coomes, Stephen Malkmus, and Sleater-Kinney, Janet Weiss is like the biggest indie superstar. Or something.

She has said she's the most gung ho about music compared to anyone she's ever worked with. [See the year 1999-2000, where she toured for twelve months straight.]

Now, I really will end.

Holy shucking fit.

:D

Yeah, this is why my friends tend not to ask this question unless they are drunk. It goes on and on and on and on. I think Teresina might actually be worse than me but as I have some Quasi songs she has never heard of, that's up for debate.

I hope it didn't make your eyes sore, though.

joanna bolme didnt and doesnt play bass in the minders...

I was going by Wikipedia. But thanks. :)

In which we ruminate on being a fan and the importance of makin' shit.

Ish, you asked for this. I have no mercy.

Re: Ish, you asked for this. I have no mercy.

Re: Ish, you asked for this. I have no mercy.

Re: Ish, you asked for this. I have no mercy.

Re: Ish, you asked for this. I have no mercy.

Re: Ish, you asked for this. I have no mercy.

In which Wikipedia is not always right.