I definitely have to pick up some more silkworm records.

I have definitely encountered more than a few people that have not gotten into Silkworm's music.

To me, maybe this is part of their charm. Bands that you can automatically "get" usually don't have a very long shelf life.

Sebadoh and Polvo, though? I can't say too much about Polvo, but I very rarely pull out Sebadoh's stuff. In fact, I sold what records I did have last year because they were collecting dust.

Hmm Silkworm...I miss them. I really do. I'll say this at the risk of being nostalgic and silly: They should still be around making tunes...if it weren't for that suicidal female driver who wasn't convicted of murder-one because of the status-quo of all-too-many legal systems in the U.S.. I was outraged when I heard about the verdict.

I loathe criminal justice systems which fail to convict the overwhelming majority of those who are obviously guilty.

Everyone who is into Silkworm seems to have done it gradually. It's really odd.

matthew wrote:I loathe criminal justice systems which fail to convict the overwhelming majority of those who are obviously guilty.

Not to put too fine a point on it, but can you fuck off with your revenge-obsessed bullshit in this thread? A lot of the people directly involved have had to live with the case, the legal system, the actual trial and people responsible for all of it for years, have had to make their peace (some with great anguish), and would appreciate you not waggling it in front of their faces like that.

That's all. Back to Worm appreciation.

Antero wrote:Everyone who is into Silkworm seems to have done it gradually. It's really odd.

Yeah, I even passed up a few chances to see them live, at the Cactus Club and at the 7th Street. Still kicking myself.

I was lucky enough to see a SKWM show before I bought any of their records. I attended that concert with a very sagely friend who dabbled in music journalism. His record reviews were funny and forgiving and if he occasionally failed to accurately describe the record he was critiqueing then he was at least able to communicate his own joy in just listening. He was like a great rock cheerleader rather than a smug cultural referee. I really admired his writing.

Anyway, on the way to the show I asked him how it was possible that someone my age, who is exactly as jaded as me, who is a much better musician than me, can so attentively slog through so much crappy music and still have nice, funny and ultimately true things to say when he finally sat down to write about it.

Easy, he said. I just pretend that they're my friends.

With that advice in mind, I commenced to watching the Worm rock. It was easy to pretend that they were my friends because they were exactly like my friends. Or, rather, the type of people my friends and I would've liked to've been. Their songs were funny and sad and sung plainly, without any affectation. They weren't ashamed of their intelligence or their musicianship. They just rocked, and we, the audience, were treated to a very rare thing: three people working together, unselfishly, unselfconsciencely, and with total commitment.

It was great, of course, and inspiring. And if I didn't quite get a visceral charge from some of the songs, it didn't matter one bit. I "got" Silkworm right away.

Sad for Nerbly, who doesn't.

Antero wrote:Everyone who is into Silkworm seems to have done it gradually. It's really odd.

I think that's the mark of a quality band.

burun wrote:

Antero wrote:Everyone who is into Silkworm seems to have done it gradually. It's really odd.

I think that's the mark of a quality band.

We probably can't make firm generalizations about this as It inevitably invites highly subjective judgements.

I'm quite embarrassed that I lived in Seattle when Silkworm were a Seattle band and lived in Chicago when they were a Chicago band, yet I never saw them and don't own any of their records. (My brother has a couple of their early singles and saw them open for Mission of Burma.) This is especially embarrassing in light of Tim's uniformly terrific posts on this forum.

I really need to rectify this situation.