Fierce Pancake Hunting

One of my favorite obscure bands is an Irish outfit by the name of 'Stump' which recorded briefly in the late 1980s.

They fell through the cracks between dance music and the widespread discovery of 'alternative' music in the following decade, but their sound is still unique. The rubbery fretless bass, quirky instrumentation and even-quirkier vocal subjects (Charleton Heston / put his vest on) reveal an Irishman's love of wordplay and clever originality. Their definitive album, 'A Fierce Pancake' - Dublin street slang for a good record - is almost impossible to find. (This webpage by the former bassist Kev Hopper tells the whole Stump story. Precious little else exist about the band on the Internet.)

Nobody before or after sounded like Stump. It seems like originality is in short supply these days - not passion, technical skill, or ambition. Try listening to The Stone Roses self-titled original, or My Bloody Valentine's Loveless and there's a consistent and distinct creative style that pulls together the music. Sure, I'm just an old relic railing about the past, before the newfangled file-swapping and i-Nano whatzits. But all of this magnificent technology is a waste of time if the content delivered is warmed-over corporate pablum.

... said the funny little man on the way to the office.

On a related note, the Midpoint Music Fest is underway here in Cincinnati. It's a minor plus for a city with an undeserved national reputation in the arts. Rock, Jazz, Latin - there's an avalanche of music on the menu, including (if I heard correctly, though my ear horn) many buzzworthy groups. If anyone can recommend something fierce and original from the lineup drop me an email.