Remember print zines? How charmingly quaint they seem, now…
Once upon a time my little zine came with a His Name Is Alive/Prolapse split flexi. By the time I got around to putting out a flexi —a craptacular-sounding but endearingly cute little flexible 7″— there was only one place to get them made, Evatone Soundsheets in Clearwater, FL. They made me sign an affadavit that the record I was pressing contained “no swear words.” I crossed my fingers and signed “no,” hoping they didn’t listen too closely for content… (Doubly-irony? This was for the anti-censorship issue of the zine!)
“My Canada” is one of my favorite His Name Is Alive songs, and I’m not just saying that ’cause I released it. Warn’s always been expert at slipping some charmingly perverse lyrics right past, couching them in gauzy or poptastic melodies, and this song is no exception. Maybe it’s the banjo that lulls me into thinking this would be a perfect campfire singalong for one of those new-fangled hipster makeout parties…
What else have we got? Oh yes, “Library Girl” —ok, technically it’s a New Grape song, but since it was released on a 4AD comp under the band name it can squeak in under HNIA. I think this samples some of the original NuGrape theme song (albeit in very very distorted form) but I don’t know for sure. See the Valentine’s Day post over at Said the Gramophone. ¶ “My Canada” and “Library Girl” are both available on the compilation Rare Tracks in the Snow. You can find ’em both at Time Stereo.
• His Name Is Alive, “My Canada”” [right-click-save-as, s’il vous plaît]
jon
Reminds me of the “Take It!” magazine flexi with the Angry Samoans songs that were heavily bleeped by Eva-Tone.
Will you post the Prolapse track some day?
Andrea
I’m having some logistical issues with recording vinyl to digital right now but once they’re resolved I promise to post the Prolapse track (and some other goodies)!