Date: Mon, 9 Sep 1996 10:52:00 -0700 
      From: Jens Alfke (jens@MOOSEYARD.COM) 
      Subject: Re: Unrest's Hydro & hidden picture


Geoff Elgey wrote:
>  What really made me buy it, though, was the last track, a 33-minute
>toon called 'Hydro'. Now I thought that rock bands making elongated
>pieces went out around 1974 with Yes/Genesis/ELP (shudder!). This one's
>not too bad though: it sounds like a jam session that just forget to stop
>somewhere along the line. In fact, it didn't lose my interest at all. So
>there you go.

"Hydro", I think, is an homage to (and reducto-ad-absurdam of) Stereolab,
whom Unrest toured with (and released a split single with) in 1993. It's
got that "single chord drone with occasional changes" sound that a lot of
Stereolab has. If you like "Hydro" I'd definitely recommend that you
check out Stereolab -- try "Transient Random-Noise Bursts With
Announcements" first, as it's the album that was current at the time they
and Unrest were touring, and it features the 17-minute "Jenny Ondioline",
an excellent very long track.

>But what about 'rock' artists/groups making long pieces? Is this still
>regarded as pompous/pretentious twaddle?

There's always Sonic Youth's "Expressway To Yr Skull", which on the LP
version is infinitely long thanks to a lock-groove at the end.

Bark Psychosis' "Scum" (available on their "Independency compilation,
it's great, buy it) is a 21-minute masterpiece that goes from slowed-down
jazzy dub to sheets of white noise and back again...

Most of the good long rock pieces being done now seem to be strongly
influenced (in ways other than length!) by
ambient/techno/dub/electronica, which in my book tends to make them quite
interesting. Whereas the dreaded 70's prog-rock extravaganzas were
usually influenced by boring Romantic-era classical music (ELP were major
offenders here.) The exception there being some of the "Krautrock" bands
(Neu!, Can, etc.) whose influence on current music is a very positive one.


            Date: Tue, 10 Sep 1996 12:47:35 +0200 
            From: Frank Brinkhuis (frankbri@PI.NET) 
            Subject: Re: Unrest's Hydro & hidden picture

      Jens wrote:
      >"Hydro", I think, is an homage to (and reducto-ad-absurdam of) Stereolab,
      >whom Unrest toured with (and released a split single with) in 1993. It's
      >got that "single chord drone with occasional changes"

      Good theory! But remember that 'Hydro' is one of those tracks/chord
      changes/songs Unrest would work out again and again on different records
      (Another one is 'The Hill', that can be found on the first 7", one of the
      first tapes, the first LP, on 'Malcolm X Park' and on the 'Magic Ribbons'
      7"comp).
      The original, short, vocal, version of 'Hydro' is Hydroplane' from the 'Yes
      She Is My Skinhead Girl' 7" (1991), Then there are 'Hydrofoil No.1', on the
      UK CD version of 'Imperial', and 'Hydrofoil No.3', on the bonus 7" that came
      with the UK LP version of 'Imperial' (1992). Finaly 'Hydro' from the 'Cath
      Carroll' 12"/CD-EP (1993).


      ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
      Frank Brinkhuis
      frankbri@pi.net
      ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++