If the soundtrack to my early 90's was Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Metallica, the soundtrack to my late 90's was Soundgarden, The Smashing Pumpkins, Hole and Seattle pop kings The Posies.
My first encounter was a live show recorded in early 1996 (on the European leg of their
Amazing Disgrace tour) at the club Gino in Stockholm which aired on the Swedish radio station P3 a month or so later. Having read glowing reviews of
Amazing Disgrace, The Posies got my attention and I made sure to tape the show (I still have the tape!) and I've lost count of how many times I've listened to it. From the opening chords of
Dream All Day to the Nirvana/Jimi Hendrix/The Who style instrument destruction at the end of
Burn & Shine,
every damn second was mesmerizing.
In the summer of 1996 I was 14 years old and deemed not old enough to stay at home alone when the parents went on vacation to
Dalarna in their old caravan, so I had no choice but to tag along. That summer, the tape of the Gino show became my one trusted ally against the entire world (or at least it felt that way, but it always feels that way when you're 14, doesn't it?). I bought
Amazing Disgrace at a big department store chain called OBS!, but alas I could not listen to it straight away for my parents did not own a cd player, and I had to wait two long, painful weeks until I could pop it into my stereo system at home and crank up the volume.
But at least I could listen to some of the songs on my new favorite tape -
Throwaway,
Precious Moments,
Please Return It,
Everybody Is A Fucking Liar,
World and
Grant Hart were all played at that Gino show.
Grant Hart (named after the drummer of Hüsker Dü) quickly became my favorite song and I remember being a bit disappointed when I came home and realised the album version didn't sound as rough and pissed off. One day, once I've figure out how to rip a cassette tape and make mp3s out of it, I'm gonna post that whole damn show, because it's beyond belief. Maybe it's just adolescent nostalgia speaking, but it really is one of the best thing I have ever heard. Ever.
After listening to
Amazing Disgrace constantly for months, I ordered the two previous albums,
Dear 23 (1990) and
Frosting On The Beater (1993), from the mail order service MBM (Music By Mail), which in those days provided me with all the great music I couldn't otherwise get a hold of in this shitty little pre-Internet town of mine. A few years later their fifth album
Success was released, and it was announced this was The Posies' last album. They stopped by Stockholm again in the summer of 1998 to play a gig at the Stockholm Water Festival. I planned to attend, but nothing ever came of it.
The two singers, guitarists, frontmen and song writers Ken Stringfellow and Jon Auer soon thereafter went their separete ways, both persuing solo projects. After a while though, the former best friends gravitated back towards each other and started doing acoustic gigs as a duo (documented on the
In Case You Didn't Feel Like Plugging In live album).
Soon they had formed a new band with a new rhythm section and released new material. To be honest, by then I had lost interest. I haven't heard their post reunion stuff (but then again I haven't even heard their debut album
Failure either), but I'm sure they are brilliant. It's just that to me, The Posies made four spectular albums before dying in 1999. I guess I outgrew them or something.
FOOTNOTE: Since this article was first posted in 2007 I have heard not only their debut
Failure but also their post-
Success works and enjoy them very much.
Dear 23, 1990 (aka "The Pretty Album")
(mp3) Any other way
(mp3) Everyone moves away
(mp3) Flood of sunshine
Frosting On The Beater, 1993 (aka "The Best Album")
(mp3) Love letter boxes
(mp3) How she lied by living
(mp3) Coming right along
Amazing Disgrace, 1996 (aka "The Bitter Album")
(mp3) Daily mutilation
(mp3) Precious moments
(mp3) Song #1
Success, 1998 (aka "The Farewell Album")
(mp3) Grow
(mp3) Every bitter drop
(mp3) Fall song
Buy 'em @ Amazon.com.
