The Bigger Lovers - This Affair Never Happened... And Here Are 11 Songs About It - 2004

Philly group the Bigger Lovers keep true their vision of intelligent power pop on their third album, This Affair Never Happened...and Here Are Eleven Songs About It. And thankfully, the group still possesses the flashes of blindingly pure and melodic guitar pop that marked 2002's excellent Honey in the Hive -- in fact this album even exceeds that high-water mark. "I Resign" is a sugar-crusted pop confection that should go down in the annals with forgotten classics like Big Star's "September Gurls" or the Records' "Starry Eyes" for its unabashed pop melodicism. "Ninja Suit" is the kind of dead-right swooning pop anthem (complete with swelling backup vocals) that the Velvet Crush have been circling toward, but never quite reaching, for years. (And anyone who has seen drummer Patrick Berkery do his thing live with the Lovers or with the Pernice Brothers will notice that he hits them much like the Velvet Crush's Ric Menck.) The Bigger Lovers succeed at both ends of the power pop spectrum, able to knock of cheeky, pastel-toned quirk like "Slice of Life" at the one end and earnest, spine-tinglers like "Peel It Away" at the other. In the latter, Ed Hogarty's bright, sharp leads wind their way around Brett Tobias' muttering and stuttering rhythmic tones -- and it's that ear-pleasing guitar interplay that bolsters many of the tunes. Music criticism is often guilty of hyperbole, overt enthusiasms and overstatement -- but rest assured that the Bigger Lovers are one of the best bands trolling the timeless power pop landscape in the new millennium. That's no hyperbole. -AMG

The Bigger Lovers - This Affair Never Happened... And Here Are 11 Songs About It - 2004/rs
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The Bigger Lovers - This Affair Never Happened... And Here Are 11 Songs About It - 2004/sb

TA Factory: October 21st 2009

For the past few years I have been frequenting an old abandoned factory building next to the TA Wall Area. To be honest, I am not sure what this building served as prior to its abandonment, however, I have found a few references online of people claiming its name to have been the George W. Reed Foundry and dating as far back as circa 1895. I have searched myself and found nothing to-date in any official record detailing the true identity of this location, so for now let's just leave it as the TA Factory. When I find something solid historically, I'll post it.

I come to this place often to take pictures and explore the changing pattern of decay and graffiti over time. This is an active location year round. When things get too cold outside writers hit the walls up during the winter. In fact, all throughout the year writers paint in the factory. You can always find something new on the walls when you visit. Since its abandonment some time ago (even this I am not sure of) this building has become an important part of the TA Wall area and a popular spot to paint. Although I have many, many pics from over the last few years of the factory, I've got my latest shots from the 21st of October posted here when I was last checking up on the TA Wall area.

I've got more in the vault that I'll post sometime soon, but for now enjoy these.

This first pan shot is of the ground floor area farthest from the wall. Again, not the best pan shot put togehter (I'm learning...slowly) but it shows the extent of the hollowing out of thisplace. I remember when I first used to come in this place and it still had the solid cement flooring, none of this mucky dirt.

This next pan shot is of the second floor. It shows the far room to the left and the large open floor room on the right. This floor is the most active now that the first has been pretty much hollowed out. Lots of color on this floor, always some fresh pieces up.

The rest of these shots are mostly from the second floor area, except for the last few that are from the ground floor. I haven't been on the roof lately due to time constraints, but I'll post some fresh roof pics at a later time.

Star & Micey - Self-titled debut album released on Ardent Music

In the midst of the buzz surrounding Big Star’s “Keep An Eye On The Sky” Box Set and the reissue of Chris Bell’s “I Am The Cosmos” comes another Ardent related story that should also be on your radar. The Ardent Music label has just released Star & Micey's self titled debut record. While playful in nature, Josh Cosby, Geoff Smith, and Nick Redmond have created a collection of songs that reflect a churning emotion in heart. Notable Memphis musicians who make cameo appearances include Jody Stephens (Big Star) on "Nelson," Luther Dickinson (North Mississippi Allstars, The Black Crowes) on "So Much Pain,” and Rick Steff (Lucero, Cat Power) on "She's on Fire.”

Star & Micey -She's on Fire

CD is available via CDBaby and Amazon

Digital version available via starandmicey.bandcamp.com ($5 – 320k MP3s, FLAC, Apple Lossless), iTunes, Amazonmp3, emusic, rhapsody and all the top digital retailers.

Ardent Music is the upstart mainstream record label based out of the legendary Ardent Studios (whose client list includes The White Stripes, The Dead Weather, Cat Power, Smashing Pumpkins, Isaac Hayes and Led Zeppelin, just to name a few). Ardent Music's first two signings are Memphis acts Star & Micey and Jump Back Jake. Its sister label, Ardent Records, is the label that originally launched power-pop pioneers Big Star.

The Deal - Brave New World - 1988

In 1986 after a couple years with no interest from record companies, the band agreed to split up. In yet another strange twist, just before they finalized their plans, Jody Stephens who was now running Ardent studios in Memphis, called Fullerton and arranged for the group to come down and record an album. Stephens would then try to find a label willing to release the finished product. The record Brave New World was finished in 1897 and featured Stephens and Alex Chilton as well as the Deal's best songs and performances yet. Despite a few nibbles from interested labels, no new deal was struck and the band released the record themselves. The record was a critical success (and the band was voted one of the top 20 unsigned bands in America by Musician magazine) but the group's limited finances and a lack of distribution meant it didn't sell a lot of copies. Disgusted with the music business, the Deal broke up for keeps in 1988. The band members reacted to the split in unique ways. Mike Clarke walked away from his drums (literally, he just left them in the band's rehearsal space) and never played again. Haines Fullerton began a strange transformation into a mystical quasi-religious guru of sorts, complete with a small band of followers. He committed suicide in 1996. Only Mark Roebuck never left the music world, playing his brand of pop in a number of Charlottesville bands like SubSeven and Big Circle.
In 2003, Not Lame released Goodbye September, a retrospective disc that compiled tracks from the Bearsville sessions as well as many other recordings from various stages of the band's star-crossed career, bringing the music of the Deal to a new generation of power pop devotees. - Tim Sendra

The Deal - Brave New World - 1988/rs
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The Deal - Brave New World - 1988/mu

Thanks Steve