I'm in reminiscence mode again this week, folks. I went on a day-long road trip with a good friend/fellow writer/music nerd this weekend. One band that popped up into our music-heavy discussions was the late, great, not-popular-enough-when-they-were-current-and-active post-hardcore band Into Another. Yes, that's a lot of adjectives and descriptors right there. But it encapsulates the New York-based band effectively.
Into Another featured ex-members of many definitive NYHC bands. Go ahead, Wikipedia them. I'll wait. If you ain't got the time for that, allow me to break it down. Vocalist Richie Birkenhead sang for Underdog and played guitar for Youth of Today, so his scene cred and points skyrocketed for those who care about such things! Drummer Drew Thomas cut his teeth in Bold, nailed to the "X" as they were. Late bassist Tony Bono, who passed away in '02, was in thrash outfit Whiplash. So Into Another's individual members had impressive and interesting pedigrees. On paper, you'd be scratching your noggin, thinking "WTD?" Live and on record, it fucking worked. Things just gelled and made sense. Into Another made odd post-rock that didn't exactly ciphon influence from the members' former associations.
Birkenhead's vocals were high-pitched and a wee bit femme, with a bit of Ozzy-like tone to them. The songs were mid-tempo and melodic, veering even more so in that direction as the band continued to develop and release music. Their self-titled debut, released by Revelation Records, was their heaviest work and I remember loving the lyrics to "Crystal Splinters" so much that I wrote the chorus, "And now I wake to find / The one I have never known / Sleeping right beside me" on my bedroom wall with a thick black fat cap. Long after I had moved out and my dad painted the walls, he commented, "I like some of the philosophies that you wrote on your walls." I bough that record on –ahem- vinyl, at a local Philly record store and enjoyed listening to it with the dude I was dating at the time. I gotta give credit where it's due; he was the one who introduced me to the band and after our not-so-amicable split, I would, of course, run into him at Into Another shows at the Trocadero in Philly.
Another interesting element of this band was their vegetarianiasm. They even wrote a song about being herbivores later in their career. Their album, Ignarus, which Rev released in 1994, was probably my favorite of their output because of the balance it achieved between heavy and melodic and it was honestly just so head-turning for me. The song "Running into Walls" is one that I listen to whenever I am feeling frustrated by things that surround me and over which I have zero control. Nearly 20 years later –OK, so 16 years later- the song still reminds me to stop and take a breath when I need to.
The band eventually signed to Hollywood Records and of course, that brought a chorus of "Sell Outs!" from scenesters, but not from me. I never understand that whole concept, since I seem to grasp the fact that even the most elitist and underground of the grim black metal bands make music because they want someone to hear it. It's the same for all bands at every commercial level. You make the music because you want it to be heard or you'd just go do something else! That said, it took me many listens and months to absorb Seemless, their 1995-released album. They even made a video I had seen on MTV, which was odd to me but I was happy for the band. My favorite track on that album is the ballad that closes out the release, called "The Way Down." Richie's voice is bloated with emotion and still, to this day, my favorite lyric references an uncomfortable soul in an awkward body. I've paraphrased that statement in my own work.
Into Another may have broken up and faded into obscurity, somewhat. But the band lives on in my iPod and in my memories of my collegiate days, when the act of discovering music was so fresh, exciting and a real reason to get out of bed in the morning.
I'd like to interview Richie, see what he is up to. That's on my list of things to do.
OK, by the time you read this, I am predicting it's a Saints and Colts Super Bowl. Keep in mind I am writing this as Favre has just been intercepted in the third quarter, so it is indeed a prediction! Full disclosure.
More next week! ~ Amy Sciarretto
Into Another featured ex-members of many definitive NYHC bands. Go ahead, Wikipedia them. I'll wait. If you ain't got the time for that, allow me to break it down. Vocalist Richie Birkenhead sang for Underdog and played guitar for Youth of Today, so his scene cred and points skyrocketed for those who care about such things! Drummer Drew Thomas cut his teeth in Bold, nailed to the "X" as they were. Late bassist Tony Bono, who passed away in '02, was in thrash outfit Whiplash. So Into Another's individual members had impressive and interesting pedigrees. On paper, you'd be scratching your noggin, thinking "WTD?" Live and on record, it fucking worked. Things just gelled and made sense. Into Another made odd post-rock that didn't exactly ciphon influence from the members' former associations.Birkenhead's vocals were high-pitched and a wee bit femme, with a bit of Ozzy-like tone to them. The songs were mid-tempo and melodic, veering even more so in that direction as the band continued to develop and release music. Their self-titled debut, released by Revelation Records, was their heaviest work and I remember loving the lyrics to "Crystal Splinters" so much that I wrote the chorus, "And now I wake to find / The one I have never known / Sleeping right beside me" on my bedroom wall with a thick black fat cap. Long after I had moved out and my dad painted the walls, he commented, "I like some of the philosophies that you wrote on your walls." I bough that record on –ahem- vinyl, at a local Philly record store and enjoyed listening to it with the dude I was dating at the time. I gotta give credit where it's due; he was the one who introduced me to the band and after our not-so-amicable split, I would, of course, run into him at Into Another shows at the Trocadero in Philly.
Another interesting element of this band was their vegetarianiasm. They even wrote a song about being herbivores later in their career. Their album, Ignarus, which Rev released in 1994, was probably my favorite of their output because of the balance it achieved between heavy and melodic and it was honestly just so head-turning for me. The song "Running into Walls" is one that I listen to whenever I am feeling frustrated by things that surround me and over which I have zero control. Nearly 20 years later –OK, so 16 years later- the song still reminds me to stop and take a breath when I need to.
The band eventually signed to Hollywood Records and of course, that brought a chorus of "Sell Outs!" from scenesters, but not from me. I never understand that whole concept, since I seem to grasp the fact that even the most elitist and underground of the grim black metal bands make music because they want someone to hear it. It's the same for all bands at every commercial level. You make the music because you want it to be heard or you'd just go do something else! That said, it took me many listens and months to absorb Seemless, their 1995-released album. They even made a video I had seen on MTV, which was odd to me but I was happy for the band. My favorite track on that album is the ballad that closes out the release, called "The Way Down." Richie's voice is bloated with emotion and still, to this day, my favorite lyric references an uncomfortable soul in an awkward body. I've paraphrased that statement in my own work.
Into Another may have broken up and faded into obscurity, somewhat. But the band lives on in my iPod and in my memories of my collegiate days, when the act of discovering music was so fresh, exciting and a real reason to get out of bed in the morning.
I'd like to interview Richie, see what he is up to. That's on my list of things to do.
OK, by the time you read this, I am predicting it's a Saints and Colts Super Bowl. Keep in mind I am writing this as Favre has just been intercepted in the third quarter, so it is indeed a prediction! Full disclosure.
More next week! ~ Amy Sciarretto
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Adam BernardWelcome to your weekly dose of pop world musings. Covering all things pop culture, this week Pop Shots is hitting you with thoughts on everything from Dancing With The Stars finding so Read More ...
William DeshairI wanted to set the table with this edition of "R.eal A.nd P.ersonal" for columns to come on the subject of the Female Emcee. As time goes on, I will slowly phase out that title and hope that you will do the same. Because face it, calling a woman that raps, a female emcee, is like calling an African-American that plays the position of quarterback, a black quarterback. Ability should be sexless. We must change how we Read More ...
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