Here is a transcript of the
article that appeared in the
December 14, 2001 issue
of the "Chicago Reader," a
free weekly paper that would
be the city's equivalent to the
"Village Voice." The piece
appeared in the music section,
and it was a "Critic's Choice,"
meaning a suggested show for
the week. Other "Critics' Choices"
that week were Angels of Light
and Strangulated Beatoffs. The
article was written by Liz Armstrong,
who performs as Misty Martinez,
as well as with a number of
other Chicago "no wave" and
noise groups. The article was
illustrated with a photograph of
the group, taken by John
Balistreri, at our August 11, 2001
show with Slogun.
"BLOODYMINDED
Saturday 12/15, 6Odum
Mark Solotroff formed Bloodyminded, a local "true crime power electronics" trio, in 1995, after his former group, Intrinsic Action, played an anticlimactic final show at a New York S-M event. "It was just a big, silly cartoon with fat, ugly safe-sex geeks," he told an interviewer later. "We immediately talked about how to really take things to the next level." That, apparently, involved yelling sociopathic poetry about death and dismemberment over simple electronic noises. Watching Solotroff sweat bullets, screaming himself red faced with neck veins bulging, you really, really want to feel his pain. But it's pretty tough to be shocked by him if you're already familiar with Boyd Rice or Whitehouse, and in August at the Nervous Center, his delivery of "Chinatown" ("Whole animals hang in windows / Fowl and hog / Skinned and cleaned! / But I need more / I want you / A whole animal / Hanging from a hook / Skinned and cleaned! Skinned and cleaned by me! / Chrysanthemum tea to soothe the head / Ginseng root to stay on top / Skinned and cleaned!") merely cracked the audience up. Afterward he scolded them for the indiscretion. "I don't know when this turned into a comedy routine!" he yelled, which just incited more laughter. In fact it was more like a comedy routine than anything else--imagine an SNL skit where ultraserious leather-clad folks labor strenuously over a single drone or helicopter noise and then behave as if it's the most torturous music ever produced. Bloodyminded are endlessly entertaining--just not in the way they'd like to be. Illusion of Safety headlines. Saturday, December 15, 8:30 PM, 6Odum, 2116 West Chicago; 773-227-3617. --LIZ ARMSTRONG"
There was an obvious disconnect with
the "comedy routine" remark, as there
has always been a tremendous amount
of humor with Intrinsic Action and
BLOODYMINDED. The article illustrates
how power-electronics still manages to
incite strong opinions. I was told that the
article was meant as a sincere recommendation
for people to attend the show, but musical
tastes in Chicago continue to run towards
the ridiculous, and we seem to appeal to
some of that crowd...
