Slowdive Miscellania

Here’s a little-known bit of Opus trivia.  When I started this site about 8 or 9 years ago, I also became contractually obligated to mention practically every bit of Slowdive-related miscellania that I came across, be it the kind of shoes that Neil Halstead is currently favoring, Rachel Goswell’s favorite stores, or sites that have all manner of Slowdive-related downloads (out-of-print singles, bootlegs, music videos, etc.).  And, being the honorable chap that I am, I aim to hold up my end of the deal.

Inkoma has not one, but two bootlegs available, including a pretty decent recording of the band’s storied performance in Oslo on December 18, 1993.  I’m listening to it right now, and while the sound quality is somewhat lacking, there’s no denying the immensity of the band’s music.  Especially during “She Calls”, which ends the set in a downpour of feedback and guitar effects.  And “Souvlaki Space Station” never fails to transport me, regardless of how many times I hear it.

Links to more Slowdive-related goodness can be found in this entry on Spoilt Victorian Child.  SVC has become my new fave music blog, not only because of the Slowdive stuff, but also because they’ve posted an MP3 of an absolutely cracking live version of Ride’s “Nowhere”.

As much as I love a lot of the new-wave shoegazer that has popped up in recent years—Pia Fraus, Bethany Curve, July Skies, and so many others—these downloads are proof positive that the “classics” are still, and will probably always remain, absolutely untouchable.

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• Jul 8, 2006, 11:58am