TVD heartily endorses America Hearts at the Black Cat Monday night, 4/23. AH’s Jess Matthews joins us with the skinny on the band’s Singles Club.
“When Sub Pop announced their singles club in 1988, they turned the concept of a flirtatious gathering of former, would-be prom kings and queens into an aesthetic experience for solitary, record-collecting nerds in need of a dose of 7-inch inspiration.
“Hey loser. Wanna find some action? Tired of being left out? Here at SUB POP we’ve just started a special club for lonely record collectors like yourself: THE SUB POP SINGLES CLUB.”
—Single Club’s ad
But those were different times. In 1988, Roy Orbison died and Adele was born. The savings and loan crisis—a quaint financial meltdown—had not yet helped create the early ’90s recession, youth angst, and taste for flannel. But these early glimpses of American decline fostered demand for a new musical direction, one that was unintentionally laid out in those early singles club releases by Nirvana, Sonic Youth, and Fugazi.
Now that women can wear flannel to work and Junior Vice Presidents of Social Media call themselves nerds, adventurous music seekers need not be so lonely. I like to think of our Singles Club as a way to bring a group together to give new music to, a monthly shared experience with souvenir songs.
Come to join us at our first Singles Club on April 23rd at the Black Cat.The video is from, Angsty the EP we’ll release at the show.”
—Jess Matthews
