Quite possibly the nicest thing anyone’s ever said about me, my wife and mom included:
Over the last 10-12 years or so, a couple of musical blogs have had a tremendous influence in shaping my musical tastes; every great site from Markprindle.com to somethingilearnedtoday, to vinylmine to lastmanofdaysonearth had a profound impact on me: great musical selections, introduction to great, undergroung, unsung bands that I would have never taken notice of otherwise; all of it (and this is hands down the definitive factor for me), spiced up with SUPERB write-ups. Well, if I had to draw an analogy, I’d say that Markprindle is to any of the incarnations of Jay Hinman’s internet legacy (Agony Shortland/ Detailed Twang/ Dynamite Hemorrage…) what Pepsi is to, dunno, Bordeaux wine or something (i.e.: both taste great, but one takes more time to be fully appreciated). This guy’s wordsmithery is absolutely stunning and might even make tracking down a fairly nondescript no-fi Garage Rock number something worth your time and money. Between the years 1991 and 1994 he published a fanzine called Superdope, with a heavy Trash/Garage/Fuzz/Noise-Rock bent. In 1998, he came up with this posthumous issue. I definitely suggest you get a copy of the paper zine itself, as the write-ups are so good it hurts. In the meantime, and so as to be introduced to the writer’s great taste, enjoy the following list:
AGONY SHORTHAND 