[wpaudio url=”http://www.notwiththatface.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/01-Missle-Command.mp3″ text=”Shallow – Missle Command” dl=”0″]
Around 1995 (when I was swinging back and forth between shoegaze and punk) some friends of mine introduced me to Shallow: a Kansas City band that was kinda shoey and mostly geeky. When I found out that Sonic Boom had done a pile of remixes for them I thought I’d go ahead and give them a shot.
Turns out my friends were right. Unfortunately Shallow doesn’t exist anymore, but Jason and Julie Shields are still going strong as The Capsules, and apparently still play occasional Shallow songs.
When I started listening to Shallow, I had begun to find a whole mess of “not-so-pop” pop music. Bands like Cub, Bunnygrunt, Grover, Kittywinder all had definite roots in pop, but with something a little different: be it edgy lyrics or sickeningly sweet happy songs. For me, Shallow represented a middle ground between Spiritualized/Spaceman 3 and a band like Lush.
My friends and I would often find ourselves curled up on the floor of one of our friend’s apartment, drunk, Shallow cranked up, playing pogs on the kitchen floor. That’s what you did to Shallow. You either stood around swaying like a dumbass, or you did something inane like play pogs or throw bouncy balls into the ceiling fan. I’m pretty sure we wore out CD Laser Lens Cleaner and High Flyin’ Kids Stuff as well as the linoleum in that kitchen.
Listening to “Missle Command” still makes me want to pull out the pogs. Odd.