Marnie Stern
albums
2007
In Advance of a Broken Arm - 8/8
Marnie Stern is one of the most daring musicians to grace the music scene in 2007. Listening to her record,
you realize that there are still untapped sources in rock music out there. An almost genuine mix of Sleater Kinney
and Pere Ubu, the woman writes songs in ways that make most people spin in circles wondering how she did it.
"Grapefruit", "Logical Volume", "Patterns of a Diamond Ceiling".....I cannot describe how these songs go. "Every
Single Line Means Something"....no it doesn't! None of these songs make any sense, but that is the point: they all
define logic. The music is nonsensical but it is not nonsense, if that makes sence. The woman shreds and
finger-taps her guitar like Eddie Van Halen for goodness sakes, especially on the insane "Precious Metal". To say
this record is hard to listen to in one setting is like saying it is hard to eat a lot of twinkies - it can come off as too
much of a good thing. But the POTENTIAL here, it is amazing. It may prove to be one of the most important
debuts of all rock, or it could fade into obscurity. Whatever the case, this is music that should be acknowledged;
every person on it is great: Zack Hill's drumming is out of this world, John Reed Thompson's bass keeps it all fluid,
and Stern herself of course (all three produced an engineered this). Her crazy sense of humor is also reminiscent
of Zappa and the Butthole Surfers, but her style of guitar playing AND songwriting make her a key artist of her
generation. This, ladies and gents, is something else. Say it with me now, "5, 9, 6, 8, go!" - Trevor e.y.
1.vibrational march- 4
2.grapefruit- 4
3.every single line means something- 4
4.precious metal- 4
5.put all your eggs in one basket and then watch that basket- 4
6.logical volume- 4
7.absorb those numbers- 4
8.this american life- 4
9.letters from rembaud- 4
10.the weight of a rock- 4
11.plato's fucked up cave- 2
12.healer- 3
13.patterns of a diamond ceiling- 4
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