Miss Alans

Certain Songs #1179: The Miss Alans – “Junk”

April 6, 2018 by Jim Connelly

Album: Ledger
Year: 1996

It’s now been a little over six months since I sat in Scott Oliver’s living room and promised that I would do everything I can to help with getting the Miss Alans music out into the 21st century, though to be honest, Kirk & I had been bugging the entire band for years prior to do it. The problem was that any momentum just got bogged down by the fact that their music had been released on four different labels.

Finally though, they remembered that sometimes in order to get shit done, you just have to say “fuck it” and just get shit done. Like back when they assembled the copies of their cassette, or recorded a live album without a net, or any of a number of studio sessions where they didn’t know who was even going to release the music.

So much has happened in that six months: with the help of Christopher Estep, one of Scott’s partners in crime in the recent Thunderbolt 650 project, they’ve put out digital versions of Smack The Horse, Blusher & Ledger, as well as the first non-cassette release of Bus not to mention a batch of rehearsal tapes packaged as Your Favorite Graveyard Talk, which shows just how many great songs never got a proper recording. Not just “For Right Now,” but “Hollister,” “Society’s Coat,” and “Old House” among others.

Certain Songs #1175: The Miss Alans – “Mag Wheel”

April 2, 2018 by Jim Connelly

Album: Blusher
Year: 1994

Ron Woods has an unorthodox drum set-up. For one thing, it’s backwards! His hi-hat and snare drum are on the right instead of the left, what even is up with that?!?

In truth, I’ve always assumed that the best thing about being a left-handed drummer is that it makes it impossible for other asshole drummers to just sit down and start playing your drums, as I know — and Ron most certainly knows — I would have done many many times over the years.

Certain Songs #1169: The Miss Alans – “Save It For Later (Wild Blue 03-30-1991)”

March 27, 2018 by Jim Connelly

Album: Outtake from All Hail Discordia
Year: 1991

Throughout their entire career — though, naturally, more earlier than later — The Miss Alans sprinkled in a few covers during their live shows.

Obviously, doing covers is a really fun thing for a band that relies upon original material: you can break up your set with a somebody else’s song that shows where you’re coming from. Or maybe learn something for a special occasion, like Halloween or St. Patrick’s Day, for which The Miss Alans once played “And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda” at the Blue, with Jay on banjo. I don’t remember that at all, so it must have been a really good St. Patrick’s Day.

Then during the period where they were in L.A. trying to get a record deal and only had a single set of material worked up for the showcase gigs Kirk was getting them, they did an entire set of Neil Young covers — all of the usual suspects, which they then turned into long jams — which reminds me of something, but I can’t quite put my finger on it.

24 Musical Moments To Die For, Part 2

August 29, 2008 by Jim Connelly

NOTE: Because of a godsdammed bug between Flash and Firefox for Windows, I’ve had to break this up into two parts in order for the players to work for those with that particular configuration. Stupid internets.

More RIAA Madness: Part 2, The All-Seeing Ear

June 20, 2006 by Jim Connelly

Yesterday, you may recall, I discussed the RIAA sending cease-and-desist letters to the people who upload videos of themselves lipsynching to popular songs.

But that’s just the beginning: we’ve learned who they are targeting next, and in a Medialoper Multiverse Exclusive, are revealing it to you today.