The Jesus Lizard Are Back. Hooray?

Steve Albini did an impromptu Q and A on the big poker forum Two Plus Two. [archives1.twoplustwo.com]

in it, he mentioned that his favorite recordings were Jesus Lizard, which i think relates to some of their love. Everyone loves Albini’s opinions, right?

Also, how much love for Jesus Lizard comes from Scratch Acid love? That must play a little role here.

Anyway, this is a band i’ve tried to get into but haven’t been able to. I just love big poppy hooks too much, perhaps.

I dunno, “Mouth Breather” is one of my favorite hard rock songs of all time. Pretty much all of Goat and Liar is gold.

I don’t care about Albini’s opinions….but his production? Badass. That drum sound he gets is *killer* (See “Monkey Trick” on Goat, and most of Nirvana’s In Utero).

Pitchfork.tv was recently showing a live show of theirs from ’94 but I think it was one of those one week only features.

The JL was more famous for their name and Yow’s strip-teases than their actual music. But I’m sure that the young’ns will still go for the “lost legend” appeal at the festival. Didn’t Nirvana cover “Puss”?

Is that Edwyn Collins in the tag there?

And live is different than the studio, so I think it’s fine if a band is famous for its live show more than it’s recorded output. What’s wrong with that?

Jesus Lizard were a great band!

i would probably agree that a lot of people like the jesus lizard because they’re been told so many times that they should.

but. for me? a girl who still listens to rudimentary peni? and drive like jehu? there is a certain sound that i fucking crave, and j.lizard’s liar album delivers it in all it’s buzzsaw guitars, dissonant chords, bad vocals, jackhammer drums glory.

so i would LOVE to see them live. but i probably wouldn’t love to see them live surrounded by a bunch of people who don’t really give a fuck unless everyone else is pretending to as well.

@Lucas Jensen: I don’t think there’s anything wrong with being better live, but I’m not even sure they were that great live in retrospect. I guess I just feel like I’ve been sold the Jesus Lizard as being cool (a bit falsely).

Man I had had to sign up for a user name just to comment on this story.
Alright to each their own that goes without saying but for me the Jesus Lizard are the best band that ever was. Everything point that was mentioned in the article is how I feel about 90% of the reunions going on right now that you and many other publications have been praising! So if the question is do people care or even like the Jesus Lizard the answer is ABSOLUTELY and more so than any other band this or any other site will ever write about.

I really like the band, but I suspect part of the reputation behind the band is due to the Albini influence. That is, the band is crazy AND sounds great.

I don’t know how it is where you all live; but I’m quite certain that I will be hearing no end of Jesus Lizard loving this weekend. And by people who are hardly hipster bandwagon jumpers (at least in this last decade and a half). For some reason, St. Louisans really like the Jesus Lizard. I just assumed this post would assume this was a big ol’ deal.

They had a lot of highlights! Mouthbreather, Then Comes Dudley, Puss, etc. Crank them up and scare your ma!

i always liked Jesus Lizard ok, but not as much as some other kinda similar bands (like Tar or, speaking of live shows, the Cows)… but these days you hear about Jesus Lizard a lot more than most of the other bands of their ilk, SO yeah, i think they are overrated. But still good.

they’re as much worth a reunion tour as JAMC or MBV.

@westartedthis: I get that it’s a matter of personal preference, but is anything in the Jesus Lizard catalog of the “significance” of Psychocandy or Loveless? I just don’t hear bands namechecking the Jesus Lizard all that much these days.

For ME yes, there are many parts of the Jesus Lizard catalogue that are not just as significant as Psychocandy and Loveless but way better. In regards to bands name checking I have always found it funny that being popular or name checked is important when it suits an argument but being popular in my opinion bares little weight in what value I give something. The vast majority of things the mass public deems as popular I personally find to be complete garbage and even disposable especially in the day and age of the internet and the hyper commercialization of youth culture. If something is popular it does not make it good and while it is nice to be name checked that’s about as far as it goes, it’s nice. Like I said before to each their own, my point is that when asked the question do people care I am an example of someone who cares very much and it shouldn’t matter if I love them and someone else doesn’t that’s the beauty of choice.

@jediak: I understand what you mean about personal preference and significance (the highlight of the Coachella lineup for me is that Superchunk are on the bill, not the MBV performance, etc.), but there’s something to be said for a band’s resonance long-term, right? I may not like the Rolling Stones and I might prefer the Beau Brummels, but that doesn’t make much difference in which act is more “legendary” or “important”, does it?

Namechecking? I don’t care about namechecking! I care if the tunes are exciting, challenging, and provocative.

One of my biggest gripes is that we’ve lost a lot of ‘history’ because long-term resonance is only afforded to the bands that the present-day tastemakers anoint as their influences. There seems to be eras that get glossed over then brought back to life, bands that are forgotten, then remembered, then forgotten.

In 5-10 years, when brats discover their Dad’s Touch & Go CD collection, then the Lizard will come back as an influence.

Sure I agree with that but I do think the Jesus Lizard are both legendary and important, at least in the same circles that would consider My Bloody Valentine to be these things. For our discussion this should probably be the standard because neither band are mainstream enough to be legendary on the same level as the Rolling Stones. I don’t like My Bloody Valentine as much as I like The Jesus Lizard but I can still see why they are considered legendary or influential. I think the very fact that this question has even been posed somewhat proves that the band has left their mark.

@K-Rex: you speak the truth. here in st. louis, that type of music goes over really well still. (see also: the midwest post-rock of shiner, hum, etc.) perhaps the JL is more of a midwest thing — i have friends in cleveland right now probably freaking out about this — but they’re hugely influential. their impact is subtle, though; perhaps because of yow’s tempestuous nature, they’re not given as much due as, say, jawbreaker. touch & go’s influence overall i’d say is less obvious and heralded than other labels.

and i don’t know, people are really excited about fellow chicagoans Naked Raygun returning, too. bands like hot water music, rise against, etc. and you could make the same argument about NR as is proposed here about the JL.

wow, i didn’t know naked raygun was back.

@Dan Gibson: Goat would make my personal top ten of the 90s, but no, it’s not going to top any consensus “best of the 90s” lists like Loveless and “Psychocandy” (on an 80s list) do. no one record (though Goat and Liar get the most love) by the Jesus Lizard stands at that level in terms of reputation, but i’d say the “aura” surrounding their legendary live show does. whether that reputation is deserved or not, it’s definitely there.

i thought the question was whether we should be excited about their reunion. the Jesus Lizard have an entire catalog of solid records – so should they be allowed to parade around the festival circuit and make money like these other shameless bands? hell yeah, they should.

no doubt that many people who were told the Jesus Lizard are great simply don’t like that style of music. which is fine. but in the realm of post-hardcore (by which i just mean “music that came after hardcore”) they were MONUMENTALLY influential. the Jesus Lizard took a handful of influences, which were far less well-worn than they are now, and basically an entire style and swagger crystallized around them. as has been mentioned, they weren’t the only ones doing it, but they were the stars of the scene, for better or worse. every year there’s a new crop of critically-acclaimed bands making obnoxious noise who still don’t hold a candle to them (the David Yow-fronted Qui being one of them!). they were a great band, with incredible musicians backing up their lead singer’s stage antics.

and speaking of that, it’s worth noting that David Yow has a great voice, possessing a lot of the same offbeat qualities as Tom Waits (or at least one part of Waits’ vast array of voices). the fact that he’s more known for showing his dick is his fault, but it makes the first part no less true. a lot of bands have a mumbly/shouty/audience-fighty lead singer, but none of them have his particular vocal qualities, and they for sure don’t have Duane Denison, Mac McNeilly and David Wm. Sims backing them up.

@westartedthis: Well put. That’s a vastly more convincing explanation than the “THEY’RE AWESOME, DUMMY” many have offered. Thanks. Sincerely.

Are the Denison Kimball Trio still around? I really liked them quite a bit.

@westartedthis: well put, i second that. anyone can make noise, but few can harness that chaos the way JL did. there’s a radio host here that will throw in JL and NR every so often, and invariably i’ll be like, “wow, that was great — what’s that?” i’d also add that their major label forays i think soured many on them, because they weren’t quite as good.

and naked raygun is back playing shows (so far, mostly in the midwest and a few in florida) and recording a new album.

Wow. Damn. I signed up just to comment on this. I realize you wrote this some time ago, so sorry if you’ve realized the error of your ways.

1. Who knows the names of Tortoise songs?
Me.

2. “Jesus Lizard Are Back. Hooray?”?
Wow. Blown away. This just proves that this band is still underrated. As far as me and many people are concerned, this band should be canonical. Indie rock used to actually have an element of innovation and, yes, danger to it. And sure, I like Yo La Tengo, and I can even stomach Built to Spill’s Neil Young act. I’m sure if you like those bands you aren’t going to be into TJL. Indie music was diverse territory.

But give me a freaking break. How clueless can you be? TJL was one of the defining bands of the 90s Touch and Go sound (never mind that it wasn’t a real sound). They had one of the greatest frontmen in the history of indie/punk music. They took the sound of the Birthday Party, took all the glam out, and literally spit it in your face. They were the real deal. Amazing musicians who patented a sound that many bands still imitate, whether they realize where it comes from or not.

Good tracks? Try 3 PERFECT albums, Goat, Pure, and Liar.

This band is iconic in some circles. That circle, incidentally, isn’t very hip right now. I went to their reunion show and a felt positively sprightly at 32 – nary an under-25 in sight.

And David Yow still scared the shit out of me.