Dump "Women in Rock" CD (Shrimper/1999)

Wow it has been so long since I made a post which means that I went more than half a year without a computer. Kind of crazy but good I suppose. I have a new lap top and that means I will back at with more postings here This is My Life and You Can Have It, sharing my record collection with all that care to listen. Years later and this music still means so much to me. In fact possibly even more so than ever.

The music of James McNew's bedroom project Dump has been very important to me on so many levels for so many years. While his work with Yo La Tengo has been something I have enjoyed a great deal I would say his forays into home recorded bedroom pop have been far more influential to me on a personal level. For years Dump has been releasing albums, cassettes and singles the capture McNew unearthing such personal and catchy bedroom pop that at times tinkers with more dronier and ambient elements. Women in Rock is a 5 song cdep that was released on the legendary Shrimper and was the follow up release to Dump's wonderful album, A Plea For Tenderness. McNew's ability to start off an album with a super droney tune that sounds like an airplane engine like  "Horrible"and then blast into a gentle pop number like "The Words Get Stuck in My Throat" is something that I admire a great deal. I wish more artists would take such chances. I feel extremely fortunate that twice in the span of six months this year I got see Dump live and I hope I get the opportunity to do so again.

Dump Women in Rock track listing
1. Horrible
2. The Words Get Stuck in My Throat
3. Lucy Grealy
4. Loved
5 A Plea For Dump

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Dump "International Airport" 10 inch (Smells Like Records/1994)

This past Sunday night I made the trek into Brooklyn to see Dump play a show so in spirit of the show today I shall be sharing with you fine followers of this blog a nice long play effort from Dump called International Airport. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised to hear that the lengthy title track of this record was played Sunday evening and yes, it was awesome. Earlier in this space I posted a rare single from Dump but in case you missed it, Dump is the long running solo project of James Mcnew who is better known for his "day job" in Yo La Tengo. Since the early 90s Mcnew has been sporadically recording music on his 4 track in his home and releasing it in various forms over the years. This 10 inch record was released Smells Like Records, the label run by Sonic Youth drummer Steve Shelley. Dump has been one of the bigger influences on my own bedroom recordings over the years as Mcnew never just settles into one style as he deftly switches back and forth from bedroom pop, ambient, drone, folk, and even what can be described as lo fi new wave or dance music. Fans of the New York City indie rock band Versus should take note as International Airport features a great re-working of their song "Flax". Some of Dump's releases are tough to come by but his full length cd albums A Plea for Tenderness (Brinkman Records) and Grown Ass Man (Shrimper Records) can be found rather easily and most likely on the cheap due to the cd format not being "cool" anymore or whatever the fuck. Both of those albums are probably the best starting off points in the Dump discography so I highly recommend you seek them out.

Dump International Airport 10 inch track listing
1. Words
2. International Airport
3. Flax
4. The Way Love Used to Be
5. Memorial Trauma #1
6. Laurdine

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Dump "Easter Dress/Almost Home" 7 inch (Favorite Things/1997)

For those unaware Dump is the solo home recording project of James Mcnew of Yo La Tengo and since the early 90s he has released a litany of releases ranging from full length albums, eps, singles and comp tracks all on obscure tiny boutique labels under this moniker. He released a few things on the legendary Shrimper including the notorious indie cult classic That Skinny Motherfucker With the High Voice which is an album entirely made of Prince covers. Early on he released a 10 inch called International Airport on Steve Shelley's ( of Sonic Youth fame) Smells Like Records. The music of Dump I think is best summed up in Mcnew's own words as the liner notes of the album A Plea for Tenderness, "Recorded mostly while wearing pajamas on a Tascam Porta 5 cassette machine...".  So namely Mcnew's Dump project is a home recording project that showcases lo fi bedroom pop with forays into drone and ambience.Through the course of the Dump discography one can certainly hear the Yo La Tengo sound pouring into this side project's overall sound but that is to be expected. Dump's releases while scattered and for the most part obscure can certainly be found and we you can you can find them on the cheap side. A browse through the Amazon or Ebay turns up several copies of the cd releases while vinyl and cassette releases seem a little bit harder to come by. I highly recommend any of Dump's music but I would say the best place to start would be with the aforementioned A Plea For Tenderness on Brinkman Records. Or with this post...

And in regards to this offering the 7 inch that I am sharing today is a imported single from the Japanese label Favorite Things. The packaging is just like the music on the record- bare and warm. Mcnew excels in penning sincere, fragile pop music that captures a spirit of longing and a heart pouring out. The song "Easter Dress" musically is a bit more jangly and upbeat than the flipside of "Easter Dress" which a somber series of droning chords but both songs pull on the heart strings, hard.

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