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10 October 2007

Ask Mecha: tell an old man the secret of Sonic Youth. Ok, I am reading this anecdote about a heckler at a Sonic Youth cover band. In between songs, the heckler says, "skip tracer." →[More:]This totally upsets the female lead singer, who tells the heckler to "grow a mustache, f----t."

I know that Skip Tracer is a song by Sonic Youth. Other than that, I can't figure out why that would upset the lead singer so much. Here are the lyrics:

This she did in public for us to see
She came in here too drunk to do the show
Between the trains and cars
Broken glass and lost hub-caps, images of a gun
Row house row house pass through
Let the city rise up to fill the screen
Clothes flung out of closets, doorknobs falling off
The guitar guy played real good feedback, and super sounding riffs
With his mild mannered look on, yeah he was truly hip
The girl started out in red patent leather
Very I'm in a band with knee pads
We watch her fall over and lay down,
Shouting the poetic truths of high school journal keepers
Row house row house pass through, let the city rise up
Twister, dust buster, hospital bed, I'll see you, see you
See you on the highway
Now we're told so merge ideas, of song forms and freedom
Miss seafood, miss cheesecake, a couple of miss donuts
The edge of a blade pressed to the throat of your reflected image
Poised, yet totally screwed up
Yes sir, yes sir, step right up

None of us know, where we're trying to get to
What sort of live where we trying to build
Now we're told so merge ideas, of song forms and freedom
Seasons out of life, nothing is out of reach
L.A. is more confusing now, than anywhere I've ever been to
I'm from New York City, breath it out and let it in

Where are you now?
When your broken eyes are closed
Head in a cloudy dream, green and sailboats
Borrowed and never returned
Emotions, books, outlooks on life

Hello 20 15!

Hello, 20, 15!

post by: craniac at: 11:12 | 7 comments

It was offensive because, in fact, he hardly knew 'er.

I have no idea.

posted by cortex 10 October | 11:30

It's likely that he knew her, and the song had some emotional connection for the two of them. Maybe it was her dad.

posted by Eideteker 10 October | 11:59

Maybe (especially if he said it between each and every song) she was just telling him to STFU already they'll play their set list and maybe play it in the encore if they feel like it and they heard him the first time and they're not a goddamn jukebox so get off it, fer chrissakes.

posted by elizard 10 October | 12:49

speaking of sonic youth, has anyone heard the new thurston moore record, trees outside the academy? it's effing good. it more than makes up for how awful rather ripped was.

speaking of sonic youth and hecklers - get your hands on a copy of the dirty boots cd5 and cue it up to "the bedroom." after thurston asks "what do you do when your mom is a skinhead?", pay particular attention to the very first response.

that was me. the live tracks on that cd single were recorded during one of their shows at uc irvine in 1991. mudhoney and gumball opened. it was teh awesome.

posted by syntax 10 October | 13:24

Holy shit, syntax. I think I was at that show. It was in that big auditorium over on the west side of UCI, right?

A "skip tracer" is like a bounty-hunter and detective, except instead of field work, they're generally data-miners. A "skip" is a client who owes money or restitution who has vanished from the paper trail. The skip tracer tries to find where they re-appear in the paper trail, either under an assumed alias or under their given name in a new location. They use things like LexisNexis, the credit reporting agencies, court records, utility bills, collection agency records, pawn shop records, etc.

Why it'd piss off Kim, I have no idea. Maybe she skipped at one point and got found by that guy? Eh. Too simple. *shrug*

posted by loquacious 10 October | 18:46

loq, the band is question is a SY cover band, not Sonic Youth.

posted by Brittanie 11 October | 07:24

it more than makes up for how awful rather ripped was.

Are you kidding me? That was their best album in years.

posted by chillmost 12 October | 05:16

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