MELBOURNE DIRECT...

At the time Corduroy Records & Detective Agency, primarily a vinyl pressing plant was the only place in the world offering the ability to record live and direct to acetate. As both an employee of Corduroy and a fan of Sonic Youth I saw a unique opportunity when they toured Murray Street in 2004. Who better to cut a record in this fashion than the musicians who so publicly professed a love for spontaneous composition? Through a series of emails and to my great surprise they said yes. Probably. If we can swing it.

We moved forward as if it was happening, although I remember a strong seat of the pants trepidation that the bottom could fall out of the session at any time. After all, the band was in the country to play shows promoting their new album, not to record an improvised session at some place they'd never heard of organised by some kid they'd never met.

A few nights before the recording I'd driven to Sydney to see them play and afterwards introduced myself to Lee. I remember tapping him on the shoulder and those big, brown eyes looking at me like "I'm tired, who are you and what do you want?" As soon as I introduced myself those same eyes transformed into the most welcoming, friendliest things I'd seen in my life and we had a great conversation. I remember discussing Bob Dylan bootlegs at great length but I also remember the underlying message of "we're looking forward to the session next week - IF we can make it work."

Cut to the morning of and we received a very welcome phone call with a massive caveat attached - the band was keen but they'd just played a show and flown in from Perth so their equipment was all in the back of a truck travelling at high speed across the Nullarbor Plain. Could they borrow, like, everything? Of course we all played in bands and between us could scrounge up a few instruments, but these guys had a reputation for changing guitars like most folks change underwear and we didn't want to disappoint. A few phone calls later and we'd assembled a small arsenal of guitars, pedals, amplifiers and percussion - well, a drum kit and some maracas. It was a surreal experience to see these four guys playing instruments which belonged to people I knew. These were guitars we all played every day but none of our bands sounded like that. As soon as they started playing the mood shifted, it was almost physical as if a spell seeped across the room like a slow moving mist. There was no mistaking who was playing these instruments or what we were about to witness.

We'd organised to pick them up from their hotel in the city and drive them deep into the suburbs where Corduroy was located. We arrived early and parked out the front then piled into (Corduroy boss) Nick's car as we waited. The atmosphere in the back seat was that of a party, we were playing cassettes on a boom box and I remember Nick introducing me to Motley Crue's Kick Start My Heart. Despite the catchy chorus I didn't like it then and I don't particularly like it now (everybody knows the only vaguely acceptable Motley Crue song is Dr Feelgood) but for better or worse I will always associate that song with this night and subsequently this record.

When the agreed time arrived I climbed the stairs to announce our presence only to find the band and their travelling party midway through eating dinner. At the time I was young and my only inkling of the poor etiquette which surrounds approaching people as they eat was that Eminem song where he laments such behaviour. As I approached the table I recall making eye contact with Thurston and him making a face which intimated something along the lines of "haven't you heard that Eminem song pertaining to this sort of thing?" Luckily at that moment Lee recognised me from a few nights earlier and all was forgiven.

I remember Steve and Lee sitting in the back seat of Nick's car, Jim and Thurston in mine - only Thurston had the front seat for the extra leg room of course. I remember Kim deciding at the last minute that she was feeling under the weather and retreating to the hotel to rest for the upcoming shows then graciously providing the artwork so she would still be able to participate in the event. J Mascis was the opening act on this tour, playing acoustic solo sets and I remember Thurston and Lee telling me they had hoped he would be able to join them, that they were disappointed he couldn't make it and all of us wondering what that might have sounded like. I think about thirty people turned up to watch the session and I remember being terrified the band would incorrectly jump to the conclusion I simply wanted to organise a free show for my friends. I also recall being mortified at all of the noise the cameras were making throughout the recording. Thankfully I proved to be over thinking things on both fronts. I have distinct memories of Lee excitedly saying how refreshing he found it to play in front of such a small crowd ala the early days, Steve saying the Ludwig kit he played on was beautiful and Jim emailing me about a week later to thank me for "the best night of the tour." It certainly was special.

-Mark Nelson, Melbourne/June/2020