we can't be friends

today's post is inspired by something pretty silly...my favorite pin. i don't even remember how i ended up with a Black Tambourine pin, but for whatever reason i've always liked it. the short lived washington dc-based band has a brief history, but not an uninteresting one. members included pam berry, co-founder of Chickfactor, guitarists archie moore and brian nelson from Velocity Girl and Slumberland records proprietor mike schulman. formed in 1989, the foursome released eight singles and played four live shows before disbanding after two years. it would not be until 1999 that schulman released the bands collection of complete recordings and gave people the chance to see just how representative the band was of the indie sound of the era that followed them even if it was merely a coincidence. Black Tambourine first owed a debt to underground british pop, introducing the influence of bands like the Pastels to the u.s. and coated that sound with same noisy "wall of sound" that inspired bands like the Jesus and Mary Chain and My Bloody Valentine. it's primordial indiepop from a time that the genre didn't always suggest a saccharine sweet sound and a cutesy image. the following track was originally released on One Last Kiss, a compilation that marked the first release for the Spin Art label back in 1992.

Black Tambourine "We Can't Be Friends"