DISQUS

Popdose: Hooks ‘N’ You: “Produced by Don Dixon” | Popdose

  • Malchus · 1 year ago
    Ironic that Nirvana loved The Smithereens. Because of "Nevermind", the Smithereens "Blow Up" (released just as Nirvana took over the world) never caught on, essentially ending whatever momentum they had coming off of the success of "11" and "A Girl Like You."
  • MarlboroTestMonkey7 · 1 year ago
    This unit hates Nirvana but loved Smithereens.
    Which reminds me of what I read in ...Guitar World..(?)... about In Utero not being a good album, or something to that effect. After Kurt's death all negative opinions were reversed and now they are considered a musical zenith. Go figure.
  • WHarrisBullzEye · 1 year ago
    I like 'em both, actually...but when it comes to Nirvana, I break out "Nevermind" a hell of a lot more often than "In Utero."
  • DwDunphy · 1 year ago
    In Utero is messy but no messier than other Steve Albini recordings of the time, as he is dead set against production in the general sense, whereas Nevermind has rawness yet is clearly a production.

    Having said that, I love In Utero's fried aggression. Nevermind is a screamalong. In Utero is for pulling hair out of your own head and, I find, there's a season for both.
  • steve · 1 year ago
    What a great interview. Thanks a lotLike you Don had a hand in most of my favorite bands in college The Connells were a great band and Darker Days along with Boylan Heights never got the respect they deserve. Don along with Mitch played Sitting Still when REM played Raleigh in June. It was definetely a treat to see them all on stage together.
  • DwDunphy · 1 year ago
    Hate to be That Guy, but "Miles From Nowhere" is totally scotched.
  • WHarrisBullzEye · 1 year ago
    Extra spaces in my MP3 files are the bane of my existence. It is now repaired. And, hey, better That Guy should be a guy I know...
  • E · 1 year ago
    Drat, 'cuz "Litany" has a hole in it too.
  • WHarrisBullzEye · 1 year ago
    I have found a better copy of it and have duly replaced it to increase the level of your listening enjoyment.
  • Ellen · 1 year ago
    Great interview and excellent selection of Don Dixon-produced tunes! thanks! I was a big fan of the Connells and Guadalcanal Diary, who I saw several times in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area while attending grad school there in the mid-1980s. And Dumptruck!! I loved them... I wonder whatever happened to them?
  • WHarrisBullzEye · 1 year ago
    Actually, Dumptruck was still releasing new albums as late as 2001, and Rykodisc reissued their first few albums with bonus tracks a few years ago. As of 2007, they had made a claim on their MySpace page that they were recording a new album, but no sign of it yet. Maybe one of these days I'll spotlight "For the Country," as that's my favorite of their records...
  • breadalbane · 1 year ago
    Thanks again for this.

    By the way, Dixon recorded a cover of "Why" that I prefer to the Wednesday Week original (although I like the original, too). Dixon's version was released as the b-side of "Praying Mantis", at least on the 7" I have.
  • WHarrisBullzEye · 1 year ago
    Yeah, actually, Dixon's take on "Why" is on the same cassette that introduced me to him (and "Praying Mantis") in the first place: "The Enigma Variations, Vol. 2."
  • bama · 1 year ago
    An excellent interview. Thank you for the work you put into it.
  • Mikey C · 1 year ago
    Now I realize why I bought that Wednesday Week on vinyl - DD produced it.

    Great work, Will, with one of the real giants of American music.