Coolness '88 - Jane's Addiction, Primitives, Sugarcubes

Cindy Jacobson, Leather Trio Productions/San Francisco.
Here's a very "leather trio" of cool things...

1. Jane's Addiction - Nothing's Shocking (WB) Perry erupts like a volcano while Dave, Eric and Stephen shoot off musical sparks. I warned you about Jane's Addiction. This album is a California earthquake. Personal to Esa Navarre: Cindy says Jane's Addiction are God. Colleen says so too. That's two against one. You lose.

2. Primitives - "Way Behind Me" (naughty bad parallel Nipper import--oops!) Not on the album. Crazily cool cover. Gorgeous acoustic version on the b-side. "Way Behind Me" just may be the best Primitives single yet. My sister Tracy can sure sing cool.

3. Sugarcubes with the Jesus and Mary Chain - "Christmas Eve" ('nother naughty bad parallel import--oops! again) Here I am being a little blonde Cindy brat talking about records I'm not even supposed to have. Spank me now, RIAA. So like, the Mary Chain and the 'Cubes are two of my favorite bands of now and here they are together crashing through "Birthday" and calling it "Christmas." No need for classic rock. There's a whole new generation of energetic young upstarts out there and the bands in this crusade are among the best. No need for airplay either. Us kids can find these records all on our own, thank you....

Caught being awfully swell this week was Album Network's own Mark Cope, who deserves great praise for putting up with us leather brats. Personal to Kevin at SRO: next time you go to Cathouse wear black clothes.

October 7, 1988, Album Network

Luftgitar - Air Guitar - the Sugarcubes

Cindy J. Leather Trio Productions.
Lately all these people have been writing and calling with, "Cindy, you just gotta tell me what that Sugarcubes song 'Cat' is about." No f**king way. Sly secret. But I decided to write about another Sugarcubes song that's also sung in Icelandic. Only this time, I'm going to tell you what it's about. The song is called "Luftgitar" and it's not on the album. If you want to hear it, you'll have to get the "Deus" import single (don't anyone tell Elektra about this Crusade, okay?).

"Luftgitar" means "air guitar" in English. The song, which is sung by a friend of the band named Johnny Triumph, is all about two kinds of boys in Iceland who go to school dances. Of course, none of the boys dance. The first kind just stand by the wall and look at all the girls. Boys are really good at doing that. The second kind go up to the band that's playing and try to imitate the guitarist, but of course they have no guitar of their own so they play Luftgitar. According to boy-cube Einar, girl-cube Björk can't properly play Luftgitar because she's a girl. He's right. We all know that us girls are totally incapable of striking that silly macho rock star pose required of all air guitarists. And Björk says that it's okay to smash the guitar at the end of the song because Luftgitars don't cost anything. So the song is about boys who can't dance and need to be liberated by playing their Luftgitars. Yes, boys in Iceland are the same as boys here.

July 8, 1988, Album Network

Cat - the Sugarcubes

Cindy Jacobson, Leather Trio Productions: There's a really cool song on the Sugarcubes' Life's Too Good CD called "Cat." The song scratches and jumps just like a mischievous kitten. Although it's sung in Icelandic I know what it's about cause I read an interview once where Björk, the Sugarcubes' singer, tells the story of the song. I'm not going to give it away though, cause I want it to be like a secret. I've always been strangely curious about cats, but I've never owned one. There's this really cool cat that lives somewhere in the Haight near where I work. He's black with yellow eyes, but his eyes and fur seem to change color in different shades of light.

In the Sugarcubes song the girl has what I would call a cat fetish. But she channels it in a rather unusual way. This is what I'm not giving away. Pretty sly of me, huh? I always thought that cats have a people fetish. Autumn says cats do whatever they like. But they attach themselves to people in very odd relationships. The black cat in the Haight always greets me when I get off work. He just stares at me and gives me a sweet meow and then I ride off on my motorcycle. I don't even know his name or where he lives, but we've become friends. Even on nights when I work late he's there waiting. Like he knows.

There are some days when I take the bus and after work I'll walk up the street to the bus stop and the cat will be there waiting around the corner, watching for me. So strange. I love cats. They move like the fog. They think they know you. They know they're cooler than you. I don't think I'll ever get one of my own, although in a way I sort of have one. And I don't think I'm going to tell you what the Sugarcubes song is about cause it's so very strange and such a sly secret. And if you really like cats you probably wouldn't want to know anyway.

originally published in:
Album Network, June 24, 1988
The Blind Armadillo (Oklahoma City fanzine), issue 11, Spring 1989