On this past DCXX poll, my vote went to Void without a moment's hesitation.
Why? Well, that’s a tough one to answer. In fact, I don’t think I have a solid answer to give you at this time, so I guess I’ll just reminisce on how I first heard them and see if I can figure it out from there...
I think I first heard the Faith/Void split when I was 12 or so. Without any real reference points at that age, I immediately loved it for the simple fact that it sounded like a bunch of mental patients let loose in a studio. The maniac vocals of John Weiffenbach blurted in and out of the mix while a consciously lagging rhythm section struggled to keep up with the obviously competent Bubba Dupree on the guitar; it was certainly the most unhinged thing I had heard at that point in my life.
John Weiffenbach prowls the stage with Void, Photo courtesy of: Faith/Void split
As the years went on, I still loved the fucking thing to death, but I found myself asking ‘Did they actually want it to sound like this or was this some happy accident?’ I recall making a copy of the record onto cassette to listen to in the first car I owned and never knowing if the cassette player was on the outs or not due to the disorienting mix job and constant lopping musicianship.
While going into my twenties, I declared it (to just me of course) the only Psychedelic hardcore record ever made. The backward tape masking, crude studio effects, Mark Farner wanna-be riffs from Dupree and overall trippy feel of the side made it a great listen in those ‘experimental’ years.
These days when I put it on, it makes all those thoughts listed above float into my brain as well as some new, almost ungraspable ones. In some strange way, it’s been one of the most reliable batch of jams I’ve had in my life. For something that sounds so fucking alien, it’s downright shocking that so many people love and relate to it enough to let it win in such a landslide. I guess there is some hope for the human race after all... -Tony Rettman
Void - 240
Faith - 132
John screams, I’m gonna live by my rules, Photo courtesy of: Faith/Void split
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Tony Rettman on the Faith/Void poll wrap up
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I was really lucky and ran into Chris Stover at the Sub Pop 20th anniversary show and he was polite enough to answer my dork questions about Void, and he told me that their side of the record intentionally sounded that way, that they just practised all the time. He had no idea that Void was so revered still to this day...
ReplyDeletePsychedelic hardcore!
ReplyDeleteDon't forget the self-titled Government Issue album from '86. That thing is consciously psychedelic. Void is naturally insane.
Anyone who has heard that unreleased Void LP would probably consider everything else they did normal by comparison. That thing is disturbing.
Ben --
ReplyDeleteYeah, that self-titled GI record is pretty psychedelic, but it's like...cartoon-ish Strawberry Alarm Clock/Lemon Pipers style. Void is all bad acid, Altamont and dirt weed.
Faith should've gotten ZERO votes, their side is crap (conversely, "Subject To Change" is one of my favorite D.C. records of all time). The Void side is transcendent, possibly the greatest hardcore recording of all time.
ReplyDeleteInteresting point of view, I'm not very familiar with the topic but it is interesting.
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