Secretly Society

East River Pipe 'Mel'

This year marks the 30th anniversary of 'Mel.' The beloved and long out-of-print East River Pipe album — F.M. Cornog's second on Merge Records — was announced late last year as Merge's first entry in Secretly Distribution's Secretly Society Record Club, the first time 'Mel' would be made available on the format since its original issue in 1996. The reissue, which features new liner notes by Barbara Powers and serves as the definitive edition of 'Mel,' uniting the album with songs that were once exclusive to US and UK versions of the CD, sold out immediately. Today, that edition of the album is available for digital purchase via the Merge Records webstore and East River Pipe's Bandcamp page. To further celebrate the occasion, Secretly Group has released a new episode of their Secretly Society podcast, featuring Powers' reminiscence of the time during which 'Mel' was recorded and released.   Like all of East River Pipe's output, 'Mel' was written, performed, recorded, and mixed by F.M. Cornog on a Tascam 388 mini-studio at his home, which was then a small apartment in Astoria, Queens. Within that space, he conjures nothing less than the fullness of life beyond it, the characters and moods of New York, the way a city can feel limitless and isolating all at once. It's a daunting accomplishment, one which led The New York Times to call him "the Brian Wilson of home recording." 'Mel' is an intricately-textured indie pop tour de force, its layers of keyboard and reverb-drenched guitars giving flight to Cornog's voice, which observes the doomed figures of the city with the intimacy of a documentarian and the egolessness of someone who has been through despair and survived.   'Mel' is an offering like few others, its 14 peerless gems a direct channel from F.M. Cornog's heart to yours. Shelter from the storm, you might call it. Uplift for the downtrodden. A masterpiece, even among Cornog's considerable catalog, this edition of 'Mel' is perfect for both kinds of East River Pipe fans: those who've been around for years, and those who didn't know they needed these songs in their life until now. Links:  'Mel' on Bandcamp Merge Records Website Secretly Society Podcast Episodes Secretly Society Podcast on Secretly Store Secretly Society General Information  

Songs: Ohia 'Didn't It Rain'

Every writer has a story about the assignment that got away; for music journalist Stephen Deusner, the story was that of Jason Molina and Songs: Ohia's 2002 record 'Didn't It Rain.'   In 2014, on the wings of Secretly Canadian reissuing 'Didn't It Rain,' Deusner pitched an ambitious oral history featuring some of the people who knew Jason best and might be able to lend some humanity to an artist who had always been mythologized — often by himself. Sadly, the piece was not published at the time, but nearly a decade to the day after its inception, the oral history was issued via Molina-verse newsletter Static & Distance.   Reviving the oratory slant of this story of a legendary album, today's episode features interviews with Secretly Canadian co-founders Ben and Chris Swanson; Darcie Schoenman Molina, Jason's widow; Edan Cohen, who produced 'Didn't It Rain' at his studio in Philadelphia; and musicians who played on the record, including Mike Brenner, Jennie Benford, and Jim Krewson of Jim & Jennie & the Pinetops.  Links:  'Didn't It Rain' Deluxe Edition Secretly Society Podcast Episodes Secretly Society Podcast on Secretly Store Secretly Society General Information   Jason Molina: Jason Molina on Instagram Static & Distance on Substack Jason Molina on Facebook JasonMolina.com Secretly Society Podcast Season 1 - Jason Molina Pt. 1 - Eight Gates - "You've Been Molina'd"

90 Day Men Pt. 3

Back in the mid-nineties, a group emerged from St. Louis, later moving to Chicago, where they'd go on to make some of the most beguiling and unique music of the time. They were 90 Day Men. Over four albums and a few EPs, the band's sound developed into elaborate, experimental, baroque songs, influenced by the world around them and delving back into prog, sixties art rock, and beyond. Later this month Numero Group will release a new deluxe 25th anniversary edition of 90 Day Men's '(It Is It) Critical Band' LP, including a previously-unreleased album tracked at Steve Albini's Electrical Audio studio in Chicago. In this final episode, host Tim Kinsella speaks to the band about their final albums, trips to Japan, the burnout of relentless shows and being a little too ahead of the musical curve.   Links:  Secretly Frequencies: 90 Day Men Playlist Secretly Society Podcast Episodes Secretly Society Podcast on Secretly Store Secretly Society General Information   90 Day Men: 90 Day Men on Instagram 90 Day Men: We Blame Chicago 90 Day Men: (It Is It) Critical Band [Y2K 25th Anniversary Edition] Pre-Order

90 Day Men Pt. 2

Back in the mid-nineties, a group emerged from St. Louis, later moving to Chicago, where they'd go on to make some of the most beguiling and unique music of the time. They were 90 Day Men. Over four albums and a few EPs, the band's sound developed into elaborate, experimental, baroque songs, influenced by the world around them and delving back into prog, sixties art rock, and beyond. In part two of this three-part series from the Secretly Society Podcast, Tim Kinsella, a fellow Chicagoan and friend of the band, guides us through conversations about 90 Day Men's early singles, working with labels for the first time, lineup changes and how they developed their unique sound, and their first forays into touring. Links:  Secretly Frequencies: 90 Day Men Playlist Secretly Society Podcast Episodes Secretly Society Podcast on Secretly Store Secretly Society General Information   90 Day Men: 90 Day Men on Instagram 90 Day Men: We Blame Chicago 90 Day Men: (It Is It) Critical Band [Y2K 25th Anniversary Edition] Pre-Order

90 Day Men Pt. 1

Back in the mid-nineties, a group emerged from St. Louis, later moving to Chicago, where they'd go on to make some of the most beguiling and unique music of the time. They were 90 Day Men. In this three-part series from the Secretly Society Podcast, Tim Kinsella, a fellow Chicagoan and friend of the band, guides us through conversations with the members and other folks who were involved in the scenes and movements that they operated in. Over four albums and a few EPs, the band's sound developed into elaborate, experimental, baroque songs, influenced by the world around them and delving back into prog, sixties art rock, and beyond. 90 Day Men were not ahead of their time, they were of a different world entirely; their discography, and a handful of previously unheard songs, were compiled into a five-LP set by Numero Group in 2023. In this episode, Tim speaks to the band about the musical world from which they were born, and how they came to be.   Links:  Secretly Frequencies: 90 Day Men Playlist Secretly Society Podcast Episodes Secretly Society Podcast on Secretly Store Secretly Society General Information   90 Day Men: 90 Day Men on Instagram 90 Day Men: We Blame Chicago 90 Day Men: (It Is It) Critical Band [Y2K 25th Anniversary Edition] Pre-Order