RTP-area local music and culture

[rchrdlln AT gmail.com]

> Some random context about Grant Alden. He's the writer who came to the
> Big Record Stardom Convention in Chapel Hill in 1992 and then wrote, in
> Alternative Press,
>
> "Is Chapel Hill the next Seattle? Not if the overheard mutterings of A&R
> executives are to be believed. Not if the modest expectations of the
> bands remain unchallenged. Not if the musicians stay within the comfy
> confines of Chapel Hill. And especially not if what I heard is the best
> Chapel Hill has to offer. To be fair, Thursday night's pop line-up at
> the Cradle, headlined by Dillon Fence and Queen Sarah Saturday, was
> pleasant enough . . . .
>
> . . . . but mostly listeners were treated to fragments of great ideas
> that were not, somehow, fully realized. Take Polvo, who came on just
> before Superchunk Saturday night. A pair of guitars swirled through
> intriguing variations on sounds originated by Sonic Youth, building to
> crescendos that never quite happened. The vocalist has little stage
> presence and does not sing well (nor is his "bad" singing a useful
> supplement to the music), and the drummer seemed to play the entire
> 45-minute set at the same numbing tempo."
>
> To be fair, he had a few nice things to say about a few bands. Heck, you
> can read the whole thing 
> here:http://jpg.groovo.org/gpj/altpress-brsc-nov92.jpg
>
> Ross

So basically Grant Alden is a Luddite whose 1992 assessment of the
Chapel Hill scene was 98% correct?

RA