Typical Girls: Women in Punk/Post-Punk/Underground Music (Circa 1975-1980s)

[Dina Hornreich <dinahornreich AT earthlink.net>]

A review of "The Map" from http://www.zumonline.com/musicreviewsarchive2.html

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Meltdown - The Map (Archigramophone) 

This collection of unreleased material by Meltdown comes along just as the 
hype about neo no-wave is dying down. How appropriately anachronistic then 
that Meltdown were ahead of their time as far as hep influences go, yet they 
disbanded back in 1996. Meltdown fits neatly into a history of post-punk that 
runs through Scissor Girls to Erase Errata--an aesthetic of confrontation in 
the music and gender roles. Guitarist Raquel Vogl went on to Crainium and Amy 
Heneveld played in the recently departed Emergency, but what makes this 
record work goes beyond mere name-checking. It's a beauteous mess of biting 
guitars, primitive funk and playground chants turned sinister.

The opening of "Introduction" sets the stage for their claims of independence 
from any movement or moment other than their own: "We are Meltdown" breaks 
off into a groovy vowel-diphthong splintering by Heneveld, asserting an 
identity for the band while undoing it. Theme songs are tricky beasts, just 
ask Wang Chung. Mixing live and studio recordings with Fugazi svengalis Guy 
and Brendan, this Washington, D.C. quartet prodded against the boundaries of 
punk songwriting and atonal vocalizations. Guitarist Fiona Griffin takes the 
mic on tracks like "Postman"--both her and Heneveld take a hiccupy, talky 
vocal style that might rub off as irony-lite in larger doses. Guttural animal 
sounds and threats to "melt you down to little balls of flesh" permeate 
"Night Bird Nightmare." All Scars' Chuck Bettis takes over mic duties on 
"Gutter Up," chanting "it starts in the streets, not in the offices."

These four individuals should have made a bigger dent in the consciousness of 
music fans the first time around, so consider this a corrective rather than a 
yearbook snapshot. Meltdown make pleasure out of anti-pleasure and The Map is 
too weird and unwieldy to be just a footnote in D.C. punk's past. (gc)


-Dina

dinahornreich AT earthlink.net
http://home.earthlink.net/~dinahornreich/

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"All things being equal the simplest explanation 
and the simplest answer is probably the right one."
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