Big Dipper

I just got this Big Dipper anthology, and I've been combing through it over the past week. I wish I'd given Big Dipper more of a shake when I was living in Providence, but I bypassed them for better-known acts like M.O.B., Volcano Suns, Christmas, and eventually the Pixies. I kind of lumped them in with Dumptruck: a totally good band but not exciting enough I guess for my late teen-age tastes. If I'd know that B.D. was comprised of former Volcano Suns and Embarrassment members, I would have definitely delved deeper. If you don't have All-Night Lotus Party or Heyday, you should definitely drop the cash and pocket those puppies.

The only Big Dipper song I really knew back then was "He Is God," an excellent weirdo pop tune from the point of view of some of Jesus' friends.

And soon we met up with a blind man,
Perceived that his vision was flawed.
Until our young buddy put a hand to his forehead.
That's when we knew...

He was God.

I know this song because a couple of friends of mine in college made a Jesus mix tape. They did a pretty good job: Big Star's "Jesus Christ," VU's "Jesus" and "Heroin," Leonard Cohen's "Suzanne." I sort of start forgetting after that.

Anyway, I was looking for "He Is God" clips on youtube and found a pretty good live one here. I couldn't figure out why youtube was recommending all these Embarrassment clips alongside the Big Dipper ones, so I looked into it and found out that Bill Goffrier was the guitarist for both bands. His guitar work on the Embarrassment stuff is some of my favorite playing. It's simple but really original and it has a vivacity to it that a lot of indie rock doesn't manage to muster. Anyway, "He Is God" is still great, but my favorite song right now is "When Men Were Trains."