MICHIGAN RECORD A DAY : The Imaginary Cassette Company Series #1 / The Lowly Cows "Cow Scratch Free Bird" 15i
Mar 12, 2020
About the only
time you can use samples of thunder and rain along with cheap -
kroger keyboards drenched in suburban lost hope is apparently, East
Lansing's mysterious "The Imaginary Cassette Company." Nearly
impossible to gleam ANY info on this "set" other than it MIGHT be
pre Astrobrite Scott Cortez / which is weird cause I went to high
school ELHS during this time with Scott and knew nada of these
deviant activities. He was friends with my sister, and all he
mentioned during the 88 era, complete from a tench coat during
summer outfit, is boring AF British jams and referred to me as a
"hardcore monkey." Whatever. Even weirder when I see UK Gretchen
Guttersnipe in a homemade loveliescrushing shirt LAST YEAR and it
turns out SC is seen as some kind of shoe-gaze originator. Weird
all around. So, if it is "Scottie" behind this label, homie was on
some wild local underground NON shoe gaze ish that is destroying my
now "adult" cabbage. Here we have a band from SF(?) The Lowly Cows
with a long one sider "Cow Scratch Free Bird" that goes from
Door-ish moody wave moves to not - together eeer "underground" rock
that is homemade and full of inept magic. Like the other ICC tape,
each song seems to be 7 minutes plus, and shit, all the better for
it. They have a SF address as of 1988 but the only digital info is
a stark January gig with Fugazi at the end of January '88. I asked
SF Rusty / Rubber O about the Lowly Cows and he remembers "the
Sacred Cows" but even though they lived two blocks from him,
"probably weren't on any kool gigs." Lots of basement goofery and
backwards stoned 4 track nonsense that there cannot be enough of in
this earthly plane. Full of SK - 1 explorations in fine 80's style
but the goth shadow is light on this gem, thankfully, but be warned
its there on further label tapes. I can't help to think that the
almighty homemade menace of Skidd Freeman is somewhere in the
shadows of this label. Easy to get through, lots of homespun local
magician moves, gets really out there with ending "20th
Century Monk" = add some foreign accent spice and it could be
an non- educated Scorched Earth Policy rehearsal tape. "Cow
Scratch" is a solid signpost to the MSU weirdo underworld cauldron
in a seemingly dead period. Wonder if Just Say No wanted to fight
them?. Stay tuned for further delves into The Imaginary Cassette
Company treasure chest.