Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Rizzo - Phoning It In (LP + Bonus Tracks)


RIZZO
Phoning It In
(Sympathy For The Record Industry, 2000)
Full LP Release + Non-LP Bonus Tracks

File: 179.52 MB RAR
13 album tracks + 7 non-LP bonus tracks = 20 tracks total + 2 bonus videos
All tracks are encoded in the MP3 format, bit rate of 320 kbps (with the exception of track 20 which is encoded at 128kbps). Videos have been included in the archive in both the flash (.FLV) and MPEG (.MPG) formats for your convenience .


tracks
01 The Joke's On You
02 Long Gone Bon
03 Apple Pancakes
04 Cathy
05 Lifetime Guarantee
06 Spin This
07 Peter's Sick
08 Noise Boy
09 I Know It's Late
10 Right Side Of The Tracks
11 Let It Ride
12 Baby, You Fucked Up
13 Raspberry Beret

NON-LP BONUS TRACKS
14 Allie
15 Rental Raccoon
16 Shymaster
17 Road Song
18 Cathy's Song
19 Made Of Wood
20 Allie (Live)

"Batman, Superman....can't freak your shit out like Rizzo can!"
-Rizzo
from the song "Long Gone Bon" from the album Phoning It In

Someone once described Rizzo as the indie rock cheerleaders of the Los Angeles music scene in the mid-to-late 90's, and I thought that was the best description if any. Even before they formed the band, Jen Abercrombie (vocals, guitars) and Sarah Dale De Angelis (drums, vocals) were always making the scene at indie rock shows in town, known for their exuberant personalities and cheering on their friends in bands (both local and from afar). They knew EVERYBODY and everybody loved them. And before you even go there...NO, not like THAT. Unlike many annoying scenester girls who just wanted to bag a future rock star, the Rizzo girls were genuine music fans who always brought with them a joyful, positive energy that was infectious and extremely hard to find in a musical landscape that was known for it's cynical, hipper-than-thou attitude. Whereas most indie rockers were known for their music snobbery and looking down their nose at those they deemed unhip or uncool, Sarah and Jen defied that sterotype by being extremely exclusionary of all - in grade school they would have given valentines to everyone equally and genuinely, even to the "pee girl" in the back who got picked on at recess. Sleater-Kinney, the Bartlebees, Madigan, Tullycraft, Team Dresch, The Need, Mocket and more all spent downtime with the pair playing badminton or shopping for vintage clothes when their tours rolled through town. The song "Radio Agony" by L.A. compatriat buddies Longstocking, even features the line "If I could dance like Sarah Dale, and play the drums..." a shout out to the Rizzo drummer. Musically speaking, Rizzo bears a passing resemblance to some of the mid-1990's twee pop girl sounds coming out of the Pacific Northwest such as Tiger Trap, Go Sailor, Cub and Lois Maffeo, whose minimalistic, stripped down sound of only guitar and drums may have been the ultimate inspiration behind the group. Some have categorized Rizzo as a "riot grrl" band which is not accurate - while certainly tough in their own way and all about female-empowerment, Rizzo's songs are much more personal and romantic in nature than the more serious hard-edged sounds of that movement. If asked where Rizzo should be placed stylistically in one's record collection, my answer would be to file under 'pure fun'.
'Pure fun' or not, the group had never been conceived of as a possible career type vehicle by the duo, and by 2002 the group had amicably split to pursue other interests in life. However, before they officially called it a day, they were approached by Long Gone John of Long Beach based indie Sympathy For The Record Industry about doing something for the label. Figuring it would be a great way to cap off their music career, the girls agreed to a full-length release made especially "for the fans", a compendium of all their best-loved songs, a "Rizzo's Greatest Hits" if you will. (The title Phoning It In is an inside joke that pokes fun at their self-perceived 'just for fun' attitude and laissez faire approach to making the record.)


So this then is that record, which along with several bonus tracks, comprises the bulk of the band's recorded output. A non-stop dance party from the first notes of album opener "The Joke's On You" to the final number, "Raspberry Beret", a joyful cover pf the Prince hit,
Phoning It In does a good job at capturing
the heart and soul of what the band embodied. And, if you've made it that far, you'll undoubtedly like the additional non-LP bonus tracks that follow: "Allie" from the 1997 Cher Doll Records compilation Something Cool; "Rental Raccoon" (inspired by Weezer bassist Matt Sharp's side project The Rentals), from the split 7" single with Tullycraft on Harriet Records (1997); "Shymaster", "Road Song" and "Cathy's Song" all from the Rizzo 7" single Shymaster on Cher Doll in 1998 (Of these three, "Road Song" and "Cathy's Song" would later be re-recorded by the band for Phoning It In under the titles "I Know It's Late" and "Cathy", respectively. "Road Song" is also notable for being recorded by Jimmy Tamborello of The Postal Service.); "Made of Wood", originally released on the compilation Inbred: Sounds Of The San Joaquin Valley; and finally an unreleased live performance of "Allie" that closes out this collection. As a double bonus, check out the two video clips of Rizzo also included here: "Shymaster" and "Lifetime Guarantee".


sample some of the Rizzo Rawk:

3 comments:

  1. Oh my god, thank you for posting this! Something about summer makes me think of my teen years as a Catholic-school-attending, 'zine writing, Jabberjaw-show-going riot grrl. Good times! My 7" Rizzo/Tullycraft split is long gone (thanks to a heinous old roommate) so I am so pleased you're sharing this. Go Sailor, Cub, Tiger Trap, Bikini Kill. . . does music ever sound as good as it did when you were 17? -Kristine

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  2. Excellent post! they were an incredible band... most of the readers can support my version, perhaps they couldn't help with the new modernity but change their name to a character that they could both identify with it. I think we can't ignore their style, specially in the compilation called It Takes Two, Baby 7.
    23jj

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  3. If you like high energy post punk and catchy harmonies you'll love Rizzo!!! After following Rizzo's live act for several years I'm glad to see the live feel preserved in this CD.

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