#chad clark

[chlorophylll]

Smart Went Crazy…

…is a Washington group from the 90’s, formed under Dischord Records.

The simplest classification of both this album and their discography as a whole is experimental art punk, though many (including members of the band) could be against the “punk” part of the diagnosis.

I chose their second album, “Con Art” (pictured above), as my personal favorite at the moment. Many of the moments on this album are melodic, almost serene, while other tracks hit as chaotic, intricate. Something they really do well is play into their aura of cynicism, something bitter is echoed through all this noise.

The drums (specifically drummer Devin Ocampo, later seen in Faraquet) especially stand out. It’s a treat for the ear that loves detail

I recommend this album to anyone interested in Fugazi, Sonic Youth, Faraquet and anything 90’s experimental.

[emmanuelscastle]

i don’t post a ton about my life here but i do music writing occasionally and have started doing it again after years and years. anyway, here is the most recent one on Beauty Pill’s Blue Period reissue, written for Post-Trash. if you’re unfamiliar and read the review, i hope you’ll check out the record!

http://post-trash.com/news/2023/5/11/beauty-pill-blue-period-album-review

https://beautypill.bandcamp.com/album/blue-period

an excerpt if you’d like one:

While the subject matter is weighty, the band’s consistent tunefulness permeates even the darkest sentiments. Take “Prison Song,” which features Rachel Burke’s voice, the musical keystone of the record, over simple acoustic strumming and the musings of lovers estranged by incarceration and a love that’s curdled into obligation, or “Such Large Portions!,” which has some of the most indelible guitar playing on the record in the form of the lush, whammy barred chorus riff, pure kinetic energy before all tension releases and Burke’s voice comes out from the black. When she sings “The food is poison here, you can’t eat it / but in such large portions!” the sentiment is somehow even more biting when paired with the sweetness of her voice.

[riylcast]

Episode 586: Chad Clark (of Beauty Pill)

Last year, Chad Clark got a new heart. It was an emergency transplant, after a mechanical version failed – the latest in a horrific season of events that began when he was diagnosed with a rare heart virus.

The condition has been a surprise motivator. For one thing, the $2 million fee was only partially covered by insurance.

Facing massive medical debt, Clark opted to release a remix of the band’s 2015 album, Beauty Pill Describes Things as They Are.

Touring presents its own issues, in the age of Covid, but Clark presses on, determined to product art and make the most out of his second – and third – chance.

[beginningspod]

Visit Original Link

It's time for Beginnings, the podcast where writer and performer Andy Beckerman talks to the comedians, writers, filmmakers and musicians he admires about their earliest creative experiences and the numerous ways in which a creative life can unfold.

On today's episode I talk to musician Chad Clark. Originally from Harlem, Chad moved to DC as a teenager, where he eventually became part of the DC punk scene. He formed his first band Smart Went Crazy while still in high school, eventually releasing two albums on Dischord, the second of which - Con Art - was named by Pitchfork as one of the best albums of the 1990s. After Smart Went Crazy broke up, Chad formed Beauty Pill in 2001. Since then, they've released a number of EPs and albums, and their latest, 2015's Beauty Pill Describes Things as They Are, garnered accolades from NPR, Rolling Stone, Pitchfork and numerous other publications. Their latest single "Instant Night" was released at the end of October, and it might well be the best song released in 2020!

I'm on Twitter here and you can get the show with:

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[blackrockandrollmusic-blog]

Beauty Pill - Lifeguard In Wintertime (2015)

[blackrockandrollmusic-blog]

Beauty Pill - Steven & Tiwonge (2015)

[blackrockandrollmusic-blog]

[peterhutchins]

Beauty Pill - Basla Andolsun, Chad Clark, Jean Cook, Drew Doucette, Abram Goodrich & Devin Ocampo @ Luce Foundation Center for American Art, Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM), Washington, DC, on Friday, May 20, 2016

Beauty Pill Symphonette. An experimental, intimate performance with the band expanded to a larger ensemble with horns.