#ponyoak

1999

kleenex girl wonder - "i cut myself in half"

Kleenex Girl Wonder - Ark of Godiva (Ponyoak) (1999)

This album is remarkably close to perfect.  It's been said that Rock and Roll is really just a burst of personality and every great rock song is that way.  Some people just have more personality than others.  I don't want to presume too much about Graham Smith but this was his peak, why he never lived up to this again I don't know but he certainly had at least one great album in him.  I first heard about this after striking up a friendship online with a girl named EmoSarah.  It was 1999.  She worked at a radio station in Chicago and had pretty great taste in Indie Music, Kleenex Girl Wonder was a local act that she was huge into and she got me the song Ponyoak, which interestingly enough is a song not on this record but is basically about the inspiration for this record.  I ended up getting way into KGW and at that point there was a small catalog, a few EPs and this newly released record.  The EPs were good.  This was great.  I wasn't alone, it seemed anyone who heard this record did two things, they mentioned Guided By Voices, and they told other people about it.  Pitchfork gave it a glowing review at the time actually (and if you want to know why so many people are negative on Pitchfork go try and find the review.  The Wayback Machine is the only way because as Graham Smith's output proved to be greatly diminishing returns the scrubbed the site of all praise of him.  They do that a lot.  Hiding the past and what you said about it isn't journalism, it's making specific choices to curate your image.)  The album is, in the loosest sense a concept album, if you can have a concept album about songs about girls.  It's debatable since that is like what almost all of music is about.  Rock music is 65% about girls, 34% about cars, and 1% about groups of monsters getting together for various mashes and bashes.  But the concept comes from the name Ponyoak, which struck up the idea of the most boring suburbs in the world and heartbroken teenagers passing from romance to romance driven by the boredom that comes from essentially being trapped in one location.  It's a boredom a lot of us knew in the 90's before the internet if we didn't have a ride and nothing to do. So it starts with a break up, goes through another romance that ends, and ends with the start of new one.  Sorta.  That's the theory.  The truth is you get these perfect lo-fi songs with an unfinished sound that is what causes the Guided By Voices comparison.  They are a little more polished in some ways and have much stronger hooks than most Guided By Voices work though.  They are all about girls.  Girls you want and can't have.  Girls you disappointed.  Girls who disappointed you.  Basically the gamut of romantic songs you'd expect from poppy rock music.  And they are very singable and very catchy and just very well crafted.  This rose up in the CD era though, so it's two records because while every song is a 2-3 minute pop gem they packed a full CD, with 78 minutes of music.  Because there are 25 tracks on here.  Because 19 year old Graham Smith was a very prolific dude.  I think if you've never heard this album you should make the effort.

Forget the world Cause it really doesn't matter When I called you on that saturday night  I didn't need the world Forget the world Though I must admit I worry You're in such an awful hurry to escape the world Oh but there's no need to run away just yet Forget the world-- "But it never gives up moving What exactly are you proving by ignoring it?" Forget the world--You just answered your own question It always goes the same direction, why bother exploring it? Looking in between the cracks Everything you've seen is attractive And the girls with pretty faces know There's not much more to life So don't repent, candy bar sinners There's some things you can't save All in all, we're always beginners Looking for the scenic route to hell Or just a quick way back to the grave Forget the world You and I don't really need it And there's no way to defeat it So just push it aside Forget the world You can't run away forever But I say better now than never Let's have fun tonight I'm still young and already I'm bitter So something must be wrong I may quit but I'm not a quitter I just like moving on So go on, handlebar tenors And sing your songs on high Soon will come the harshest winter And I can't take the coldness of your shoulder When I need a place to cry Forget the world Cause soon enough it will forget you And that really doesn't fit you- You're a worthwhile girl Forget the world Cause it really doesn't need you At least not as much as I do Let's forget the world

kleenex girl wonder - power bird

Kleenex Girl Wonder - Tendency Right Foot Forward