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The Index of Directions (remastered single)

by Stick Against Stone

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THE INDEX OF DIRECTIONS” - NEW ANIMATED MUSIC VIDEO PREMIERE - NOW OFFERED TO MUSIC PUBLICATIONS FOR THE 40th ANNIVERSARY OF PITTSBURGH’S NOTED JAZZ / POST-PUNK / NO WAVE COLLECTIVE STICK AGAINST STONE

Trio of new animation, remastered song, & Medium.com bio-pub pay tribute to band’s late, charismatic frontman.

BROOKLYN, NY - 13 JULY, 2021 - For their 40th anniversary of the band Stick Against Stone, MediaGroove Music (based in Brooklyn) has both remastered and reissued the title track from their 2010 retrospective album “The Index of Directions” - and collaborated on a wildly animated new music & lyrics video of the song.

The single (released on all major streaming platforms on July 9th, 2021 - the 10th anniversary of the SAS Orchestra reunion concert at Von King Park, Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn), and the video (released July 13th to major streaming platforms via Symphonic Distribution).


After the “lost year” of 2020 - the chance to look back on other, less-ugly years is a welcome break. Take the year 1981 - when the Pittsburgh-based “cult collective” known as Stick Against Stone was founded. In its early days, the seven-member “horns and percussion” group often shared gigs in the Steel City with author Michael Chabon’s favorite college-era band Carsickness (as noted in The Paris Review). Fronted by a tall, poetic, charismatic songwriter / vocalist / multi-instrumentalist named John H. Creighton Jr. (1955-1985) - Stick Against Stone was unlike their contemporaries - in that they started with no guitars - and unapologetically blended avant-garde jazz and funky global rhythms with the energy of post-punk rock. But it wasn’t until 2010 that a series of archival releases would attract the critics’ attention at Pitchfork (7.3 rating), New York Magazine, Vibe, Financial Times (UK), Robert Christgau, and Wax Poetics.

lyrics

The Index Of Directions - lyrics: John H. Creighton Jr.


1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0

Black limousine - the driver's face hidden

Roars down city streets

Littered with scraps of paper

This one reads:



1 static

2 thunder receding

3 birds circle in threes

4 oblique lines of water

5 five cigarette butts form a kind of map, a kind of maze

6 scraps of paper, reads:



Black limousine roars down city streets, littered with scraps of paper.

Faces full have cancelled checks. This city pokes its grimy finger in the sky.

We burn them with cigarettes. We burn out their sixth floors.



The future’s not ours to see...

Que sera incindera...

Whatever will be will burn.

Whatever will be will burn.

Whatever will be we’ll burn.



Spiders drown on their faces.



Cancel the checks. Cancel the checks. Cancel the checks, please!



Black limousine roars down city streets,



7 The rest, blackened – obliterated

8 More ash nearby

9 Burn up the scraps

0



1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0

(Zero, zero, zeeeee-roh!)



Cancel the checks!



And with the realization that everything had already been said

I set out

shatter it ALL to pieces

and build it anew

into whatever form I choose



And with the realization that everything had already been said

I set out

to shatter it ALL to pieces

to build it anew into whatever form I choose

I choose to build.

credits

released July 9, 2021
Audio restoration - Jake Lummus - Grand Street Recording, Brooklyn, NY
March 2021
Remastering - Gregg Janman - Hermetech Mastering, Milan, Italy
April, 2021
Originally mastered by Ed Littman, North Haledon, NJ - 2009
Originally released July 30, 2010 on the album of the same name.
Originally recorded by Ralph "The American" Cominio - Astrik Recording - Wilkinsburg, Pittsburgh, PA - 1982


Jim Laugelli - lead vocals, tenor saxophone, background vocals
John Creighton - lyrics, background vocals, flute, soprano saxophone, percussion
Brook Duer - electric bass, vocals
Geraldine Murray - clarinet, tin whistle, vocals
Chuck Sullivan - drums and percussion
Richard Vitale - drums and percussion
Bob Wenzel - baritone saxophone

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Stick Against Stone Brooklyn, New York

Stick Against Stone is a post-punk/no wave band from Pittsburgh, PA that resided in Pittsburgh; Brooklyn, New York; Eugene, Oregon and San Francisco and remained active (in no less than six incarnations) between 1980 and 1990. The band incorporated elements of no wave, world music, free jazz, reggae, avant-funk, rap, spoken word, ska, dub, African, and art-rock into their music. ... more

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