What's the difference between a supergroup and a SUPER☆GROUP? It's a question we ask ourselves nearly every day here in the Bodega, usually around 3 o'clock, when our energy flags and, hunched over with our elbows on the counter, head in our hands, we drift off into wee, nappy fits of near-sleepage. ... *Snrrrkghhh* Whuzzat?
Oh, hey, I didn't see you come in. How you doin'? Now, uhhh, where was I ...
Oh, yes. The "supergroup" is a popular music ensemble consisting of members who all appeared in earlier bands: Cream; Pigface; The Traveling Wilburys are, by definition, supergroups. There are many supergroups in history -- Wikipedia lists nearly 200 of them, from 1965 to the present, not counting combos assembled for a single concert or album.
The SUPER☆GROUP, on the other hand, consists of ridiculously talented, visionary musicians, singers and composers, whose output may defy categorization, or around whom whole new genres may flourish. Their members often come and go, starting side projects, solo or in other, equally thrill-inducing, groups. Their music may begin to sag over the years (or decades), but their reputations -- often based on a handful of early, game-changing albums -- never do.
* BOREDOMS. We'll hear rare, early and mid-period experiments from Japan's prescient post-punk deconstructionist outfit; cuts from Yamantaka Eye's previous band, Hanatarash, and Yoshimi P-We's long-running parallel-project OOIOO; and a surprise track from a supergroup proper featuring Boredoms' lead guitar shredder, Seiichi Yamamoto.
* CAN. We'll listen to old faves, lost tapes, Holger Czukay and Damo Suzuki solo projects, and other sweet sonic treats from members of the legendary kraut rock collective.
* OS MUTANTES. Do you live outside the New York City area? Will you for some other reason be missing Brazil's Tropicália-psych trailblazers' September 15 Poisson Rouge appearance? Weep not! We'll spin hits and happy accidents alike, as well as high points from solo outings by Arnaldo Baptista, Rita Lee, and Sérgio Dias.
* NASS EL GHIWANE. In addition to soulful hyper-politicized shaabi selections from the 70s to present, we'll hear solo cuts by the late, great Abderrahmane "Paco" Kirouche and an Omar Sayed star-turn on a Groupe Iâachaken track that will, if you haven't already achieved eternal bliss by this point, send you pirouetting into the heavens.
