Nothing Painted Blue

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Nothing Painted Blue is an American indie rock band, sporadically active since the 1990s, led by songwriter Franklin Bruno. Bruno and drummer Kyle Brodie have been the only constant members, as the remainder of the line-up has undergone a number of changes throughout the band's existence. They formed in 1987 in Los Angeles and released their debut LP, A Baby, A Blanket, A Packet of Seeds, in 1990.

The band sometimes spelled their name as "N∅thing Painted Blue" (abbreviated "∅PB"), a use of notation for the empty set in mathematics. References to mathematics are common in their songwriting and iconography (Bruno's undergraduate degree was in mathematics; he is currently a visiting professor in philosophy at Bard College); for example, their 1998 record was named after the Monte Carlo method. The cover of the same album depicts pins scattered randomly on a surface, an apparent reference to Buffon's needle, a probabilistic method for approximating pi. Their album Placeholders features a song called Can't f(x), an abuse of mathematical notation for the song's refrain, "can't function".

The band's name apparently comes from one of Ann-Margret's lines in the 1964 film Kitten with a Whip: "How come you think you're such a smoky something, when you're so nothing painted blue?"

Bruno's compositions are known for their intellectually quirky sound and lyrical cleverness. Though Nothing Painted Blue has not achieved the level of cult status that contemporaries like Pavement and labelmates Guided by Voices did, many fans insist that they deserve a place in the canon of '90s underground rock, especially on their 1994 album Placeholders, which is often viewed as an unheralded masterpiece.

Contents

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

  • A Baby A Blanket A Packet Of Seeds (Jupa, 1990)
[As yet never released on CD, it remains an obscure LP-only release.]
[Cassette-only release of tracks taken from four early college radio broadcast performances.]
  • Power Trips Down Lovers Lane (KokoPop, 1993)
  • Placeholders (Scat, 1994)
  • Emotional Discipline (Scat, 1997)
[A compilation of several 7" single and compilation tracks.]
  • The Monte Carlo Method (Scat, 1998)
[The LP version included a bonus two-song 7" single.]

[edit] EPs

[edit] 7" Singles and EPs

  • The Bellyspeak EP (Jupa, 1991)
  • "Swivelchair" b/w "Blooming, Buzzing" (KokoPop, 1992)
[A CD single edition includes a third song, "El Niño".]
  • "Few" b/w "Or Do They?" (Scat, 1992)
  • "Sorely Tempted" b/w "Lab Rat Blues" and "Going to Fontana" (Jupa, 1993)
  • "Another Child Bride", from a Working Holiday series split 7" with Lois (Simple Machines, 1993)
  • Biographer's Ruse cassette (Car in Car Disco Products, 1994)
  • The Future of Communication EP (Scat, 1995)
  • "After the Housewarming" b/w "Love to the Third Power" (Anyway, 1994)
  • "Anti-Nomination", from a split 7" with Refrigerator included with issue #8 of Nipple Hardness Factor zine (1995)
  • "President Am I" b/w "Contraption" (Pottery, 1995)
  • "Control Freak" b/w "Niacin" (Scat, 1996)
  • "Growth Spurt (Neelon Mix)" b/w "Centerfold" (Scat, 1998 - included with the LP version of The Monte Carlo Method)

[edit] Compilation appearances

  • "Caprice Classic", from the Winky Dog cassette (Shrimper, 1990)
  • "A Lesser Charge", from the Capgun cassette (Shrimper, 1991)
  • "Go to Waste", from the If I Could Hear You, I Would Hit You 7" (Baby Huey, 1991)
  • "Big Pink Heart", from the Swing Set 7" (Shrimper, 1992)
[This track was also included on the Shrimper compilation Abridged Perversion.]
  • "Sugarlift", from the Pawnshop Reverb cassette (Shrimper, 1992)
  • "Missed the Point", from A Day in the Park (The Now Sound, 1993)
  • "Another Child Bride", from the Working Holiday (July) 7" (Simple Machines, 1993), later compiled on Working Holiday! (Simple Machines, 1994)
  • "Anti-Nomination" (written by Refrigerator), (1995)
[From a split 7" with Refrigerator, included with an issue of Nipple Hardness Factor zine.]
  • "Complications", from the Scat Records 1995 Sampler promo-only cassette (Scat, 1995)
[The track was, at the time, intended to be included on Emotional Discipline. It was taken from another of the band's early college radio broadcast performances not featured on Logorrhea.]
  • "My Heart and the Real World", a Minutemen cover, from Green Light Go (BottleCap, 1995)
  • "Rag Content", from the The Basement Tapes vol. 1 LP (KSPC, 1995)
  • "Passing Up A Kiss", from Family Album (Shy Boy, 1996)
  • "Wiser Heads", from the In Release City cassette (Slowball, 1996)
[This was a full-band version of a song originally recorded by Franklin Bruno solo.]
  • "Nightshirt", from Second Semi-Annual Report (Scat, 1997)
[A "rough", but ultimately not drastically different, mix of "Shameproof Flirt" from The Monte Carlo Method.]
  • "Wipe Your Hands", from the I've Got It Now cassette (Shelflife, 1997)
[This was credited to 'Coco Pelli' and played by Franklin Bruno and Kyle Brodie without a bassist.]
  • "Who's Landing In My Hangar?", a The Human Switchboard cover, from We Can Still Be Friends (Magic Marker, 1998)
  • "Miracle Thaw", from Object Lessons: Songs About Products (Inconspicuous Records, a product of Beer Frame Magazine, 1998)

[edit] External links

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