New Music We Love, and Discovering Microdisney
Installment #4 in our 🦺 Under Construction 🚧 series of pre-launch newsletters
Howdy! We’re still pre-launch, but keep an eye on July. That’s when we’ll kick off our official newsletter and our podcast, The J-Card.
In today’s newsletter:
Exploring Non-Profit Status 📚
10 Great New Albums 🎶
Microdisney: A New Old Favorite 🇮🇪
📚 Forming a 501(c)(3)
When we decided to start this Tape Club up, we never had any grandiose plans. As with nearly any art project, music project, or passion project in general there was no inkling of profit. In fact, we operate under the assumption that we’ll annually be in the red, and if there’s some miraculous stroke of luck that pushes us into the positive, a pact we made early on was to put all of it back into the Tape Club.
And while those types of promises and platitudes are typical, you have to go down certain avenues when starting a project. As much as we would love to just collect tips in a bucket, count them up, re-invest, and repeat, the IRS aren’t huge fans of that kind of stuff. That’s why one of the major steps for our launch of the Tape Club is to figure out how to get non-profit status.
While researching this stuff, we’ve discovered a lot. For example, did you know that 501(c)(3)’s aren’t the only types of non-profits? There’s 501(c)’s all the way from 1 to 29. And LLC’s can’t be 501(c)(3)’s but apparently if you have a 501(c)(3) there’s a way to have an LLC as a part of it… or something like that? I don’t know, we’re obviously still learning.
One huge help in our learning process has been the Virginia Small Business Development Center. The SBDC provides resources, consultations, advice, connections, basically anything someone who is launching a business (in Virginia) would need. And if you’re starting a band, or you’re making a film, or you’re an artist of any sort… well, I hate to break it to you, but you’re a business, too. Yes, “business” is a dirty word in lots of art circles, but don’t worry, you don’t have to act like a business. Just make sure your shit is in order.
Another helpful step is to talk to other artists in your circles and see if they have anything set up. For example, we talked with one of the founders of Brainrot Radio (friends of the Tape Club), and he gave us a lot of sage advice about this whole non-profit thing. It’s reassuring to know there’s someone to reach out to with questions or ideas as we go.
If you’re going to take your art seriously at all, you should definitely figure out your business. Talk to an accountant, talk to a lawyer, and take advantage of local resources to help you navigate that stuff. It’ll take less than an hour to do, and by investing the time and effort in that side of your art, you’re showing that you believe in what you’re making.
🎶 10 Great New Albums
When we launch the actual newsletter in July, we’ll be including new music round-ups more frequently, but for now, let’s take the format for a spin. We’re gonna start with full albums, and then we’ll have EPs and singles in the next newsletter. The list is in reverse alphabetical order by artist.
ARTIST: Sharp Pins
ALBUM: Radio DDR
ARTIST: Pictoria Vark
ALBUM: Nothing Sticks
ARTIST: No Frills
ALBUM: Sad Clown
ARTIST: Moreish Idols
ALBUM: All In The Game
ARTIST: Monde UFO
ALBUM: Flamingo Tower
ARTIST: Jonathan Personne
ALBUM: Nouveau Monde
ARTIST: Discus
ALBUM: To Relate To
ARTIST: cootie catcher
ALBUM: Shy at first
ARTIST: Avery Friedman
ALBUM: New Thing
ARTIST: Atticus Roness
ALBUM: Power Pop World Domination
There ya go — those are ten great new albums right there. In the next newsletter, we’ll highlight ten of our favorite singles and EPs from the last couple months.
If you’ve got any ideas on how we could make this section of the newsletter better, send them over (hi@tapeclub.biz)!
📈 Help Out By Sponsoring The Tape Club
If you want to help out a small-time art project, support DIY creatives, and shine a small spotlight on physical media, get in touch!
🇮🇪 Microdisney: A New Old Favorite
A few months ago, I was listening to a playlist of 80’s jangle pop adjacent acts from across the pond. I don’t remember the exact playlist, but it featured bands like Trashcan Sinatras, Close Lobsters, The Pale Fountains, Frazier Chorus, and a lot of other amazing artists of that ilk.
I don’t remember what I was doing, but generally when I put on a playlist like that, it’s because I want to have a couple hours of “no skips” music while I focus on getting something done (emails, deck writing, design, etc). When “Horse Overboard” by Microdisney first started, I immediately snapped out of my work trance.
The tune starts with an almost carnival-esque refrain, which to me was structurally reminiscent of Pavement’s “Motion Suggests Itself”, a longtime favorite of mine. That idea gets quickly discarded and the tune takes a sharp left turn into Cathal Coughlan’s lovely baritone, which itself takes you down a lot of winding paths that never go where you expect them to go. That unexpected nature is what captured my heart. I’ll let you listen to it yourself because as someone once put it: writing about music is like dancing about architecture.
Throughout their short but seismic career, Microdisney always walked a line. The arrangements are simultaneously straightforward and complex, the changes are simple yet unexpected, and the writing is blunt but oozing with sarcasm.
Cathal Coughlan and Sean O’Hagan were the brains behind Microdisney. There’s been a lot of work documenting the band, much more informative and thorough than I can do in a newsletter snippet. I recommend Brian Cousins’ retrospective, Paul McDermott’s audio documentary Iron Fist In Velvet Glove, as well as McDermott’s tribute to Coughlan after his passing, and John Robb’s interview with Coughlan.
What really stuck with me when it comes to Microdisney is specifically the cult of personality that goes with Cathal Coughlan. His relationship with music and public life is endlessly fascinating to me – from my admittedly limited knowledge, it seems like Coughlan was more concerned with creating what he wanted than answering to anyone or caring how his work was received. He never pretended to be above anyone and always fought for the people.
Coughlan went on to form The Fatima Mansions as well as create solo work. O’Hagan worked with Stereolab and formed The High Llamas. In my humble opinion, everything Coughlan and O’Hagan have touched turns to gold… perhaps not commercial gold, but gold nonetheless.
Microdisney is a low-floor, high-ceiling band. By that I mean, if you want to just put them on and quietly and mindlessly vibe, you’ll likely enjoy yourself, but if you decide to contemplatively listen and truly reflect on the music, you might discover your new favorite band.
The first week that I had discovered Microdisney, I found this stripped-down, live performance of “Dolly” at the Barbican Centre in London. Coughlan’s stage presence was captivating, even in such a quiet, simple setup. I scrolled down to the comments, only to read “R.I.P. Cathal” – left speechless, I swallowed away the lump in my throat. Even now, I’m staring at a blinking cursor not knowing what to write. And I think that means Microdisney, the pride of Cork, have quickly ascended to one of my favorite acts of all time.
Here’s a great playlist someone made that features a lot of Microdisney favorites:
🫶 Your Support…
We sincerely thank you for being a part of the Tape Club. Your support doesn’t go unnoticed, especially in these early stages.
We’re currently seeking music submissions for the first tape. If you’re interested in submitting or know anyone who might be, here’s the submission form: https://forms.gle/Mc7En6K8Tb2BbgxJA
We’re also happy to hear your general thoughts and ideas. There’s a form for those, too: https://forms.gle/nTgxrqL6oLfVKms27
Thanks again, and talk to you soon!
-RDTC