Dean and Britta

May 21, 2007 7:17 PM

Former members of Luna, Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips, make lovely videos together. Dean also fronted Galaxie 500 and Britta was the singing voice of 80's cartoon character, Jem.
posted by vronsky (38 comments total)

Still have that lovely Velvet Underground sound, too...
posted by KokuRyu at 7:29 PM on May 21, 2007

I bought their album L'Avventura on emusic - it's good.
posted by rfs at 7:41 PM on May 21, 2007

Wow, I am so, so out of the loop. I don't recognize any of the names or references in this post.
posted by treepour at 7:57 PM on May 21, 2007

Their CDs are mighty fine too!
posted by spilon at 8:00 PM on May 21, 2007

I too enjoyed L'Avventura. The Silver Jews cover was nice.
posted by ktrey at 8:04 PM on May 21, 2007

Wow, that's ridiculous. I have an old They Might Be Giants recording from the '80s where Jem sings lead vocal on one of their cheap-ass demos. Hadn't thought about that in years...
posted by mykescipark at 8:06 PM on May 21, 2007

This is where you say what your favorite Luna album is.

(Penthouse)

And this is where you say where you saw your favorite Luna show.

(D.C., 9:30 Club)

And this is where I say that Galaxy 500 was better than Luna and is probably the best music in the history of the universe.

(And this is where you tell me I'm an idiot.)
posted by _sirmissalot_ at 8:11 PM on May 21, 2007

Cool, I never knew that Jem's singing voice was a famous person... But, now I have the Jem & The Holograms theme song stuck in my head lol.
posted by amyms at 8:20 PM on May 21, 2007

Is there a doctor in the house? In the house of pancakes?
posted by katillathehun at 8:22 PM on May 21, 2007

Thanks for posting these videos, by the way. I don't mind this Serge Gainsbourg thing Dean's stuck on, it's good car-listening music, but I miss the ambition of the early days.
posted by _sirmissalot_ at 8:28 PM on May 21, 2007

Heh. We were just talking about this at the Ann Arbor meetup. MeFi follows life?
posted by klangklangston at 8:29 PM on May 21, 2007

Words You Used To Say

and I really hate that Gainsbourg dude for some reason. But this I like.
posted by vronsky at 8:54 PM on May 21, 2007

Jem is truly outrageous.
posted by Dizzy at 9:04 PM on May 21, 2007

Bonnie Tyler "Here She Comes"(for msp)

hey diz! you old piece of cake you;)
posted by vronsky at 9:17 PM on May 21, 2007

This is where you say what your favorite Luna album is.

(Also Penthouse)

And this is where you say where you saw your favorite Luna show.

(Carrboro, the Cat's Cradle)

And this is where I say that Galaxy 500 was better than Luna and is probably the best music in the history of the universe.

(You're not wrong about Galaxie 500. But the Replacements circa 1985 made the best music in the history of the universe.)
posted by Rangeboy at 9:47 PM on May 21, 2007

this is off by a year Rangeboy, but do you mean these guys?
posted by vronsky at 9:54 PM on May 21, 2007

Thanks Vronsky

For me, my favourite is the Slide ep - love the cover of 'That's What You Always Say', but Penthouse is damn near perfect. They did an amazing, blistering and about 12 min. long version of 23 Minutes in Brussels at the last show I saw them play.

And I am not going to touch that Gal. 500/Luna debate.
posted by Razzle Bathbone at 9:57 PM on May 21, 2007

That is a fine EP. I also really like the Season of the Witch EP, mainly for the Indian Summer cover (it has a not-so-great version of 23 Minutes in Bressels, too).

Hey I'm starting to sound too fanboy here, let's switch topics and talk about Pavement. I am so fucking mid-30s.
posted by _sirmissalot_ at 10:15 PM on May 21, 2007

The very same, vronsky. Thanks, I hadn't seen that before.
posted by Rangeboy at 10:31 PM on May 21, 2007

Oh my goodness, I just checked that Slide EP and was shocked to find that it also has Indian Summer on it. That's funny, I never realized that. Listening to them back to back, I prefer the version on Slide. I wonder why they covered it twice. Slide also has Ride Into the Sun, another great cover.
posted by _sirmissalot_ at 10:37 PM on May 21, 2007

A third vote for Penthouse.

The old Cotton Club in Atlanta.

Best music in the history of the universe? I'll have to get all Stephin Merritt on ya...
posted by BobFrapples at 10:59 PM on May 21, 2007

So is the fact that I don't recognize these people supposed to make me feel young or old? Somebody want to throw a few dates around?
posted by davejay at 11:03 PM on May 21, 2007

Galaxie 500 was around from 1986 to 1991.
Luna was around from 1991 to 2004.
Dean and Britta, roughly, since.

I guess I have different taste: I like The Days of Our Nights best (though Penthouse is a close second), and I like Luna better than Galaxie 500.
posted by ajshankar at 12:07 AM on May 22, 2007

Is this a good thread for me to mention again, that I had the privelege of designing Luna's final ever concert poster for their last 3 day run at the Bowery Ballroom?

http://www.gigposters.com/poster/42074_Luna.html

They used it in their dvd packaging, too.

Im pretty much a total loser aside from that one thing in my life there that worked out, so in a way it cant be bragging.
posted by Senor Cardgage at 12:12 AM on May 22, 2007

http://www.gigposters.com/poster/42074_Luna.html

Clicktastic!
posted by Senor Cardgage at 12:13 AM on May 22, 2007 [2 favorites]

"For me, my favourite is the Slide ep - love the cover of 'That's What You Always Say', but Penthouse is damn near perfect. They did an amazing, blistering and about 12 min. long version of 23 Minutes in Brussels at the last show I saw them play."

No, no, no— the Slide EP is best because of the cover of Indian Summer, and because Rollercoaster is awesome, and because it was the first thing from them I bought.
posted by klangklangston at 12:26 AM on May 22, 2007

no one's mentioned the Luna movie yet, Tell Me Do You Miss Me, which features many great Dean + Britta moments as the band winds down their modest career.

And where's the love for Lunapark and Bewitched?
posted by porn in the woods at 6:11 AM on May 22, 2007

Señor Cardgage, you are the fuckin' SHIT!
posted by 40 Watt at 6:26 AM on May 22, 2007

Oh, and Bewitched is a tie for first place with Penthouse in my book. Those are both phenomenal albums.
posted by 40 Watt at 6:27 AM on May 22, 2007

I prefer Days of Our Nights personally.. (perhaps because of the cover of Sweet Child of Mine) but they all be good.

And nothing Dean has ever done is better than Galaxie 500.

I'm not too familiar with Dean and Britta (I shall remedy that) and perhaps I'm too old and jaded, but videos just dont do it for me anymore. They are so silly and self-indulgent.
posted by elendil71 at 6:52 AM on May 22, 2007

I don't know much Galaxie 500, but any time I play Tracy I Love You at a party at least three people stop and ask who the band is.
posted by docpops at 6:54 AM on May 22, 2007

and I really hate that Gainsbourg dude for some reason.

Ok, but how about Jane Birkin?
posted by GalaxieFiveHundred at 7:19 AM on May 22, 2007

I liked Galaxie 500 quite a bit, but Bewitched was my all-time favourite back in the day.

During a particularly bleak period of my life back in the mid-90s I listened to it almost exclusively, especially Tiger Lily...
posted by KokuRyu at 7:31 AM on May 22, 2007

I enjoy Bewitched more than Penthouse, but that may be because it was part of the soundtrack of my college years.

And this is where you say where you saw your favorite Luna show.

Pluck U., in the basement of Ferris Booth Hall at Columbia U., in '94. There were maybe 25 people there. It was like Luna was playing your living room. Though there were these two obnoxious girls behind us who would stop jibber jabbering during the show.
posted by mkultra at 9:24 AM on May 22, 2007

Hahaha, my fiance (who is also a mefi user) edited that video! That song was so catchy he was singing it for a week after, which resulted in my catching the fever, and singing it constantly for 2 weeks straight. They have a great sound, and who doesn't love the fact she was the singing voice for Jem?
posted by rubyeyo at 10:32 AM on May 22, 2007

Bewitched was the soundtrack to the most important couple years in my life. That said, *any*thing involving Dean Wareham is my favorite. On Fire was Galaxie 500's masterpiece and is still probably my all time favorite record.


And this is where you say where you saw your favorite Luna show.

(D.C., 9:30 Club)

I believe I was at that show, if it was circa 94.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 1:22 PM on May 22, 2007

Dean responds to being called an "aristorocker" and "an educated and privileged but feckless misanthrope."

interview

And as much as I love Luna and Galaxie 500, the Feelies were an amazing band too. But that Gainesbourg dude.. did you see how rude he was to Whitney? Not cool man. Besides, I hear more of a Glen Campbell crossed with Lou Reed vibe going on.
posted by vronsky at 8:33 PM on May 22, 2007

vronsky-- you nailed it.
And Campbell's "Wichita Lineman"-era work will always have a special place in my heart.
posted by Dizzy at 10:25 AM on May 23, 2007