Music For KIDS

The Folk Implosion

Released on 9/8/23 by Domino Recording Co
Main artists: The Folk Implosion
Genre: Alternative & Indie

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Underground sounds and visions rarely collide as perfectly as they did in 1995 with the release of the cult film Kids. Here we had Larry Clark, the infamous photographer behind the jaded, scarce, sex-drugs-and-everything-else-depicting early 1970s book Tulsa, teamed up with an array of vibrant young talent. From the actual skate kids who hung out around the Cube near St. Marks Place in NYC used to star in the film, to first-time screenwriter Harmony Korine (soon to be a genre-melding talent in his own right), it would be hard to find a more youth-oriented indie during an era packed with them.

And then there was the music. Lou Barlow had turned to his bedroom folk-pop act Sebadoh since being unceremoniously kicked out of Dinosaur Jr. after they'd signed to a major label. The band was essentially stalked through the postal system by an enthused Korine. "Harmony was sort of bombarding me with fan letters," Barlow remembers. "That was the peak of my popularity with Sebadoh." Barlow would then go on to collaborate with fellow DIY singer-songwriter, and Sebadoh fan, John Davis, as the Folk Implosion. Korine invited the new band to soundtrack his film after sending Barlow a script

The soundtrack—mostly Folk Implosion cuts but also songs by Sebadoh, Slint, and Daniel Johnston—became a surprise hit, turning thousands of kids on to new realms of emo and indie-rock, and rightly so. Three decades later, you want to skate all night with your pals while holding the boombox with the disc inside. Now, though, we have all of the music the Folk Implosion created for the film on Music For KIDS. The tracks have been remastered, and some, like the single "Natural One" has hit streaming for the first time. "Natural One" extended their sound towards the hip-hop and R&B which Barlow and Davis were then infatuated with. It arguably achieved this with more success than Beck had with the same approach at the time. This expanded reissue adds remixes from the time by UNKLE and the Dust Brothers, as well as an instrumental version of "Nothing Gonna Stop."

The music has aged far better than the film itself. Recorded at Fort Apache with full support of the music supervisor on the film, there's everything from Mellotrons, synthesizers, and the sound of a push broom. This is varied, fun, and beautifully contemporary indie-pop from back when it still was vital and vibrant. © Mike McGonigal/Qobuz

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Music For KIDS

The Folk Implosion

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Natural One