On Sept. 4 Akashic Books will publish Silent Pictures, a collection of photos by Pat Graham that documents the D.C. rock scene in the ’90s, and also features acts like Modest Mouse, Bikini Kill, and the Shins. (Akashic makes sense as the publisher of choice: it was founded by Girls Against Boys‘ Johnny Temple.) It’s a fun nostalgia trip for anybody who was paying attention to indie rock in the ’90s, or who just wants to learn what the fuss was all about. Graham spent much of the decade in D.C. (he now lives in London), and the book has a few casual, relaxed shots of iconic indie-rock musicians at the time–Unrest in a Bethesda yard in 1993, the Make-Up strolling through foggy London in 1997. But Silent Pictures is mostly made up of band photos like the one above, of Fugazi at St. Stephen’s Church in 1992–serious and intense action shots that expose Graham’s knack for capturing musicians at their fiercest, vein-popping-est moments. (On the same page as that MacKaye shot is one of Ian Svenonius flailing on the Black Cat stage in 1993 and Sleater-Kinney’s Carrie Brownstein in San Francisco in 1994, when she was in Excuse 17. Elsewhere is a shot of Lou Barlow hoisting his guitar in such a way that makes the mope look suprisingly, impossibly badass.)

In her afterword to the book, Cynthia Connolly notes that Graham often had trouble getting his due:

Pat was always the nice guy. He was constantly helping people out, taking photos, giving photography advice to people like me. When he started getting all these jobs shooting photos for bigger magazines, he had problems, as do most photographers, with getting paid and receiving credit for his work. One year, for a gift, I letterpressed him some business cards with big words that said, PHOTO CREDIT: PAT GRAHAM.

Graham will be in D.C. to discuss the book on Sunday, September 23, at 6 p.m. at the Dupont Circle Olsson’s.

Photo used with permission of Akashic Books.

Remember Frodus? We sure do. If you weren’t around for that band’s mid-to-late ’90s heyday, you can check them out here. That band’s singer, Shelby Cinca, has since moved on to more experimental turf. Here he kicks off a new semi-recurring feature where we ask musicians, label honchos, club owners, etc, what piece of music they are currently obsessed with…

Cinca responded in an e-mail to Black Plastic Bag:

“I am currently working on a remix for a Grand National song for an open-call remix and slowly putting together the next The Cassettes album with my bandmates.

The current song I am obsessed with is “Walkman (Re-Edit)” by SebastiAn. SebastiAn is a french electronic musician who is on the Ed Banger label whose song somehow became the summer-hit of 2007, at least in Sweden. On my travels there I saw the song spun two times, the first time by Ed Banger records founder, Busy P, which I happened to film. The energy was contagious and was something that I haven’t experienced since say Earth Crisis or Fugazi. The place completely exploded and everyone was purely excited for this song. What I felt I was witnessing was an epiphany of where electronic music and “techno” is right now and how these crazy distorted and overly compressed songs are sweeping the underground. It made me even question why I play guitar and bother lugging around gear in a van anymore and if this sort of excitement is hiding somewhere in DC or not! It was real and rather life-changing. And the crazy part of it was it was being simply played by a DJ on CD-Rs. People jumped the barriers around the stage and brought the party right there. Incredible. The song still stands on its own outside of the video in my opinion with its great detail and choice of sounds.

I filmed the moment [and produced] a version for iPod/iTunes download (much nicer quality).

My other obsession is the new Antelope album and the song “Wandering Ghost”… probably one of the best songs ever written in my opinion. I hope people start going as crazy for Antelope in DC one day.”

One of the bands appearing at the John Stabb benefit tomorrow night is Lorelei, a D.C. shoegazer/pre-post-rock act that formed in 1990, put out several records on the excellent Slumberland label, and was the subject of a tour doc, If You Don’t Try, Nothing Ever Happens.

The trio disbanded in 1996, shortly after I saw them at the old Indie Rock Flea market in Arlington, and has only played a few shows since. I can’t say that I remember much about that set, except that Stephen Gardner is really tall, but I’ve been thinking a lot about the old Slumberland scene lately–especially its connections to metal. A lot of those bands were down with near-metallic acts, such as Loop, Swans, and Head of David, and a lot of full-on metal acts are now revisisting Slumberland-type music without trepidation.

Seems like the time is right for a reunion.

Also, from the Dischord site, two new reissues from Guy Picciotto’s Peterbilt catalog, Rain and Deadline, are coming out in September. I’ve only seen the former on the wall at Vinyl Ink, but a fellow music critic and harDCore afficianado assures me that the Deadline, in particular, is an essential listen.

Bob Mould, like most sensible people, has serious issues with James Blunt and Live Earth. This week, Bob weighs in on the folly of rock stars broadcasting their feelings about global warming in song. Got a question for Bob about life in D.C., music, culture, or anything else that springs to mind? Send it here.

“You ever have to beat the shit out of a bunch of dudes in lockup so you wouldn’t get raped?” That was John Stabb’s attempt to defuse the fight he got caught up in on the way home from work on July 17. The former Government Issue frontman sustainted three facial fractures, two broken bones, and a broken nose. Jessica Gould has the story on Stabb, who’ll be the recipient of a benefit show tomorrow night at the Velvet Lounge. Gould also has the story on the Warehouse’s potential new digs, and the latest on beleaguered club H2O.

In One Track Mind, Justin Moyer talks with ukulele rapper Jon Braman about his song “The Weather,” the futility of rallies, and the pleasures of playing a very portable instrument. Braman plays Wednesday, Aug. 15, at 14U Cafe.

Plus our picks: Maggie Serota on British pop-rock sensation the Cribs, Friday at the Black Cat; Dave Nuttycombe on Jette-Ives’ Jette Kelly, leading a six-piece band Friday at the Rock and Roll Hotel; Zoe Pollock on Austin jam band Mingo Fishtrap, Sunday at the Kennedy Center; Serota on Vancouver “psychedelic circus” band They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?, Tuesday at the Black Cat; and me on Clay Eals, who’ll discuss his book on “City of New Orleans” songwriter Steve Goodman Wednesday at Politics and Prose. (He’ll be joined by Alexandria singer-songwriter Tom Paxton.)

Dischord have released Faraquet’s tour dates for their jaunt through Brazil. You can see them here.

In case you’re curious, Expedia prices fares from D.C. to Sao Paulo at around $2,000. This is what credit cards are for!

May we suggest waiting? Chances are good Faraquet will play here at some point. Right?

Jeremy Blake, who had upcoming solo show at the Corcoran, took his life on July 17, a week after his girlfriend, Theresa Duncan, committed suicide. They met at a Fugazi show here in D.C. Blake can be heard on Nation of Ulysses’ Plays Pretty for Baby.

What we learned this week at Black Plastic Bag:

1. Deerhunter’s singer is all like, “eat my dick.”
2. Hook up John Stabb with love and/or money.
3. There is music for that raging case of swamp crotch.
4. Faraquet has a Brazilian (tour).
5. Eddie Money goes with lots of things.
6. You may have been conceived to the sounds of George Parker.
7. Pelican digs the Deftones.
8. “Blelvis by Wonderland” has a nice ring to it.

Dischord has just announced that Faraquet plans to reunite for a September sweep through Brazil. For their more local fans, the band is in the process of gathering material for a CD compilation.

The label explains: “The Brazilian shows will feature a lineup featuring original members Chad Molter and Devin Ocampo–but not Jeff Boswell. However, the band hopes to play DC area shows upon the release of the CD with the full original line-up. Faraquet tour dates will be posted on the tours page as soon as they are confirmed.”

Those unfamiliar with the band’s gloriously disjointed sound can catch them here.

Matador Records’ blog brings the news that Government Issue vocalist John Stabb was assualted near his home in Maryland on July 17. (A bulletin-board post credited to Stabb describes the incident in unsettling detail.) A handful of benefits to cover his medical costs are in the works; the linked site will also point you to where you can make donations via PayPal. (Earlier this month Dischord re-pressed the LP version of Four Old Seven Inches, which includes Government Issue’s Legless Bull EP.)

I haven’t seen Chad Clark onstage since Smart Went Crazy was writing Con Art, so I was kind of surprised to see Beauty Pill’s Grateful Dead lineup last night at Fort Reno. That’s right, two guitarists, a bassist, a keyboardist, and–this never gets old–two drummers. That’s a lot of musicians to play some indie-tinged art-punk (or is it art-punk-tinged indie rock?), and, well, they put them to good use, even if there was nothing particularly hippie about it. At one point Clark had to explain that he wasn’t being sarcastic when he told the audience, “I love you.” And the band finished with a song about how pacifism isn’t always the answer. Which is why I find this band is so excellent. There’s no doubt that Clark meant the “I love you” bit, but his lyrics have such a sharp–and, yes, sarcastic–edge that it would be easy to take him the wrong way. And, shit, who else in D.C. is going to get up on stage at Fort Reno and say that, well, sometimes reason and negotiation fail us and we have to use force? (That is, aside from a State of Alert reunion, but I don’t think the fights in those songs were preceded by reason or negotiation.)

The band chugged on through the rain, playing songs that I don’t recognize, because I’ve never heard any of their records. (Service ain’t what it was back in the Meltzer-and-Bangs heyday. An average week finds a clutch of death metal records in my mailbox and that’s about it.) But prior knowledge was unnecessary. I can’t believe all the youngsters standing and dancing and huddling in the rain were longtime fans or even knew anything about the band they were watching. There was something about seeing all of those disparate musicians gathered together onstage and playing this odd-but-urgent art music (and sometimes with a skillet) that was enough for any serious music fan who would’ve happened by. None of the songs stuck in my head, but none of them needed to. The experience was enough.

So, guys, where’s the next record?