OCD Chronicles: Head Candy "At The Controls"

It started with that box of shit.
On a video…the one that wasn’t a porn…there was two episodes from Twin Peaks. Since I already have the complete first season of Twin Peaks on dvd (still need the pilot and the shitty season two, in case you’re starting your Christmas shopping for me early) I didn’t really watch these recorded-from-cable episodes.
Sidenote: It’s amazing what we tolerated for video in those days. I see HDTV, plasma tv’s, the entire shebang at big box stores and I’m in awe. It’s almost too much for me to handle because it’s so crisp. I just muddle around with my standard tvs with dvd players still connected via RCA jacks and I’m cool with that…for now. These two episodes were recorded on a shitty off-brand VHS tape on “LP” mode. I don’t know if you’re familiar with “LP” mode, but it’s shittier than the standard setting because it records the image slower. Without getting too technical, if you record things on magnetic tape at a slow speed, it suffers from loss, either in the form of poor color quality or, if it’s audio tape, greater hiss and distortion.
The benefit was that you could record more shit on the tape using “LP” mode, which as I did the math, meant that there was plenty more room on that VHS tape for more than two episodes of Twin Peaks.
I hit fast-forward.
At the end of “Episode Six” was a familiar yet (thankfully) forgotten face. Why it was none other than MTV VJ Dave Kendall from the alternative ghetto that was 120 Minutes. I used to watch this thing religiously. After all, this was really the only thing on during Sunday nights after 10:00.
Kendall was an annoying fuck that always seem to have a hard on for shit like Depeche Mode, The Cure, New Order and I believe he actually came in his pants when Nine Inch Nails’ Pretty Hate Machine was released.
I like those bands, but I noticed that there were huge amounts of proper rawk bands that Dave seemed to neglect and, therefore, he irritated me. I didn’t know why we needed to see another fucking Sisters Of Mercy video from five years prior when I really wanted to see that naked chick from Boss Hog.
So why the fuck was I recording 120 Minutes? It wasn’t like I was really going to miss anything if I happened to develop a hankerin’ for some Star Trek: Deep Space Nine that weekend.
Dave rambled on about the Red Hot Chili Peppers and tinkled the floor with golden rushes of urine before changing topics to a new and upcoming band. The band he was speaking of was called Head Candy, a veritable “supergroup” of Iowa scenesters who missed alternative notoriety by that much.
Headed by Mike “I’m Kind Of A Douchebag” Sangster, the Iowa City quartet made pleasing and catchy music that seemed a bit too tame for those big bad grunge years. They may have been the Hawkeye state’s last hope for rock infiltration before a bunch of dudes from Des Moines put on some masks and screamed about their discontent on the second stage of Ozzfest.
Head Candy landed a record deal with Link Records out of Boston who score about a three album boutique deal with Hollywood Records. Don't bother looking for the label...Either one of them...They're not around anymore.This may have made them Iowa first modern day rock band with a major label deal back when having a major label deal was a big thing.
What the deal provided them was enough cash ‘n clout to have Andy Wallace, the same dude that mixed Nirvana’s Nevermind, man the knobs for their debut album Starcaster. It’s a really good album, and you can probably find it at a used record store outside of the Hawkeye state for next to nothing.
The Hollywood marketing machine also provided enough muscle to have Dave Kendall play the video for “At The Controls,” a dandy of a pop song with…I hate to admit this since Sangster was such a prick…some pretty nice lyrics.
Ever since taking another gander at that old video, the song keeps repeating in my head.
“You protect what you display for all to see/Keeping most of it hidden away”
There’s not one goddamn Head Candy clip on You Tube to display for you. I suppose I could take half a day to figure out how to transfer this VHS copy up there but only five people who probably give a shit.
Instead, I only bothered to take a shot of my awesome 7” of “At The Controls” along with a little release date post card announcing the arrival of their debut…and only lp Starcaster.
Purple vinyl bitches!