Fun, by Bone of Contention

Fun

by Bone of Contention

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Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album
All 16 songs from that crazy weekend are available on shiny plastic, sealed with a four-page card.

Includes unlimited streaming of Fun via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

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1.	Gator 03:40	buy track
2.	Policy Of Containment 03:36	buy track
3.	Don't Ask Me 02:28	buy track
4.	Hialeah 02:24	buy track
5.	Muse 02:54	buy track
6.	Drown In Your Eyes 04:15	buy track
7.	The Cave 02:07	buy track
8.	Sunday Spring 03:26	buy track
9.	Anesthesia 02:41	buy track
10.	Yugoslavia 05:26	buy track
11.	All Week Long 03:35	buy track
12.	Sleep Deprived And Stupid 02:42	buy track
13.	Lost Souls 03:52	buy track
14.	Freaks II 04:13	buy track
15.	Sky Blue Pretty Boy 03:11	buy track
16.	Fun 02:27	buy track

about

Fun was the result of a Memorial Day weekend visit to Demarest, New Jersey, the posh suburb where producer/musician Kramer (Bongwater, Shimmy-Disc Records) lived and ran his Noise New Jersey recording studio. Bone of Contention — by then a trio of Mike Shanley, Lila Shaara and Barb Madaus — made the trek in 1995, bringing guitarist Rob Rayshich (Lila’s husband and half of the Minimalist Love Gods) along with them for solid support.

The band committed 16 songs to analog tape, many of which had been in their set for several years. Running wild through a studio loaded with instruments, they added chimes, B3 organ and a Baby Grand piano to the arrangements. Once they were done recording, Kramer sat down behind the board and started turning knobs. Mid-tempo numbers like “Drown In Your Eyes” and “Freaks II” took to his swirling approach beautifully. The production is really on display in the title track, in which the band and Rob overdubbed two four-person back-up choruses, adding a semi-sweet shine to the otherwise disturbing imagery of the lyrics. “Sky Blue Pretty Boy,” a loose, end-of-the-set number, gets an extra bassline courtesy of Kramer himself.

Once again, Lila’s lyrics tell myriad stories, some dark, some not. Mike’s mood also ranged from anxious (“All Week Long,” “Policy of Containment”) to hyper (“The Cave,” another song written with immense help by John Young, who played with Mike in the Pundits). Barb’s “Muse” provides one of the most aggressive and dynamic moments, especially when Rob cuts loose. The band also highlights Rob’s songwriting with “Yugoslavia,” a hopeful song whose message still holds true all these years later.

By the time Fun was released, in early 1997, the Bone had been broken up for a year and a half. So the song “Fun” almost works like the closing theme to the band's nine year life. You can almost see the credits rolling as the music plays. Without live shows to promote it (save two 21st-century reunions), the album might have been missed by all but the band's close friends. We’re happy to put it out there again for more people to discover.

credits

released March 4, 2022

Lila Shaara: Vocals, Electric & Acoustic Guitars
Barb Madaus: Vocals, Drums, Chimes, Organ (3), Bass (14)
Mike Shanley: Vocals, Bass, B3 Organ, Drums (3, 14), Extra Guitar (2), Saxophone
with
Rob Rayshich: Guitar solos of enduring beauty, Backing Vocals
Kramer: Extra Bass (15) (Appears courtesy of Shimmy-Disc Records)

Recorded and mixed over Memorial Day Weekend, 1995 at Noise New Jersey
Produced by Kramer
Cover concept: Jennie Benford
Front cover ambrotype reproduction: David Stone Rubin

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about

Bone of Contention Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Lila, Mike, Barb & Sean (and Bart, later on) played post-punk/pre-indie rock songs that were catchy and literate, sometimes funny and sometimes dark. The Bone (as they called themselves) lived in Pittsburgh from 1986-1995, Igor was their label. More back catalog releases to come in the near future. ... more

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