Local Lore

Beneath The Floating Heads of Slint’s Spiderland

In 1990, a little-known band from Louisville, Kentucky curiously called Slint had just recorded their second album of songs running just under 40 minutes and needed an image for the cover. They knew of an abandoned quarry just across the bridge in Utica, Indiana so they grabbed their buddy who had a Pentax K1000 camera and arrived at the quarry fully prepared for trespassing and a photo shoot for their new album. What they didn’t know is that the take away image of their four floating heads in that abandoned quarry would become as iconic as the band and its now legendary place in music history.

Slint members Dave Pajo & Britt Walford across from their friend who took the photo, Will Oldham

The boys and their buddies had been to the quarry just across the Ohio River on many occasions for night swimming and whatever else kids might do in such a setting. Slint drummer, Britt Walford, described the quarry as “a good place to go and just hang at night. Ominous and cool.” He added that “there were lots of spiders there… all over the ground which was kind of a sand/limestone dust mixture.” Although the conventional belief is the album got its name from a member’s younger brother who described the music as sounding “spidery,” we can’t help but think that all the creepy crawlies at the quarry played a part in inspiring the seminal album’s title, Spiderland. Britt described the frightening experience of jumping into the pitch black quarry water at night and how that created a “noir/existential” feeling that “rang” in him for many years. “The feeling of unmitigated fear at jumping in the dark water went along with a general exploration of my fractured identity mixed with social anxiety. I found comfort in witnessing for myself at this time. That’s basically what the song, ‘Don, Aman’ is about.” This certainly rings true if you are familiar with the general feel of Spiderland and the way it emanates an energy that words like dark, exploration, fractured, comfort and fear seem to aptly describe. Spiderland has a strong storytelling quality to it, only the stories are accompanied by mood-bending music that takes the listener on a journey from quiet darkness to explosive raw emotional upheavals and peculiar places in between. I’ll never forget hearing the album’s closing track, “Good Morning, Captain” for the first time as a young teenager and it stirring emotions in me that were both unidentifiable and thrilling. The story we are here to tell today is the story of the influence of those quarry days (and nights) and to take a peek behind the lens of the creation of such an iconic image of what would eventually become one of the most influential underground bands never known.

Slint (from left) Todd Brashear, Britt Walford, Dave Pajo & Brian McMahan at the Utica Quarry. Photo by Will Oldham

The trip to the quarry that day was different from the many other leisurely summer nights spent there hanging out and having a good time. They went for the express purpose of getting some band photos and their friend, Will Oldham, agreed to be the photographer for the shoot. “We had enough familiarity with those waters that I think it felt natural to all get in together,” Will told us. “Likely the Slints got in first and then I recognized that a better camera angle would come from being on the same plane as their heads. I do remember how fun it was to tread water with my legs while holding the camera above water and getting a good framing. We took a lot of pictures that day, and this was the only set-up I was fully thrilled with because it felt like the photographer (me) was involved in the content of the picture. It felt more like photojournalism than promo-photo-taking. I still feel queasy about participating in, or even looking at, musician promo photos. It all seems so stupid to take pictures of people doing nothing when you are meant to appreciate those same people for doing something.”

We asked Slint bassist, Todd Brashear, what was up with those suspicious grins on their faces. We assumed that by virtue of them being in their 20s and being in a quarry that there was some “partying” going on. Todd’s response to that was “I can’t remember but it was known to happen.” The reason behind the smiles is much more interesting than our trivial assumption. “The reason we were smiling in the pic was because Will (Oldham) was treading water while he was taking the picture so we were laughing at him.” Will Oldham, who had already appeared as a teen preacher in the feature film Matewan, would later go on to forge his own singular path as a musical “urban legend” of sorts becoming among the most prolific musicians alive today. A musician of many names starting with the Palace Brothers and eventually taking on the moniker Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, he has released or contributed to numerous recordings. The crew also visited other locations that day including The Galt House in downtown Louisville and the trestles at Baxter Ave. Word on the street is that they even met some girls at the trestles who were not only keen to join in some of the photos, they also returned to check out the quarry with them later that night.

We asked some other nerdy detail questions like what music they may have been listening to on the drive there and back and to our delight Todd provided us with this playlist of their early influences. It has a wide range of artists from Nick Drake to The Jesus Lizard to Leonard Cohen to Madonna to Mekons and beyond. Speaking of influence, Slint would break up before Spiderland was even released by Touch and Go Records in 1991. The album was not well promoted or well received upon its initial release and was essentially ignored. Years later, however, it would be discovered by critics and musicians and Slint began to take on a legendary mystique among its fans developing a cult-like following. People were discovering this incredible yet mysterious album with a photo of four heads floating on the cover and little information otherwise except the “seeking female vocalist” ad which listed Britt’s parents home address in The Highland as the contact info. One of the applicants was Polly Jean Harvey although she never received a response, she went on to do quite well as PJ Harvey. More than 30 years after Spiderland‘s release, Slint is widely regarded as one of the most important post-rock bands influencing Pavement, Dinosaur Jr, Sebadoh, Mogwai and many others. Long ago, I once asked Todd Brashear at the counter of his beloved Wild & Woolly Video Store what it felt like to be a part of such a highly revered band such as Slint. In his charming Southern accent, he humbly replied “Man, that was just something we did back in high school!” In spite of the inherent humility of these Kentucky gentlemen, the iconic album cover of Spiderland and its music has inspired many tribute photos. Here are a few we found.

While the members of Slint broke up the band and walked away before Spiderland even had a chance to crawl its way into the history books, they would eventually come back together after many years of being largely ignored to claim their rightful crown as one of the most influential and revered post-rock bands. They reunited in 2005 to curate All Tomorrow’s Parties music festival in England and played a number of shows in Europe and the U.S. as well. They returned in 2007 in full-force to perform Spiderland in its entirety around the globe in Barcelona, London, Chicago, Hollywood and Canada. In 2013, they were the headliners of the final All Tomorrow’s Parties festival in England receiving a level of recognition and honor they likely could never have envisioned when they walked away in 1990 over 20 years prior but have always deserved. The influence and the legend of Slint continues to grow and Kentucky is incredibly honored to be able to claim this legendary band.

If you think you’re going to go and jump in the Utica Quarry, you can forget about it, buster. The quarry had now been developed into a high-end gated subdivision called Quarry Bluff Estates. It’s still worth a drive along the banks of the Ohio River in Utica as you can feel a certain spirit there. As Will Oldham put it, “That quarry, and the Utica surroundings, was generally an ideal setting to me. I held it as a fantasy-scape for years, and even now I feel that it is magical, even though it’s just a tiny gated community in a tiny village in southern Indiana.”

Below are a few outtakes from the Utica Quarry photo shoot of the Slint youngsters. Photos by Will Oldham.

And now the iconic cover photo of Spiderland is available on a towel and is arguably the coolest towel ever made. It’s a limited edition item and only available for a few more days so if you want one grab it here. It’s perfect for drying off after taking an illegal dip in a quarry.

Slint’s Dave Pajo holding the Spiderland Beach Towel / Via Shirtkiller.com

Many thanks to Will Oldham, Britt Walford and Todd Brashear for taking the time to share these stories with us and indulge us with our nerdy questions. Here are a couple of photos we came across that have Spiderland vibes.

Below are some parodies I found lurking around on the internet with various degrees of amusement. (origins unknown)

Matt Sweeney of Superwolves & Zwan who has collaborated with Cat Power, Endless Boogie, Andrew W.K. and others got his Spiderland towel.