We will remain on Ashland through April with new spring goods, and starting this weekend we’re kicking off our moving clearance sale with major discounts in store. Make sure you “like” us on Facebook for all the latest updates. We’ve got big plans for the new space and can’t wait to see you there!

Print out this post and bring it to the store to receive 20% off any item!

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The second and last album from My Bloody Valentine, “Loveless” is an transcendent wash of noise and melody, with unique production techniques that seamlessly merge drum machines and samples with a thick wall of gurgling guitars. And though it wouldn’t be much without Bilinda Butcher’s ethereal vocals and Colm Ó Cíosóig’s drumming (though mostly sampled and looped) it’s singer/guitarist Kevin Shields that gets credit for writing and recording most of the music. It was an arduous labor of love that took him 2 years and countless studios to record, and supposedly bankrupted Creation Records. The result was a wholly original album that inspired a slew of bands, and is widely considered one of the best of the decade.

Unrest’s last album was a revelation in minimalist pop; smart, concise songs as bravely danceable as the best of Factory records, with a distinctly playful edge that could only thrive in the D.I.Y. climate of that time. “Perfect Teeth” was released on singer/guitarist Mark Robinson’s own Teen Beat records (originally as a 7” box set). Unrest was a one of many great, fiercely independent bands to emerge from the D.C. scene of the 1980s, but sounded like none of them. “Perfect Teeth” somehow sounded nostalgic and ahead of it’s time, cold and romantic, puzzling and immediate.

With a series of mysterious home-recorded EPs under their belt, Pavement’s first full-length LP was highly anticipated by jaded, corduroy-clad college students everywhere. “Slanted and Enchanted” satisfied with it’s improbably infectious songs, glorious lo-fi production, and evocative, cryptic lyrics. Pavement admittedly drew from a wealth of post-punk influences like Swell Maps and The Fall, as well as 70s classic rock and 80s alternative rock like R.E.M., yet they never seemed anachronistic. They were the post-modern Velvet Underground, writing beautiful heartfelt songs subverted with obtuse, calculated irreverence. One of the first acts on the fledgling label Matador, Pavement and their label would become synonymous with indie rock.

There’s lots of renewed interest in these albums, and Study Hall‘s offering all three this season: “Loveless” has been reissued on CD with a bonus disc featuring Kevin Shields’ remastered analog mix of the album. “Perfect Teeth” has been lovingly reissued in it’s 7″ box set form, with extra tracks, a book, and more. And if you come into the store, you might be able to buy the one copy of “Slanted and Enchanted” we have on vinyl!

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Read more about it on our Focus page.

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The origins can be traced back to 70s punk and the roads paved by D.I.Y. pioneers through the 80s, and some of the key players remain in the picture. Many bands formed from the ashes of 80s luminaries (Fugazi, Shellac, Sebadoh, The Breeders) and several labels that started in the 80s find greater audiences in the 90s (Dischord, K, Teen-Beat, Touch and Go, and, of course, Sub Pop).

In 1991 Sub Pop would release a single by Sebadoh about the burgeoning music scene, “Gimme Indie Rock,” while Geffen would release the first major label album by former Sub Pop artists, Nirvana. In the year surrounding the world’s introduction to Nirvana, dozens of equally important albums were overlooked by mainstream media (including Slint’s “Spiderland”, Jesus Lizard’s “Goat”, and Superchunk’s “No Pocket for Kitty”). There were three other albums released shortly after Nevermind that had a huge influence on us, and really marked the beginning of the 90s indie-rock phenomenon: “Loveless” by My Bloody Valentine, “Perfect Teeth” by Unrest, and “Slanted and Enchanted” by Pavement (we’ll go into depth about those albums in a future post.)

“Slanted and Enchanted” was released by a new label from New York called Matador, one of a handful of new labels including North Carolina’s Merge, Olympia Washington’s Kill Rock Stars, and Chicago’s Drag City and Thrill Jockey. These labels took pride in curating their roster with diverse national and international acts and taking a hands-on role in promoting and assisting their artists. Before the advent of the internet, these labels managed to create buzz for new releases around college campuses and coffee shops. There was a hip, must-have cache to their products, including beautifully packaged limited edition 7”s during a time when the general public were tossing their vinyl to make room for CDs.

The music that developed over the decade was continually evolving and fresh. With more and more acts wrapped in the flag of punk rock finding mainstream success in the wake of Nirvana, the underground matured and began exploring previously neglected sounds and styles. From the naïve country folk of Palace, to 70s jazz-informed Tortoise and The Sea and Cake, to The Make-Up, former emo star Ian Svenonius’s high energy “gospel yeh-yeh” group, it was an atmosphere of unexpected sonic moves. Genres like math-rock, post-rock, shoegaze, indie-pop, emo, and twee emerged, and more female-led groups then ever were ushered in with bands like Bratmobile and Bikini Kill spawning the Riot Grrl movement. But despite the vast stylistic differences, the scene remained somewhat unified (it was entirely possible to spot a Six Finger Satellite t-shirt at a Magnetic Fields show!) And there were rare acts like Yo La Tengo that consumed current trends and synthesized them into something their own.

As mp3s and myspace entered the picture, independent distribution became less crucial, and labels had to shift their roles to survive in the new digital landscape. Those 90s labels adapted with little difficulty having retained their hipster appeal, and are bigger then ever with acts like Arcade Fire, Spoon, The Shins, and The New Pornographers. And with digital recording technology so affordable, the D.I.Y. ethos has never been more appealing and accessible.

This fall, Study Hall is celebrating the lasting influence of our favorite era in music with new vinyl and cd reissues, books, and more!

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Our Chicago location should be open very soon, but if you can’t wait to get your hands on some great summer clothes and accessories including our amazing new collab with Marüshka, we have a great deal for you. From now until the day we open our shop doors we’re offering a 15% off your entire online order. Just use the coupon code early15 when you checkout!

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We left with lots of inspiration, and product catalogs from just about every season of the line since 1972. Our first collection in this ongoing collaboration is a variety of products, including apparel, bags, stationery, and housewares. We included some of their most well known images as well as some designs that were new to us. Our stationery was printed locally in Chicago, and all our textiles were printed by hand by Randy and his staff at Marüshka Handprints, just as it was 40 years ago! For more information on Marüshka, read our introduction. See some photos of our recent visit to the Marüshka workshop on the right.

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Founded in 1972 by Grand Haven art teacher Richard Sweet in Grand Haven, Michigan, Marüshka was named after a polish variation of his wife’s name, “Mary.” Their lightweight and easy to hang prints became hugely popular as the perfect souvenir to take home from your lake Michigan visit; hand-printed, artist made charm with a small price tag. In Sweet’s own words, “Silk screening makes art affordable to everyone.”

The iconic, often minimal style of many of the prints was a trademark of Sweets own artwork, though he wasn’t the only artist. The shop employed several artists over the years, which helped shape the evolving look and eclectic subject matter. The sights of the shores of Western Michigan; sailing, beaches, birds, and trees, were common themes, but in time, more stylized compositions featuring athletes, pets, clowns, and odd still-life made their way onto canvases.

From the mid-70s through the mid-80s, the shop in Grand Haven produced an estimated 1.68 million Marüshkas, and were sold all over the world. They had more than 3,000 distributors and four factory outlet stores in Michigan. They were so popular, they inspired imitators, and their tiny home town became a hotbed for silkscreening with four other neighborhood screenprinters offering wholesale prints. Marüshka also branched out and began producing other housewares, including wrapping paper, oven mitts, aprons, etc.

At the end of the 80s, as the demand for the stretched canvases died out, Richard Sweet and former student and longtime employee Randy Smith started Michigan Rag Company, shifting their focus to t-shirts and other apparel marketed to the tourists that crowd Michigan’s shoreline every summer. Today the company continues to sell clothing to stores nationwide, hand-printed using the same silkscreen method (and with many of the same employees) they used 40 years ago.

Sadly, Sweet passed away in 2007. Hopefully he had a chance to see the resurgence of interest in Marüshka as the vintage prints were rescued from thrift stores, finding good homes in mid-century modern minded hipster apartments, or scooped up by collectors on ebay.

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