Musical career Scott Miller (pop musician)

1 musical career

1.1 alternate learning (1977–1982)
1.2 game theory (1982–1990)
1.3 loud family (1991–2006)
1.4 unreleased works
1.5 posthumous releases

1.5.1 reissues on omnivore recordings (2014–)
1.5.2 supercalifragile (2017)


1.6 critical reception , cult status
1.7 musical legacy , influence

musical career
alternate learning (1977–1982)

miller s first band release commercial recordings, alternate learning (also known alrn), released self-titled 7 ep in 1979, , full-length lp called painted windows in 1981, on rational records. alternate learning formed in 1977 in sacramento, moved in 1978 davis, california, , performed @ u.c. davis , in bay area until group disbanded miller in 1982.

first game theory line-up, davis, ca, 1982. l-r: irwin, juhos, n. becker, miller.


game theory (1982–1990)

game theory formed miller in 1982 in davis, california, , moved base bay area in 1985. 1982 1990, game theory released 5 albums , 2 eps, not including compilations.

the game theory described pseudo-psychedelic pop quartet miller sang , wrote of material. group, college-rock favorite associated paisley underground scene of l.a. , davis, developed strong cult following.

the davis-based first line-up of game theory featured miller on lead guitar , vocals, keyboard player nancy becker, bassist fred juhos, , drummer michael irwin. line-up released group s debut lp, blaze of glory, in 1982. new drummer dave gill, 2 eps followed: pointed accounts of people know (1983) , distortion (1984). group s second full-length album, real nighttime (1985), marked entrance of producer mitch easter, continued producer of group s subsequent releases.

miller , gil ray, prior first show of new line-up, 1985.



alex chilton , scott miller, berkeley, 1986.

miller recruited new line-up of members based in san francisco tour after 1985 release of real nighttime. during tour, new quartet of miller, shelley lafreniere on keyboards, gil ray on drums, , suzi ziegler on bass recorded big shot chronicles (1986). ziegler left group shortly afterward. band s national tour in late 1986, supporting release of big shot chronicles, miller, lafreniere, , ray joined 2 new members, bassist guillaume gassuan , guitarist/vocalist donnette thayer. line-up recorded double album lolita nation (1987) , group s final studio album, 2 steps middle ages (1988).

despite favorable critical response, miller unable achieve commercial success game theory. according rolling stone, group never garnered more cult following through six-album run (even so, caught on swear lolita nation overlooked masterpiece).

among practical obstacles stood in way of group s success, game theory experienced substantial turnovers of personnel after 3 of 5 studio albums recorded, disrupted promotional plans , concert tours following releases of real nighttime, big shot chronicles, , 2 steps middle ages. release of 2 steps said plagued difficulties, included miller s breakup thayer. after thayer left form hex steve kilbey of church, lafreniere , gassuan left group. in addition, enigma records, distributed game theory s records, folded in 1989 after release of 2 steps.

game theory, 1990. l-r: quercio, miller, ray, j. becker.

game theory continued tour in 1989 , 1990, michael quercio of 3 o clock (who had produced game theory s distortion ep) joining member, along jozef becker. prior 1989 tour, gil ray sustained serious injury left him temporarily unable play drums; switched guitar , keyboards, left group in 1990. in 1990, miller recruited original member nancy becker rejoin group final released recordings, in new versions of 3 songs (including 1 recorded alternate learning) recorded game theory s best-of compilation cd, tinker evers chance (1990).

game theory s releases have long been out of print , difficult find, contributing band s inability transcend miller described national obscurity, opposed regional obscurity.

after miller s death, surviving members of game theory reunited on july 20, 2013, memorial tribute performance in sacramento.

the loud family (1991–2006)

the loud family @ bottom of hill, san francisco, 1992.

with new line-up in 1991 , new recording label, miller retired name game theory , chose call new group loud family. rolling stone described name both hip allusion mid-seventies pbs series american family , clever way describe sound , feel of band. either way, s great hook—smart, funny , instantly memorable. of which, appropriately enough, qualities shared miller s songs. miller later described intended reality-show metaphor: going through life lot having cameras on , have perform, there s no script; have normal kind of bumbling thing. besides, had word loud in it.

stereo review, way of introducing loud family , eulogizing game theory, called miller entity unto himself, taking dictation mind working overtime without stopping consider possibility of success or banishment. problem is, [while] others have squeezed through needle s eye varying degrees ... miller still labors in semi-obscurity, catalog bulging ph.d. theses interred in musty corner of visited library. assessing miller s prospects of success, article continued:

let s face it: smart rock doesn t sell. despite best efforts of critics, despite support of introspective, collegiate humanities majors have assimilation problems, despite soft spot record companies show music brain, market share marginal. therefore, persevere @ making hyperliterate music has complex motives , densely constructed—relative immediate sparkle , shine of mainstream chart music, is—is act of bravery, commitment, or lunacy.

the loud family debuted on alias records in 1993 plants , birds , rocks , things, produced mitch easter. album later acclaimed aimee mann 1 of 5 best records ever made.

from 1991 until miller s death in 2013, loud family released 6 studio lps , 1 live lp. subject of concert video documentary, released on dvd in 2003, chronicled group s final concert tour in 2000, in support of album attractive nuisance.

in 2003 book, sonic cool: life & death of rock n roll, loud family cited perhaps sophisticated pop band ever lived. according author joe harrington, songs beautiful, inevitably lampoon aspect of culture biting accuracy. s perfect juxtaposition between old/new pop/punk makes loud family true in day , age.

unreleased works

in 2002, aimee mann undertook still-unreleased collaboration miller on acoustic album, recorded miller superego label, , remained unfinished @ death. miller indicated in late 2003 , mann had done each other s songs , written 1 together, , project halfway through, might on permanent hold. in 2006, miller stated love finish thing aimee mann, maybe in altered form, stating , mann still discussed project.

in may 2014, mann told interviewer , miller had been trying make acoustic record both singing favorite songs of his, , somehow hard drive got lost. mann added had no idea record is, , had been crushed upon hearing of miller s death.

posthumous releases
reissues on omnivore recordings (2014–)

on july 14, 2014, omnivore recordings announced commitment reissue game theory s recordings, remastered original tapes. noting miller s work game theory had been out of print , missing decades, omnivore stated pleased right audio wrong series of expanded reissues of group s catalog. reissue series produced pat thomas, dan vallor (game theory s tour manager , sound engineer during 1980s), , grammy-winning reissue producer cheryl pawelski.

the first in series, expanded version of game theory s 1982 debut album blaze of glory, released in september 2014, on cd , on pink vinyl. reissue supplemented 15 bonus tracks (four alternate learning, , 11 unissued recordings). omnivore s november 2014 expanded reissue of dead center, on cd only, included material game theory eps pointed accounts of people know (1983) , distortion (1984), omnivore reissued on vinyl only. reissue of real nighttime (1985), first of game theory s albums produced mitch easter, released in march 2015.

in february 2016, 30 years after initial release, double album lolita nation remastered , reissued omnivore, 21 bonus tracks included unreleased full 8-minute version of “chardonnay, alternate mixes of other album tracks, , live covers of songs artists such david bowie, modern lovers, , sex pistols.

supercalifragile (2017)

front cover of supercalifragile

miller s record label, 125 records, revealed after miller s death in april 2013 had made plans reunite in summer of 2013 of old bandmates record new game theory album, supercalifragile, band s first since 2 steps middle ages in 1988.

in september 2015, miller s wife kristine chambers announced , ken stringfellow had teamed produce finished recording source material supercalifragile miller had left behind in various stages of completion, including fully-formed songs , many other ideas, sketches, lyrics, musical gestures , snippets of found sound. additional recording took place @ abbey road studios in london, in summer of 2015. preliminary decision release album under scott miller s name, using title love all, later reconsidered in favor of miller s original plans game theory project.

on may 5, 2016, announced project, under miller s planned title supercalifragile sixth , final game theory album, released in 2017. kickstarter campaign, created fund pressing , other expenses involved completing album, funded within 2 weeks.

participants in supercalifragile included aimee mann, had written in july 2015, m working on song wrote scott miller, , hearing him sing in headphones possibly devastatingly heartbreaking thing ve ever experienced. mann s announcement accompanied photo of sheet music bearing title, no love.

other friends , former collaborators involvement pre-announced include jon auer of posies, peter buck of r.e.m., doug gillard, nina gordon, scott kannberg, ted leo, , sheff. final contributors included matt lemay, john moremen, , jonathan segel. mitch easter, game theory s former producer, played guitar, drums, , synth on song laurel canyon, , participated in mixing of album. limited first pressing released in august 2017.

critical reception , cult status

miller long described cult favorite little commercial success, resulting in reviews such superlatives critically acclaimed , quite underrated, criminally unknown songwriter/performer/all-around rock genius in america today, 1 of america s underappreciated songwriters , underrated pop genius in music history, , america s consistently underrated singer-songwriter ... producing album after album of hook-laden , profoundly literate rock-and-roll.

rolling stone, in 1993 review, suggested s because songs, though insinuatingly tuneful, can maddeningly oblique, fleshing out each verse abstruse references long-forgotten pop songs , tv shows; @ times, results sound thomas pynchon writing big star.

rock critic robert christgau wrote scott miller prototypical 80s rock artist—serious, playful, skillful, obscure, secondhand. christgau criticized miller s musical obsessions , literary obscurities rendering ostensibly public private, adding, adepts recommend 1987 s lolita nation, said make sense, though don t know sense. offered mild praise game theory s mitch easter-produced albums, likened dreams of db s ... isn t miller , cohorts didn t develop groove got older, referring 2 steps middle ages excessive , funkier album kinda .

in 1993 interview miller, option wrote success touchy subject him, quoting miller s joking example of typical review: nothing ever happens scott miller, somehow s managed drag broken body studio 1 more time , make album. miller continued past point of fighting discussions of how arty or brainy was, had hoped greater emphasis on songs about—be boy-girl situation, or being depressed key failure ve had, or getting little bit of understanding life. in 1993 interview, miller mused:

i don t think m in danger of making albums don t age well, because haven t ever fit times spectacularly well. ve been aware of myself drawing on musical vocabulary broad lot of people don t consider real songwriting coups. think go right past lot of people. bad part of won t become big star. part don t think people find albums less useful on time. ll sound in 2004 in 1994.

in 2012, more year before miller s death, guardian wrote, scott miller little out of time own good, means towering talent near forgotten , attributing miller s cult status contradictions of pretty muscular pop, characterised mix of acoustic , electric guitars, literate non-specific lyrics, keyboard sounds , production techniques unfortunately era-specific, miller s quavering , uncertain voice. spiky chart kids; smooth alternative kids—the curse of scott miller being himself, rather finding movement or trend part of.

miller s own description of high tenor vocals miserable whine or usual obnoxious vocals repeated reviewers of work in game theory, added balancing comments, such while s fond of referring voice miserable whine, sure knows how make communicate. in many reviews, miller s self-deprecation outweighed critical praise talents in vocal phrasing, inventiveness, , musical ambition. stephin merritt cited miller s swooping melodies, large vocabulary lyrics dense idiom , metaphor, , gloriously catchy hooks. according pitchfork writer matt lemay, miller had singular way of making unexpected , counterintuitive chord changes sound downright inevitable. music journalist kent williams added, marks miller s songs unique obsession coming perfect, , new chord progression. hero alex chilton, had fondness accessible pop music had lots of moving parts under hood. lyrically, both class clown , over-achiever. wanted words devious , pretty best lyrics of stephen sondheim , jerry leiber, shot through joycean obscurity , puckish humor.

according professor stephen burt of harvard university, miller wrote songs overthinking it, anthems people think think , try hard, feel @ home (if ever do) among like-mindedly wordy souls. tension in miller s songs—it s never resolved—between guitar-driven pop , keyboard-based new wave tension between heart , mind, between nerdy identity never embraced , fear of more.

after publication of book in 2010, miller s name cited synonymous thinking people s pop. pithy, smart , mathy in mixing of avant garde earnest pop precision, earned stripes comparisons big star s alex chilton, surpassed influences crafting own genre of iq rock, sporting songs with ... increasingly unpredictable-yet-gorgeous arrangements.

musical legacy , influence

in 2013, mtv wrote of miller s indelible output , game theory s transcendent tunes legacy ... ready , waiting discovery.

spin wrote miller s influence songwriter outreached fame. miller credited influential force in 1980s- , 1990s-era music scenes, beginning in northern california bands associated paisley underground genre, , later influencing better-known independent pop artists. in 1996, aimee mann stated scott miller best songwriter out there, in opinion. think when m writing: scott think song good? adding scott s better me. mann confirmed more decade later, influenced scott miller s songwriting, , musically, big influence.

scott miller in 1985

according mtv, miller s work game theory in 1980s remained still visceral , vital in 2013, influencing new generation of indie artists. significant musicians have praised miller s talent , enduring influence on work include new pornographers leader a.c. newman, okkervil river s sheff, charles bissell of wrens, doug gillard, , ted leo, each of whom performed @ new york city tribute miller on june 29, 2013, veruca salt s nina gordon, posies ken stringfellow, , camper van beethoven s jonathan segel, each of whom appeared on loud family albums guest musicians. many other artists inspired miller s music found greater commercial success miller; among cited jellyfish, velvet crush, matthew sweet, ben folds, guided voices, , michael penn.

miller acknowledged irish rock group revenants in 1999 song scott miller said, opens quoting miller s andy in ten years, lolita nation. music critic nick kelly, writing ireland s largest newspaper, named scott miller said greatest ever irish rock song.

in january 2014, spin led article with: legacy of scott miller, former game theory , loud family power-pop songsmith died last year, got more impressive, crediting miller bringing ted leo attention of aimee mann, on occasion of release of mann , leo s first studio release both. song bedtime stories, appears on both (2014), written miller expression of mourning , musical salute... consciously tribute him, chord progression of chorus, very, loud family.

a biography rock critic brett milano, don t thank me @ once: lost genius of scott miller, published in october 2015. milano described book 1 not tells miller s story, explores college , indie-rock explosion of 1980s , 1990s, , how influential artists managed fall through cracks.