Image by Peter Divito
Record Shopping With
Issue #27
Mommy And Daddy
By Peter Divito
Published: March 1st, 2006 | 12:00am
New York-based Mommy And Daddy’s speedometer may just earn band members Vivian Sarratt and Edmond Hallas the title of hardest-working couple in the music industry. Having spent more than half of the last year on the road, the talkative and friendly husband and wife team were eager to shop for records at Paul’s Compact Discs in Pittsburgh. Along the way, the duo expressed their love of Sirius Satellite Radio’s garage-rock and hair-metal channels, disdain for the Kills (“Their guitars are so fucking puny!” Sarratt said. “They act tough and they have a tour bus! We drive a Subaru station wagon.”), and disappointment that they missed 50 Cent’s big-screen debut, Get Rich Or Die Tryin’.
Mommy And Daddy speak of their dark and danceable new full-length, Duel At Dawn, like it’s a child who made the honor roll but still don’t feel comfortable labeling it. “A fan in New Mexico said we should play with Robert Plant, Nine Inch Nails, and Skinny Puppy,” Sarratt said. “I think that’s an accurate description of how we are influenced by electronic industrial music and riffy arena rock.”
When the couple got married in 2000, each brought his and her individual music collections to form one giant library of discs and vinyl. “I was relieved because I had dated a lot of people before who only liked weird things like Bob Dylan and Tracy Chapman, then they looked through my CDs and would be like, ‘Who are these people?’” Sarratt said. “[With Edmond,] I was like, this guy has a wide variety of music that he likes.”
Hallas’ initial opinion of his wife’s collection wasn’t quite as favorable. “I was horrified,” he said. “There was really bad industrial music like Leather Strip.” After seeing the surprised look on Sarratt’s face, he added, “But there was a lot of it, which meant she was into music, which was cool. It’s the quantity, not the quality.”
His revision failed to appease Sarratt. “He didn’t know anything about electronic music before he met me,” she said.
While browsing the bargain bins at Paul’s, Hallas explained that in accordance with their prenuptial agreement, Mommy And Daddy planned to split the Venus-donated record-shopping funds 50-50 or else they would “start fighting.” As he continued to profess his “quantity over quality” theory, Sarratt observed, “We are definitely different shoppers. You [Hallas] are like a gatherer. I go in for the kill.”
$50 MADE THEM HOLLER. MOMMY AND DADDY’S SHOPPING LIST
Thomas Mapfumo, Spirits To Bite Our Ears: The Singles Collection 1977-1986
Sarratt: “We actually had this record, but Edmond lent it to someone and we lost it.”
Hallas: “I don’t even know who I gave it to. The worst part is I remember telling them that the record was really good and it meant a lot to me. I am really excited about getting this. It is happy Zimbabwe music with lyrics about overthrowing and killing people.”
Numbers, We’re Animals
Hallas: “Both of us like this band. They are really minimal.”
Sarratt: “It is really dancey and funky.”
Althea And Donna, Uptown Top Ranking
Sarratt: “It is a lady duo and they are amazing. “Uptown Top Ranking” was covered by an English artist, Scout Niblett. I would like to go on the road with these girls. They look like fun.”
Blonde Redhead, Misery Is a Butterfly
Sarratt: “The art on this record is phenomenal. I had it downloaded, and I felt that I should purchase it.”
Ec8or, All Of Us Can Be Rich
Sarratt: “This came out in like 1997 on the Digital Hardcore label in the U.K. It is like Atari Teenage Riot-era high-energy music.”
Hallas: “It was only four bucks!”
The Stooges, “1970” b/w “Not Right” 7-inch
Hallas: “It has awesome artwork and a fantastic picture of the band on the back, which is the reason why I am getting it.”
Cat Power, “The Greatest” b/w “Hate” 7-inch
Sarratt: “This is the last thing we got because it was one dollar, and we had one dollar left!”
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