I have an
angry buddy who I swear is a 65 year old man stuck in the body of a 30 year
old. He absolutely hates any music that’s been made in the past 15 years and
swears that 80’s cock rock is the only real music that has ever existed! When
his wife asked him if he wanted to go see the Lumineers, he asked her if she
wanted a divorce. I think he was
exaggerating for effect…I think. I tried to tell him about the !!! show I am
going to this weekend and he absolutely lost it. “Look at these guys! They look
like nerds! And who is this walking mop with his gyrating hips?” It was at this
point that he turned to his friend who also likes !!! and said “You like this
crap? This is why you’re single and a douchebag!” I swear he’s actually a
like able guy but just stay away from any discussions about music with him. Oh, and he
also is a Taylor Swift fan, belongs to her fan club, and has floor seats to her
show tonight that he could sell for $1000 a piece, but refuses to do so.
Confused? So am I.
I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised by this
because all kinds of weirdness abounds these days. For some reason the 90’s are
actually making a come back with ball players rocking the Kid n Play flattops, kids wearing snap on bracelets again, and even the onesie jumper is becoming
popular in certain parts of the world. Along with this we are seeing the rise
of a few 90’s grunge bands in the way of Speedy Ortiz and Bass Drum of Death. Bass Drum of Death I don’t really get because
they barely resemble grunge rock from that era, but hipster kids are starting
to feel fake nostalgia for that time period so I can see them reaching for a
band that would have been the opener for an Everclear show.
Speedy Ortiz
however is the real deal. Their music is full of distorted guitars complimented
with bratty lyrics being moaned into the mic by lead singer Sarah Dupius. Her
songs range anywhere from having too many boyfriends to violence involving guns,
knives, or whatever other dangerous objects come to mind. They are already drawing comparisons to The Breeders and Polvo, which would be fine if those bands weren’t terrible themselves. But the good news for Ortiz is, unlike those bands; when they
rock out, they bring the noise with numbers like Ka-Prow, Tiger Tank, and
Indoor Soccer. I’ve come across too many slow songs of theirs that just simply put
you to sleep, so they still seem to be figuring out what their exact style is going to be. But I have to say that I like what I hear
so far, especially from a band that's only been around for a year. I am going to give them a reluctant rating of FRESH because I have real
nostalgia for that time period as I was actually there (can you tell how much I miss LCD Soundsystem?). What makes me so cautious is, the reason why the grunge genre didn’t last that long
is because after a while it all starts to sound the same. In spite of that,
give these guys a listen as I’m sure they’ll be opening for Sonic Youth soon.
Next up is MGUN
for all you dancing heads out there. He hails from Detroit and brings acid
dripped techno with some 808 beats thrown in. This is especially evident in his most popular song The
Race. I really like his Near Future EP which includes The Race because it shows him actually
progressing his music from the traditional techno you hear in his earlier work Don’t Be
Afraid. It’s full of weird bleeps and random samples and is good for both
rocking your glow sticks to and rolling around with a few 40 ounces. I prefer
the latter. Let The Conversation Take Place is another highlight, if you’re
looking for songs of his to check out. Eventhough he isn’t reinventing the
wheel or anything, I rate him as FRESH!
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