Oct 7, 2013

Honey, This Is What Music Is: The Ten Bands I Can't Wait To Play For My Daughter

In March 2014, I will be the proud parent of what i'm told will be a little baby girl.  While i imagine my offspring being some form of hellspawn sent here for world domination, I suppose mom's DNA might allow for a normal human being.  Since I got the news I've been forced to start answering important questions on lesser  matters like: school, religion, etc. But I feel like it's time to start answering the important questions like what music do i want to expose little Erma Jean to.  So after deliberation I have decided these 10 artists (12 if you count 2 honorable mentions) are going to be my responsibility to introduce her to.

As a starting criteria I can assume that Icons like Led Zepelin, The Beatles & Black Sabbath will be force-fed to her so i don't need to worry about them.  Everclear & Weezer (Pre-Raditude Weezer anyway) should make the list but ultimately they still get decent radio service on the right radio stations so I shouldn't worry about them either.  Everclear gets it's honorable mention because back in the day Art's bark on You Make Me Feel Like A Whore seemed like the most impassioned thing I had ever heard anyone sing and Heartspark Dollar sign may be the reason I held out until i found the perfect (black) girl for me, thus leading to the little ones ultimate creation.  Weezer gets it's mention because, to this day, Only In Dreams remains my favorite piece of music ever constructed and no matter how many terrible albums they put out it's gonna be hard to outweigh the genius they hit with Pinkerton.  Formalities aside in no particular order here's the top 10.

Dios (Malos) - I first heard these guys opening for TV On The Radio at Mr. Smalls in Pittsburgh and was frankly on another ethereal plane and recall ver little other than how intense 50 Cents was when the organ hits.  It was like a sonic punch to the face.  They were so weird and awesome and I later found out their claim to fame was a track on the soundtrack to the OC.  That last part is true but makes no sense in my world.  I however can't wait til she's old enough to appreciate the album We Are Dios in all it's Psychedelic glory...even i suppose if she doesn't appreciate it.



Bad Rabbits - While I still hold out hope that these guys big break is just around the corner and that they are still on the come-up I can't leave that to chance.  Where else is she gonna get to hear a band that sounds like prince but has hardcore breakdowns in the middle of Newjack Swing synth riffs.  Understanding that Glassjaw & Bobby Brown don't have to be diametrically opposed is going to be an important lesson.



Boatzz - The lone cleveland band on here.  These guys as far as I know havn't even been a band as long as I lived here but are important to me just the same.  I caught them for the first time as the opener for OK Go and direct suport She Wants Revenge at The Grog shop.  I was too drunk to remember actually seeeing them but bought their disc Peacock's Blood and was dlighted to hear it in the morning when i got home.  My aftershow thoughts i wish i was too drunk to remember she wants revenge and not these guys.  The reason I'm adding these guys to the list despite being small timers is that they blended 60's psychedilia and punk rock in such a way as to make it all seem like it was naturally all from the same place.  Throw in a little of the Tom Jones-esque lead vocals and you get a perfect weird perfect combination.



OK Go - In my opinion, the most inventive lyrical group on here.  These guys pen amazing pop songs and i've never heard one i didn't like.  Sadly i feel like their moment in the spotlight has passed but I hold out hope that they still have more great albums coming.



Death From Above 1979 - I discovered these guys after they had already broken up.  I heard dead womb from a 15 year old kid and was immediately pissed that I had missed these guys while being overjoyed that the band i had always wanted to start had already existed...ok I was a little pissed about that too since i wasn't in it but mostly happy.  These guys unleashed the most ruthless sound two guys could ever put out and had a raw aggression that made you wanna peel your ears out if you weren't terrified you'd miss something.  These guys are why i'll be sure that if any man ever tried to take advantage of Erma she'd rip their still beating heart from their chest and take a bite out of it as she smiled and danced in the blood.



Strung Out - The most imoprtant thing to come out of the late 90's punk movement for me.  Punk as fuck and yet still capable of writing great catchy songs while being moody as all hell.  As the band progressed incorporating more of their metal influence they became more and more like me.  They even did a cover of the Police's Every Breath You Take that captured the intended feeling better than The Police themselves.  Cruz sounds like one creepy motherfucker given the content.  In short if she get's this band she'll get her old man.



Mother Mother - Perhaps the oddest band on here.  Perhaps the most important.  These guys are dancy, flamboyant as hell and often twangy like you'd not believe.  Their choices of melody and harmonic voicing make for some of the most interesting music i've ever encountered while still being catchy and danceable.



The Flaming Lips - These guys record in the woods about 40 miles from where i grew up.  They also make some of the most entertaining music i know.  Having changed over the years they over a large catalogue of pop songs with ton's of weird atmospheric goodies.  They almost didn't make the cut because they, like Weezer & Everclear, still get considerable radio airplay but in this case most  of their catalogue is ignored.  I know she'll never get the experience of Bad Days in the soundtrack to Batman Forever but hopefully she finds something to love here.



Goldfish - I'm not the biggest fan of electronic music but these guys do it in the best way imagineable.  Maybe that's because they can work upright bass and saxophone into their live set.  Old school jazz and dance grooves all mashed together.



Jamiroquai - The last band I'm putting on the list Is the second one i have a tattoo celebrating.  Strung Out was the first.  This used to be my favorite band next to Real Big Fish to run to when i was a cross country runner in highschool.  Great lyrics, amazing bass grooves and a killer voice.  Not to mention a sonic cameo in Napolean Dynamite.  I hope the funky groove of Planet Home makes someone want to dance around in a treadmill room too.



And there you have it.  The answer to what i feel is my most important question in childrearing...although i wonder how long it will take her to realize nobody else has a year round holiday tree...

Nicky P

Oct 5, 2013

October

First post on the blog this month so I figured I'd start it off with a playlist of what's been making me want to dance and/or increasing my hatred towards humanity.

Husker Du - Metal Circus/Zen Arcade/Flip Your Wig :  I've pretty much been listening to Husker Du exclusively lately, and every time I hear Mould's vocals partnered with the razor thin and noisy production I'm reminded why they are one of the greatest punk bands ever.

Iceage - You're Nothing : This record is so good it's made it's way into another post of mine. It makes me think this band started with a group of snotty, young, Morrissey (and Joy Division, for good measure) worshipping kids that were given some 80's U.S. hardcore punk tapes....and the result was "You're Nothing".  I could be way off, but check it out regardless.

Roky Erickson - Evil One : A true rock n roll fucking maniac.  Reading stories from and about this man would keep me occupied and interested for days.  I'll be the first to admit I don't know much about the bands he was in, and yeah - he helped pioneer a genre I don't personally give a shit about - but I could listen to this guy's records for days, and "Evil One" just happens to be perfect for this time of year.

Some honorable mentions :

Queens of the Stone Age - Self Titled
Slapshot - Sudden Death Overtime
Anti Nowhere League - We are the League

When you're done thinking it's really cool to listen exclusively to bands like Danzig, The Misfits, maybe even Type O Negative because it's fall season and you're really striving to get that maximum number of "likes" on your Instagram post, check out these records. 

-WOODS