A few weeks ago I was watching Chasing Amy. I'd seen it before, but never paid attention to the music I guess. In the Holden and Alyssa hanging out montage scene, there's a song called "Jump Start" playing. It's so perfectly 90's, and it's a great mood setter. I had to get the album. This one was pretty expensive for an old used cd. Like $7 I think. That's not a lot of money or anything, but usually when I buy used cds they're in the $0-$3 range. I'd describe these guys as early 90's power-pop rock. The album opener, "Waiting", is really good, and got me excited for the rest of the cd. However, there's only about 4 songs that I find myself listening to if I'm not popping the cd in to listen to the whole thing. If you like 90's music, you'll love some of these songs though.
I first heard these guys (and girl) on the cartoon Clone High (which is possibly the greatest not-for-kids cartoon ever created...watch it NOW). Their song "By Starlight" was on the unofficial soundtrack I downloaded, and it's an awesome song. After a lot of searching, I ended up buying it. Unfortunately, like most things I buy and post on this blog, the one song I had previously heard was the best. The other songs aren't bad, but nothing else stood out after one or two listens. I'll have to listen to it more. It's sort of like early 2000's alternative rock/power-pop with 90's emo influences. Something about them, particularly the title track, reminds me of newer Saves The Day.
I used to really be into The Clash. I heard that Mick Jones, their guitarist and sometimes singer had a project called Big Audio Dynamite after The Clash ended. I found this in a cd bin at a Goodwill a little while after I heard about them and bought it. It's a single, so it's only 4 songs. There's the song Rush, a dance mix of it, a live version of it, and then a song called City Lights. I only remember what the original Rush sounds like, but I know that it's pretty decent. It's like a mix of rock, dance, and hip hop. If you like the Clash, and haven't heard these guys before, give it a listen.
Yay, another local band that you probably don't know or care about! I saw these guys on public access tv one day performing a song called "Yogos In Your Mouth". I thought it was amusing. Someone got an autographed copy of it and gave it to me as a gift. Interestingly enough, I recognized one of the names as a local high school teacher. But that's not important. Actually, none of this is, but whatever. I don't care much for the rest of their music. Maybe you will. They're....quirky rock. They claim that their influences are Talking Heads, Presidents of the United States (who they opened for once), Ween, etc. Somewhat accurate.
