SXSW a to z, pt. 3- The ‘C’s !
First of all, thanks to those SXSW bands who have been blatantly pandering to us for attention. We absolutely accept bribes (we like our t-shirts in size large, by the way) and feel free to contact us for a mailing address. Bad news is that if you suck, we’re still going to mention it. Yeah, this whole credibility thing is a bugaboo (how’s that for a fun word to use in a sentence?). Don’t worry, we won’t single you out by name and we still may wear your shirts on those days when we have to wash the dog. Having said that, we’ve been clued in to a couple of bands (we heart Bobbie, who hearts Lenka, therefore we LOVE Lenka)that had flown under our radar and we’ll absolutely be discussing them as the SXSW preview continues.
And now on with the woefully disappointing C’s!
Cary Brothers- No disappointment here. A great studio band who are precious (in a good way) live.
Circle Jerks- File this one under guilty pleasures. CJ probably haven’t been relevent since the mid-80’s. The Decline of Western Civilization (pt.1) was the most influential movie I watched as a youth, so the Jerks will always have a place in my heart. The clip below is from TDOWC and shows them at their best. I strongly suggest hunting down a copy of the movie on VHS (strangely the movie has never been put out on DVD) and watching it non-stop for the next week. It’ll be fun to see what Keith Morris looks like and how they interact with a crowd old enough to be their grandchildren.
The Cloud Room- Compared to Echo and the Bunnymen initially, they probably fit more into the Franz Ferdinand style of music. Not necessarily a bad thing if they don’t become….Franz Ferdinand. Should be a good live band.
The Crystal Method- Shocked that I like this band? Me too. I’m not a big electronica guy, although I can talk Squarepusher and Underworld with the best of them (did I mention the guys in Adult, were good friends of mine back in the day?), I do get bored with this genre. But Crystal Method use keyboard and drum patterns in a way that make them closer to “rock” than anyone else. Great light shows, dancing and….I’m assuming their show will be around 2am, right? Perfect.
Tomorrow, the far more exciting ‘D’s with two of my all-time favorite bands and my new “best album of 2009” candidate (move over Boxer Rebellion!).
The Dumbing of America 
Couple of things my friend.
1. Your assessment of The Bronx is spot on, they are one of the best, most honest things going in music today.
2. I would like to challenge your thought that punk rock is dead. Agreed that it is difficult to find meaningful ‘real’ punk bands these days (and to be clear, in my mind being ‘punk’ has little to do with what chords you play or how silly your fauxhawk looks, and more to do with your ethos and approach to life and living.) With that being said, Fucked Up is the real deal these days…they have essentially replaced Refused as THE punk/hardcore band to listen to and see live. Give me some time, I will find others as well.
3. I was one of the fortunate ones to attend one of the last Circle Jerks shows back in 1995 at St. Andrews and then again was fortunate enough to see Keith Morris do the Rollins Band/Black Flag sets about 4 years ago at Harpo’s. Keith can still bring it, lot’s of energy…snarly and punk as can be. Reminds me so much of Johnny Rotten in hindsight. Long live Keith Morris.
Uriah
Uriah said this on February 19, 2009 at 2:46 am |
There’s a smart man, ladies and gentlemen. Agrees with me on The Bronx, references the great Refused and likes the Circle Jerks. Front of the line for you, sir. I think Circle Jerks are still at least interesting enough to go see (hence the recommendation), I just didn’t like anything they did after the 2nd album. The punk is dead slam is really just a reference to the failed attempts by Blink, Green Day and their ilk and their lame attempts to portray themselves as “punk”. Rock on.
toddc2001 said this on February 19, 2009 at 2:57 am |