Great band from San Francisco in the 90s. Listen and watch three times before commenting. I think you'll identify with the lyrics :)
Double click on the clip to get into YouTube and you can get a full screen version on this classic.
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2 comments:
Okay. First, I was really surprised that this was the early 90s. They seem to be in some sort of 70s versus 80s fashion crisis -- like Freddie Mercury got eaten by Wayne & Garth. (Hey, you send it to me on YouTube, you can pretty much guarantee I'm going to comment on what they look like). But then, I was only 11 when this song came out, and that was back in a magical time when little girls didn't dress like sorority sisters, so my awareness of what people were wearing outside of my elementary school was pretty limited.
Sound: I like it... I like that the drumming is steady without being monotonous. It has a kicky yet not obnoxious beat - the kind that I'd listen to driving home from work, or in the morning trying to get out the door.
As for the lyrics, I'm slightly ambivalent. Is the first part about someone who has talent that is lost on mainstream critics/listeners, or someone who is manufactured to have the total surface package but crashes and burns with no talent whatsoever? I don't know... But the second half seems tongue in cheek for sure - a nice little patronizing way of telling someone to sit down and shut it. As in, we don't really think you're the only one that is right, as much as we find it annoying that you think you're always right. Not a "pen is mightier than the sword" scenario really, but more of a vinegar and insight pen-packing self-righteousness. No? Is this the part I'm supposed to identify with? Yikes...
In the end, I think Mrs. Lynn sounds a lot like Dylan's Miss Lonely who used to laugh about everyone that was hanging out, but now doesn't talk so loud or seem so proud. Another "how does it feel situation," but Dylan is more forceful and intentional, whereas these guys seem sort of blase, sort of Art Garfunkel, sort of coo-coo-ka-choo Mrs. Robinson.
Final verdict: I like it, don't love it, would buy the single, but probably not the album. What are your thoughts on it?
These guys were really under-rated when they came out. Everyone was on the grunge bandwagon and there was little room for power-pop stuff like this (influences from Wings, Beach Boys and Big Star). They broke up after 2 albums.
Many of the grungies at the time(whom I loved on the whole) where too busy trying to marry Neil Young with the Pixies.
I think that this stands the test of time - great live band. You're right though, an entire album can be a bit too retro. In fact the guitar player left them as he thought that they were too into sounding like their heroes and not developing their own sound.
Last comment - check their version of JET out - hilarious and awesome:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCcTJ1xN0NM
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