Slender is one of my favorite bands in the whole world, and it’s not just because my friend Kent is the bass player and he came all the way from San Francisco to Bay City, Michigan, for my wedding a few years ago. Come to think of it, Kent was probably at most of the 3hive crew’s weddings, both as guest and guest-musician, but that’s not the point. Slender’s repertoire is full of songs both low-down dirty and downright happy, and they often manage to toss in relevant social commentary as well. I always thought “No Love” would be perfect PA music for a fight at a hockey (or basketball) game.
Singapore Sling
This one goes out to my man Adam Filipkowski, wherever you may be. Adam tried to get me in trouble in high school and, for the most part, failed miserably — unless of course you count my otherwise inexplicable love for dark, brooding rock ‘n’ roll. Adam forced me to listen to his favorite band at the time, Sisters of Mercy, until something in me clicked. He also taught me how to make homemade mashed potatoes. These days I don’t know how much Adam, who last we spoke was spinning/producing some wicked drum ‘n’ bass under the moniker Ego Rock, would care for Singapore Sling. But the fact that they’ve burrowed right into my earhole can be credited to him nonetheless. Good lookin’, Adam…
Preston School of Industry
The two or three songs that appeared on each Pavement album by full-time guitarist and occasional singer/songwriter Spiral Stairs always seemed to be these little secret pleasures, three-and-a-half-minute chunks of rocking-out energy blended beautifully with randomized weirdness. His hard work continues (and his creativity grows) on two Preston School of Industry albums, full of rootsy, poppy, noisy, sloppy tunes, all of which Spiral Stairs got to write and sing.
Tegan and Sara
So, like, Tegan and Sara are these mildly punky twin sisters from Vancouver (I even read somewhere that theyíre lesbians!) drinking, cursing, and bickering their way through their mid-20s, or something like that. Whatever. Like most Canadians, Tegan and Sara rock out when they need to, slow it down the same way, and have entire albums filled with songs reflecting the requisite angst and confusion brought on by being or doing some or all of those things listed in the first sentence.
Pixies
I have a lot to be thankful for, including two incredible live music experiences in one week: The wonderful Arcade Fire last Thursday at the Magic Stick, and a reunited, rejuvenated Pixies at the lovely State Theater in downtown Detroit. A bit of backstory, the Pixies’ Surfer Rosa/Come on Pilgrim is one of the first compact discs I bought in The Great Format Switch of 1988 and has had more front-to-back spins than any other CD I own. Yet, for a number of reasons, I never had the chance to see the Pixies play live until the other night. Let’s just say, they bought me a soda, they bought me a soda and tried to molest me in the parking lot…yep, yep yep! They were so tight (Dave Lovering was playing drums like it was his last chance on earth), no one was holding back, and they played for two solid hours and hit every single song on my wish list. Joe and I tried hard afterwards to think of anything else we would have had them play and all we could come up with were B-sides and agreed that was way too greedy of us. So that backstory now has a happy ending. Merry Thanksgiving everyone!
Kelley Stoltz
I’m a sucker for bedroom recordings and Kelley Stoltz has certainly raised my lo-fi expectations. Unable to settle with any one sound, Stoltz wanders from spaced-out, folk songs, to downtempo Nick Drake moments, to Theremin-tinged psychedelia. Add to this his solo interpretations of classic Echo & The Bunnymen songs and it’s as plain as the nose on your face that you’ve been missing something. This may be your first taste of Kelley Stoltz, but I’d wager it ain’t your last.
Limbeck
I was one of those kids who got beat up during recess at elementary school because I knew all of the state capitals by heart and told everyone what they were, in order. Limbeck are like that, too. Their pop is jangly (there’s that word again) and fresh, their subject matter is late-teens and early-twenties heartbreak/confusion, and their knowledge of geography is absolutely impeccable.
The Makers
Sometimes you just gotta rock. What is it they say… you can take the glam rock out of the garage, but you can’t take the garage out of the glam rock?
Desaparecidos
Taken from young Conor Oberst’s rockin’ thesis on everything wrong with modern-day U.S.A., this is my last attempt to get out the vote. Here’s to a brighter future, so Conor can go back to singing about failed relationships with movie stars…
Les Savy Fav
While searching high and low, door to door, looking for a tasty Halloween treat to share, I hit the jackpot. Like going trick-or-treating in the rich kids’ neighborhood where every other house passes out full-size candy bars, Les Savy Fav and their labels are generous enough to fill our plastic pumpkins with music. Discordant, danceable, and definitely worth a good pogo. Les Savy Fav are making their way down the West Coast in a week. Hold on to some of those sweets, you’ll need the sugar fix to keep up with these fellows.