
There
doesn't seem to be a name for the sort of music
I like.
For
someone who purports to love punk, I really hate punk.
Boring
4 chord rants. Musical / lyrical cliches.
Gigs
where the acts just wanted to sound like their favourite
band
without bringing anything to the table.
Don't
even get me started on hardcore ... all those
rosy-cheeked kids from the suburbs
screaming
about injustice. Do me a favour.
Maybe
the fact that so few people 'get it' makes the good
stuff the ultimate soundtrack to surrealism.
At
its height, Punk and New Wave seemed to produce a new
genre of music every month or so.
Experimentation,
smartness and sounding like yourself ...
I
heard At the Drive-In's 'Invalid letter dept.' on the
radio in 2001 and was sold straight away.
It
was great to hear a band who played with real passion
and
the
dadaist cut-up lyrics were just an added bonus.
I
saw The Mars Volta a few years later in Brixton
and
was inspired by the new direction they had taken.
The
1990s had been a bit of a desert for us lovers of
intelligent,
inventive music - just the odd ray of light ... like
Ween and Butthole surfers.
This
first song always makes me think of Manchester ... it's a
long story.
The
Mars Volta - Televator
At
the Drive-In - One
armed scissor
At
the Drive-In - Invalid
letter Dept.
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