Somewhat of a misnomer, Foreign Born are from right up the way in Los Angeles, although they do have a certain anglophilic atmosphere about them. Turn the clock back twenty years and I wouldn’t be surprised to find them palling around with Echo and the Bunnymen.
Baby Teeth
My introduction to disco funk and AM gold came at a rec center ice (not roller) rink in Oxford, Ohio, where I was more focused on learning to let go of the sideboards than I was on honing my critical ear. So I have to admit — and I think I’m in good company here — a soft spot for a lip-biting groove, syrupy synths, and falsetto back-up vocals. Oh, and an extroverted frontman with ridiculously romantic lyrics. Baby Teeth have all those ingredients in place, right down to their lead singer, Pearly Sweets, whose delivery lives up to his name and wrings any suspicion of irony right out. In fact, as his tender a capella vocals kick off the ballad “Mandy” with “Mandy…Mandy…Mandy…you make me feel like a dandy…”, I can feel my palms getting all sweaty in anticipation of the PA announcer saying, “Snowball…”
Tiger Baby
I’ve always maintained the theory that no matter what kind of music you grew up listening to, you can find it, recreated somehow, someway in a current band. However, whether or not you’re open-minded to it is another story. Some people get stuck in the past and are happy to be there. Those who don’t read 3hive. So it finally hit me who Tiger Baby remind me of (and I can’t wait to play it for my wife, Alisa, who’s a huge fan of): Claudia Br�cken and her projects Propaganda and Act. Tiger Baby represent faithfully the heart and soul the aforementioned bands injected into ’80s synth pop. We’ll see if my hypothesis holds when these tracks end up in Alisa’s iPod.
Angry Samoans
I’m late with my post because today was my son’s birthday party with his school friends and I’m still recovering. As a swarm of five-year-old boys took over our backyard, this song kept running through my head. I was certain someone was going to poke-poke-poked their eyes out jumping from the roof or demoing the new Batman disc gun (didn’t one of those kill a kid once?). Fortunately, everyone left with both eyes intact, though one little buddy landed a bloody nose in a rowdy game of hoops. Hey, you know what they say: it ain’t over until someone gets hurt or pees in the kiddie pool. BTW, there’s a classic “Lights Out” comic strip by Dennis Worden over at WFMU’s site.
Bear vs. Shark
Whoever said that adults are constantly trying to relive their youth isn’t as crazy and jaded as all of the actuaries in your life might have you think. I, for one, am happy to find a band that�ll make me recall something as banal as rolling down the highway in my Chevy Sprint Turbo, bobbing my head to strains of Fugazi, The Pixies, Nation of Ulysses, Quicksand — whatever made a lot of noise. Plus, cacophony was pretty much all that sounded right on 3-inch factory speakers cranked loud enough to drown out the rumble of that three-cylinder Sprint engine, especially when that turbo power kicked in. Bear vs. Shark makes me misty-eyed over those kinds of memories without pushing too many nostalgia buttons of their own, so pretend you’re behind the wheel and bob along.
Mission of Burma
I swear the punk rock kid in high school — the big one, John (?), not the skinny one, Adam (Sam might remember this better than I do) — had “Mission of Burma” stencilled on the back of his black leather jacket. Naturally, I thought it referenced World War II in some way. And so, with thoughts of John and the ’80s in mind, I’d like to dedicate this post to Jared, fan of bands that were around long before he was conceived. Although his Favorite Song Ever, Mission of Burma’s “Academy Fight Song,” isn’t available in the free and legal MP3 form (a video of this song is, however, on the band’s homepage), these tracks from, oh, last year, when Jared was 17, are pretty kicking too. Enjoy.
Swirlies
Yes, I admit, I can be quite obsessive. Case in point: Sambassadeur‘s song “Whatever Season.” I’ve got it looping in its own playlist in MP3 player. But this obsessive behavior is nothing new, as 3hive’s own Sam can testify. Back when he and I shared a room in college I went thru a Swirlies phase. Swirlies are still alive and kicking, thanks to main man Damon Tutunjian. In their prime, no one could make a racket as beautifully as them Swirlies. Now please pardon me while I load my entire Swirlies collection onto my MP3 player.
Flower 15 Music Festival Announced
Innaway
I gotta be up at 4am tomorrow morning to take my parents to LAX — they’re flying to Richmond, VA to begin their East coast road trip vacation. (My only suggestion to them is to be sure to hit Shopsin’s when they’re in New York). So I’ll be keeping this brief. Innaway makes slow, groovy, classic rock-like jams. They played live on my radio show last week, and you can catch them soon with Brian Jonestown Massacre.
The Promise Ring
I’ve been saving The Promise Ring for a special occasion and I finally have one. This post goes out to two Southern girls who recently joined the 3hive fam. First, Kiera Siobhan, Clay’s third daughter, who was born in Memphis, Tennessee on June 1. Second, Miss Sydney Meeks who married our Shan Fowler in her hometown of Beaufort, South Carolina on June 4. You see, The Promise Ring have a well-documented obsession with lyrical wordplay, ridiculous hooks, and Southern girls (e.g., “The Deep South,” included, and “Perfect Lines,” which you’ll have to buy). Obsession may seem like an overstatement but keep in mind they’re from Milwaukee, so “Southern” can refer to Chicago as far as they’re concerned. In any case, mad congrats to both Clay and Shan!