24 April 2019

24 April 2019 - Folk Implosion - Natural One

Chances are, if you watched MTV in the 1990s, you know this song well.  But you might not know about what Folk Implosion actually was.

The Folk Implosion was a side project from a band called Sebadoh, itself formed when founder Lou Barlow couldn't get his prior band, Dinosaur Jr., to record his songs.   This particular side project was very different - more folky - than Sebadoh.  And it was obscure.

Until a movie named Kids came out, and Lou Barlow was commissioned to build a soundtrack, dominated by Folk Implosion and Sebadoh. The movie itself was controversial - an NC-17 affair that made the Weinsteins a fair bit of money - and so got a fair bit of attention. This song got into MTV heavy rotation, which propelled this obscure little project form Amherst, MA into the Billboard Top 30. 

It was well deserved.  The song is catchy and you're singing it to yourself now.

23 April 2019

23 April 2019 - Tripping Daisy - I Got A Girl

This video is TERRIBLE.  It's awful and doesn't tell a story that at all matches the song.

And while the lyrics of the song make it pretty clear that these guys are also terrible, the song is a fun, raucous romp. 

And, of course, that pretty terrible persona is an act.  In reality, these guys were young but had a lot of respect for the punk acts that came before them - they covered Bad Religion live - and were close enough that the death of a band member broke them up (and caused the formation of Polyphonic Spree) for nearly 20 years. 

But back to this song.  It's fun, it's irreverent, and it's one that instantly brings you back to 1995.