Bands I like

Hello all,

I know I spend a lot of time talking about (read: satirizing) things I don’t like. So you may ask yourself, Skivven, what DO you like? Well, idiot, my name isn’t Skivven so you’re starting off on the wrong foot.

Well kids, I like music. I like music a lot. So, from time to time I will be releasing reviews on bands that I like to listen to, songs that hold particular meaning for me, and the like.

Before I get started, I need to plug a Waterloo band called Glory Fades. They have just released a 6-track disc under the title Anne Esthetic. I got a chance to catch up to the band at a record signing at Tower Records in New York City.

Crom: Hey guys, thanks for agreeing to this interview
GF: Hi Ian. What are you talking about?
Crom: So I’ve heard the disc, and it’s fantastic. I gotta ask, is it true what they say about rock-stars and hyperchondriasis?
GF: Um… I dunno, what do they say?
Crom: HAHAHA! You guys are too funny. So tell me, Anne Esthetic. What’s that about? Word on the street is that she is some chick you met at a hospital, am I right?
GF: Actually, it is a very clever play on the word ‘anesthetic’, which is a type of drug used to…
Crom: OUTSTANDING! I heard your world tour was a huge success. Tell me about it.
GF: World Tour? Maybe from UW to Laurier, but that hardly qualifies as…
Crom: You don’t say. Penguins? I wouldn’t think that avian creatures would enjoy your particular brand of thought-provoking rock and roll.
GF: Penguins? WTF?
Crom: Hmm, I see. Well guys, thanks for taking the time to talk to me.

Glory Fades’ star is rising, and THIS humble reporter was there at the ground floor.

Anyways, enough non-sequitur nonsense. On to serious business.

I would be remiss if I started a music column without doing my first post about THIS band. Started out of Nashville, Tennessee, they released their first album (entitled Motorcade of Generosity) in 1994. The band was none other than Cake. Since their somewhat obscure first album, they went on to garner major public recognition with their second album, Fashion Nugget. In addition to the smash hit “The Distance”, Cake released a cover of Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” that presented the band’s quirky yet rugged sound in a song that still gets air-play, almost 10 years later. 1998’s Prolonging the Magic gave us “Sheep go to Heaven (Goats go to Hell)” and “Never There”. In 2001, the single “Short Skirt, Long Jacket” – arguably Cake’s most recognized single – announced the release of the Comfort Eagle album. They are expected to release a new album entitled Pressure Chief and have already leaked the single No Phone over the radio.

Now that the crazy reporter bullshitting is over, here is my take on Cake. Most bands coming out with rock music seem primarily concerned with sounding EXACTLY like another band (I submit for your consideration Creed/Tea Party/Nickelback/Theory of a Deadman/Default/etc. etc.). Cake, I found, was something brand new. They took a lot of different influences; funk, bluegrass, rock, pop, and some definite tips of the hat to classical music, and wove it into a unique style. I’ve heard some people complain about John McCrea’s relentless syncopation and unspectacular voice (Justin Ellsworth – “It makes me want to punch myself in the dick”). John’s singing is very stylized, but it is almost instrumental in its composition. It blends with the other instruments to form a solid core of music. Instead of being the focus (i.e. Velvet Revolver, anything with Perry Farell in it, the Vienna Boy’s Choir), his voice is just another element of the music.

Another thing I really like about Cake is their unique use of instrumentation. This is particularly visible on Prolonging the Magic where some of the instruments used include: Moogwai synthesizer, mandolin, various steel and pedal guitars, and musical saw! They also have a full-time trumpet player, long before those assholes with the bagpipes came along, or those pussies in Yellowcard with their electric violin (the guy stinks by the way. When I could hear him over the lead singer’s weeping, my immediate thought was something along the lines of “Suzuki book 3”).

So listen to Cake when you get a chance. I recommend the following songs:

  • She’ll Come Back to Me
  • Mexico
  • Hem of Your Garment
  • Symphony in C
  • Pretty Pink Ribbon
  • Stickshifts and Safety Belts
  • I Bombed Korea
  • Mr. Mastodon Farm