Does It Offend You, Yeah? : Epic Last Song/We Are Rockstars

Does It Offend You, Yeah? is a band with some issues. First of all, their name is crazy. It's got five words, two pieces of punctuation, and is a complete sentence on its own. This means it's very difficult, up to the point of embarrassment, to discuss the band with anyone who doesn't already know about them, which is pretty much everyone I've ever met.

Second, they can't seem to decide what kind of band they want to be. On the one hand, half the album sounds like rock-based electronica, along the lines of Justice, and the other half sounds exactly like an 80's revival act, like an upbeat Modern English maybe, or even a little like early U2. So I kind of wanted to explore this dichotomy and post two songs by them, one from each of their sides.

"Epic Last Song" is, appropriately enough, the final song on their album, and while not spectacular, it is a thoroughly enjoyable slab of pop. It somehow manages to sound really, really familiar, and yet I can't figure out who it sounds like. Maybe you can let me know your thoughts in the comments. In any case, there are a few other straight-up pop songs like this on the album.

"We Are Rockstars" is a more dance-oriented tune. It kicks off with a straight-up four-on-the-floor beat snazzed out with some really nice cowbell and slaps you right in the face with some super-intense synth riffs. It hammers on the beat for a while, but then drops into a calm breakdown that sounds like it's straight off an A Flock of Seagulls record, with some vocoder thrown in to really set that 80's mood. That lasts a little while, then it's back to the thrashing synth and rhythm. This switches up a couple more times through the song, until finally the monsoon of sound ends, tossing you up onto the beach in blissful silence.

Basically, whichever side of the road the band feels like traveling, it's a solid record all the way through. Both of these songs can be found on their 2008 release, You Have No Idea What You're Getting Yourself Into.

Also, since I've promised a song a day, this post will cover the next 2 days. Enjoy!

PS: In case you weren't sure about their 80's leanings, one of the songs on their new album is called "Home Is Where The Heart Is (A Song For John Hughes)".

[You can listen to Does It Offend You, Yeah?'s "Epic Last Song" by navigating to the post "Song066" and clicking or right-clicking on the title or the link.]

[You can listen to Does It Offend You, Yeah?'s "We Are Rockstars" by navigating to the post "Song067" and clicking or right-clicking on the title or the link.]

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Hot Chip : Out At the Pictures

There's not much to say about Hot Chip that hasn't been written by someone else. They are clearly indie music media darlings, stars of the "genre", along with the likes of MGMT, Animal Collective, Bon Iver or Bright Eyes (none of which I particularly like, oddly enough). That being said, I'll just say they are an eclectic, primarily electronic, rock band. "Out At the Pictures", from their 2008 album Made in the Dark, is a pretty typical offering.

The whole thing starts with a long but cool synth intro that builds in speed and is clearly live (or extremely well faked), as you can hear the audience screaming in the background. This intro is welded to the front of a speedy little dance rock number, chock full of buzzing, overdriven synths and aggressive, rocking, but still danceable drums. The lyrics are pretty simple, concentrating more on the sound of the words as an instrument rather than deep meanings, to the point where they repeat the word "whether" sixteen times in a row in the chorus. Yeah, I know that sounds like it might be annoying, but it's used to good effect. I like that the song has all the trappings of a techno number, but the band has used them to create a real rocker instead.

The rest of Made in the Dark is mostly more of the same, which is why it's so good. There is the occasional acoustic ballad and even some songs that might fall along the 'soft rock' side of the spectrum. Still, they know their strengths and play to them well. It's a very good album.

[You can listen to Hot Chip's "Out At the Pictures" by navigating to the post "Song054" and clicking or right-clicking on the title or the link.]

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The B-52's : 52 Girls

I'm not a huge fan of The B-52's, but some of their stuff is pretty good. You've almost certainly heard "Love Shack", which despite it's over-saturation is still a good song, and I'm assuming you've heard "Rock Lobster" at least once. "52 Girls" comes from the same eponymous debut album as "Rock Lobster" and has that same stripped down dance rock feel.

The song itself is relatively simple, with just your basic guitar/drum/bass combo jamming on a very danceable groove that barely changes across the entire song, even from verse to chorus. The two female vocalists, Kate and Cindy (Fred is nowhere to be found, which could be a good or bad thing depending on your point of view), sing the lyrics together in a nice close harmony throughout the song.

What really makes the song so arresting is the vocal phrasing. The lyrics are stretched and condensed over the constant beat, like verbal rubber bands. For instance, in the chorus, 'name' is sung three times in succession, and each time it gains an extra syllable. 'Tina and Louise' are crammed together almost into a single syllable, whereas 'Madge' gets four and 'Reba' stretches over nearly eight bars. It's an odd but very effective technique, resulting in a very prog, almost jazz-like feel.

Then, there's the lyrics themselves. Who are all these people? Why on Earth do I need to 'name them today'? The only clue I can find is they mention Kate and Cindy, so perhaps these are just names of women they know. Also, the names seem to trend from old-fashioned to modern as the song progresses, so maybe the song is a shout out to their relatives. Or maybe it's just a list of names. In any case, there aren't 52 of them, but don't let that stop you from enjoying it.

As previously mentioned, you can find "52 Girls" on the B-52's 1979 self-titled album, which also houses "Rock Lobster", both of which are great songs. The album itself is considered a true classic, though for the most part, I'm ambivalent.

[You can listen to the B-52's "52 Girls" by navigating to the post "Song049" and clicking or right-clicking on the title or the link.]

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VHS or Beta : Night On Fire

What would happen if Robert Smith of the Cure decided to cut an album with Duran Duran back in '82? You'd probably end up with something that sounded suspiciously like VHS or Beta's Night On Fire. Seriously, the lead singer is a dead ringer for Robert, emitting a strangled bark that emulates almost exactly the way the gothic frontman sings. I think he might even might even be affecting a bit of an English accent, which is odd considering they're from Louisville, Kentucky.

And the band on this album... The bass work is a dead ringer for John Taylor's from "Rio" or even "Girls On Film". The guitar work also sounds eerily familiar, echoing songs from the same period. It's kind of spooky actually. Anyway, it's thrown over a nice dance rock beat, and suddenly you've got a club-worthy release that pays homage to that early MTV sound while still being grounded firmly in the 21st century.

"Night On Fire" can be found on VHS or Beta's 2004 release Night On Fire. Night On Fire is a great album, one of my favorite finds in 2009, especially if you like the Cure or Duran Duran. The band gets away from that formula on some of the other tracks, including some extended instrumental jams, which was a bit surprising, but they're well done. I've listened to some of the other stuff VHS or Beta has done, but it's more dance-oriented, almost to the level of, say, Daft Punk, and not really my bag.

As of this writing, Night On Fire is 0.01 dollars for a used copy at Amazon (plus shipping & handling). How can you pass that up?

[You can listen to VHS or Beta's "Night On Fire" by navigating to the post "Song030" and clicking or right-clicking on the title or the link.]

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