Admitted Affection

Guilty pleasure is the wrong word. My crush on WilsonPhillips is guilty. My absolute love for everything Kanye West, well, that is pure pleasure. But sometimes I get myself into something that’s less than respectable. A band my friends would probably avoid. I think, “Given enough time, this ill-regarded band could make the jump to near respectability.”

Oasis is really the poster child for what I’m talking about. By now enough time has passed that every hipster of a certain age is willing and able to defend those first two Oasis records. Dumb as a bag of hammers? Yes. But they did have some killer lines, didn’t they? And they married their wistful, obvious rhymes an unbeatable streak of great melodies. Took me forever to admit it, but Oasis was a great band. For a little while.

Oasis aren’t alone. There are several bands that might fit the Oasis mold. I don’t mean they’re on the same level quality-wise. Indeed, me and everyone reading this would be better off listening to something else besides the five bands in this post. But at some point, these dudes might turn a corner. Or savvy listeners might re-evaluate their past masters. Maybe they’ve got some good qualities we’ve overlooked. Maybe they aren’t too smart. And sure, they’ve all got some serious weaknesses. But they’ve all achieved critical mass at some point (if not critical approval). Some of them are still very popular. Yet, for some reason, people with actual taste haven’t quite given in.

This post is basically me wondering aloud: do these bands have significant redeeming qualities? Such that you might want to be acquainted? For your convenience, I’ve listed them in order, based on the strength of my recommendation. And the last band on this list probably shouldn’t have made it.

Coldplay

This is the most obvious example, and they may be the closest to that magical moment when knowledgeable music lovers admit, “yeah, I don’t turn them off when I hear one of the singles.” I certainly feel that way. But when it comes to Coldplay’s first record, Parachutes, I don’t merely tolerate it. I fucking love it.

This first track sets a tone for the whole record, with it’s “Ventura Highway” chords, and it’s nautically flanged organ and guitar. The thing is, it’s a wonderful guitar record from beginning to end. And Chris Martin’s lyrics, while occasionally cringe-worthy, are better here than they ever would be again. Yeah that voice is unfuckwithable, but the songs and playing are also first-rate. Sure Parachutes got knocked as Radiohead wannabe. But my dark, guilty secret is that I like Parachutes almost as much as I like The Bends.

Snow Patrol

If you’ve heard of Snow Patrol, you’ve may only be familiar with their execrable major label output, recorded after they realized how much money they could make if they sounded more like Coldplay. But their first two records were totally different than the soaring adult contemporary pap they’re putting out now.

On those first two records, Songs for Polar Bears and When It's All Over We Still Have to Clear Up, they were still awfully sensitive but the hooks weren’t nearly as obvious as they are now. Both early records grew on me precisely because their tender ballads were so subtly well-constructed.

It helped that they sounded more like an American indie band than the treacly wave of British crap that followed Coldplay’s success (e.g., Starsailor, Travis). You’ll hear what I mean here:

Anyway, I dig the hell out of those first two records. But, like Oasis, they haven’t done anything worth a damn since.

The Killers

The jury’s still out on The Killers. I thought they were laughably bad when I saw them open for the Pixies. But then I saw them on Saturday Night Live shortly after the release of their second record. They sounded much better. A little like Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty had a new-wave baby. Hmmm, I said. Maybe a year or two later, I encountered the same song on Guitar Hero III. Loved it. Lyrics are a bit overwrought, but shit this song is fun.

I fell even harder for “Bones.” They might be stealing from every 80s New Wave ever, but on this song the  the production sounds more like Frank Black’s early solo records and They Might Be Giants. I’m sure it’s just the cheesy horns, but it’s an awful lot of fun. Yes, I said fun again.

 

So yeah, I’m listening to the Killers a lot lately. I’m almost to the point where I like them enough to not include them in this post. Almost.

Third Eye Blind

When I worked at the Hard Rock Cafe in Houston, I actually enjoyed waiting tables with a constant stream of music videos blaring all around me. It was a pretty good mix of classic rock (Dire Straits, Beatles), semi-popular indie rock (Pulp, Jeff Buckley) and current buzz faves (remember Eve6???).

Yeah the Buzz bands were my least favorite, too. But there was one buzz song in frequent rotation I always liked to hear: Third Eye Blind’s “Losing a Whole Year.”

More than anything I liked the way it set the pace for me when I was burning a path between my tables and the kitchen, but I noticed something else, too. Third Eye Blind were a lot more musically sophisticated than Hootie or Matchbox20. Losing a Whole Year is a chorus-free hit song, constructed with some odd arpeggios and a wandering bass melody. That self-titled debut also had “How’s it Going to Be”, another of TEB’s banal relationship songs that seems to nevertheless seemed to hit me square in the gut at the time. Maybe that one is a guilty pleasure.

Their second record had much less going for it, but I liked the lead single quite a bit. Here again, I dug the unexpected craftsmanship that you get in otherwise generic, empty-headed buzz hit. Great drum sounds, harmonized bass lines, a bridge that returns seamlessly to the verse and a nice re-imagination of the chorus. The sophistication ceased to be a surprise once I learned that singer Steven Jenkins successfully insisted on producing his own records, and his guitarist and co-writer studied guitar with Joe Satriani (that might explain the focus on composition rather than pure wankery).

Unfortunately, they look like tools in their videos. And that’s probably because they are tools. The songs certainly don’t give you a lot of substance beyond the better-than-average studio chops and some radio-ready hooks. But I tend to evaluate bands relative to their peers. I ask, did this band exceed the mark set by others in their same weight class? The answer has got to be yes. Would you rather listen to Third Eye Blind or 3 Doors Down?  When I was at the Hard Rock Cafe, I didn’t have a choice, but I had a pretty clear preference.

Kings of Leon

This last one is difficult to explain or justify. I just love this song. And I keep hoping they’ll write other songs just as good.

Sadly, it’s unlikely to happen. Most of their other songs are pretty crappy. And singer Caleb Followill is easily the worst lyricist in this list. He’s alright when you can barely understand him. But more often than not, you hear him pretty clearly. And all his songs are about sex. I’ve supported this approach in the past (because rock ‘n’ roll really should be about getting it on). But this dude needs to get his head out of his loins. Sample, you ask?

Free- is all that she could bleed
That's why'll she'll never stay
White- bare naked in the night
Just lookin' for some play

Just another girl that wants to rule the world
Any time or place
And when she gets into your head
You know she's there to stay

You want it
She's got it
Molly's Chambers gonna change your mind
She's got your
Your pistol

Yeah… it’s pretty bad. Still, of all the Strokes-y bands, I love KoL for their southern bent, clean guitars, and singer distinctive voice. If they could marry that sound with decent songs that weren’t mired in single entendres, I might be able to recommend them more heartily. But hey, they don’t need you or me. They’re fucking huge in Britain.

Just like Oasis.