Band Babies
During the late '80's and early '90's there was a movement by animation studios to turn every successful cartoon on its side, resulting in "(blank) Kids" or "(blank) Babies." Examples are numberous, but to name a few: Flintstone Kids, A Pup Named Scoobie Doo, Baby Loony Tunes, and Muppet Babies. (The last one probably being the most successful and one I look forward to eventually seeing again. Oh Nanny how I miss your guidance.)
So, it was only inevitable that the music industry would eventually catch on, attempting not to create new sounds, but to take already existing bands and find a suitable "baby." Now I want to clarify that these babies shouldn't be considered rip-offs. An example of a rip-off chain would be Green Day, Blink 182, and Good Charlotte. All contemporaries with each band getting progressively worse with less identity. Band Babies aren't the same; they suckle at their mama's teat and grow strong. The kiddies have real talent, probably aren't intentionally trying to cash in on mama's identity, and happen at a completely different time than the "mother group." They have similar sounds, but when it comes down to it, they can stand on their own. Think of Jesse Sykes as Cowboy Junkies Kids. Gwen Stefani could very well be a Missing Child (Missing Persons). I won't touch the Scissor Sisters because I love them too much, but it's pretty obvious who the parents are...
My most recent music baby discovery is XTC babies, also known as Dogs Die in Hot Cars. I bought the album "Please Describe Yourself" out of nostalgia and the promise of good listenings from the 30 second previews. The truth is that I miss XTC from their days of "Skylarking," "Nonesuch," and "Oranges and Lemons" and never expected that another band would come along to fill their shoes. Well one hasn't, but the potential is there. Research shows that Dogs Die in Hot Cars considers XTC an influence and the production team consisting of Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley from V2 records explains the subtle homage to Madness and 80's britpop. See the RollingStone bio for Dogs Die in Hot Cars.
So, for me, what ends up being the paradox of Dogs Die in Hot Cars as an XTC baby is the subject matter. With the lead vocalist Craig Macintosh sounding so much like Andy Partridge and singing about cute boys ("Modern Woman"), and an obsession with Lucy Liu ("Celebrity Sanctum" What is it with her and pop music anyway? She's got to be the most mentioned actress in music....) something doesn't sit right. Maybe that's part of my attraction to them. All of this kind of makes XTC's anthem to atheism seem a bit trivial.
You can sample some of their songs performed live here. I don't think based on this I'll be running out to see them live anytime soon.
So, it was only inevitable that the music industry would eventually catch on, attempting not to create new sounds, but to take already existing bands and find a suitable "baby." Now I want to clarify that these babies shouldn't be considered rip-offs. An example of a rip-off chain would be Green Day, Blink 182, and Good Charlotte. All contemporaries with each band getting progressively worse with less identity. Band Babies aren't the same; they suckle at their mama's teat and grow strong. The kiddies have real talent, probably aren't intentionally trying to cash in on mama's identity, and happen at a completely different time than the "mother group." They have similar sounds, but when it comes down to it, they can stand on their own. Think of Jesse Sykes as Cowboy Junkies Kids. Gwen Stefani could very well be a Missing Child (Missing Persons). I won't touch the Scissor Sisters because I love them too much, but it's pretty obvious who the parents are...
My most recent music baby discovery is XTC babies, also known as Dogs Die in Hot Cars. I bought the album "Please Describe Yourself" out of nostalgia and the promise of good listenings from the 30 second previews. The truth is that I miss XTC from their days of "Skylarking," "Nonesuch," and "Oranges and Lemons" and never expected that another band would come along to fill their shoes. Well one hasn't, but the potential is there. Research shows that Dogs Die in Hot Cars considers XTC an influence and the production team consisting of Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley from V2 records explains the subtle homage to Madness and 80's britpop. See the RollingStone bio for Dogs Die in Hot Cars.
So, for me, what ends up being the paradox of Dogs Die in Hot Cars as an XTC baby is the subject matter. With the lead vocalist Craig Macintosh sounding so much like Andy Partridge and singing about cute boys ("Modern Woman"), and an obsession with Lucy Liu ("Celebrity Sanctum" What is it with her and pop music anyway? She's got to be the most mentioned actress in music....) something doesn't sit right. Maybe that's part of my attraction to them. All of this kind of makes XTC's anthem to atheism seem a bit trivial.
You can sample some of their songs performed live here. I don't think based on this I'll be running out to see them live anytime soon.
posted by Schitzo at
3:06 PM
