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I have to admit that I don’t like writing concert impressions, because well, I’m crap at it. I never seem to get it right and it’s just not fair to the bands. But there is no way that anybody could write yesterday’s concert experience accurately so I might as well have a go at it. Because yesterday was the day of The Flaming Lips concert (at the Paradiso, Amsterdam). I say concert but I really mean insanely fun party with great music. It’s the first and, if there is a God, certainly not the last time, Bean and I have ever been to see them. We had heard and read about the craziness that went on at their concerts, but nothing could have prepared us for the real thing.

How will we ever enjoy another concert without confetti, streamers and giant balloons?? Oh but that wasn’t all, there were also dancing Santas and aliens, supposedly representing Christianity versus Scientology, a kid’s toy turned futuristic instrument and a singing nun. But the one person that truly made the concert the happy gathering it was, was the ever charming Wayne Coyne. He has been doing this for years now, but we never felt like it was just another concert to him. When he talked about what is special about The Flaming Lips audience as opposed to cool posing concertgoers, he seemed genuinely moved that we, the audience, participate in all the silliness. The people were amazing, they sang along with the songs from their latest album At War With The Mystics as loudly as their older stuff, while they tossed around the balloons like there was no tomorrow. The thing that made them so much more than just a crazy props band besides the excellent music, is Mr.Coyne’s belief that he’s there to help us forget our daily dreary lives where religion and war are the only silly things we have to deal with. Ok that sounds a bit heavy for a band that sings about fighting robots, but in the world of The Flaming Lips there is no place for cynicism. So listen to the music, visit their sites and go see them in the flesh. It’ll make every other concert you’ll go to from then on as boring as watching grass grow, but it’s more than worth it.

Bean Chimes In: Tam isn’t exaggerating, people, I’ve been babbling all day about how amazing the Lips were last night, and how it was unlike anything I have ever seen anywhere. It was New Year’s, my birthday, Christmas, and Halloween all wrapped up into one. What makes it more than just a good laugh, like Tam already said, is Wayne Coyne’s total sincerity in his belief that everyone just needs to have a good time sometimes, that everyone needs a break from the insanity of the world, that everyone can help each other do this. His conviction is so endearing, even the biggest cynic can’t help but believe him. I think Tam and I are the Lips’ new #1 Fans, and it rocks.

How’s that for an awesome band name?

The blogs were all a-flutter about these guys a couple months back and I checked them out right away (mostly because of the name, I have to admit). But I was just spending this month’s emusic downloads, and they recently added I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness’ debut LP, Fear Is On Our Side, so I scooped it up straight away.

ILYBICD are 80s-inspired, in a The Cure / Interpol sort of way (as opposed to a Duran Duran / Killers way). I only downloaded the album about an hour ago, but I’ve been skipping through the tracks and, so far, “We Choose Faces” is the highlight. I don’t know why, so don’t ask, I just like it. Visit ILYBICD’s official site, myspace page, or if you’re a subscriber, download the album right now from emusic.

Ah Belgium, known for their waffles, Brussels sprouts, little peeing statues and Plastic Bertrand. Never heard of him? Well I bet you’ve heard this song before! It’s one of those fun songs you hear sometimes and you always wonder who it’s from. Then the song is over and you forget about it instantly, a sign of a good Poptastic song.

It’s his only hit outside of Belgium. Other than that I know absolutely nothing about the guy, but this song is still a whole heap of fun cramped into three minutes. My favorite lines are ‘I am the King of the divan’, because it’s one of the few things I understand and it makes me wonder what the rest of the song is about. If anybody knows, feel free to share. It’s from the early eighties and borrows a lot from existing punk songs, it even starts with a ‘Wham Bam’, but in French. Then he tops it off with a Beach Boy-type ooohooo. How can you not love that? It’s the kind of song you put in your ‘in case of emergency stash’, so you can put it on if a party threatens to die down and wham-bam! It livens up like magic.

   Plastic Bertrand - Ca Plane Pour Moi

Today I’m going to answer that age-old music geek question: What was the first album you bought? It’s a tricky thing, because no matter what your first album was, you always wish it was cooler. I don’t count those poppy-silly things you listened to when you were really little, like New Kids On The Block or Milli Vanilli. (Whatever. Don’t try to pretend that you didn’t like them.) Those are important, too, even if they are a little embarrassing, but it’s a different question. I’m talking about the first album that you bought with your own saved-up allowance, that first band that you loved that was grown-up music, the first album that you wanted that you didn’t hear about through your older brother or cool cousin.

Mine was Pearl Jam, Ten. I loved that album more than anything I had ever owned before. I don’t really remember, but I must’ve seen the video for “Evenflow” or “Alive” and just clung on to it. I listened to it all day, every day, and while I was falling asleep, I played Side A in the background. My family took a trip to New York for a few days for a family reunion and I couldn’t bear to be away from Ten for that long; I took it with me, along with my brother’s borrowed walkman, just so I could still fall asleep to it.

It’s been nearly 15 years since Ten was released and I still love it as much as I did in back in 1991. The amazon.com editorial review says, “Over time, PJ’s rep as a politically correct band just a little too above it all to prostitute its music on MTV has nearly superseded the music. But before that, they were a simply an in-your-face, in-your-head, loud, melodic rock band.” I think that’s all bollocks. It trivializes both what they do now and what they did then. They were so much more than “simply … a melodic rock band”. It’s hard to remember now, just like it’s hard to imagine the world before The Beatles, but the “Seattle Sound” really was as new and fresh as everyone says. And I won’t even go near that “politically correct band” comment, it’s just not worth it. Pearl Jam does what they want and what they believe in and they don’t kiss anyone’s ass. I respect that. A lot of people have moved on from Pearl Jam over time, but I reckon those are the people who hate when bands change and just want them to keep making the same album over and over. Once their sound started moving away from grunge, a lot of people claimed that they’d lost it. I don’t agree with that either. Pearl Jam is just as good as they always were, if not as explosive. If that’s not your thing, that’s fine, but don’t blame the band.

Pearl Jam, their eighth album (not counting live albums and b-sides and whatnot) will be out in a little over a week. Here’s my little tribute to how they’ve been a massive part of the Soundtrack of Nearly My Whole Life.

   Pearl Jam - Alive (1991)
   Pearl Jam - I Am Mine (2002)

What is it with new bands and picnics??

Well anyway, two years ago (or was it three years ago, Bean?) Bean brought back a copy of Robbers On High Street’s Fine Lines EP from London for me, because Dutch record stores suck. It had the song “Hot Sluts (Say I Love You)” on it and I loved it. It’s three minutes of danceable angst, the kind Bloc Party does so well. Then it got kind of quiet around the band and I forgot all about them, so I hadn’t even noticed the release of their debut album Tree City last year.

I listened to their new tunes on myspace and they still make great songs. The thing is, in 2003 when the EP came out, their sound was still relatively fresh and different. Now, there are many, many indie bands that sound a lot like them. Check out the lovely “Hudson Tube” and three more songs on their myspace.

A while ago, Tam and I decided to make mix CDs for each other of all the stuff we listened to in high school. It’s been hilarious digging through my CDs and remembering back to when I was a bad-ass rebel, running wild in the streets. (Seriously. I swear I wasn’t a dork.) I can’t say too much since we haven’t swapped yet, but I came across a lot of poptastic stuff from Back In The Day (aka: The Mid- to Late-Nineties).

“(Not The) Greatest Rapper”, I was disappointed to discover, actually came out just after I graduated, so I couldn’t put it on the CD. What? You don’t remember 1000 Clowns?! I can’t blame you really, they were sort of a flash in the pan. Maybe not even a whole flash. I couldn’t even find any information about them, or what became of them, on the internet, except for this scathing review of their album Freelance Bubblehead. Geez, lighten up, dude. I take music pretty seriously too, but everyone’s got to have a giggle now and then. “(Not The) Greatest Rapper” was a silly song by a silly group, but sometimes that’s enough.

As long as you’re not too cool for corny-yet-catchy novelty rap, watch the video here, or download the song below.

   1000 Clowns - (Not The) Greatest Rapper

A few years ago, when we still got Cartoon Network here in Amsterdam, I had problems sleeping. So I started flipping channels in the middle of the night and the only things still on were National Geographic and Cartoon Network. I would watch National geographic til it started to repeat itself and then I’d flip over to Cartoon Network to watch my favorite kids show at the time: The Banana Splits & Friends!

It was and still is the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen. It must have been from the early seventies or something, because it looked nothing like the other polished kid’s shows. It featured a bunch of guys in animal costumes who ran around the set, sometimes sliding down the giant slide. There was never a real plot and for some reason it was important that nothing worked the way it was supposed to: The trash can didn’t accept trash and the mailbox never gave them their mail.

The Banana Splits were also a band who played Monkees type pop songs that I always thought were really not bad at all! Of course it was 4 o’clock in the morning and I was severely sleep deprived. In between the main Banana Splits shows there were five-minute series, my favorite was the live-action show Danger Island. I’m still not sure what was going on on Danger Island, but that was the best bad TV ever. To all of you out there who used to watch this too, I just want to say “Uh, oh Chongo”.

I feel obliged to warn the public about The Banana Splits Theme or The Tralala Song, because it is really catchy and I think the lack of sleep made me extra susceptible. It used to, and often still does, get stuck in my head until I want to scrape it out of my brain with a spatula. Enjoy!

   The Banana Splits - The Tralala Song

I heard about Alterkicks, somewhere or other, over a year ago, before their first single was even recorded. What I heard was a rough version of “Do Everything I Taught You”, and I excitedly bought the single when it was released last year. And I bought their next single, “Oh Honey”, as well. But it just occured to me, about 15 minutes ago, that they seem to have disappeared. So I checked out their site and it seems that these guys are still unsigned! How is it possible that they don’t have a record deal, yet The Black Eyed Peas are still allowed to exist? There’s something seriously wrong with the world.

Anyway, Alterkicks - based on what you can listen to on their official site and their myspace page - aren’t especially groundbreaking, kind of general Indie with a capital ‘I’ (and I’m not implying that that’s a bad thing), but I like them a lot. I can’t even really say what it is about them that I like, but “Do Everything I Taught You” is a fantastic song, so you should at least give that one a listen. I sure hope someone will sign these poor guys soon.

These days the Fat Boys are regarded as just a friendly novelty rap group, but I thought they were awesome. I was four and I loved them overweight rappers to pieces. They were my first introduction to beatboxing and they made me want to have a cool nickname. Twenty years later I still haven’t come up with a good one, but I hope it’s going to be as fly as Kool Rockski.

It’s sad that they will never be considered a big influence in rap. I really think they were a major rap act. Stop laughing at me. The Human Beat Box was one of the beatbox pioneers! They weren’t a rap group because they were fat, they were three friends who happened to all be big. So the fat thing wasn’t just an amusing gimmick: they were entering rap contests and winning as the Disco 3 before they called themselves the Fat Boys. In fact, they won their record contract at one of those contests.

They had hits with Chubby Checker and The Beach Boys and for a while in the early eighties they were the biggest thing in rap. I was listening to some of their songs and they still sound really fun! Their lyrics were mostly harmless and not very challenging, but they knew how to entertain a wide variety of people.

This is not a typically silly Fat Boys song but it’s one of my favorites because it’s a good example of the late Darren “Buffy The Human Beat Box” Robinson’s skills. It’s been sampled by the Beastie Boys and there are apparently a bunch of versions of this song. This seems to be one of the earlier ones, because they still call themselves the Disco 3.

   The Fat Boys - Stick ‘Em

Unfortunately, The Young Knives joined my beloved Black Wire (yes, it still hurts) in canceling on me, which we didn’t find out until the night before. It was hard, but I still managed to drag my ass out of bed long enough to enjoy the other bands that actually do appreciate my love.

As I predicted, both Larrikin Love and The Long Blondes were definite highlights of the weekend. Larrikin Love was a great surprise because they were even better than I’d hoped they would be. The Long Blondes definitely live up to all the talk about them and I am forced to, again, plead for any information about a debut album. I suddenly feel like I can’t possibly live any longer without it. I loved them so much, I wanted to be them. Good Shoes were also good fun - it’s nice to see a band that’s still young and fresh enough to be enjoying themselves. I’ll definitely be looking forward to more releases from all of those bands.

A strange surprise for me was how much I enjoyed the Mystery Jets. I’m all about “You Can’t Fool Me, Dennis”, but other than that song, I didn’t think I was a Mystery Jets kind of gal. To be fair, I only saw them because Tam, my friend and yours, wanted to check them out. Their entrance kind of freaked me out - it sounded like the Eel Pie Island Army was invading Amsterdam (I can still hear it now: ZOOTIME. ZOOTIME. ZOOTIME.) - but in the end, I thought they were pretty great. Bizarre, but great. I especially liked the random and slightly useless stage invasion by the Larrikin Love lads during “Alas Agnes”. You couldn’t say they were contributing to the song in any way, but they sure looked like they were having a great time. And the four guys next to me, dancing insanely (picture Footloose in trendy Indie blazers), just made the whole moment perfect.

But as great as all those bands were, The Futureheads were, and will always be, the highlight of everything. The Futureheads was #1 on my Best Of 2004 list, beating out many other albums that I adore by greats like Franz Ferdinand, The Streets, and The Cribs. We’ve been waiting for them to come see us ever since. Hearing “Decent Days And Nights” live was positively thrilling. Tam and I both love that bit at the end with the awesome drum bit and the “WOO” (if you know the song, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about) and we both had huge grins when they played it. Every time I listen to the album version, I’ll always be reminded of that perfect concert moment.

   The Futureheads - Decent Days And Nights

I had to look after a bunch of my little cousins the other day, by myself. The youngest was 1 year old and the oldest 8 years old. They were all looking at me like they were ready to revolt if I didn’t entertain them soon. Well, I had no idea how to keep them busy, so I had the brilliant idea to let them dance and jump around, hoping they’d get tired soon and settle down. I forgot that all little kids have an unlimited power supply. So I had to look for music that they would like and the first thing that popped into my head was this strange song I’d heard by The Retro Spankees called “Smarty Pants” that I downloaded from their myspace page. It’s a mix of punky chaos and something little kids would sing on the playground to taunt their friends. Needless to say, they loved it!

I have been listening to some of the band’s samples and some badly recorded live footage on their official site and I have to admit that those little rugrats have flawless taste. The Retro Spankees are a whole lot of silly, riotous fun! To keep with the childish theme, their debut album is titled I Know You Are But What Am I. Yay, I can’t wait to dance around like a kid on a sugar high!

I was falling asleep the other night and, all of a sudden, “Fish Heads” popped into my head. Where did it come from? What did it mean? I honestly don’t know, but the thought of this song, and its video, was enough to make me break into a big goofy grin in my half-asleep state. I looked it up in the morning, and discovered that it’s actually a much older song than I thought; it was orginally released in 1979, but I remember it being on MTV all the time in the 80s. Apparently, my memory of that time just can’t be trusted, because I also thought I remembered the part where the guy takes his fish head to the movies very clearly. In reality that bit is much less prominent than I remember. I must’ve thought that taking a fish head to a movie was some funny stuff when I was little.

None of this is as interesting to me as the the fact that the video stars none other than Bill Paxton! Did everyone know this?

Watch the amazing video here, check out Barnes & Barnes site here, or learn more about the duo on their Wikipedia page. And if you need to have the actual song as well (and, really, why wouldn’t you?), download it below.

   Barnes & Barnes - Fish Heads