I may have written before about the Cornerstone Player, a package I get every 4-6 weeks. These days, the package contains two or three CDs of new music. Some of the music is by somewhat established artists but the bulk of it is from emerging and unsigned bands and I've discovered many bands (Snow Patrol, Royksopp, Finley Quaye) through Cornerstone. Back in the glory days though, the Player also contained one or two DVDs, chock full of videos from the same stable of established and emerging artists. In 2003, among a crop of cool and/or fun videos was a slightly disturbing but memorable video from a Detroit band called Electric Six for a song called "Danger! High Voltage!".
Despite the presence of a female in the video, the 'female' part was actually sung by Jack White, right on the brink of fame. The song was enough to compel me to buy Electric Six' debut, Fire,which did not disappoint. In addition to "Danger!", the Fire album also gave the unforgettable (though short in shelf life) "Gay Bar". After those two songs, I honestly wasn't expecting much but to my surprise, came across "Synthesizer" which ended up being my favorite song on a surprisingly solid record. How I might feel about the record as a whole in ten years is debatable but for now, it's pure, ironic, stupid fun. Let's not forget I liked Dead Milkmen for about three months in 1985 but couldn't be arsed to care about them now; AIDS jokes were never funny.
With a name like Señor Smoke, I had high hopes for the second album, after all, I remember Aurelio Lopez, the Detroit Tigers pitcher whose nickname inspired the title. It didn't quite live up to the great title but did yield some memorable songs, notably "Dance Epidemic". A third album, Switzerland , somehow eluded my radar but I did get my hands on a copy of their fourth: I Shall Exterminate Everything Around Me That Restricts Me from Being the Master. Like Smoke, I Shall Exterminate Everything Around Me That Restricts Me from Being the Master again paled compared to the debut but also had a few keepers. While listening blindly to my iPod last fall, I came across "When I Get To The Green Building" which I didn't identify as Electric Six right away but liked. Upon subsequent listens, I realized the melody line is almost identical to "Dirty Day", one of my favorite tracks from U2's Zooropa album. Nonetheless, I found the song oddly compelling even if it wasn't as immediate (or silly) as their other material.
Yeah sure, Electric Six are the silliest band I've covered on The Unheard Music but I do have enough affection for them that I feel you should have at least a passing familiarity with their music. Beyond the thick-as-molasses irony and the goofy songs lies a gift for memorable song craft. Agree? Disagree? I'd love to hear your impressions.
Recent Comments