Six
pretty cool bands to check out today
By
Brian Spiegel
Online Forty-Niner
Staff Writer
If
you walk into a record store you'll run
into a rather daunting task: trying to
find a really cool band in a sea of not
so cool music. Here are six bands that
I think you would find pretty cool.
BOWLING
FOR SOUP
WHO ARE THEY? A Texas pop/punk foursome
who combine a fun sound with fun lyrics
for an overall, umm, fun experience.
WHAT DO THEY SOUND LIKE? A poppier NOFX
sans the politics.
WHY YOU SHOULD HEAR THEM? Critics tend
to chastise the band for being shallow
and sophomoric. But I ask you, fine readers,
what is the problem with being sophomoric?
The band's not exactly trying to be Nietzsche
or anything.
FOR FANS OF: The Vandals, The Bloodhound
Gang.
PICK UP: Skip the recent uber-poppy "The
Hangover You Don't Deserve" and pick
up their catchy, Grammy-nominated (possibly
the most left field nomination in the
history of the awards) "Drunk Enough
To Dance."
BLUEPRINT
CAR CRASH
WHO ARE THEY? A hard-to-describe sounding
San Dimas band that mixes the best of
punk, metal, prog-rock and straight ahead
rock to produce a sound that is hectic
yet wonderfully grounded.
WHAT DO THEY SOUND LIKE? Almost like a
combination of The Mars Volta, The Dismemberment
Plan and Pink Floyd.
WHY SHOULD YOU HEAR THEM? Because sometimes
it's cool to check out an underground
band that is still several degrees off
the radar.
FOR FANS OF: The Mars Volta, System Of
A Down.
PICK UP: "Marionette Car Crash."
SUBURBAN
LEGENDS
WHO ARE THEY? Orange County's best underground
ska band, Suburban Legends' live shows
contain horn section chorography, costume
changes and a wacky cover of "Under
The Sea" from "The Little Mermaid."
WHAT DO THEY SOUND LIKE: Just good ol'
fun ska music.
WHY SHOULD YOU HEAR THEM? Ska might be
dead, but Suburban Legends live shows
are as alive as could be.
FOR FANS OF: Jefferies Fan Club, The Decapitones,
Reel Big Fish, The Aquabats.
PICK UP: Skip the disc and spend the money
to see them live.
MC
CHRIS
WHO IS HE? An Atlanta based white, and
self-proclaimed nerdy, rapper who sings
about suburban life, sex and even an occasional
Boba Fett reference.
WHAT DOES HE SOUND LIKE? One part MC Paul
Barman, one part Biz Markie and all Hesh,
baby!
WHY SHOULD YOU HEAR HIM? If you're a fan
of Cartoon Network's brilliant "Sealab
2021" then you've already heard Chris
as the voice of Pod Six dweller and occasional
rapper Hesh. MC Chris' raps are without
point, catchy as hell and hilarious.
FOR FANS OF: MC Paul Barman and MC Lars.
PICK UP: Go to www.mcchris.com and download
some of his phat rhymes for free.
MY
CHEMICAL ROMANCE
WHO ARE THEY? A New Jersey quintet that
combines Alkaline Trio-esque dark lyrical
word play with punk and emo to produce
songs with great sing along qualities.
WHAT DO THEY SOUND LIKE? A dark band that
you would catch on a sunny Warped Tour
afternoon.
WHY SHOULD YOU HEAR THEM? Because in 6
months everyone will like them. You don't
want to feel left behind, do you? Huh?
Didn't think so.
FOR FANS OF: Alkaline Trio, The Used,
Brand New.
PICK UP: "Three Cheers For Sweet
Revenge."
COHEED
AND CAMBRIA
WHO ARE THEY? A quartet of sci-fi nerds,
Coheed and Cambria is a prog-rock outfit
whose albums follow predetermined sci-fi
story lines.
WHAT DO THEY SOUND LIKE? The term prog-rock
is tossed around a lot with this band.
I guess they are sort of like Rush or
Pink Floyd with a hard rock or punk subtext.
There, that should straighten it out.
WHY SHOULD YOU HEAR THEM? Even though
they tend follow a rather confusing inter-galactic
storyline, the songs stand nicely on their
own. Their hit single "A Favor House
Atlantic" is a great piece of catchy
rock which combines the guitar rock of
the 80's with high pitched singing and
a little touch of metal mixed in.
FOR FANS OF: Bear Vs. Shark, Pink Floyd,
Rush.
PICK UP: "In Keeping Secrets Of Silent
Earth: 3."
