The Violent Femmes are cool. What more can you say? I remember when I first heard them in the mid-eighties. I actually thought, "What the ?!? What do these guys think they're doing? This isn't Def Leppard! This isn't Paula Abdul!" They seemed to be ignoring all the popular trends of the day. They were almost strictly acoustic. The singer had short hair. And what was up with the GIGANTIC bass? The drummer is standing up?!? And he's using brushes?!? I'd never seen or heard anything like them. Of course now the Paula Abdul's and Def Leppard's of the world have faded into the haze of the 1980's and actually, the Femmes have pretty much disappeared too. They were different though. They seemed to not really care about trends or popularity. They followed their instincts, abilities, and convictions and though they may not be in the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame, they were truly original and fairly innovative too. It's been said that they pioneered Folk Punk. Not sure that that's still around either, but in the end I can simply say that The Violent Femmes were cool.
Why this song? Listen to the beginning. After singer Gordon Gano gets ready, he quickly and forcefully says, "1, 2, 3!" like the song is going to take off and explode out of the speakers, but then all you get is this little strum and this nerdy little warble saying, "Do you like American Music?" It cracks me up every time.
"American Music" can be found on the compilation "Add It Up." To hear the song, click on the icon in the widget jukebox along the side of the blog.
Why this song? Listen to the beginning. After singer Gordon Gano gets ready, he quickly and forcefully says, "1, 2, 3!" like the song is going to take off and explode out of the speakers, but then all you get is this little strum and this nerdy little warble saying, "Do you like American Music?" It cracks me up every time.
"American Music" can be found on the compilation "Add It Up." To hear the song, click on the icon in the widget jukebox along the side of the blog.
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