The Music Blog of the Infonistacrat!

Today is a tribute to the late, great John Peel, a visionary DJ who may have done more to advance underground, altenative, indie rock, ska, and punk that any other single person. Well known for playing new bands that he liked to the chagrin of management of the BBC, when John championed your band, it almost ensured success. The Peel Session are recordings that bands made in one day usually, with a minimum of mixing and dubbing. They tend to be a little rougher than a studio released recording, almost demo like quality. I honestly find that they are better…the artists seemed to use the time to experiment a bit with their songs. The results can amazing, like the Pixies UK surf version of Wave Of Mutilation.

So today, the line up is almost as eclectic as John’s tastes were. First us is Interpol, a band my daughter turned me onto. A lot has been written about them, especially the fact that they sound almost totally like Joy Division. Honestly, I don’t find much wrong with that. I miss the hell out of Joy Division personally. If you going to sound like someone, sounding like a legend is the way to go. NYC and Obstacle 2 are supreme recordings, I think much better than the album versions.

Mudhoney is one of those bands that fans of the early 90’s grunge scene know all about. First there was Green River, who split and the member formed Mudhoney and Mother Love Bone. Mother Love Bone became Pearl Jam when Andrew Wood died and Eddie Vedder joined. The rest is history. Except that Mudhoney never really hit that stratosphere. The remained local with a hardcore following, and to this day put out a crazy good blend of punk and altenative. Straight Life and Have To Live are two you need to listen to on here, if you listen to nothing else.

Cay is an interesting band…which means I don’t know a whole lot about them. Honestly, as I was researching todays post, I stumbled upon their stuff, and was so damned impressed I had to take em for a spin! One hell of a ride it is too. Nature Creates Freaks is a great song, with the vocals and the guitar work being outstanding.

Electrelane is another group I don’t know a great deal about, but I plan too! While researching this, I had an idea of the bands I wanted to put on it…it turns out that the further along I went, the more of these types of bands I started listening to. Electrelane took the spot of what was supposed to be the Pixies session recording, so you know they have something going on! Take a listen to More Than This and This Deed, and you’ll see what I mean. They have that jangle-pop sound to them, like early REM.

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs are a newer band, one of the few current American bands that truly impresses me. Their blend of garage rock/art house rock/punk just workd so damn well, and Karen O is probably my favorite female singer at the moment, right up there with Shirley Manson. Don’t dismiss these guys as another punk-pop or proto-punk wannabe…these guys are the real deal. Give a listen to Miles Away…that will tell you all you need to know!

Half Man Half Biscuit is a band I had heard of, but never really paid them much attention. Amazing how that works, isn’t it? You have friends tell you to check out some band, and you just don’t, then later you find you really kinda like em. Thats this bad. Post-punk all the way, as you will find on Joy Division Oven Gloves…a title that is about as bad taste as it gets. I’ll let you figure out what it means. But the title does not keep it from being one hell of a great song.

To finish up this tribute to John Peel, I have to include his favorite song. The Undertones Teenage Sidekicks, of which he once said “”There’s nothing you could add to it or subtract from it that would improve it.” Cheers, John, I’ll be sure to lift a pint to ya ever so often.

1. Interpol - NYC
2. Interpol - Hands Away
3. Interpol - Obstacle 2
4. Mudhoney - Urban Geurilla
5. Mudhoney - The Straight Life
6. Mudhoney - Have To Laugh
7. Cay - Nature Creates Freaks
8. Cay - Skool
9. Electrelane - More Than This
10. Electrelane - This Deed
11. Yeah yeah Yeahs - Miles Away
12. Yeah yeah Yeahs - Y Control
13. Yeah yeah Yeahs - Maps
14. Half Biscuit Half Man - Joy Division Oven Gloves
15. Half Man Half Biscuit - For What Is Chatteris
16. The Undretones - Teenage Sidekicks