I often feel that by this point in my life I have purposely (and sometimes not-so-purposely) crafted a nice, tidy little image for myself. You know, generalizations that can be made about my personal preferences that are equal parts fact and inside-joke-extremes.
Welcome to Brian and the wonderful world of the mid-90's.
This primarily stems for my fascination with Nirvana as a kid. The memorization of trivia, dates, records, songs, bands that influenced them, and other facts associated (directly or indirectly) with this band was, at one point, the basis of my very existence. This eventually waned after middle school, however it had left its mark on me. Years later, as I read Michael Azerrad's 'Our Band Could Be Your Life', I was able to make the connection between my middle school obsession and my current deep-rooted interest in the development of punk/indie rock into the vernacular of popular culture. Suddenly, that particular circle seemed complete. It all made perfect sense!
And thus my nerdy interest in all things from that time period began to make itself apparent. Suddenly I found and purchased every Soundgarden album on vinyl (even their lackluster final whimper, 'Down On The Upside'), scoured eBay for various Superchunk singles, and made the joyous discovery that my copy of Shonen Knife's Sup Pop Singles Club record had a slight defect, yet still played flawlessly.
I'm glossing over a fair amount of the back story to mask the true extent of my madness, but let's just say that I am usually particularly thorough when I enter what I will call 'a phase of great interest'. And it's for that very reason that I was surprised to find out about this hidden gem of a band known as 'that dog.' only last week!
that dog. was an LA group tinged with many of the post-punk, pseudo-grunge characteristics that both blessed and plagued the mid to late 1990's. A sound that is so dated and identifiable that it makes you smile and cringe in the same motion. that dog. had enough inside connections within 'the biz' to make you wonder if they truly had to work a day in their lives (lead singer/guitarist Anna Waronker's father Lenny was a well-known producer for Warner Bros and her brother happened to play with Beck and REM at about the same time; sisters Rachel and Petra Haden's father, Charlie, is a well-known free jazz bassist). However those those privileges can be overlooked since it just so happened that this band wrote some damn catchy songs!
Bubblegum pop with a bit of grit and distortion might not be the key to your heart, but it sure as hell works for me. Take a peek at this video from their final album, 1997's 'Retreat From The Sun'. The song is "Never Say Never".
4 comments:
First off, lets not hate on Down on the Upside, while not their best, it has some sweet jams for sure.
that.dog, totally awesome. I'm surprised I managed to never hear of them since I had (and still do have) a huge boner for the Rentals. Good lookin out.
haha, well i suppose i was exaggerating slightly, the quality tracks on 'down on the upside' are really great ones. i suppose i view it as more of a 'half and half' record in the end.
as for that dog., i'm pretty much embarassed i wasn't aware of this band before this week. 'never say never' alone easily (and quickly) ranks in my top 20 songs of all time. thanks for reading and glad you enjoyed!
'Down on the Upside' is the only Soundgarden I have on vinyl...hooray for micro-generation gaps!
let's be blog friends!
- Swill
will-
lets!
also, lets try our damnedest and bridge some micro gaps.
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