In My Humble Opinion

Just because you’re the radio doesn’t mean you have to be the establishment. From its metamorphosis from The Zone to the Merge, 93.3 is doing something that no radio station has attempted: staying on the cutting edge of cool without indulging itself in pop culture. You may sponsor U2, but you also sponsor Train. While Train isn’t my favorite band, I appreciate the attempt to bring small time indie-rock into the public conscience. And with that in mind, I would like to offer several bands and singles that I think fit well into this scheme. Truth be told, I don’t listen to the radio very much, but I’m excited about what the Merge has been doing over the last 4 or 5 years.

So what’s my motive? Well, I have a couple. Most simply, it’d be really cool if some bands I recommended got some airplay. A great hope is that I could have some kind of weekly column or something where I recommended a band that no one knows (an eMERGing artist of sorts, except often I’m sure the bands I recommend aren’t so much emerging as unknown gems). Honestly, I have no expectations. I just hope someone will take the time to read this, and maybe sample the songs I recommend, and give me some feedback. Anyway, without further adieu:

Creeper Lagoon: "Up All Night", "Under the Tracks", and "Wrecking Ball" from Take Back the Universe and Give Me Yesterday. This follow-up to their successful first offering had critics turning their heads, and even earned them an online feature on CDNOW. Their show at South by Southwest (SXSW) was also touted as a best of festival in many circles, and having seen them at SXSW 2000, I can believe it. "Under the Tracks" is the surefire single from this album that will have you nodding your head and tapping your foot. Personally, though, I think "Up All Night" has more appeal as the chorus wails: "Cuz I was elastic, and I was stretching everybody’s dreams…"

Spoon: "Lines in the Suit", "Fitted Shirt", "Anything You Want", and "Everything Hits at Once" from Girls Can Tell. Spoon is another Texas band garnering critical praise. In fact, their show at SXSW was so heavily attended that close to 100 fans and industry officials (including myself) were turned away after waiting in line for upwards of 45 minutes. Napster also featured "Lines in the Suit" as a recommended download. Their smooth bass and rhythmicly paced chord movements draw the listener into a relaxed world. To me, "Everything Hits at Once" has a chill sound combined with an alluring buildup that reminds me of one of my favorite teenage summer hits: "Good" by Better than Ezra. Better than Ezra made one good song; Spoon has made a masterful album in Girls Can Tell.

Steven Malkmus (and the Jicks): "Jenny & The Ess-Dogg", "Black Book", and "The Hook" from Steven Malkmus. Steven Malkmus got plenty of critical acclaim (though little public exposure) as the frontman for Pavement (THE indie band of the 90s). With his solo effort he does little more than make catchy songs that remind listeners why Pavement was great. I have dubbed "Jenny & The Ess-Dogg" as the catchiest song ever made. I still have yet to play this for someone who did not like it. Malkmus has even released it as a single, and there is NO REASON it shouldn’t be picked up on the radio. "Black Book" and "The Hook" also have catchy lyrics and chord progressions that have appeal beyond the indie world.

The New Pornographers: "The Fake Headlines" and/or "Mass Romantic" off of Mass Romantic. This debut album has been the talk of the indie world (or at least my indie world). Their performance at SXSW was highly lauded by everyone and was a critics’ choice (according to CDNOW, I believe) as a top indie show of the weekend. "The Fake Headlines" beckons the Beatles with it’s opening line "I read the news today…" (fill in your own "oh boy"), and gets better from there, with a bassline as catchy as any you’ll find.

David Garza: "Kinder", "This Euphoria", and "Discoball World" from This Euphoria. David (pronounced Dah-veed) has made a name for himself in Texas on the Austin scene and is on the verge of hitting it big. He has joined up with former members of Living Color and is putting out a new album in June or July. Still, he’ll have a hard time following up his Atlantic debut This Euphoria. "Discoball World" got mainstream recognition as MTV2’s Video of the Day for almost a consecutive week. "Kinder," though, has become just as big of a fan favorite, and "This Euphoria" pushes the limits of pop music with it’s catchy lyrical hook, and minimalistically mysterious instrumentation, featuring just a blaring bass and David’s soft falsetto.

Travis: "Writing to Reach You", "Driftwood", "Turn", and/or "Why does it always rain on me?" from The Man Who and also "Good Feeling" and "All I want to do is rock" from Good Feeling. Travis is old news. They won every British Music Award in the book for their smashing The Man Who. If you’re playing Coldplay, you should be playing Travis, seeing as how Coldplay takes all their cues from Travis. Then again, if you’re playing Travis you should be playing Radiohead.

The Beta Band: "Dry the Rain" and/or "Inner Meet Me" off of The Three E.P.’s. The Beta Band may be a little too progressive and indie to play on the radio and keep anyone’s attention, but "Dry the Rain" has a hook that convincing enough for John Cusak’s character in High Fidelity to play it.

In My Humble Opinion,

Jared Earles