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I’m listening to “The Laws Have Changed”, a track
off the New Pornographer’s new record, Electric Version. A line
from Camden Joy’s Lost Joy jumps into my head: “Cameron
went mad for drugs the same way I went mad for girls.” So? Well,
to that I would add, “In the same way I went mad for music.”
Nick Hornby’s immortal line from High Fidelity follows,
“What came first—the music or the misery?” I can’t
tell you what it is about Vancouver’s indie-power-punk-popsters
The New Pornographers that turns me pensive. They feed my addiction
to music and drive me to wild-eyed-rock’s version of the chicken
versus the egg quandary. And I sigh. And hit repeat. And turn it up.
Last year, I interviewed Carl Newman, self-proclaimed talent agent of
the band, not the leader (referring to recruiting talented friends to
be part of his rock-n-roll vision). He told me that in the interview
(you, discerning music listener, probably already read that statement
in one of the articles on his ...err ... the band). He also told me
that his inspiration comes not so much from The Beatles, The Beach Boys
and The Kinks (hallowed prophets in the Indie Pop Band Bible), but,
rather, from the glam of the early seventies specifically naming Roxy
Music (though he implied Electric Warrior and Ziggy Stardust). “Those
are the bands I would want to be in,” he said. When I hear the
New Pornos, that’s the kind of band I would want to be in.
After that phone interview, I hopped on the highway and saw the band
twice in two weeks (Minneapolis and Chicago). I even bought a t-shirt,
which is monumental, as I am too old to sport indie rock t-shirts! I
have nothing to prove. This college-styled fanboy road tripping was
involuntary; I was compelled (and I had to buy the shirt!) because of
the Music. Rock Music is supposed to be loud, obnoxious, and passionate.
Indie rock as a sub-sub-sub-genre hasn’t really exemplified these
attributes. In the late 80s, sure, they were there, but as time went
on, indie rock became homogenized (“pressed, printed, stomped,
tripped, trapped, packaged, shipped”) and gave way to, well, Weezer.
Unfortunately for the New Pornos, they have been tagged "Indie
Rock". Fortunately for Indie Rock, this band shatters the stereotype.
Their music is passionate and energetic while being well written, sumptuously
arranged, and mind boggling catchy. Unbreakable hooks that stick in
your head for months, and relentless guitars that generate vibrant dance
moves (at least in my living room). Their 2000 debut record, Mass Romantic,
kicks off with the 'click' of sticks and doesn’t let up until
a drunken chorus of fools takes you out of your mind.
Newman told me that they were going to get their follow up completed
for a late 2002 release date. As you can (or can’t) see, that
did not happen. For whatever reason, the record recently made it out,
and if you haven’t heard, you can get a tease over at the Matador
Records (their new U.S. label) website via an MP3 for “The Laws
Have Changed” and it rocks! It’s trademark NPs: horky-dorky
organ, fuzzy crunchy guitars and the distinctive Newman/Neko Case vocal
interplay! A taste of wet-yourself brilliance; makes me wonder why you
don’t own the proper release.
Are they the saviors
of Rock Music? The question is moot (and frankly really dumb). But either
way, it is fun to say that The New Pornographers are the Saviors
of Rock Music. |