#22: Holding hands, shaking babies
#22: Holding hands, shaking babies
Carpool Tunnel; The Reds, Pinks & Purples; Silenced Minstrel; Guccihighwaters, Giraffes Eating Lions
In this issue, we remind ourselves never to underestimate the necessity—and power—of dumb.
Carpool Tunnel
This is a supremely dumb name, and I’m here for it. The world needs a dumb pun every now and then, and these guys happily deliver with sunshiny vibes and free-flowing locks. I mean, just look at the cover for their debut album, Bloom:
And this tweet also feels on-brand:
The Reds, Pinks & Purples
When a band has a long name, calls their new album The Record Player & the Damage Done—out April 9 on Slumberland—and writes songs with titles like “Don’t Ever Pray in the Church on My Street,” “A Kick in the Face (That’s Life),” “I Wouldn’t Die for Anyone,” and “I’m Sorry About Your Life,” you brace for snark. But sole member Glenn Donaldson instead delivers breathy, indie-pop dreaminess—albeit with some barbed lyrics, like in the damning portrait of contemporary music consumerism, “The Biggest Fan.” (“But did you even buy the records? / Could you name three songs by them? / You were the biggest fan.”) All that aside, wouldn’t a better title be The Record Needle & the Damage Done? C’mon.
Silenced Minstrel
How’s this for silenced? NOPE.
Guccihighwaters
“The name was a goof, but when his music immediately connected with people, it stuck.” That line from Guccihighwaters’ bio basically tells the story of every band ever featured in Band Name Bureau or the Year in Band Names. It’s not as punchy as “There’s not much to it, to be honest, just a stupid fucking stoned joke that turned into a band name,” but no one would ever use “punchy” to describe the massively mopey Guccihighwaters, a.k.a. Morgan Murphy. His music is a Soundcloud-indebted mélange of hip-hop and mumbly emo, an au courant sound that evades easy classification beyond “tiring even in small doses.” Naturally, Murphy uses lowercase for his moniker, albums, and songs, which include romps like “rock bottom,” “straightjacket,” and “i thought i died inside.” The navel-gazing is intense; five of the eight songs from 2017’s post death feature “I”—sorry, “i”—in the title. “i ain’t feeling better” and “i’m so sick of this” bookend the album, with “i hate me too,” “i can never change,” and “can’t you see i’ve had enough” anchoring the middle. I, too, have had enough. Even Kurt Cobain would tell this kid to lighten up.
Giraffes Eating Lions
About: “EAT BEER. SHIT RIFFS.” Album: Holding Hands/Shaking Babies. Bio: “midwest schizo-noise booger punks vomiting grunge bullshit on anyone who will stand still long enough.” I was sold even before I had the chance to gaze at their doughy, bald, and mostly naked frontman warble his way through Jawbox’s “Savory” as a touching tribute to a dead friend. Even schizo-noise booger punks can be sensitive, y’all.
POST-SCRIPTS
That Giraffes Eating Lions video was shot at the Melody Inn in Indianapolis, where my old band once played with a group called Tremendous Fucking. (They get bold letters because that remains an incredible name.) They used to sell bumperstickers that said, “HOW’S MY FUCKING? DIAL 1-800-TREMENDOUS.” I loved them. Oh, they’re on Spotify! Songs include “Just Like Burt Fucking Reynolds” (my favorite), “We Only Buy Name Brand Cough Syrup,” “Styrofoam on Styrofoam Action,” and “Right Now Your Low Self Esteem is Just Good Common Sense.” We brought them up to Chicago for a weekend show and gave them the prime middle slot, but a bunch of people left during their set before we played. I can assure you they missed nothing on our end, aside from my getting so so drunk I did the worm/centipede on the filthy floor of the Mutiny (RIP).
That upcoming Reds, Pinks & Purples album, Uncommon Weather, is solid. Check it out April 9. Two tracks are now streaming on Bandcamp.
Coming in #12.1: an utterly delightful chat with comedian River Butcher, who gets into his distaste for the name Skinny Puppy and much more. Preplug: River’s awesome new standup album, Pull Yourself Up By Your Bootleg, is out now!