High School Album #4

So now, I was starting to use the internet to find bands. And before blogs, there was really only one great way of finding new music: message boards. And since Weezer was one of those bands I was totally over the moon for, I was on their message boards a lot. And you all know that power pop is my favorite genre (and if you don't, I'm sorry, I actually believe all of you have known me for years). So the perfect fit was this little Detroit guy:


At the time, he was pretty much in hiding, so this would put it around '00. Lapalco hadn't come out yet, so there was no car commercial, no lauding by the huge critics. At the time, there was only:
One Mississippi was the real deal. A pure power pop album, like from the 70's, but modernized a bit. But I felt bad for Brendan. Here was a guy that had put out an album that was sort of received well, but completely ignored by the music world in general. Most of that was due to the record company just not knowing what to do with the guy. So here sat this album, that at the time, was completely out of print and would go for over $30 a pop sometimes (not unlike a certain other album). But I had to hear this damn thing. So I used the free program (at the time) Audiogalaxy to finally hear the whole thing. And whoa....was this damn good.

Where in the world can you hear a pop song about literally tieing up your girlfriend just because you don't want to lose her? Well, in "Sittin' Pretty", that's where! This song sounds feel good, until you hear the lyrics, then they shock you a bit. "Wait a minute, did I hear what he just said?" Then you have the exact opposite, a beautiful ballad about a favorite home. "House In Virginia" is really touching, in a corny sort of way. It's part longing song about someone coming to visit you, yet feels like it was written from your Grandma's perspective...but I still love it.

When I finally was able to buy the album, which I think was about two years ago or so, they put on a bunch of bonus tracks and EP tracks. When you re-release an album, that's how you do it. Of the tracks, there was one that really caught my attention. "The Swamp" was a bonus track off the Japanese release I believe, and it starts slow, just strumming along with some cool little lyrics about a weird little man. But then, with one line, the song got me.

"I know a place, where you can meet girls, and at the same time, you can get your vegetables."

And I don't know why, but that line just kicks lots of ass to me. For no apparent reason I guess.

Bonus:
In August of this past year, I finally got to see Brendan Benson live. He was playing at Southgate House in Covington, and I knew I finally had my chance. And he played great, playing a good mix of songs from all three of his albums. When one of his guitars went out, he started fiddling around on his accoustic. Well, he said..."What should I play?"

And I immediately shouted...."Me Just Purely"! This was the first song I ever heard him play, the song that got me into him. It wasn't on the set list (which I got at the end), and he said he might not remember the words. Well, a few of us up front shouted we would help. And he banged it out of the park, with a lot of us singing to help him along, as if he needed it. This is probably in my top ten favorite songs of all time. Enjoy it.