A while back, in a discussion with a fellow W♥M writer, I told him that I've always liked "themed" posts. One of my idea was to do a special kitchen utensils article, about bands' names involving 'spoon' or 'fork' or 'knife'. At the time, it sounded really cool, I mean, far out, wouldn't it be a blast to have these bands go on tour together?
Well, it sounded cool at the time. When it came to executing the article, I found myself for the lack of time and commitment (especially because I've been spending so much time devoted to watching DVDs and reading nowadays).
I started doing research on utensil bands, and, of course, most of these bands refused to accommodate any requests that I made regarding correspondence.
Anyway, I have settled on focusing on these bands below. I present to you, the perfect Utensil bands!
| SPOON spoontheband.com ♥ myspace.com
My friend, Robin, told me that Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga was the "best album of the year". That was in 2007. Of course, with a recommendation like that, I had to check them out. At least give it a try, you know? She's not wrong, but given the sheer amount of music released in '07, she can't be right either? I will have to say that for an indie rock album, I did enjoy the various brass instruments thrown in there on "The Underdog". And I did like Britt Daniel's vocals, which sounds like a lazy Paul Westerberg. They are not afraid of experimenting with unconventional noises either, like the piano-driven "The Ghost Of You Lingers" features weird loops and feedback, giving a sense of a spirit in the song. Picking between two of the best song on Ga ("Eddie's Ragga" and "You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb"), I decided to go with the former. It looks like this Texan band is playing mostly in California (they seem to really love the Fillmore):
20 Sep 2008 Hollywood Bowl Los Angeles, CA 22 Sep 2008 The Fillmore San Francisco, CA 23 Sep 2008 The Fillmore San Francisco, CA 24 Sep 2008 The Fillmore San Francisco, CA |
fork.fi ♥ myspace Not quite acapella (there are actual music) and not quite glam, this is a Finnish pop band, consisting of two boys (Winston Chill and Miles Precious) and two girls (Chiq LaDesire and Angel d'Ville) and something called "The Greg". Looking at their website, it looks like they've released two albums, but in fact they have over four albums, with the latest called Games We Play from 2007. As a cover lover, I was drawn to their 2005's Cover to Cover, an all-covers album. Of course, I don't have any of their albums, so here's a video for for Fork's version of the Bon Jovi's classic, "You Give Love a Bad Name".
Having seen the entire thing, I can only describe this as cheesy. Especially when the Metallica guy shows up! |
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| THE KNIFE theknife.net ♥ myspace.com
The Knife is a pretty electronic duo (Karin Dreijer Andersson and Olof Dreijer) from Sweden, who I've previously briefly mentioned their Christmas Raindeer song. Mostly beats and electronic, Andersson does lend her vocals on 99% of their songs - at least from what I've heard on their 2006 album Silent Shout. If you happen to get the limited edition version of this album, it comes with a bonus live disc - featuring one of their best-known song, "Heartbeats" done live. I will also mention that not only are they loved in the US by Pitchfork (they named Silent Shout best album of 2006), but also in their home country where they won six Swedish Grammies:
What is amazing is that they were nominated for six - and had won all six! It looked like it was a busy year for the duo in 2006 and 2007, but surprisingly, currently, the band is on a three-year hiatus as Olof is determined to make his DJ stuff as "Coolof". I'm certain you'll hear from The Knife once again in 2010. |
SPOONFORK spoonthefork.com ♥ myspace.com
Also from Sweden and also a duo, is the garagey/indie rock band, Spoonfork. Their 2008 debut album, All Is Well from Gourmé Records, is receiving rave reviews all across the board. Spoonfork's biography lists that they started just last year by one-man-musician Oscar Lundin. I suppose it wasn't long before he recruited his friend, a "classical guitarist" named Adam Olson. Between the two of them, they create this kind of White Stripes/The Strokes sounding music, but with lots of bass and guitar riffs. In true punk attitude, all their songs were recorded with one take, resulting in some raw rock and roll. This is what I like about talented bands, the ability to play and record something in one take. If there are any imperfections/mistakes, it only adds to the charm of the song. Although, as I previously mentioned, these guys are from Sweden, Oscar Lundin's vocals styles sounds as if he's from Missippipi - so their songs tend to come off like southern rock. Most of the songs I enjoyed aren't particularly radio friendly, especially the 9-minute epic "The Undertaker" and "Bustin' Heads for Dr Death" (both songs seem to be inspired by horror movies). The later song, "Dr Death" sounds as if it is actually two songs. It sounds to me like during recording, Lundin thought "fuck it, I'm going to continue playing the song and who knows where it's going to go!" If you like what you heard, you can pick up their album on CD Baby and while you're at it, download their free The Zombie EP via Gourmé Records.
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