I like both The Fiery Furnaces and The Dead Milkmen, and I recently learned that the former made a video based around the most-influential movie of my childhood (and, possibly, entire life), Easy Rider. Each video follows for your review. Leaving the music out of it if you must—because if you’re like me you might find that the song in one of these two videos is not anywhere near a favorite in the band’s catalog—which band made better use of its source material? Choose one…after the jump!
I just stumbled across this 1980 clip of a song called “Better,” by a once-popular Phoenix, AZ band, Blue Shoes. Was this band 30 years ahead of its time? I propose hipsters The Fiery Furnaces cover this song and re-create this video shot for shot.
(You’re welcome.)
Did you know that as of this March, a group in Japan was awarded as the current record holders of the World’s Longest Concert? Beating out Canada (who held it since 2002) in the Guinness Book (to my own chagrin). On Thursday night, when The Fiery Furnaces played, the audience was put to the test for almost an hour and 45 minutes of original concert material. For an indie band, that’s kiiind of a long set – especially when you’re not expecting it.
Sparks; in a pensive mood. I would expect a long set from Sparks.
With no breaks between songs when your band sounds more like a melodic Trenchmouth or Red Red Meat fronted by a not less interesting Patti Smith or PJ Harvey, it can test your fortitude and rock n’ roll strength to stay interested – and I like to think that I’ve got a pretty good attention span. Double drummers, and lots of on stage action almost trick you into believing that the momentum and excitement could keep up with itself, but all that just falls to the background once it goes way past the hour mark – even the encore is mixed in with the regular set to “save us” from waiting for them to come back out on stage (we are told).
Is it possible that the band may have exceeded even their own expectations in length? Is it simply a practice in showing us who’s The Boss? After seeing Yo La Tengo‘s live show again earlier this year (not having seen them since the mid-90s), I was lamenting to a friend that I really liked most of the band’s set, but that the actual length of the show went on forever! He completely understood, having seen Yo La Tengo many times himself in recent years, what I was getting at:
Should experimentation take the live stage or go back to the garage?
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