Tags
geek rock, Grandpa Griffith, Harry and the Potters, I Fight Dragons, Jonathan Coulton, Kirby Krackle, Mark Aaron James, Ookla the Mok
I was minding my own business scouting out new Jonathan Coulton material on iTunes when out of the corner of my eye I spotted some crazy song titles in the ‘listeners also bought’ section. There seemed to be a heavy focus on superheroes and celebrating nerdiness. Well before I knew it I had needle-dropped my way through a hitherto unknown genre to me – geek rock. You can find plenty of essays online to tell you all about it but, suffice to say, it tends to be defined by quirky songwriting, a passion for outsider culture, and plenty of hooks. Here’s just a smattering of what this scene has to offer.
In many ways Chicago’s I Fight Dragons are the poster child for this genre with song titles like “Geeks Will Inherit the Earth,” “Save World Get Girl” and “No One Likes Superman Anymore.” Their on-the-cheap videos are pretty fun too. Personally I’m keen on “cRaZie$” from their 2011 album Kaboom! where they lampoon the cabin-in-the-woods horror genre. Now if you want an act that commits to the bit, check out Harry and the Potters. They have released something like four albums, six EPs and host of one-off singles and every song inhabits the Potter universe. As I don’t really know just where to start here, I’m featuring a cool track from the band’s last long-player Lumos entitled “The Banality of Evil (Song for Albert Runcorn)” that features a great guitar solo. Kirby Krackle dives deep into the geek rock bag of tricks with songs about superpowers and evil villains and the need for proper insurance for henchmen. But another side of the genre is all about riffing on recent pop culture. KK excels here with a load of stand-alone tunes, like this paean to Stranger Things heroine “Eleven, I’ll Wait For You.”
Given its goofball tendencies the geek rock genre can attract more than few one-off ‘we’re just passing through’ efforts. Grandpa Griffith have a whole album of songs about talking monkeys and unstoppable robots but nary a write up anywhere. Oh well. “Aquaman” from their LP Electric Scooter Holiday Blowout is worth grabbing your attention. Mark Aaron James also has songs about superheroes (“Aquaman’s Lament” “Batman’s Reply”) and science fiction TV obsession (“Shatner at the Convention”). But he also embodies the genre’s tendency for self-reflective protagonists. Both “This Song’s About” and “This Song Would Be Better” have the singer tied in knots about what his songs mean and the meaning of success, in a style that marries Glass Houses era Billy Joel with early Elvis Costello. Unfortunately, neither is posted on bandcamp so you’re getting more Aquaman. Buffalo’s Ookla the Mok are spilling over with talent. It’s all here: superhero riffing, geek convention in-jokes, popular culture call outs, and monkey concept albums. But behind the jokey-ness is serious musical talent, akin to They Might Be Giants. You won’t go wrong dialing in to any of their albums but I’m starting you on “Medieval Evel Knievel” from their Nerdvana EP. Funny and oh so well played.
Jonathan Coulton definitely has plenty of geek rock material but I’m wrapping this feature with a song from his 2017 Solid State record that is simply a straightforward should-be hit single, “Sunshine.” There’s still plenty of Coulton’s lyrical cleverisms with lines like ‘The roaches took the kitchenette We just let it go.’ But the hooks in this chorus are blindingly good.
Get your geek on with any of these fine artists wherever geek rock is sold (hint – hit the hyperlinks for the e-store).
Photo: fragment of mast image from Ookla the Mok bandcamp page.
Putting a famous name in your song title would seem to be a sure fire way to have a hit. Kim Carnes’ “Bette Davis Eyes” or Weezer’s “Buddy Holly” readily come to mind. But really, those are the exceptions. A quick search of the internet actually turns up a whole bevy of celebrity names on songs, mostly on the indie side of things, most of them album cuts. So why do bands do it? Homage? Satire? Or are they just as celebrity obsessed as everyone else? The French duo Please was formed and recorded a song with the sole explicit intent of getting a response from Paul McCartney – not that Paul appeared to notice! The range of material covered in this post gives us a bit of all these approaches, from hero worship, to ridicule, to little more than just mentioning the celebrity name.
It’s almost like somewhere a gargantuan holiday music factory is just pumping them out, songs that are largely indistinguishable from the regular commercial fare but for their obligatory invocation of Santa, mistletoe, and snow. But buried amongst the dreck are always some well crafted seasonal tunes, if you’re paying attention. Over the past year I’ve set aside any good holiday material I’ve run across for this very special Hooks for the Holidays blog entry.
Let’s begin with that classy poprock elder statesman, Nick Lowe. Considering he once eschewed the idea of recording a Christmas album as ‘vulgar, tawdry commercialism,’ his finished product is pretty impressive. Quality Street squeezes subtle hooks out of clever covers and new material. Though Lowe was once the quintessentially mercurial poprock artist, he has honed a more laid back, almost jazzy crooner sound over his last few albums. Quality Street continues in this vein. Check out the instrumental backdrop to Boudleaux Bryant’s classic, “Christmas Can’t Be Far Away” – arranged to perfection like expert miniature painting. Other highlights include Ron Sexmsith’s “Hooves on the Roof” and Lowe’s co-written composition with Ry Cooder, “Dollar Short of Happy” (the lyrics on the latter are hilarious). A lot of critics like Lowe’s sardonic “Christmas at the Airport” but my faves would have to be the raucous reworking of the traditional “Rise Up Shepherd” and Lowe’s own quietly moving “I was Born in Bethlehem.”Rise Up ShepherdI Was Born in Bethlehem
We began the year with Quiet Company, an amazing band from Texas, so it seems only fitting to fit a few selections from their terrific 2012 seasonal EP, Winter is Coming in here. This band loves the holiday, as evident from the series of house concerts they are doing throughout their home state this month. Here you can see they excel at both commercial and traditional Christmas fare, delivering fantastic versions of both “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” and “Angels We Have Heard on High.”
Jonathan Coulton is an American musical treasure. His ouvre could be cast somewhere between the goofy bombast of Weird Al Yankovic or Jim Stafford and the more subtle, sardonic touch of Randy Newman or Lyle Lovett. Still, Coulton’s ability to write great tunes means that his work is not merely a series of punch lines. His material is often funny, sometimes in an in-your-face style, but as often as not the humour is delivered in a throw-away line that you might miss if you’re not paying attention. The point is, you might tune in for the jokey title but you hit repeat because the hooks and melodies won’t get out of your head.
A lot has been written about Coulton and his connection to geek culture or how he has eschewed conventional models in the music business and yet still succeeded. The latter is particularly interesting given the challenges that musicians are facing today in making a living doing music. Coulton basically releases all his music himself, sans record company contract, and works the geek scene with careful attention to his fan base via social media and themed boat cruises. Somehow he is making money, but check out Clive Thompson’s 
Poprock Record 