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“Put a Lid on It” – Squirrel Nut Zippers (1998)

The nightlife of Los Angeles, a club in San Francisco and a band from Oregon helped unleash the American Swing Revival monster that took over our radio stations and video channels for about a minute in the 90’s. In the mainstream it started with “The Cherry Poppin Daddies” (best worst band name ever) who actually started out as a band who were a little bit punk and a little bit funk rock and at one time a whole lot of shock rock but they eventually toned it down and combined elements of ska and rockabilly with the old school swing style which became the sound of a new mini movement. Once the Daddies became the first of the revival bands to crack the Top 40 with the track “Zoot Suit Riot”, the floodgates opened for bands like The Brian Setzer Orchestra and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy who were all ushered along a little bit by the huge success of The Mighty Mighty Bosstones who leaned heavier on the ska side and hit it big about a year before. Corporate America latched on to this trend and those Gap commercials paint a perfect picture of how the industry takes something that’s already bubbling and then tries to sell it back to us; because nothing says “lets get up and dance to some swing” like a pair of fuckin’ khakis.

The only things that to my sensibilities were NOT totally forgettable about that moment in musical time and pop culture were the movie Swingers and the Squirrel Nut Zippers (lets not forget Canada’s The Johnny Favorite Swing Orchestra-they were badass). The Zippers were the band least likely to break out of that revival because they were kind of sarcastic and campy in their approach, simply put: they were different. They never would have had a chance at a mainstream blip if it weren’t for the revival already being in full effect and while their revivalist contemporaries were putting their stamp on big band nostalgia that brought to mind Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack, the Zippers were more influenced by the rawness of 1920’s and ‘30’s ragtime Harlem. Predictably, the craze went away but a lot of those bands are still alive today and The Zippers are one of them, and most recently a few members of the group along with Christopher Thorn (Blind Melon guitarist) contributed 9 songs to the Cher and Christina Aguilera Hollywood musical Burlesque.

The absolute best Squirrel Nut Zippers song and one of my favorite songs ever is a track called “Plenty More” from their 1995 album “Inevitable” but there is no video for that one so might I also suggest the tune “Put a Lid on it” from the 1998 album “Hot” that broke them into the mainstream, for half a second.

“Superchile” – B.T.K (1997)

In the mid 90’s one of my favourite Canadian bands came and went pretty quick only releasing one excellent album. B.T.K (short for Birth Through Knowledge) mixed hip hop and rock music at a time when it seemed like everyone was trying that but the difference with these guys was, they didn’t suck. I put them up there with Rage Against the Machine, Cypress Hill and bands of that ilk who instead of jumping on a bandwagon were actually contributing something to the genre. I remember catching them on the side stage of Our Lady Peace’s Summersault Festival in Shediac, New Brunswick, and they were one of the best live bands I had ever seen. Watching them wasn’t like seeing a band mixing hip hop and rock, it was more like watching a band just playing music with a sound that was their own; what they had going for them was a live drummer and a SHIT HOT bass player who made the hip hop influences sound really heavy and the rock elements sound organic. Check out the track “Superchile” and then the rest of their debut/self-titled/only album.

“Boarded Doors” – The Morning Benders (2008)

San Francisco born band “The Morning Benders” began as a solo project for singer Chris Chu in 2005 as he recorded his first couple tunes just using a microphone and his laptop. Then Chris decided to gather some of his college buddies from Berkley University and together they started playing some shows and making music, eventually releasing the “Loose Change” EP in 2006. Chris continued to handle the production of the recordings which included another EP and by this time the band had become one of the cool kids of the bay area music scene. Their popularity led to the first full length album “Talking Through Tin Cans” which was once again produced, engineered and mixed by Chris. They toured pretty heavily behind that record, moved to Brooklyn and before they new it had become one of the most talked about new bands in the US touring with all the right bands needed to capture the cool points: Broken Bells, Ra Ra Riot, Death Cab for Cutie, MGMT etc. Their latest album was produced by Chris Taylor of Grizzly Bear (whom they also toured with) and it was released by the ultra “cool” Rough Trade Records. Jesus, it sounds like I don’t like this band but I really do……lets go back to 2008 and check out the track Boarded Doors from their first full length album. Remember kids, cool doesn’t matter if the music strikes you. Cool in the new uncool.

“2 Weeks” – Grizzly Bear (2009)

Grizzly Bear is an example of how creativity can breathe when there is no pressure or motive for making music, other than just a desire to make music. Their 2004 debut album”Horn of Plenty” actually began simply as a home recording project for Edward Droste over the course of 15 months in his Brookyln apartment. He never really planned on anything above and beyond letting his friends hear the songs but once those songs were written they were given new life by Christopher Bear and the resulting album (Horn of Plenty) got passed around the NY underground music scene and became a bit of a cult hit. Word of mouth momentum gathered which led to shows, more music, an album that even the band isn’t sure how to pronounce (2010’s Veckatimest) and of course as we now know; international recognition.

You don’t have to take my word for it, because when Jay Z starts to name drop your band and bring his hot wife to your shows-you’ve made it, right? It’s cute hearing Jay Z say indie rock.

I Am The Man – The Philosopher Kings (1997)

The mid 90’s saw a lot of Canadian bands who had huge success here in Canada which didn’t seem to translate into the US. To be honest it’s not JUST that era, there have been many bands to hit superstar status in Canada only to have had a hard time cracking the US market with the same size and impact such as The Hip, Blue Rodeo, Great Big Sea, I Mother Earth and Our Lady Peace. This list could go on and on through the current and past list of successful Canadian bands in Canada, sometimes it just doesn’t translate outside of our home and native land, and obviously if we knew exactly why, we really wouldn’t talking about it right now, but I digress. For a time, The Philosopher Kings seemed like that trend, that illusive American acceptance wasn’t going to apply to them when their song “Charms” from their first album cracked the US top 40, but unfortunately, that was kinda it for them. In Canada they released a few more successful albums, a couple members plagued us with the cartoon side project Prozzak, and then the Kings were done. If I was in charge of radio and controlled what everyone got to hear in 1997, “I am the Man” would have been the most overplayed song of the year. The Philosopher Kings and gatekeepers forever!

thanks for listening,
=mw