I don’t remember how I stumbled upon Canadian band Alvvays, but I’m glad I did. This song, really got to me. It’s one of those singles that gets labelled as “Indie Pop” or whatever, but in fact it’s just a kick-ass rock song.
Rock on…
Tag: Indie Rock
Friday Night Rock-Out: “Alex Chilton”
If you had a clever and edgy punk/garage band back in the 1980s, and if that band got picked up by indie college radio stations, you were likely to get slapped with the label of “college rock.” Many great bands suffered this fate. Some, like R.E.M. and the B-52s, were able to grow beyond it. Others, like The Replacements, never really did.
I knew a girl who was so into The Replacements that she would only refer to them by the insider-fan name, “The Placemats.” She had great taste in music (and probably still does). I thank her, belatedly, for introducing me to one of their best songs, “Alec Chilton” (entitled, obviously, after another great indie rocker).
Rock on…
Friday Night Rock-Out: “Oscar Wilde”
Indie rock is famously difficult to define but I know it when I hear it. It’s got something to do with the DIY quality of the music, and the pared down nature of the arrangements.
My favorite Indie band of the last twenty years is Company of Thieves. I first heard them on Daryl Hall’s wonderful YouTube show Live from Daryl’s House, and I was struck by the power and passion of Genevieve Schatz’s singing, as well as Marc Walloch’s impressive guitar chops. They reminded me a bit of The Pixies and some other great bands that I used to listen to in college.
Rock on…
BONUS: Here is Company of Thieves’ cover of The Zombies’ Time of the Season on Live from Daryl’s House…
Ash Clifton, Writer 