Thursday, September 29, 2011

Hum on 120 Minutes



I remember videotaping this when it was on when I was in high school, fifteen years old. It was during the summer, so my mom didn't yell at me to go to bed (it didn't come on until midnight). I went to the first Warped Tour three weeks later. They did "Stars" and "I'd Like Your Hair Long." I thought this was the coolest thing when I saw it, and I still do. I was so struck by everything about this band. First, fucking look at them. The bass player is going bald, the singer looks like he works at a gas station, the other guitar player is playing a fucking spraypainted guitar and the drummer is like just some dude. These guys, like you know how punk or hardcore or alternative bands or whatever often talk about themselves as "losers" or "rejects" or whatever? Well, most of the time they aren't. They are just saying that for cred. I am actually a loser and a reject. These dudes, they look like if we were in high school together, they wouldn't have been part of the cool "alternative" kids and we probably would have hung out. I mean they are seriously dorky, and I relate.

Also, listen to how LOUD it is! You can tell this because of the way the limiting kicks in as soon as they ring out on that distorted chord. The clean intro is pretty loud, but then the broadcast volume actually decreases once they get into it. Full stacks will do that, I guess. I saw them once. They were really loud. And really good. Glad I did that.

The guitar player's fingers just fly over that fretboard seemingly with no effort. It's like they're possessed.

And the drummer, wow. Look at all those cymbals. Five crashes/rides and a china. Holy shit. He uses them all, too. Rumor has it he is/was a Rush fan, so it makes sense. Dude plays so hard, and so well. Love it.

These are fucking great songs.



I'm very glad to have lived through a time of plentiful meaningful music.

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