Dave Mathews Band. Jack Johnson. Ben Harper. These are a few of the most beloved acts that Fairfield students seem to thrive off of year after year. They play a crucial role inside “the Fairfield bubble,” as I like to call it, and devotion to them will probably be a requirement for admission in the near future.
If you enjoy sappy music played by a guy with a guitar and a squeaky voice, that’s your prerogative. However, there is a world of new bands, new ideas, and new music that lie beyond our Fairfield comfort zone.
We, as a student body, tend to overlook music that isn’t found on TRL or on Connecticut’s radio waves (we never were a state with much taste). Here, I present you with some of the best bands Fairfield isn’t listening to.
The Darkness
They believe in a thing called love, and you will too.
The Darkness, hailing from Lowestoft, England, released their debut album “Permission to Land” on July 7th overseas, but have recently begun taking over America. With their heavy electric guitar riffs and leisure suits galore, The Darkness have proven to be the masters of 70s style rock and roll.
“I hate the arrogance of bands who think their petty emotions are interesting. If you look at bands from 25 years ago, people have smiles on their faces. We’re bringing a bit of that back,” said The Darkness’ bassist Frankie Poullain on the band’s official website.
“Permission to Land” is an all-around eclectic rock album offering power metal mixed with Queen-like ballads. Speaking of Queen, The Darkness have celeb fans such as Brian May, the former guitarist of Queen, and also AC/DC.
Their first U.S. single, “I Believe in a Thing Called Love,” has “fun” written all over it. The album backs it up with such songs as “Get Your Hands off My Woman” and “Black Shuck,” two tracks that will immediately display the album’s originality. The slower and groove filled “Friday Night” rounds off the album, being the definition of an ultimate rock ballad.
Trust me when I say that America hasn’t even begun to see what The Darkness is capable of.
Hot Hot Heat
With the increased following of the pop/rock phenomena and the recent success of Maroon 5, there is no doubt that Hot Hot Heat is a band most would enjoy. Maroon 5 fans should pick up Hot Hot Heat’s “Make Up the Breakdown,” a record mixing dance beats with an underlying rocked out tempo.
In their most popular single, “Bandages,” Hot Hot Heat displays their creatively tongue-twisting lyrics, one aspect of their music most fans love. “I’ve been hoping your moping around the street again/I’ve been tripping from sipping the dripping dirty water tap/I’ve been poking a voodoo doll that you do not know I made/For you, of you, let’s see what needles do,” sings Steve Bays.
Hot Hot Heat is known for their exotic keyboards and funky beats. Tracks like “No, Not Now” and “Talk To Me, Dance With Me,” both exhibit these features and create a bouncy vibe.
They can’t be categorized and that’s what I love. Classifying them as “rock” or “pop” would be ignoring many other elements of their music. Hot Hot Heat cannot be locked down and because of this, they shine.
The Distillers
Fairfield has many students that enjoy what they like to call “punk music.” However, outside the bubble, Simple Plan and New Found Glory are no more than sheer, 100% bubble gum pop. True punk lies in bands like the Bad Brains, the Sex Pistols, and my favorite, The Distillers.
After opening for No Doubt last year, The Distillers career had finally broken through. Their recently released third album, “Coral Fang” includes the single “Drain the Blood” and countless other hard-core punk filled tracks.
Being named as one of SPIN magazine’s “Next Big Things” of 2004, The Distillers’ ultra-fast guitar rhythms and pounding drum beats clearly blow the teeny bopper “punk” bands out of the water.
Singer Brody Dalle’s violent and personal lyrics show how she uses her music to vent her anger, alienation and abuse.
Although The Distiller’s lyrics are bitter and enraged, they perfectly coincide with the music and are the ultimate adrenaline booster.
“Sing Sing Death House,” from 2002, is by far their best album, containing such tracks as “Sick of It All,” “I am a Revenant” and “City of Angels.” Think you like punk? Put it to the test and check out The Distillers.
The Mirror editors pick their favorites
Keith Whamond, Managing Editor 1. Death Cab for Cutie, “The Photo Album” 2. Papas Fritas, “pApAs fritAs” 3. Nick Drake, “Bryter Layter”
Tara Lynch, A’E Editor 1. Erykah Badu, “Worldwide Underground” 2. Jeff Buckley, “Live at Sin-E” 3. Damien Rice, “O”
Joshua O’Connell, Editor at Large 1. Swing Out Sister, “Shapes and Patterns” 2. Cathy Dennis, “Am I the Kinda Girl?” 3. Lighthouse Family, “Postcards from Heaven”
Ethan Fry, Editor in Chief 1. Jeff Buckley, “Grace” 2. The Decemberists, “Her Majesty The Decemberists” 3. Rocktopus, “Something Fierce”
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