Art As It Happens
From Steve comes word that Finns Motel will be playing SxSW this year on the same bill with The Figgs. Gaaaah! Must….get….to….Austin…. (sadly, probably a no-go; I’m heading out to Utah to ski all next week, and that’s the winter/spring vacation.)
You know I love them Finn Moteliers. But here’s a cool video I found of The Figgs doing one of the best songs to come out last year, “Jumping Again”. This was recorded from what looks like a cellphone in a record store in Wisconsin.
The sound is terrible.
Seriously, the drums sound like Quaker Oats boxes, there’s no bass, and to call the vocal quality “tinny” is a compliment.
And yet, this is one of the most compelling live vids I’ve stumbled upon. First off, I can tell you from firsthand experience that playing guitar or bass *and* trying to sing is awfully tough. Imagine rubbing your stomach and patting your head, and now imagine doing that in perfect synchronicity for 3-5 minutes straight. Yeah, it’s tough. I cannot imagine, then, how tough it is to sing a vocal counterpoint, where your vocals aren’t even matching up with the lead vocal. To be able to do that and actually stay on-key seems an even greater feat.
So yeah. When this clip hits the 40 second mark, it consistently gives me chills. Take it, lads!
Popnarcotic 