
The Library is On Fire – Hotel Jugoslavija (featuring Mike Watt)
Similar artists: Minutemen, Hüsker Dü, Pixies, Nirvana
Genre: Punk
Madness can do wonders for an artist, provided that they’re not actually crazy. Madness is captured really well on camera and makes people look handsome. It does even greater work for folk trying to record their vocals onto tape. Like an audio filter, it provides the kind of depth that rigorous discipline can simply not add.
From Salvador Dali to William S. Burroughs, paranoia has been actively advertised by some of our brightest minds. But it’s always hard to say if these kinds of tricksters really meant what they say.
Perhaps what they were getting at was that being paranoid triggers an endless sense of anticipation. It can lead to heartaches, sure. But it can also provide the necessary sense of drama to make an art piece come to life.
The Library is On Fire’s “Hotel Jugoslavija” revels in tension and turmoil from the title and the very first bars. Steve Five sings like a man flown into Belgrade to bring down Tito’s regime years before diabetes and inner strife pulled it down on their own.
Featuring the legendary and always dependable Mike Watt, “Hotel Jugoslavija” is a memorable morsel of rock music, a punk-rock companion to Golden Earring’s “Twilight Zone”, and an exotic entry into the modern rock canon.
Father Figures – Crammed in a Van
Similar artists: PUP, Pkew Pkew Pkew, FIDLAR
Genre: Skate Punk, Pop Punk
How far are you willing to travel for “the truth?” Personally, on most days, I have trouble getting off the couch to buy groceries, so don’t depend on me for any hero journeys and enlightenment voyages. But, there are some that are certainly looking for something.
Why else would they subject themselves to the trials, tribulations and utter misery of travelling in a van across the grand ol’ U.S.A? There must be something that moves these individuals beyond the promise of new fans for their music and a few free beers offered by the patrons of the establishments where they’ll be presenting their art.
Father Figures’ “Crammed in a Van” is “On The Road” for ambitious artists in their 30s. Jack Kerouac had the luxury of becoming an alcoholic and never having to write anything better than his most famous book, but for Father Figures, self-destruction is not an option.
The charming DYI punk of “On The Road” tells the tale of musicians in their 30s seeking adventure, enlightenment, and cheap booze. They know what’s going on, but their mantra of “everything is alright” won’t let them fall off the precipice. I’m sure I speak for the American people when I say that we need more folks like Father Figures and fewer like Kerouac or his deadbeat beatnik friends.