The Grand New Wrong – Hopelessness
Similar artists: Screaming Trees, Pearl Jam, Foo Fighters
Indie Rock, Garage Rock, Alternative Rock
For all the tales about murdering the heavy metal and pop stars who had sold their souls to the mainstream industry machine, grunge music was built on the very basics of rock music. Most of the musicians that were members of the more successful bands were veterans by the time they achieved fame. And, almost without exception, all of them were songwriting geeks.
Grunge rockers knew an excellent hook from a lame one and, try as they might to deny it, owned many of the classic rock records that form the basis of radio programming until today. A lot of what they did was very conventional and palatable. The extra ingredient was their anger. Or, at the very least, what the public interpreted as anger.
The Grand New Wrong’s Hopelessness owes an outstanding debt to grunge music’s fascination with pleasant vocal melodies. This is an alt-rock song, alright, but the bare bones of it could belong to an Everly Brothers tune. It’s not an attempt to get across to the highest number of people. No, most likely, it’s an attempt to guarantee that this will be a song that can be played by its writers at any age and to any audience.
Melt Citizen – Jajajajajaja
Similar artists: The Wipers, Brainiac, Husker Du, Man or Astro-Man?
Genre: Punk, Alternative Rock
Folks who treat rock music with too much reverence aren’t very fun to hang around with and rarely end up making any good music themselves. They probably end up doing something stupid with all of their time, such as studying scales or wasting all their days sharing their opinions on internet forums.
Beyond the dark shadow cast by genres like prog and metal, punk-rock and its many children cater to an unsophisticated, soulful bunch. This isn’t music designed to impress anyone with playing ability. These aren’t songs designed to be played on heavy rotation on Top 40 radio stations. This is music that is as irresponsible as a public freak-out.
However, it can certainly be entertaining. Melt Citizen’s Jajajajajaja is an example of artists listening to their instincts above anything else and treating their histrionics as a tool for songwriting. As a result, the intensity of the chorus provides some nice surprises, and the production choices help create a muscular sound that powers through writing motifs that fans of DYI punk may have heard before. It pays to be angry and not to practice your scales. At least if you’re not chasing the opinion of internet snobs.
