The Defense For The Kids

Bis “Tell It To The Kids” – Bis have come up as a point of reference on this site often enough lately that it may be a good idea to give those of you who may have never heard them a sense of what they were like. Sometimes I am a bit surprised by how well Bis’ music has aged – I certainly never would have expected that when I first bought their records around 1997. Their relentless enthusiasm and energy never ceases to be compelling, though their music is something which is probably best enjoyed in sporadic doses due to its extreme potency.

Bis’ central gimmick of applying the language of radical leftist sloganeering to advocate the joys of candy, pop music, DIY, dancing, and childhood in general remains somewhat fascinating to me, and it seems less ironic all of the time. I think that Bis were on to something – true, they romanticized youth a bit too overzealously, but on the whole, their values were pretty right on: embrace all of the joys in life; don’t be ashamed of who you are or what you love; fight back against ignorance and intolerance; take control of your art and your life. They were joycore extremists from day one! (Click here to buy it from Amazon.)

Northern Lite “Away From You” – I can’t figure out whether this reminds me of one song in specific, or literally hundreds of songs with more or less the same main chord progression. I’m not sure how one would classify a song like this – it’s vaguely country rock, it’s slightly electro, the singer sounds as though he’s doing a Layne Staley impression at some points. There’s an appealing tension here that comes from the incongruous elements defying common sense and gelling as a pretty good song. (Click here to buy it from Juno.)

Elsewhere: There’s a very good Dave Clarke/Chicks On Speed song available over at the Losing My Edge blog, which has just recently become part of the MP3 blog nation.

Also: FEAR NIMROD!