From today's New York Times:
HOBOKEN, N.J. — “Endless possibility/Time is right for us to be,” Glenn Mercer sang when the Feelies performed at Maxwell’s on Tuesday night, at this New Jersey band’s first public show in 17 years. “Time — right — now — tonight.”
Circling through four chords with a jabbing lead-guitar lick, “Time Is Right” was a new song that sounded as if the Feelies had never disappeared. They were still what might be a garage band reimagined by mathematicians, a psychedelic band with no illusions, a folk-rock band hypnotized by repetition, a punk band for introverts. From 1977 to 1991, their initial run, the Feelies traveled a clear path between the Velvet Underground and current indie rock. Their songs, by the guitarists and singers Bill Million and Mr. Mercer, use rock rudiments to build incrementally from meditation to frenzy...
You can read the rest here.
I have to say, I didn't get those guys for the longest time. Of course, these days, when I listen to one of their songs, like this one --
-- and compare it to a piece of contemporary bombast like, oh, the newest Disturbed single, it seems like a fricking work of minimalist genius.
2 comments:
I’ve only grown to appreciate the Feelies in the past couple years myself. It may partly just be a function of my getting old, but I really do like the way they just get up and play like regular folks without a lot of posing. This fairly recent (September 2006) cover of Dead Flowers is an example of the way they can put the spotlight on the song rather than on themselves. I come away from such a performance thinking, “what a great song that is.”
This fairly recent (September 2006) cover of Dead Flowers is an example of the way they can put the spotlight on the song rather than on themselves.
Well said, who. I liked The Feelies' 1988 cover of VU's "What Goes On" for the same reason. In fact, that's one of the few songs I remember from Only Life. Maybe I should revisit that album...
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