So I am sitting on my chair one day, watching National Treasure (the greatest movie ever made), when Swap walks by, tosses a Cd into my lap, and says, “I think you’ll like that.”
It was at that moment when he just shook his head and walked away like some beaten puppy dog. I looked in my lap and there sat a record by some group called The Airborne Toxic Event.
I wondered if their name was in reference to Don Delillo‘s 1985 book White Noise. As it turns out, they did get their name from that book. I am a f***ing genius.
Well, after watching Nicolas Cage discover the treasure, get the girl, and send the bad guys to jail, I popped the album into the Cd player and you know what? Mr. Louie was right for a change.
The Airborne Toxic Event‘s self-titled debut album held my attention from the first weird keyboard note of “Wishing Well” to the last rather off-pitch note of “Innocence.” To hold my attention that long (about 38 minutes) without any naked chicks is impressive enough, but to impress me enough to WRITE about them? Well, that deserves some sort of prize that involves fishnet stockings and a swing… but I digress…
Their story goes something like this: Lead singer/guitarist Mikel Jollett had an exceptionally bad week in 2006. He began writing songs and then put together the band. They played their first show in the fall of 2006, and has since then played Last Call with Carson Daly, Conan O’Brien, and has done a string of shows in the UK.
I asked Mr. Louie when he first heard of The Airborne Toxic Event (I am going to call them ATE from now on as my paws grow tired of typing their entire name) and he told me “On the radio, man.” I did not push the subject any further because he was on the can at the time and frankly, it began to smell.
Chances are, the song he heard on the radio was “Somewhere Around Midnight.” This song garnered much attention at popular Los Angeles radio stations like KROQ, Indie 103 and Star 98.7. These fine stations added the song even though ATE was yet to be signed. Other radio stations around California then followed suit and soon ATE was signed to Majordomo Records in April 2008.
“Somewhere Around Midnight” definitely breaks the mold of pop songs in that the song contains no chorus. I mean, there is NO chorus in the song. Not one hint of a chorus. Not one iota or even a Judge Ito of a chorus.
And I love it. I have amazingly included this single in the Dig-It Downloads below so that you may experience the song’s story, just in case you have never heard it before.
And yes, the rest of the album is just as good… in fact, it is one hell of an album. And I use the word “hell” in a good way, like when you tell someone to “Go to hell.”
But just in case you do not agree, then let me ask you this: “What the F*** are you taking recommendations from a stuffed bear for???”
Good day.
Your Dig-It Downloads:
Sometime Around Midnight
Wishing Well
Gasoline
Popularity: 1% [?]
I have not heard of this band before so thanks for the heads up. I am listening to “Sometime Around Midnight” as I type and I am really enjoying it. It is almost discombobulate when a song does something out of the norm like “not having a chorus” and it takes a minute to get used to the fact that it doesn’t follow the natural progression you are used to hearing. Very cool.
Sherman, I’m reading your always-wise review eating peanut butter. This is why I listen to you. You have good taste. Now if you can convince my IT dept. to GIVE ME SPEAKERS so I can listen at work, I would be most grateful.
I know it took a lot for you to say that Swap was right, Sherman. And I gotta agree. Those are some awesome downloads. After listening to “Sometime Around Midnight”, I thought for sure it’d be my favorite of the three, but then I listened to “Wishing Well” and now I dunno. It’s a toss up. All three are very cool songs…I’m thinking I need to check out the full album now. And the band. I REALLY like this band’s sound. Thanks fuzzy bear :)
I can’t listen cause I’m workin’ too. But seeing that song title “Wishing Well” has that Terrence Trent Darby tune going in my brain. I hadn’t thought of that song in YEARS!! Wher is he now? Tell me all wise and knowing bear!
OMG SHERMAN YOU REALLY ARE ALL-WISE AND ALL-KNOWING!!
I heard Somehwere Around Midnight on the radio (93XRT – Chicago’s FINEST rock!) a few weeks ago while driving home from work and made it a point to listen to who the artist was. I frantically scrawled down AIRBORNE and TOXIC on the back of my insurance card, then searched MySpace for them when I got home but couldn’t find them cuz I was looking for airborne toxic experiment or something like that, cuz I couldn’t remember the whole name. ANYWAY, I finally found them by searching for TOXIC – I like their stuff but I haven’t bought the album yet so thank you for reminding me!
Regardles of what Swoopmeat Larry says, you’re ok. Just don’t piss me off.
holy geez, I finally got to listen. This music is fabulous.