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This week’s list is dedicated to my fiancee, ANNE LEAVITT-GRUBERGER, who will become my wife on Sunday, October 12th. Here is a list of 10 artists that her fandom has made me appreciate more as well. I was already a fan of some of these artists (such as YO LA TENGO, SONIC YOUTH), but some of them were artists who I was largely unfamiliar with beforehand. I am off next week but will return with a brand new list on October 26th.
Yo La Tengo
When we first met, I was a rather casual fan. I only owned their great 2000 album ...And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out and had never seen them live before. Now I’ve seen them live 8 times in the last 3 years and have become a much bigger fan of this amazing band.
Sonic Youth
Again, when we first met, I’d been a fan of Sonic Youth since 1990’s Goo album. I’d recently acquired their 2004 album Sonic Nurse, but had only seen them live once. However, thanks to how much I liked Sonic Nurse as well as Anne’s fandom, I’ve become a much bigger fan of theirs in recent years, going back and catching up to the really early records I’d never heard as well as some of the ‘90s and ‘00s albums I’d originally missed out on as well. We’ve also seen them live twice in the last year or so.
Guided by Voices
I know that I probably shouldn’t admit this, but I never really liked Guided by Voices until rather recently. The one time I saw them live (back in 2004 at a free outdoor show at Pier 54 in Manhattan) was disappointing and for some reason, the stuff I heard on record didn’t click with me, either. However, one day I put on Anne’s copy of Human Amusement at Hourly Rates, their great best-of compilation, and it just clicked. I still can’t say I’m a huge fan, but I definitely appreciate the twisted pop genius of songs ranging from the lo-fi rumble of “Hot Freaks” to the relative slickness of stompers like “Teenage FBI” and “Everywhere with Helicopter” from the later years.
The Rosebuds
Anne was already a big fan of this North Carolina duo when I first saw them live, opening for SONS AND DAUGHTERS at North Six (now The Music Hall of Williamsburg) in Brooklyn back in 2005 (show review here). Their mix of jangle-pop, rockabilly and ‘90s indie won me over live, as did their 1st 2 albums The Rosebuds Make Out and Birds Make Good Neighbors. Like some other fans, I was really disappointed in last year’s Night of the Furies, but fortunately their new, just-released album Life Like nicely splits the difference between their older sound and the ‘80s fetishism of Night of the Furies.
The Clean
Anne is a huge fan of the New Zealand indie-pop scene that’s perhaps best exemplified by this great, legendary band that’s responsible for starting the whole thing (although there were of course lesser-known predecessors like TOY LOVE that helped the transition from New Zealand’s punk scene to what would become known as indie-rock in the ensuing decades). In any case, we traveled to Manhattan to see The Clean last December in Cake Shop’s basement (we got tickets and a hotel reservation before their show here at Johnny Brenda’s was announced) and boy were they great!
The Ex
I’d heard a few tracks on compilations by this brilliant Dutch post-punk band, but hadn’t ever got into them. I wished I’d heard them earlier because their show here a few years ago was completely awesome, as are their records.
The Feelies
Before I met Anne, I already owned and loved Crazy Rhythms. I didn’t have any of their later records, though, and since then I’ve become a much bigger fan of this great band.
Bardo Pond
When I first saw Bardo Pond opening for SILVER APPLES at Maxwells back in 1998, I admit that I didn’t like them at all. Anne is a huge fan, so the next time I saw them (when we were at the 2006 edition of Terrastock, I kept this in mind and tried to listen to them from a different angle in order to appreciate them. It turns out that I didn’t need to do that, though, because I just got what they were doing right then and there. It’s just heavy, sludgy, psychedelic noise and you either like it or you don’t. Their shows last year at the Philly Popped Festival and then backing DAMO SUZUKI were incredible, too.
Sun Ra
Although this legendary jazz musician, who was based here in Philadelphia, passed away in the early ‘90s, his music endures via bandleader MARSHALL ALLEN and the rest of the SUN RA ARKESTRA. They don’t play out very often, but when they do, it’s a sight to behold. It’s fortunate, however, that on occasion Marshall plays with others like WEASEL WALTER (show review here) and his genius can be experienced in a different context as well.
Caribou
OK here’s the deal. I admit that until last year’s Andorra, I never really got into Caribou. I liked their 1st 2 albums, but they didn’t really stick with me. Andorra, however, was a completely different story. Its catchiness, rooted in ‘60s sunshine pop and sprinkled with psychedelia, combined with its sense of adventure and experimentalism was addictive, so when I finally started to appreciate them (it doesn’t hurt that their great live shows have grown by leaps and bounds, either), Anne felt a bit vindicated since she’s been a fan of theirs for so long now.
