Titus writes:
I’ve listened to nearly all genres of music over
the last seven decades, and I always feel blessed to have enjoyed most
of these. I don’t like placing things in “bags” or “genres” – I’d
rather just decide whether it’s good ....or not so good. In the case of
punk, or post-punk, I was always excited about such and still am. I’ll
not mention by name AGAIN, the Radio 1 DJ whose show I first heard
this next lot on, but it was fairly early in the career of the band,
and comparatively late in the DJ’s life. I refer to The Yeah Yeah
Yeahs.
The band
was formed in my favourite city in the whole world, New York City in
the year 2000, and was made up of vocalist & piano player Karen O.
(I somehow don’t think this was the name endorsed upon her birth
certificate – it was, I am told, Karen Lee Orzolek); guitarist,,
keyboard player Nick Zinner and percussionist Brian Chase. So far they
have made 5 studio albums and unusual to announce in this blog, 4 of
these have been nominated for Grammy Awards. The albums were entitled
‘Fever to tell’ (2003); ‘Show your Bones’ (2006) ; ‘It’s Blitz’ (2009);
‘Mosquito’ (2013); and finally ‘Cool it Down’ (2022). Early in their
career, they supported The Strokes and The White Stripes, and Karen’s
quest for them to become a “trashy, punky, grimy band” was gaining
momentum. Some say that they can hear Blondie, The Pretenders &
Siouxsie & the Banshees in their work, and I have to agree.
Sorry
folks, but I have to use his name now – John Peel was mightily
impressed with them and this resulted in their solitary BBC session in
2002. John played many of their records, and listeners were so impressed
that the band reached the iconic Festive Fifty at Number 12 in 2002
with ‘Bang’ and Number 18 in 2003 with ‘Maps’. Against all odds, they
gained rapturous reviews from the U.K. following their appearance at
Glastonbury in 2009, at ‘All tomorrow’s Parties’ in 2006, and at the
All Points Festival at Victoria Park, London in 2018. Much of their
live work has been recorded and added to You Tube’s videos.
I
am astonished that a garage/punk/raucous alternative band such as the
Yeah Yeah Yeahs has received so many awards and nominations. I suppose
it’s part down to the growth of the internet, social media and
“spreading the word”. I’m just looking at the Antville Music Awards from
2013 and see that not only were the band nominated for ‘Best
Performance Video’, but also WON it! Similarly ’Zero’ won the ‘Best
Rock Video’ in 2009, and Karen herself won an NME award in 2011
entitled ‘Hottest Woman’.
They
have a wide range of their music available online and indeed have
their own website. I love the complete unpretentious, unpolished
rawness of their sound, and in particular a track recorded live in 2004
at The Fillmore, San Francisco called ‘Date with the Night’, and this is
the one I am requesting lex to play this week.