Novelty acts--what's their place?

From what I hear from first person accounts, Radiohead was pretty amazing at Lollapalooza. Maybe I can get someone who was there to write a review.





But I'm not going to talk about Radiohead right now. At least not directly. Plenty of coverage is given to this band and for good reason. What a truly outstanding band! Maybe the best around right now. But I read something once that is very simple, but true: Not every band can or should be Radiohead. One of the criticisms you hear sometimes of Radiohead is that they are too moody and serious. I personally find this criticism a bit ridiculous and probably made by people who don't really give it a good listen. But it's true, not everyone can or should be Radiohead.





So let's take a look at the opposite extreme of bands--novelty acts. I think of this because someone I was talking to the other night mentioned how his friend really wanted to see this band that has something like 18 lead singers and only sings songs with choruses and no verses. Something about Camero in the title. We all know our share of novelty acts. They are perfect bar entertainment. Some Chicago examples include, Wedding Banned, who are supposedly a wedding band that is so hardcore they got kicked off of the "wedding circuit", powder blue tuxes and all. Then there's Mucca Pazza--rock music played by a marching band. It's quite a sight to see these guys fit into a club. Let's just say you get to know the musicians pretty intimately. I could go on and on with examples.



I have a couple of thoughts concerning novelty acts. I usually end up being a little disappointed when someone hypes up a band who survives off of their schtick. I mean, ok, so you've got 18 lead singers and that's your thing, but are you any good. And if you are in one of these bands, aren't you worried that the novelty will wear out? I enjoyed Mucca Pazza when I saw them. It's a former band nerd's dream come true. Playing "Smells Like Teen Spirit" in a packed club with all of your other band nerd friends, oboes, tubas and all, and being respected and even liked. It's good entertaining fun, but would I go see it again? Probably not. And I wouldn't likely by a cd. Maybe they realize they are what they are--an entertaining novelty act.



Then there's unneccessary novelty. I saw a band at SXSW that was really great. It was like watching a band straight out of the heyday of '60s Rhythm and Blues. I'd never get to see Otis Redding live, but this was definitely in the same vein and really, really good. But I had one major problem with them. They were dressed in Star Trek uniforms. I don't know why. There would seem to be no point. None of the songs were geared toward Trekkies (or do they like to be called Trekkers now, I don't know). It was straight ahead soulful r&b. What were they doing with the uniforms? I found it distracting and really unneccessary. Just play the music! It's good, don't detract from it!



It's not that I don't like a good novelty act. I love Flight of the Conchords. There's also a great band from Austin called White Ghost Shivers, who I enjoy as well. Here's how I think they are different, though. Flight of the Conchords is extremely well written and has a context of a hilarious HBO program and previous to this, several comedy specials. These guys have developed solid characters (of themselves basically) and weaved those characters masterfully into ridiculously funny songs. If you're going to be a novelty act, be like these guys--write well and develop your schtick into something extremely solid.



White Ghost Shivers are an Austin-based Texas swing/vaudville act/hot jazz/bluegrass band. They do dress in period costumes, but it doesn't detract from their act. It's like if you took a '20s jazz band, pulled them into modern times and let them draw upon influences like punk and rock, and let the madness begin. It's high energy, at times very silly and raunchy and just a lot of fun. They work because they really seem to be a bunch of fun loving, silly, raunchy people, but also because they play really well.

And even though I am a fan of both of these bands, I wonder about their limitations. Will Flight of the Conchords follow up their initial success with another round of clever, funny songs? Can a band like White Ghost Shivers expand their fan base outside of the niche they've carved out in Texas?

But maybe I'm being overanalytical. Maybe novelty acts are just a pleasant diversion to be enjoyed on a basic level. Maybe they can occasionally give us those "wow" moments, but mostly serve just to make us laugh or dance or smile. Nothing wrong with that I suppose. If everyone was a Radiohead, Radiohead wouldn't be Radiohead, right? But just a couple of bits of unsolicited advice for bands concerning novlety--1.) If you're going to do it, do it right. Think it out, plan it out, be solid, and be good. Any fool can get up there with a ukelele and a funny hat, but it doesn't mean it's going to be anything special. And don't try to be like Flight of the Conchords. They do it good enough on their own. 2.) If you're starting a band and thinking about doing some sort of schtick, think it over. Do you want to be about the music or not? It's hard to do both, so if you want to be taken seriously as musicians, you might want to avoid gimmicks. I know it's hard to get recognized in this over saturated music world, but do it with your music.

In the meantime, I'm thinking about starting a band. So if you play kazoo, bassoon, or the spoons, let me know. I'll provide the pirate uniforms, and if you are a gymnist, that will definitely help. I'll explain later.

One more thing about Radiohead. I got my hands on a Lollapalooza program and the artist bio for them was horrible. I knew it was going to be bad when the first line goes, "I wish I was special" was all that Thom Yorke and the rest of Radiohead wanted (paraphrased slightly). Arrgghh!! How cheesy can we be? Plus, do we really need to reference a song that the band doesn't even care for? I guess they were trying to be clever and reference the band's early history, but really? If it were my choice, I might have referenced "Creep" at some point, but to start things out like that really minimizes what this band has become over the past decade. Maybe I'm being snobby, but to me, that's not the type of writing you want in the official program.