Top 9 Every-men (and Woman) in Rock

Now don't get me wrong, I love the mysterious aura of an eagle-winged Sufjan or the sexed-up disco fantasia of Of Montreal, but sometimes it's refreshing to see a band composed of all-around average guys. Guys that could live next door to you without a hint of pretentious weirdo-ness. These are the rock stars we love that are kinda like us. Sometimes they're unassuming, sometimes they're modest but they always, always wear jeans on stage.

9. Jeff Tweedy of Wilco
Ok, disregard the killer migraines, the past addictions, the diva-licious falling out with bandmates and you have a really average guy who writes songs that are anything but. Also remember that scene in I Am Trying to Break Your Heart where he asks his wife for money to feed the kids while waiting in line at Wendys. That alone puts him on this list.

8. Jens Lekman
Do guys get more humble then this? His shy smile and aw-shucks demeanor, not to mention all-inclusive after parties put him on this list. Following their concerts, how many pop stars invite the entire audience to a house party in Brooklyn? By putting fans first he essentially denounces his celebrity and affirms his every-man status. Plus we get to dance the night away at the same time!

7. John Vanderslice
By far the happiest, friendliest, sweetest guy on the list. Like Jens he obliterates the line between artist and audience. Chances are if you've seen him live you've also been hugged by him. Just an unbelievably down-to-earth and cheery stand-up dude.

6. Eddie Argos of Art Brut
Just listen to the lyrics of "DC Comics and Chocolate Milkshakes". Nuff said.

5. Bruce Springsteen
Ok, so he's a mega-superstar BUT he somehow maintains his working class cred by touring his ass off and maintaining his New Jersey roots. We should thank him for showing the kids that real rock stars aren't assholes.

4. Ted Leo
The political punker totally rocks, but he's also totally humble, appreciative and downright right ordinary when it comes to his personal life and dealing with fans. Just check out this photo of him and VK's Lizzie. It pretty much says it all:
3. Justin Vernon of Bon Iver
Dude lived in a cabin in Wisconsin and endured a shit-ton of heartbreak. That's about as every-man as it gets.

2. Ira, James and Georgia of Yo La Tengo
These Jersey natives are completely unassuming and completely ageless. They could be your next door neighbor. Hell for some of you young'ens they could be your parents. So causal and so casually cool, they wear jeans and striped t-shirts on stage. Except underneath their ultra-normal exterior lies their secret power - the power of rock. And rock they do.

1. Craig Finn (and really the rest of the members of The Hold Steady except for Franz Nicholay's mustache)
Do dudes get anymore dude-ier than them? I mean they formed a band as an excuse to jam once a week, down a few beers and escape the wives. And in turn wrote some of the best straight-up rock albums this decade. For that we salute you.

Now some songs:
Flume - Bon Iver
Me and Mia - Ted Leo
Fetal Horses - John Vanderslice

Conversation I had today at work

"There's this band, Yo Lo Tengo," I overheard him say in the classroom adjacent to my post at the receptionist desk.
"Um it's Yo LA Tengo," I interjected.
"Oh right."
"So what about them?"
"I'm good friends with one of the guys, Ira. We went to high school together. Used to jam all the time. We just met up for drinks the other day."

Ok, so apparently one of the teachers at the music school/camp I do occasional temp work at is like BFF with Ira and can't even get his band's name right, ha! I told him how much I dig those guys and he quizzically asked me "why?". Um because they're the only band I know that can get away with playing little twee pop songs, 10+ minute psychedelic jams AND plaintive melancholy folk ballads. In any other band I'd call that an identity crisis, but in Yo La Tengo, they get away with doing it all because they do it all so well. He just sorta nodded.

But here's the most awesome part: he made me show YLT YouTube clips to his students, a gaggle of 8-12 year old boys armed with acoustic guitars bigger then their bodies. And they marveled at Ira's freakout solo halfway through "Stockholm Syndrome". The way he can riff and pluck and squeal his instrument and then return to the melody is bold and seamless. To quote the aforementioned teacher, "it's like there's no such thing as metronomes!" Which is to say on a technical classicist level there's no room to love YLT because of their blatant disregard for traditional structure. BUT that is precisely the reason so many people fall in love with them in the first place.

To quote one of my friends whom I thoroughly agree with "Stockholm Syndrome is "the platonic ideal of a perfect pop song". WORD.

Anyways it felt good to give the kids a real musical education, expand their minds a bit and score a goal for team indie rock.

The song (and video) at hand:


Stockholm Syndrome - Yo La Tengo

And here's a new track off their upcoming album out in September:

Periodically Double or Triple - Yo La Tengo

Yo La Tengo @ McCarren Park Pool, August 24, 2008

This weekend marked the last free concert of the summer (and possibly ever) at McCarren Park Pool. A triple bill headed by indie mainstays Yo La Tengo (the most redeeming group to come out of New Jersey since, um…ever) proved a perfectly rocking way to bring the season to an end.

Thousands gathered to hear the trio of Ira, James and Georgia play a nearly seamless set, eclectically segueing from epic 10-minute jams to mellow acoustic fare to sunshine and-rainbow pop (complete with brass backing band!). This is a band that’s maybe older than half the audience’s parents and yet they play with more energy, vitality, and not to mention relevance of bands half their age. They could definitely teach the young'uns a thing or two about rocking out. As their album title insists, they are not afraid of you and they will beat your ass, indeed!

Titus Andronicus and Ebony Bones opened (look for subsequent posts on them) while fans filled up the usual dodgeball courts and piled on to the slip ‘n slide between sets marking the end of a sweet and short-lived era.
For those unfamiliar with the venue, McCarren Park Pool is a long-since abandoned watering hole built during the Great Depression in 1936, waaaaay before the advent of indie rock. However, over the past three years, the empty pool has served as home to some of New York's largest concerts during the year’s sunny months, many of them free as part of Jelly NYC’s pool party series. But looks like water, not music will be filling the pool in coming years, with discussion of reconstruction and a $50 million overhaul in the works for next year. The future of the venue is in jeopardy, and will almost certainly to come to an end.

All this sadness begs one question: where will all the hipsters play dodgeball now?

Mr. Tough - Yo La Tengo
Stockholm Syndrome - Yo La Tengo