Under8ed

That would be a good name for a Good Charlotte-esque band. Like, I would already hate a band named "Under8ed" purely from their name, so I would hope it would be sucky music to go along with it.

First off, I apologize for saying the Jonas Brothers are better than the Beatles. But I will stick to my guns that Avril Lavigne is the greatest guitar player ever.

Anyway, this post is about the Toadies. Most of you, probably being under the age of 25, will have probably never heard of them. They were a band from the early nineties that toured with the likes of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, White Zombie, Bush, and The Butthole Surfers. Their sound is tough to describe. Grunge with a heavily-Robert Plant influenced voice? I suppose. The "grunge" aspect was probably the cause of their demise. Grunge died with Kurt Cobain (and the help of the gradual mutation of the Foo Fighters from grunge to alternative to a band with ballads and lukewarm "hard rock" songs that are more patterned than Al Boreland's shirt). It also didn't help that it was seven years between the release of the Toadies two albums. By the time the second was out in 2001, Vaden Todd Lewis' voice was pretty much blown out and their music was considered outdated. Years of screaming took their toll, and although he still has some pipes, it was clear that they were not what they used to be.

Rubberneck, released in 1994, should be on every top albums of the 90's list out there in my opinion, unless you're talking in terms of records sold. Perhaps alternative fans will be familiar with the song "Possum Kingdom". I know that once in a blue moon they play it on Rock 102.1 in Milwaukee. It's featured on the Xbox 360 version of Guitar Hero 3, a track that I have yet to play because my roommate has it on PS 2. However, the whole album is solid, and features many songs that I think are better that Possum Kingdom. "I Come From the Water" is just a delightfully intense song about evolution. "Tyler" is slightly ripped off from the Pixies' "Where is My Mind?" (which the Toadies cover on their live album), but it's a creepy story about a man breaking into a woman's house. "I stumble in the hallway, outside the bedroom door. / I hear her call out to me, I hear the fear in her voice. / She pulls the covers tighter, I press against the door/ I will be with her tonight." No doubt these lyrics are a bit creepy, but often great music is just a bit creepy or offensive. Nirvana's "Rape Me" anybody? Possum Kingdom itself is about a vampire trying to persuade a girl to let him bite her so they can live (sort of) forever as a couple. It's often misconstrued because Vaden Todd Lewis repeats over and over again "Do you want to die?", which sounds more like a threat than persuasion. This album is the ultimate pump-up cd.

The Toadies disbanded in 2001, shortly after their second album came out because Lisa Umbarger, the bassist, wanted to quit, and the band felt it wouldn't be the same without her. However, since their break-up, they have gotten together for a few reunion tours, mostly in the Texas area (minus Lisa, however). It seems as if they are discussing larger scale ideas lately as Lewis' current band, the Burden Brothers (who I also enjoy very much), are on hiatus. When speaking of their December reunion tour, drummer Mark Reznicek said, “Expect lots of rock. And maybe even new Toadies releases in the future. Whether that involves putting out some unreleased archival stuff, or even recording new material... who knows?”

So check out the complete collection of Toadies videos:
"Possum Kingdom" at YouTube
"Tyler" at YouTube
"Mister Love" at YouTube (Warning: Tripped-out old man licking frogs in this video)