DC ROCK CLUB
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Thursday, August 28, 2008

ACL INJURIES (Round 4)

We now move into Round 4 of ACL Injuries, a weekly feature which will help us determine which bands to see at the Austin City Limits Festival in late September. Last week's battle put Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings up against the Drive By Truckers in the 2:30 time slot (on Saturday). There was no real consensus on that one, but we have another challenge in the 3:30 time slot with Brazilian dance-rockers CSS up against eclectic Philadelphians Man Man.



I will openly admit, I am not a huge fan of the dance-rock genre and therefore don't know a whole lot about this CSS. I do know that their name is an abbreviation of "cansei de ser sexy," which means "tired of being sexy" in Portuguese. I am not really sure what that means, is that being tired after sex? It kind of reminds me of that scene from Spinal Tap where there are problems with the release of "Smell The Glove":

Ian Faith: They're not gonna release the album... because they have decided that the cover is sexist.

Nigel Tufnel: Well, so what? What's wrong with bein' sexy? I mean there's no...

Ian Faith: Sex-IST!

David St. Hubbins: IST!



CSS
also have a female lead singer called "Lovefoxxx" (intriguing, triple X, huh...) and one of their songs, "Music is My Hot, Hot, Sex", was featured on an iPod ad, thus propelling them into superstardom. Their musical stylings are not really not my proverbial cup of tea, but it could make for a fun time with the sexiness and all.

Man Man, however, are more my style. Kind of goofy, Captain Beefheart-esque indie rock. I have enjoyed their album "Six Demon bag" in small doses, and I know Jumboslice gave a bit of praise for their latest release "Rabbit Habits." I have seen live footage of them performing at the Pitchfork Festival a few years ago and it seemed to be a foot-stomping good time. However, their schtick could get old after a couple of songs and I am sure they will attract a much dirtier, smellier crowd than the before-mentioned Brazilians. On the other hand, they are from Philadelphia, hometown of my lovely wife and they have a lead singer named Honus Honus.

Honus
Honus vs. Lovefoxxx?

Philadelphia vs. Sao Paulo?

Smelly vs. Sexy?

What say you, faithful readers?

11 comments:

Jimbromski said...

Brian Scary

Jumbo Slice said...

If only BS was playing ACL...

My vote is for Man Man. I've heard mixed opinions on them. A few friends saw them at Iota and said they were one of the most annoying bands they've ever seen. Our server at Granville Moore's the other week was at the same show and said it was brilliant. Who to believe? In cases like this I like to judge for myself. Plus, I like the new album and their performance at the Pitchfork Festival looked like a blast.

Potsy said...

Shocker. Jumbo Slice wants a double helping of "Man." Who didn't see that coming?

Steve said...

You should have called this one "Boobs vs. Beards".

Izzy said...

Man Man. All the way. They put on one of the craziest, most exciting live shows I've ever seen. The energy they put forth makes normally raucous bands look comatose. Sure, they might not be the greatest musicians...but they definitely know how to entertain.

Jimbromski said...

thank you Izzy for that

I vote CSS, but the good thing about the festival is that if they suck I can just walk 100 yds to my left and try another band out.

I'm generally negative on festivals but the sheer number of bands and the accessibility of everything is nice. It's like walking into 7-11 when you're baked.

JetAgeEric said...

I don't know if this is what jimbromski is alluding to, but "Kind of goofy, Captain Beefheart-esque indie rock" sounds a helluva lot like ... Bryan Scary to me. What gives? -E

Jimbromski said...

I shall not rest until I see a Brian Scary gig in toto

"in toto" is a legal term, meaning, I will stay past two songs. Was introduced in the Supreme Court case of USA v Grand Funk Railroad.

sacklunch said...

Re: JetAgeEric

Good point. That is why I mentioned that the schtick might get old quickly (like after 2 songs).

Also, when comparing them to Captain Beefheart, I was sort of focusing on the vocals. They both have that rough, Tom Waits, guttoral sound.

Agree with you on the goofiness factor, that is why we can move on if it is lame.

JetAgeEric said...

I just had to reopen that can of worms. Enjoy all shows. -E

Unknown said...

they're both pretty fucking terrible, honestly.