I’m starting a new topic that I’ll come back to occasionally called: Bands I Missed. I’ve never been very good about looking for new music, going to concerts, or following up on bands that I might like. So there has been a lot good stuff that I missed out on. Of course with the web being as it is today, it is easy to sample, or stumble across something. So first up is: Shonen Knife.
This Japanse girl-group has been around since ’81 but didn’t start making waves in the US until the late ‘80s. Shonen Knife is kinda’ like the Ramones (which Shonen Knife are big fans of) in that many famous bands site them as an influence and admire their music, but the girls have never had a huge smash hit. The gals of Shonen Knife are innovators if not household names though. Their favorite music includes girl groups of the 50’s and 60’s and punk rock. It makes for a delightful mix of pop sentiment and punk honesty. I like to think of them as Go-Go Punk or Kitsch Punk. If Devo exposes the darkside of our pop culture than maybe Shonen Knife is the light. I have seen their CDs around over the years but I never picked one up and I really regret that now. College would have been so much better with Shonen Knife blasting from the Stereo.
Oh and because you might be wondering, shonen means ‘boy’.
Here is the first song I came across called: Riding the Rocket. It is a really fun song with great hooks. Also, the video has, what I consider, one of the most important pop images of all time… Godzilla with Mickey Mouse ears!
Join me in checking out more Shonen Knife!
-Swinebread
