Feel The Crazy

In my second tenure at college I wanted to do a radio show.  I wanted to copy or at least pay tribute to the shows I was listening to at the time.  The shows that were on the left of the dial that I always were excited to listen to every week.  The show Alien Rock the one I loved to listen to.  They had different DJ's every night, but they had two consistent ones that I would listen and take mental notes.  It was a three and half hour show each night and by the end of the show I had questions about most of the artists played.  I would come into work and go bug my co-worker about what was played.  I have made reference to this many times where I would as said co-worker about music that got me wanting more.  Bands such as CAN, Faust, Henry Cow, Big Star, and so many others.  One night he played The Feelies.  My life changed at that moment.

It was the song "The Boy With Perpetual Nervousness" that I heard on the radio.  I heard nothing like it.  It was weird and not the music I was used to listen to.  It was Punk without being Punk.  The title was odd too. I really, really liked this.  I asked my co-worker about The Feelies and He told me they were one of his favorite bands in school.  He and his friends used to call them Nerd Rock.  If you see the photos below, they do look like they are the science club at any high school in America.  I liked that thought and that analogy.  Maybe I would be part of the cool group after all.

When I tried finding Crazy Rhythm I had so many problems.  I asked the local record store person and all he could say, "I can make you a copy of mine."  It's been long out of print and harder and harder to find.  When the guy at the store gave me a copy of the album he put a copy of their second best album Only Life on the second side of the cassette.  I just wanted to hear Crazy Rhythm, after all it's nerd music for this nerd.

When I put the cassette in car to listen to I was in awe.  When I started looking at the track listing I was shocked to see they even covered The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.  When I saw the record store guy after listening to the album I told them about how every song was awesome.  The two covers were pretty cool and I would take an album full of covers.  They made "Everybody's Got Something To Hide (Except Me And My Monkey)" there own.  They made "Paint It Black" uniquely their own.  It was album that had so many great moments that when you find out that they took six years for a follow up a classic you wonder why.

The album is full of Avant-Pop and huge independent thoughts and ideas.  It's hugely influential and even R.E.M sites it as an important album.  It sadly did not fair well.  I bet you that it was too odd for anyone to listen to in 1980.  It was different then most of that time.  The music was not exactly like albums of that year.  With albums like Remain In Light, Back In Black, The River, and Empty Glass.  Albums like that get played all the time.  Albums like Crazy Rhythms, Underwater Moonlight, Colossal Youth and Get Happy would be my albums of listening choice.  Those albums made me and few others scratch our heads in wonder how music got this cool in 1980.  

If your looking something different and something fun The Feelies are for you.  If your a music like myself then you know how this is a classic that is beyond words.  After Crazy Rhythms their albums never reached this classic, but they were consistently good.  If you ever see them live, you see their influences on their sleeve.  Even better live their versions of these influences are sounding fresh and exciting.  Check out The Feelies.  They are every bit as awesome as their name.