(because exclamation points make all the difference)
Funny thing, I started to compose the entry into VIDEO VAULT THURSDAY for this week using a video I found awhile back and have long wanted to spotlight. In the process of doing some of the background research, I came across another song by the same band that I decided to use instead.
The reason I changed my mind (and while I will still use the original song slotted for today at some future date), was because this week’s song is something special.
Sometimes, in music without a composer’s intent, a song can become more than just a song.
It can become an anthem.
Something magical happens in the combination of music and lyrics that stirs deep emotion in people. This week’s entry is like that.
I liken it to tunes like Alice Cooper’s School’s Out or Public Enemy’s Fight The Power. It may be of a very specific period but, when I came across it today I found it still had the same power as when I heard it over a decade ago.
Also, it is one of the more visually interesting videos of its time in large part because of its use of elderly folk. The casting was a creative choice that gave the song another slant:
I hate my generation
Now that I've said it I feel liberated
I hate my generation now
Cracker is an American alternative rock band featuring Johnny Hickman and Camper Van Beethoven singer and guitarist David Lowery. They are best known for the hit songs “Low,” “Eurotrash Girl,” “Get Off This” and “Teen Angst (What the World Needs Now).” In 1993, Cracker contributed the song “Good Times Bad Times” to the Encomium tribute album to Led Zeppelin (which was recorded after their rendition of “When the Levee Breaks” was deemed “too weird”). Cracker mixes influences and sounds ranging from classic country music, psychedelia, punk and folk into their brand of “Americana” style rock.Cracker is still around. They’ve taken a similar tack as TMBG in that they promote and produce their music and sell it through an online outlet. They have both a MySpace page and a band site that are well worth checking out!
*BONUS *BONUS *BONUS *BONUS *BONUS *BONUS *BONUS *BONUS *BONUS *BONUS
How good is Cracker? Give a listen, their recent performance at Milwaukee’s Summerfest (July 5, 2008) can be found here!
