Cars Make the Band!

So no!  The Jeep Wrangler doesn't have satellite radio.  However, it does have probably the most insecure measure of protecting equipment...that is the zipper-canvas top.  As cool as it was taking that trail ready vehicle out on the trails of pinelands New Jersey for work and getting messy and pulling off ticks and getting bit by mosquitos despite copious amounts of DEET.  There is one solace.  That Philadelphia has probably the crown jewel of radio, that being WXPN.  From sleigh bells at 9:30pm, to interviews with Johnny Rotten cause PiL's playing the Belagio (go figure Mr. Pistol!), this station is amazing!

That and they play The Heavy...ALOT!



Now don't get me wrong! This band kicks some real ass. Great blues vocals with a real appreciation for full frontal production (GODDAMMIT PEOPLE ARE OVER-FUCKING USING SPECTRE'S NAME!!! Shame on you all!). But who the hell would know this band if it weren't for the Kia Sorrento commercial (yes, I've driven one of those too for work; they have satellite radio usually. Nice ride though...Kia's have come a long way since I test drove the terrible Rio in 2002).

So that's what I want to talk about. Is the car commercial going to give The Heavy staying power?

Let's review a couple groups I remember from the 90s that had car commercial music...but never really made it big.  In fact, so much so, that I can't find the commercials on youtube, and one Jetta track is mis-attributed to Moby of all people...





All I'm saying, is that if notoriety from car commercial could mean staying power, I suppose the aforementioned bands won't be lost to the sands of time...like it seems that Meat Beat mManifesto and Download have been (though I hear Skinny Puppy is still touring after the post-Oghr albums though Goettel Died after Furnace was made).  Where's Mark Spybey?  I guess he's producing now and beyond the care of band notoriety as are most of these 90s heros of post-no-wave, industrial and anti-pop.

Which reminds me...nobody would have given two shits about Alan Vega, if MIA didn't sample Ghost Rider.  I just heard a track off the Alan Vega solo album played today on WXPN.  That is the one with Al Jorgenson from Ministry...another industrial band no one will give a shit about one day.  Why, oh why did you really play the Vega album today?  Come clean!  Well...it is pretty brilliant stuff...  To WXPN's credit, I admire that they dig into vinyl archives to pull out gems of relevant (not to Hipster Runoff again) music.

• Wipeout Beat by Alan Vega

More Alan Vega music on iLike

So much like Skinny Puppy's "Tin Omen"...does anyone remember Tienanmen Square?  It all seems to fade into history...as music genres rise and fall.  Their importance, and poignant message becomes dulled with time, with other distractions and the coolest, newest buzz.

Don't know if industrial will ever rise again though :(

How you like me now indeed! The "now" being key.  Makes me wonder with my parent's generation...was there some underground music movement in the 70s that never saw the light of day?  Psych-rock and electro-acoustic music are still going though...

Great song though...kudos The Heavy!