Wandering Minnesota

The latest trend in music seems to be not just a musical genre or sub-genre but a band. Whether or not they gain any significant notoriety and become something more significant than just a flash in the pan is entirely up to them.

I am talking about the same thing all them damn kids are talking about -- Fall Out Boy. Sure, the name was lifted from a classic Simpsons episode where blue-haired Milhouse lands the gig in a movie as Radiocative Man's sidekick but aside from their cartoon-derived name, they seem to be legit.


My basis for their legitimacy as a band comes form them being on the cover of the most recent issue of both Spin and Rolling Stone magazines. They have the talent in lead singer Patrick Stump whose vocal range is impressive to say the least and they have the market cornered on horny teenage girls who both scream and cry int he same breath at the sight of bassist Pete Wentz.

Their new album, Infinity on High, has produced the single This ain't a scene, it's an arms race, which is stomping on the throats of even the most popular hip-hop tunes and the band, with memories of their breakthrough disc From Under The Cork Tree fresh in their minds, is proving that they are more than just a one-disc wonder.

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On the local front, the redheaded bastard child of radio stations, Drive 105, continues to add new music unlike others who still insist on playing Norah Jones as if they had given birth to her on a river raft ride with only a fingernail clippers to assist in the birth.

I was impressed to hear a tune featured in, of all places, an iPod ad from the television. Flathead by The Fratellis is not only a damn fine tune to crank up and be happy while listening to but the video is nothing short of impressive. Featuring three attractively dressed women dancing (my favorite is wearing red) in what is likely one of the most affordable videos produced but it combines a certain sense of the 1950s with the style of dress of the dancers rolled into the moderately popular garage-rock style that dominates alternative music complete with the band's Scottish heritage.

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FREE TUNE!
Relative newcomers to the somewhat mainstream music scene, today's featured tune is riding the wave of primetime television exposure via commercials as well as a somewhat strong showing on radio. After not quite two years of playing together as a band, they have been thrust into the spotlight by just one thirty second clip of this song.

Flathead by the Fratellis

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This weekend, we'll be making the two-hour trip back to my old hometown to meet up with an old friend who makes it back to town about once each year. We will chat over a meal of the best damn BBQ I've ever experienced and the thought of it has me on a mission to do one of two things: either create my own meat smoker so I can enjoy BBQ at home on special occasions or track down BBQ joints in Minnesota worthy of a road trip. If you know of any ideas for either venture, drop me a line!