New Superdrag albums streaming

Hey all,

There was a bigger-than-usual response to the Superdrag post last week, so I thought I'd follow up a bit on the band's new album.

Industry Giants was released Tuesday, March 17, and is currently available in stores. If anyone wants to listen to it before you buy it, it's streaming over at Buzzgrinder.

Also, Superdrag frontman John Davis did some blogging over at the same site early last week. Read his posts here.

Look for a new post early next week.

Don't forget to follow us on Twitter!

Straight Outta the Buzz Bin, #1: Superdrag - Sucked Out

SPECIAL NOTE: "Straight Outta the Buzz Bin" posts will be reserved for hit rock singles that were huge on Modern Rock radio and especially MTV, but may not have achieved the Top 40 or Top 100 status that might normally be required to make them a one-hit wonder. Future installments may include (but are not limited to) Wax, The Refreshments, and others.

Superdrag have a similar story to many other alternative rock bands in the mid-90s. It's so similar that--sadly--it became something of a cliche: After some initial success as an indie band, band gets noticed by a major label during the post-Nirvana indie boom. They soon sign to a major label, release an album and have one major (or minor) hit on radio and MTV. But when second single/album comes around and fails to hit, band gets its funding cut and/or get dropped. I'd guess a lot of bands got cut from the label rosters when alternative/indie rock gave way to nu-metal and rap/rock in about 1997-1998.

Some bands collapsed from the fallout--unable to continue--but Superdrag managed to persevere.

Superdrag were formed in 1992 in Knoxville, TN when the band The Used (not the emo band) started playing songs demoed by their teenaged former drummer, John Davis (Davis played all the instruments himself on the demos). Because Davis' songs were stronger than their own material, The Used fell to the wayside in favor of Superdrag.

By 1995, the band had released three vinyl singles and an EP, The Fabulous 8-track Sound of Superdrag o the Darla Records label (historical fact for the kiddies: people in the '90s loved absolutely anything having to do with the '70s, much like people enjoy '80s kitsch and fashion in the '00s, hence the 8-track reference).

Thanks to rave reviews in various publications, the EP started a major label bidding war. Elektra Records eventually won out and the band recorded and released Regretfully Yours in 1996. The sound was a perfect combination of Weezer-esque power pop (hard guitars mixed with catchy melodies) and classic rock (a strong emphasis on riffage and solos; Davis' throaty vocals).

"Sucked Out" was the first released single. While not quite a novelty song in the sense that label mates' Nada Surf's "Popular" was, the song's chorus in which Davis screams, "Who sucked out the feeling?" made it into something of a slacker anthem; something the always cynical youth of America could relate to. Problem was, Superdrag weren't grungy slackers. Davis wrote what were essentially pop songs. "Sucked Out" may have struck a chord with the slackers, but it was far different than the grunge clones (Collective Soul, Bush) that had become the sound du jour of alternative rock; there was more far more Husker Du in their songs than the sludgy Seattle sound started by bands like Mudhoney and Soundgarden.

The tightly constructed single is built around a killer chorus where everything drops out but the bass and Davis' scream. And yes, like so many '90s rock hits, the chorus utilizes the Pixies' soft-loud-soft dynamic, but the verses are straight out of a hit single by a '60s British Invasion band. Because labels and sometimes fans seemed to miss the pop influences inherent in Nirvana (the barometer by which all alternative rock bands were gauged), the pop-centric Superdrag would not be long for the Hollywood music world. Incidentally, the song's lyrics seem to be a cynical take on the music industry. When Davis sings, "This is my dream - playing out rocking routine/Who sucked out the feeling?" you wonder if he even wants the success. Still, the track is a knock-out, and clearly hit single material.

"Sucked Out" only reached #17 on the Modern Rock Charts, but its placement in MTV's "Buzz Bin"--a status designated to videos deemed "cutting edge" by the network--helped put the Chris Applebaum-directed video in heavy rotation. The "Buzz Bin" status--along with an extended tour in which the band played hundreds of dates--helped push 300,000 units of the album. With all the play on MTV, radio was practically an afterthought.


Sidenote: Just how '90s is this video? On a scale from 1-10, I give it a high 8. We've got the retro '70s diner/coffeeshop--made chic by Seattle, Starbucks and iconic '90s films like Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs and Swingers--the young slacker working his minimum wage job (shades of Clerks) and dreaming about quitting and fulfilling his lifelong dream of rocking out (Singles, anyone?). While it may seem fairly generic at first glance, you can soon tell why it couldn't have been made in any other decade.

Their second single, "Destination Ursa Major" failed miserably on the charts. Ironically, it's probably the song on the album that best defines the band's sound. Led by a building riff consisting of a series of bent notes that give way to jangly bridges and sing along verses, the song is a marvel of song construction and undeniably catchy, but the song's appeal is far closer to something by lo-fi stadium rockers Guided By Voices than anything that might appeal to the MTV crowd. It's still a hell of a song, and is regarded as one of the band's classics.



Still, thanks to the success of Regretfully Yours, Elektra allowed the group a shot at another album. Silly record labels--when will they learn you never give a second record to a songwriter who is both talented and ambitious? Head Trip in Every Key was the follow-up, an ambitious semi-concept album featuring a broader sonic pallet--besides guitar and piano, Davis plays theremin, organ and a freaking sitar--longer songs and fewer radio-friendly singles. The album was well receieved by critics, but the label was unhappy with Superdrag's direction and cut their funding, leaving them unable to make a video for the single "Do the Vampire" and without any support for a full-fledged tour.

Upset about what was happening with their label, the group decided to release their odds and sods compilation Stereo 360 Sound independently, and experienced a minor success. After signing a two album extension deal with Elektra, the band headed to Woodland Studios in Nashville to begin work on their third album, but were bothered by the label's insistence that they write "hit songs" (yes, this happens in real life, not just That Thing You Do!) and soon demanded the label drop them. This was a most unusual move, especially for a group who had been relegated to "one-hit wonder" status, but, as the kids say, Superdrag didn't give a care, and the group continued on independently, recording and releasing their third album, In the Valley of the Dying Stars in 2000 on Arena Rock Recording Co. Ironically, the album was a combination of the radio-friendly hits of Regretfully Yours and the experimentation of Head Trip.

By the time Superdrag began recording their fourth album, Last Call for Vitriol, John Davis had become an alcoholic, later remarking that he had a "charter membership in the Bon Scott Club," referring to the original AC/DC frontman who drank himself to death in 1980.

However, Davis claims that, while driving in his car one night, he had an experience that he described as "a combination of being struck by lightening, getting hit by a cannonball and having a piano dropped on your head." The feeling was overwhelming, and Davis took it as a sign from God that his life could not be filled with alcohol, but rather by "the power of the Lord." Davis soon gave up alcohol and became a Christian. Davis finished recording the album and completed a tour with Guided By Voices, but soon after decided to leave the band, saying his "heart wasn't in it anymore." The group disbanded in 2003. (read Davis' thoughts about his conversion here)

In 2005, David released a self-titled Christian-oriented album. Playing all of the instruments himself, Davis broadened his palette even more with this release, displaying a range of influences from country and folk to gospel and R&B--not to mention a heaping glob of '60s rock. The heaviest influence is Brian Wilson and Pet Sounds in particular--for instance, "Salvation" does what R.E.M.'s recent Beach Boys tributes could only attempt. (Honestly, if you've ever wanted to know if Christian themed music can be any good, pick this one up. It's great, and doesn't preach or beat you over the head with any message--ed.) In 2007, Davis released a follow up, Arigato! and joined the Christian rock band My Red Hot Nightmare as guitarist, back up vocalist and part-time drummer.

Since then, Davis and the other guys in Superdrag have served as studio musicians in Nashville, Knoxville and L.A. not to mention some production work and a few side projects. But in 2007, the original lineup reuinited for a few shows, followed by a full-fledged tour in 2008. The band even has a new album recorded called Industry Giants that will be released this Tuesday (March 17, 2009). Yet again, the guys are self-releasing and you know they wouldn't have it any other way (read more about it here).


FIRST SINGLE: A
SECOND SINGLE: A

Download: Superdrag - Sucked Out
Download: Superdrag - Destination Ursa Major

BONUS DOWNLOADS!
Download: Superdrag - Do the Vampire
Download: John Davis - Salvation

Go see Superdrag on tour!
Go buy their albums!

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When Indie Goes Top 40, #3: Butthole Surfers - A Brief History

There is perhaps no less likely candidate for mainstream Top 40 success than the San Antonio, TX band Butthole Surfers. The name alone is probably the most profane thing Casey Kasem ever uttered--at least on air, sending up a red flag for parents and family groups all over the country. And that's not even to mention their bizarre brand of offensive psychedelia influenced noise rock and absolutely bonkers and at times even dangerous stage shows. These guys weren't cokeheads or potheads or heroin addicts like most rockstars--these guys were on acid all the time, and it showed in everything they did. Life through the eyes of frontman Gibby Haynes most likely looks something like an ink-splattered Ralph Steadman illustration from the pages of Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

The Surfers started in a most unusual way. While students at Trinity University in San Antonio in the late '70s, Haynes--captain of the school's basketball team and student of accountancy--and Paul Leary Walthall--an MBA student and son of the dean of the business school--met and bonded over their shared love for avant garde music and general weirdness. After graduating, Haynes got a job at a prestigious accounting firm, but was fired when he was found with a xeroxed photograph of mutilated genitalia meant to be published in his self-published magazine dedicated to ficticious ailments titled Strange V.D. Haynes headed to Southern California and Walthall, with one semester left, dropped out of school to join his friend. The two soon returned to San Antonio to start a band, which would become the Butthole Surfers.

After adding a bassist and drummer, the band played a few shows to little success. Originally the name was not Butthole Surfers--that was merely the name of one of their early songs. Early band names included Dick Clark Five, Nine Foot Worm Makes Own Food, the Vodka Family Winstons and The Inaliable Right to Eat Fred Astaire's Asshole. Butthole Surfers was settled on after the band was asked for a name by a promoter, forgot whatever name they were being called at that time and used that one as a placeholder.

Having failed to gain a following in their hometown, the band moved on once again to Southern California. The early shows were performance art pieces which, according to Paul Leary, included "lots of stuffed dummies and toasters and Big Mac hamburgers." Leary added "music was an excuse. We had to de-learn how to play." The setlist included lots of TV themes (including Perry Mason and The Brady Bunch) done in a thrash-punk style with Haynes singing through toilet paper rolls. Often opening for hardcore punk bands, the show would leave the hardcore fans "too dumbfounded...to boo."

While in California, they were discovered by Dead Kennedys frontman Jello Biafra who was so impressed with the live show, he asked them to do a record for his label, Alternative Tentacles. With the promise of reimbursement from Biafra, the band returned to Texas and obtained a new drummer, Jeffrey Coffey aka King Coffey--who is still with the Surfers to this day. The band recorded their self-titled EP, which would later be listed by Kurt Cobain as one of his top ten albums of all time.

The band soon added a second drummer, Teresa Nervosa--better known as "Madonna Pap Smear Girl" in Richard Linklater's Slacker--to add to the spectacle of their insane stage show. Due to the physical similarities between the drummers, Nervosa and Coffey referred to themselves as siblings, although they were not related (take that, Jack White!). The band returned to a substandard studio in San Antonio and, while living in a tool shed, recorded enough material for two albums. The first released was Psychic...Powerless...Another Man's Sac in 1984. Released on the famous indie label Touch & Go records, the album was a combination of psychedlia, punk, hardcore and country and used various avant garde techniques like tape editing, non-traditional instrumentation and Haynes singing through a bullhorn--techniques that would soon define their sound.

A couple of years later, the band embarked on a national tour and made fans across the country--even some famous ones, like Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil and members of Sonic Youth. The band soon found themselves living in Winterville, Georgia, located near Athens--according to the band, the locale was chosen so that they could stalk their favorite band, R.E.M.

Word of mouth about their, um, nontraditional stage shows began to spread and audiences started to grow. At various times, the stage show included Haynes putting condoms filled with red dye in his pants, which would eventually burst and look like a painful genital wound, Haynes stripping down and performing completely nude, two drummers playing in unison, various pyrotechnics and fireworks, strobe lights, 16-mm film footage of gross medical procedures were projected alongside clips from Charlie's Angels, and a nude stripper named "Ta Da! The Shit Girl" who would, on command, spray projectile diarrhea on the stage--I wish I were making this stuff up. Teresa Nervosa later commented "The full-on shows would make people puke and scream and run out, that kind of thing. It was what we'd always wanted."

Around this time the band began living together in a ranch in Driftwood, TX 30 miles outside Austin, where they shared money, food, clothes--anything that could actually be shared. Lots of experimental audio and video recording went on at the time. This video may or may not have been recorded at this time:

Note: for more on the Butthole Surfers truly insane exploits, read
Michael Azerrad's Our Band Could Be Your Life

By this time, the band was on their their third full-length album, 1987's Locust Abortion Technician--often considered their finest album, containing classics like "Human Cannonball" and a rewrite of Black Sabbath's "Sweet Leaf"--"Sweat Loaf." Recorded in their home, the album was made using only one microphone and an 8-track recorder. This album also featured the culmination of Haynes' vocal experiments--an effects setup dubbed "Gibbytronix." The album was also the last for drummer Teresa Nervosa.

In 1988, the Surfers released a bizarre Texas Chainsaw Massacre-parody video directed by and featuring Alex Winters (Bill from Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure) titled Bar-B-Q Movie. This may give you some indication of what these guys were like back then. The end actually includes a staged recreation of the band's live show, performing "Fast (aka Fart Song)" and features actor John Hawkes (Deadwood, Eastbound & Down, Me, You & Everyone We Know)
NSFW!:


After the release of their fourth and to date most accessible album, Hairway to Steven (a play on Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven"). After releasing a live record, Double Live, and an EP Widowermaker for Touch and Go, the Rough Trade label showed interest and signed the band to a reportedly generous one-album deal which birthed 1991's pioughed. Though the album was something of a bust commercially and from the perspective of the band, it enabled them to join the Lollapolooza tour.

The same year, Rough Trade filed for bankruptcy and--in a move that could be deemed more shocking than having a woman defecate on stage--signed to a major label, Capitol Records. In another shocking move, Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones agreed to join the band in the studio for their major label debut, Independent Worm Saloon. The band experienced their first real mainstream success when the single "Who Was In My Room Last Night?" which reached #24 on the Mainstream Rock charts. The album itself even managed to crack the Billboard 200. That's right, the Butthole Surfers--a band that featured a frontman who once had sex on stage with a nude girl covered in gold paint--were now considered mainstream and being shown on MTV.


Capitol also began to spread the group's music to TV shows and soundtracks, putting their trippy 1991 Donovan cover "Hurdy Gurdy Man" on the Dumb & Dumber soundtrack.

Harkening back to their old days as TV theme cover artists, the band released a cover of the Underdog theme song for the Saturday Morning: Cartoons' Greatest Hits compilation. (No, I don't know what Drew Barrymore is doing here)

As if their mainstream success wasn't strange enough, Haynes began a sideproject with Johnny Depp and Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and began playing with them around Hollywood as P. P is now best remembered as the band playing at Depp's club The Viper Room the night actor River Phoenix overdosed on a speedball.

P, featuring Haynes (center) and Johnny Depp (right)

At the time, Haynes was also strung out on hard drugs like crack and heroin and the band was losing members who had grown tired of Haynes' behavior. He soon checked himself into rehab where he roomed with Kurt Cobain who would kill himself days after checking himself out of the facility. The band credits the reunion of the band to record a new album, not rehab, with Haynes' finally getting clean.

The band headed to Bearsville Studio in New York with producer Steve Thompson, who had a background in heavy metal and dance--a perfect combination for the sound they wanted. The band spent several months crafting the LP and eventually Thomspon left, leaving Paul Leary to produce the remaining tracks. The band used another parody of a classic album to title their record, Electriclarryland (a reference to Jimi Hendrix's Electric Ladyland). It was their second choice after realizing the title Oklahoma! could present legal problems. No, seriously.

The record label immediately recognized the album was going to be a hit and sent out the first single "Pepper" to rock radio. Laced with a hip-hop beat and rapped vocals as well as a prominent sitar, "Pepper" was essentially the Surfers doing their version of Beck's "Loser," but doing it better than Beck ever did. A gloriously silly, catchy and stupid song, call "Pepper" parody or a Ween-like tribute to Beck's style, but the similarities are anything but coincidental.

In some stores and on radio stations that refused to say the name, the band's name was shortened to "B-Hole Surfers" or sometimes just "Surfers." "Pepper" went all the way to #1 on the Modern Rock Charts, #19 on the Mainstream charts and did indeed crack the Top 40 charts at #38. (NOTE: If anyone has a clip of Casey Kasem saying "Butthole Surfers" or even just "B-Hole Surfers" PLEASE let me know.) Electriclarryland reached #31 on the Billboard album charts and was certified gold.

The second single, "Jingle of a Dog's Collar" was a tribute to the Surfers' myriad of influences, with an R.E.M. guitar line turning into a more surf-rock guitar part, with Haynes singing in a talk-singing style that would make Lou Reed proud. The song is fine, but it's not close to being the best song on the album (nor is "Pepper") and it's unsurprising that it failed to crack any of the charts. Songs like "The Lord is a Monkey" or "Birds" are more indicative of the album's style, humor and quality and show the band at their tightest and best (not that they would have been hits either). The album is consciously all about being stupid and making dumb rock n' roll, and "Jingle" just isn't dumb enough.

At the time, the band began losing good will with the indie and punk community (most notably Minor Threat and Fugazi frontman Ian MacKaye) by initating a lawsuit over royalties with Touch and Go Records. The band argued that the label head was not honorable in his financial dealings. They eventually won the lawsuit and were able to release their first four albums on their own label, Latino Buggerveil.

In 1998, the band recorded another album, After the Astronaut, that was put into limbo when the band had a falling out with their manager and had difficulties dealing with Capitol. However, by 2000, the issues were resolved and the band rerecorded most of the tracks as Weird Revolution with Green Day producer Rob Cavallo. The album was a modest hit, reaching #124 on the album charts. Never afraid of being stupid the single, "The Shame of Life," was co-written by Kid Rock, peaked at #24 on the Modern Rock Charts. As to why Haynes chose Kid Rock as a writing partner:

According to Haynes, Kid Rock wanted to use a sample from the Surfers' Black Sabbath parody "Sweat Loaf." "We were like, 'Oh, Kid Rock, ka-ching, sure,'" Haynes says. As a swap, he asked Kid Rock for help with the chorus of their planned single. "He came to my house in his big white limousine with his five-hundred-pound bodyguards. He says, 'Let's just write a new song,' and I'm like, 'Uh, okay.'"

In record time Kid Rock is singing "I love the girls and the money and the shame of life." "We were all kind of like, 'Yeah, way to go, Kid,'" recalls Coffey. "I mean, you can't really slag him for writing it there on the spot. And how do you tell a guy who's doing this out of charity that it's so, so, what's the word . . . bad?"

Haynes was genuinely charmed yet admits, "It took me a long time to do the verses because it's hard to embrace a song that says 'I love the girls and the money and the shame of life.' It's tough."

From the underground to MTV and Ta Da! The Shit Girl to Kid Rock, the Surfers had been around for 20 years at the release of Weird Revolution. Since then, Haynes released a 2004 solo album under the name Gibby Haynes and His Problem, and in summer 2008, the band reuinited with Teresa Nervosa and long-time bassist Jeff Punkus for a European tour. Haynes has mentioned in interviews that a new album is "likely" but no release date has been named.

While the Surfers' music can't really be duplicated, many bands have tried to out-hardcore the Butthole Surfers' live shows, but few have actually done it. Jackass is probably closer to the Surfers' show than any current band. Still, the multi-media carnival aspect of their live shows continues to influence bands, most notably long-time acid rockers, The Flaming Lips. Haynes actually comments in the Lips documentary The Fearless Freaks that the band straight-up copied the Surfers' live show.

The Top 40 charts will see bands come and go, but never will there be a band as bizarre, obscene or unlikely to be there as San Antonio's Butthole Surfers. I love this band.

FIRST SINGLE: A
SECOND SINGLE: B-

Download: Butthole Surfers - Pepper
Download: Butthole Surfers - Jingle of a Dog's Collar
BONUS Download: Butthole Surfers - The Shame of Life (co-written by Kid Rock)

Buy stuff, download official bootlegs and more

Dan Baird "I Love You Period"

This week we're talking about an artist who has the rare distinction of having been a one-hit wonder twice...Dan Baird.

Who is Dan Baird you might ask? If the name might not ring a bell, perhaps his first band will--The Georgia Satellites. A Southern Rock group out of Atlanta who owed as much to the The Faces Ronnie Lane and Ron Wood as Skynyrd's Ronnie Van Zant, the Satellites formed in the early '80s and made several great--if decidedly uneven albums--before breaking up before the end of the decade.

But not before they left their mark on the decade with the novelty hit "Keep Your Hands to Yourself"--a tongue-in-cheek Chuck Berry-esque number that stood out from the monster ballads and synth-driven pop of Top 40 radio in 1986.

The song concerns a man lamenting the words of his "cruel" virginal girlfriend who tells him "the story 'bout free milk and a cow" and puts her foot down when it comes to hanky panky: "and she said no huggin' no kissin' until I get a wedding vow/my honey my baby don't put my love upon no shelf/she said don't hand me no lines and keep your hands to yourself."

Now you remember? You should, cause the song hit #2 on the Billboards.

That gap-toothed front man being forced into a literal shotgun wedding is Mr. Dan Baird. As I mentioned, the song was labeled a novelty hit, and to an extent it was, but not from the Satellites' point of view. That's just what they did. They were a rock n' roll band in the classic style--their songs are about girls, drinking, and girls. There's no pretense here. And when you think about it, a song about a girl who won't give up the goods--no matter how tongue-in-cheek--isn't really that much more jokey than Rod Stewart's "Lost Paraguayos" in which the singer attempts (unsuccessfully) to fend off the advances of an underage girl. Maybe the novelty aspect was that it was a kick-ass rock n' roll song in an era where that kind of thing barely existed without a big dollop of irony.

After three albums, and a couple of non-starter singles (check out the fantastic "Battleship Chains") the Satellites' original lineup called it quits in 1989. Soon after, Baird announced plans to continue as a solo artist. As the lead singer and songwriter for the group it wasn't surprising that Baird went solo, but the question was--if Baird essentially was the Satellites, what would there be to differentiate his solo work from his work with that band?

The answer: not much. But who cares?

The problem with the Satellites' wasn't the songwriting, or even the playing--it was the energy. The energy from their live shows simply couldn't be caught on tape, and in turn their recordings came off as flat. Working to correct that, Baird teamed up with producers Brendan O'Brien and Rick Rubin and hired a crackerjack group of sessions players (including Benmont Tench of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers). What came out was 1991's Love Songs for the Hearing Impaired--an album that was far more consistent than most of the Satellites' output, even if it didn't quite reach the same heights as their debut.

Released on Rubin's Def American (later just American), the album featured more of Baird's patented wink-wink, nudge-nudge, say no more lyrics and big helping of barroom ready blues rock. What Baird lacks in originality, he makes up for by crafting songs that are just plain fun. They're made for the jukebox--specifically for a drunken barroom singalong (or maybe a drunken ride down a country road in your pickup--your choice). That's not to say they're generic--they're far from it. Sure, Baird is playing riffs and chord changes that have been played a million times before, and maybe more skillfully, but he's a true original--turning blues-rock on its head and pushing it to the limits while still tipping his hat to the greats.

The first single featured possibly the most tongue-in-cheek lyrics of Baird's career. No doubt sensing another chance at a novelty hit, Baird pumped out "I Love You Period," a song that's at first cringe inducing--until you get it stuck in your head and find yourself singing along before the chorus even comes around the second time. It's a funny concept--a kid writes a love letter to his teacher (who he always wanted to impress, but would mentally undress), who then critiques the letter for punctuation. The chorus is the teacher explaining what corrections should be made to the letter:

I love you period
Do you love me question mark?
Please, please exclamation point
I wanna hold you in parentheses

The kid in the song then goes on to high school, where he has trouble meeting girls. But when he remembers what the teacher told him, he becomes something of a Casanova (or Cyrano De Bergerac, at least) writing letters to girls with correct punctuation and telling them the chorus once more--which the narrator discovers is better than Spanish Fly.

The song was a hit--if only a minor one--reaching #14 on Top 40, #26 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #5 on the Mainstream Rock Charts. Luckily, it also featured one of those "guy walks down the highway playing his guitar" videos that seemed so popular in the early '90s. Here it seems the director was instructed to make Baird's David Letterman-esque gap-tooth something of a trademark for the man, perhaps in hopes that Baird would start a gap-tooth craze wherein kids would buy prosthetic toy gap-teeth and maybe even spur people to undergo controversial dental work. I can see it now: "Gimme 'The Baird,' Doc."

But back to the music. If I may go off on a small tangent--here's the problem with novelty songs: they're nearly impossible to follow up.

Take Beck's "Loser." A complete novelty song--a good one, no doubt, but still a novelty song. What was the next single? "Pay No Mind"? "Snoozer"? Either of those ring a bell? Probably not, and they shouldn't, because "Where It's At" was the first true follow up--a whole two years later. He had to wait until his next album, Odelay, on which he didn't have one song that sounded even close to his hit. Genius! The guy knew he had talent, and knew that he had been and always would be more than one novelty song, so he didn't even attempt to go back to that well--he moved forward, and he was successful. Of course, it didn't hurt that he had an insane amount of talent, but had he not signed to a major label, he might still be part one-hit wonder and part underground phenomenon (which was how he'd started).

The problem with novelty songs is that the people appreciate the actual novelty. Not the songwriting. Not the musicianship. Not necessarily the sound (unless it's sung in a strange voice, a la "Disco Duck")--though in Baird's case, that may have been part of the novelty. Usually, all of the above are involved, but it's really the lyrics that send it over the top. "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)" is another example--if it weren't for the lyrics, that song would be just another soft-rock ditty. But it made people laugh, and they remembered it and it's still played endlessly.

Novelty songs aren't as popular as they used to be--and that's probably because they've been usurped by YouTube and viral music videos. Hell, Andy Samberg has practically built a career off viral videos (and a damn good one)--his digital shorts are really just music videos for novelty songs. But even most viral videos are one-hit wonders. For example, I do not expect Tay Zonday to be the next Bob Dylan (please prove me wrong, Tay!). Samberg is lucky enough to have a venue like SNL that shows more of his work to a massive audience. Had "Lazy Sunday" come out a decade ago on the radio, that might have been it for Samberg. We might not have ever heard "Dick in a Box" or "Jizz in My Pants."

Think, for a minute, about a world without "Dick in a Box"--on second thought, don't. It's too painful.

With that in mind, we check out Baird's follow-up, "The One I Am," the lead-track off the album.

Musically, it's every bit as rockin' and exciting with its crunchy riffs and call and response vocals. In fact, it's probably a better song. It doesn't try so hard to be cute and clever, it just plain rocks. And the lyrics aren't lacking either with gems like: ""I can't afford to buy you no four star dinner/but by god, my love's a winner." That's gold, Jerry, gold. But it still isn't "I Love You Period"--and while that was mostly good news for listeners who wanted the real Baird and not just another jokey song, it was bad news for Baird. While the song did a strong #13 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks, it didn't crack the Billboards or Top 40.

Baird followed up his debut with a five-year long break. When he finally did release an album, 1996's Buffalo Nickel, the album tanked. The Georgia Satellites reformed the same year without Baird. Perhaps in response, Baird started a new band with two other more then capable songwriters to form The Yayhoos. The band toured behind Baird's album and in 2001, released Fear Not the Obvious, followed by Put the Hammer Down in 2006. Around this time, Baird also began producing and guesting on other musicians' recordings.

In 2007, Baird introduced a new band in his newly adopted home town of Nashville. Made up of players from various bands, including Georgia Satellites and Yayhoos, the band may be Baird's best yet. In 2008, Dan Baird & Homemade Sin released their eponymous debut to critical acclaim, along with an outtakes compilation, Out of Mothballs.

Here's the group playing "I Love You Period" last year at the Exit/In in Nashville. Clearly, Baird is continuing on his one-man mission to preserve kick-ass rock n' roll.

THE FIRST SINGLE: B
THE SECOND SINGLE: B+

Download: Dan Baird - I Love You Period
Download: Dan Baird - The One I Am

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