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I'm not sure what type of statement the Moldy Peaches
are trying to illustrate with the whole "New York City's like
a graveyard" sentiment, but if the city is indeed a cemetery,
the ghosts of NYC's rock and roll past are working their way
into the souls of oblivious youths with maybe only a passive
interest in guitar music. Hey kids, listen up: vintage is
in. If you thought those self-consciously nerdy, Rivers
Cuomo-bred hipsters in '97 with their Lucky Charms
ringer t-shirts and tight brown corduroy trousers was retro
enough, I dare you to take a walk down the Village, or even
'the new Village', and not spot ridiculously expensive vintage
re-sale clothing shops on every block crawling with hopeless,
skinny, post-Limp Bizkit indie kids carrying a small
plastic bag full of Suicide vinyls they bought from
the record store next door.
And as phony and pretentious as the whole scene is, I'd kill
for it to happen here in Chicago. No, I'm not interested in
the trendiness of it all. Really, I'm not. I just genuinely
like bell bottoms, platform shoes, spiky hair dyed crazy colors,
liberally conservative piercings (trust me...), and god damnit
if I don't like some good retro rock and roll that comes with
it all.
The Hissyfits, for example, are a product of their
environment. I have no idea how they dress, or where they
shop, or what combination of chicken, broccoli, mushroom,
and pineapple on their thin-crust, folded-over New York pizza
they like. But their songs--not that there's anything ancient
about them--scream retro. And they're quite fashionable, really.
All-grrl punky-type bands seem to be all the rage right about
now, and that's kind of cool. But the Hissyfits succeed where
Fabulous Disaster falls short and Betty Blowtorch
(gag) miserably fails. Whereas the latter look to Axl Rose's
decent-sized cock for inspiration, the Hissyfits look back
a little further and get off on a suspiciously tight hybrid
of the Go-Go's and Mission Of Burma. And more
importantly, they actually know how to craft a melody. The
songs on Letters From Frank are sharp, dressed to kill,
and begging for snotty hipsters to listen to them.
Of course, the record is destined to go unnoticed. I adore
it, but I'm sorry--can anyone tell me whatever happened to
Tuscadero? Or Cub? Or my personal favorite, Splendora?
Oh dear god, remember Splendora? I didn't think so. But if
commercial relevance is what we looked for in bands, we'd
never listen to our beloved Apples In Stereos or Cibo
Mattos, now would we? After all, social relevance is much
more important than commercial relevance can ever be. Cool
will always be relevant, and the Hissyfits are absolutely
happening. Let's just put it this way--if the Hissyfits were
pants, they'd make my ass look real nice.
— A.R. Roy
Track Listing:
- Something Wrong
- Baby
- Superstar
- Tired
- 911
- Doin' Fine
- So Sweet
- BloodSugarSister
- Gold
- Giant Ants
- Lock N' Load
- Today Is The Day
 Talk
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