Why I Love…Electric Six
“Girl! I wanna take you to a gay bar.”
With that immortal opening line, Electric Six both garnered their biggest hit and assured their future failure. You see, there is nothing worse for the longevity of a band than starting a career with a novelty hit — it’s almost a guaranteed ticket to one hit wonderland. Think about it: Right Said Fred’s “I’m Too Sexy,” Sir Mix-A-Lot’s “Baby Got Back,” Nada Surf’s “Popular” — all songs that were major hits, but were too quirky, funny, or generally off the wall to let the bands break free from their goofball shackles.
And the truth is, most bands that begin with a novelty hit will take a few more stabs at another success and then fade into obscurity. However, in the five years following debut album Fire, Electric Six pulled out four more records — most of which were actually pretty effin awesome. While their first album was mostly dancefloor fun, later work became more genre spanning, and, as a lyricist, singer/principal songwriter Dick Valentine proved he had something of a knack for cultural satire.
In 2006, Electric Six released Switzerland, and seriously, this one should’ve been big. From the dark, loungey, almost Nick Cave-ish “The Band in Hell,” through the undeniable catchyness of “Germans in Mexico,” to the piano pop of fantastic single “I Buy the Drugs,” Switzerland was a hell of a quirky indie pop record.
And in a year when quirky indie pop bands were all the rage – this was, after all, the same year that Lily Allen, Tapes ‘N Tapes, and Hot Chip all had major buzz and scored hits – Switzerland was the right album at the right time. It just wasn’t by the right band.
I caught Electric Six on the DC date of the Switzerland tour, and it still stands as one of my most memorable shows. On stage, frontman Dick Valentine is the key to their absurdist appeal. It’s like your high school math teacher has hopped on the bar for some drunken karaoke, and tonight, he’s a rock ‘n roll star. To my great surprise, the fans at this show had an enthusiasm that bordered on violence, and I would realize throughout the night that while the masses may have abandoned them, E6 has inspired quite the devoted niche following.
Most of whom have probably already picked up E6’s just released, Flashy. But if you’re not one of the converted, then do yourself a favor and take a chance on a band that actually has the self-deprecating wit to name the first song on their new release “Gay Bar Part 2.”
Hell, even Spin gave it a good review, and this is exactly the kind of thing that den of the hipper-than-thou is programmed to hate. If they can do it, maybe it’s time for everybody else to let them out of novelty song purgatory as well.
Tags: bands, dick valentine, electric six, Music
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