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Clem Snide

If you must know, I'm a sucker for a certain kind of reedy, nasal male singing voice. Now I could make a clever Mountain Goats joke here and say that John Darnielle is like, the alpha version (ha ha!) of that voice, but I think Eef Barzelay of Clem Snide is pretty tops as well.

I'm sure -- no, actually, I'm pretty positive that I cringed the first time I heard Clem Snide -- ugh, that voice and those too-smart lyrics! But, boy did they ever grow on me, and hopefully you'll like them too. Clem Snide's one of those country-tinged indie rock bands, you know the kind? Music journalists always want to compare them to Camper Van Beethoven or Lambchop, which I always think is kind of lazy and uninspired. And did I mention Eef's distinctive voice and those clever -- but not overly clever -- lyrics as well? Okay, just making sure.

But here's the one thing that really gets me about Clem Snide -- it seems like Eef (and I don't know, maybe the rest of the band) are captivated by the strange lives of legendary and obscure pop culture figures alike, and have subsequently written songs about some of them: far-Right English conspiracy theorist David Icke, Lucille Ball, and "Hogan's Heroes" star Bob Crane (long before Auto Focus, the film version of his sordid private life, was made). The songs about the first two are included below, along with an incredibly heartwarming and sincere cover of the Christina Aguilera (also another odd pop culture figure, to be sure) hit "Beautiful." Also included is the downer anthem "Moment in the Sun," just so you won't think that Clem Snide is like, too bizzare, or anything.

Clem Snide - Moment in the Sun
Clem Snide - Made for TV Movie
Clem Snide - The Ballad of David Icke
Clem Snide - Beautiful

Clem Snide's official website. Their new album End of Love (on which "Made for TV Movie" appears), is due out tomorrow, 2/22. It's a fine return to the band's melancholy, misanthropic form after the almost upbeat cheerfulness of their previous album Soft Spot, both of which are available from Amazon. Also recommended is their second album, The Ghost of Fashion.

Posted by Little Miss Rock'n'Roll at 02.21.05 at 1:25 AM

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