Thursday, April 9, 2015

#341: Violent Femmes - Violent Femmes (1983)


Emily: I was super pumped to listen to Violent Femmes because I love Blister in the Sun. It comes up once in a while on Radio 104.5, and I always proceed to boogie in my chair/car/in public and sing along to the da-dum da-dum part that isn't actually words (and the actual words too). So of course I then did the same when I listened to it as the opening track on the Violent Femmes self-titled debut. The rest of the album was upbeat and interesting, but didn't quite reach another high point as good as Blister in the Sun. And then I got to Gone Daddy Gone and my joy came right back. I loved Gnarls Barkley's version of the song, but I had no idea that it was a cover of an even-better version by the Violent Femmes. Even though I'll probably just keep dancing to to Blister in the Sun on repeat, I'll definitely be skipping ahead to Gone Daddy Gone a lot - and even running through the whole album a few times too.
Favorite Tracks: Blister in the Sun; Gone Daddy Gone; Ugly

Zack: Violent Femmes is probably in my top 10 favorite band names of all time. It’s really just perfect. What is not perfect, but still very good, is their debut album. It sounds way too good to have been released in 1983. I probably would have guessed early 90s if I didn’t know better. The whole album sort of sounds like what Nirvana would have been in Kurt Cobain had just chilled out a bit. At its best, it’s Blister in the Sun; a bouncy blend that just worms its way into your ear. At its worst, Violent Femmes trades in that bounciness for a slower pace and it just gets a tad boring. Even the worst is still pretty good, though. All in all, this was a fun album worth throwing on from time to time. If only to put Blister in the Sun on repeat.
Favorite Tracks: Blister in the Sun; Gone Daddy Gone; Ugly 

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