The Format

Wow.

Hang on... I think I'm going to... yes, yes, I believe I am. I'm going to 'Wow' again.

Wow indeed.

God DAMN do I love a catchy piece of power-pop, and hooray for me because I just found one.

Here's the thing... Josie was on a vacation far away back in the spring of 1986. But that was ok, because there was this other girl. It was a simple tale told in the song 'Your Love' by The Outfield, and we heard it over and over again, blaring from our radio speakers.

I was living in the Chicago Suburbs at the time and listening to a radio station called 'The Bus.' They had a feature called 'My Favorite Album-side' where they'd play one side of a full length vinyl album.

By the end of the third song of The Outfield's 'Play Deep,' I turned off the radio and walked out the door, marching across town to the only remaining tenant in the run-down shopping center at the edge of the suburb I lived in. The store was Sears.

Lucky for this then-15 year old kid, Sears used to sell music. Thus, a copy of 'Play Deep' was mine. [iTunes link] It was a cassette I would play over, and over, and over, and over... and over again.

This was power-pop, 80's style. Simple rock songs with a pop feel. Catchy as hell. The format is timeless really...

As the 80's faded away, the floating trail of reverb on the vocals and drums went with it. Thank god. But fun rock-based songs with simple catchy hooks will always be with us.

As will emotions - of course. We'll always have our silly emotions that are so easy for others to toy with. We're all so misunderstood, aren't we? We're all so unique - there's no one else like us, right?

That's why, when the singer of the song with a fun beat and guitars that glisten comes along and says "You know me. Well, you think you do, but you just don't seem to see," we know exactly what he means... right? He could be talking about ME! Right?

I'm so misunderstood.

Have you ever wanted to just walk away? ...to escape to some new city - some new place where you could be a new person? ...a new and better you? Maybe none of your problems would follow you to that new place.

...and the singer says: "So give it up, throw your hats in the air and change just as they land. You're saying we'll get out of here, but something tells me that you're too scared to go."

Who can't relate to that feeling?

So here's the point of all this ramble ramble: I was surfing through the iTunes Music Store this morning over a cup of coffee, and I stumbled onto a band called 'The Format.' Their album 'Interventions And Lullabies' is superb. [iTunes link]

SUPERB!

Well... at least, I THINK it's superb. I'm having trouble just getting through it all because I keep getting stuck on catchy lyrics, as I stop to repeat the songs over and over and over... and over...

...songs like 'You Know Me'

"I can't stand to think about
a heart so big it hurts like hell
Oh my God I gave my best
But for three whole years to end like this

Well do you want to fall apart?
I can't stop if you can't start
Do you want to fall apart?
Well I could
if you can
try to fix what I've undone
Cause I hate what I've become

You know me,
Oh you think you do you,
you just dont seem to see
I've been waiting all this time to be
something I can't define

So let's cause a scene
Clap our hands and stomp our feet
or something
Yeah something
I've just got to get myself over me"

JESUS! This is pure powr-pop catchy-lyric guitar band goodness! The Format Rocks!

::::: | Wednesday, Aug 24 2005 at 9:29 AM
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