You Am I

Metal is in my blood Number of posts : 2682 Age : 37

"Sometimes i don't know which Paul i won't to be, Stanley, Weller or Westerberg"

- Tim Rogers (You Am I frontman)

That quote is a good take on where this band comes from musically.

A kind of classic rock n' roll hell bent on hook n' melody delivered with ragged punk/garage attitude (Kinda spells the Replacements but uniquely Australian). But they are one of those rare bands that combine hook and lyric in holy union. Tim Rogers is a fantastic songwriter, almost too good for rock n' roll....Paul Westerberg and Ray Davies quality, no surprise as they are two of Tim's biggest influences.

Their record Hourly Daily (1996) is a kind of surburban diary of a day, even starts with an alarm clock! Tim makes the most banal daily actions seem exciting, it can't help leave a knowing smile on your face when you relate to the songs.

My fave is Hi-Fi Way (1995) though, i defy anyone to come up with songs as good as the one's on that record in the mid 90's by other bands.

They should of been huge, Sonic Youth's Lee Ronaldo produced their first record and they went out on tour with Soundgarden but alas they didn't break.

In their native Oz they achieved at least some commercial success and overwhelming critical success (I think Hi-Fi Way was named #5 greatest Australian album ever or something like recently), but they still watched bands they influenced and kicked down doors for go past them namely Silverchair (Who got the Chair part of their name from YAI's song Berlin Chair!), The Living End, The Vines, Jet etc.

Easily the best band to come from Australia in the past 15 years or so.

If your a fan of bands like the Replacements, Soul Asylum or even Nirvana get their albums Sound As Ever (1993), Hi-Fi Way (1995) and Hourly Daily (1996), you won't be disappointed......

Some clips.....

Berlin Chair

Cathy's Clown

Jewels And Bullets

Ken (The Mother Nature's Son)

Get Up

Metal is in my blood Number of posts : 2793 Age : 66

I have a friend in Minneapolis that I would like to give this to. I'm sure he'd love it. He's been a Replacement's fan right from the beginning up to now.

Metal is in my blood Number of posts : 2682 Age : 37

Cool.....even you might like it.....somewhere floating in the Urge Overkill and Wildhearts orbit. The first record is pretty heavy sort of feeding off some left over grunge angst. Alot of people expected them to break when they were on that Soundgarden tour in '95 but you know how these things go.

Metal is in my blood Number of posts : 2793 Age : 66

rattpoison wrote:: Cool.....even you might like it.....somewhere floating in the Urge Overkill and Wildhearts orbit.

This might be true. I do like both those bands. The friend who I would buy this for is the guy that used to rip the Styx shirt off my back, stick a ball in my mouth, and make me listen to Minneapolis bands for days at a time. I am trying to recover from this though. I even listened to Sugar "File Under Easy Listening" the other day, and enjoyed it. A theraputic breakthrough!

Guest

Quote :: I am trying to recover from this though.

You can't fight it, baby. Just go with the groove....!

I have the album with Berlin Chair on it. I think that was the debut. Haven't listened to it since it came out, but that doen't mean much. I rarely listen to anything twice. But I remember digging it alot at the time

Now start a thread on Dramarama and I'll have more to say!

Metal is in my blood Number of posts : 2682 Age : 37

SAHB Healer wrote:

rattpoison wrote:: Cool.....even you might like it.....somewhere floating in the Urge Overkill and Wildhearts orbit.

This might be true. I do like both those bands. The friend who I would buy this for is the guy that used to rip the Styx shirt off my back, stick a ball in my mouth, and make me listen to Minneapolis bands for days at a time. I am trying to recover from this though. I even listened to Sugar "File Under Easy Listening" the other day, and enjoyed it. A theraputic breakthrough!

You know Sahb listening to Styx and not caring about what your uber hip friends think is as punk as it gets.........albeit ridiculous! Cool

You and your friend might both enjoy YAI's Hi-Fi Way.......which would save everyone on the duct tape and balls! Shocked

Metal is in my blood Number of posts : 2793 Age : 66

I ordered sound "Sound As Ever" for $3 dollars. If I like it I'll keep it and my friend can get his own!

Metal is in my blood Number of posts : 2682 Age : 37

SAHB Healer wrote:: I ordered sound "Sound As Ever" for $3 dollars. If I like it I'll keep it and my friend can get his own!

Cool nice price, you should really seek out Hi-Fi Way if that ain't grab ya then your friend will have some nice gifts....if you hear a bit of Jet don't be surprised, they're basically You Am I in classic rock mode but 10 years late (They actually started out as a YAI cover band!). Amazing to think they (Jet) sold more records with their debut then YAI's entire back catalogue......which is why some bitter folks down here throw sour grapes at them.