A year and a half ago, Matt gave The Strange Boys its first official Jam of the Day, christening “This Girl Taught Me a Dance” with the honors. Since then, the song that so perfectly exudes a slow grind of beach party sexiness, the song that’s so eerily ’60s rock ‘n’ roll it’s almost anachronistic, has showed up on many a party playlist at my house.
In fact, the track gave me my (probably one and only) High Fidelity moment when I played it at Vintage Vinyl for the Speakers in Code DJ set last Record Store Day. (“I will now sell five copies of The Strange Boys and Girls Club by The Strange Boys!”) A guy literally came up to me mid-song and asked where he could find album inside the store.
I digress.
Now the Austin dudes are back with their third album, Live Music, out on Rough Trade on October 25th. The first single from the offering takes some of the swagger out of Strange Boys’ ’60s-era leaning and injects some tinkering piano, a la Dr. Dog. Me likey.
My favorite line from “Me and You” is this: “There are many ways that you can live/ That was one, now live again…” Doesn’t this defy everything we’ve been taught about – to quote one of my favorite poets, Mary Oliver – what we’re to do with our “one wild and precious life?” I’ve been mulling over this idea since I first heard the lyric.
And now, I have this new appreciation for The Strange Boys. They make my butt move and my brain think.