You probably know Ken Stringfellow as the co-leader of Northwestern power-pop all-timers the Posies or as a sideman for R.E.M. or latter-day Big Star. He’s also a solo artist (we’re particularly fond of the soft-rock American beauty that is 2001’s Touched) and is currently preparing the debut by his Norwegian garage-rock band, the DiSCiPLiNES. Each day this week, magnetmagazine.com guest editor Stringfellow will be filing reports from his home on the European continent.
Stringfellow: Another Parisian band that defies the usual logic(?) of the French music scene. The Yolks are humble, talented and, apparently, from a middle-class suburb; thus, completely uncool if you go by the local rules. Yet they are building up a huge following of well-dressed teens and barely twentysomethings. Funky, fresh (but not from Hollis, Queens, albeit a similar place) and super fun in concert. I went to see them at a party for Keith magazine, in a basement club that had recently opened, and despite the fact their music is quite slinky and feminine (I hear a striking blend of Speaking In Tongues-era Talking Heads and “Cruel Summer”-era Bananarama), kids actually formed a mosh pit. Remember, this was an audience of rich kids (the only ones who can afford to go out in the city) dressed to the nines. It was glorious. Most French audiences don’t let themselves go (even Slayer’s crowd at their recent Paris show was more or less standing with arms crossed), so this illustrates the infectious nature of the Yolks’ funked-up brand of indie rock. They have yet to release anything but are working on some recordings now.
