Minus 5/Young Fresh Fellows frontman Scott McCaughey has been blurring the distinction between his two bands for a while, to the point where many of the songs on either group’s LPs would be appropriate for the other. Both return this week with new efforts: the Minus 5’s Killingsworth and the Fellows’ I Think This Is. The tunes are more divergent, with Killingsworth featuring a heavy alt-country vibe and I Think This Is being a typically funny garage-pop workout. When he’s not fronting his own combos, McCaughey is a sideman for R.E.M. and Robyn Hitchcock, the latter of whom produced I Think This Is. McCaughey is guest-editing magnetmagazine.com this week. Read our Q&A with him.
McCaughey: It’s hard to believe that Tacoma, Wash.’s greatest band in the last 25 years has been around for 25 years. But it’s true. It’s Girl Trouble, and they do everything at their own pace and with their own style. As it so tellingly announces on their website: “Our idea of an adventure in modern technology is to turn on the TV and change the channel to Streets Of San Francisco reruns using a remote control.” But Girl Trouble unfailingly puts on some of the best rock ‘n’ roll shows you’ll ever see. These days you might have to come to the Northwest to see it, but it’s worth it. The only band to feature both the teenage Neko Case (check out their song “Neko Loves Rock & Roll”) and the 80-year-old Granny Go-Go as live go-go dancers. (Not at the same show.) Granny’s gone to that gilded cage in the sky, and Neko’s riding high on the lost highway, but I don’t see Girl Trouble hanging up their boots anytime soon. Wig out! Video after the jump.
