When Clem Snide began recording albums more than a decade ago in New York, the band’s clever alt-country songs often came across as an ironic take on Americana. Everyone knows you can’t do country music in the big city, and where did Israeli-born singer/guitarist Eef Barzelay get that twang from, anyway? After years of slogging through the indie-rock touring circuit, a band breakup and a move to Nashville, the reunited Clem Snide has earned the all-American desperation and heartbreak that lies in the marrow of its latest album, The Meat Of Life, out this week on 429 Records. Barzelay is guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our Q&A with him.
Barzelay: I discovered Londoner Matt Dillon and his band Windmill by accident on the MySpace. (Back when MySpace still mattered, shah.) I love his insanely high voice, and the songs just soar. Great words, too: “You screwed me over/Now screw me back in/But I don’t fit.” Also, when I was growing up, I sometimes wished I was Matt Dillon. Video after the jump.
3 replies on “From The Desk Of Clem Snide’s Eef Barzelay: Windmill’s “Fit””
Myspace still matters. What the hell is Facebook going to do for a band? Tell you to go to Myspace so you can HEAR the band? The recent polls show young people using Facebook about 76-79%, Myspace about 56% and Twitter 8%. Twitter is NOT catching on. People will come back to Myspace after the Facebook fad dies down some, I do believe. It’s mostly there for you to catch up with old friends from school. It’s also heavily favored by middle-aged haus-fraus.
So, forget Facebook for being a music social network. That’s still Myspace.
Both of these boys are kissable and super good.
@Barry
You are misinformed. You can stream music from facebook artist pages now (see the ilike app).
Look at Clem Snide’s as an example: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Clem-Snide/302825192452?v=box_3&ref=ts
Myspace is still huge for 13-24 as a site to listen to a band’s music (they know they can go to myspace.com/[bandname] and take a listen), but is ineffective as a social network. With advertisements in the stream now, people may start going other places to stream music.
Not sure why you don’t believe twitter will catch on. It is still a new service and very effective for as a beacon for information. The network effect has yet to kick in.