While the BoDeans have built a loyal fan base over the course of the 24 years since the release of their T Bone Burnett-produced debut, Love & Hope & Sex & Dreams, the duo—Kurt Neumann and Sam Llanas—is best known as the band whose “Closer To Free” became the theme song to ’90s TV show Party Of Five. But the BoDeans are fine with that and instead focus on making the kind of music they want to, then bringing it to their devoted followers. New album Mr. Sad Clown (429) features more of the duo’s trademark roots-based rock and intricate vocal harmonies. Neumann will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our new Q&A with him.
Neumann: They sure don’t make toys like they used to. Now it’s all about bright flashing lights. Loud, annoying, robotic versions of what once was a beautiful melody from a song. Make you feel like you’ve entered into the world of A Clockwork Orange. And some kind of subtle mind control is taking place. Some days I sit down with my 12-month-old daughter and try to engage her in to play with one of these devices. But like me, I sense she can’t wait for the horrendous noise to stop. I feel that she, like our other kids, longs for simplicity. A shoe box. Wrapping paper. Or any old magazine she can tear up. A few months ago, my daughter was in my closet and noticed an old antique toy sitting on the shelf: a little sailor turtle with a plastic string. You pull it around behind you. Its little blue legs spin and make a clicking sound. She loved it. More than any of the $50 flashing, bashing extravaganzas. I realize this country is built on the theory of consumption. Toy companies must sell toys. But I also think the toy companies should spend a little more time with their kids and try not to think in terms of going “back” to simpler ways. But maybe just going forward with a sense of simplicity and beauty in design. Whether it’s toys or cars or massive buildings, it’s the same theory. And it just might make for a more fulfilling life. I know it works for my baby girl.
Video after the jump.
