Daily Jam - So Into You

I read the other day that '90s alt-rock band Shudder To Think played their first show together in 15 years earlier this month.  Not that they haven't been doing anything in that time period.  Lead singer Craig Wedren puts stuff out on the regular and is the creator of the awesome opening titles song from "Yellowjackets."  Anyway, maybe we get new Shudder To Think soon.  To celebrate, here's "So Into You," our Daily Jam.

Daily Jam - X-French Tee Shirt

You know who never got enough love? D.C. band Shudder to Think. Beginning in the mid-80’s as a post-hardcore band, though eventually morphing into something far more complex, Shudder to Think incorporated elements of said hardcore punk, alt-rock, pop, glam, and math rock into their huge and angular post-modern sound.

Actually, glancing back at that last sentence, it pretty much explains why the group never got enough love. But they did manage to amass a fairly fervent cult following, and they snagged me as a fan with the sublime “X-French Tee Shirt” from the 1994’s Pony Express Record.

Eschewing more traditional pop song structures, “X-French Tee Shirt” drops all “verse-chorus-verse” pretense for something wholly unpredictable. The song twists and turns, with no discernable pattern, guitar riffs kicking in, and then changing, Craig Wedren’s lyrics and vocals weaving throughout like some kind of melodramatic stream of conscious plea. As the song nears its end, everything but the vocals and a single repeated guitar note drop into the ether, before surging back in triumphant fashion. All the while, the stanza, “Hold back the road that goes, So that the others may do, That you let me in just to, Pour me down their mouths” is sung over and over again into fade out.

This was as close as the band ever got to having a hit. What an odd hit it would have been.

Listen below, our Daily Jam.

Daily Jam - Hit Liquor

I remember when i found out that Shudder to Think's Craig Wedren was friends with all the people in "The State," and that he provided the short-lived sketch comedy show with its theme song.  Brain explosion.  Anyway, here he is with Shudder to Think and "Hit Liquor," our Daily Jam.

Daily Jam - Red House

A band that never got the attention it really should have is Shudder To Think.  They remained relatively obscure for the entirety of their run, but that led to their fans being wholly protective of them.  They're adored in certain circles, as it should be.  Here's "Red House" from 1991, our Daily Jam.

Daily Jam - Ballad of Maxwell Demon

I rewatched Todd Haynes' "Velvet Goldmine" a few weeks ago, and while the film is not without its flaws, it still holds well, maybe even better than it used to.  But one thing that hasn't changed is that the music in the film is still pure glammy gold.  Here's Shudder To Think's "Ballad of Maxwell Demon," our Daily Jam.