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Amen.

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#Saint Etienne #Pete Wiggs #Sarah Cracknell #Bob Stanley

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My favorite song by my favorite band. From 1993's So Tough album it's "You're In A Bad Way" - a slice of pop perfection.

#Saint Etienne #Bob Stanley #Pete Wiggs #Sarah Cracknell #So Tough #You're In A Bad Way #Heavenly Records #90s Music #British Music

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#Saint Etienne #Pete Wiggs #Sarah Cracknell #Bob Stanley #British Music

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It's Saint Etienne, my favorite band of all time. Here's Pete Wiggs, Sarah Cracknell and Bob Stanley

#Saint Etienne #Bob Stanley #Sarah Cracknell #Pete Wiggs #British Music #Heavenly Records #He's On The Phone

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Christopher Murther of The Boston Globe wrote in 2005: Theoretically, any band that writes songs with lyrics such as “Banana chips for you!/Banana chips for me!/ In the afternoon, banana chips and tea" should have a life span no longer than that of a grasshopper. But something oddly spellbinding occurs when deceivingly silly lyrics are sandwiched between a buoyant guitar and a rapid-fire, pop-punk drum kit. Which perhaps explains why the Japanese female alternative rock/pop punk trio Shonen Knife is still singing songs about cookies, sushi, jelly beans and, of course, banana chips, [and loop di loop carnival rides!] nearly 25 years after its inception.

#Shonen Knife #Naoko Yamano #Atsuko Yamano #Michie Nakatani

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Michie Nakatani, Naoko Yamano and Atsuko Yamano are Shonen Knife.

#Shonen Knife #Naoko Yamano #Atsuko Yamano #Michie Nakatani

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Loop Di Loop comes from the excellent 1997 album “Brand New Knife.” Other 5 star songs from the album are “Wind Your Spring” and “Fruits & Vegetables.” 

#Shonen Knife #Naoko Yamano #Atsuko Yamano #Michie Nakatani #90s Music

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It was in 1991 that Shonen Knife came to find their biggest fan in the form of Kurt Cobain, who had seen them play in LA and had come to deeply enjoy their music. Nirvana asked Shonen Knife to serve as their opening act for their UK tour, just prior to the release of their breakthrough album “Nevermind.” Shonen Knife lead singer Naoko Yamano later admitted that when Cobain asked them to open for his band, they had no idea what Nirvana was.

"So I went to a record store, and I bought their CD. And when I saw their photograph, I thought they might be scary persons, because their hairstyles and their clothes were very grunge. But once the tour had started, I noticed that all the members were nice, good persons. And because this was our first experience of a long tour, the drummer Dave [Grohl] helped us with setting up the drum kit.

Furthermore, despite Cobain's reputation for being difficult, Yamano states working with him was a friendly experience, describing Cobain as "quiet, but very nice". During the tour Naoko taught Cobain how to play their song “Twist Barbie” which Nirvana covered live at one of their secret shows.

#Shonen Knife #Naoko Yamano #Atsuko Yamano #Michie Nakatani #Nirvana #Kurt Cobain #Dave Grohl #Krist Novoselic #90s Tours #90s Music #Twist Barbie #Nevermind

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One of my favorite bands of all time, Shonen Knife have released a dizzying amount of music over their 33 year underground cult career. Formed in Osaka, Japan in 1981 sisters Naoko and Atsuko Yamano and Michie Nakatani described their music as, "oo-oo-ultra-eccentric-super-cult-punk-pop-band-shonen-knife!"

#Shonen Knife #Naoko Yamano #Atsuko Yamano #Michie Nakatani

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Shonen Knife’s success came in the late 80’s and early 90’s when the alternative rock scene discovered the band and word of mouth spread fast. A tribute album Every Band Has A Shonen Knife Who Loves Them was released in 1989, solidifying their cult status. 

#Naoko Yamano #Atsuko Yamano #Michie Nakatani #Shonen Knife #Tribute Albums #80s Albums #Redd Kross #Sonic Youth #Babes In Toyland #Nirvana #Kurt Cobain #Lunachicks

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British band The Woodentops were one of my favorite bands of the 80's, especially because of their album "Giant" and songs like "Give It Time," "Good Thing," and the 5 star classic "So Good Today."

#Woodentops #Alice Thompson #Rolo McGinty #Frank DeFreitas #Paul Hookham #Simon Mawby #80s Music #80s Albums #Giant #Rough Trade Records

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My favorite Woodentops song "So Good Today" is from the superb 1986 album "Giant." Every song is great, especially this one, which surprisingly was never a single from the LP. The big hit was "Good Thing," 

#Woodentops #Simon Mawby #Alice Thompson #Rolo McGinty #Paul Hookham #Frank DeFreitas #80s Music #80s Albums #Giant #Rough Trade Records

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The Woodentops 1986 tour tickets.

#Woodentops #Simon Mawby #Alice Thompson #Rolo McGinty #Frank DeFreitas #Paul Hookham #80s Music #80s Concerts

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Chris Lowe and Neil Tennant are the Pet Shop Boys.

#Pet Shop Boys #Chris Lowe #Neil Tennant

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Pet Shop Boys got inspiration for their 1996 album "Bilingual" by visiting South America in the mid 90's. You can hear the latin influences on their hit "Se A Vida É (That's The Way Life Is)." It was a summer smash 18 years ago. Relive it now as summer comes to a close in 2014.

#Pet Shop Boys #Neil Tennant #Chris Lowe #90s Music #Bilingual #Latin Music

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My 5 star song this week comes from the 1996 Pet Shop Boys album "Bilingual," a South American influenced dance record. 

#Pet Shop Boys #Chris Lowe #Neil Tennant #90s Music #Latin Music #Bilingual