Music elitists say that excellent music has not come out since the 70's; that the past thirty odd some years have been regurgitated, diluted crap. Some might admit that there have been some good bands in the past couple of years, but none of those bands are groundbreaking or memorable. And in the end, those bands are just extremely influenced by the luminaries of the past. We all want another Beatles, another Led Zeppelin, and another Bob Dylan. Nostalgia for the past - we all have it, whether you are a full-on elitist, a partial elitist, or an open-minded embracer. Sometimes nostalgia gets the best of us: the Darkness's popularity arose from nostalgia for hair bands and shiny spandex.
Britt Daniels and Jim Eno acknowledge music elitists by producing an homage to rock with Spoon's latest release Gimme Fiction. From the get go they are not demure about their inspiration as denoted by their lyric "I got to believe it comes from rock and roll" on their opening track "The Beast and Dragon, Adored." This track, among many on the album, evokes a dark, archaic sensuality that parallels the sound that the Beatles developed towards the end of their career. Spoon also picked up on the Beatles's knack for writing stories about fictitious, colorful characters. Instead of cherished yet doomed characters Rocky Raccoon, Bungalow Bill, and Eleanor Rigby, theres's the fraudulent Monsieur Valentine and the dubious Sister Jack acting as muses for Spoon.
"I Turn My Camera On," on the other hand, sounds more similar to the Bee Gees with Daniels's falsetto and yielding bass guitar bouncing along to Eno's disco beats. There is a sense of familiarity attached with the remaining tracks that do not have a direct and clear-cut influence. The Rolling Stones, one of the first bands thought of when presented the words "rock and roll," are an influence that can be heard on nearly every song down to the very way the record was produced: gritty and unpolished. The influence of the Clash and the Velvet Underground are also apparent in such tracks as "I Summon You" and "They Never Got You."
Spoon creates a time warp with Gimme Fiction, leaving the listener to wonder if they have just entered a wrinkle in time. They experiment and play with their influences and heroes to find the right recipe for pop rock excellence that even some music elitists will enjoy.
