Penny's Guide to Teen-Age Charm and Popularity

Nada Surf's first single - 1996's 'Popular' - sold a lot of copies of 'High/Low' for Elektra that year. It was a sort of short-lived it-song of the nineties, and though it held more merit than the ubiquitous "Wear Sunscreen" gibberish that people called brilliant for no good reason in 1998, it was lumped into the same category. It was what it was... a sarcastic dictation from a how-to high school dating guide written in the 60's, set between anthemic choruses. It was the theme song for angst-ridden teenagers everywhere, and there was nothing more chic than angst in 1996.

So when Nada Surf's second record, 'The Proximity Effect', failed to yeild a single akin to 'Popular', Elektra told them to get back in the studio and bring them one. No dice. The album got shelved. This happened a lot in the late nineties as the 'alternative' trend started to give way. Every fucking garage band on the west coast had a record deal, but only a handful of them ever saw a second release.

Nada Surf put out The Proximity Effect independently, and toured relentlessly until they had sold enough t-shirts to make another record - and the production and studio people that worked on 2002's 'Let Go' were very literally paid in five and ten dollar bills collected on tour.

With 'Let Go', Nada Surf, now at home on well known indie label Barsuk Rcords, made it very clear that they hadn't fallen victim to alternative implosion. The album soars with brilliantly introspective songwriting, and was met with a good deal of critical accliam.

It was a new beginning for the three-piece, and they followed it up with the aptly titled 'The Weight is a Gift' in 2005. Produced by Chris Walla [Death Cab For Cutie], this record is easily as good as it's predecessor, with lush layers of guitars and subtle melodies interspersed with rollicking pop-rock tunes.

Putting out three outstanding records in a row is a rare achievement in rock and roll... and Nada Surf sealed the hat-trick with the release of 'Lucky', which hit stores just a few days ago.

Lyrically, 'Lucky' marks a high point for the band - but what stands out is the warm, airey production. In recent years, the trend has been to mix records as loud as fucking possible. Presumably this is a way of coping with the shitty earphones apple includes with their ipods, and the countless other audio limitations brought in with the age of digital music. As a result of this, guitars and basses blend together with all the tone of an outboard motor. 'Lucky', however, was produced beautifully by John Goodmanson, who also mixed the best sounding songs 'The Weight is a Gift'. The record sounds big and expansive, without losing the "air" between the insturments, and that's particularly critical when dealing with a three-piece.

No word yet on if there will be a vinyl release, but I've got all my fingers and toes crossed.

Nada Surf will tour the record extensively, and they'll be at the Opera House here in Toronto April 7th.

Download: Nada Surf - See These Bones from 'Lucky'
Download: Nada Surf - Do It Again from 'The Weight is a Gift'
Download: Nada Surf - Blankest Year from 'The Weight is a Gift'
Download: Nada Surf - Blonde on Blonde from 'Let Go'

Bob Mould loves Pro Wrestling.

I'm a modern kind of guy, and I can generally tolerate all sorts of weirdness when it comes to matters of personal taste.

Pro wrestling, however, has shattered many promising relationships in my life. Relationships with otherwise beautiful and intelligent girls, lifelong friends, even bars.

I'm unwilling to believe that a mentally healthy person can spend any amount of time watching pro wresting on television. I'd rather spend an evening listening to to collective works of L. Ron Hubbard read as Beat Poetry while sitting in a darkened room filled with whiskey-drunk Scientologists, than spend an evening on a couch watching WWF Raw with wrestling fans.

I have no constitution for it, it's complete gibberish, and everything about it is affronting to right thinking people.

That having been said - Bob Mould is passionate about pro wresting. He even worked for the WCW as scriptwriter for a short period of time. Bob is of course, eternally forgiven this apparent character flaw, thanks to the weight of his contribution to rock and roll. Consider it a sort of diplomatic immunity.

His work with Hüsker Dü will always be stacked high with accolades by music people, and for good reason. The albums between 1981 and 1987 changed the direction of rock and roll, for the better, I promise. They invented what was marketed as 'Alternative', and they forged the ground for pop-punk. After Hüsker Dü imploded in an environment rich with drug abuse and rumored homosexual love affairs, there were two solo releases for Virgin, both of them solid and groundbreaking in their own right.

Mould formed Sugar in 1992, and released two albums: 'Copper Blue', and 'File Under: Easy Listening'. Buy these records, it's power-pop/pop-punk/power-punk/whatever at it's brilliant pinnacle.

There's a new Bob Mould record out now on Anti, it's called District Line. Ten tracks, with some slightly folksy stuff balanced nicely with his unrelenting rock and roll guitar loving tunes - all of them quite infecting.

The highest praise of this record is that you don't really need to delve into Mould's impressive discography for perspective. This record slays on it's own merits.

Download: Bob Mould - The Silence Between Us

Buy it: [iTunes]