84. Hellogoodbye EP
When I was a freshmen in college I used to work at this head shop in our local mall. Because of the location I’d see plenty of friends throughout my shift who’d come by after they were done shopping. One day while working there my friend Shrop showed up and gave me a random CD. He had just picked up an album at the record store, I can’t remember the artist but they were on Drive Thru Records because the disc also had a sampler of music inside of it. Shrop said he already had that sampler and gave it to me. I thanked him, we talked for a bit, he left and an hour or two later I locked up and drove home.
During the drive I listened to the comp that he gave me. I really don’t remember many of the songs on the sampler but I remember the second Shimmy Shimmy Quarter Turn came on I kept playing it back and listening to it over and over again. The song was a weird, but awesome blend of Nintendo-core, punk and New Wave. I quickly learned all the words to the song and needed to get the whole album.
During the drive I listened to the comp that he gave me. I really don’t remember many of the songs on the sampler but I remember the second Shimmy Shimmy Quarter Turn came on I kept playing it back and listening to it over and over again. The song was a weird, but awesome blend of Nintendo-core, punk and New Wave. I quickly learned all the words to the song and needed to get the whole album.
At this point Hellogoodbye only had an EP out. So I walked down to the record store before my shift and picked it up. Since it was only an EP it cost me about $5. Our store had a CD player in it so as soon as my shift started I put it on and listened to it over and over again. The album was a mere 20 minutes long with only 6 tracks (and 5 songs) but I listened to it over and over again that day (I worked a 6 hour shift, you do the math).
Every song (except for maybe the Kompressor inspired Jesse Buy Nothing... Go To Prom) spoke to my hopeless romantic heart. The songs were all catchy and fun but the best track was the closing track Dear Jamie... Sincerely Me.
The sweet and slow song tells the story of a lovesick boy writing a letter to his crush Jamie. It always makes me think of Can’t Hardly Wait. I imagine that our narrator has worked on this letter for years and years hoping to win this girl over after years of friendship. It’s also accompanied by a music video by my friend Jonathan London. While I love the video, Jonathan left that shoot never wanting to work with the band or Drive Thru Records ever again.
After years of waiting a full length I was pretty disappointed by their follow up Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs! and after hearing stories of Jonathan’s music video shoots. I basically wrote the band off as a group that released a really great EP but would be forgotten after another two albums. However in 2010 the band released Would It Kill You? where the completely changed their style (dropping all the synth/dance sounds) and won me back again.
I eagerly await their next album.
When Matt Kelly isn’t defending animated fish comedies of the 60′s he’s tweeting, writing for Geekscape.net and producing his podcast the Saint Mort Show (check out this week’s episode with Joe Whiteford and Chad Neidt as well as his Guilty Pleasure for The Incredible Mr. Limpet)
When Matt Kelly isn’t defending animated fish comedies of the 60′s he’s tweeting, writing for Geekscape.net and producing his podcast the Saint Mort Show (check out this week’s episode with Joe Whiteford and Chad Neidt as well as his Guilty Pleasure for The Incredible Mr. Limpet)
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