Seminal post-hardcore/emo rock band Piebald is, to countless music fans, one of the most important musical acts of the late '90s to early 2000s. That's why there's so much excitement around this week's re-release of three of their early albums, The Rock Revolution Will Not Be Televised EP, bonus material compilations, covers and more. In order to celebrate this important moment in music, we've compiled a list of 10 of the band's most memorable songs from these re-releases: the debut album When Life Hands You Lemons, the follow-up If It Weren't For Venetian Blinds, It Would Be Curtains For Us All, and the band's masterpiece album, We Are the Only Friends We Have. Relive your tortured youth below!
You can check out more buzzing news coverage from Music Times right here!
Along with these re-releases, you can also check out a previously unreleased collection of covers recorded by Piebald over at Alternative Press. Also, according to Brooklyn Vegan, the re-releases will also include lead singer Travis Shettel's solo album Y Las Marianas.
We're obviously assuming that, if you're reading this article, you are a fan of the Massachusetts band and understand that most of the band's "memorable" songs are off of the widely popular, arguably perfect We Are the Only Friends We Have. Basically, picking just a few of these songs for this list is one of the hardest things I've had to do, but we all know what song we're starting this list off with:
1. "King of the Road"
A lot of Piebald fans were happy to call the band a math rock outfit, and they weren't wrong. The 5/4 intro was simply groundbreaking for a number of listeners, especially its transition into the 6/8 first verse that slowed the whole song down. You remember every word and loved to sing it while blasting it through your parents' car stereo that you borrowed to hang out with your friends.
Plus, the song is about the band's tour van, which was actually a short-scale bus that had to be retired.
2. "All You Need is Drums to Start a Dance Party"
This goofy song is off of Venetian Blinds, and was a clear example of just how seriously Piebald took their music: not-so. The lyrics are a slew of quick, matter-of-fact statements that are so fun to sing-along to.
3. "Holden Caufield"
Off of the band's 1997 debut album, When Life Hands You Lemons, this song was one of the first to get passed around on mixtapes and the like, embodying a ton of teenage angst and milieu. It even has a tempo change for a heartfelt bridge that builds right back into the emotional chorus.
4. "If Marcus Garvey Dies, Then Marcus Garvey Lives"
Another Venetian Blinds track, but this time we hear some callbacks to Lemons with more distortion and emoting. We also get a great taste of Shettel's ability to write harmonies on this one. Plus, you learn some important historical names that you definitely looked up almost immediately after hearing this song.
5. "Our Very Own Employment Agency"
Listening to this song, you hear influences from other bands like At the Drive-In, Braid and other similar acts, but the band made this sound their very own, turning into a classic Piebald song.
6. "American Hearts"
This might be the most recognizable Piebald song, depending on if you're an avid listener or diehard fan. It's incredible. On a personal note, my LiveJournal account name was inspired by this song.
This is as close to a love song as Piebald has ever gotten, and it's a damn good one. This epic rocker oozes just like your feelings for your first crush. It has peaks and valleys that jump make you want to mosh, dance and cry. It's long, too!
8. "Sex Sells and (Unfortunately) I'm Buying"
This is the closing song of We Are the Only Friends We Have, and you feel yourself dreading the end of the song. The album was so great and this final song mixes everything we love about Piebald into an extended jam session of sorts. Anger, goofiness, depression, joy, and horns! Oh man, the horns!
9. "Dirty Harry and the Thunderbolts"
If this song isn't one of the most important songs in your life, we wouldn't get along.
10. "Long Nights"
You probably guessed by now that I'd end this list with this song. I clearly remember the first time I heard it - I was playing a show with my ska band that I was in, and there was a piano in the back of the venue. My friends started playing the song and I was obsessed. It was the first song to make pianos cool for me, and most likely did the dame for some of you.
