Appreciating: At The Drive-In

Dedicating a blog post to a defunct band whose members have gone their seperate ways with no upcoming reunion in sight? Yeah, because I've always wanted to High Fidelity the shit out of them, by ranking five of my favorite ATDI songs. I know, I know, on the surface this doesn't coincide with scenester/hipster protocol, but look closer and it really does. I'm embracing a highly influential band who doesn't make music anymore; there is no chance for new material (unless it was unreleased) so as such it helps increase my pretentious level.

Plus you can't buy their shit on vinyl, so it makes them even more obscure and rare or ironic or whatever.

Suck on the tip of my scene-ween bitches. Here we go

(These are all of MY favorite ATDI songs. Feel free to comment on it, I encourage lively discussion)

1. "Star Slight" (from Acrobatic Tenement)

- Measuring in at a little over a minute long, this song is a perfect flurry of awesomeness, ejaculatory excellence and sexual... glory.
In all honesty, it is my favorite song. From Jim Wards' opening vocals (Sailing all alone) to the rapid vocal delivery of Cedric Bixler-Zavala, to the music, just perfect frenzy of music, this song just.. does something to me. In my pants. In a good way too, not like the "creepy uncle wants you to sit on his lap so he can rub your head" way.

The song is structured so unusual; it jumps right into the lyrics and music, a frenzied combination that is sustained over the 1:18 that the track runs for. It glides along, carried by Jim Wards' backing vocals and Bixler-Zavalas high-pitched croon. It slows down at times for the chorus (if you could call it that) of "You know your insides true..."

My all time favorite ATDI song which was unfortunately butchered covered by some shit band named The Impossibles. It's a horrible rendition, so don't even waste your time Youtubing it.


2.Quarantined" (from Relationship of Command)

Relationship of Command is ATDIs' magnum opus; considered by many to be their best album. I am in total agreement, even though I do love a lot of their old stuff. Relationship of Command captured a lot of the raw aggression that the band wished to incorporate from their live shows; an aggression that they felt previous albums and EP's were lacking.

Overlooked by many people due to "One Armed Scissor", this song is epic in it's structure. Starting with the sound of rain and thunder and soon accompanied by the brooding bassline played by Paul Hinojos, the song slowly builds until it's teetering on the brink of being unleashed in the form of calculated musical chaos. The music all drops and the haunting riff (played by Omar Rodriguez-Lopez) soon is the only sound heard, before the song explodes into a juggernaut of boner-inducing symphonic brilliance. The music is very raw yet polished and Cedric's vocals are remarkably relaxed, especially given the nature of the music.

The screams from Omar and Jim (Have trigger will travel!) blend in perfectly with the song, and the lyrics. Ah, the lyrics.

Since many of us don't routinely read dictionaries and maybe a little out of the loop given Cedric's extensive vocabulary, interpretation becomes hazy. Cedric has said the song is about immigrants moving to the U.S. and being treated like shit. But you know what makes this song even better?

If you listen to it and imagine it being about zombies. Zombies fucking rule.

3. "Chanbara" from In/Casino/Out

In/Casino/Out was crafted primarily out of ATDI's desire to emulate their ridiculous live shows and capture their performances on tape. It used very little over-dubs and was actually recorded live. It shows, as the album contains many, many, great songs. This song, Chanbara, is my favorite on the album. It has all the hallmarks of an ATDI song; the post-hardcore aspects reminscent of Drive Like Jehu and Fugazi, the adrenaline and passion that those old post-hardcore (not the new fucking "scream, sing, breakdown" format of these new post-hardcore bands) managed to somehow record and capture on tape, crafted into beautiful dissonance and chaos, while still having a sense of melody.

This song is no different. The chorus is shouted in a rapid-fire delivery weaving entirely different words together, yet still sounding legitimate and not trite. Added with the breakdown in which Cedric sexily pants and moans his "Uh huhs" and this song is just... weird. But undoubtedly awesome.

4. One Armed Scissor from Relationship of Command.

Seriously, does it need an explanation? I remember watching this back when MTV showed music videos late at night. Being an insomniac has it's benefits I guess.

5. Give It A Name from El Gran Orgo

This song is weird, even for ATDI standards. It plays like an actual.. pop song. It plays like a pop-punk song, with the snare-driven backbeat, and even the guitars have a distinct pop-punky tone to them. Not too much frentic music masturbation thats' typical of ATDI songs. And the best part of the song is the chorus which is so melodic and sing-songey. It's kind of weird to imagine that ATDI wrote this song.

END, LOL.