Screw This Navel-Gazing Teenagers Crap - ScarJo Wants To Get Down!

(The Teenagers, "Starlett Johansson")



(Guess Who?)


Download: The Teenagers - "Starlett Johansson"
Download: The Teenagers - "Starlett Johansson (Blamma! Blamma! Scared of Spiders Mix)"


The buzz on the interweb is aflutter with the sounds and sights of The Teenagers, specifically because of their song, "Starlett Johansson", and the video for it, which emulates (to a degree) the famous opening shot of Lost In Translation.

Here we go again, kids: this is a massively overhyped band and song. I get why this song is popular amongst bloggers, though. Chuck Klosterman once made the remark that indie-rock was comprised of 100,000 Charlie Browns. If that's the case, then a song like this will become the hipster equivalent of the national anthem.

Which would be a shame, because the song is very, very generic. The vocals at the start of the track sound like Klaus from The Life Aquatic started experimenting with overdubs alongside his mumbling, narcoleptic cousin-in-law (Dun’t get be-hind da beet, sonnie!). Once the chorus kicks in, Mumbles McGhee then gets the idea that singing might be a good idea, but the singer over-estimates his range and, as a result, the notes in the higher range are anemic.

The song, overall, sounds like a bad "Saturday Night Live" parody, with a sub-Weezer guitar riff and a chorus that desperately wants to be “Ageless Beauty”, but simply is not. The lyrics of the song are annoyingly self-deprecating and overtly referential (though I did like the nod to Eight-Legged Freaks).

Anywho, do you think ScarJo would stand for any of this navel-gazing crap? No! She's young. She's hip, she's fresh, she's Noah's Arcade. Sista just wants to get her groove thing on, not listen to Saddoes The Clown mope around. This is purely speculation, but I would imagine that SJ has enjoyed a sick, syncopated bassline from time to time. Ergo, I humbly submit this alternative for the unrequited-loving hipster nation: Chicago Post-Punk Trio The Jai-Alai Savant’s “Scarlett Johansson, Why Don’t You Love Me?”

I wrote about The Jai-Alai Savant back in April and May, respectively. Needless to say, a lot more people read this blog now than they did then. I’m writing about them again because they have an energetic, highly intense live show and because the album they put out back in April, Flight Of The Bass Delegate, will certainly be one of my favorite local (Chicago) records of 2007.

But back to the song in question. The Jai-Alai Savant combine the melodicism and mainlined reggae of The Police with the righteous fury of The Clash and "Scarlett Johansson, Why Don't You Love Me?" has got both of those in spades. Check out the grooves and the clean, Andy Summers-style staccato guitar strikes that begin the song. I can imagine that Ms. Johansson would appreciate a song with a greater variety of rhythms, rather than a track that's the current flavor (but then, how the holy hell would I know).

Check out "Scarlett Johansson, Why Don't You Love Me?" (desperate title, but stay with me) below, plus two others from Flight Of The Bass Delegate:

Download: The Jai-Alai Savant - "Scarlett Johansson, Why Don't You Love Me?"
Download: The Jai-Alai Savant - "White On White Crime"
Download: The Jai-Alai Savant - "Akebono"


The Teenagers MySpace
The Jai-Alai Savant MySpace

(Jonathan Graef)

The Jai-Alai Savant - Flight of the Bass Delegate

The Jai-Alai Savant
Flight of the Bass Delegate (Gold Standard Labora)
Grade: A-

Download: The Jai-Alai Savant- "White On White Crime"
Download: The Jai-Alai Savant- "When I Grow Up"
Download: The Jai-Alai Savant- "Akebono"

I know that I've already written about these guys before, but I just picked up this record last wee and I've listened the shit out of it ever since. Flight of The Bass Deligate is a party record that just may unite nerds and rastas alike. It's an incredibly good and melodic record.

Basically, The Jai-Alai Savant are pumped-up, post-punk version of The Police but updated for the 21st century. The Jai-Alai Savant have a stronger emphasis on the rock and reggae aspects of their music, and are also without a singer who isn't constantly enamored with himself. "Scarlett Johannson, Why Don't You Love Me?" smartly recycles the staccato guitar riffs of Andy Summers, while other tracks like "Akebono" and "Sugar Free" feature the kind of bass lines that should make dub fans salivate.

Every song on here has an insane amount of groove to make you unleash your inner private dancer and the melodies are strong enough to the point that they will stay in your head for ages. Seriously, this is the record that you put on while you are having your friends over and grilling veggie burgers. It's the summer record for hipster BBQ's.

The record's first proper song, "Arcane Theories," has the kind of harmonizing that The Police were known for, but the rhythm section is more pounding and the guitar more fuzzy. The record kicks off on an amazing high and keeps on going, through the self-deprecating "Scarlett," the movie-sample heavy "The Low Frequent See" (the quotes I recognized were from Enter The Dragon and the old radio show "The Shadow") and the soundscape-laden and bass-driven "Transmissions From The Dub Delegate."

This record is just one solid highlight after another. It very well be the most enjoyable record from a Chicago band I've heard this year. It's certainly the album that will get the most play when the guests I'm hosting demand to hear something funky and exciting that they can get down to.

(Jonathan Graef)

Chicago F'in Rocks: The Jai-Alai Savant

Download: The Jai-Alai Savant - "Scarlet Johansson, Why Don't You Love Me?"

I saw The Jai-Alai Savant (pronounced hi-a-lie- sa-vant) open for Art Brut at Chicago's Subterrenean club this past weekend, and the Savant were totally rockin'. Like their fellow Chicago compatriots The Eternals, The Jai-Alai Savant take the bass-heavy sounds of dub reggae and filter it through post-punk. Essentially, The Jai-Alai Savant sound like a dance-punk version of The Police.

Their performance on Saturday was energetic and charismatic, with just the right blend of confidence and self-deprecation. Everyone looked good on the dancefloor, and The Jai-Alai Savant were more than happy to supply the tunes for the party. Special shout-out goes to bassist Nash Snyder for laying down some particularly sick bass lines.

If you go to the band's MySpace Page, you can stream other songs from their brand-new album Flight of the Bass Delegate , including the single "White on White Crime." Stream the rest of the album here, through the band's webpage.

And, apropos of the song posted in this entry, here is a picture of the lovely Ms. Johannson herself:



Why don't you love us indeed...

(Jonathan Graef)