Mixtape Muse: MUSINGS: Japandroids & The Debate Over Technical Ability and Emotional Delivery

The blogosphere seems to be on fire since Monday night following Japandroids' performance of "Wet Hair" (from 2009's critically-acclaimed Post-Nothing) on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. I came across points discussing the band's technical abilities on their instruments and the band's emotional delivery. People said they "sucked" while others said they "rocked." Of course opinions can differ. But as Rob Gordon said in High Fidelity, how can it be wrong to state an opinion?

For example, I just saw that new pop star Ke$ha perform her breakout hit "Tik Tok" on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien. I think that the song is pretty terrible -- an epitome of the cheap, lifeless pop music that most people take down like coffee in the morning -- and this performance just affirmed my thoughts on the song. There's trying too hard and then there's just too much. I'll admit it does take a modicum of talent to write a song, but that doesn't mean it's good. Ke$ha is most likely the first descendant of the Lady Gaga-style pop music, but I can honestly say that Lady Gaga -- however cloying/annoying she might get -- is a real performer and can really pound it out on the piano. Of course, this is just my opinion so you take it as you wish.

This brings me back to Japandroids. Those making a case against Japandroids have said that the band has essentially zero technical ability, making music that a 12-year old is capable of. The fierce strumming and punk-like energy of guitarist Brian King's guitar playing is never clean cut, nor does it attempt to be, because King never really aims to blow you away with his proficiency on guitar -- that's not what this band is about anyway. With drummer David Prowse's heavy-hitting, King's playing becomes something more. I'm not saying Japandroids are something spectacular or groundbreaking, but they certainly don't suck.

Prowse and King together under the name Japandroids form a unified front with the emotional delivery of their early 90s-flavored, garage rock-meets-noise pop sound. You can tell that both guys are genuinely enjoying themselves as they are clearly incredibly passionate on stage. Sure, the lyrics and vocal hook of "Wet Hair" rely on only three lines throughout the 3-minute plus song, but it's catchy nevertheless and they just go for it. It's endearing if only for the fact that they make you believe in what they're doing. Maybe Ke$ha is really going for it, too, but what separates Japandroids and Ke$ha is the former's genuineness and integrity.

A quote from guitarist Brian King in 2009 interview with "Death + Taxes" magazine says it best:

"I suspect that we will quit long before we become a shadow of our former selves. People often describe our band as very earnest. There's no bullshit, it's just two guys who love to play music getting up there to rock and singing about the things that they know. As long as the band can continue to do that, then we'll keep doing it. But the second that we can't do it, then I'm fucking done. Because I don't believe in anything but that. I want to make sure that every time we make a record and play a show, that we exist in the most pure, real and passionate way possible....We'll sacrifice the band long before we become a part of the machine."*

Check out the performance in question below.

Japandroids 2010 Tour Dates:

1/23 Hanover, DE - Cafe Glocksee
1/25 Vienna, AT - Arena #
1/26 Krarkow, PL - RE
1/27 Warsaw, PL - Jadlodajnia
1/28 Poznan, PL - Eskulap
1/30 MSPRKT, RU - Aktzal
2/2 Aarhus, DK - Musikcafeen
2/3 Copenhagen, DNK - Loppen
2/4 Lund, SWE - Mejeriet
2/5 Oslo, NOR - Blaa
2/6 Stockholm, SWE - Debaser Slussen
2/8 Cologne, DEU - Luxor
2/9 Hamburg, DEU - Molotow
2/10 Berlin, DEU - Bang Bang Club
2/11 Munich, DEU - 59TO1
2/12 Offenbach, DEU - Hafen 2
2/13 Munster, DEU - Gleis 22
2/15 Paris, FRA - Le Point Ephemere
2/16 Amsterdam, NLD - Paradiso
2/17 Nijmegen, NLD - Merleyn
2/18 Leuven, BEL - Stuk
2/19 Diksmuide, BEL - 4AD
2/20 Lille, FRA - La Peniche
2/22 Brighton, UK - The Freebutt
2/23 London, UK - ICA
2/24 Leeds, UK - Cockpit 3
2/25 Manchester, UK - Deaf Institute
2/26 Glasgow, UK - King Tuts
2/27 Liverpool, UK - Korova
3/17 Austin, TX - SXSW
3/18 Austin, TX - SXSW
3/19 Austin, TX - SXSW
3/20 Austin, TX - SXSW
3/21 Austin, TX - SXSW
3/24 Oxford, MS - Proud Larry's *
3/25 Birmingham, AL - Bottle Tree *
3/26 Nashville, TN - The End *
3/27 Charlotte, NC - Snug Harbor *
3/29 Washington, DC - Rock and Roll Hotel **
3/30 Philadelphia, PA - The Barbary **
3/31 Boston, MA - Middle East **
4/1 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
4/2 Montreal, QC - Il Motore **
4/3 Toronto, ON - Horseshoe Tavern **
4/5 Ann Arbor, MI - Blind Pig ^
4/6 Cleveland, OH - Grog Shop
4/7 Champaign, IL - High Dive
4/8 Indianapolis, IN - Radio Radio
4/9 Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall
4/10 Minneapolis, MN - 7th Street Entry
4/12 Columbia, MO - Mojo's
4/13 Lawrence, KS - Bottleneck
4/15 Las Vegas, NV - Beauty Bar
4/19 Phoenix, AZ - Trunk Space
4/21 San Diego, CA - Casbah
4/22 Los Angeles, CA - Echoplex
4/23 San Francisco, CA - Independent
4/24 Salem, OR - Willamatte University

# w/The Big Pink
* w/A Sunny Day in Glasgow
** w/Love is All
^ w/Bear in Heaven