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So I think I'm done with "We Love the Beach Boys", so I'm moving on to the quintessential "under-appreciated but influential" band, the Velvet Underground. I'm not sure how many entries this series will have - I can think of a handful of bands that love to rip off VU, but I may end up cutting it off after that. I decided to start with a less-obvious one to make it a little more interesting. I'll talk about Yo La Tengo, the Modern Lovers, and the Jesus & Mary Chain later on.
One of the first things I remember hearing about the Owls was that their music had a heavy Velvet Underground influence. I checked out a couple of their songs online - I didn't hear the influence, to be honest, but I was into the Magic Marker Records scene at the time, and the songs were pretty catchy, so I got the album (2007's Daughters and Suns). It was only after I got the record that I realized that Allison LaBonne, the group's lead singer, was the woman from the Jim Ruiz Group (who I loved!) Also in the group was Brian Tighe of the Hang-Ups, and "Channel" is one of his songs. Listening to the album for the first time, I was thrown off a little by the mix of styles and sharing of songwriting and vocal duties, but when "Channel" came on at the end, I said, "There it is!"
"Channel" sounds a lot like VU's "Some Kinda Love" from the Velvet Underground album - the intro and first verse are especially VU-esque, with a chugging organ-and-guitar riff and a Lou-Reed vocal from Brian Tighe. As the additional vocal parts come in on the chorus, the song sounds less and less like a straight-up VU pastiche, and the harmonies are absolutely lovely. "Channel" is an odd choice for an album's closing track, but it was worth it for the delayed gratification of understanding why I was hearing that the Owls had a heavy Velvet Underground influence.
"Channel" by the Owls
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