Tom May’s listening booth (photo: Kate Schimelfenig)
We asked Tom May, guitarist/vocalist for The Menzingers, to review eight mystery songs from our music stash. Here’s what the diminutive jokester had to say about the songs that graced and befell him.
SONG #1
May: Alright, I can get down with this. I’m immediately reverted back to high school where we would each throw in five bucks, get a gram of weed from our Juggalo friends in North Scranton, which we later found out was laced with PCP for a good couple of months there, but that’s another story, and then drive around smoking a blunt listening to ska and reggae. Then going to bed and getting up for school, all to repeat the same thing the next day. But yeah, the song… is this the Mad Caddies? It’s gotta be the Mad Caddies.
The reveal: Mad Caddies - “Shoot out the Lights” from Dirty Rice (Fat Wreck Chords)
May: I knew it! Our dear beloved best friend and sound engineer #DaveMarchAudio EQs the PA at venues with a few songs. One of the songs is a favourite of mine by Mad Caddies called “Drinking for 11.”
SONG #2
May: Love that guitar tone. Calm yet desperate vocals. Shit, this song is wonderful. Is this a Tumblr band? They sound like a drexel band. I could definitely get into this. It’s got modern production. It reminds me of a vein of music that all of my friends who started indie bands would love. They sound like one of those bands that would do reunion shows in major cities and it would be a really big deal, then they would put out a record and fuck it up. Not to talk shit on the band. This is pretty awesome and I would love to get into them.
The reveal: Prawn - “Glass, Irony” from Kingfisher (Topshelf Records)
May: I’ve never heard them. This is good though; I’ll definitely give this record a listen.
SONG #3
May: MY BOYS. God I love The Front Bottoms. This EP is incredible. The Front Bottoms toured with us in Europe and it was one of the best experiences of my life. I absolutely adore them as people as much as I adore their music. I’ve been a sucker for a good shuffle or a slick dance beat for my entire life. Brian’s comfortably uncomfortable approach to storytelling and painting scenes makes me feel something. I’m never sure what it is. It’s all just so slick in the coolest way possible. Love it.
The reveal: The Front Bottoms - “Flying Model Rockets” from Rose EP (Bar/None Records)
May: Again, incredible band, incredible guys.
SONG #4
May: I could dig the garage-y Ramones vibe. It’s rock and roll. This song reminds me of Deer Tick. They have a song called “Lets All Go to the Bar” or something like that and it’s one of my favourite songs of all time. This is cool. There’s always something to be said when the singer’s perception in a song is that of a dick. You got your standard rock buildup there. This reminds me a lot of what all of my friends’ side projects sound like. Drink beer and rock.
The reveal: Spider Bags - “Summer of ’79” from Frozen Letter (Merge Records)
May: Never heard them.
SONG #5
May: I hate this voice. While I’ve been known to indulge in awesome synth pop and goth music quite frequently, I don’t think this is my bag. The synth in the beat is cool. That fucking screeching about making someone his partner in space or whatever needs to stop. These things always have lame themes. “We can never come back, I think I was meant to be next to you.” Homie THINKS, he doesn’t even know, if he was meant to be next to you, and you’re going to go to fucking space with him and never come back? Nope. Someone should shoot his ass into space for real so he can “never come back to earth.” Whatever though. It’s music. Who cares.
The reveal: Steve Aoki featuring Fall Out Boy - “Back to Earth” from Neon Future (Ultra Music)
May: I suppose this makes sense considering the high level of suck contained within that couple of hundred seconds of dog shit.
SONG #6
May: I’m not familiar with this song, but I know it has to be Sundowner. The guys from The Lawrence Arms have been so cool to us over the years. They are one of our collective favourite bands and they believed in us and got Toby [Jeg] to sign us to [punk label] Red Scare Industries. When we recorded with Matt Allison they would show up and just hang out. They’re a great group of people to sit around and talk shit with. [The Menzingers vocalist/guitarist] Greg [Barnett] and I played an acoustic show with Sundowner a few months back. It was a blast.
The reveal: Sundowner - “Cemetery West” from Little Elephant Sessions (Fat Wreck Chords)
May: I should listen to more Sundowner.
SONG #7
May: At first it kind of sounds like a commercial for expensive jeans. Now it sounds like a song that would be on in a bar in London when I should definitely go home for the night. The bass line and sound is fantastic. It’s so fat. I suppose I could get into this band. It’s good. I could see it becoming annoying very quickly. Or maybe the opposite.
The reveal: The Black Keys - “Fever” from Turn Blue (Nonesuch Records)
May: This is one of those bands that I know are wildly popular and respected by friends of mine with taste that I trust, but I just have no idea what they sound like, nor do I care for whatever reason. Punk points? They’re popular for a reason, I suppose! I’ll have to check them out.
SONG #8
May: Is this Sleigh Bells? If an obnoxious buzzsaw comes in, then it’s Sleigh Bells. Okay, definitely not Sleigh Bells. Okay, female, English, pop with that newer, more popular, almost indie spillover bullshit, Katy Perry name drop… “Give me that crown, bitch, I want to be Jesus.” I’m pretty sure she just said that. Cool. “We all get periods, every month yo, it’s mother nature.” Is that empowering? Maybe. Either way, this is definitely somebody that I could get into and would be a 50/50 chance of pissing everyone off in the van. I’m really interested in hearing more from this artist.
The reveal: Lily Allen - “Sheezus” from Sheezus (Parlophone Records)
May: Isn’t Joe Strummer her godfather? That makes her royalty. I’ll have to admit that I’ve never listened to her before. I’m going to go and listen to this record right now.
The Menzingers‘ Rented World is out now on Epitaph Records.
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