(SOOOO 90s)
I can’t really say what it is about the Lemonheads that gets me off. Maybe it’s Evan Dando‘s voice: sweeter than a flower’s nectar. Maybe it’s the drug-influenced lyrics he spouts out. Or maybe it’s all the crazy experiences i’ve had while listening to the Lemonheads. Whatever it is, i’m obsessed. The songs are perfect poppies.
“Rudderless” has an addictive beat, and a chorus that plays into addiction perfectly.
“A ship without a rudders like a ship without a rudders like a ship without a rudder!”
So what does that mean exactly? That the ship, or the man, or the subject in question is without direction? Uncontrollable? COOL!
This version is from a live radio broadcast, recorded in 1994 at Grant Park in Chicago. (Where Barack Obama gave his victory speech). Whole set available here.
The Lemonheads have a new album coming out on June 23 called “Varshons.”
The Lemonheads: Rudderless
Click on the above link.
The Lemonheads: Rudderless
Microphone Memory Emotion 
3 comments
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April 28, 2009 at 9:44 pm
Matt
I did the total happy dance when I saw the Cleveland date come over from our local promoter!
Can’t wait.
April 28, 2009 at 10:21 pm
jeffrey patsayjack
“ship without a rudder etc…” was pointed out to me by Bill Bennett as possibly being a Henry Miller reference (of course, BB stated it as FACT). I just performed a google search, and apparently Miller uses the phrase in at least two instances:
from SEXUS: “Gazing vacantly at the opposite shore my thoughts drifted ceaselessly, like a ship without a rudder.”
from TROPIC OF CANCER: “They cut the umbilical cord, give you a slap on the ass, and presto! you’re out in the world, adrift, a ship without a rudder.
Without a direct correlation between Miller and Dando’s work, it’s still no surprise that dando would identify with a boundary pusher whose work at the time it was published in Europe, was viewed as obscene in the US.
It’s not the only case of Dando borrowing, referencing or modeling himself with artists or artistic movements whose respective historical contexts made them outsiders in their own culture, only to be embraced, for better or worse, as icons.
i.e.: Gram Parsons, Charles Manson, Punk Rock in general…. and apparently, Henry Miller.
April 28, 2009 at 10:26 pm
fiercetalk
wow! thanks for looking all that up, sayjack, and increasing the complexity of this convo. who knew evan was such a literary enthusiast! and here i thought it was just a bunch of drug referencing.
bill bennett is smart.