Squirrel Nut Zippers - Hot

Let's talk retro throwback gimmick bands. The 90s were a kind of crisis decade, and revivals became a marketable enterprise. Obviously we had the punk revival, but we also had real retro Rockabilly, Swing, and possiby weirdest of all, 30s Gypsy Jazz; the most notable band being Squirrel Nut Zippers.

Part of the reason we just let it slide is that we all kind of collectively nodded our heads and said "yeah this is an obvious manifestation of mainstream postmodern irony and we'll have a stroke in 2001 and move on." Go look up my review of the Strokes. Is Volbeat any different now? It's all Taco's Puttin' on the Ritz, right?

I bring it up because we stepped through the looking glass and we're fighting the Jabberwocky. We know these guys and gals take what they do seriously, even if everyone thinks it's silly. I don't think it's silly, i love Hot. The irony is that for a brief few minutes in the late 90s the Majors didn't know what to do so they just paid for it while we laughed.

Believe it or not, SNZ goes right on the list of bands who built their careers directly with their fans, like NOFX, Modest Mouse, etc. They took that brief moment of mainstream attention as a blip in their self made careers and kept right on going. Fun stuff.

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