Mooney Tunes

By chicago_chris in Arts & Entertainment on Jul 7, 2004 6:34PM

Dave Chamberlain, music critic for NewCity, can be a rather cantankerous fellow. But when he gets excited about something, boy, does he gets excited. (Something Chicagoist sees as the mark of any good critic.) Case in point, his Tip of the Week, playing tonight at Metro with the Suicide Girls Burlesque Show, is The Mooney Suzuki.

Now, Chicagoist isn't going to lie – we would never do that to you – but we've been a little suspicious of the Moonies of late. After establishing indie cred with a promising small record, some solid performances, and work with Richard Linklater on School of Rock, these guys opted to move to a major label and team up with the Matrix on their next record. No, they're not collaborating with not the reality-distorting computer program, but the producers who've created the career of Avril Lavigne and destroyed the respectability of our once beloved local icon Liz Phair. Needless to say, we're a little bit worried.

But apparently we shouldn't be – based on what Chamberlain has to say, at least. Of their new album "Alive and Amplified," he writes it "confirms what a great many of us already suspected: these guys are the greatest rock 'n' roll band in the business." Uh-huh. He gushes further, "Most of this would fall into cliché land were it not for the lifeblood of the songs, a pulsing slamming jamming throbbing and absolutely rocking flow to every track that threatens to re-introduce uncontrollable dancing into rock 'n' roll. Go ahead and let the shoegazers gaze, the indie-rockers think, the metal-heads bang and the kiddie-punks do whatever it is they do nowadays--the soul of rock 'n' roll lives in The Mooney Suzuki."

As much as Chicagoist likes to gaze, think, head-bang, and do whatever with our music, this sounds like an offer we can't refuse. After all, their new album does have song titles like "Messin' in the Dressin' Room" and "Shake That Bush Again." So thanks for the tip, Dave, and we hope you're right.