You’ve got to love a band that, even after twenty-five years of dealing with the absurdities and realities in the music business, still know how to stick it to the man like they were still in college. Santa Cruz’s Camper Van Beethoven, of the self-described “surrealist absurdist folk,” wanted five songs from its major label days for its new greatest hits collection, “Popular Songs of Great Enduring Strength and Beauty.” Virgin Records said no, so the band reclaimed its music by re-recording them as faithfully as possible, effectively telling Virgin to go to hell. The collection displays just how underrated this punk/folk/country act was even in its heyday, as song after song sounds at least ten years before its time, with lead singer David Lowery mirroring Jawbreaker/Jets to Brazil frontman Blake Schwarzenbach’s vocals, sans the cigarettes and continually coming off as a precursor for the entire alt-rock scene that was about to explode. (Andy Seifert)
November 21-22 at Abbey Pub, 3420 W. Grace, (773)478-4408.Â
Brutal Finesse: A Preview of King Crimson at Ravinia There have been few new compositions from King Crimson these past two decades, but the live arrangements of songs from its catalog are often strikingly different than the recorded versions.
