Silversun Pickups - Pikul

The conversation started like this: "Dude, you gave that chick a ride home? Are you fuckin' crazy?"

It was in reference to a weird night out that within 36 hours tied directly to another weird day out, but the poor asshole in the middle had no idea what was going on.

I think it was like two weeks ago and it was a Friday or Saturday. I had sat at home and played some Half-Life 2 on Xbox and needed some type of social interaction so I went to the bar. It's what I do. I used to feel bad about it, but lately I've been thinking and I'm really accountable to no one. Not even a fuckin' plant or my mom. I can theoretically do whatever the fuck I want. If I wanted to put on a robe and lay on the floor and just put a scoop of chocolate ice cream on my chest and watch it melt...I could do it.

Anyway, I bumped into, or rather he bumped into me, the guy who plays trumpet in my passive aggressive band. Seriously, the music is painful to listen to and even more painful to play. Anyway, he was with his little sister and her friend and I'm gross so I sat and talked with them over a couple of pitchers. I went to the bar to buy the second pitcher and an extremely hot, probably 22 to 24 year old walked up to me and said "Hey. You're that guy, aren't you?" I just replied "Probably." I told her that I would come back and hang out with her when I was done with my friends.

About a half hour later I sat next to her at the bar. Conversation started normal. Man, she must have been on E or something because she got all close talkey and said "I want to kiss you, but you smoke." I said "Then don't kiss me." I'm seriously not a huge fan of PDAs at all.

She went for it anyway and I'm a sucker for super hot chicks. Yeah, my bad. The night plays out like that and I end up giving her a ride home. She got so wasted that she could barely tell me where she lived and had hiccups. I pulled over at a 7-11 and got her some water while three cop cars and six cops were in the parking lot. I believe the term is "Brazen." So, I get closer to figuring out where she lives and realize that there is no way that a girl that young owns a house in the neighborhood that I'm in. That means that I'm giving a chick a ride to her parent's house. This is the point that you just hope that she's 18, at least.

Anyway, I get her home and touch nothing below the neck because I'm a boy scout at heart and relatively sober.

The next morning I woke up in a sweat because my subconscious had gone back and retrieved the reason I was "that guy." She actually had something behind that when she said it. During a bout of day drinking with soccer friends. She came up and hung out with us. About an hour into it, this old fucker and this lady walked into the same bar and started yelling at her while we were "protecting?" her. It was her dad and like a coworker or something. It was straight out of intervention and I hadn't really made a note of it. If her dad would have seen me drop her off that night, I'm pretty sure I would've been attacked.

I would just like to iterate here that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. A good intention is going to be the death of me, I assure you.

So, in 2005 Silversun Pickups put out an EP called Pikul and no one told me. I think it was Lazy Eye or Checkered Floor that first caught my attention when KEXP played it. Over the last couple of weeks, KEXP has played a couple of songs off Pikul and they were pretty tight so I actually bought the album from Amazon's non-DRM service. I encourage it. It works well and you can do whatever you want with the download.

So, the album is solid. The first song "Kissing Families" sounds like a rough draft from Carnavas. Future Foe Scenarios in particular. Nikki Monninger gets her swerve on all over this EP. God, since Darcy Wretsky and her replacement Ginger Reyes in Smashing Pumpkins, there is nothing hotter than a chick playing bass and singing in high heeled boots. Okay, one thing: A chick in a bikini and heels, but that's my own issue. Oh, also Erin Grey in Buck Rogers. That never gets old. So, yes, the first song on the EP is standard Silversun Pickups music. Great guitar tones and a chick singing backup. I care for it.

The second song is "Comeback Kid." I'm sold. These guys are great and I'm a little pissed that no one gave me this album in 2005. This hipster is aging. It just brings the point home that there are probably 25 bands out there that I would love, but I will never hear because the music business is fucked. The bass line in this song is awesome. It almost sounds Radioheadish for the first minute.

Next is "Booksmart Devil." Slower than the others, this song just kind of grooves like a Pixies song until that awesome fuzz guitar kicks in. These guys are most likely better than you.

Oh, sweet. A song called "The Fuzz." The intro's dope and a bass line that Spoon would be jealous of. I'd like to confirm that they are better than you and they have been since 2005. I feel guilty now for not knowing.

"Creation Lake" is the next song. Nikki sings the lead. Hot. She doesn't look super hot, but I've slept with a chick for having leather pants on, so who knows. That was a long time ago, might I add, and I was dating a chick that had Darth Vader's haircut.

"All The Go Betweens" has a totally Perfect Circle intro. The drums are tracked super raw. I like it.

And finally "Sci Fi Lullaby" closes the album. Mellow. Good way to wrap it up. Silversun Pickups use some cool effects effectively. You should own this EP. If not, go back to your Josh Groban DVD and call it a day.

I needed to append the post and add that Future Foe Scenarios is a fuckin' retardedly good song. Check the lyrics. They're fucking brilliant. This lyric stream is awesome "and there's no way to know/our future foe scenarios/that's when it turned on me/where bobby pins hold angel wings." I had never actually listened to the words because I was dissecting the arrangement the whole time. It's good stuff.