If a band like Fountains of Wayne can get the mass media limelight, it’s a mystery why Caviar can’t get a friendly beam or two. Perhaps it’s because the narrow tastes of radio and video programmers can only handle one (maybe two) acts that write clever and witty songs in any 12-month period.
At least half of Caviar has been battling to be heard for well over a decade now: Blake Smith (vocals/guitar) and Mike Willison’s (bass) previous band Fig Dish mined the same wry guitar-pop vein with two albums for A&M in the 1990s. Caviar’s self-titled debut (Island) got a nice bump from the scathing single “Tangerine Speedo,” the standout cut on the “Charlie’s Angels” soundtrack. But after another round of record label entanglements–something that also plagued Fig Dish–Caviar was a free agent again, playing the waiting game with an album’s worth of songs already recorded.
“The Thin Mercury Sound,” out last month on nascent indie label Aezra Records, is another batch of irrepressibly hooky songs that never takes itself too seriously. (The album title is a glib quote from a mid-’60s Bob Dylan interview.) We talked to Smith on the eve of the new record’s release and one of many Caviar visits to their biggest Chicago fan: Mancow.
How did Caviar get so chummy with Mancow?
Everybody thinks that he’s the guy that he is on the air, and he’s really not. He has really good taste in music despite the crud they have to play on that show because of his following. He’s a really nice guy, and he likes the band.
As Frank Zappa once asked: Does humor belong in music?
There’s a certain line that you cross–and I’m not talking the Weird Al [Yankovic] line where it gets into novelty. Humor does belong in music but it has to be done with an extremely deft touch. Like The Smiths; I think they were incredibly funny–intentionally so. The Flaming Lips and Beck are funny. I think if you do it right, it can be used effectively.
Why can’t bands that make clever music get played on the radio?
The media underestimates the intelligence of the American public. If you’re getting Linkin Park crammed down your throat 4,000 times a day, pretty soon you’re like, “It’s pretty lame, but you gotta admit, it’s kinda catchy.” It seems to be getting worse every year. And look what’s happening: Radio ratings are going down, people are turning to satellite radio and to the Internet because you just have more choice.
You’re a man with a finger on the cultural pulse–got an iPod?
Of course I have an iPod. I have a 40 gig one–[with] about 6,000 songs on it. I basically want to have sex with my iPod. If my penis was made out of Fire Wire, that’s what I’d do. It changes the way you listen to music. It’s genius.
What’s getting the most spins these days?
This band from France called Colder. It’s like New Order meets Gang of Four meets French disco.
Caviar
When: 8:45 p.m. Saturday
Where: Q101 Block Party, 1515 N. Halsted St.
Tickets: $10-$15
