For the last year i've been kind of obsessed with the band "...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of The Dead". The last band i liked this much was probably the Grifters or The Oblivions. That brings me to the reason that i like them so much, it's their perfect mix of smart and stupid.

there was a time when the indie rock movement completely intranced me. i loved the challenging riffs and the obtuse lyrics. the beauty and the intellegence just pulled me in. like all good things it eventually got dull. it just didn't rock.

one day i stumbled into garage rock. big dumb riffs and equally stupid lyrics were exactly the pallet cleanse i needed. it was time to shake my ass and throw my fist up. my new obsession would ofcourse leave me looking for something smart again.

taking their name from cormac mccarthy book "blood meridian" (at least i think), "trail of the dead" developed a considerable following with their over- the- top stage show. big dumb rock is what they presented; marshall stacks, monster riffs, and a tendency to destroy the entire stage. these sly texas devils pulled a fast one, though. mid song "the dead" would launch into lovely sonic excursions. they were the ones, the ones that could mixed the salty and the sweet.

as alway i'm a "johnny come lately." i'm about five years too late. it's no longer cool to like "trail of the dead', but i don't care. i'm spinning them right now.