Bettie Serveert...

Bettie Serveert is an indie rock band that, much like the Energizer bunny, just keeps going. They've been up and they've been down, they've had good records and mediocre ones, but no matter what you can't deny that they've stayed true to their sound and soldiered on. This year they released Bare Stripped Naked which is as the title implys a quiet acoustic affair that lets the songs sit front center with a special spotlight on the lush vocals of Carol van Dyk. Two of the songs are reworked versions of songs on earlier records and the rest is new material. It's an interesting context for these songs as I've always experienced Bettie Serveert as an upbeat rock band with plenty of attitude. Sure the songs have been melodic and Van Dyk's vocals make them pretty, but the songs always seemed closer to post punk in attitude than mainstream. Anyway, long story short is this: the record is very good, a different tone for a band that deserves a larger audience and has earned its right to play with their sound. The album also contains one of the best songs of the year. You'll like it and it should make you want to buy/download the record:

Hell = Other People

In what is becoming a regularity here at Bars & Guitars I'd like to give a huge shout out to Keith Olbermann who is quickly becoming the lone voice of reason, justice and straight talk in a country whose media failed the people long long ago. If you believe that Bill Clinton was wrong in his reaction to Chris Wallace's interview then I fear you are lost, lost to the fog, delusion, and heart stopping feats of ignominy that have so regularly been splashed across the face of our nation since this administration took power. I personally lay awake last night wondering why Clinton didn't go across the table for Wallace or glass him with his coffee mug. I would've thought it justified.