Let's launch this blog's 14th year and Vista Blue's tenth year with one efficient post! Vista Blue is back with a brand-new single, and it's essentially a love letter to the underground music scene. I can't think of a more perfect way to kick off 2024. Vista Blue sometimes leans more pop-punk and other times leans more power pop, but the band finds the perfect blend of both styles on new single "Somebody's Favorite Band."
The concept behind "Somebody's Favorite Band" is simple: every band out there has to be at least one person's favorite band. There are hundreds of thousands of bands out there pouring their hearts and souls into what they do. 99.9% of them will never get rich or famous doing it. Yet they persist because they love it, and at least someone out there derives joy from their music. "Somebody's Favorite Band" tells the story of one imaginary band that never quite "made it" but surely brought happiness to at least one person. A reliable source tells me that the part about the forgotten bass drum is a true story! The virtual B-side here is "Make a Record" — which pokes fun at an online "critic" who likes to post negative reviews of indie bands. While the song isn't about a real person, I think we all know people like this fictional music reviewer. The idea of the song is that instead of passing judgment on other people's creations, this dude ought to start his own band and contribute something to the music scene he purports to care so deeply about. The payoff is that the people in the bands he rags on would most likely be super supportive if he released his own music. Now that's community! I must admit that the lines "You're like the Kerouac of critics/You're the Twain of telling us what's so rad" made me think of myself when I was young and pompous. This song does an excellent job of explaining why I quit being a "critic" a long time ago! Although I will say that the world was better off with me never having made a record.
Exclusive to the Bandcamp version of this release is a perfect bridge between "Somebody's Favorite Band" and "Make a Record" — a cover of The Queers' "Debra Jean" (which the band recorded for Little Lost Girl Media's upcoming Debra Jean compilation). Now Vista Blue is sometimes known for doing pop-punk versions of non pop-punk songs. But here they go the opposite direction and create an arrangement of a pop-punk classic that sounds nothing like pop-punk. I think this rendition of "Debra Jean" will surprise people in an entirely pleasant way. Vista Blue didn't just cover this song — they transformed it!
You know, I don't know if I actually have just one favorite band. It's probably more like four or five co-favorites. But Vista Blue is on that shortlist, and more than a few others would have them on theirs as well. Cheers to a decade of Vista Blue! Geaux Tigers!
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