A game that one particularly cinematic regiment of highway patrolmen play with a character portrayed by one half of the pasty Pale Force, Jim Gaffigan, involves the presiding trooper substituting ever so subtly the word "meow" for "now" and competing against time to do it a predestined number of times. Mr. Gaffigan, for all of his alertness, of course catches on to this masquerade and begins questioning the officer about what he hears as a slip of the tongue - a comical one that makes him giggle so. It"s dorm room humor - toilet humor - and it"s extremely cutsey, despite the witty effort.
Brooklyn"s Meowskers are here to take back the pride of the meow, offering a glittering strain of confetti that freezes upon impact with the air, study enough to be used as a sidewalk and yet scarily menacing enough to never be touched by a living soul. The songs on its debut EP Fake Orange are packed with moments of both lyrical incisiveness and tonal musicality that could silence a person - depicting a world that is larger and smaller than it truly should seem. It"s about immensity in scope and it"s about minute details that bite us in the ass more times than we count. It shines a light on hypocrisy and in how sometimes it"s easy to forget to live the good life - perhaps one that"s available to everyone whether it"s seen or believed.
It"s almost fitting that one of the songs included in this session was used in a video spot for last week"s MTV Video Music Awards broadcast, which involved all of the high-ticket items that the station peddles to unsuspecting high schoolers and younger. There were racks and helicopters, etc. It was associated with Las Vegas - where more bullshit goes down per capita than most places - and a now infamously horrifying Britney Spears comeback performance that has been unanimously panned by everyone with eyes and working brains. But there it was, an example of what some of the Meowskers content is all about. The horrors of the world are walking amongst us and going nowhere people. You cannot pull the plug on Spears trying and trying again to right the runaway train hurtling like a suicide down a broken rail.
When lead singer Matt Rudnicki sings, with clarity and force on "Colors That Lie!", "You don"t know what you like!" he could be singing directly into her ears, or ours. We like burning planes for some reason. We like the stumbling drunks. We like the faux pas and the mistake-addled clutter of everything. Meowskers present some of these very issues in a way that allows them to live as big as those songs that the Flaming Lips made about Yoshimi and pink robots or The Who made about pinball wizards.
Official Meowskers note about the song descriptions: Meowskers' vocalist / keyboardist Matt, "I'm way too drunk right now at my oldest friend's wedding on the French Riviera" Rudnicki, could not be reached for comment. We hope to see you soon, Matt. Stay cool and tough, young and in charge. And get home safe.