“Don’t You Evah”
from the album Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
2007
iTunes
MP3 – “Don’t You Evah” (Live at SXSW)
He’s comfortable with the indie rock tag because his band “gets labeled that all the time.” Even so, Spoon leader Britt Daniel can’t explain what indie rock is.
“Indie rock has never meant anything that was easy to define,” says the singer/songwriter/guitarist. “I guess I object a little bit to that term being used as a ghetto term. You know, “This is a rock band that really isn’t doing it like a real major-label band. They’re indie rock.’ And I pick that sentiment up from mainstream press sometimes.
“I would never say to someone else, “Hey, let’s go see that indie rock band,’ ” he adds. “Or, “I want to start an indie rock band.’ It’s just a term — a term of commerce, but people use it as a genre.”
Since making one album for Elektra, 1998’s A Series of Sneaks, Spoon has recorded for a variety of independent labels — much like it did from 1994 (the year Daniel and drummer Jim Eno formed the band in Austin, Texas) until that Elektra release.
So, label-wise, Spoon is an indie rock band. What probably prompts the indie-rock-as-genre usage, though, is the difficulty in summarizing the band’s sound.
It most definitely is rock, with plenty of vocal hooks, sturdy guitars and steady drumbeats. But what separates Spoon from most of its contemporaries is that the band’s music is catchy yet spooky, sparse yet textured, with sharp lyrics and occasionally featuring such complementary instruments as vibes, strings, mellotron and harpsichord, among others.
In recent years, Spoon songs have been featured in TV shows and films, such as the NBC comedy “Scrubs” and the Will Ferrell movie Stranger Than Fiction. “I Turn My Camera On,” from the band’s 2005 CD Gimme Fiction, was featured in multiple TV shows as well as a Jaguar commercial.
Because a product was involved, Daniel says he gave more thought to the Jaguar opportunity than he would have for a TV or movie song placement.
“In the end, it doesn’t have anything to do with why the music was made,” he says. “It’s not like we’re living in mansions, and I think the people who actually know us and care — a lot of people just listen to music and don’t care one way or another about that kind of thing — will probably understand that the financial help is significant to us. It helps us keep doing what we do and be able to do it full-time.”
Prior to launching a spring tour, Spoon finished work on its new album, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, due July 10 via Merge Records. About 90 percent of it was recorded at Eno’s studio in Austin, the self-proclaimed “live music capital of the world” and home to the annual South by Southwest music conference/festival.
“It’s a great place to start a band, and it’s a great place to be in a band,” says Daniel, who now lives in Portland, Ore. “You can drive a car (around town). You don’t have to lug your equipment on a subway, and there are tons of places to play. So, that’s totally significant, and I’m glad we started the band there.”