Saturday 29 December 2012

The Strypes

We live a fairly low-key life, I'll admit. We haven't owned a TV for 10 years. I rarely even buy a music magazine these days. But, hey...I don't live under a rock, so how comes I'm the last person on Earth to have heard The Strypes? I followed a link to this very performance in total ignorance just a couple of weeks ago and in very short order my chin was resting on the keyboard. I really thought I'd stumbled onto something unknown, but it seems that the whole world is talking about them. Where have I been?


The average age of this band is 15....15 fer flip's sake! But if you think they look young here, check-out their 2011 version of 'Taxman' elsewhere on YouTube, which makes them now look like grizzled old men by comparison. I realise theirs is probably a carefully calculated image, put together by someone with access to an excellent record collection (their parents...or grandparents?) and that there is a suspicion of a extra guitar being twanged behind the scenes somewhere, but I absolutely refuse to don my cynical hat. How exciting are The Strypes in this world of talentless X-Factor wannabes to which we've all  become accustomed?

It appears that, until recently, their set largely consisted of many of the same R&B covers that the Stones, Beatles, Who & Kinks cut their teeth on all those years ago, but now they've started writing their own stuff and if 'Blue Collar Jane' is anything to go by, they are no slouches.


When they become huge, as they surely will, The Strypes will no doubt drift off my radar and onto every bedroom wall in the country, and quite rightly so. For now though, it's enormous fun to hear these tunes bashed out as they should be - with youthful verve and abandon. I'll be back in 2017 to check out their psychedelic period.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

You're not the last - I've never heard of them. Happy new year!

Anonymous said...

OK, I've listened to these fellows now and it has to be said they are extremely competent but I don't quite get the *point* of it all, I'm afraid. Suddenly I feel the urge to play some early Stones, Yardbirds and a bit of Kinks. Nice tribute band and maybe they'll be really good when they find their own sound. Curmudgeon? Me? Rock on!

Old Pa's Corner said...

I must be living under the same stone never heard of 'em. Not sure really kind of cute I suppose. It will be interesting to see how they develop....no TV Mr S wow! so you never saw Andy Murray winning the U.S. open or the Corronation Street Special on Xmas day!!?

The Swede said...

I know what you mean SB, but I find it very heartening to hear 15 year-olds looking back this far for inspiration. If they manage to spread the love for some of the originals to others in their peer group, then it's good news for the survival of the music I'd say. I found Chuck, Bo, Wolf, Muddy etc via the bands you mentioned when I was in my teens and early 20's and with any luck The Strypes could be the start of a voyage of discovery for a few of today's teenagers.

Haven't seen Corrie for quite a few years OPC, how are Stan, Hilda, Elsie & Ena doing?

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