I pulled out Rock Band last night. I’ve been listening to Boston’s Foreplay/Long Time a lot over the past few days, and I suddenly had the urge to play along on some plastic video-game-controller-drums. One part premature nostalgia, and another part procrastination inspired me to dig up my old Rock Band disc, turn on my PS3, and proceed to hit 96% and get a 232-note streak on the expert difficulty level. Not a personal best or anything, but what can you expect from someone who hasn’t played in a couple of years?
I was scrolling through the song list, and heard a clip from my what was my favorite track on the game way back when…no, it wasn’t Bowie’s Suffragette City or The Stone’s Gimme Shelter. In a hilarious bit of foreshadowing, my most-played track was a post-game unlockable song by an indie rock band that I had never heard of. Honest Bob and the Factory-to-Dealer Incentives’ I Get By remains a favorite of mine to this day, but it’s taken me until now to listen to a full record by this band.
And that’s a shame, because Second and Eighteen is a great record.
With eighteen quirky tracks about being rear-ended, the Time Cube, Star Wars, boy geniuses, pollution, and everything in between, Honest Bob have the potential to be today’s They Might Be Giants. Two things need to happen first, though:
- TMBG need to retire. ASAP.
- Honest Bob needs to acquire a fan base of some sort.
Why this band remains virtually unknown is a mystery to me. This isn’t particularly inaccessible music, and it’s got a unique enough sound to cultivate an extremely dedicated and obsessive group of fans.
Their last record came out in 2008, so maybe getting some new music out there would help. They’re still playing shows, so we know they’re not dead. Maybe the fourth album will be the charm for these guys.
Swole Ear 
Like the linked tune. Somehow reminds me of the Lemonheads doing a Schoolhouse Rocks song. Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJIDKDPNT7s
This is well-executed liberal-arts-college rock. Does any other kind of band make references to Shakespeare in their songs? Does any other kind of band have a name like HBATFTDI? It seems great in college when you’re drinking keg beer and dancing with some girl, but as you get older it can’t help but seem LAME.