BUNK - a rock video for Nardwuar + the Evaporators

February 14, 2013 10:10 PM

BUNK - a rock video for Nardwuar + the Evaporators ... mefi projects meets the awesomeness of narduar This mefi project (music video) [via mefi projects] brought back fond memories of the bizarreness of Narduar, UBC's CITR radio icon, and interviewer of everyone from world leaders to punk rockers (always with the quirkiest questions) ... previously) and also previously.
posted by chapps (11 comments total)

My Nardwuar Google Alert just went off. What are we talking about?
posted by i_have_a_computer at 10:14 PM on February 14, 2013 [1 favorite]

I haven't actually got into Narduar, since I don't have much of a sense of humor. But The Evaporators sound like the Ramones, and that is awesome, because not enough bands ound like the Ramones.
posted by Charlemagne In Sweatpants at 10:18 PM on February 14, 2013 [1 favorite]

Need to fix that tag, mods.

Man...Nardwuar has come in for a little MeFi love lately, and why not? He is a national treasure and, as Leonard Cohen once said about himself "world famous in his own country!"
posted by salishsea at 11:06 PM on February 14, 2013

OK... this is sort of a sore subject for me because The Evaporators were one of my most favourite bands for a very long time. Seeing this video and listening to their new album makes me really long for 1999 or so. I mean, I really like the video for "Bunk", but it's no "Mercury Outboards".

I mean how can you not get "I'm Going To France", "Welcome to My Castle", or "I've Got A Rash" stuck in your head for days. When I finally saw them play live in 2001, it was really a case of meeting my heroes. Nardwuar is really an awesome person, but sitting between John Collins and Dave Carswell while eating dinner was surreal. (That was JC/DC Studios! They were in the Smugglers!) It was also a thrill to see The Goblins finally.

I remember when the 45 for "I Don't Need My Friends To Tell Me Who My Friends Are" came out, I played it to death in my room. So much so that my roommate would start shrieking at me and stomping out, but I didn't care because it's such a great song.

After Ripple Rock though (which I have the 8track for!)... I don't know if I changed or what, but their newer stuff just makes me long for the good old days. I think some of this has to do with Nardwuar's stock rising and the band getting more mainstream attention, but I get the sense their songs are just a formula now. It doesn't help that Dave Carswell, one of my all time favourite song writers, is no longer in the band.

So yeah... I guess I'm just old. But only slightly older than this video of the Evaporators playing a CITR show at UBC in 1987.

I'll go get maudlin with my record collection.
posted by kendrak at 11:48 PM on February 14, 2013 [4 favorites]

but I get the sense their songs are just a formula now.

Nardwuar wrote Bunk with Stephen Hamm, the current bass player, who is a reasonably new recruit to the outfit, so I hardly think of it as formula -- just a reflection of the guy's undying love for all things garage, punk and full of sweat. But yeah, Nardwuar is always going to be Nardwuar, so familiarity is likely to take some of the edge off things over time. Which for some is a good thing, I think, as what was initially an extreme experience gets a little easier to grasp. Speaking of which, the Evaporators live is an experience absolutely worth having. The video for I'm Addicted to Cheese goes a ways toward capturing this, I think.

Anyway, thanks kendrak for digging up some of those old vids, and chapps for making the post.
posted by philip-random at 12:37 AM on February 15, 2013 [1 favorite]

Must repeat my comment from the Projects post about the awesomeness of his interview WAY BACK in 1994 with Timothy Freaking Leary! And TL called his opening question "Are you the Hugh Hefner of LSD?" "the dumbest question ever..." AND the question was suggested by MeFi's Own philip-random.
posted by oneswellfoop at 1:13 AM on February 15, 2013 [1 favorite]

"But The Evaporators sound like the Ramones …"

Only for certain values of "The Ramones"…

Or maybe "certain values of The Evaporators". JJJ picked up their album for a while last year, and I wondered "is this the same band I remember from my Canadian pop-punk lovin' years in the 90's?"

Mind you, I never really 'got' Narduar's sense of humour either.
posted by Pinback at 1:25 AM on February 15, 2013

Awesome post. Nice work, phillip-random. Love the old-school punk DIY aesthetic.

If anyone reading this has a chance to go see an Evaporators show, don't hesitate. I remember one I went to in Victoria where Nardwuar played two songs while crowdsurfing on a piece of plywood, his keyboard on a stand in front of him. Also, I figure there is probably some overlap among Mefites who like Nardwuar / The Evaporators and those who like Andrew WK. In that vein, I recommend this little gem of an EP: A Wild Pear.

Regarding Nardwuar's interviews: Maybe not one of his best interviews per se, but definitely memorable for being maybe most genial: Narduar vs. Michael Moore. Think of Michael Moore as the anti-Dave Rowntree.
posted by [expletive deleted] at 6:51 AM on February 15, 2013

but definitely memorable for being maybe most genial:

I find most of Nardwuar's stuff pretty genial, at least from his end. Yeah, he comes on weird and perhaps psychotic, but he doesn't mean any harm. And if the interviewee gets it, doesn't get all weirded out, some really beautiful stuff can happen, like this moment where Brandon Flowers of the Killers does a little solo take on their big deal hit of the time ...
posted by philip-random at 10:42 AM on February 15, 2013 [1 favorite]

The Evaporators opened (unannounced! most of the kids in the audience seemed kind of baffled) for Andrew WK here in Vancouver last year. They're getting on in years, like the rest of us, but Nardwuar still rips off his shirt and goes crowd surfing like a young punk.
posted by jess at 11:20 AM on February 15, 2013

Nardwuar wrote Bunk with Stephen Hamm, the current bass player, who is a reasonably new recruit to the outfit, so I hardly think of it as formula -- just a reflection of the guy's undying love for all things garage, punk and full of sweat.

I think my issue is that I really miss Dave Carswell's song writing. Also, I'm probably too parochial with my tastes regarding garage music, so their more recent stuff just doesn't quite hit that sweet spot. I love that Nardwuar continues to keep rocking in the Free World. The problem is totally me.
posted by kendrak at 11:33 AM on February 15, 2013