"A Terrible Scene With Lingering Bad Feelings"
January 3, 2015 10:45 AM Subscribe
In 1981 Vivabeat was a new wave pop rock band with a college station hit "Man From China." The rest of their story can be found in a wonderfully entertaining internet cul-de-sac:
"Vivabeat's is the uncanny story of a band that helped define the sound of an era; a band that experienced remarkable strokes of good fortune and tragic twists of fate; got a taste of the best the record industry could offer, and also the very worst. They left behind a hit dance single, an album on Charisma records, an impossibly rare European EP, and a clutch of unreleased tracks."
Totally agree. Seems like an interesting story, but the site navigation is thoroughly annoying. The music is great.
posted by freakazoid at 1:02 PM on January 3, 2015
posted by freakazoid at 1:02 PM on January 3, 2015
Yeah, thirded on the WTF with the Web site. If you want people to read your story you have to put in a format that's actually readable.
posted by jscalzi at 2:32 PM on January 3, 2015
posted by jscalzi at 2:32 PM on January 3, 2015
Queued up on Spotify. Never heard of them before, but sounds interesting enough.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 3:38 PM on January 3, 2015
posted by Admiral Haddock at 3:38 PM on January 3, 2015
Never heard of this band. As for the song...I suppose it's fairly catchy. Though, it sounds pretty typical for a lot of bands at the time.
posted by Thorzdad at 4:16 PM on January 3, 2015
posted by Thorzdad at 4:16 PM on January 3, 2015
I read the whole trainwreck story. Those who the gods would destroy, they place in bands that are always right on the edge of really making it big.
posted by thelonius at 5:52 PM on January 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by thelonius at 5:52 PM on January 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
One of my nearest and dearest has been one of the Shit-Toghether members of a band,
who by fate and talent were given world at the feet opportunities,
opportunities that other members pissed away on herion and alcohol.
When you're miles and miles from home on tour, and that piss is real human beer flavoured piss, still hot,
spilling over the hand carved dining table in the living room of the fans who are hosting you,
and you are mopping that piss with wads of toilet paper in pitch blackness,
because turning on the lights would wake your hosts to discover the
disaster your band mates have wrought while they and their children slept,
and the piss is all over your hands and face,
because you only woke up when streams of it ran off the table into your mouth and eyes,
and the whole time the pisser of the piss is drugged and drunk and crying in the corner
about poor him and other bullshit,
and you knew this was going to happen,
because it hardly a rare event,
and the bands that tell you you inspired them,
that you invented their genre are rich,
and you are not,
and you know the crusade is over,
but you've still got a hot puddle to mop and a tour to finish,
it's really not an interesting story at all.
posted by compound eye at 8:17 PM on January 3, 2015 [8 favorites]
who by fate and talent were given world at the feet opportunities,
opportunities that other members pissed away on herion and alcohol.
When you're miles and miles from home on tour, and that piss is real human beer flavoured piss, still hot,
spilling over the hand carved dining table in the living room of the fans who are hosting you,
and you are mopping that piss with wads of toilet paper in pitch blackness,
because turning on the lights would wake your hosts to discover the
disaster your band mates have wrought while they and their children slept,
and the piss is all over your hands and face,
because you only woke up when streams of it ran off the table into your mouth and eyes,
and the whole time the pisser of the piss is drugged and drunk and crying in the corner
about poor him and other bullshit,
and you knew this was going to happen,
because it hardly a rare event,
and the bands that tell you you inspired them,
that you invented their genre are rich,
and you are not,
and you know the crusade is over,
but you've still got a hot puddle to mop and a tour to finish,
it's really not an interesting story at all.
posted by compound eye at 8:17 PM on January 3, 2015 [8 favorites]
...but at least you're in show business!
posted by thelonius at 12:07 AM on January 4, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by thelonius at 12:07 AM on January 4, 2015 [3 favorites]
On first listen, I thought I could hear why Vivabeat were condemned to footnote status (I mean, apart from the truly stupid name).
It's not really any more stupid than other band names. The Beatles. Sonic Youth. The Red Hot Chili Peppers. Neutral Milk Hotel. All band names are silly if you think about them.
posted by thelonius at 10:19 AM on January 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
It's not really any more stupid than other band names. The Beatles. Sonic Youth. The Red Hot Chili Peppers. Neutral Milk Hotel. All band names are silly if you think about them.
posted by thelonius at 10:19 AM on January 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
...it's really not an interesting story at all.
The Aristocrats! (In all seriousness, I'm now intensely curious as to which band that was, and also thinking that, even though my least favorite lyrical subgenre is generally the "being on the road sucks so hard" one*, your comment would make a great lyric.) Also, let's get the Cracked weird band name listicle out of the way.
*I've always liked to think that the little-known response song to KISS' "Beth" was Beth's "I've Seen Gene's Nude Groupies Polaroid Collection, And You Ain't Foolin' Nobody, Fucker".
posted by Halloween Jack at 11:18 AM on January 5, 2015
The Aristocrats! (In all seriousness, I'm now intensely curious as to which band that was, and also thinking that, even though my least favorite lyrical subgenre is generally the "being on the road sucks so hard" one*, your comment would make a great lyric.) Also, let's get the Cracked weird band name listicle out of the way.
*I've always liked to think that the little-known response song to KISS' "Beth" was Beth's "I've Seen Gene's Nude Groupies Polaroid Collection, And You Ain't Foolin' Nobody, Fucker".
posted by Halloween Jack at 11:18 AM on January 5, 2015
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Man from China is catchy, though
posted by ivan ivanych samovar at 11:04 AM on January 3, 2015 [3 favorites]