Operation Ivy - Unity
Bear with me...
Operation Ivy is a band that changed my life.
I was sixteen (maybe fifteen?) and in high school and just starting to seek out my own music, beyond the radio. I was really into Goldfinger, a never-quite-popular ska-pop-punk band. I tracked down a fan-made compilation of their B-sides and non-album tracks on ebay, and when I got it there were a few live tracks included. One was labelled "Smiling (Operation Ivy cover)" and I really enjoyed it, though I couldn't quite understand the lyrics.
So I went and bought Operation Ivy's album (they only released one, and the LP and two of their EPs are combined on a single CD). Based on a cover of a single song that was about a minute and a half long. Sometimes the most random decisions turn out to be the best, I think.
I put it on, and I still remember my first listen: it was raw, much moreso than anything I'd heard to that point. Op Ivy are third-wave ska, according to AMG, so they're bouncy and poppy, but it's very clear this is an album recorded in single takes with minimal instrumentation. A huge change from the music I was used to, sonically.
And lyrically? I was dumbfounded. "Smiling" turned out to be an indictment of pressure on guys to prove their social worth by sleeping around. And the overall lyrical content is anarchist, utopian, self-righteous, smart, idealistic, political and usually anthemic. Unlike anything I'd heard before. By the seventh song, I remember quite consciously thinking, "This is the greatest thing I've ever heard."
That song is "Unity." Probably the best summation of lead singer/writer Jesse Michaels' utopic dreams, this song still can give me goosebumps. There's desperation in his voice, as he sings "unity, unity, unity/you've heard it all before." But there's hope, too, and that's what the song's ultimately about.
Operation Ivy's music is naive, maybe. So was I, back when I got into them (and I really dug in - I have a handful of live bootlegs by them that I listened to despite abysmal audio quality). They inspired the "anarchist" phase of my life that I'm still a little ashamed of. But they're one the the only bands from my "punk" years that I can still listen to and enjoy. There's honesty and energy and truth in their music in a way that no other band can quite equal, punk or otherwise - the naive, unformed belief that music can effect social change, that their songs could make the world better. It's a shame, I think, that they never did.
Bear with me...
Operation Ivy is a band that changed my life.
I was sixteen (maybe fifteen?) and in high school and just starting to seek out my own music, beyond the radio. I was really into Goldfinger, a never-quite-popular ska-pop-punk band. I tracked down a fan-made compilation of their B-sides and non-album tracks on ebay, and when I got it there were a few live tracks included. One was labelled "Smiling (Operation Ivy cover)" and I really enjoyed it, though I couldn't quite understand the lyrics.
So I went and bought Operation Ivy's album (they only released one, and the LP and two of their EPs are combined on a single CD). Based on a cover of a single song that was about a minute and a half long. Sometimes the most random decisions turn out to be the best, I think.
I put it on, and I still remember my first listen: it was raw, much moreso than anything I'd heard to that point. Op Ivy are third-wave ska, according to AMG, so they're bouncy and poppy, but it's very clear this is an album recorded in single takes with minimal instrumentation. A huge change from the music I was used to, sonically.
And lyrically? I was dumbfounded. "Smiling" turned out to be an indictment of pressure on guys to prove their social worth by sleeping around. And the overall lyrical content is anarchist, utopian, self-righteous, smart, idealistic, political and usually anthemic. Unlike anything I'd heard before. By the seventh song, I remember quite consciously thinking, "This is the greatest thing I've ever heard."
That song is "Unity." Probably the best summation of lead singer/writer Jesse Michaels' utopic dreams, this song still can give me goosebumps. There's desperation in his voice, as he sings "unity, unity, unity/you've heard it all before." But there's hope, too, and that's what the song's ultimately about.
Operation Ivy's music is naive, maybe. So was I, back when I got into them (and I really dug in - I have a handful of live bootlegs by them that I listened to despite abysmal audio quality). They inspired the "anarchist" phase of my life that I'm still a little ashamed of. But they're one the the only bands from my "punk" years that I can still listen to and enjoy. There's honesty and energy and truth in their music in a way that no other band can quite equal, punk or otherwise - the naive, unformed belief that music can effect social change, that their songs could make the world better. It's a shame, I think, that they never did.
posted by Odorless Boatman at 3:44 AM
1 Comments:
it's hard to hear what he's saying for certain, so i'll just take your word for the fact that it's an inspiring song about revolution. as far as the song goes: without trumpets: 8.0, with trumpets: 3.5.
i really don't like 2nd or 3rd wave ska.
Post a Comment
<< Home