Unknown Component on Little Village Live – 3/24/10

Hello, I’m Unknown Component’s newest fan, and I’m stoked that we are going to have him on Little Village Live later today.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN to the Unknown Component MySpace page

Confession: When I arrived on the Unknown Component MySpace page, the first thing that struck me was how borderline cliche it seemed – with such a serious tone all over everything – but I chalked it up to the fact that I’m a cynical bastard who would rather hide behind a veil of irony than listen to the earnest (and verbose) philosophies of artists like The Books, or It Ends at Etcetera…or Unknown Component.

The second thought: Oh dear, an onslaught of power chords! Flashing neon lights warn me to run away, but it’s too late – my heartstrings have already fallen prey to their swirling manipulation and together we are swelling and retreating, swelling and retreating.  If Keith Lynch had then arrived with some perfect voice, I might just have had to soar down the pipes of the Interweb to confront him right then and there, in his hidden lair, inside his MySpace page, where I fear I might have throttled him with some pipe.  Instead I became a big believer in his big arrangements, thanks to some weird logic that makes me love a singer with a very limited range and a raspy voice. The sum total reminded me of J Mascis and Dinosaur Jr., and I loved it.

Now I realize that I’m not actually cynical, and I don’t actually love irony – I just think the truth is contradictory.  In Unknown Component’s swelling and retreating sea, I find a lot of authenticity in Keith’s way of falling into a disaffected groove.  There it is, that’s the formula.  Disaffected + Groove = Truth.  Thanks for playing.

Unknown Component will be our guest tonight on Little Village Live, 5-6 pm, on KRUI – stream it live from wherever you are at KRUIradio.org

Unknown Component’s next Iowa City show is Friday, March 26th, at Firewater.  Their bar’s slogan is “So hot we make you wet.”  Just saying.

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