December 7, 2018 - Dandy Warhols - Dick (1995)

I moved to Portland, OR, in 1994, the perfect time to experience the blossoming of Taylor Thomas Taylor Courtney Cox's fab new band, the Dandy Warhols. They became such darlings of the scene, and not without some merit. I thought they were good. I remember when my friend Dave came to visit from IL and we seemed to randomly come across them playing a show under the Hawthorne or Morrison Bridge, can't remember which it was. They played Dick, which was my favorite track from their album. The other songs were definitely in the Velvet Underground area. I listened to that first album a lot, but I've never listened to their others. I could care less about them, really. I've watched the documentary Dig! a couple times, and I much prefer Brian Jonestown Massacre.

In 1995 or so, there was a Portland music festival called North By Northwest, which I think was absorbed by Willamette Week and became Music Fest NW. In any event, the Dandy Warhols were playing the festival, and one of my friend's bands was as well. There was a pre-fest function for the bands, and my friend's wife was passing out little cards to promote his band's appearance. As the story goes, she handed a card to this guy who turned out to be the other guitarist in the band:

Friend's wife: Hi, my husband's band is playing at this place, they're really good, I hope you can get a chance to see them!

Warhols guitarist (we give him this faux British accent in the story): Ah cahn't see yaw 'usband's bahnd. Ah'm already in a bahnd. The Dahndy Wawhols.

I always get a good chuckle out of that story. Well, I like this song, Dick. It is slow and languid, with lots of gurgling guitar and bowowowow effects, and a nice chord change into the 'chorus': I'm a dick, waiting to be kicked. It's basically a more psychedelic version of Bread's If.

We're already in a bahnd...