Wavves//No Hope Kids

Everybody’s surfin’ now, Monday Mail.
What is Monday Mail?

How was your weekend? Did you spend some time at the beach? I did—at Rockaway Beach. Know what all this means? Hell, yeah…you know. I declare SURF WEEK!

This week, Jill Weiskopf of New York Magazine writes:

In this week’s New York magazine, we asked four hot bands—Vivian Girls, the Fiery Furnaces, Diane Birch, and Patterson Hood of Drive-By Truckers—to pick their summer playlists based on a photograph.

The inclusion of the Furnaces piqued my curiosity and I clicked through to what was actually a very nice little piece that made me remember that I keep forgetting to check out the much-hyped Wavves (on Vivian Girls list).

My friends have described Wavves as peppy surf-punk, which is pretty apt. It’s not too deep, but still highly enjoyable. And of course, they’re from California. It’s summer, guys—the time is ripe for this stuff.

Sadly, the story behind the band ain’t so sunny and carefree. From Wikipedia:

Singer Nathan Williams suffered a very public breakdown as the band was unable to complete their set at the 2009 Barcelona Primavera Sound Festival.Williams, who admitted he'd taken a cocktail of ecstasy and valium, fought with drummer Ryan Ulsh and insulted the Spanish crowd - who pelted him with bottles and a shoe. Apologising for their performance the next day, Williams admitted he is also suffering from alcohol addiction. As a result, the band have cancelled the remainder of their European tour. On June 30th a confirmed gig at Roskilde Festival was cancelled, reportedly because drummer Ryan Ulsh had left the band.

Yeek.



No Hope Kids.mp3

Got no car,
Got no money,
I got nothing, nothing, nothing,
Not at all.

Surf Week Fact #1: Surfing is the act of a person (or a boat) riding down a breaking wave, gathering speed from the downward and forward movement. Most commonly, the term is used for a surface water sport in which the person surfing moves along the face of a breaking ocean wave (the "surf"). Surfing was a central part of ancient Polynesian culture, and the chief was the most skilled wave rider in the community with the best board made from the best tree.