Deerhoof

EDIT: I've written this 2 months ago, but I got contacted and removed the songs, here's my review again, and the same songs now the album is out. Support Deerhoof, go to their shows! Deerhoof, Live at Metro, Chicago; 01-27-07 Deerhoof is currently the #1 group on my last.fm list for the 2 years I've been on that site, does that tell you anything? Yes, their songs are short, but I also listen to grindcore and by grind standards, Deerhoof's songs are mixtapes. That leaves us with only one answer: They kick ass!. Frankly I've not been listening to Deerhoof for some time because the music industry always has something (old or new) to attract our attention. But their 9th album "Friend Opportunity"'s gonna be out soon (followed by an extensive US Tour) and I feared that the band might be caving under their new found fame and repeat themselves. So I got my weasly hands on some of the new stuff.. Hell No! I'm very very happy to see them emerging once more with lots of incredible stuff under their belt. Frenetic & creative drumming, unpredictable songs, Satomi's vocals, they're still there, not as a repetition of their last efforts, but taken to new heights with their constantly improving song writing ability. I don't know why but Deerhoof's musical success also means another thing for me and that's really what's making me happy to see them not fail. That's overcoming human psychology, music critics, fans' demands, jealousy and every other human trait that may hinder success. They are, in a way, a role model for the successful band, sure Jim Morrison was successful as well, and so were the Beach Boys, but they have all been tempted and seduced by success and become examples of "how the mighty has fallen" for the future generations. Deerhoof on the other hand remain calm, they seem to be completely indifferent about success, which I believe philosophically is the right thing to do. Success is only a byproduct of what you do and it's not really important if you're really doing it for fun. So much in common with the web2.0 spirit, the spirit of the coming age and hopefully less ego and more fun is the way to go.