So Many Dynamos - "New Bones" 7"

So Many Dynamos – “New Bones” 7”

Vagrant, 2010

Acquired: KJHK Music Staff, New, 2010

Price: $0

St. Louis’ So Many Dynamos was a band I always heard about (given their relative proximity to the Kansas City Metropolitan Area) but never heard a single one of their songs until just now. The rhythm section of “New Bones” has lingering aspects of mid-00s dance-punk craze which makes it feel ten years old rather than five. It’s like a Tapes n’ Tapes song. I remember that band, I remember liking their music, but I couldn’t tell you for the life of me what a single one of their songs sounds like. “New Bones” just finished and it has already faded from memory. Hang on let me dig around in my desk for the commonplace response to this music: It’s technically fine, these guys know what they’re doing, it’s definitely not a mess, but it lacks the necessary personality to create any sort of engagement outside of Eastern Missouri/Western Illinois. The remix on the b-side replaces the dancey drums with a run-of-the-mill dance beat and I wish they’d just put a stripped-down demo of the track on the b-side instead.

B-SIde Worship: The Get Up Kids - "Central Standard Time"

The Get Up Kids – “Central Standard Time”
Vagrant, 1999

One of the earliest memories I have from when my wife and I started dating was seeing the 7” split the Get Up Kids and the Anniversary did together on her dining room table…melted to form a cute little bowl. I don’t even remember what was in the bowl. Probably nothing, which made me even more frustrated. “How could you!” I think I asked, incredulous. We’ve been together ever since. Coming of age in Kansas City in the late 90s/early 00s, the Get Up Kids were all we had. Outside of the area they are typically met with derision by people who think they know better, but around here they’re basically an institution. Fucking beloved. “Central Standard Time” is a perfect b-side, because though it was recorded along with the rest of their 1999 emo masterpiece Something to Write Home About, it has a lot more in common with the songs on their debut Four Minute Mile. It’s a fine track seemingly built for a split 7” where it doesn’t have to worry about not fitting in. I feel like I’m giving this song a pep talk. “Hey! Don’t listen to them! So what if they’re wearing fancier shoes and are dressed in fancier clothes, you do your own thing. Just be yourself and someday, you’ll show them all!” Ok, maybe this song isn’t going to show anyone anything. It’s a footnote in the Get Up Kids discography, and it’s not even their best b-side (that would definitely be “Mass Pike”), but it’s so damn catchy that you can almost forgive them for inspiring Fall Out Boy.