"Village Of Love" "Shout Bama Lama"
The Fifties are the New Seventies
The White Stripes were the revenge of classic rock radio--the blues-rock swagger of Led Zeppelin given a post-Brit-pop makeover. But the newest garage bands dig deeper and look back past the Sixties and Seventies to the dusty trove of Fifties sounds. Maybe it has something to do with the explosion of underground alt-country or the resurgence of Elvis. But listen to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the Raveonettes and the Detroit Cobras, and you can hear the stinging guitar licks of Link Wray, the cowgirl rave-ups of Wanda Jackson and the iconic rockabilly of Eddie Cochran, Gene Vincent and Carl Perkins. Yeah Yeah Yeahs guitarist Nick Zinner says Fifties sounds are an ace in the hole. "Link Wray was an inspiring guitarist,'' he says. "I spent many an hour playing poker with Mr. Wray on the hi-fi.'' Raveonettes guitarist and songwriter Sune Wagner says, "I'm a big Buddy Holly fan--I love all the old stuff. I'm a huge Everly Brothers fan and a girl-group fan.'' The Raveonettes' debut, due in May, was into straight-ahead rock and roll, which I think the Fifties were. It was a pure form of rock and roll, very simple and to the point.'' Detroit Rock City is home to the White Stripes, the Sights, Von Bondies, Come Ons, Dirtbombs, and Ko and the Knockouts. But the best sound is that of the Detroit Cobras. The Cobras, who also have the best vocalist, are so into vintage tunes they don't even bother writing new ones. "One of the first songs we ever did,'' says singer Rachel Nagy, "was Tunnel of Love by Wanda Jackson. I produced by Richard Gottehrer, the knobtwiddler behind Blondie's early success. "I know a lot of bands these days have a bit of psychedelic influence--late-Sixties music,'' says Wagner. "But I'm pretty much love old country--the roots of rockabilly. There's an innocence to it. Our music is, 'Grab a girl, let's go dance.''' Look for the Cobras' new EP--all covers--on Rough Trade. "It's just honest, juke-joint stuff.''
The Cobras Are So Into Vintage Tunes They Don't Even Bother Writing New Ones
