Reasons I Love Death From Above 1979

DFA 1979 was an amazing band for many reasons. Apparently unbeknownst (I don't know how to spell) to me the band broke up last year. It pisses me off because I actually had a chance to see them at Koos right before they blew up. The next week I saw them on Conan and I was like, "damn, they've hit it big time." There were many reasons why I loved them and why they still stand up as an amazing band that didn't get the credit they deserve.

1.) They simply kicked ass. - As stupid as it sounds, they were an amazingly talented band and all they were, were a drum and bass duo. Essentially take all the effects out of Lightning Bolt and you had DFA 1979. But the brand of music they played was so rythmic and awesome that it made you dance no matter how tough you were. "You're a Woman..." still stands out as one of the best albums of 2004 and one of the best in the past decade. All the songs were amazing and all it took was drums and a bass.

2.)They were in Black Cat 13. - That band ruled. They were on 31g and released shit with the locust. To this day, DFA is one of the few bands that made it out of that scene into bigger success.

3.) Their performance on Conan - That performance turned me into a believer and I immediately went out and bought the record. The performance was disorganized, all over the place and fucking out of no where Max Weinberg comes in and starts banging the drums. That performance as sloppy as it was, was one of the top 10 Conan performances I have ever seen and I have been watching that show for damn near 10 years now.

4.) They were from Canada. - Despite this, they never associated with any of those arts and crafts kids and they did things their own way. Oh Canada.

5.) They fucked around way too much. - They kicked so much ass and they knew this. They never took anything seriously. They joked around with the media to make people believe they were gay, dead or whatever. They knew what they were doing the whole time and it just added to their coolness.

6.) Romantic Rights - One of the best songs of its genre period. Listen to it and tell me something different.

7.) They knew when to end it. - Unfortunately DFA 1979 was involved in controversy and they were unfairly grouped into that "rock revival" dance-punk craze that made good bands like Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Liars into one trick ponies. Instead of dragging on the way their contemporaries did, they figured, "we released a great album, blew people's minds, we're done." I love when bands don't hang on and know when it's done. It makes them wiser, cooler and just that much more special.

Death From Above 1979 was an awesome band that I will continue to listen to for as long as I can. If anyone disagrees that's fine, but go listen to "You're a Woman, I'm a Machine" first. It's a classic on my list and a must have. Why? Because DFA owned that hard and kicked THAT MUCH ass. Oh yes, it's damn true.

- $Tek Money$