Favorite Albums: 2000-200420. Rocket From The Crypt, Group SoundsOriginal position on my Stylus ballot: #10 Though their alt-radio dreams were dashed when Interscope dropped almost every band south of Gold certification - plus their drummer left to tech for Weezer - Rocket From The Crypt sounded pretty damn happy to take emeritus status at Vagrant in ‘01.  Do you like the Osmonds’ “Crazy Horses”? That’s basically ground zero for RFTC’s Husker Du Aloha! Live From Hawaii aesthetic, and Group Sounds is all knock-‘em-dead punk fanfare meant to wow on the band’s flaming Vegas-core terms. The drums (with Jon Wurster filling in before they got another full-timer) were even recorded on a boombox for maximum trash impact! Unsurprisingly, this means the words matter less than ever - I hear “White in white belt” as “What In The Hell” and prefer my take, though “Savoir Faire” is an appropriate enough keyphrase (I originally heard “Sidewalk King”). Group Sounds is definitely one for the die-hards, but these guys earned My Favorite Band status for a while by making flashy power pop punk more beautiful than anyone else saw fit (I mentioned earlier I used to be a huge REM fan). Having perfected their bombastic formula on the major label dime, here’s where they revel in it.

Favorite Albums: 2000-2004
20. Rocket From The Crypt, Group Sounds
Original position on my Stylus ballot: #10

Though their alt-radio dreams were dashed when Interscope dropped almost every band south of Gold certification - plus their drummer left to tech for Weezer - Rocket From The Crypt sounded pretty damn happy to take emeritus status at Vagrant in ‘01.  Do you like the Osmonds’ “Crazy Horses”? That’s basically ground zero for RFTC’s Husker Du Aloha! Live From Hawaii aesthetic, and Group Sounds is all knock-‘em-dead punk fanfare meant to wow on the band’s flaming Vegas-core terms. The drums (with Jon Wurster filling in before they got another full-timer) were even recorded on a boombox for maximum trash impact!

Unsurprisingly, this means the words matter less than ever - I hear “White in white belt” as “What In The Hell” and prefer my take, though “Savoir Faire” is an appropriate enough keyphrase (I originally heard “Sidewalk King”). Group Sounds is definitely one for the die-hards, but these guys earned My Favorite Band status for a while by making flashy power pop punk more beautiful than anyone else saw fit (I mentioned earlier I used to be a huge REM fan). Having perfected their bombastic formula on the major label dime, here’s where they revel in it.