Thursday, October 23rd, 2008

Lost in the ’90s: Trash Can Sinatras, “I’ve Seen Everything”

by John C. Hughes

Is there such a thing as a casual Trash Can (or Trashcan, if you prefer) Sinatras fan?

I ask that since every TCS fan I’ve met has been nearly obsessive in their love for the Scottish band, which has been making critically acclaimed, hook-filled jangly pop albums since the early ’90s.  Unfortunately, sales have never quite matched that acclaim, but a small, devoted cult of fans has supported the group through the lean times, keeping candles burning during years-long gaps between albums and tours.

After getting some radio and MTV notice for their 1990 debut, Cake, the group took nearly four years to follow up with I’ve Seen Everything.  While I adored Cake, I found …Everything hard going at first, giving it a few shots before giving up on it completely when the hooks didn’t jump out immediately enough for my pleasure.  My mistake.  While lead-off single “Hayfever” (download) was actually very catchy, I found it a bit of an anomaly compared to the denseness of the rest of the album.  And the video got quite a few spins on MTV’s “120 Minutes,” eventually even being featured and mocked on “Beavis & Butthead.”

While I loved “Hayfever,” it wasn’t enough to get me into the rest of the album until a year or so later, when I put …Everything on and just let it play.  Freed from expectation, the songs revealed previously hidden hooks and accessibility.  Highlights include “Killing The Cabinet,” the title track, and my favorite, the acoustic-driven “I’m Immortal,” (download) filled with the fantastic wordplay (unintelligible as it sometimes is) the band is famous for:

I took a kick in the confidence, down in the tackle I hurt
I took a shine to your big size tens
Now all around the subject I skirt.
Gingerly, gingerly
And that’s no life at all

Here’s the group performing “I’m Immortal” at a record store appearance last month:

The Sinatras continue to record and tour, with a new single released on iTunes last week, a new album on the way, and remastered versions of their first three albums coming in 2009.  Good time to be an obsessive or even casual fan of the band.

“Hayfever” peaked at #11 on the Billboard Modern Rock Chart in 1993.

Get Trash Can Sinatras music at Amazon or on Trashcan Sinatras

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  • I adore this band and have tried to turn other people onto them with no luck. That said, everyone I play "Obscurity Knocks" for falls in love with it. Jack Rabid from The Big Takeover magazine is also a huge fan of the band and has written them up quite a few times.
  • WHarrisBullzEye
    It was always going to be a race to see which of us posted this comment first, but since it's me, I will note that David Medsker and I first came into contact with each other by being subscribers to the Trash Can Sinatras E-mail list. As such, I can literally say that I would not be where I am today...at least not exactly, anyway...were it not for the Trash Can Sinatras.
  • Oh man, what Will said. Love, love, love the Trash Cans, and this record in particular. Most fans of the band prefer Cake, but this has always been my favorite of theirs.

    Unintelligible wordplay, indeed. There were raging debates about the third line in "Obscurity Knocks" (the foul-mouthed rogue part) on the old TCS list. And I'm pretty sure Joe DiMaria, the TCS listmaster, was given a credit on Weightlifting, as well he should.

    "I don't remember what you said or did that made you so attractive..."
  • "but a small, devoted cult of fans has supported the group through the lean times, keeping candles burning during years-long gaps"

    That is literally true. Ask the band about the time when the members of the email list sent them an "embarrassing" amount of money (Francis' word, not mine) to help them pay bills and keep making music.
  • jeff
    great great band. weightlifting is just an incredible album. new material on the way. great post, btw.
  • Andrew Moore
    This has got to be one of the best albums I have ever heard and to this day I cannot fathom why they are not huge. Easy Read is just such a beautiful song and an amazing opener to a wonderful collection of songs. Cake to me is still caught in the jangle of the eighties and sounds very of its time but I've Seen Everything is completely timeless.
  • mark
    I had TCS's "Cake" sitting on my CD shelf for 10 years. I listened to it and liked it. Then TCS came around touring. I went, wanting to hear the few hits off "Cake". I like the concert, but still only enough to drop "Cake" back into the CD player...then it happened. I listened! I now have EVERYTHING they have recorded and would pay $50.00 for an advance copy of the new release, just to have it sooner. I have NEVER been affected and infected by a band like this. If I could only have one CD for the rest of my life it would be a TCS CD.
  • Scott
    I can't say that I have EVER dug a band as much as TCS! For me, it happened sort of backwards. I was DJing at my college radio station and we had Cake as a demo. Nobody would play it. One night while "in an experimental mood" I opened my mind to this wonderful stuff.

    I have purchased weightlifting AND Cake at least three times a piece! I'm pretty hard on CDs. If you don't have them, GET THEM! The lyrics and music are just a PERFECT MATCH!
  • JB
    My favorite album of all time!
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