Music Listeners

Blueprint Playlist: Dagwood

We are (so) back with a brand new BLUEPRINT PLAYLIST. This is a playlist created by an artist or band with some new music out, consisting of five or so songs that have inspired that music in some way.

Today manning the playlist...cursor? joystick? is Dagwood, a New Haven, CT-based indie punk band who just put out an EP called Pollyanna Visions. I got locked in with their short-n-sweet tune "Candy Apple Green," which packs lots of Adam Schlesingerian power pop charm into a minute and a half-long morsel, but the whole EP has compelling melodies and nice crispy production from Justin Pizzoferrato (Dinosaur Jr., Parquet Courts).

Also, not only are Dagwood releasing the new EP on CD and cassette, they also have a limited edish VHS tape available that has a making-of documentary and album visuals on it. That's sick as hell!

Each member of the band— Grady Hearn (vocals and guitar), Mike Nagy (guitar), Kilian Appleby (drums), and Tim Casey (bass)—picked a song for their Blueprint Playlist...let's not dilly dally and get right into it...

Dagwood's Blueprint Playlist

Polaris - "Hey Sandy"

Polaris are the television alter-egos of New Haven college rock legends Miracle Legion minus their lead guitarist Ray Neal. Most notably, of course, “Hey Sandy” is the theme song for the '90s Nickelodeon program The Adventures of Pete and Pete. Early in the writing and vibe-setting for Pollyanna Visions we took some collective interests in the early New Haven punk scene, particularly its roots in primeval proto-punk through Craig Bell of Rocket From the Tombs and its eventual flowering into certain northeasterly strains of college rock like Miracle Legion. I think we were trying to examine, or even manufacture, an indie rock lineage for ourselves by excavating the hardcore and punk roots of that '90s college rock scene and our geographic coincidences with it.

That trip through the archive is what had me incessantly listening to this song; I would put it on repeat and listen to it over and over. To me the song bears a levity and whimsy rare to the genre. It’s like they let the severity live in Miracle Legion and this side-project could have all the lightness and gaiety worthy of a children’s television show—you know, pollyanna visions. — Tim

Hole - "Awful"

First, the sickly sweet vocal melodies on “Awful” belie its sneering punk attitude. I think this juxtaposition can also be heard on our song “Candy Apple Green” which sounds like a Nickelodeon Kid’s Choice Awards slime dump, but features pit-ready lines like “Disrespecting me brings dishonor on yourself.” Hole’s “Awful” perfectly pairs giant guitars with double-time tambourine choruses. This is a trick we used to amp up choruses in “Trying to Be Kind” and multiple rockout bridges throughout the EP. While “Awful” is beyond worthy of a Dagwood cover, I don’t see how we could possibly improve upon it. — Kilian

Blur - "Coffee and TV"

This song rips. The chord shapes are totally messed up but somehow make sense in context. The groove is off the charts. The deranged, broken fuzz solo that cuts in and out later in the song is comical, sorta out of place, and just rules. Blur strikes me as a band that takes their songwriting seriously, but isn’t afraid to get weird or make decisions that might come across as odd to some people. We try to approach our songs in a similar way. If you can successfully walk the line between sincerity with a touch of absurdity, then that’s usually a great lane to be in. — Mike

The Flashing Lights - "Half the Time"

We have some descriptive phrases that we use when writing new music, one of which is “Beatles on Meth” and that’s how I’d describe this song. If it were played slightly more aggressive it would fit under another one of our invented categories, “Hard-Pop." In the mid-late '80s I think punk split into two directions—hardcore and powerpop, and comparing the differences between these genres has been an inspiration for some of our material. Hardpop to us is like an alternate timeline where the two sounds are united. — Grady

Thanks Dagwood! Go listen to Pollyanna Visions and check out their link aggregation.

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