Welcome to “ONE TRACK MINDS” with Erika Rae Owen from Band Bombshell and Chris Knauf, board member of the Des Moines Music Coalition.  Each week, Erika and Chris take turns selecting a song of their choice, listen to it together for the first time, and document their reactions, thoughts and witty banter via instant messenger.  

This week’s song selection is the remastered version of Diamonds For Eyes’ “The Era of Our Ways”

Listen along while you read their commentary:

http://diamondsforeyes.bandcamp.com/track/the-era-of-our-ways-remastered

Erika: So folky.

Chris: ‪How’d you get introduced to these guys? I hear some Jonathan Richman in this.

Erika: They emailed me about doing an album review a while back. And then they’ve asked me to debut some videos and such since then!

It reminds me a bit of Alkaline Trio. They’re another group I’ve never officially met. Haha.

Chris: ‪This is the slowest song we’ve done.

I don’t even know what to do with all this available time.

Erika: I know! I don’t feel angry.

Chris: Well you did just graduate. Give yourself a few months.

Erika: Rock makes me angry.

Chris: By then you’ll actually turn conservative and hate taxes.

Erika: Ahhh! Never.

I have student loans to hate first.

Chris: So why is this post-grad inspiration?

You don’t have to pay those back. No worries.

Erika: Graduation just gave me inspiration to actually do things I like to do, instead of writing about old international relations theorists and stuff.

Chris: I want to listen again. Shall we?

Erika: We shall.

If you could choose anywhere to hear this song, where would it be?

Chris: The title alone has a nice post grad feel.

Hmm.

In a law office I share with myself, alone under two track lights that have burned out, wearing an uncomfortable suit.

So exactly where I’m at now.

You?

Erika: Ha! I have a similar scenario… In an overly lit cubicle with photos of my family scattered about and a layer of dust on my desk.

I’d say that’s about right. We’ll call it… Corporate folk.

Chris: So then very much like Alkaline Trio.

Whenever I think of my last day at college, I think of walking hand in hand with my college girlfriend into the promise of a new future while Norah Jones plays in our heads.

But then I remember that was just the final scene to the show “Felicity.”

I think my last day was spent mildly hungover and trying to get cash for my books.

Erika: Haaaa! Felicity… I used to want to have that life.

Chris: She should have never cut that hair.

Erika: Noooo. Couldn’t agree more.

Chris: I really liked this song. Soft. And one of those that I would ultimately Google the lyrics for and try to connect it with my life.

Erika: I like it, too! They still have a similar sound. They’re just more energetic now. Still sort of dark and soft, but with a punchy rock feel.

Chris: Almost Morphine without the sax?

Erika: I got that reference! And yes–that’s a good description.

Chris: RIP Mark Sandman.

So from a scale of 1 to 5 Bens (Felicity reference), what would you give?

Erika: I’d give it a 4.5. Especially considering this was off of their first album. Bravo.

Chris: That’s a very good point to take into consideration. I give it a solid 3.5 with room for growth once I get into it more.

Pretty much all Mark Kozalek efforts start out the same way…a 3 and then ultimately a 4.5 to 5.

Erika: I have some bands I feel the same way about. Daft Punk, for instance. I’ve never been a huge first-listen fan, but I’m loving their new stuff after the tenth go-through.

Chris: I just picked up their new record today.

Can’t wait to get into it.

Erika: It’s great. I hope you like it!

Chris: I like Daft Punk so much, I actually went to that Daft Punk Tribute band.

Erika: Wait, what? Where?

Chris: Which was two teens in spacesuits on top of a lighted pyramid with other high school kids drunkenly grinding into one another.

Woolys. “One More Time.”

They were one time too many.

Erika: Bahahaha. Oh, boy. There’s a Daft Punk listening party at the side bar of the Mews on Friday.

Chris: Duh. I’m there

Erika: And since I’m plugging that, I think it would make more sense to say that Diamonds for Eyes is opening for Murder By Death at Wooly’s on June 2nd.

Can’t forget that bit.

Chris: Nice plug. Well done.

Erika: Thanks! I took a class on marketing.

Chris: B-?

Erika: B! Actually.

Chris: Nice work you college grad. Now go change the world.

Erika: On it, sensei.

 

 

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