The best jokes contain painful truths. When it comes to music, I joke that the life cycle of bands is (a) starving unknowns, (b) big breakout hit, (c) rehab, (d) lead singer goes solo and band breaks up, then (e) reunion tour 20 years later when they’re all broke, sober, married and need to pay the mortgage.
So it gives me unbridled joy (note: don’t ever try to put a bridle on my joy; I will punch you into next week) to learn one of my favorite bands OF ALL TIME is back together and cranking out new albums.
Toad the Wet Sprocket is the weirdest possible name for a great band.
I say that with love.
Honestly, you can throw together a sweet band name in two seconds using this simple formula: “the” + active adjective + non-threatening animal.
Check it out:
- The Flaming Squirrels
- The Angry Hedgehogs
- The Psychotic Hamsters
However: While the name doesn’t really work on every level, at least you remember because it’s so flipping weird.
Though I take great joy in dissecting terrible music videos, or divining why brilliant ones work, it’s nice to simply share a great bad with people who might not know they exist.
Also: To the punk who broke into my car when I was a starving reporter and stole all my tapes (yes, music once lived on these things called “tapes”), you took every Toad album I owned, and if I ever see you, and figure out you’ve got a closet full of cassette tapes from your criminal past, I think that’s punishment enough, because tapes are a terrible idea. They always get snagged in your car stereo, with the tape spilling out like intestines full of music, and maybe, maybe, you could take a pencil and wind everything back into place after you did some scotch-tape surgery. Tapes sucked.
Back to Toad the Wet Sprocket: Whatever you think of the band name, the music is beautiful.
Toad can play rock or folk, fast songs or slow, electric or acoustic.
I bet they could even do a medium-paced song that’s neither happy nor sad, if you asked nicely.
Here’s one of their more famous songs:
And here’s a slow burner that still slays me:
Welcome back, Toad the Wet Sprocket–so happy you’re making new music and hitting the road again.
If you want to check them out, here’s a link to the band and their tour schedule. See them live. DO IT NOW.
The Red Pen of Doom 