My What?

Everyone who knows me really well also knows that around Christmas time, shortly after returning from an extended surfing trip to Costa Rica, I became a fan.

Yes, a fan. Of a TV Show, about football and feelings.

I, who had sworn to never watch TV again, had somehow fallen under the spell of Friday Night Lights (aka FNL), the little show that could, if only more than fifty people would start watching it.

I’d like to blame my “intense appreciation” on the fact that I was introduced to the show while holed up with a fever in my hotel room in Costa Rica. And, although I’m sure that had something to do with it, not to mention my long-standing appreciation of Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton, I really have to blame it on the fact that the person behind music direction at FNL honed in on my achilles heel: Post-Rock.

I think you could show me an entire hour of a football sitting on a field beside a bottle of beer, and as long as it was scored to anything by Explosions in the Sky, I would watch it. Many times.

Throw in Kyle Chandler’s voice, Connie Britton’s acting, a little bit of football, an awful lot of feelings and Zach Gilford’s nice-kid-on-the-verge-of-a-nervous-breakdown good looks, and well, you’ve got a dedicated fan in me. I even signed online “Save the Show” surveys. Yes, it’s true.

Post-Rock and Me

I was not an Explosions in the Sky fan before I saw FNL, but I was enough of a post-rock fan to rejoice when, in my fever-induced stupor, I really believed, as the football team approached Texas Stadium, that the soundtrack was by the cutest Japanese Post-Rock band ever, Mono.

Mono? you ask. If Explosions in the Sky played with guitar strings that were actually ramen noodles, they would sound like Mono. Well, maybe not quite. But, I’m sure you get the idea.

After scratching my head for a couple minutes, wondering how anyone had ever been so out-of-their-mind goofy as to use Japanese Post-Rock to score a television show about football in Texas, I came to my senses and realized that it had to be another band.

But, it didn’t matter. I was already hooked.

Is there Life After Explosions in the Sky?

I could go on and trace my post-rock/shoegazing history way back into the last millenium, but I’ll finish off with a few comments about the post-rock/math-rock/future-funk/just-plain-awesome-good band that I finally had a chance to see live a couple weeks ago at the Starlite Room: Battles.

Now, I realize I might be violating some cardinal law of coolness that restricts mentioning Battles and Explosions in the Sky in the same blog post. I’m sure the law exists, but I’m over thirty, so it doesn’t really matter.

If you’ve never heard their music before, you should definitely check them out. Maybe even start with their most popular song, Atlas.

Somehow, Battles manage to deliver endlessly satisfying tracks that are both organic and complex. Yes, the vocals sometimes sound like Will Ferrell on speed. But, it works.

In some ways, Battles sound like what I imagine Joanna Newsom would sound like if you put her in a proton accelerator, wrapped it up in ten rolls of duct tape and shot her into Outer Space. I won’t link to any of her music here. Trust me. It’s for your own good.

Some Battles-Inspired TV Show Pitches

I must admit, however, that it is quite possible that my standards have changed overnight. I haven’t tested it out yet, but I suspect that my blind love affair with Explosions in the Sky might have come to an end.

The main problem for me now: waiting for the powers-that-be to come up with the kind of ground-breaking ratings-repelling TV show that could only be scored by Battles.

Here are a few of my TV Show ideas. Cue the music.

• A women’s water polo team on tour in Siberia. Broken down buses, snow, vodka, some water polo, a lot of feelings, more vodka. And dancing bears. Lots of dancing bears.
• An underdog team of cricket-playing leprechauns from the forrest just outside of Dublin. I’ll just let that one speak for itself.
• A high-school drama about ostracized zombie teenagers who form a chart-topping band, thus gaining the admiration of their peers, until they turn around and eat everyone in site.

Hmmm. Maybe I should just leave that kind of thinking to the pros. But, I’m pretty sure there’s a perfect show out there just waiting to be scored by Battles. And, I can guarantee this much: I will be watching.