Binge 20

Jeff Taylor

Let’s get back to Poland’s best band, and my third or fourth favourite band. That band is the Stubs, and if you’re curious the bands in the top positions are KISS (#1) and I guess then Dave Matthews Band followed by Pearl Jam. A person should never give up on their favourite band which partly defines their identity. I have loved KISS since I was eight years old; these days I rarely listen to them but KISS still rules.

Jesus has been a constant companion for others and KISS has done this for me. As a kid I dressed up as them for Halloween, a loser high school student whom people thought to be a bigger loser for liking KISS, and when they reunited in the 1990s and everybody realized what I had known…KISS kicks fucking ass. I listen to KISS only a couple times a year, just as many Christians just go to church even less frequently. And thus, you can’t give up on somebody who has done so much for you – they created you. A friend of mine had loved a certain band, not very famous, not very good, but they made him who he was and that’s partly why I liked him. Then he switched allegiances and declared that the Rolling Stones were his favourite, I perceived differntly; maybe somebody not be trusted. Me, I’ve liked KISS forever so you know that I can surely be trusted. However, I’m pretty lazy so don’t count on me.

Anyway, enough about KISS and some time for The Stubs. You can read the whole blog entry about the band here:  http://ro.com.pl/do-you-like-the-white-stripes/0194301, or just the last line to get the essense: „So if you’re tired of bands that fail to rock with pride, fall short of your expectations and basically suck, The Stubs are the band for you.”

I saw The Stubs in concert last week in Pub Beczka and they were great. My readers would probably expect some reasons why The Stubs are Poland’s greatest band. But first a tangent, it’s a tendency among Poles to make a statement and then say „in my opinion”, „it depends but…” or „I think”. The hell with that, if you add „in my opinion” whenever you state an opinion it lessens its credibility. People would think that maybe bigos isn’t the best dish ever (and it isn’t). So I state undoubtedly directly in-your-face that The Stubs is Poland’s best rock group.

Reason number 1: At a concert what do adults often do? Drink beer of course. So imagine a band that is so good that you forget about your beer (or in the case with many men who forget their girlfriends/wives. „Honey, I’m sorry it doesn’t mean anything. The Stubs are just fucking awesome!”). However, at their concert I knew I was holding a beer but didn’t feel like drinking so that I wouldn’t miss any of the show. Valuable Stubs time.

Reason number 2: At the Stubs show besides me there were other musicians/band members (BINGE, The Lollipops, Upadek, Magnificent Mutley) in the audience and they were all proably thinking, „What’s the point? I’ll never be good as this band.”

Reason number 3: Even if the various band members decide to continue with achieving their dreams, they all want to be like The Stubs. I’ve seen KISS in concert several times but I wouldn’t want to dress like Gene Simmons or sing like Paul Stanley.

Reason number 4: At this concert The Stubs played mostly unknown songs from their next album which hasn’t been released and yet I thought they all kicked ass.

Proof that The Stubs are Poland’s greatest band. If you don’t believe me, just listen for free to their album „Second Suicide.”