Excuse Me, Is This The Age of Reason?

All the great American rock artists of the 80s can agree that the most powerful thing about that time and place was the number of amazing bands that dotted the whole country, even in the most remote areas. The Embarrassment was one of these bands, and one of the few I've been listening to lately outside of NZ and LA). The quartet hailed from Wichita, Kansas and played what they called "blister pop." Apparently, other people called it "punk" - most likely mainly people from Kansas. While their unashamedly nerdy look may bring to mind the Feelies, the Embos had one of the most unique voices in rock at the time with lyrics that ranged from snide and sarcastic to innocent and sincere all delivered with a playful, Midwestern sense of humor.

As nerdy as they looked, the boys were pretty hip as anyone who has been to a hipster gathering could tell immediately in a song like "Celebrity Art Party." The raunchy "Sex Drive" and sweet-natured "Wellsville" (which I would bet gave the setting of The Adventures of Pete & Pete its name) demonstrate the band's great plains roots. The almost cruel ode to Bewitched star "Elizabeth Montgomery's Face" and epic "Lewis and Clark" evoke the kind of boyhood fantasies/fascinations hardly visible in underground rock music done to perfection. The first disc really is the star of the show, covering the groups original singles and EPs. The second disc, while strong yet very outtake-y has it's gems such as the song that really get me into the band "Sexy Singer Girl."

After teh band's original breakup half of the band relocated to Boston, which beleive it or not at one time had a few redemptive qualities (i.e. music scene) with guitarist Bill Goffier froming Big Dipper and drummer Brent Giessman joining the Del Fuegos. The other two, I presume sttayed in Wichita until the band reunited. I do not know if they did anything significant there.


The Embarrassment - Heyday 1979-83

Here are some sweet videos as well:



thre's more where the second one came from...