When I watched the movie Hype! as a teen and simply never could convince myself to return it to Hollywood Video, one song and one band blew my mind. It was Love Battery. It was this performance.
I thought it was amazing all these local bands were making it big and being from Seattle and even the outskirts was suddenly so cool. But I really connected with Brit Pop and the Southern Rap genius of Outkast and Goodie Mob. Well…and The Fugees of Dirty Jersey and their hints of acoustic guitar.
The Brits had the best melodies, The South had the gritz and drawl of countrified Soul. That’s what spoke to me.
But this clip and this guitar effect got into my bones. This band Love Battery had soul and a song that pulled me and made me rewind my VHS.
I couldn’t understand why THEY weren’t on top of the charts, up there with “Black Hole Sun” (won’t you come, won’t you come?), as that video ran on loop with “Insane in The Membrane” and Unplugged in New York, as Pop Culture was drilled into us, even if I didn’t even have cable at home.
Without MTV in my family room to play out its Meatloafian Coolio loops, I would watch that movie Hype!, always alone as a teen, dreaming I could be a Seattle Rock Star too, and that I had something to say
…and that someday, if my song were just good enough people would listen.
When I realized Kevin Whitworth from Love Battery was (somehow) my friend on Facebook and that he was reading and even commenting, and even sharing my rants, I felt like somehow, I was finally a small part of that movie, if it were a song with the longest fade out.
Listen to Love Battery on John Richards show on KEXP on August 1st.
Davin’s new song has been released and has become a global earworm and Caribbean dancehall hit. Listen here on Reggaeville: DAVIN MICHAEL STEDMAN & ANTHONY RED ROSE – FREE YOUR MIND FEAT. SLY & ROBBIE WITH LENKY MARSDEN. The video is now available on Youtube.
– Musician and writer Davin Michael Stedman has many ventures, such as the AMAZING blog, 100milesofmusic.com, and is one of the driving forces behind the Staxx Brothers. This past spring he spent weeks networking in and reporting from Kingston, Jamaica. His single with British band Sherlock Soul is now available as well.
