I stumbled across the band Fruit Bats when I was in college. I have no idea how I found them, but I do know that I listened to the song "The Ruminant Band" and "When U Love Somebody" on repeat for days. I also know that the band will always remind me of the book Ramona Quimby, Age 8, because in the book Ramona has to keep oatmeal with fruit flies in it for a school project. While I realize fruit bats and fruit flies are not the same thing, the association has, nevertheless, stuck (Tony the Tripper after the jump).
I was inspired to post about Fruit Bats not because of Romona, god bless her, but because I recently saw a friend listening to their song "Tony the Tripper" using the Rdio.com app on Facebook (so, looks like this social media thing is here to stay, no?).
Rdio is a better version of Spotify, in my opinion, because you don't have to launch a separate application, it's super easy to navigate, and you can find great songs through other people even if you're not connected to them via a social network. You can also access your history (the link goes to mine) so you can remember a great song you listened to yesterday or two weeks ago. The site also gives accurate recommendations for songs you might like based on what you've already listened to. Definitely worth checking out, especially since you never know when you'll find a new song by a band you already love...
...like this one, "Tony the Tripper." I love the un-fussy guitar, the building sound, and Eric D. Johnson's raggedy, high voice. It's warbly and satisfying. And I like the lyrics: “I sad Tony take it easy / not knowing if he'd cry or punch me / screaming the world might end anyway." I definitely know some people like Tony.
Also, here are the first two songs by the Fruit Bats that I loved. Enjoy. And don't let any fruit flies into your oatmeal.
"When U Love Somebody:"
"The Ruminant Band:"
