I'll admit I've had a love/hate relationship with the Gaslight Anthem. When I was first exposed to them, being a HUGE Springsteen fan, I was disgusted that Fallon could so blatantly rip him off. And not just with lyrics and singing style, but down to stage movements and even how he talked. I did however warm up to Fallon and TGA eventually, thinking, well the young Springsteen emulated Dylan (though nowhere close to that extent) and the young Dylan, emulated Guthrie..Also when "the 59 Sound" came out, it was undeniably good.
Then came strike two and three: During my excitement about the Gaslight Anthem, I read/watched whatever interviews I came across with Fallon. Over time, you could see the transition from modest Jersey guy, to pompous guy with a big head (literally), calling out Johnny Marr, complaining about how he can't go out in public without being harassed, etc.
But my main beef was from one particular interview (cue "Unsolved Mysteries" theme song below)
In this interview, Brian was asked about the music he liked growing up. In his reply was something along the lines of how he how he remembered when Nirvana/grunge music came out, and he was uninterested. He didn't get it, "flannel shirts??" he thought? He was just more of a classic rock person.
**Unfortunately, after a tireless search, I cannot relocate this interview, but believe it was either a video or a stream from 09/early'10 that had been linked from punknews.org. It may have been taken down, much like the video of Fallon that was here, in which, alongside many failing attempts at humor, he complains about how he can't go into a 7 11 without being recognized, or do work on his porch without people taking pictures. (If you have ANY information of the whereabouts of these two interviews, please email dailyweirdo@gmail.com).
Anyhow, being a lover of all things grunge and Nirvana, this clearly stuck in my mind, it was almost like 9/11 you know, where you remember where you were when you heard the news. I had found it a little insulting because I thought, as a youth growing up how could you not relate to that music? Now fast forward to Fallon after the Gaslight Anthem plays on bills with the Foo Fighters and Pearl Jam.
"The first time i heard "Nevermind" i was about 14 years old and the video for "Lithium" came on on mtv, when they played videos, and my friend and I tore my mothers living room to shreds, because that was probably the most exciting and strangest think I'd ever heard and all it made me want to do was break everything...and i got in serious trouble, but i went out and bought the record and had probably one of the best summers of my life." (Brian Fallon on Nevermind radio on Sirius XM)
“We wanted to look back on the music that we first found when we were in high school. The truth is, if you’re my age, you were listening to Peal Jam and Nirvana and Soundgarden. When that music came out these were guys that we could relate to. They weren’t the biggest bands in the world by accident.”(Fallon on their new record from mercylounge.com)
Weird right? I'm sure some of you are thinking, "Let us know when you find the exact quote from Fallon about disliking grunge". Well, once the CIA stops covering for Fallon and these things resurface, i will gladly do so and rub it in your face!
There's my rant. fart.
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