2000 Great Songs #1224: Mike Love, Not War

Yeah, I know, I'm turning to some obscure indie album now for a second time. But it's worth it!

Bay Area indie band Oranger debuted in 1998 with Doorway to Norway, an eclectic LP (maybe more like an EP) which merged the latter-day acid rock of early Flaming Lips (who get covered on the record) with the more tuneful lo-fi retro-psychedelia comparable to the then-emerging Elephant 6 collective. The song with the silly title, "Mike Love, Not War," kinda blends these two aspects--it opens and closes with a quiet, melodic bit (presented as if played on a scratchy old slab of vinyl), sandwiching a peripatetic suite alternating rousing power pop with various interludes. So it's just a big ol' delirious mess--part wiggy pop hooks, part studio fuckery. Also rather awesome.

Live 2007: