Rock music has got to come back. It's time. But it needs a little something extra, that touch of destructive brilliance that will set all the teenagers' parents on edge. Grunge had this something extra ... and thanks to grunge, we no longer have to deal with Paula Abdul.
The Leaf Blower Garage Band would be an above-average rock band, but in place of the standard guitar solo, you'd hear the leaf blower instead. Leaf blowers are a proven suburban annoyance, bona fide noise pollution; they are actually banned in many cities. Parents everywhere would cringe, which is the entire point of rock music.
An added bonus: the Leaf Blower Garage Band would blow Christina Aguilera right off the stage. Literally.-- 1percent, Apr 10 2001 Baked. http://www.bongload.com/beck/story/A la Beck. (genius, btw) [absterge, Apr 10 2001, last modified Oct 04 2004] Blowerphone http://www.halfbake...om/idea/BlowerphoneHalfbaked. (Rmutt is not above a little blatant self-aggrandizement.) [rmutt, Apr 10 2001, last modified Oct 04 2004] Some redneck band also had a Billboard tune with a chainsaw solo in it. Can't remember the band's name...-- absterge, Apr 10 2001 Yawn. In 1979 a friend passed away-Harley into fence. We had a memorial party for him---Grand finale was R__ G_____ walking down the street -from garage where band was just THUMPING- with a running chain saw, while naked - at 7 am - on a Sunday - in a nice conservative residential neighborhood. Why and how the neighbors didn't complain, we'll never know-other than respect for the recently deceased.-- thumbwax, Apr 10 2001 Absterge: Jackyl had a chainsaw solo in the song 'Lumberjack'. He'd also saw a stool or something apart on stage...-- StarChaser, Apr 11 2001 The Art of Noise also used chainsaws in Close (to the Edit) back in the 80's - Loved the MTV version with the little girl hacking a piano apart! Just don't make classy music like that any more . . .-- wasraw, Apr 12 2001 Wasn't there a German band called Einsturzendeneubauten who made music from anything but musical instruments?-- Ivy, May 14 2001 "Einstürzende Neubauten" (collapsing new buildings / high rises / projects). They're still around. They don't so much eschew conventional instruments (although there is a lot of industrial clanking going on) but conventional mastery and predetermination of instruments. That spontaneity has weakened somewhat over the twenty years they've been playing.
Contrary to what one might think, they're not a novelty act, but have been a strong influence in mainstream modern art and Industrial music in the last twenty years with their destructive percussion lines, dark lyrics, and sometimes very haunting melodies.
(And, no, I don't think they've ever used leafblowers.)-- jutta, May 14 2001, last modified May 15 2001 Many of the bands in my neighbourhood sound as though they're using leafblowers already.-- angel, May 15 2001 Einstürzende Neubauten" (collapsing new buildings) - heard that courtesy of the guy who writes most of my checks out to me - He has an extensive collection of Prog Rock numbering in the hundreds. I'm glad the name came up - I'm due to give it a listen again. Found Sound is a wonder - where I grew up was a bit isolated - though a freeway (motorway in some places of our small world) existed a mile away - it, along with Orange and Olive Packing Houses which were numerous and their various trucks/trains/forklifts and the winters filled with the sound of wind machines (Imagine the blitzkreig) remain with me. On the rare, but soon due occasion visit to that place I call home ...I step outside to hear the sounds of machines in the dead of night. On occasion - I've taken Others to hear the sound of water splashing on rounded stones in Palisades/Malibu late at night. The ephemeral beauty/cacophony of sound afforded us is unlimited in its' possibilities. Music to my ears anyway.-- thumbwax, May 15 2001 My band used a vacuum cleaner as the lead in an instrumental passage at one recording session. It sounded pretty good (to us), but we wound up using a guitar solo instead. Hope I saved a copy of that mix.-- snarfyguy, May 23 2001 (I'm still finding my way around the HB, sorry.) All I want to add is that I believe KMFDM's first gigs employed *all* vacuum cleaners as their instruments--or maybe that was Einstürzende Neubauten. I bet their moms wished they'd employ them at *home*. Like in their *rooms*.-- threeoutside, Feb 06 2002 random, halfbakery