If you believe what you read on the Interweb, there are people in the world who think Actionslacks should be huge. Some of these people are not our parents.
These people are awesome, but they're the same people who think that world peace will occur in our lifetime, and that the wait to get into their favorite Indian restaurant on Saturday night won't be that long. That is, they are supreme optimists, and we love them for it.
The cold, harsh reality is that Actionslacks is not huge, nor have we ever had a hit, at least not in the traditional sense. But we've written a lot of songs, and to make things easier for you, we've spotlighted 15 here that exemplify who we are and what we've been doing for the last decade and a half. Let's call them our Greatest Misses, organized chronologically, and annotated for your reading, uh, pleasure.
So whether you've discovered us recently, or simply want to remind yourself why you love/like/hate us, this is your easily digestible morsel, your ADD-friendly compendium, your Actionslacks snack pack. Bon appetit!
Doves, "Words"
Ween, "Transdermal Celebration"
Ripe, "Something Fierce"
Ra Ra Riot, "Ghost Under Rocks"
No Knife, "Brush Off"
Bailter Space, "Fisheye"
The Lemonheads, "Hannah & Gabi"
Autolux, "Sugarless"
Graig Markel, "Looking Glass"
For Squirrels, "Under Smithville"
Big Heavy Stuff, "Devil's Tongue"
The Wrens, "This Boy Is Exhausted"
Rogue Wave, "Bird On A Wire"
New Sweet Breath, "Welcome"
Nada Surf, "Always Love"
Interpol, "Pace Is The Trick"
Fishbone, "Ma and Pa"
The Dismemberment Plan, "You Are Invited"
The Notwist, "Good Lies"
fIREHOSE, "Brave Captain"
Idaho, "Pomegranate Bleeding"
Superdrag, "Baby Goes To Eleven"
Young Galaxy, "No Matter How Hard You Try"
Failure, "Undone"
Wire, "Outdoor Miner"
You Am I, "Mr. Milk"
Rival Schools, "Good Things"
Oasis, "Falling Down"
The Snowmen, "Crash and Burn"
Pela, "Lost To The Lonesome"
Whiskeytown, "Bar Lights"
Built To Spill, "The Plan"
The Jealous Sound, "Priceless"
Low, "Hatchet"
The New Pornographers, "Mass Romantic"
The Upper Crust, "Let Them Eat Rock"
Dealership, "Jungle Gym"
Spoon, "Everything Hits At Once"
The Smarties, "Michael Riley"
Ride, "Leave Them All Behind"
Longwave, "Sirens In the Deep Sea"
Jason Isbel, "Brand New Kind of Actress"
Uncle Tupelo, "Gun"
Squeaky, "Dual Mono"
Elbow, "Fallen Angel"
Poster Children, "Blatant Dis"
The Promise Ring, "Why Did We Ever Meet"
Buffalo Tom, "Velvet Roof"
Charmless, "We Are"
Sebadoh, "Got It"
Verbena, "White Girls"
Tokyo Police Club, "Centennial"
Marah, "My Heart Is the Bums on the Street"
Meat Puppets, "Up On The Sun"
The Minutemen, "The Glory Of Man"
The Rosebuds, "Boxcar"
Old 97's, "Timebomb"
Darker My Love, "Two Ways Out"
Wheat, "Don't I Hold You"
American Music Club, "Wish The World Away"
Hüsker Dü, "Makes No Sense At All"
Creeper Lagoon, "Dear Deadly"
The Posies, "Please Return It"
Material Issue, "Goin' Through Your Purse"
Oranger, "Eggtooth"
Swervedriver, "These Times"
Hazel, "Day Glo"
An Angle, "I'm Alright"
Winterpills, "Broken Arm"
South, "Paint The Silence"
Bettie Serveert, "Geek"
The Long Winters, "Shapes"
Say Hi, "Northwestern Girls"
Carlos!, "Steamroller"
Superchunk, "Why Do You Have To Put A Date On Everything"
Les Savy Fav, "What Would Wolves Do?"
Burning Airlines, "Pacific 231"
Perfect, "Don't Need To Know Where"
Beulah, "Emma Blowgun's Last Stand"
Hugh, "I Wanna Be A Cowboy"
Centro-Matic, "Most Everyone Will Find"
Guided By Voices, "Do the Earth"
John Doe, "Golden State"
Mellowdrone, "Oh My"
So now you're caught up on the history of Actionslacks. You've come this far, you should probably take the next logical step and get our new EP, Kids With Guitars.
Appears on: debut 7" single (out of print) and Too Bright Just Right Goodnight Year: 1995
Tim: The A-side of our first 7" single. Written about a particularly annoying East Bay journalist who made me choke on my burrito on more than one occasion. (Confidential to trainspotters: the first letters of the words in the first line spell her name - thus the title).
2. "Floater"
Appears on:Too Bright Just Right Goodnight Year: 1995
Tim: Hmmm...sounds like it was recorded in a garage in San Francisco's Sunset district. Oh, wait - it was. The sound of me inventing a new sub-genre: vocabulary-core. "In this capacity...lacking tenacity." We're still holding out for that Roget's sponsorship.
3. "No Wonder Boy"
Appears on:Too Bright Just Right Goodnight Year: 1995
Tim: This song sounded like a sea chantey to me, thus the references to "mooring chains" and being "anchored to a plank of wood" (i.e. my desk in the basement of Berkeley's Lawrence Hall Of Science). Kind of an homage to "She Floated Away" by Hüsker Dü and the many New Zealand bands I was obsessed with. Used to love playing this live. One of our first really dynamic songs.
4. "Imogene Threw Me Over"
Appears on:One Word Year: 1998
Tim: The first line is a verbatim recounting of a story my dad used to tell me. There really was an Imogene, and she really did throw him over for an anchor clanker. This song is probably the best example of us melding two strains of indie rock: New Zealand folksy drone and Hüsker/Colorfast-inspired wall of distortion. A live favorite to this day. On a good night it feels like the stage is levitating.
5. "The Look"
Appears on:One Word Year: 1998
Tim: Inspired by a cheesy made-for-TV movie about Catherine The Great. I still contend that with the right combination of production, luck, timing and connections (none of which we had), this song could've bought us all houses. Oh, well, we got 'em eventually.
6. "Self-Conscious Spiel"
Appears on:One Word Year: 1998
Tim: My friend Jennifer Havel and I used to have long conversations about our nightly exploits, and one day I switched on the tape recorder. I am still sworn to secrecy as to the identity of the band she's talking about. "We cannot afford/ to be betrayed by a dulcet chord/ make it ugly, make it sad/ to convey all my pain". Written as a jab at overly dour bands, but I think I was writing about myself. Title is a nod to our beloved Minutemen.
7. "The Scene's Out Of Sight"
Appears on:The Scene's Out Of Sight Year: 2001
Tim: An homage to every drunken, debauched night I spent in San Francisco and the East Bay, and probably our defining moment as a band. I have no recollection of writing it, but I do remember hating my job and wanting desperately to escape. If our kids organize a Slacks reunion in 50 years and put instruments in our feeble hands, we will play this song perfectly. It is in our blood. Kudos to the great Aaron Rubin for a stellar bass performance.
8. "Joan Of Arc"
Appears on:The Scene's Out Of Sight Year: 2001
Tim: A very deliberate paean to "Town Called Malice" by The Jam and youthful lust and exuberance. I remember writing this with Marty in our freezing Emeryville practice space - just the two of us with a 6-pack on a Saturday night. Those were the days.
9. "Folding Chair"
Appears on:The Scene's Out Of Sight Year: 2001
Tim: The thing about your 20s is that people start getting married, and I remember sitting in a folding chair at some wedding or other, ruminating on the heartbreak of being on the losing side of the equation. I vividly recall writing this in my little studio apartment in North Berkeley. The Death Cab guys told me they used to crank this in their van.
10. "Shining Jewels (Remix)"
Appears on:Never Never Shake, Baby Year: 2002
Tim: A love letter to my girlfriend (now wife) and to the notion of being young and in love in San Francisco after dark. Truth be told there was only one flight of stairs to her apartment, but it felt like seven after a long day. All credit for the beauty of this remix goes to J. Robbins, whose understated, Chris Isaak-esque guitar work is the perfect compliment. We've been asked to play this at several weddings.
11. "Iron Anchor"
Appears on:Never Never Shake, Baby Year: 2002
Tim: Kind of a strange little song that never really fit into the running order of Scene. Benefits immensely from the backing vocals of J. Robbins. I insisted on including the melody line from Crime & The City Solution's "Home Is Far From Here" in the outtro - seemed like a good idea at the time. This tune is pretty epic live; we need to start playing it again.
12. "My Favorite Man"
Appears on:Full Upright Position Year: 2004
Tim: An olive branch extended to my dad, to whom I'm both diametrically opposed and remarkably similar. We're upping the production quotient a bit here, with a dusting of electro. I still think it sounds cool. My dad has yet to listen to the song.
13. "This Damn Nation"
Appears on:Full Upright Position Year: 2004
Tim: Written in about 15 minutes after a particularly bruising afternoon in front of the TV. Just absolutely fed up. Musically, I wanted to write something that mimicked Johnny Marr's opening riff on "What Difference Does It Make?", just so I could pretend to be him on stage instead in my apartment. My riff is about one tenth as good as his, but I got my wish. Ross demonstrates here why he is Actionslacks' secret weapon - a superb performance, just completely in the pocket.
14. "We Are Not The Losers (Anymore)"
Appears on:Full Upright Position Year: 2004
Tim: After years of writing songs about girls, it dawned on me that the most deserving object of my affection was the guy sitting behind me. This is a long-overdue mash note to Marty and his many endearing traits and awe-inspiring skill behind the kit. Musically, there's a big Queen thing going on (with Chuck channeling Brian May and his and J. Robbins' epic vocal arrangement and singing). I was living alone in a roach-infested Hollywood apartment at this time, working a corporate job and being generally bummed out. Hearing this for the first time brightened an otherwise dark existence.
Download it
15. "Simple Life (Acoustic)"
Appears on:Full Upright Position Acoustic Companion (free download) Year: 2004
Tim: As a way to promote the album, I recorded an acoustic version of Full Upright Position, posting one song a week, free for the taking. It was a fantastic way for me to rediscover what I liked about the songs in the first place, and we clocked a surprising number of downloads. This song is about as populist as we get, but I mean every word. Fun fact: the album version damn near became the theme song for the Paris Hilton reality show of the same name.
