this show is happening tonight. i won't be there but you should go anyway... xoxo
The first time I ever heard Ben Lee, I didn’t really know it was actually Ben Lee. My best friend in high school introduced me to Noise Addict, an Australian punk/pop band, whose recording of a random song called ‘Pop Queen’ became our VERY secret anthem for the rest of the year. Nearly every afternoon, after we spent all day at school pushing past kids in the hall, shouting L7, Juliana Hatfield and Bikini Kill lyrics, saying we didn’t need boys ever, we would rush back to her house and lay around and listen to that song… over, and over, and over again. That’s right, while we dyed pink streaks in our hair and sewed Dead Kennedys patches on our backpacks, we yearned to be somebody—anybody’s—‘pop queen.’ And now that I have told you wayyyy too much about my pathetic coming-of-age retardedness, you may understand why, despite the criticism and teasing from my music snob friends, I still hold a special place in my heart for Ben Lee, the front man of Noise Addict. Today Lee makes delicious pop music that isn’t very far from that first EP with his former band, aside from his now post-puberty vocals. Despite that loss of innocence, there’s still something very wholesomely appealing about Lee’s music. I can only assume that his heartbreaking lyrics and cracking voice are still making girls all over the world (and me) swoon in delight. With song titles like ‘Cigarettes Will Kill You’ and ‘Love Me Like the World is Ending,’ it’s not difficult to understand why. (CL) WITH CARY BROTHERS AND KATE VOEGELE AT THE EL REY, 5515 WILSHIRE BLVD, LOS ANGELES. 7 PM / $17 / ALL AGES. WWW.GOLDENVOICE.COM.
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