Back in February, Okkervil River’s Will Sheff wrote a blog post about how much he likes The Rock*A*Teens, and this Sunday, August 10 he’ll be opening for the band at LPR. In his post Sheff included an 18-track Rock*A*Teens mix, so we decided to compile those songs as a Spotify playlist. Check it out below.
 
While you’re listening, we highly recommend reading Sheff’s post, which really captures the band’s essence. Here’s his opening paragraph to get you started:
 
“I often make the outrageous drunken claim that the Rock*A*Teens were the best rock and roll band of the 1990s. It’s sort of ridiculous to say, but as I write this sentence stone sober and drinking a glass of juice, I still kind of believe it. I keep waiting to not believe it, as I very frequently don’t believe all kinds of outrageous claims that I make, but I just cross-referenced with all the other 1990s rock and roll bands in my iTunes (we’re talking bands here, not singer-songwriters – and rock, not hip-hop which I think was way more important than rock in the 90s anyway) and I’m pretty much ready to double down; this disastrously scrappy Atlanta band with their not-very-good-sounding recordings and their name half-swiped from a 50’s rockabilly outfit were…okay, let’s not say the “best,” because I don’t really believe there’s any objective truth when it comes to evaluating music – let’s say they were my favorite. They had more great records than Nirvana (although no defining masterpiece), were (a tiny bit) smarter and had more at stake than Pavement, were more consistent than Guided By Voices, and had better all-around songs than Galaxie 500. So, though I love all those other bands, I’m going with them.”
 
And here’s Sheff’s mix as a Spotify playlist:
 

 
Get your tickets for Sunday’s show with The Rock*A*Teens and Will Sheff here.
 
posted by John