band of the week: The Libertines

many music lovers (yours truly included) have many ostensibly irreconcilable music tastes. we obsess over Elliott Smith one day, and AC/DC the next day. we seek with equal ardour 7"s by The White Stripes and acoustic bootlegs of Ryan Adams' early work. we love Paul Simon, but cannot live without Alice Cooper. it makes no sense to our mono-tasted counterparts.

so I am going to say something that makes absolutely no sense, but makes all the sense in the world.

The Libertines are the perfect meeting point between The Clash and The Smiths.

anyone with a surface level familiarity with the band's music would scoff at my claim. Peter Doherty sounds nothing like Morrissey or Joe Strummer, and the band's music is pretty detached from both of those bands.

but fans of the band will understand what I mean. Libs fans know that Doherty worships The Smiths. he even named a song of his ("The Last of the English Roses") after a Smiths album. fans of the band will also know that Mick Jones produced both Libertines albums, which not only channel the raw energy of the Libs' punk idols, but a subtle musical similarity down to their ridiculously talented drummer.

so you see, The Libertines are basically one of the greatest bands in the world, as they channel two of the greatest bands in rock n roll history. just like The Smiths and The Clash, The Libertines were musical pioneers. Peter Doherty and Carl Barat aren't even forty yet but they're fucking legends.

there is one minor problem: due to internal struggles, the band broke up in 2004. Barat continued to form Dirty Pretty Things and Doherty created Babyshambles. I love both bands, but neither come close to the perfection that is The Libertines.

but fear not folks, unless the universe has a very cruel sense of humour, the band is set to reunite next year. so stick in there, keep spinning your Libertines records (and maybe even Grace/Wastelands for a change of pace every now and again), and never, EVER stop believing in the unstoppable force that is THE LIBERTINES.

The Libertines - Don't Look Back Into The Sun [mp3]
a single which was not released on either Up The Bracket (2002) or The Libertines (2004)...but an excellent song nonetheless

also, it should be noted that Mick Jones is eager to produce the new record.