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Bettawreckonize Reviews by Tim Anderl If you're over 26, you were probably right there losing your religion when R.E.M. had their first brush with commercial fame in the nineties. R.E.M. is a band who in my estimation did much to push the door open for today's commercial indie rock boom. I think it's pretty safe to assume that marketing folks would be peddling cars, fries, toothpaste, and WB television shows with hairspray metal had it not been, at least in part, for R.E.M. While their exposure may have pissed off R.E.M.'s core fanbase, I think television commercials are better for it. Before this analogy gets thin let me clarify: while I'm not yet sure VIV has the potential to make as sizeable a contribution to the world of music as R.E.M. has, they are certainly at least one of the high caliber, pristine indie pop bands that will benefit from the doors R.E.M. left open. There are a lot of these kinds of bands, the "music behind the commercial though still a totally legit band" bands out there -- Modest Mouse, The Shins, The Walkmen and Remy Zero are included among these ranks folks. VIV could definitely go toe to toe with well-produced pop bands of their same ilk, bands who have a handle on the finer points of Weezer and The Police, of U2 and Tom Petty. While you're waiting to see which of the WB's lineup will benefit from a VIV-penned theme song, feel free get in on the ground floor and rock out to the perfectly acceptable Flawed. Then you can be one of the smug few, one of their early fanbase, who is entitled to talking shit on them on the internet when they make it big.
©2001 Ten Toes Over
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