ItвЂ™s an art record,В really- and itвЂ™s a damn shame that few picked up on that. All of the sampling on the second side and the left-in mistakes throughout help Saturation transcend вЂњrock albumвЂќ status, emerging into вЂњWarhol-esque pop spectacleвЂќ territory, as awol drummer Blackie Onassis once described it. Phil and Joe Nicolo,В professionally known as The Butcher Bros, make this album what it is. The atmosphere of Satch' owes a lot to the then-novel practice of pairing a directionless alt rock trio with a hip-hop production team. This record is 13 times as inventive as Ten or Siamese Dream. What?! Listen to вЂњDropout,вЂќ or take a minute to find the bonus track, вЂњOperation Kissinger.вЂќ But the songs owe just as much to Cheap Trick as вЂњSmells Like Teen SpiritвЂќ owes the Pixies, or вЂњOutshinedвЂќ does Sabbath. And yes -В it is fair to consider вЂњSister HavanaвЂќ an anthem. There is that Doobie Brothers breakdown in вЂњErica Kane,вЂќ alright. There are a few Stonesy guitar lines, sure. Even more damning, the greater critical community declined to validate Saturation as earnest alternative rock music. At the same time, the DeRogatisвЂ™ and Wymans of Chicago failed to realize and perpetuate what was crucial about the bandвЂ™s sense of fun. IвЂ™m not suggesting the band should have been taken seriously. Instead of writing them off as вЂњVegas revivalists,вЂќ critics mightвЂ™ve considered them the hipsterвЂ™s hipster, and farther into a punk rock personality than any Billie Joe Armstrong would ever be willing to venture.Д¬ritics clued in on UrgeвЂ™s tongue-in-cheek irony, of course. If Nirvana and Pearl Jam were 'modern rock,'В then Urge was 'postmodern.'В From a purely aesthetic standpoint, they gave their (ringed) middle fingers to the guys that were giving their middle fingers to bigshots like Poison and Ticketmaster. Kato,В UrgeвЂ™s crooning, shade-wearinвЂ™, martini-swillinвЂ™ Iceman-slinginвЂ™ co-captain. To put this in a light that even my musically-misguided peers will understand- you have your Cobains, your Vedders, Cornells & CorgansвЂ¦and then thereвЂ™s Nash F. Pretty shallow shit, generally, although some of it is just great music. They sing about disillusionment toward whatever is handy- the music industry, the opposite sex, stardom, their own mortality. But the motive was always non-conformity.ДЇast-forward 15 years, where the genre derived from punk is now вЂњalternative rock,вЂќ and the biggest bands sport self-conscious stubble, baggy shirts and torn jeans. The route was minimalism, yes -В and the result was popularity. The Ramones, Sex Pistols, Clash, BuzzcocksвЂ¦ they bled this music not to be popular or even minimalist, but rather to give their middle finger to Journey and Led Zeppelin.

ItвЂ™s all about refusing to do what everyone else is doing. Not political leanings, teenage angst or the chaotic or even systematic dismantling of various establishments. ItвЂ™s all clear now, though, and itвЂ™s easier to pinpoint the minuscule yet significant velvety nugget that Urge dropped on rock history.В Consider this: Urge Overkill had the most punk-rock approach of any band in the post- Nevermind era.ДonвЂ™t believe it? IвЂ™m not surprised.В The root of punk rock is non-conformity. And I suppose if these armchair-rockers only listened to the first 30 seconds of the first song on every album they reviewed, theyвЂ™d be right about this one.Д«efore we get into the musical genius of Saturation, I feel obligated to outline the Urge Overkill aesthetic that, after 30 years вЂњtogether,вЂќ has been obscured by a lingering 90вЂ™s fog. Universally, the record has been dismissed asвЂ¦ Redd Kross. The interweb backhanded it (вЂњ stadium rock by clever post-punkersвЂќ or вЂњ a perfect swaggering blend of arena rock and power popвЂќ) with local Chicago critics similarly dissing it ( Steve Albini called them вЂњfrat rockвЂќ in his retort to Bill Wyman including it in a top 10 list for 1993, while Jim DeRogatis compared the record to Weekend Warriors by Ted Nugent). Urge OverkillвЂ™s Saturation may be the most-widely misunderstood album of its generation.

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