2008 Woodie Awards
Loving that Yeltsin
Ann Colwell - The Daily Iowan
Issue date: 5/16/08 Section: Arts/mp3s
"Think I Wanna Die"
Indie music used to be a vague and unknown entity. Remember that? A genre of sound originally pegged on bands without labels, the term quickly morphed into something akin to emo kids jamming out, wearing weird outfits, being happy, and sometimes whining about lame girl problems.
And then there was Seth Cohen.
That's right, we're talking about that jabbering, kooky, charismatic, curly haired rascal from "The OC" who ran wild with the rest of the gang from Harbor Prep. His bedroom was littered with posters of Atom and His Package and bizarre graphic-novel characters, and his stereo was always blasting something indie. A phenomenon emerged, and pretty soon, any band featured on "The OC" was getting signed and exploding onto the music scene. One such band, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, will hit the stage at the Picador, 330 E. Washington, on May 23 at 9 p.m.
"When 'The OC' called us about using our songs, we were completely broke," said Philip Dickey, amiable lead singer and guitarist for Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, a band featured on an episode of the TV series in 2006. "Our van was breaking down, and we were going to have to borrow money from our parents. We desperately needed a little boost, so we weren't worried about selling out by being on the show."
And as the virtually unknown and unsigned band's song "Oregon Girl" aired for millions of viewers nationwide, Boris Yeltsin played a show in Denver for three people. The Springfield, Mo., foursome snuck into a nearby hotel to see their song play on national TV, and they were hit by the surreal situation. The band signed to Polyvinyl, its current label, just after the tour wrapped up.
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