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SAVE JULIE OCEAN!!!!


Posted by Hartley On Oct 23, 2008

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No, The Jetsons haven't made an indie pop album

Obviously, we here at BRM HQ listen and digest a lot music. We love most of it, but Julie Ocean held a special place in our neurotic Jewish hearts from the get-go. Not only were the DC-hailing quartet "older" (and by older we mean older than 30), but they actually held real full-time office jobs (apparently one Julie works at an insurance agency no less), all were music industry lifers from seminal bands like Velocity Girl, and miraculously they still were able to make an album that sounded catchy, smart, young, fresh, and dare I say what it lacked in "hipness" it made up for in sheer exuberance. Yes, Julie Ocean's Long Gone And Nearly There is among the best pop albums of '08 from a band you prolly never heard of before, and will most-likely never hear from again.

Yes, you read that right. Today the great brains at Pitchforkmedia released the news: Julie Ocean have called it quits. Prompting me to wonder: if an indie rock band falls in a forest and nobody is there to hear them, did they even fall at all? Too sad my friends, too sad. Let's take a look back at one of the best bands of this year in desperate need of a Bail Out Plan:

The video from the incendiary relationship-pop plea, "Ten Lonely Words":

Best Fathers In Rock...or, uh, used to be in Rock

C'mon these guys look like they just got back from picking up their daughters from Ballet, and while mom is upstairs making the salad, they're in the garage kicking out the hookiest songs since The Raspberries made music....And let me just say, finally a video that looks appropriately "independent." Sure, this video is total public access-tastic, but isn't that why it's kinda awesome too?

And here's an even better one:

nice couch

I would love to have been there when they came up with the concept for this baby...

"look guys, we have no budget for a video" ...

"what are we gonna do" ....

.... ... ....

"WAIT a minute! I've got it! Let's film ourselves having a breath holding contest listening to our song, "Bright Idea.""

"OH MY GOD! THAT'S IT!"

"Uh...hmm..actually...yeah that could work"

"And how about when the handclap parts come in, we like handclap along?"

"Cool."

"Cool."

"Cool.

I love Julie Ocean. You guys will be missed.

PS - Army Navy, it's up to you now to carry the guitar-pop torch

check out Army Navy's "Saints":

 

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