It would be easy to say the Eef Barzelay had brokered a Faustian bargain if only he would only get something out of it in the end. Talking to him it is clear that he has given his soul to what he does but outside of some underappreciated records and a rash of shit from internet fans of the now defunct television show Ed, he doesn’t have much to show for it. Barzelay may not be a superstitious. But maybe it had to do with his choice of a name. Culled from a character from one of America’s foremost outcast artist, William Burroughs, Clem Snide is a bit character.
” I am embarrassed to have that reference in the name. Barzelay says shortly after we start chatting. He is at home in Nashville with a five month old child on his shoulder, a new record with his old band and a tour looming in the very near future. “I always make these big decisions that I don’t think about. We had a tape (of Burroughs) and if you listen to him read his stuff is hysterical. It opened with “my name’s Clem Snide and I’m a private asshole. And I thought that sounds like me.”
When you start to dissect the long and winding road that is the Clem Snide biography, it all traces back to that voice. It isn’t your traditional singing voice. It has a whine pitch that is more about emotional exhaustion than it is weakness. IT was equal parts River Cuomo’s Sarcasm, Daniel Johnston’s sadness and Mark Oliver Everetts’ attention to detail. For a time, it was also the most recognizable voice in a small indie circle defined by recognizable voices. Clem Snide was able to glide between genres like pop and alt-county. It was the kind of voice that you would hear through the doors of dormitories and on the far end of music dials. It had the potential to be the voice of a decade.
Snide got what they thought was a great break when they were picked to do the theme song for television hit Ed in its second season. Unfortunately the fan base from Ed reacted poorly to the replacement of the original Foo Fighters version of the song.” I was reading this Stuckeyville.org fucking message board or whatever” says band founder Eef Barzelay, “It was and there were all these people with letters saying ‘what is this song, it’s like someone torturing a Yak. Just vitriolic shit. ” Man they love that Foo Fighter song. No one was too pleased with the way that thing turned out. ” It appeared once again that fame would slip through Clem Snide’s fingers.
Then Clem Snide called in quits. “Ultimately though it was a falling out with me and the guitar player and that was in conjunction with a really nasty break up with our manager. For me to announce that it was broken up was probably an emotional reaction. Technically I started Clem Snide in 1991 and we didn’t make a record until 1997. After a few notable releases, the dynamic in Clem Snide dissolved; losing a label and a booking agent in a short time span and all that was left was a lot of ideas for songs and that voice. Eef Barzelay was not unaware that the voice alone was worth something. So Clem Snide called it quits with a catalogue that included You Were a Diamond,Your Favorite Music, Soft Spot,
And he knew that he had more to write. So he relocated to Nashville and embarked on a solo career. Left in the vaults was an unfinished record that Barzelay had strong feelings about.
In the meantime a unique opportunity was presented to Barzelay. He was asked to score a film called Rocket Science. It was a small budget quirky film about a boy with a stutter who attempts to overcome the problem by joining the debate team at his New Jersey. Barzelay knocked the project out of the park and the film. Once again his timing was off. Eef says, despite the momentum the film had, “We opened the same weekend and Super Bad and that sorta killed us at the box office”. Nonetheless Rocket Science was a critical darling and has become a cult favorite. In addition to being an unforgettable voice of the new generation he was was now also a film scorer. With the time left over in the sessions for Rocket Science, Barzelay dug out that project he had been working on. The difference was, this was not solo record. This was a Clem Snide record. Water had gone under the proverbial bridge and it was time to put the band back together. So 2009 sees the release of a new Clem Snide record, made on a movie’s dime and featuring front and forward that voice.
Hungry Bird sounds like an AC Newman rocker with abstract lyrics like “we have their bones to comb our hair” Barzelay’s voice seems be coming from some outer planet. The song is more poetry than rocker. In fact much of the record has the feel of lyrics detached from the music. And the music is atmospheric. Clem Snide has expanded into Wilco level musical experimentation but without the histrionics. The blend of the two side by side feel inspired. “I make music sort of from the inside out which is different than most indie music is made today. It’s about my voice and my words and if you listen to it and try to compare to My Morning Jacket or a Shins record, it’s great. There is a sophistication to it that is great. We are not that. Clem Snide is supposed to be confrontational and that’s the punk part that is missing in indie music right now.”
It is hard to see where the future of Clem Snide may lead. The band seems to agree that touring places a burden on them. Eef is the father of two young children and the notion of months away sits uneasily with the film scorer/rock star/father and husband. Nonetheless they have hit the road to promote Hungry Bird.The film scoring business seems to be picking up for Barzelay so he is afforded more choices than to load into a van and travel thousands of miles to remind fans what the voice of a movement sounded like. On the other hand, Rivers Cuomo and Eddie Vedder have found ways to do it and perhaps Clem Snide can too. If Hungry Bird is any indication, it would be worth all of our times if the men of Clem Snide do just that. Maybe Barzelay did make a Faustian bargain. He has his family. He seems to be able to find work. He has fans. And, of course he has that voice. And the television show “Ed” has been cancelled. So Suck it, Stuckeyville.
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