Song of the Day: Spider Bags - Que Viva El Rocanroll

Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part of our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. Each and every Friday we offer songs by local artists. Today’s selection, featured on the Afternoon Show with Kevin Cole, is “Que Viva El Rocanroll” by Spider Bags from their 2009 album Goodbye Cruel World, Hello Crueler World on Birdman Records.

A twangy rock band with a name referencing packages of heroin is probably not the first thing that comes to mind when visualizing a place called Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Yet, the quaint East coast town is home to the Spider Bags who are best known for “Waking Up Drunk” and their sloshy punkesque shows. With the release of their second album, Goodbye Cruel World, Hello Crueler World, these self-taught drunk rockers have proven themselves solid, surpassing the vast sea of “underground” college radio bands and faceless kind-of-country, kind-of-rock groups of the early and mid 90s.

The album’s fourth track, “Que Viva El Rocanroll,” comes off as another silly tune about girls, jukeboxes and drinks at first listen. But, by dissecting the sing-talk lyrics of Dan McGee alongside their pure American rock instrumentals, one will realize that this song is in fact about learning to appreciate the small moments in life. Opening with clean and steady guitar (think a more upbeat, jangly version of The Animals’ cover of “The House of the Rising Sun”), the song quickly builds in passion with layers of clashing cymbals and brotherly “ooo’s”. The only thing missing is a group of intoxicated, close friends with arms around each other, bellowing along in front of a campfire.

Unfortunately, the Spider Bags don’t have any shows lined up on our side of the States any time soon. Until they do, check out their MySpace page for live performance videos and to hear songs from Goodbye Cruel World, Hello Crueler World and A Celebration Of Hunger.