SONG OF THE DAY: "TL;DR" by Milhouse

So, to keep the theme of Aussie bands going (I could probably do a whole week of them...interesting idea...), I bring you the recently-dissolved band Milhouse, who are self-described as "three dudes playing positive, nerdy pop-punk." Astute observers will catch the obvious Simpsons reference that is the band's name. I have watched maaaybe two episodes of The Simpsons in my entire life, so I only caught the reference due to the first 10 or so results on a YouTube search for "Milhouse" coming up as Simpsons clips.

Milhouse (the band) played a throwback kind of pop/punk that was derived from groups like The Promise Ring, Saves the Day, The Get Up Kids, Superchunk, and others in that vein, although they did so with a decidedly more upbeat sound than some of those bands. Nerdy and poppy are also very appropriate adjectives for them. Beyond the Internet-speech title of "TL;DR," their discography, which consists solely of three EPs and one b-side, also has songs named "Internet," "Metaphysics," "Dinosaurs," "Eggs," "Cereal," "Laundry," "Holiday," and "Monday," which gives you a glimpse of the subject matter that inspires their writing. In fact, they only ever released one other song, "Uncanny Valley," which carries the distinction of being their only song with more than one word in the title (the b-side "To Hell With Disbelief" notwithstanding).

It's a shame these dudes broke up before they had a chance to do more with their talent. At least a full-length album would have been nice. Instead, we are left with only 11 songs, only two of which barely crack the three-minute mark. But that length is only appropriate for their style. It's short, snappy, catchy rock music that's not meant to be thought about too deeply. There is not much more to these songs besides the melodies and chords. This isn't life-changing music, like many of these SotDs and bands are. This is life-enjoying music. This is music that they had fun making, and music that you should have fun listening to. And all their music is free to download at milhouse.bandcamp.com, so go get yourself some good tunes!

"TL;DR" was covered by Wil Wagner for some random acoustic session, and is one of only two songs of theirs that has a music video. The other, "Cereal," features a man with a large beard trying to eat an entire box of Special K with a gallon of milk and a giant bowl before the song ends. The song is only 2:11 long, so his table manners are not exactly the best. I've watched it twice, and as good as the song is, that's more than enough views for this lifetime. I don't want to put you guys through what I've been through, so, "TL;DR" it is! Luckily, the song is one of their best as well. Watch it!