"What is there ever to understand about a band name?" scoffs Britt Daniel, the lead singer and songwriter of Spoon.
Sitting in the passenger seat of their tour van, Daniel responds to the question with mock-offense, only offering the background story after a little bit of prodding: "We were about a week old. And we felt like we had to make a decision right away [for an upcoming gig]." The title is actually a reference to German prog-rock outfit Can, whose hey day was in the early '70s. But the band name has taken on a life of its own, reflecting the almost functional, "u-ho'-tilitarian" sound of Spoon.
Spoon's most recent album, Kill the Moonlight, is an aesthetic minimalist's dream, substituting drums with sparse keyboard riffs and distortion with electronic loops. The band's sound is a testament to the fortitude and vision of lead singer Britt Daniel, who, along with drummer Jim Eno, has fronted the band since '92. Their ability to stick together through label controversy and an ever-changing indie scene is fortified by songs that rock like punk ballads, but roll like molasses over your tongue.
Delayed in New York while shooting their newest video for the single "The Way We Get By," Spoon arrived late to the North Star. Hungry and tired, the band entered the bar like a couple of locals looking for a bite to eat. After having ordered, Britt and I went outside to the van to "rap."
"We were just filming stuff in Chinatown," Daniel explains. Admitting a little frustration with the process, he adds, "with music, we can engineer it ourselves. I write the song. I write the lyrics. Everything is very controllable. But with video you kind of have to let a little degree of it get out of your hands, unless you want to learn how to do all of that stuff." He is alluding to the heavy hand he and Jim Eno play in the recording process, overseeing every step including production. The video for "Small Stakes," (which you can see on www.spoontheband.com and regularly on MTV's 120 Minutes), demonstrates the frenetic chore of album creation.
Daniel wrote the music for Kill the Moonlight during many lonely nights in suburban New London, Conn. "It's very small and there's nothing really to do there," Daniel explains. "After two or three days, I kind of got used to it, just being lonely. The loneliness left, but I was used to being alone." The tranquility of New London allowed him to concentrate on his music away from the familiarity of the Austin Scene.
It's now Sept. 23, 2002 in Philadelphia, and Spoon is headlining with two up-and-coming indie bands, The Natural History and Palomar. After ten years in the industry, they prove they can rock with the same enthusiasm as the young'ns. They have weathered controversy and heartbreak. Recently, they saw the popularity of pop-punk bands The Strokes and The Hives sky-rocket, doing what Spoon does without the substance and the ingenuity. But Daniel remains sage-like, commenting, "[Those bands] get a shot and they have a chance to really do something lasting. But they could also blow it. But then there are bands like us that come up more slowly, and that has its benefits, too"
