This blog is now reaching the stage where I could make playlists of tracks based not just on genre of music, but on specific subjects. Nutritious Treat would take its place on the Intense Driving Songs playlist alongside tunes such as Potvan by The Werefrogs, Bow Hitch-Hiker by Rollerskate Skinny and the pinnacle of the genre, Pacific Coast Highway by Sonic Youth. But, Nutritious Treat shares a sound closer to the blues rock rumble of Two Tons of Chrome by Gear Jammer. Indeed, it’s probably the first song I’ve heard since that record to produce what feels like the movement and life of a motor engine in full, ominous effect*. Using only bass and drums, godheadSilo create a thunderous wall of noise which serves to remind us that cars can be exceptionally dangerous things. The track roars and judders along like some kind of mechanical/beast hybrid.
The line Is it the alcoholic or the alcohol? provides an ominous extra layer of darkness, albeit one working with a clever degree of subtext. Those souped up Thunderosa Cadillacs could be dangerous enough to control at anytime, but they become lethal weapons when driven by someone who’s been drinking.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 1993, there were 17,461 traffic fatalities which were alcohol related. These accounted for 44% of the total number of traffic related deaths in the USA for that year** The subtext comes in the way that godheadSilo use drink driving as a way to expose the hypocrisy behind the assertion that guns don’t kill; people do. Which is true, but giving them access to the tools which allow them to do so is a moral puzzle that America shows no sign of being able to solve. In the case of driving under the influence, what Nutritious Treat suggests is that we are fundamentally weak creatures, unable to resist the sweet temptation of alcohol, which then opens the door to behaviour and actions we were either always capable of, or thought we could get away with. However, there will always be a price to pay.
And yet, the song also feels upbeat, alive and excited as it jumps behind the wheel. If American Graffiti were set in 1992 Washington State, instead of 1962 California, then I can just picture the opening 50 seconds of Nutritious Treat soundtracking the journeys of Richard Dreyfuss and friends. Although the line referring to putting Chachi in charge suggests that godheadSilo were thinking of Happy Days rather than American Graffitti. Maybe, Chachi was the designated driver? Regardless, with cries of Thunderosa, Cadillac worm, we career into the final 20 seconds watching godheadSilo drive off, picking up speed, passengers hanging out of the windows, engine growling, exhaust exploding and on a journey towards their fate.
Video courtesy of Stars Kill Rock
*I’m discounting Tuesday by Milk Cult because its automobile music was produced from samples.
**Full statistics from between 1982 and 1993. Read them before RFK Jr. makes them take it all down.
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