All My Friends Think I'm Insane

Art Brut are an art rock band of the highest caliber. Deriving their name from French painter Jean Dubuffet's definition of outsider art - art by prisoners, loners, the mentally ill, and other marginalized people, and made without thought to imitation or presentation. It pretty aptly sums up the bands sound. Once, in an interview, Eddie Argos was questioned as to why he spoke on his records instead of singing and, confused, he replied that he thought he’d been singing all along. This is the sheer brilliance of the band. Their live shows have Eddie walking around the crowd, stopping the songs in the middle, for him to regale the audience with random musings or playing a vacuum (true story). If you've never heard an Art Brut track then you're doing yourself a disservice. They began with a demo called Brutlegs that caught the attention of Rough Trade records who offered the band a record deal. Bang Bang Rock & Roll was released in 2005 with "Emily Kane" being the first single released and was the highest charting single for Fierce Panda records. Second album It's A Bit Complicated was issued in 2007. Shortly after the release the band parted ways with EMI. Their last 2 albums Art Brut Vs Satan and Brilliant! Tragic! have both been produced by Frank Black (of Pixies fame) who is a huge fan of the band. Also an interesting fact is that Art Brut have franchises including the band We Are Scientists (AB47) who play or record Art Brut songs at random. Following in the spoken/singing tradition of Jarvis Cocker, Eddie Argos and Art Brut have definitely carved out their own niche and will hopefully continue to do so well into the future. If you ever have a chance to catch a live performance then I definitely recommend doing so as they are a whole other beast live. Here's to the revolution:

"Emily Kane" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1nC-uyhg1c

"Formed A Band" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1nC-uyhg1c

"Modern Art" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1nC-uyhg1c

"My Little Brother" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1nC-uyhg1c

"Nag Nag Nag Nag" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1nC-uyhg1c

"Pump Up The Volume" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1nC-uyhg1c

"Direct Hit" http://www.dailymotion.com/watch?v=a1nC-uyhg1c

"Alcoholics Unanimous" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1nC-uyhg1c

"DC Comics and Chocolate Milkshakes" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1nC-uyhg1c

"Slap Dash For No Cash" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1nC-uyhg1c

"Lost Weekend" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1nC-uyhg1c