THE RIDER: Pons' Top 10
The band on Britpop, their James Brown obsession and DRINKS (both the band and, you know, actual beverages)
Friday is here, and in lieu of weekend plans, we’re throwing you an additional edition of THE RIDER (2-4-1 special this week, babez!), featuring a collection of cool stuff c/o the perfect maniacs known as Pons.
No one in the city… or perhaps on the planet… puts on a show like Pons, but today we’re focusing less on what they do on stage and more on what they’ve done in studio—specifically, most recently, a very sick n special cover of James Brown’s “Can’t Stand It”!
And while you could just listen to the track, given the fact that visuals are such an integral element of the ~Pons experience~… maybe go ahead and watch the video too.
As for the reason Pons decided to cover James Brown, WELL…
“CAN’T STAND IT It was sort of born out of an entire James Brown cover set we did at for a G.L.I.T.S. benefit show at Trans-Pecos. We created a super group with Venus Twins and Joel Ronson (The Admiral) and had a fun time with the challenge of arranging such minimal songs in a fresh way. We had the opportunity to do a track with Jeff Berner (from Psychic TV) at Studio G and repurposing one of the covers from the benefit show felt like a fun idea. CAN’T STAND IT felt dynamic and structurally varied even though it’s literally just repeating the same incessant idea throughout the entire song non-stop, so we decided to see it through.
Repetitive and linear rhythm-based music like Talking Heads, James Brown, John Lee Hooker, etc… has really gone on to be one of the biggest influences for Pons in our current iteration, so being able to record something like this felt really natural and satisfying.”
SO! Now that you’ve gotten your audiovisual fix and enjoyed a little storytime, the obvious next step is to see the band live—
Which—what luck!—you can do at their next show, July 19th at the Sultan Room with Lambrini Girls and Ekko Astral!
GRAB YOUR TIX and then treat yourself to Pons’ top 10 (below), featuring art, music and more of the inspiration behind the madness —
And re #9: If you’ve ever seen a Pons performance, you know there’s honestly no band better equipped to ~very creatively~ demolish a room at the Days Inn. (They’re definitely too nice for that, though.)
PONS’ TOP 10
1. Pure Dynamite
Pure Dynamite really solidified the Pons obsession with James Brown and is without a doubt one of the greatest live albums ever. The level of intensity and energy on that album is mind blowing and something we hold as a gold standard of performance. You can tell how hopped-up the entire band is on speed and they just rip through all of these songs at a comically fast rate. The entire album is totally blown-out with tape distortion and it ends up sounding more like some weird, fast rock record than what people would typically associate with JB.
2. On The Silver Globe
We were just recording in Rhode Island for a few weeks and ended up watching Andrzej Zulawski’s space opus On The Silver Globe. We’re all big fans of a super weird horror movie Zulawski directed in 1981 called Possession. It’s a really confusing three-hour sci-fi epic about a primitive space society. It ended up getting banned by the Polish government before it could be finished, but what was eventually released is insane. It’s like Jodorowsky’s Dune crossed with The Lighthouse.
3. My Chemical Romance
There would be no Pons without MCR. One of the greats. The first three albums are untouchable. Three Cheers just turned 20 and still sounds so fresh. 10 out of 10 for sure.
4. Donald Sutherland
RIP to the icon. Don’t Look Now and Invasion of The Body Snatchers are two of the most underrated horror movies of the 70s. The blue suit/orange ascot combo in Don’t Look Now also goes unbelievably hard. A true gentleman of the craft.
5. Britpop
Britpop is cool and always has been. Absolute class. Blur beats Oasis every time. The Supergrass debut is also legendary. Top tier examples: Blur - 13; Pulp - Separations; Supergrass - I Should Coco.
6. Beverages
Beverages > food. Pons is a beverage band. The satisfaction just doesn’t compare. You can enjoy a beverage without food. But food without a beverage? Insane. Copious beverages throughout the day is a tour essential.
7. DRINKS
A very good band. Featuring two very good songwriters, Tim Presley (of White Fence) and Cate Le Bon. Off-kilter and angular childish art-rock. Very Syd Barrett-adjacent.
8. James Chance
Another recently passed legend. The king of skronk. Deeply influential for Pons and helped stoke our love of no wave along with Lydia Lunch, Swans, Suicide, etc… Deconstructed anti-funk and mandatory listening.
9. The Keith Richards autobiography
I read it while we were on tour in Europe last winter. I can definitively say The Rolling Stones are the best rock n’ roll band. People should start trashing hotel rooms again.
10. Knight of Cups
Very existential 2015 Terrence Malick movie starring a very existential (and well dressed) Christian Bale. Extremely influential for the Pons aesthetic.
The Top 10 above written + provided by Pons. FFollow the band at @pons_the_band, buy music on Bandcamp and add their music to your Spotify playlists.
Feature image (provided by the band): Sydney Tate
Heads up that we’re taking a couple weeks off to embark on the spiritual journey known as summer vacation, but never fear for we shall be back in action in August!
Until then, please, avail yourself of the archive. See you soon <3