Many, if not the majority of bands hate to be categorized. Most want to be the next best thing. I know from 23 years of experience. Every band I've been in was utterly original. We sound like the Red Hot Chili Peppers? Shut up! We sound like Jane's Addiction? Whatever! We sound like Fishbone? OK, maybe.

However, the secret is that bands like to be compared to bands they like. They won't admit it, but since I haven't played in a band since 2003, I will go ahead and spill the beans.

The band The Dandy Warhols is derivative of a number of bands, and unlike most "rock stars" I have seen, they wear that fact as a badge of honor. The Dandy Warhols will be playing Belly Up Aspen on Sunday, Sept. 28. Their newest release Earth to the Dandy Warhols sounds like this:

First song: "The World the People Together (Come On)" sounds like Perry Farrell feeling frisky on mushrooms backstage at the Troubadour in the summer of '67.

Second song: "Mission Control" sounds like a Rammstein vs. David Bowie mash-up with synthesizers courtesy of 1985.

Third song: "Welcome to the Third World" is a vibrant funk number that brings to mind INXS, and Midnight Oil, but especially the Rolling Stones à la Some Girls and the hit track from that album "Miss You."

Fourth song: "Wasp in the Lotus" is a guitar-heavy affair with a repetitive chorus that, unless you are careful of your caffeine intake, might be stuck in your head for several days.

Fifth song: "And Then I Dreamt of Yes" with its distorted, whispering vocals and orchestrated backdrop is moody enough to make the girl sitting on the couch next to you want to move to the bedroom. Not unlike some of Pulp's best work.

Sixth song: "Talk Radio" is a radio-friendly pop-drop with vocals that sound like Marilyn Manson suddenly disavowed his relationship with Satan. There is also a break about half way through the song that could be delivered via Led Zeppelin circa 1973.

Seventh song: "Love Song" is a bittersweet track for me because although it has a catchy rhythm, sweet lyrics and a sound that catches the vibe of the first Dandy's disc, the title "Love Song" reminds me of one of the great tracks of '80s heavy metal by the same name; a song that did a lot for the band Tesla.

Eighth song: "Now You Love Me" is another guitar-ridden example of pop music on the most popular of modern hallucinogenic drugs. It is also another example of a chorus that, given your addiction to methamphetamines, is likely to keep you up at night.

Ninth song: "Mis Amigos" features a spoken word introduction that, either real or acted out, is the epitome of a young lass welcoming you to the Los Angeles International Airport. The chorus of "Mis Amigos" is so obviously borrowed from the Beach Boys' "BarbaraAnn" it is almost sublime comedy. There is also a Latin horn segment that, while tremendously enjoyable, was first used as a musical device by Johnny Cash on "Ring of Fire" around the time I was born. (A long time ago.)

Tenth song: "The Legend of the Last of the Outlaw Truckers AKA The Battle of Sheriff Shorty" could have been an early Butthole Surfers song, or better yet, done by the relatively unknown Johnny Depp vehicle P. Ultimately though, it is done by the Dandy Warhols and that is probably for the best seeing as they did a smash-up job writing and performing it.

Eleventh song: "Beast of All Saints" begins as a solemn dirge that evokes the best of Love and Rockets and Bauhaus. Somewhat unexpectedly it turns into a 21st century song by the Cure. The sitar-like guitars are also familiar: They sound like something The Division of Laura Lee, or Interpol might have written.

Twelfth song: "Valerie Yum" is a seven-minute-and-eight-second grip on the meaning of rock 'n' roll. It's a fantastic 4/4 tour de force with metallic guitars, a Pink Floyd-like break complete with a weird, almost indecipherable spoken word segment, and a chorus that might as well have been written by any member of the Velvet Underground.

Thirteenth song: Not to be outdone by "Valerie Yum," "Musee D'Nougat" is a 14-minute and 46-second opus worthy of some of the finest acid-addled brains ever to enter a studio. There are haunting digital effects, freaky spoken word lyrics (again), and a last second hippopotamus burp - or something to that effect - that is horribly disturbing, which of course, makes it awesome.

Opening for the Dandy's are The Upsidedown, a must see act. So get to the show early!

hood@aspendailynews.com [1]