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Best Local Band To See Over And Over Again Belushi Speed Ball belushispeedball.bandcamp.com In fairness, this one was probably a predictable choice. I’ve written about them plenty of times. I’ve photographed them plenty of times. Even so, there’s no way I could refrain from giving pop culture punk rockers Belushi Speed Ball the props — not literally, they have plenty of those already — that they deserve. You don’t go to a Belushi show just to hear music, though they do have bangers. You go to a Belushi show for a (literally) one-of-a-kind experience. Any band can play their own songs, but how many bands would play a show specifically to cats, with all of their lyrics changed to be cat-related? How many bands would play a roving Mad Max-themed show from a moving van? How many bands would douse the bowl of a skatepark with foam, LaCroix, whipped cream, colored powder, and orange Jell-O, for a show in which “Indiana Jones” ran away from a human-sized beach ball “boulder”? (Sidenote: all of this mess does not come out of a camera bag easily.) Belushi Speed Ball not only carries the torch of Keep Louisville Weird, but it also throws a bunch of chemicals into it to make the flame bigger, brighter, messier, and more colorful. Or something like that. Even a former member of GWAR — GWAR! — left that band to play with our hometown heroes, so you know they’re worth seeing. This LEO writer loves Belushi, and Belushi — BeLEOshi? — loves LEO. —Carolyn Brown Photo by Carolyn Brown

In this weekly feature, a different LEO staff member will share 7-10 of the songs they’ve got on repeat right now. (Songs by Louisville artists are marked with an asterisk.) Got a track that you think we’d like? Let us know at leo@leoweekly.com or at the author’s email below.

Tame Impala — “Let It Happen”

It was about a year ago that I was chilling outside the media tent at Forecastle, exhausted from a long day of taking photos and eager to kick my feet up. Even from at least one thousand feet away, I knew that Tame Impala’s set was the best show of the weekend — I mean, c’mon, it was Tame Impala. The set was colorful and trippy and bright and maybe I should’ve gotten closer to the stage. In any case, this track brings back good memories.

Miami Boys Choir — “Yerushalayim”

I apologize in advance for getting this song stuck in your heads, because it will. This Jewish boys’ choir went viral on TikTok last year (and with their fame came the jokes about picking a bias, doing fanchants, etc.)

This song, which comes from Psalm 125:2, is only, like, four or five lines repeated over and over, but it’s joyful and catchy as hell.

Chanticleer — “Rose of Roses”

And speaking of all-male choirs… I regret not seeing Chanticleer when they came to Louisville last year, because, ugh, just listen to those voices. This song is simple, pure, beautiful — it sounds like it came out of Catholic Heaven.

Jefferson Starship — “Jane”

I’ll be heading back to summer camp (to work, that is) in a few short weeks, and the most necessary part of the preparation every year is re-watching “Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later” on Netflix, which takes its theme song from this track.

Belushi Speed Ball — “Ripping Off Municipal Waste” *

I couldn’t believe I hadn’t included Belushi in a Tuesday Tracklist before — we’ve covered them plenty of times, and they’ve certainly become a cornerstone of the Louisville punk scene in the last few years, despite a handful of detractors who say they rip off certain other thrash bands (hence the title of the song!) This week, they get a mention because they recently celebrated their 100th show.

Harry Belafonte — “Turn the World Around”

I listened to this song a lot in the days following Harry Belafonte’s death. He lived a very full life of music, activism, and acting, but my first introduction to him was actually through his time hosting “The Muppet Show,” which I watched on DVD with my family when I was younger. 

Brian David Gilbert — “Tragedy”

It’s a werewolf-themed cover of ABBA’s “Tragedy” made by one of my favorite YouTubers. That’s all there is to say about it.

 

This article appears in May 9, 2023.

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Carolyn Brown is the staff photographer and digital writer at LEO. Follow her on Instagram at @cebrownphoto or get in touch at cbrown@leoweekly.com.