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Maybe you have heard of them, maybe you haven’t, but one thing is for sure: Mindless Self Indulgence is pretty much the most original band ever. Yeah… the guy who’s favorite band is Nine Inch Nails just said Mindless Self Indulgence is more original. Am I just saying this as a marketing ploy? Nope. It’s the truth. And with all this in mind, I am saying that they might also be the greatest band ever. If you want to know more, hit the read more button at the bottom. You know you want to.

When Little Jimmy Urine, Steve, Righ?, Lyn-Z and Kitty aren’t busy pissing off parents, they aren’t really making music either. Their music seems to show that they don’t actually work when they are in studios, they just have fun. They don’t even call themselves musicians. They just call themselves “a bunch of entertainers that happen to be really good at playing instruments”. Now, you may ask “Zack, why do they piss off parents?” Well inferior reader, let’s start with how they look. I have no problem with how they look, I think they look pretty awesome, but do you seriously think parents wouldn’t be scared or startled? We live in modern America, of course they would. Next, let’s mention the highly explicit and offensive lyrics. Once again, I’m totally fine with what they say, but do you seriously think parents would be fine with the constant waves of “fuck”, “shit”, “faggot”, and even “nigger”? In Jimmy’s defense, he said that he never uses the word “nigger” in an “offensive way”, and he never does. He uses it more like a nickname.

But enough with why they scare parents, let’s got on why they are pretty much the overall best band ever. If you like punk music, they have something for you. If you like industrial music, they have something for you. If you are a fan of Billy Talent-style ADD lyrics and music, they have something for you. If you like the shit playing on your radio, one, you are stupidly horrible at life and two, this is not for you. But that is exactly why this band is amazing. They past the “unique” tag somewhere within the first few seconds of their first album, “Tight”. They sound so unlike anything ever heard by human ears before that it is impossible to explain them. You just have to listen to them to know what they sound like.

When the Sexual Prefrenceless Jimmy isn’t going in and out of falsetto and screaming, the fan-described “scary teddy bear” Steve, Righ? is playing some pretty crazy yet awesome guitar. When neither of those are happening, something is wrong, and the pretty damn skilled Kitty is slamming away on the drums. We can’t forget that the actually really hot Lyn-Z (Sorry guys, she is married to the lead singer of My Chemical Romance and they just had a kid) is picking… plucking… playing the bass with more skill then most. Now, this isn’t in any sort of order of importance, because they are like a clock: if one thing is off, the whole thing doesn’t work. Everything mixes perfectly… like a smoothy made in a blender that is actually fucking awesome.

But this might be the reason they are the greatest overall band ever: Their live shows are the craziest shows you will ever see. Ever. Let me just try to sum it up:

A: Jimmy getting paid by people in the audience to make out with them. Gender doesn’t matter.
B: Steve, Righ? choking himself with the amp cord and almost blacking out.
C: Lyn-Z jumping into the crowd and, as she put it, getting “molested by 14-year-olds with braces”.
D: Kitty slamming away at the drums like a madman, maybe even breaking them.
E: Jimmy somehow taking off his pants and jumping on top of the amps.
F: Lyn-Z slamming Jimmy in the face with her bass as hard as she can.
G: The whole band bringing up a fan to get a buzz cut by Steve, Righ? in exchange for a ticket signed by everyone in the band for free merch.
H: Lyn-Z doing her signature back bend and defying gravity.
I: Jimmy wearing something that you have never seen another male lead singer wear before. From something as little as skirt to something as crazy a giant costume of a video game character.

You STILL need more? Jeez, you are really picky. How about having the amazing Jhonen Vasquez directing the video for their hit single “Shut Me Up” and having him make all the artwork for the deluxe edition of their newest album, “If”? How about using an actual Atari in the making of their albums? How about having a huge list of unreleased songs that they play live to make not one show the same at the last? How about staying after shows until every single person who wants something signed gets something signed? If that isn’t good enough for you, you need to lower your standards.

If you want to really jump into the thick of their music, which is the only way to do it, I suggest the songs “Shut Me Up” (On their third album, “You’ll Rebel To Anything), “Brooklyn Hype (Part One)” (On the EP Despierta Los Niños), “London Bridges” (On their second album “Frankenstein Girls Will Seem Strangely Sexy”), and “Never Wanted To Dance” (On their fourth album, “If”). They have a live DVD called “Our Pain, Your Gain” which I really suggest you check out. You can check out of a few of the songs from that DVD on their Youtube page along with their music videos.

So, what have we learned today? Have we learned that if your parents are worried about something, you should be worried too? Nope. Have we learned that if you take your time writing lyrics that you will make the best ones? Not exactly. I would say all we have learned that you can make insanely good music if you mix punk, Atari, and retard. And Mindless Self Indulgence has perfected that mix. Hats off you guys.

Mindless Self Indulgence’s Main Website
Mindless Self Indulgence’s Myspace
Mindless Self Indulgence’s Merch Page (Goes through the band. The money goes to them.)