Just 27 Seconds and You’ll Fall in Love with The Lemons
RIYL: Present-day vintage pop songs that are very catchy (and very short)
The mysterious tale of The Lemons
The first song I heard by The Lemons was “Ice Cream Shop” and even though it’s only 27 seconds long, I was hooked.
You should have a listen, and perhaps you will be as well. I mean, who doesn’t have 27 seconds to spare?
I’ll wait…
The Lemons songs sparkle with vintage jangle (a la early Kinks) with a foot in present-day lo-fi-landia. They feel like singalongs from a party I wish I’d been invited to, and also like I’m forever included in the fun at the same time.
The Lemons (a.k.a The Lemon Lime Singing Band) is a mysterious band that formed in Chicago in 2012, and have since released three full-length albums.
I’ve searched out articles about the band and some articles say there are seven members in the band. Discogs lists two members. And this live show video shows six folks in the band (note, they played two whole songs in 2 mins and 16 seconds).
Their latest album, WLMN, was released in 2021. Supposedly, this album is a recording of a radio broadcast that was transmitted from a pirate radio station on a boat.
The story goes that the album’s songs were broadcast non-stop for 213 days by a DJ named Loreli. And on one particularly clear night someone recorded the transmission and that recording became this album.
I’m not sure what’s true, and what’s fictional about their back story. But if my love of The White Stripes tells you anything, it’s that I love a good (made-up) back-story.
One thing I do know is true is that The Lemons’ songs sparkle with a silly effervescence and breeziness that both disarms and delights. It’s that comfy familiarity that made us want to have lead Lemon, John Lemon, as a special guest on our radio show.
Wait, what? I haven’t mentioned my radio show yet? Well, thanks for noticing.
Pop Songs Your New Boyfriend’s Too Stupid to Know About
I’m Liz, and together with my partner, Sean, we host a radio show called Pop Songs Your New Boyfriend’s Too Stupid to Know About every Friday on SPACE 101.1FM in Seattle (or streaming anytime you want to listen on Mixcloud).
The long and short of it is — we play obscure pop songs we love. The kind of songs that you slip into a mix to see if someone is really worth your time and, let’s face it, to impress your friends. Each week we share 20 or so such songs (obscure pop songs are usually shorter than three minutes, so that’s actually a whole lotta songs) and have a special guest (usually who has written a song we *really* love) to share one of their favorite pop songs.
And, on our most recent episode, John Lemon of The Lemons was our guest. He shared a song that even he admits only a handful of people have ever heard. It’s a song by a band from Dundee, Scotland. It’s sweet and DIY — and we think you may like it, too.
You can go hear this week’s show — complete with John’s segment about why he loves this song so much — on Mixcloud (for free, anytime!).
Here’s the setlist:
- The Legends — “Nothing To Be Done”
- Dog Legs — “Toot Toot (Hey)”
- The Bartlebees — “My Fave Ex-Wife”
- Papas Fritas — “Sing About Me”
- The Ekphrastics — “Putting The Shot”
- The Tuts — “Do I Have To Look For Love?”
- The Hermit Crabs — “Bravado And Rhetoric” ←- a great song to play during Thanksgiving dinner during an election year (every year is an election year)
- The Wave Pictures — “We Come Alive”
- The Pastels — “Speeding Motorcycle” (Daniel Johnston)
- The Lemons — “Hello Everybuddy / Ice Cream Shop” <- Lemons songs are so short we can play two in a row in less than two minutes
- The Bears — “Paddy” <- John Lemon’s pick as a favorite obscure pop song
- Tigercats — “Planet Thanet”
- Helen Love w/Joey Ramone — “Punk Boy”
- Kepi Ghoulie — “My-My Kind of a Girl” (Ramones)
- Glockabelle — “The KKK Took My Baby Away” (Ramones) <-a Ramone’s cover, French-style!
- The Stripes — “Radio in Stereo” <- Nena fronted this band before her 99 Luft Balloons fame
- Tim the Mute — “Van “
- BOAT — “We Don’t Need Enemies”
- The Lemons — “My Candy Girl”
About Pop Songs Your New Boyfriend’s Too Stupid to Know About
Pop Songs Your New Boyfriend’s Too Stupid to Know About is a radio show hosted by me (Liz) and my husband (Sean). The show spotlights songs that (we think) are fantastic and catchy and give us all the feels. Some are lo-fi DIY gems, others are glittery pop hits, and others are hits that were just ahead of their time. RIYL: Heavenly, Mountain Goats, K Records, knowing about really great songs before your friends. Our radio show airs every Friday from 9p-10p PT on SPACE 101.1 FM in Seattle, WA. All of our shows are archived on Mixcloud.com — here you can listen to all of our past shows for free, anytime.
