Music Review: NYDTyson "If You're So Smart, Why Are You So Sad?"

Neil Young deGrasse Tyson (aka NYDTyson) is a two piece rock band and when trying to come up with comparisons for them, all I can think of are other two piece rock bands.   Local H comes to mind for some reason right away, but then so does the thump of The White Stripes.   Then I am reminded of The Honorary Title on some level and I begin questioning whether or not they were a duo.   But hey, when I was in my youth, listening to Local H, there weren't a lot of other duos to compare them with.   Now it is slightly more socially acceptable on some level I suppose.

The music has psych qualities to it as much as it is dreamy and at other times just flat out rocks.   I suppose it is vague to speak in generalizations (but really what are genres?) but if you're a fan of rock music on the whole, you will find something within these songs to enjoy because of the style of it.    For five songs, it starts off strong and has this pacing that most artists just don't know (or care) about.

I was immediately drawn to this EP though not because of the band name but because of the title- "If You're So Smart, Why Are You So Sad?".   I feel this to be less of an actual question and more of something whoever came up with it was told once.    People often tend to think of depression as just being sadness (which isn't true) and I tend to find that the people who suffer from depression tend to be smarter because they have that way about them where they think about everything too much.   What is the saying: ignorance is bliss? 

If Weezer met the Flaming Lips and sang about eggs, this could be the result.    Though the line "feeling like a satire of myself" is something I can genuinely relate to.     And I have nothing but respect for any band who decides to slowly transition into a ballad throughout their EP, but then the ballad just becomes so apathetic.    Yes, "Who Cares" is an apathetic ballad and I love every second of it.    Especially because you expect the ballad to be a love song and even though he's not singing about love in a pouring-your-heart-out way, in a sense it is still a form of a love song.

I suppose one could take that idea away from these five songs: things aren't always as they appear.    Even on the first song- "Egg"- I feel like you need to listen to it several times (and within the context of the full EP) before you can fully grasp all that is happening.    In some ways when I listen to this I think back to when emo was becoming more rock influenced and the people I knew back then who liked Hot Rod Circuit and Schatzi might be into this, but at the same time, it doesn't just have that surface appeal which will draw you in; there is also a solid amount of weird underneath to ultimately have you stay. 

$5 //
https://nydtyson.bandcamp.com/releases