The last few sweat-drenched weeks of August that leave one simultaneously cursing and reaching for the thesaurus to find alternatives to the word “hot” can only be described one way–the dog days of summer. Baking. Blazing. Humid. Sweltering. If you’re lucky, sultry. But you know what? Be glad you don’t have a fur coat.
In honor of the dog days of summer, we tip our hats to our furry friends in this sticky installment of Six Degrees. This is our feature inspired by none other than Mr. Kevin Bacon. You know the game–it’s a small world and we’re all somehow related. This theory applies to the music scene as well, no matter what you listen to, where you hang or who you know. We’re just showing you the connections.
6. OK, we have to include at least one band based on animal-related-name alone. That’s where The Antlers come in. Here they describe the fierce competition in New York City. One might even say it’s (warning: bad pun) dog eat dog.
5. The Antlers are labelmates with The Dodos on Frenchkiss Records, who describe how they came up with the band name, anyway. Turns out it involves learning to spread your wings and love a little bit more.
4. The Dodos reside in San Francisco, also home to one Funky Homosapien by the name of Del. If he could have written any song in history, it probably would have been this one.
3. Del, as part of the Gorillaz, was featured on the “Blade 2″ soundtrack way back in 2002 alongside Moby. Here he breaks down the organizations he works with, including The Humane Society.
2. What do Moby and Nellie McKay have in common? Why, they’re both supporters of PETA, of course. Nellie reminds anyone still rocking a fur coat to get with the times.
1. Nellie McKay and The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players both kicked off their careers in the New York City anti-folk scene and played a few shows together. Jason and Tina of The Trachtenburg clan once ran a dog-walking business called The Dog Squad, and you’ll see how man’s best friend can sometimes be a distraction.
TOPICS: Six Degrees