Line #43 Music/ChristieFrontDrive


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cfd_1.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:The only press photo of the band during their initial run.]]
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4	Christie Front Drive was an [[EmoMusic emo]] band formed in UsefulNotes/{{Denver}}, Colorado in 1993. The band consisted of Eric Richter on guitar and lead vocals, Jason Begin on guitar and some backing screamed vocals, Kerry [=McDonald=] on bass and occasional backing vocals and Ron Marschall on drums and was active until 1997 (with a couple reunion shows afterwards.) Along with the far more successful Music/SunnyDayRealEstate, they were one of the first bands to mix the sound of emo, then a very small offshoot of punk music with a very nascent scene, with the then popular "college rock" style of AlternativeRock, thus producing the style commonly known today as Midwestern Emo[[note]]Although neither band was from the Midwest. The name is due to the style being later popularized by bands and scenes in the Midwest, centered around Illinois and Kansas City.[[/note]] Today, this style is so copied it's [[OnceOriginalNowCommon easy to forget it was ever a fresh and unique thing]] and for this reason CFD are often overlooked even by fans of the modern day "emo revival" although they still retain a very dedicated cult following.
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6	The band's most defining feature is perhaps Richter's very subdued and often muffled style of singing, because of this their lyrics are just as [[TheUnintelligible unintelligible]] as "cookie monster" death metal growls. To add more confusion, with the exception of a single song ("Bag") from a compilation, none of their lyrics were printed in the liner notes, thus resulting in the lyrics being ShroudedInMyth not only during the band's lifespan but until almost a decade later when Richter published some of them online. Remember that Administrivia/TropesAreNotBad, as many believe that Richter's vocal style and the unclear lyrics actually added to the depth and beauty of their music.
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8	Like many emo bands of the era, they started out releasing only a series of 7-inch records, (a split with Music/JimmyEatWorld in a musical example of RetroactiveRecognition, another split with a now mostly forgotten band called Sineater, and a 7-inch of their own), in addition to a 6-song EP.[[note]]although released on 12-inch vinyl.[[/note]] These records are now all long out of print, although the songs from them were released on a compilation CD commonly called Anthology, which today is also out of print.[[note]]There have been a few re-releases of the vinyl though, some of which are still available.[[/note]] In 1995 they also released a split 10-inch with another emo band named Boy's Life, with their three songs on it often regarded as their best work. After the release of a few comp tracks[[note]]including one where they covered the MaryTylerMooreShow theme song on a compilation of punk covers of TV songs[[/note]], the band played their last show in 1997, with the posthumous release of their only true full length, officially a self-titled album but commonly referred to as ''Stereo'' later. Eric Richter still had a pretty immense musical career afterwards, playing in various other bands with radically different sounds, ranging from the electronica project Antarctica, an upbeat PowerPop band known as The 101, and most recently the PostHardcore band Highness. He also played in a band called Golden City that had a somewhat similar sound to CFD but with a more cleaned up recording and intelligible vocals.
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10	Despite a confusing pattern of out of print records and re-releases, the band's music is thankfully now available from most streaming services and digital music stores. If you're a fan of the emo revival, it is ''highly'' recommended.
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12	----
13	!! Discography:
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15	* Untitled 7-inch (1994)
16	* Split 7-inch with Sineater (1995)
17	* Split 7-inch with Music/JimmyEatWorld (1995)
18	* ''First'' 12-inch (originally released as untitled) (1995)
19	* Split 10-inch with Boy's Life (1995)
20	* Self-titled full length, commonly referred to as ''Stereo'' (1997)
21	* Self-titled compilation of early works, commonly referred to as ''Anthology'' (1998)
22	----
23
24	!! Christie Front Drive provides examples of:
25
26	* BlackSheepHit: Using the word "hit" very loosely as they received no mainstream radio play, however their cover of Series/TheMaryTylerMooreShow theme got them much attention and is even a SignatureSong of sorts. Somewhat averted in this sense, since despite being a cover it actually sounds very much like their other works and it's commonly stated that it sounds exactly like a song they wrote.
27	* CarefulWithThatAxe: Like most emo bands of the era, they weren't afraid to throw screaming vocals into an otherwise melodic song.
28	* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The screaming and ''very'' raw production of their early records sounds out of place in comparison to their later works.
29	* EmoMusic: One of the first bands to take "emocore" tropes and use them while playing AlternativeRock instead of HardcorePunk, thus becoming one of the TropeCodifier for it as we know it today.
30	* EpicRocking: "Saturday", the opening track to their final album isn't terribly long clocking in at just over six and a half minutes, but has this feel due to the very long intro and buildup from a minimalist piano track.
31	* LaterInstallmentWeirdness: The electronica elements in their final album are pretty alien in comparison to their previous work, even if most of their general sound is otherwise very much intact.
32	* MindScrew: The unclear lyrics have this effect...even the published ones are still very much this, they're quite unclear on what they are referring to and often consist of incomplete sentences.
33	* NewSoundAlbum: Their final release is a bit different from their previous works, consisting of many instrumental interludes and a bit of electronica influence.
34	* NoTitle: Basically all of their releases, in line with the early emo style. The sole exception is their final full length, and even ''that'' is merely a SelfTitledAlbum.
35	* NonAppearingTitle: Most of their songs apparentely, the only ones where the lyrics are confirmed to appear in the title are "November" and "About Two Days"[[note]]unless you count the cover "Love Is All Around".[[/note]]
36	* PrecisionFStrike: "November" opens with these lines:
37	--> Still the same
38	--> Fucked for what you've done
39	:: While it doesn't stand out much in the song, the use of the word is a bit shocking since it's completely dissonant with the song's melodic and upbeat nature.
40	* ShroudedInMyth: The actual lyrics, since with the exception of a single compilation track, they weren't even printed in the notes for their albums. Finally averted with the final record almost a decade after the band's demise when Eric finally published them online...still the case with their earlier works.
41	** WordOfGod is that many of their songs didn't even have consistent lyrics and they often changed with Eric's mood, hence he saw no need to write them down.
42	** The lyrics to "Valentine" being one exception, they are intelligible enough to be identifiable as simply many repetitions of:
43	--> It's in my soul
44	--> It's in my heart
45	--> I guess I've always been there
46	--> I guess I've never been there
47	* SomethingSomethingLeonardBernstein: Occasionally some words are intelligible in the lyrics and totally stand out.
48	* UnbuiltTrope: Sounds ''quite'' different from any style or wave of emo that came after them, due to the vocal style, unclear, vague and minimalist lyrics, and production that's not only quite rough but also uses some pretty unorthodox mixes. Whether this makes it better or worse than what followed is hotly debated.
49	* TheUnintelligible: Eric sings in a somewhat unusual mumbled style, and the vocals are usually low in the mix well drowned out by the music. For this reason making out the entirety of the lyrics is virtually impossible.
50	* WordSaladLyrics: Most of the ones we know clearly fall into this category.

Context Music / ChristieFrontDrive