For any band that’s been going for a long time, building a set list is always a challenge. There is a fine balance to keep between playing new songs, and fan favorites, old and recent. Useless ID may just have solved this expectations puzzle by releasing Most Useless Songs, a best-of type album that doubles as a template of their typical setlist.
Although the band has been together since 1994, releasing eight full-lengths and a slew of EPs, singles, and compilations, Most Useless Songs draws from their albums released since the turn of the century. It also includes two new songs for good measure, Same Old Revolution and Into the Exquisite, which I’m sure will be played live whenever shows are a thing again.
Most Useless Songs is available now through Fat Wreck Chords. Stay tuned for Yotam’s upcoming solo album, which is currently at the mixing stage.
Name five songs that you consider “perfect songs” and explain why or what they mean to you.
All of these songs I’ve covered at one point or another:
BEATLES – Michelle
I first heard this song in 2nd grade, we had this wacky teacher with a little transistor radio and Michelle always used to come up and I remember loving it at the time, it was played in the background every time we would do a test.
NIRVANA – Lithium
Well, this song is pretty much my transition from Rap to Rock and later Punk. The first time I heard Lithium was at a Bat Mitzvah, one of my friends was the D.J and suddenly it came on, I got the same feeling I did when I heard Michelle but once the chorus kicked in it felt more dangerous.
BAD RELIGION – You Are The Government
One of the first tapes I got when I got into Punk was Bad Religion Suffer I can’t think of a better introduction to what eventually influenced a lot of the Useless ID sound. The idea of cramming in intelligent lyrics, great melodies and lots of moving chords in only a minute and half was the catalyst for many songs we’ve written.
RAMONES – Pet Sematary
Some of the best songs are written in 5 minutes, so I’ve heard about this when Stephen King hit up The Ramones that he needed a song for the movie, Dee Dee wrote it rather quick. Perfect marriage of lyrics, melody and music. This song has everything, intro, verse, prechorus, chorus and lush reverby 80’s production that I personally am a big fan of.
PIXIES –Velouria
Pixies are known for having weird time signatures, weird lyrics, male-female vocals, dissonant sounds but when all of that comes together for a beautiful song like Velouria, it’s like the universes collided, too many wrongs make a right. This is such a beautiful song made up of the components I mentioned.
Which music genre do you listen to the most? List your five favorite albums in that genre.
Hardcore
Minor Threat – s/t
Dag Nasty – Can I Say
Gorilla Biscuits – Start Today
Black Flag – Damaged
Kid Dynamite – s/t
Singer Songwriter
Elliott Smith
Paul Westerberg
Blake Schwarzenbach
Gilbert O’ Sullivan
Tony Sly
Alternative
Nirvana
Pixies
Replacements
Husker Dü
Wipers
Five greatest Punk EP’s or demos of all time?
The Ataris – Look Forward To Failure
Lagwagon – Let’s Talk About Feelings
Nekhei Na’atza – Renounce Judaism
911 PIGS – Your Future Demo
Gorilla Biscuits – s/t 7″
Five best producers:
Bill Stevenson
Jason Livermore
Gil Norton
Butch Vig
Rob Cavallo
What’s the album you’ve listened to the most in your life? Do you still listen to it?
Probably The BEATLES Red Album. I’ve listened to that collection of songs since I can remember myself having a relationship with music, I never get tired of The Beatles, at times when I get too caught up on Punk Rock or songwriting, I listen to The Red Album to reset the system.
Do you have an absolute all time favorite band or musical artist? What makes them so special to you?
NIRVANA – before I discovered them I was listening to Rap and Hip Hop or whatever kids my age in the early 90’s were into, once I heard Nirvana, it had nothing to do with approval or seeking anything from the other kids, I felt that it was my special place and they set me on the path to go out, buy a guitar from the money I saved from working with my Dad. Their songs were simple, easy to play yet so powerful.
What are your ten favourite albums of all time (all genres)? Name a standout track on each of these albums.
NIRVANA – Nevermind – Lithium
JAWBREAKER – Dear You – I Love You So Much It’s Killing Us Both
MISSING PERSONS – Spring Session M – Walkin’ In LA
ALL – Allroy’s Revenge – She’s My Ex
PIXIES – Bossanova – Rock Music
NOFX Punk In Drublic – Linoleum
BEACH BOYS – Pet Sounds – God Only Knows
ELLIOTT SMITH – Basement On A Hill – Memory Lane
THE ZOMBIES – Odyssey and Oracle – Care Of Cell 44
BAD RELIGION – Suffer – Do What You Want
Do you remember the first time music had an impact on you?
Yes, I was 4 years old and I was obsessed with MUSICAL YOUTH, interestingly enough they played a show in Israel and my Mom took me to see them. That was actually my first show as well.
What were you listening to in elementary school? Then in high school? How much of that music is still a part of your playlists today? How have your musical tastes evolved since?
In elementary school I was listening to The BEATLES up until Rap came along then it was anything from The BEASTIE BOYS to RUN DMC. Right before high school I discovered Alternative and that took over for a while then in high school, I discovered Punk and that has stuck with me till today. Whatever was good from the Alternative and Rock stuff I listen to today and appreciate it as well, some stuff didn’t stand the test of time. Nowadays, I listen to many styles it really has to do with what the artist is bringing to the table and if the songs are good.
What beloved music do you share with your parents (or children if you have kids)? Any specifics memories?
My first rock show was BABES IN TOYLAND at The Roxanne club in Tel Aviv, I went with my Dad and his stepbrother, I clearly remember my dad putting toilet paper in his ears once Babes hit the stage. Over the years, my parents pop in here and there when Useless ID is playing a local show. Me and my mom are both fans of GILBERT O’SULLIVAN so it was nice when we got to see him play live in 2019 at The City Winery in New York.
What are some of the most memorable shows you’ve ever seen? What makes them stand out?
911 PIGS in the Cinemateque, Haifa 1994 – I was 15 years old and I just got into Hardcore and Punk, a friend told me that there’s a local band playing and they’re close to our age. Ishay was the bass player in that band. As I watched this trio of 16-17 year olds play their songs, other kids moshing off the stage into the seats once they played BIOHAZARD Wrong Side Of The Tracks, I realized at that moment that I could do this too.
PIXIES – It’s no secret that Pixies are one of my favorite bands of all time. When they decided to reunite in 2004, I went on Ebay and bought two tickets for like $80 each, I didn’t care I had to see them. There was such a build up at Brixton Academy that once they hit the stage it went by like a dream.
KID DYNAMITE – I always heard about shows in New Brunswick and never knew what it meant until I showed up to one. HOT WATER MUSIC and Kid Dynamite were both on the bill, the anticipation before Kid Dynamite’s set in that crammy basement, standing a few inches away from the band can’t be put into words. One of the best Hardcore shows I’ve been to.
AMPLIFIER – We were on tour with No Use and we all decided to take mushrooms at Pukkelpop. By the time No Use was getting ready, it was pretty late in the day, there was a band on right before them, and while under the influence, I made my way to the stage and noticed three guys just killing it from afar, I got closer and it was Amplifier. They sort of reminded me of a mix between FEEDER and TOOL, but I don’t even like Tool. If there’s anything good about Tool, Amplifier had it. The stage was moving slow, the sounds turned into colors, I had such a great trip and hugged the singer once the show was over. We both noticed the full moon in the background, Rory noticed me all excited and said “Those guys weren’t even that good, Yotam” haha
Is there any band that you’ve always wanted to see live but never had the chance to catch them? Any classic show that you wish you could have experienced?
QUEEN “Live Aid” This performance is so powerful and shows Freddie’s greatness as a frontman, I would have loved to be there and witness this happening in real time cause on video it all seems surreal.
NIRVANA Live at Pier 48, Seattle, what later became known as “Live and Loud”. I think this is by far one of the best Nirvana performances I’ve ever seen and I’ve seen a lot of their shows on video, it’s a hit or miss with them but this show shows Nirvana at the top of their game, Pat Smear had just joined and Kurt is giving a great performance. I remember staying up late at night to watch this on MTV, they were showing it as a New Year’s Party entering 1994. There was talk about Nirvana playing in Israel that summer but sadly it never happened.
ELLIOTT SMITH Live at the Yo Yo A Go Go Festival, Olympia. Like Nirvana, Elliott can be a hit or miss with his live sets depending on the year. This show is one of my favorite Elliott shows I managed to find online, it seems as if everyone there is captivated by his performance. Even when he has subtle messups it doesn’t matter, that too is great.
What is the most impressive band you’ve toured with? The one that you just had to watch every night? Did you learn anything from them/by watching them?
DIE TOTEN HOSEN, we supported them on their 30th anniversary tour and it was in front of 12,000-17,000 people a night. It was some of the bigger crowd we played to but watching frontman Campi dominate the crowd night after night showed me how it’s done when you’re playing to such a big crowd and how great and inspiring anthemic songs can be.
What are some of your all-time favorite music books and/or zines, documentaries, biopics?
Book Authors:
Henry Rollins
Michael Azzerad
Charles Bukowski
Stephen King
Documentaries
The list it too long, I honestly love thrillers, crime, music documentaries
Is there any classic / universally acclaimed artist that you missed out on when they first came out and discovered way later? Any artist that you didn’t like at first and learned to appreciate over time?
MISSING PERSONS
THE ZOMBIES
RANDY THE BAND (I actually got their first record when it came out but it was only 2 years ago that I discovered their more Punk stuff, which I love)
SMITHEREENS
Do you have an artist that you love in a genre that you don’t usually listen to? What makes them stand out?
CHAIRLIFT – Something
It’s a perfect record. If I’d have to categorize it, I’d say very 80’s influenced with a newer sounding production, Caroline Polachek has some great vocal abilities, the songwriting is great too.
AUTOLUX – Future Perfect
While I don’t listen to many SONIC YOUTH inspired bands, Autolux stands out with the colorful palate of sounds much due to Greg Edwards of FAILURE which I also like a lot.
Do you have any unpopular music opinion that you would like to defend? Something that you love and yet can hardly find anyone to agree on how great it is?
AMPLIFIER, I mean I listened to their record afterwards and liked it. Songs were almost 6 minutes long maybe that’s why haha
Do you enjoy live albums? What are some of your favorites? Can you think of a few examples where the live version of a song is better than the studio version?
Favorites:
DESCENDENTS – Hallraker
NOFX – I Heard They Suck Live
NIRVANA – MTV unplugged
Songs that are better than studio recordings:
HUSKER DÜ – You Could Be The One live on Joan Rivers
WIPERS – Youth Of America live at 13th precinct
Name one or several cover songs where the cover is better than the original? What makes them superior?
PINHEAD GUNPOWDER – Mahogany
The original song is great too but this it’s as if this was meant to be a Punk song all along, love the chord changes.
Is there a song that you would die to hear live but the artist/band never played it, every time you’ve seen them live?
Yes! I saw PIXIES five times and they never played Rock Music, but they do occasionally so there’s still hope.
When shows are being played again, who do you want to see live first?
Useless ID together on a stage, ready to go
What albums have been on heavy rotation lately?
BUZZCOCKS Singles Going Steady
JOE STRUMMER Streetcore
WEEZER Van Weezer
What are some up and coming artists that you would recommend?
DINOSAUR PILE UP
CHARLY BLISS
KRANG
What are you listening to right now, while answering these questions?
BUZZCOCKS
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