Pio grooves: Barry Glassner

A column tapping into the vein of LC music taste

By Iris Shanks /// Staff Writer

Welcome back Pioneers, and say hello to your newest Pioneer Log column, Pio Grooves. Pio Grooves explores the range of musical tastes that can be found on campus by asking individual students what kind of music they’re excited about. This week, in honor of the column’s maiden voyage, we have an extra special guest.

The Subject: Barry Glassner

The Grooves: The Doubleclicks

Whether he’s out for a drive, stuck on a flight or even taking a quick break from his presidential duties, President Glassner’s go-to band is The Doubleclicks.

“I first learned about them because they filmed a video on campus last spring,” he told the Pio Log through email last week. “I bought their albums, saw them in concert and loved their work. I listen to them often.”

Comprised of Angela and Aubrey Webber, The Doubleclicks are a Portland-based duo that has released four full-length albums since 2012 (plus a five-song Christmas EP). The sisters are known for their use of the cello, the ukulele, quirky lyrics about Mr. Darcy and their appearance on Wil Wheaton’s web show.

The band started by releasing weekly videos on YouTube and have continued to post regularly. Filmed since then at LC, “Thank God It’s Over,” has nearly 7,000 views in its fifth month of web-time. The video, which features a lyric-driven song rejoicing over the end of school, is a selfie-view of a walk from the gazebos (keep an eye out for the Jeff Shaw (’16) sighting) into a couple of Miller classrooms and back out towards Olin. Clad in purple caps and gowns, the sisters give off an air of careless composure until they hit the last chorus, which begins, “Thank god it’s over/Thank god it’s through,” and then, in a sudden burst of panicked relief, “I’m proud and tired and angry and stressed and worn out and I’ve put strain on all of my relationships and I don’t know what the future holds and it’s possible I’ve lost all direction/but at least I have got no more work to do.”

It certainly is easy to imagine The Doubleclicks, whom Glassner aptly describes as “geek-folk rock,” fitting into campus life. Let’s face it: We, as a campus, are into ukulele, geekery and praying for academic liberation. However, the music certainly isn’t for everyone. The wealth of its charm lies in the lyrics and if you don’t feel like giving it a close listen, you might end up unimpressed. That being said, The Doubleclicks are cute, fun, and uplifting—a change that some of you brooding liberal artists could use. Give them a listen. Worst-case scenario: you don’t like them. Best case scenario: you can catch them live at Rose City Comic-Con on September 20, meet them, become best friends and tour the world together on the back of a majestic velociraptor.

Okay, maybe that’s a bit ambitious, but it’s the kind of outrageousness that the Webber sisters are likely to encourage. So plug in, listen to a tune or two about Cards Against Humanity (or the finer qualities of a burrito) and keep on groovin’.

Thank God It’s Over – The Doubleclicks