The Harlem Shakes have broken up. If you live outside of New York City this news likely means nothing to you and if you do live here, you’re likely thinking either “meh”, “who?”, or maybe even “that’s too bad”. Put me into the “that’s too bad” category. Actually, put me into the “this really blows” category. For whatever reason, the Harlem Shakes were as a cruelly overlooked, ignored, and under appreciated band as their has been in New York this decade. They were never flashy, never seriously buzzed about, never given much attention period. They always sort of seemed to be there floating in a sea of similar bands that could easily grouped in a future late night TV compilation entitled “Post-Strokes NYC Indie Bands”. But now that they are gone, I want to commit to public record the voice of at least one person who says that dammit, the Harlem Shakes were a damn good band and as an enjoyable producer of music as I’ve heard.

My earliest memory of the Harlem Shakes stems from the summer of ‘07, when I first began to truly immerse myself in New York City, its culture, and its music. For my birthday, my then girlfriend got me tickets to see Tokyo Police Club (a band both of us really enjoyed) at the Bowery Ballroom; the openers were to be the Harlem Shakes. “What a stupid name”, was my first thought. My foremost cynical musically elitist friend rolled his eyes at the mention of their name and, like I fear so many other music fans did, immediately wrote them off as derivative mid-2000’s third rate indie knockoffs, music unheard. The day before the show I randomly stumbled upon an XM Radio broadcast of a Harlem Shakes concert, which did nothing to dismiss the grounds for my friend’s dismissal. When I finally saw them open for Tokyo Police Club I think I was more confused by their life show, with their somewhat odd horn section and lead singer Lexy’s highly distinctive and nasal voice; I didn’t like it but I didn’t dislike it either.

The turning point came when I finally downloaded their Burning Birthday’s EP. Of the five songs, I found three to be rather boring. But two of them, Carpetbaggers and Sickos, became slight obsessions for me, in an almost ironic fashion. Sickos became in an inside joke between me and my girlfriend. I mean, it as so over the top ridiculous that it could not be serious….right? I mean, just LISTEN to it. Listen to Lexy’s earnest wail, singing “…and if there is a bomb in your hand just throw it”, only having it come out as “…and if there is a bOMb in your haund just THRA it!”, sounding almost like a cruel Bruno parody of indie rock. A upbeat song like this, sung with this much earnestness, seemingly unself-aware and with no concept of irony had to be fake, especially considering New York in 2007.

But that’s the thing about the Harlem Shakes. They were serious. They did mean it. They did care. They weren’t ironic or snarky or pretentious. They didn’t avoid all these indie rock cliches in a populist pop-chart attacking way either; they were an indie band through and through. Unlike so many bands today, unlike the writes of Pitchfork, or the commentators on Brooklyn Meh-gan, the Harlem Shakes were inclusive and welcoming. You never got the impression that you had to know a certain alternative rock history or wear certain jeans to listen to them; they were like the Ramones: We accept you, one of us.

This spring the Harlem Shakes finally released their debut LP, entitled “Technicolor Health”. It was an indie rock album doubling as pop; hook filled, positive, and immediately accessible. As soon as I heard it I loved it. I made a note to review it on this site but I never got around to it because hey, there is so much music out there and I was busy and music like that the Harlem Shakes made is fun and really enjoyable but somewhat inconsequential and I over looked them. I regret this. Technicolor Health is one of my favorite albums of 2009. The defining moment of the album – the sugar sweet and straight faced chant of “this will be a better year” in chorus of single “Strictly Game” – has become a bit of personal mantra for me after an awful 2008. The Harlem Shakes are one of the few genuinely positive bands around today; not in a creepy forced brainless Joel Osteen sort of way but in a genuine “yeah, stuff has been shitty but dammit it’s gonna be better” manner; this will be a better year. In a Here Comes The Sun sort of way. In an uplifting and life affirming but not the least bit corny sort of way.

In a review of their truly incredible cover of the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s “Y Control” last month, I called the Harlem Shakes the girl you marry. I said that all those other indie rock bands are the hot girls you fool around with but who don’t really love you. The Harlem Shakes are what Juno realizes Michael Cera is in the climatic scene of Juno; he’s not the hottest or the flashiest guy in school but he was the only one who loved her for who she was. The Harlem Shakes are the Michael Cera of indie bands. Earnest, caring, and trying really hard to be cool but instead just coming off as adorable. They were never the flashiest, the most talented, or best band in New York. Hell, considering the density of awesome music in New York, I bet their were “better” bands living on their very street. But after messing around with other bands all day, the Harlem Shakes are the band that I want to come home to and put on the record player, and be loved by, because they’re the band that I love.