Day After Day is an ambitious attempt to write about a song every day in 2024 (starting on Jan. 4).
Tom Boy (1992)
Rock music is played all over the world, but that doesn't mean bands from all over the world find success here. Take, for example, the Netherlands. Every so often, a Dutch band will score a hit in the U.S., but it's fairly rare. Probably the biggest songs I can remember from Dutch acts are "Radar Love" by Golden Earring and "Venus" by Shocking Blue. But another that stands out to me as an essential indie rock classic of the early '90s is "Tom Boy" by Bettie Serveert.
The band had been together since 1990 but by the time their 1992 debut Palomine was released on Matador stateside, they were still an unknown quantity. But tfrom the moment I heard those opening chords of "Tom Boy," I was hooked. The song stood out because it was so calm and self-assured, with Carol van Dijk's vocals evoking Chrissie Hynde and Peter Visser crisp guitars setting the mood.
The calmness comes even as van Dijk sings about overcoming stage fright.
"From where I stand I can see/They've got the upper hand on me/Reminds me of this world at last/Simply changes much too fast for me/And when they call out, will I hear them/And when they fall out, will I see them."
Seeing the video on 120 Minutes and hearing it on the local alt-rock stations, I was struck at the time at how different "Tom Boy" was from almost everything else that was happening at the time. It was extremely chill and retro but also new and modern at the same time.
"They call me a Tom Boy and I love it/'Cause only a Tom Boy could stand above it/And simply change it."
The song wasn't a hit, per se, in that it didn't chart, but it is certainly beloved by music fans of a certain age. Bettie Serveert followed up "Tom Boy" with a string of songs that got decent airplay and tours with the likes of Dinosaur Jr., Buffalo Tom, Superchunk, Belly and Jeff Buckley.
The band became known for Visser's Crazy Horse-inspired guitar work as a counterpoint to van Dijk's uniquely laid-back vocals. After 1997's Dust Bunnies album, Bettie Serveert kind of dropped off the radar over here. Even though they've released seven albums since 2000, the most recent being 2016's Damaged Good. I can't say I've kept up with their output, but they've maintained a career, although it appears they haven't played any U.S. dates since 2010. They may have peaked with their debut album, but it was a hell of a peak.
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