Mean Wiener

Credit Mean Wiener with the invention of "snack rock." Their amalgamation of the loud-quiet dynamic and unadulterated rock fervor of the Pixies and the slick modern sounds of the Foo Fighters has yielded a brand of rock that is sweet and tasty, and that will always leave the listener wanting just one more morsel. P. Wall, Free Times Columbia, SC

While I was watching the Presidents of the United States of America the other week at Tiger Burn, I was struck by how much I was reminded of Mean Wiener. On stage, both bands are quite gleeful and give the impression that they genuinely enjoy themselves, and both are quite capable of writing some silly songs with snazzy hooks. Kevin Langston, Free Times Columbia, SC

Yes, the name "Mean Wiener" probably inspires images of snot-nosed kids with a vulgar sense of humor. Well, if you can put that preconception aside, what you'll find is music that's both clever and catchy, echoing such college rock staples as Weezer and The Pixies. With hooks to burn and a wit that includes mock-metal guitar solos and lyrical references to space travel, barometers and the biblical figures Cain and Abel it shouldn't be hard to see why Mean Wiener was voted Best New Local Band by Free Times readers. DCMean Wiener -

Columbia would be a far-better place if this bands

energy and enthusiasm were contagious. While their

subject matter might tend to be light, Mean Wiener

still plays with conviction, sounding a bit like

Weezer and the Foo Fighters in the process.