Rooney (named after the principal in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off) was formed in high school by singer-songwriter Robert Schwartzman, whose list of celebrity connections is long: brother to actor Jason Schwartzman, cousin to actor Nic Cage and director Sofia Coppola, and nephew of Francis Ford Coppola. But it wasn’t just celebrity that turbocharged Rooney’s rise; songs like “Blueside,” “I’m Shakin’,” and “I’m a Terrible Person” blend power pop with British Invasion and punk influences to create a sort of rock and roll classicism in the best sense of the word. That’s why none other than Johnny Ramone selected them for the Ramones tribute album We’re a Happy Family, and why the band were tabbed to tour with such cult faves as Weezer, The Strokes, and The Donnas (they also appeared as themselves in the first season of The O.C.). That’s also why their 2003 self-titled debut (produced by Jimmy Iovine among others) sold a cool half million copies…but somehow it’s never been out on LP. Our Real Gone release comes in metallic gold vinyl housed inside a jacket with printed inner sleeve. Another one of those early aughts records that’s way, way overdue for wax.
