The old New York Dolls classic given a stripping down and lyrical overhaul for no discernable or redeeming reason.

 

 

 

 

posted @ 13.15 PM, November 25, 2009

With a spaced out Wah Wah, vocoder and deep deep thump of bass and drum - this is a helluva infectious Fall disco groove thang. The chant of 'Tom Raggi Raggi come down off the hill' burrows into your head like a mad nursery rhyme, along with 'You gotta circumnavigate the valley.' A veritable triumph of vocal as rhythm and confounding of expectations.

 

 

 

 

posted @ 13.00 PM, January 03, 2008

Powered by some fine piano stabbing and sundry effects, this paean to aloneness paints a melancholy picture of dreary, cold, streets, junk mail and quietude. One of my favourite lines is, 'Good luck to all that sail on the buses going the wrong way.'

 

 

 

 

posted @ 14.00 PM, December 21, 2007

Lo Fi clicking experimental track with random wordage. Not as bad as you'd think. Well, more bearable than some of the other Lo Fi clicking experimental album tracks.

 

 

 

 

posted @ 13.25 PM, December 20, 2007

Sombre, restrained and a little dull. Whether MES is being sincere is always hard to tell, and on this occasion, his apparent willingnesss to lay bare 'another side you never see' is offset by the jokey 'it’s there, on the right/I’m pointing to it now.' It's like a spoken word piece over some ambient mood music, with romantic, wistful, but nevertheless powerful poetic imagery such as, 'in dreams I stumble towards you/Knees knocked, as you evaporate,' and 'a leafy winding spiral ablaze.'

 

 

posted @ 13.10 PM, December 19, 2007

A booming great assault on the senses with keyboards, guitars, bass and percussion throwing out some LOUD LOUD LOUD sounds. The lyrics are eventually abandonded half way through, reduced to several magnificent 'hyup's. The second half almost blows your head off and when it stops, if you're still in one piece, you're left panting for more. Mind numbing stuff. The 'Real Life' version is a completely different beast altogether. Equally fantastic, more 'regular' but with added energetic yelps alongside the boings and fuzzy disco.

 

 

posted @ 13.30 PM, December 18, 2007

If you ever wondered what the soundtrack to a cartoon by The Fall might sound like, then here you go. Squeak! Whooooooosh! Boing! Plink plonk. Parp! Ssssss.

 

 

 

 

posted @ 13.05 PM, December 17, 2007

Of course, us sad musician types appreciate the B# reference, as there is no such note. Ho, ho, and indeed, ho. This crazed companion piece to Antidotes (see 1998) includes some bizarre wah wah noises, a funny 'Ah' scream and great thumping bass and drums. The chewing gum chewer resurfaces and, elsewhere, obscure lyricisms abound. The ending, however, intrigues me. To these ears, it sounds like 'And the bitter you have got is Meat Loaf on your sharps'!

 

posted @ 13.05 PM, December 14, 2007

Another unsung treasure. Starts and finishes with a nice bare guitar sound and the bass is brilliant throughout. However, it's all the wee plinky plonky keyboard sounds of weird instruments like the cor anglais/snake charmer type sound that make it spectacular. Some stuff about Burmese and 'the law of the planes and the prams' sprinkled throughout, plus an almost touching 'Bye bye bye baby' phrase near the end. I'd say achingly sad, but that sounds pretentious.

 

 

posted @ 12.45 PM, December 13, 2007

The original was a 1959 single by Tommy Blake, probably most famous for being accidentally shot dead by his third wife on Christmas eve 1985. It's along the lines of 'Summertime Blues' and is a great old stomper. Top vocals from MES and a brilliant minimalist guitar solo in the middle. My favourite couplet is 'I went to the bank just to get a little money/When he told me their requirements I started feeling funny. 'The live version is fairly lacklustre but includes some extra bile for a 'speccy-eyed bastard.'

 

 

posted @ 13.30 PM, December 12, 2007