I am definitely getting worse at this weekly blogging business. Sorry, my internet access has been acting up for quite some and while I was attempting to get it fixed I got caught up in other more pressing matters (damn you Burnout 3!). I hope this post can make up for any lost time on my part. Also, on another more brighter note, you may have noticed the return of Thunder Child. Though he'll only be here for a few weeks until his January semester exams start, his return provides a much needed break from overtime for myself. It'll be good to see someone else collaborating for a change.
The first track I'm going to concentrate on is Holy Fuck's Lovely Allen. In spite of their frankly obscene name, Holy Fuck are an electronica outfit who press all the right buttons. Having been making waves since 2004, it is only in recent years that they've been making headlines, almost entirely because of their choice of name. On this topic, the band have stated “It’s been pretty annoying, but it’s gotten us a lot of publicity, so we can’t complain about that." Although listeners may automatically assume that exposure based on a name featuring profanity will almost entirely be bad, the band do well in showcasing a rather synchronous parallel between the positive and the negative. Of course, any negative should be self-explanatory but, as previously mentioned, the positive is without a doubt the free publicity. Thankfully, Holy Fuck aren't another band who leave a licentious trail of destruction in their wake, hoping for the flash of a photographer's camera or a glimpse of adoration from their fans. As a substitute to such shenanigans, instead they produce such a high level of relevant output that their music speaks for them. Lovely Allen is perhaps the auditory embodiment of such productions because in some senses it smacks the listener as being idealistic in nature. As expected, such observations could be considered looking too far into it, but there are no preconditions to my allegories, this is how I feel every time I listen to it. I know I don't speak for myself either, judging by the rapturous reception that hook received when I saw them live. Call it over-analyzation, but I think this song exhibits expansive yet optimistic traits that few songs released in this decade have came close to inventing or even recreating.
Holy Fuck - Lovely Allen
For the second song, I've decided to lower the tempo a little bit with Radiohead's Street Spirit (Fade Out). I don't know what it is about Radiohead but they are one of the few bands out there who can attract a truly diverse audience yet simultaneously attract a large segment of pseudo-intellectuals. Call my accusations unfounded, but nine times out of ten when I'm introduced to a stranger whose favourite band is Radiohead, I am forced to sit through at least twenty minutes of reasoning as to why they are the best band on earth and why I should listen to them. Naturally, I tend to avoid interjecting on my own behalf to state that I've heard the majority of their body of work and find them an extremely interesting band who are mildly depressing at the best of times. If you're wondering why I avoid such actions, its because I have been in this situation more times than I'd like to recount and it always ends the same way. If you haven't heard them, you need to listen to them. If you have heard them, firstly why are they not your favourite band and secondly you obviously don't get it. I know not every Radiohead fan is like this but unfortunately there are quite a few who are. When people listen to music, they do so in order to both entertain themselves and experience its emotive vibes. These emotions can range from tranquility to anger and virtually everything in between. While depressive qualities wouldn't typically be something I would aim myself towards, there are plenty of others in the world who are able to channel such desolation or despondency into something positive or manage to use it to help them envisage or perhaps even clarify past discretions. From this perspective, it is easy to see exactly why Radiohead's appeal is so widespread and Street Spirit (Fade Out) serves as an extension of this engagingness. On one level, it shows their overall competency as a band, on another, it illustrates their songwriting ability and continuing pertinency in the 21st century.
Radiohead - Street Spirit (Fade Away)
On a more lighthearted note, the middle track is You Can Call Me Al by Paul Simon. Like most people, I'm not overly familiar with much of Paul Simon's work after himself and Art Garfunkel parted ways. It isn't a matter of prejudice because I feel the same way about Art Garfunkel's later solo work, but I do think that had they initially continued as Simon & Garfunkel as determined as they had previously been for even a few years more, the world would be a better place for it. Nevertheless, when your time is up your time is up. Unless you're The Rolling Stones, thats just the way the cookie crumbles. When I think of You Can Call Me Al, I think of two things: a huge departure in style and Chevy Chase. Admittedly, the latter is one of the most recognisable aspects of the track due in no small part to his flawless lip-syncing in the now famous video. So much so, in fact, that it could be argued that the track wouldn't quite have been as famous as it became without his contribution but that's a debate for another day. You Can Call Me Al opens with an immediately warm and fuzzy synth hook that provides the blueprint for the entire track from the outset, which is soon wrapped up with a relaxing yet accomplished bassline that is later played in reverse. Though there is little doubt that this song gets hardly anything wrong, I think its allure lies in its upbeat and friendly presentation. This is pop music at its best.
Paul Simon - You Can Call Me Al
Fourth up is The Kinks' Living On A Thin Line. Of all the places to be introduced to a song, I was introduced to this one in The Sopranos, which may not seem like that bizarre a place except the song is the type of thing you would never imagine to be associated with a show about La Cosa Nostra. While I consider it to be one of the greatest television series ever made, The Kinks aren't a band I would expect to be featured throughout it, particularly with regards to the context within which they were used. In retrospect, like much of the music selected to be featured within the show, I consider it to be a stroke of genius and it makes me appreciate it even more. Although I have been a big Kinks fan for many, many years now, Living On A Thin Line was a song that was able to slip past my musical radar so I'm glad it got a second lease of life even it was through a television show. Even though The Kinks are considered to be a hard rock act, Living On A Thin Line highlights another side to them. Whilst fundamentally being a rock song, it defies conventions by showcasing their ability to not only show a softer, more melodic version of themselves but also demonstrate just how proficient they were at writing what could later be perceived as contempory classics of an older generation.
The Kinks - Living On A Thin Line
Lastly we have Coldcut's True Skool. Despite listening to Coldcut almost fanatically in 2006, listening to them now feels like two estranged friends meeting coincidently ten years after they originally seperated. I guess you could estimate that this says something about the amount of time I spend listening to music, but there are few acts that alienate me as adequately as Coldcut do and I really don't know why. Sure, I haven't given them a proper listen in a number of years now but thats the case with a lot of different artists and yet few leave me feeling as isolated as Coldcut seem to. You could say I'm being dramatic and I probably am in order to give more weight to the situation, but things like this don't happen to me very often which is why it is so surprising. Although I haven't exactly been faithful to them in recent times, I have made a few attempts at reconnecting to no avail. This is why I'm posting True Skool. It gives anyone who is reading and/or listening the chance to familiarise themselves with the music while the author does the same. With British rap pioneer Roots Manuva on vocal duties and an eastern-influenced beat backing him, this is a track bursting at the seams with creativity and flavour. Oh, and did I mention that I would consider it a sublime addition to laidback Sunday listening. Get on it ASAP.
Coldcut - True Skool
