So here's a little bit of musical back-scratching for you. Way back in the early 90's Glaswegian heroes, Teenage Fanclub toured the U.S.A. with the Afghan Whigs. Things were happening for both bands. Fannies drummer Brendan O'Hare left soon after and hooked up with the Telstar Ponies who produced a few albums and a nice early single 'Maps and Starcharts' backed by this b-side whose title references Afghan Whigs main man, Greg Dulli. The title is about as far as it goes, though, in relation to Mr Dulli. I can't make any real sense of it but, then again, I don't think you're meant to. Strange too is that this song was written by Telstar's leader Dave Keenan.
In this studio recording of the Afghan Whigs, Greg Dulli speaks warmly of time spent on the road with the Fanclub and then presents us with a respectable cover of their classic 'Everything Flows'. If only the Fannies played this song with the same energy now. Sigh. What does this all mean? Nothing, of course.
Resistance is useless. Besides, why would you want to deny your body the pleasure of succumbing to the joyous infection. That most un-hip of instruments, the accordion, recasts itself as a potent booty shakin' weapon in the skilled hands of Chris Ardoin. The appeal lies in the freedom of its spirit and its total lack of pretence. What other music has such a smile on its face? It's too happy hugging its friends to be pushing itself to the front of the queue so, sadly, it gets pushed out of the way.
Sad, too, is that Chris Ardoin no longer has a website.
It's summer where I am and bright sun and good times remind me of the Fauves. They remain a quintessentially Australian, no - make that Melbourne - band who reached their commerical peak sometime in the mid 90's when they managed to marry Coxy's wonderful lyrics to some terrific tunes.
There are perhaps better songs in their catalogue to demonstrate their gifts but these will do just fine. 'Ocean Hearted' still stirs me with its wide-eyed, coming-of-age call, "let's go grab some world - so we can be like everyone else" while 'Girlfriend for Life' sees the Fauves dreaming of being a boy band but Coxy's subversion of the lyric ensures they never will. I still believe that with a tweaking, some vastly less talented bunch of American kids could turn this into a smash hit.
Don't miss their web site which is a great read as well.
I think I only heard this song a few times when it came out in the ninties before it disappeared from view but it remained with me for some reason. There are things I dislike about this song - the clinical production evident on latter period Died Pretty records saps any dynamic from their sound. And the separation between each instrument in the mix together with that mid-tempo beat doesn't give me, I don't know, let's call it the intimacy that I think the song could have benefitted from.
The more I listen to this song, though, the more I understand why I have come back to it. There's something special going on here in Ron's vocal. The lyric suggests a friend took their own life but I don't really know. I can hear his sense of loss. His singing is restrained but heartfelt, the lyric demanding but tender: " Hold your tongue and hear this sound - someone else just fell. Helpless here and sing this song - Heaven holds its own". What this song does have is a formality, a dignity that is sometimes hard to find in popular music these days. [info]
It seems that putting new technology in the hands of the creative amongst us will continue to help us expand the very elements, the very definition of what constitutes a song - without ever changing the immutable laws of what makes a "good" song.
In 'Pushy', Lemon Jelly set up relaxed melodic loops of synthetic pianos, strings, drums and guitars and overlay a constructed conversation between a bashful, young English schoolgirl being tenderly questioned by an older male about how she feels about herself and others who are more 'pushy' . Lemon Jelly's tools are utterly artificial but the result is hypnotically affecting. We are eavesdropping on something private here, something personal - but we are drawn in. We want to know more. The soothing rhythms and the engaging patter of the dialogue give this song its warm and gentle soul.
It's funny how we treat our musical heros like friends. I used to really like Paul Kelly. We were 'pals' during the '80's. He was often found on my turntable with his nifty tunes and brilliant songsmithery. The radio embraced him. Every album was devoured, every single worshipped. But then, we drifted apart. He wanted to explore different things. We were both getting older and our tastes were changing. His songs didn't seem to connect anymore.
I bump into him sometimes around the place now - the odd festival, an appearance here or there - and the things that made me like him then - his special qualities as a songwriter and a performer of his songs - still keep the feelings warm between us. This live track is an example. Armed only with an acoustic guitar, a few simple chords, a key change here and there and his most deadly of weapons - a wonderfully deft turn of phrase, he leads the crowd through a classic tale of antipodean backpacking (mis)adventure in Europe.
And his kiss-off at the end of the song just kills every time.
Proof that brutal simplicity and pure inspiration outweighs technical proficiency and musical craft every time. God fashioned this definitive statement of impassioned teenage alienation out of a single spiky guitar riff that embodies the desperation of the song. Joel's vocals are raw, throaty and wretched. "You're my only friend/but you don't even like me", he wails fitfully. Appropriately, the song combusts in a whirlwind of drums and some immaculate supersonic guitar hysterics before crumbling to its knees with THAT riff the only thing left standing.
An irregular but loving look at recent and not-so-recent hidden musical treasures with mp3s to share the love. These songs will only be posted for a short time. Please find and buy these records.
Should any copyright holders not want their songs to be posted, please contact Steve at sc at bythebook.com.au and they will be removed.
About the Author
Steve Callil lives in Melbourne, Australia where his musical appetite is tempered by his physical surroundings, economic restraints and the patience of those who love him.
