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Monday, July 21, 2003
Monday, July 21, 2003
My past attempt to gain hits by fooling porn searches seems to be coming to fruition. Ladies and gentlemen, I've just been linked to through someone's search on a site called Ultrapornzone.
I fucking rule.
E. Randy Dupre's brain told him to write this at 21:20
While I'm here, don't go anywhere near the new Shaun Ryder project, Amateur Night In The Big Top. It is utter shite, and while I started writing a post explaining *why* it's utter shite I find that I can't be bothered justifying the hate. Maybe if I can find one of these positive reviews I keep hearing so much about I'll pull it apart section by section, but don't hold yer breath.
E. Randy Dupre's brain told him to write this at 21:16
I�m currently performing the regular exercise of revisiting albums and tracks that I�ve not listened to for a while, and have just had the pleasure of being reintroduced to The Boo Radleys� masterful Giant Steps. I�d forgotten how important the Boos were to me for a few years, but this brings it back. Their transformation from shoegazing also-rans into fully fledged indiepop stars was a remarkable one, but it�s too easy to lump them in with the faceless hordes who followed in their wake or point to their failure to live up to commercial expectations after Wake Up!�s sales went supernova. At a time when the airwaves were starting to fill with Nirvana clones, the blast of sheer joy that I Hang Suspended represented was an absolute revelation to me. Then came the album.
And what an album. So broad in scope, so polished in execution that hearing it now I still get goosebumps. The standout tracks are perfect pop moments � the aforementioned first single, Wishing I Was Skinny, Barney (And Me) - but the one moment that never fails to floor me is Lazarus.
Dub intro. Dub intro! On a record by an indie group, ferfucksakes! Build up of spacedub reverb/faders. Baseline repeating, pumping up to� trumpet explosion! Then quiet. Scratchy, near-whisper vocals. Shiny ba-ba-ba-bahs over the top, then� trumpet explosion!
It�s also clever in a very subtle way. Here�s the then-all-encompassing quiet/loud rock dynamic perverted, made pop. Sorry, made POP!
It�s one of those tracks that stays with you, that you look back on as reflecting a specific time in your life. The Boos went on to storm the charts, with Wake Up Boo! becoming the soundtrack to an entire summer, then they tried to mix the surreality and inventiveness of Giant Steps with a �You know, for kids� mentality and lost a huge amount of the audience they�d only recently gained. The problem with C�Mon Kids is that it often becomes an experiment too far, and while occasional glimpses of past glories show through it remains� bloated. Moving away from the formula which had gained them sudden popularity was a sensible idea, as people were likely to begin tiring of it, but in moving they seemed to lose their way.
So Kingsize was always doomed to failure. That�s an enormous shame, because it remains a fine, fine record. It�s got pace where C�Mon Kids dragged. It�s playful, the inventiveness that marked them out as something special in the first place suddenly returning when it seemed that sudden exposure had burned it out.
Martin Carr always had one eye on the future and one on the past, taking 60s pop staples and principles and making them shiny and new. His best songs still have the power to lift you up, and if they sometimes sound a little dated that�s only because nobody makes guitar pop this bright anymore. Including, from what I�ve heard of his solo releases, Martin Carr.
E. Randy Dupre's brain told him to write this at 20:59
Saturday, July 19, 2003
Saturday, July 19, 2003
Ooooo. By sheer blind luck, I've just tripped over something that I've been trying to get hold of for some time now. Cheers, Supreme Being, for those eBay sellers who accidentally promote their items as the wrong thing. Two hours and counting...
E. Randy Dupre's brain told him to write this at 21:43
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Losing the fight against mediocrity for the last few years. Fire a volley |
