POLITICAL SONGS

POLITICAL SONGS

The Audiophiles gathered to consider songs with a political twist – protest songs and others. The general feeling towards the topic was initially tending towards the negative, with the words ‘folk music’, ‘ moaning’ and ‘harmonica’ being spoken frequently with a hushed sense of fear and terror – kind of similar to that used by Marlon Brando as he gazes into the Heart of Darkness. ‘The horror, the horror’. A particular loathing was expressed for allegorical songs.

However it was agreed that the topic presented the non-lyricists among us with a challenge since no matter how profound the message for those who fail to listen to words the song might as well be about ‘washing your hair’. Songs about sexual politics were approved of and in general it was felt that uttering a political message and eliciting a good boogie in the listener simultaneously should be the ideal ambition of a song writer aiming to write a political song.

The listeners recommended POLITICAL SONGS as follows. Because of the particular importance of the lyrics we have reprinted them here. This is for educational purposes blab la bla and in no way interferes with the stupendous profits made each year by the writers of socialist anthems.

1. Comrade Walsh recommends H2OGATE BLUES by Gil Scott-Heron and Brain Jackson (1973)

‘Mixing pop and politics he asks me what the use is/ I offer him embarrassment and my usual excuses…’

That’s Billy Bragg, of course, whom I’ve dismissed as too obvious. But everyone should listen to his version of ‘The World Turned Upside Down’, Leon Rosselson’s song about The Diggers. It’s a genuine socialist anthem. However I think for the most part Billy Bragg is a romantic songwriter and the politics is only a background: ‘They’re out there making history/ In the Lenin shipyards today/ But here I am in the Hammersmith Hotel/ Wishing the days away.’

If I hadn’t already come out on top with ‘The Needle and the Damage Done’ I’d go for Neil Young again but that seems a bit lame. However I thoroughly recommend ‘Ohio’, his song about the Kent State shootings in the late sixties: ‘Tin soldiers and Nixon’s coming/ We’re finally on our own/ This summer I hear the drumming/ Four dead in Ohio’. Brilliant, driving, angry guitar. Various other genuine protest songs from years gone by came to mind, like ‘Soldier Blue’ by Buffy Sainte-Marie, Donovan’s ‘Universal Soldier’ and Dylan of course (‘Masters of War’).

I was very tempted to choose ‘Tramp The Dirt Down’ by Elvis Costello. The song does capture that sense of baffled rage that I felt for much of the 80s, ‘when England was the whore of the world and Margaret was the madam’. Ironically I think Mrs T’s health is now fading and Elvis might well get his chance if he still wants it: ‘When they finally put you in the ground/ I’ll stand on your grave and tramp the dirt down.’ Only Wayne Rooney can make me that angry these days and I think it’s crucial that you don’t let your opponents reduce you to helpless anger, or else they’ve won. This is why I favour a passive-aggressive approach to all disputes, especially marital ones.

For this reason I think that an ironic approach to political issues is always likely to be more successful. As Elvis’s song illustrates, preaching to the converted is not only too easy but probably ultimately pointless; ultimately irony is a longer-lasting way of making a political point. I realize that those of you who don’t listen to lyrics are even less likely to listen to lyrics and consider the ways in which the lyrics may not be what they seem. But Randy Newman (‘Political Science’, ‘A Few Words In Defence of our Country’) need listening to.

In the end I’ll plump for Gil-Scott Heron and Brian Jackson with an approach that lies somewhere in the middle. The song is obviously a response to immediate events and is full of topical references, including the great line ‘If Nixon knew Ag-knew – but Ag didn’t knew enough to stay out of jail…’ Worth the admission money for that line alone.

Heh, don’t wanna be involved in this one, huh?
This here is gonna be a blues number.
But first I wanna do a little bit of background on the Blues
And say what it is.

Like, there are 6 cardinal colors
And colors have always come to signify more than that particular shade.
Like: “red-neck” or “got the blues.”
That’s where you apply somethin to a color, to express what you’re trying to say.
So, there are 6 cardinal colors: Yellow, Red, Orange, Green, Blue, and Purple.
And there are 3,000 shades.
And if you take these 3,000 and divide it into 1/6th, you got 500.
That means that there are atleast 500 shades of The Blues.
For example, there is…

The “I ain’t got no dough, blues”.
There is the “I ain’t got no woman, blues”.
There is the “I ain’t got me no money AND I ain’t got me no woman”.
which is the double blues.

For years it was thought that Black people was the only ones who could get the blues.
So the Blues hadn’t come into no kinda international fame. (…had a corner on the market.)

But lately we had..

The Frank Rizzo with the “Lie Detector Blues”.

We done had the United States government talkin bout the “Energy Crisis Blues”.

And we gonna dedicate this next poem here to Spearhead X.
The Ex-Second in Command in terms of this Country. (He GOT the blues.)*laughter*

And the poem is called the “H2O G-A-T-E Blues”.
And if H2O is still water
And G-A-T-E is still gate
What we gettin ready to deal on is the
“Watergate Blues”… (Yeah~ YEAH~ haha~)*scattered applause*
(Rated X!)

Lemme see if I can dial this number….

Click! Whirr … Click!

“I’m sorry, the government you have elected is inoperative …
Click! Inoperative!”

Just how blind will America be?
The world is on the edge of its seat
Defeat on the horizon. very surprisin’
That we all could see the plot and still could not…
— let me do that part again.

Just how blind will America be? (Ain’t no tellin’)
The world is on the edge of its seat
Defeat on the horizon. very surprisin’
That we all could see the plot
And claimed that we could not.(Alright~)

Just how blind, America?
Just as Viet Nam exploded in the rice
snap, crackle, and pop (Uh Oh!)
Could not stop people determined to be free.
Just how blind will America be?(Yes Sir!)

The shock of Viet Nam defeat
Sent Republican donkeys scurrying down on Wall Street
And when the roll was called it was:
Pepsi-Cola and Phillips 66, Boeing Dow & Lockheed
Ask them what we’re fighting for and they never mention the economics of war.
Ecological Warfare!
Above all else destroy the land!
If we can’t break the Asian will
We’ll bomb the dykes and starve the man!

America!
The international Jekyll and Hyde
The land of a thousand disguises
Sneaks up on you but rarely surprises (Yeah!)
Plundering the Asian countryside
in the name of Fu Man Thieu.

Afraid of shoeless, undernourished Cambodians
While we strike big wheat bargains with Russia
Our nuclear enemy
Just how blind, America?

But tell me, who was around where Hale Boggs died?
And what about LBJ’s untimely demise?
And what really happened to J. Edgar Hoover?
The king is proud of Patrick Gray
While America’s faith is drowning
beneath that cesspool-Watergate. (Yeeeah!)

How long will the citizens sit and wait?
It’s looking like Europe in ’38
Did they move to stop Hitler before it was too late?
How long. America before the consequences of
Keeping the school systems segregated
Allowing the press to be intimidated
Watching the price of everything soar
And hearing complaints ’cause the rich want more? (Alright!)
It seems that MacBeth, and not his lady, went mad
We’ve let him eliminate the whole middle class
The dollar’s the only thing we can’t inflate
While the poor go on without a new minimum wage
What really happened to J Edgar Hoover?
The kind is proud of Patrick Gray
And there are those who say America’s faith is drowning
Beneath that cesspool-Watergate.

How much more evidence to do the citizens need
That the election was sabotaged by trickery and greed?
And, if this is so, and who we got didn’t win
Let’s do the whole goddamn election again! (YEAH! YEAH! YEAH!)

The obvious key to the whole charade
Would be to run down all the games that they played:
Remember Dita Beard and ITT, the slaughter of Attica,
The C.I.A. in Chile knowing nothing about Allende at this time
In the past. As I recollect, Augusta Georgia
The nomination of Supreme Court Jesters to head off the tapes
William Calley Executive Interference
in the image of John Wayne.
Kent State, Jackson, Southern Louisiana.
Hundreds of unauthorized bombing raids.
The chaining and gagging of Bobby Seale –
Somebody tell these Maryland Governors to be for real!

We recall all of these events just to prove (Yeah!)
The Waterbuggers in the Watergate wasn’t no news!
The thing that seems to justify all of our fears
Is that all of this went down in the last five years.
But tell me, what really happened to J. Edgar Hoover?
The kind is proud of Patrick Gray
While America’s faith is drowning
Beneath that cesspool-Watergate.

We leave America to ponder the image
Of justice from the new wave of leaders
Frank Rizzo, the high school graduate
Mayor of Philadelphia, whose ignorance
Is surpassed only by those who voted for him. (Hahahaha)
Richard Daley, imperial Napoleonic Mayor of Chicago.
who took over from Al Capone and
Continues to implement the same tactics.
George Wallace. Lester Maddawg
Strom Thurmond, Ronald Reagan-
An almost endless list that won’t be missed when at last
America is purged (Yeah! Alright~)

And the silent White House with the James Brothers
once in command.
But see the sauerkraut Mafia men
deserting the sinking White House ship and
Their main mindless, meglomaniacal Ahab.

McCord had blown. Mitchell has blown no tap on my telephone,
McCord had blown. Mitchell has blown no tap on my telephone
Halderman, Ehrlichman, Mitchell and Dean
It follows a pattern if you dig what I mean.
Halderman, Ehrlichman, Mitchell and Dean
It follows a pattern if you dig what I mean.

And what are we left with now?
Bumper stickers that say Free the Watergate 500.
Spy movies of the same name with a cast of thousands.
And that aminous phrase: that if Nixon knew, Agnew!(check it out!)
But Ag did’t knew enough to stay out of jail
What really happened to J. Edgar Hoover?
The kind is proud of Patrick Gray
And there are those who swear that’ve seen King Richard (who? who?)
King Richard
(who?)
King Richard
(who?)
King Richard
(who?)
King Richard
(who?)
King Richard
King Richard
King Richard
King Richard- (Yeah!)
Beneath that cesspool-Watergate.
*Applause*

Four more years,
Four more years,
Four more years of THAT?

2. Comrade Anderson recommends ALTERNATIVE ULSTER by Stiff Little Fingers (1978)

I’ve disregarded several political favourites from my youth, those I learned cosy-ed up by the fire (I say fire; it was usually a burning car). If I were to send the names of them to you in an email to you I’d probably get hauled in, so perhaps another time.

I then thought about ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday’, but Alan Partridge sublimely killed that idea. See below…

So, I’ve gone for ‘Alternative Ulster’ by Stiff Little Fingers 1978. I love the first few chords and the start to the track in general. The song (including lyrics, see below) conveys not the just the standard punk anger but also the frustration that a lot of people felt in Ireland at the time.

That said, I’ve never been a massive fan of the ‘Irish political song’ or of SLF; looking through their discography I could have gone for a few others such as ‘Bloody Sunday’, ‘Suspect Device’ or… ‘Beirut Moon’.

Nothin’ for us in Belfast
The Pound so old it’s a pity
OK, there’s the Trident in Bangor
Then walk back to the city
We ain’t got nothin’ but they don’t really care
They don’t even know you know
They just want money
They can take it or leave it
What we need is

(Chorus)
An Alternative Ulster
Grab it change it’s yours
Get an Alternative Ulster
Ignore the bores, their laws
Get an Alternative Ulster
Be an anti-security force
Alter your native Ulster
Alter your native land

Take a look where you’re livin’
You got the Army on the street
And the RUC dog of repression
Is barking at your feet
Is this the kind of place you wanna live?
Is this were you wanna be?
Is this the only life we’re gonna have?
What we need is

(Chorus)

They say they’re a part of you
But that’s not true you know
They say they’ve got control of you
And that’s a lie you know
They say you will never be

Free free free

Alternative Ulster
Alternative Ulster
Alternative Ulster

Pull it together now.

3. COMRADE CALLAS RECOMMENDS Rat Race by the Specials -May 1980.

It is political in the broadest sense (It does at least mention the word “political” in the lyrics – see below). It is a great tune to have a bop to and contains the line “I’ve got one art O level, it did nothing for me”, which I thought would amuse.
.

You’re working at your leisure to learn the things you’ll need
The promises you make tomorrow will carry no guarantee
I’ve seen your qualifications, you’ve got a Ph.D.
I’ve got one art O level, it did nothing for me

Working for the rat race
You know you’re wasting your time
Working for the rat race
You’re no friend of mine

You plan your conversation to impress the college bar
Just talking about your Mother and Daddy’s Jaguar
Wear your political T-shirt and sacred college scarf
Discussing the worlds situation but just for a laugh

You’ll be working for the rat race
You know you’re wasting your time
Working for the rat race
You’re no friend of mine

Working for the rat race
You know you’re wasting your time
Working for the rat race
You’re no friend of mine

Just working at your leisure to learn the things you don’t need
The promises you make tomorrow will carry no guarantee
I’ve seen your qualifications, you’ve got a Ph.D.
I’ve got one art O level, it did nothing for me

Working for the rat race
You know you’re wasting your time
You’re working for the rat race
You’re no friend of mine

4. COMRADE TAMVAKIS makes his maiden recommendation: FROM LITTLE THINGS BIG THINGS GROW by Paul Kelly

Gather round people let me tell you’re a story
An eight year long story of power and pride
British Lord Vestey and Vincent Lingiarri
Were opposite men on opposite sides

Vestey was fat with money and muscle
Beef was his business, broad was his door
Vincent was lean and spoke very little
He had no bank balance, hard dirt was his floor

From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow

Gurindji were working for nothing but rations
Where once they had gathered the wealth of the land
Daily the pressure got tighter and tighter
Gurindju decided they must make a stand

They picked up their swags and started off walking
At Wattie Creek they sat themselves down
Now it don’t sound like much but it sure got tongues talking
Back at the homestead and then in the town

From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow

Vestey man said I’ll double your wages
Seven quid a week you’ll have in your hand
Vincent said uhuh we’re not talking about wages
We’re sitting right here till we get our land
Vestey man roared and Vestey man thundered
You don’t stand the chance of a cinder in snow
Vince said if we fall others are rising

From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow

Then Vincent Lingiarri boarded an aeroplane
Landed in Sydney, big city of lights
And daily he went round softly speaking his story
To all kinds of men from all walks of life

And Vincent sat down with big politicians
This affair they told him is a matter of state
Let us sort it out, your people are hungry
Vincent said no thanks, we know how to wait

From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow

Then Vincent Lingiarri returned in an aeroplane
Back to his country once more to sit down
And he told his people let the stars keep on turning
We have friends in the south, in the cities and towns

Eight years went by, eight long years of waiting
Till one day a tall stranger appeared in the land
And he came with lawyers and he came with great ceremony
And through Vincent’s fingers poured a handful of sand

From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow

That was the story of Vincent Lingairri
But this is the story of something much more
How power and privilege can not move a people
Who know where they stand and stand in the law

From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow

5. COMRADE DELLER RECOMMENDS ‘Let’s Clean Up The Ghetto’ by the Philly All-Stars

I wasn’t sure how political a ‘protest song’ had to be to qualify and it seemed to me that a lot of my considerations sounded a little lame (politically), just musicians having a bit of a moan really. Or perhaps I have been a little too cynical about their sincerity. Anyway, I have gone for a less deeply political (although not without a valid point) and more musical response with The Philadelphia All-Stars’ (Archie Bell, Billy Paul, Dee Dee Sharp, Harold Melvin And The Blue Notes, Lou Rawls, Teddy Pendergrass).

‘Let’s Clean Up The Ghetto’. The point is obvious but you can have a bit of a boogie to it whilst you’re thinking socially profound thoughts, – and I am very aware that this could be seen as a precursor to Band Aid.

You know
I was in New York City a few months ago
And the garbage and the trashmen were on strike
I’m tellin’, the maintenance people of the city
What they were tryin’ to do
They were tryin’ to get a little more money
You know, get a little raise in pay
But at that particular time the city was broke
They were about to declare default
I tell you, the garbage in some places
Were stacked up two, three stories high
At night, haha
Boy, at night it weren’t een safe to walk the street
‘Cause they caught the rats
The roaches and the waterbuff
I’m unable hustlin’, baby
Tryin’ to get somethin’ to eat, see?
And let met tell you somethin’
It was stinkin’
And it was all kind of diseases in there, you know?
But it only brought to mind the fact that
You can no longer depend on the man downtown
To take care of business like he’s supposed to
When he’s supposed to
If all of us would get it like it’s supposed to be
As far as cleaniness, you know, and safety
We gotta get together and do it for ourselves
That’s the only way it’s gonna be done
And you know what I’m talkin’ about?
Let me tell you what I mean
Clean it up, clean it up (Well, y’all)
Clean it up, clean it up (You gotta get it)
Clean it up, clean it up (Yes, gonna get it)
Clean it up, clean it up
Ghetto!
Talkin’ ’bout the ghetto!
Ghetto is our home
That’s where we live, where we live
Get some paint, fetch your hammer, your nails
If you broomed, you mop and you pails
We’re gonna wash it, polish
And make it all clean
Let’s wash away all of the sins
Time for a new life to begin
In the ghetto
I said (Clean it up, clean it up)
I said we’re gonna (Clean it up, clean it up)
Because the (Ghetto)
I said the (Ghetto)
(Ghetto is our home)
That’s where we live, where we live
Let’s paint the signs everybody can read
Let’s get rid of everything we don’t need
Pushers, the dealers
The pot, crook, snatchers and thieves, aha
Let’s make the streets safe for women to walk
Let’s get rid of all the faul talk
We gonna do it
And all of us shall survive
I said we’re gonna (Clean it up, clean it up) Do it
We got to (Clean it up, clean it up) Hey!
(Ghetto) Said the ghetto
(Ghetto is our home)
That’s where we live from day to day
(Where we live, where we live)
All of your brothers that live on the mainline
You lived in the ghetto once upon a time
We need everybody to lend a hand
No you’ve helped everybody else
Now’s the time for you to help yourself
We can’t depend, depend on the people, no, no
Well, well, get it up, get it up
Clean it up, clean it up (Well, well, ya)
Clean it up, clean it up (Hey, hey, hey)
Ghetto, ghetto
Ghetto is our home
Yeah, that’s where we live, where we live
I said (Clean it up, clean it up)
(Come on, y’all, let’s clean it up, clean it up)
(Come on, y’all, let’s clean it up, clean it up)
(Come on, y’all, let’s clean it up, clean it up)
(Come on, y’all, let’s clean it up, clean it up)
(Come on, y’all, let’s clean it up, clean it up)
I said (Come on, y’all, let’s clean it up, clean it up)
(Come on, y’all, let’s clean it up, clean it up)
(Come on, y’all, let’s clean it up, clean it up)
(Come on, y’all, let’s clean it up, clean it up)
(Come on, y’all, let’s clean it up, clean it up)
(Come on, y’all, let’s clean it up, clean it up)
(Come on, y’all, let’s clean it up, clean it up)
(Come on, y’all, let’s clean it up, clean it up)
(Come on, y’all, let’s clean it up, clean it up)
(Come on, y’all, let’s clean it up, clean it up)
(Come on, y’all, let’s clean it up, clean it up)

6. COMRADE MASON recommends A CHANGE IS GONNA COME by Sam Cooke

Here are the simple lyrics for my choice of “ A Change is Gonna Come” by Sam Cooke. Sam Cooke died in the year Cassius Clay converted to Islam and some mystery still hangs over his death in those troubled times. The song was more recently used in the Obama election campaign. The lush orchestration a little off-putting – needs to swap it for an orchestra of harmonicas…

I was born by the river in a little tent
Oh and just like the river I been a runnin’ ever since
It’s been a long, a long time coming but I know
A change gonna come oh yes it will
It’s been too hard living but I’m afraid to die
Cos I don’t know what’s up there beyond the sky
It’s been a long, a long time coming but I know
A change gonna come oh yes it will

I go to the movie, and I go downtown
Somebody keep tellin me “don’t hang around”
It’s been a long, a long time coming, but I know
A change gonna come oh yes it will

Then I go to my brother
And I say “brother, help me please”
But he winds up knocking me
Back down on my knees
There been times that I thought I couldn’t last for long
Now I think I’m able to carry on
It’s been a long, a long time coming but I know
A change gonna come, oh yes it will

7. COMRADE YATES recommends THE LONESOME DEATH OF HATTIE CARROLL – Bob Dylan

Proper, moaning folk music.

William Zanzinger killed poor Hattie Carroll
With a cane that he twirled around his diamond ring finger
At a Baltimore hotel society gath’rin’
And the cops were called in and his weapon took from him
As they rode him in custody down to the station
And booked William Zanzinger for first-degree murder
But you who philosophize disgrace and criticize all fears
Take the rag away from your face
Now ain’t the time for your tears.

William Zanzinger who at twenty-four years
Owns a tobacco farm of six hundred acres
With rich wealthy parents who provide and protect him
And high office relations in the politics of Maryland
Reacted to his deed with a shrug of his shoulders
And swear words and sneering and his tongue it was snarling
In a matter of minutes on bail was out walking
But you who philosophize disgrace and criticize all fears
Take the rag away from your face
Now ain’t the time for your tears.

Hattie Carroll was a maid in the kitchen
She was fifty-one years old and gave birth to ten children
Who carried the dishes and took out the garbage
And never sat once at the head of the table
And didn’t even talk to the people at the table
Who just cleaned up all the food from the table
And emptied the ashtrays on a whole other level
Got killed by a blow, lay slain by a cane
That sailed through the air and came down through the room
Doomed and determined to destroy all the gentle
And she never done nothing to William Zanzinger
And you who philosophize disgrace and criticize all fears
Take the rag away from your face
Now ain’t the time for your tears.

In the courtroom of honor, the judge pounded his gavel
To show that all’s equal and that the courts are on the level
And that the strings in the books ain’t pulled and persuaded
And that even the nobles get properly handled
Once that the cops have chased after and caught ’em
And that ladder of law has no top and no bottom
Stared at the person who killed for no reason
Who just happened to be feelin’ that way witout warnin’
And he spoke through his cloak, most deep and distinguished
And handed out strongly, for penalty and repentance
William Zanzinger with a six-month sentence
Oh, but you who philosophize disgrace and criticize all fearsv
Bury the rag deep in your face
For now’s the time for your tears.

COMRADE PHILLIPS in absentia recommends Strange Fruit by Billie Holliday

After much mullingI’m going with Strange Fruit by Billie Holiday. In order to decide, I had to resist finally : Low Spark of High Heeled Boys (all 11 minutes worth!), Dylan’s I Shall Be Free No.10, and B. Holiday’s God Bless The Child.

Southern trees bear strange fruit
Blood on the leaves and blood at the roots
Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees

Pastoral scene of the gallant south
The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth
Scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh
Then the sudden smell of burning flesh

Here is the fruit for the crows to pluck
For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck
For the sun to rot, for the trees to drop
Here is a strange and bitter cry.

The vote
Philly all-stars – JGT, SM
Dylan – SW, JC
Gil Scott-Heron – PD, JA, WY

The audiophiles selection of THE BEST POLITICAL SONG OF ALL TIME – H2OGATE BLUES by Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson

Next month’s meeting – COVER VERSIONS

Songs featuring BODY PARTS

Songs featuring BODY PARTS

The Audiophiles, challenged to produce songs featuring body parts, excelled themselves. No need for comments – these titles speak for themselves, as does the cornucopia of rejected suggestions.

Bro Mason: Under My Thumb – Rolling Stones
With the following selections that did not make the cut:
Dry bones-the delta rhythm boys
Your feets too big- fats waller
Tongue tied- faber drive
Summer skin- death cab for cutie
My humps- black eyed peas
Fifty on our foreheads- white lies
Aqualung- jethro tull
Hearts of stone- southside Johnny and the Asbury jukes
With arms wide open- creed
hip to be square- huey lewis and the news

Waiting in Vain – bob marley – disallowed…

Bro Phillips: Shinkicker – Rory Gallagher
With 10 more body part tracks in a rough order :
Hip Shakin by J.B.Hutto and the Houserockers (Live at Shaboo In-Conn; 1979)
Hands Up by Rory Gallagher (Rory Gallagher; 1971)
You, You Point Your Finger by Patto (Hold Your Fire; 1971)
Achilles Heel by The Stranglers (Aural Sculpture; 1984)
The Bones of Them by Elbow (Seldom Seen Kid; 2008)
Your Gold Teeth by Steely Dan (Countdown to Ecstasy; 1973)
Slow Hand by Pointer Sisters ( 1981 single)
Short and Curlies by Rolling Stones (It’s Only Rock n Roll; 1974)
Tangram Chin Part by Tangerine Dream (Booster; 2007)
Burn My Heart at Wounded Knee by Buffy Sainte Marie (Coincidence and Likely Stories; 1992)
Also ran : Dimples by The Animals and Sonny Boy Williamson (Best of …)
Don’t You Feel My Leg by Maria Muldaur (1973)

Bro Deller: For Goodness Sakes Just Look at Them Cakes – James Brown
In addition to: Backstabbers – OJays
Lazy Eye – Silversun Pickups
Brimful of Asha – Cornershop
Pair of Brown Eyes – The Pogues
Safety Pin Stuck in My Heart – Patrick Fitzgerald
Big Muff – John Martyn

Bro Attwell: Ain’t No Love In The Heart of the City – Whitesnake

Bro Callas: Hand in Glove –The Smiths

Bro Turner: Tush – ZZ Top
With the following rationale:
‘I started with Shirley Bassey’s “Goldfinger”, via Sheena’s “For Your Eyes Only” and straight into “Moonraker” (Shirley again) and even more dubiously onto “Thunderball” (Tom). Then I tried the comedy angle: Tenacios D’s “cock pushups”, Monty P’s “sit on my face” and the “dorsal horn concerto” by Adam Kay and Suman Biswas. Of course, almost anything by Kevin Bloody Wilson would do it, my particular favourites including “Me Dick (Just Dialled Your Number)”, “Bali Belly Song” and the quite extraordinary “Pussy tricks”. I was horrified by the prescient nastiness of “Angel Face” by Gary’s up the shitter band. Did people really buy that and not realise???? In a better moment, I considered offering you “Brothers in Arms” by you know who. But I still had to consider:
“Boris and the Bedsnake” (Ray’s Music Exchange)
“Touching Tongues” (Steve Vai)
“Jake to the Bone” (Toto)
and the excellent “Achilles Heel” (Toploader)

Bro Yates, in absentia: Hearts of Stone – Southside Johnny
(Written by Bruce, of course)

Bro Walsh, in absentia:
Any one from
1 Kiss With A Fist (Florence)
2 Kick Drum Heart (Avett Brothers)
3 Food and Pussy (or Pussy Titty) (Dan Reeder)
4 About Face (Grizzly Bear)
5 Big Booty Woman or Sugarfoot (The Honeybears)
6 Bad Liver and a Broken Heart (Hayes Carll)
7Joe’s Head (Kings of Leon)
8 Blood is Thicker Than Water (Wyclef Jean)
9 How Will You Meet Your End (A A Bondy)
And of course
10 Sit Sit Sit (Sit On My Face) (Chinga Chavin, from Country Porn).

Favourite track selected by those present: ‘Under My Thumb’
Next selection – the reggae genre.

SONGS ABOUT DRUGS

SONGS ABOUT DRUGS

The Audiofiles present a smaller than usual selection of outstanding pop, soul, hip-hop/hip-pop and rock masterworks which are in some way about drugs.

What links the following songs? These songs have tied up their arms and warmed themselves in a spoon; they have run out a line on the coffee table and have rolled a fifty pound note into a tube; they have broken into the doctor’s surgery and rummaged through the jellies; or they have sat in a quiet room and rolled up a fat one, reciting as they do the immortal words of Freewheeling Franklin from The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers: ‘Dope in a time of no money is better than money in a time of no dope.’

1. THE TEMPTATIONS, Hurry Tomorrow
Resisting the urge to get some Original Roots Reggae onto the playlist as well as having recently discovered that some of my favourites from the past (True Faith – New Order, Bad – U2) were actually about drug taking – ‘I am not a lyrics man’ – I am offering instead some psychedelic socio-political soul from the 70’s. In the same oeuvre as What’s Going On, Across 110th Street, Pusherman and The Bottle, Hurry Tomorrow by The Temptations was a distinct departure from their sweet soul Motown sound that brought their early success. It is a funkier, rougher sound with greater emphasis on experimental instrumentation which took them away from the group vocal harmonies to longer, instrumental tracks with experimental distortions and single voice accompaniments. This period of music – also known as Cinematic Soul – attempted to deal with the social issues which give the tracks an undeniable resonance of that time and place, encapsulating the grime of urban life of 70’s America. Also recommended All Directions, Masterpiece and 1990. (Brother Deller)

SOUNDBITES from the discussion
If Isaac Hayes had played Sergeant Pepper…
A couple of lines are a bit cheesy but the musicianship is brilliant
It created a sound they feel is associated with drugtaking, rather than the sound of drugtaking itself…

2. DEF LEPPARD, Wasted
My choice for Wednesday night is a simple Rock number (no surprises there!) by Def Leppard. The song is “Wasted” off their 1980 debut album “On Through The Night”, and Rick Allen even has both arms on this one! This album is definitely classed as New Wave of British Heavy Metal and “Wasted” epitomizes this genre. Love it or hate it (and I have come to expect the latter of my choices!) it is great! (Brother Atwell)

SOUNDBITES
First song we’ve had with a one-armed drummer, though he had two at the time of course…
Formulaic… I can’t get excited about it…
Are they Satanic? No they’re from Sheffield…

3. THE CRANBERRIES, Salvation
I initially thought of Grand Master Flash, “White Lines” or Cab Calloway’s “Minnie the Moocher”. So why did I end up choosing “Salvation” from what is regarded as possibly The Cranberries’ worst album ever? Firstly, I love the energy of the track which is driven along for its short life by some splendid drumming. Secondly the associated video, although rather disturbing, brought to mind the offspring of Stephen King’s IT with The Mighty Boosh’s Crack Fox having fun in Sin City. Then there are the words which are short and simple so that even the lyrically challenged of our brethren can follow them and finally but perhaps most importantly, I can’t resist an Irish accent. (Bro Mason)

SOUNDBITES
Only 2 minutes 24 – excellent…
She sounds like Mrs Doyle from Fr Ted…
Couldn’t hear what she was saying but it made me want to jump up and down…

4. IAN DURY & THE BLOCKHEADS, Sex and Drugs and Rock ‘n’ Roll
(also played in the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain version)
With so many tracks purporting to be “about drugs” (either by the band or by fans who have got a little over excited and want to look for something darker in an innocuous track about love, a day out at the beach or hanging out the washing) I have decided to ignore any subtle references and have chosen a song that comes straight out and tells you what it is saying. The well known single written by Ian Dury and performed by him with his band the The Blockheads, “Sex and drugs and rock and roll” holds no special place in my heart, but is an upbeat number delivered in Dury’s highly recognisable cockney geezer style. It is good fun, I like it and it contains the word drugs – that will do for me. (Bro Callas)

SOUNDBITES
Liked the ukulele version better…

5. NEIL YOUNG, The Needle and the Damage Done
This was just a no-brainer. In any top 5 drugs songs (anti-drugs songs) this has got to be there, from the wheedling voice of the addict in the opening to the way the final guitar part, though acoustic and restrained, manages to convey all sorts of rage and anger. For a true anti-drugs experience try the bleak Young album Tonight’s The Night (not to be confused with Rod Stewart), made after the death of a couple of figures associated with Crazy Horse.

SOUNDBITES
Only 2 minutes a 3 seconds – almost perfect…

Suggestions from those not present were also played, as follows:

6. FUN LOVIN’ CRIMINALS, Scooby Snacks
I narrowed it down to a choice of 3 – PULP: Sorted for E’s & Wizz; PRIMAL SCREAM: Loaded and this. There was nothing for it but a childish game with blindfolds and debauchery. Half an hour later the donkey yelped loudest when approached by a tail of Scooby Snacks. So there you have: Fun Lovin’ Criminals is my choice. PS… to clear up any confusion, “scooby snacks” is a reference to diazepam (according to the online urban dictionary). I will put 10 Francs in the clubroom swear box next time I visit, by way of reparations for bringing such violent lyrics to the fraternity. (Bro Turner)

SOUNDBITES
Kind of reckless, with a good ending
Better to hear than to watch on youtube
Not hip-hop, hip pop

7. VELVET UNDERGROUND, Heroin
SOUNDBITES
7 minutes – you’d have to be off your face
Quite possibly the worst track I’ve ever heard
Pretty abstract & avant garde, two chords repeating
Is this designed to portray drug taking seen from a distance, or have they just lost all space and balance?

THE VOTE

NEIL YOUNG 3
TEMPTATIONS 1
CRANBERRIES 1

‘THE NEEDLE and the DAMAGE DONE is therefore duly elected to the AUDIOFILES HALL OF FAME

NEXT TOPIC – SELECTED BY A TRADITIONAL SPIN-THE –BOTTLE METHOD:

SONGS FEATURING A BODY PART

SONGS RECORDED BEFORE 01/01/1970

The Audiofiles present their selection of
MUSIC MADE BEFORE 1st JANUARY 1970

Making a return to the sacred vaults of the clubroom the Audiofiles offered an eclectic selection of tracks originating before the 1970.

There was some sense that the 60s and beyond had not been fully explored by our youthful crew and that important experiences were on offer in exchange for some intrepid exploration.

The comrades presented as follows:

COMRADE MASON
Oh What a Night – the original 1955 recording not the 69 remake – The Dells
Youtube link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1ozQT8yQXA
As a long-time fan of Doowop music, I felt it my duty to bring this style of harmony singing to our attention. A lot of doowop bands came out of groups of friends who used to sing together on street corners or in high schools as was the case with the Dells. This was their first major hit having swapped record labels after their formation in ’52 and for me this is the epitome of what doowop is about. Great harmonies, every voice can be heard and is important to the whole, soulful mix but a fantastic bass carries it all along. This is a masterclass of the genre and even if you don’t like it, you surely must appreciate it for the emotion of the performance and, yes, you know you feel that little bit cooler whilst you’re listening to it. For the stattos amongst you, this holds the record for the highest number of consecutive loud repeats in my car and it was late at night as I drove myself out of London.

What they (or possibly Statler and Waldorf) thought:
Brilliant/ I quite liked that/ Excellent – reminiscent of hot sultry nights, a cherry coke and a convertible/ a Scorsese soundtrack – the bit before the naïve youngster turns into a coke-fuelled demon/ pickled/ of its times, pretty good/ I want music to get more real, it’s too smooth/ it leaves me a bit cold/ not my cup of tea, though not offensive/ that was shocking – reminded me of the last time I had constipation…

COMRADE CALLAS
Louie Louie by The Kingsmen
Originally a rock and roll song in the style of a Jamaican ballad, Louie Louie was written by Richard Berry in 1955 and released as a B side in 1957. Having only modest success at that time, it has since been recorded by a staggering variety of bands (from Toots and the Maytals to Motorhead) in a variety of different styles. However the best version of them all by far is by The Kingsmen. Their 1963 rendition of the track has become an all time classic, setting the standard for all others. Used in a number of film soundtracks their unrestrained, rough and ready performance with slurred lyrics and a pounding beat has become the music that symbolises the drug fuelled hedonism of the middle years of the 1960s. With the FBI investigating the possibility of obscene lyrics, the crowd would be screaming in adoration of these young rebels. You can imagine, as the lead guitarist undertakes his ragged solo and the rest of the band only just manage to keep everything together, the lead singer nearly falls off the stage in a state of delirium. Wild!

What they thought:
A scary atmosphere/ brilliantly rhythm section/ menacingly slurred words – the singer doesn’t care, he’s off his head!/ subversive feel/ slightly out of control – and a bit yobby/ a bit of attitude/ with a feeling of mayhem going off all around you/ a real 60s feel.

COMRADE ANDERSON
Little Joe Cook & The Thrillers – Peanuts ’68; the 1968 remix of the 1957 doo-wop top 40 hit.
Peanuts; the perfect amuse bouche to fishcakes. Found it on an album called ‘Cherrystones – Hidden Charms’, an album of hard to find tracks from all sorts of people; like Cher and The Shadows! I wanted to go for another track on the album by Ennio Morricone, but that was released in Jan 1970. Next stop was the track with a number under 70 in it. Originally a doo wop track released in 1957, I prefer the 68 version. Brassier, more of an all round sound and makes the unique vocals sound a little better. Sounds good within the album…perhaps a euphemism for ‘desmond’ as they say in North Belfast.

What they thought:
A northern soul sound/ how tight are his pants!/ a voice that sounds like a sax/ a good rhythm but silly high-pitched stuff/ a Bronski Beat thing in the vocals…

COMRADE TURNER
Two Little Boys – Rolf Harris
Romans, Countrymen… given that I wasn’t even a twinkle in my old Pa’s eye before 1970, I am struggling a little with this one. A quick web search however yielded the undeniable fact that the last UK no.1 before 01.01.70 was a track called “two little boys” by some crazy looking fella called Rolf. Sounds fairly horrific to me. The fact that it spent 6 weeks topping the charts neatly sums up my feelings about this era, but I hope the brotherhood can prove me wrong as usual….. I come to bury Harris, not to praise him.

What they thought: The track that finally released the turd/ of its type/ a novelty record/ should have been courtmartialled/ historical drama/ US civil war narrative/ it was Maggie Thatcher’s favourite song – says it all

COMRADE ATWELL
I Can See for Miles – The Who
This track reached no. 10 in the UK and 9 in the states in 1967. Pete Townsend was said to be disgusted at the British music buying public that the track didn’t chart higher than that. It is one of my favourite Who songs, full of the energy and powerful guitar chords that set the Who as the best British Rock band of their era. Add to that the crazy, rhythmical drumming of Keith Moon and you have one outstanding track.

What they thought:
Good radio music/ before they went British – more smooth/ 30 seconds too long/ couldn’t be anyone except The Who/ a bit dull really/a good bit of music, not my taste…

COMRADE NEWSON
‘No fun’ – ‘The Stooges’
Presented in absentia.

What they thought:
Groovy/ where Sonic Youth got their sound/ anyone who says punk wasn’t based on this must be deaf/ Peter Frampton!/ where are the cowbells/ it didn’t do anything or go anywhere/ I liked it for about 12 seconds, then the same 12 seconds happened again/ I thought it was shite…

COMRADE WALSH
Stuck Inside of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again – Bob Dylan

When my grandfather died, around 1975, I inherited a lump of wood he always called ‘the radiogram’. The idea of a ‘sound system’ was I suspect as yet undreamt of, but this was a sound system – a piece of nice walnut furniture of about the size of a small coffee table, with a turntable built into the cabinet and an illuminated radio dial along the top. The sound emerged from a series of small two inch holes down the front and it made a sound that was both tinny yet extremely rich and resonant. Throughout my late teens this box lived by my bed and I would lie in bed in the dark at night listening to Radio Luxembourg or John Peel.
When my brother went to university I raided his LPs, first to listen to but later with a view to selling some at school to fuel my school library poker habit. (He is still looking for a certain piece of Van Morrison vinyl habit. He has long suspected the truth but thirty years of denial have just about got him to believe me.) ‘More Bob Dylan Greatest Hits’ was one LP of my brother’s that I held on to, and I think I wore it out playing it on the radiogram. ‘Stuck Inside of Mobile’ is one of those tracks that I can’t listen to without immediately recovering the excitement of waiting for stylus to descend in its slow, hydraulic manner, denying gravity rather like a Harrier Jump Jet landing, and listening to the crackle before the first track began. The first track was in fact ‘Watching the River Flow’ but particular rough energy of drums and organ, combined with the wonder of the far out world of Dylan lyrics in their pomp, makes ‘Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again’ my favourite on the album.

What they thought:
A great song, about 15 minutes too long/ sounds great but too long/ could hear van Morrison (he’s always too long)/ I like good endijngs and that was a good ending, even if it was too long/ folk poetry but still pretty cool (though too long)

COMRADE YATES
Waist Deep In The Big Muddy – Pete Seeger
Had Cde Yates supplied an introduction it would undoubtedly have mentioned Springsteen’s The Seeger Sessions.

What they thought:
A protest song, I like those/ allegorical/ he should have nicked some boats from those Cajuns/ was okay as a protest song/ I quite enjoyed listening to it but never intend to listen to it again…

COMRADE PHILLIPS
Easy Rider – The Byrds
This was written by Roger McGuinn of the Byrds together with Bob Dylan for the 1969 film. This alternative version by the the band for the eponymous album up tempos the original. In the Rolling Stone magazine it was reviewed as perfectly capturing the social mood of the later decade, highlighting “the weary blues and dashed expectations of a decade’s worth of social insurrection.” So it seems to me, and the allure of that for 15 year old me is intensified by looking rather nose-against-the-window and bottled-in even at weekends from boarding school at the escaping riders. The appeal of the lyrics is obvious : ” The river flows, it flows to the sea/ Wherever that river goes, that is where I want to be? Flow, river, flow …” That much was scribbled hurriedly out on a napkin when Peter Fonda asked Dylan having declined to write the theme song to the movie. I find it a song of beauty, capturing the joy of freedom and release in an essentially folk inspired ballad. It seems quite effortless, too, for all its brilliant guitar. The flow of the river is artlessly expressed in it. It is quite metaphorical in its form, and totally relaxing even now. Groovy, mmmnnn ….

What they thought: a vote from me, because it’s short/ I prefer Mr Tambourine Man/ felt like it was moving, rolling forward/ he was gliding and drifting/ good piece of soundtrack/ a sunny highway, drifting off into the distance/ easy to listen to/ not Maggie Thatcher’s favourite song…

COMRADE DELLER
Stay With Me – Lorraine Ellison
I first heard Lorraine Ellison’s ‘Stay With Me’ on the Peter Young Show (Jazz FM) in the early 90’s. It is a gut wrencher of a track with Ellison taking us on rollercoaster of emotion. The mix of the Stax sound, the Big Band feel and the lack of polish in her voice appeals to me. It is pure sentiment that she delivers and it never fails to give me goosebumps. It fills my soul and I’d give up my pint for her in a shot!

What they thought:
Very Janis Joplin/ I’d stay with her/ a proper song/ that was soulful/ she gives it everything/ a little bit hysterical…

The VOTE for the best piece of pre 1970s music went as follows:
Louie Louie – 6,
Stay With Me – 3
The rest – 0

And the next theme, selected by a small automaton belonging to a resident physicist: SONGS ABOUT DRUGS.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE SONGS

27 January 2010

Foreign language songs – or more accurately songs with a non-English lyric component – were presented at the beautiful home of Bro Callas.

Bro Phillips introduced the topic. His original concept (songs entirely in another language) had been viciously sabotaged by Bro Walsh, who had suggested the definition should be songs with at least one line in another language.

As a result Bro Phillips had feared we would propose ‘Michelle Ma Belle’ (or perhaps ‘Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick’) while he was trying to access all areas of other cultures. Foreign language songs could take the listener to quite another context. Music could create a mood without one necessarily having a clue what the lyrics were about.
The anti-lyrics mobsters (led by Bro Callas) were quick to suggest that this put pro-lyrics listeners such as Bros Yates and Walsh in an odd position.

Some relief was expressed that noone had suggested the 60s groanathon ‘Je T’Aime (Moi Non Plus)’ nor that classic of Belgpop ‘Ca Plaint Pour Moi’ by Plastique Bertrand. In fact the Brothers had produced an eclectic selection in keeping with the cultural variety Bro Phillips had envisaged. As follows:

Brother Phillips recommended:
Talking Timbuktu by Ali Farka Toure and Ry Cooder
‘In my choice, cool guy Cooder – to whom I leaned in my teens – gets together with the Malian guitarist Toure to produce something different, I think, out of them both for the album Talking Timbuktu. I love the warm breeze of the accoustics coupled with the mesmeric rhythmn of african drums and Malian chorus. I can even forgive the touch of steel band sound (of which I am no fan) as I’m liking being carried via sea, sands and very blue skies to an awaiting chilled rum. I felt there was a distinct fusion here of Caribbean meets Mali – the humming subsaharan lyrics of the chorus blend beautifully with a distinctly caribbean calypso lilting of guitars skilfully picked by two masters. Overall, maybe it’s more Marley than Mali and therefore a bit unusual for AFT. They used this – I think – for the film The Darjeeling Limited, and I can hear why.’
What they said: the word FARKA several times… thought it might be long at six minutes odd but it cruises by… we like the hum…

Bro Yates recommended:
International Velvet by Catatonia
‘I chose Welsh because throughout my life everyone has said I am Welsh even though I’m not.’ (Choruses of yes you are.) ‘Cerys Matthews’ voice is absolutely gorgeous.’
What they said: very Britpop/ Blurrish… She’s so dirty…she did a lot of alcohol and drugs and went a bit berserk… That Welsh accent is annoying/ no it isn’t it’s dirty/ I don’t care what she’s singing so long as she is singing it… it’s tribal/ this is not for you, it’s ours…

Bro Anderson recommended:
Loser by Beck
‘As the first track of Beck’s first album, this could have doubled up as my selection for the previous meeting.’ (see ‘opening tracks’). ‘Beck was 17 and made this album in his bedroom. It’s extraordinary.’
What they said: Love that chord…great, really love that chord… ‘out there’ as far as the foreign language element goes… heavy Spanish influence, but also black urban music… we never knew there was any Spanish language there…

Bro Mason recommended:
California Dreaming by Jose Feliciano
‘Cycling home on a cold evening after a previous meeting, protected from the chill only by the anaesthetic properties of red wine and contemplating the challenge of a multilingual track, Jose Feliciano popped uninvited into my head. I was first introduced to his music when I was no’ but a lad in Yorkshire. It was only much later when I discovered that it was Feliciano, along with Carlos Santana, who effectively brought Hispanic music to American popular culture in the late 60s. This particular track has a wonderfully warm laid-backness which suits the lyric and allows Feliciano to employ his rich voice to great effect. It is of course a track that everybody knows in English but many have not heard this bilingual version. Personally I prefer the Mamas and the Papas version but would listen to either, especially on a hot summer’s day with a glass of anaesthetic…’
What they said: was there an interesting commercial decision at that time to do this crossover language stuff?… the orchestra is always a regrettable element in 60s music… lovely low key mellow start… one for the cabaret seats…

Bro Walsh recommended:
Stimela (Coal Train) by Hugh Masekela
‘I am no great fan of Masekela’s but came across this song while living in Zimbabwe in the early 1980s. I actually encountered a later version of the song first – it has the useful English introduction/ explanation/ commentary which tells us ignorant non-Zulus what the ‘stimela’ is. This later version is a very lushly arranged 80s soul-pop backing. As I own it only on cassette (bought, I boast, from a street vendor in downtown Bulawayo) I sought the track on CD recently and ended up acquiring the 60s or early 70s version – it’s a smoother, purer jazz arrangement from a time when Masekela was a real pioneer, a black South African jazzer whose earliest instruments were bought by the famous anti-apartheid campaigner Fr Trevor Huddlestone. This version is smoother and probably more musically satisfying than the one I own on cassette – but the relish with which the English words of the intro are pronounced in the later version reminds me so much of being in southern Africa it just takes the edge. Maybe too it represents a more confident international musician at work.’
What they said: the trumpet work is just extraordinary…

Brother Deller recommended:
Cler Achel by Tinariwen
‘I have always thought that I should like World Music but, to be honest, have never really got along with it fully. Tinariwen (meaning ‘the deserts’ and not to be confused with the 1980’s pop duo Blancmange, aka ‘The Desserts’ ) do capture my imagination however, partly because of the story of their nomadic lifestyle but essentially because of their engaging, mesmerizing sound that entices you into a world that I can only imagine. It sounds exotic but I don’t think it is meant to be – they tell stories of displacement, wars and the people and environment of the desert. It makes me realise how regional my music taste is. I like the rawness of their sound; driving, cyclical rhythms that remind me of the blues as well as a folk story telling sentiment. One of my regrets is that I passed on the opportunity to see them live a couple of years ago. It still irks me because I know we missed something special.’
What they said: A more western, bluesy sound than we expected… the guy in the band looks a bit like Thin Lizzy… a bit of creole influence there…

Brother Callas recommended:
The Partisan by Leonard Cohen
‘This Leonard Cohen track (a cover of the song “La Complainte du Partisan” written by a member of the French resistance in 1943 and originally sung entirely in French) opens with a guitar rhythm which mimics the rhythm of running. This is absolutely appropriate as the singer (a partisan in WW2) begins to tell us how he is being pursued and harried from place to place by the enemy. Cohen’s distinctive voice wonderfully portrays the sense of desperation and exhaustion that the partisan is experiencing, as he is never allowed to rest. Cohen’s melancholic voice describes the loss of family & comrades. Towards the end of the track as the refrain is repeated in French, the atmosphere becomes even more emotional and in the dying moments as the singing fades, the rhythm of the guitar is still pounding away. Is the partisan still running to evade capture?’
What they said: a bit of a stereotype here, n’est-ce pas? A French bloke in the war running away… really atmospheric…

The vote saw a remarkable spread of favourite choices, with Cohen, the nomads, Catatonia,, Ali and Ry and Beck all receiving one vote but HUGH MASEKELA just edging them out with two.

Bro Phillips’ choice for next time won out again, as selected by the Callas tortoise.

FAVOURITE TRACKS ON VINYL will be offered to the next meeting.

Fishcakes – An Important Announcement

The Audiofiles are delighted to announce that the word FISHCAKES has now been officially adopted by the group.

‘Seasoned’ (geddit) Audiofile watchers know that the word Fishcake has several meanings.

One is of course a circular, breadcrumbed delicacy made of fish and mashed potato.

However, the second and more profound meaning of ‘fishcake’ is of course ‘an absurd and meaningless lyric of no merit whatsoever.’

Etymologists seeking the origin of this are advised to consult the bonus track list for a later CD version of Bauhaus’s album MASK, which was Bro Attwell’s listening choice for one of the earliest recorded Audiofile meetings.

In the song the esteemed giants of gothic rock are heard to deliver the following piece of poetry:

Take a fish
And a potato
Hold the fish
And the potato
In your hand
In your hand

Put the potato
In the fish
Make it digest it
Smash it up
Smash it up

Smash it up
Smash it up

This is how you make fishcakes
This is how one makes fishcakes
Smash it up
Poke it up

Fishcakes
Fishcakes
Fishcakes
Fishcakes

Put it down the fish
Put it down the fish
Throw it against the wall
Stamp on the fish

Fishcakes
Fishcakes
Fishcakes
Fishcakes

Throw it on the wall
Smash it on the wall
Throw it on the wall
Smash it on the wall

Fishcakes
Fishcakes.

Since that early meeting the word ‘fishcake’ or the phrase ‘a fishcake moment’ has come to mean a lyrical infelicity of the most profound sort and led to the official adoption of the word by the Audiofile membership.

Bro Turner has registered the word with http://www.adoptaword.com and the group, according to the certificate, must be congratulated on giving the word a happy home.

OPENING TRACKS

The Audiophiles 15/12/09 OPENING TRACKS

The Audiophiles met at Bro Deller’s beautiful home to drink beer and ruminate on the special qualities that a potent opening track can bring to an album.

Bro Walsh had proposed this subject. He was inspired to do so by encountering A A Bondy’s ‘American Hearts’ album. He was struck by the offbeat opening track, which featured a strange effect created, he supposed, by sliding something along unfretted guitar strings.

As this was Bondy’s debut album, he wondered how much time Bondy had worried about whether to begin conventionally or nconventionally, given that some listeners would run from an offbeat opening while others might run from some of the more conventional tracks that appear later in the album and in his new album When The Devil’s Loose.

Bro Walsh proposed three ways of considering an opening track’s opening impact:
1. How much was the track chosen or constructed to create an artist’s first impression, especially when the first track was a first track of a first album?
2. How much artists were tempted by the lure of opening special effects, like spoken words or Bondy’s strange guitar sound, when selecting a first track?
3. How much could be learned about the ‘choreography’ of album design from opening tracks – especially in the days of 2-sided albums where as well as side 1 track 1 one had the same for side 2?

Members then proposed the following interesting & eclectic selection of Opening Tracks to albums.

Bro Walsh recommended
Johnny Cash: The Man Comes Around
“Having originally felt that ‘first track of first album’ was the purist’s choice I recalled this track. This is the first track on the last album rather than the first, and not just in the sense of ‘this is the last album unless I decide to make a Gary Glitter style comeback’, since Cash knew he was dying when he made this album. I like the idea of someone knowing that their time is up – every bit of this LP is full of death, with faith, foreboding, resignation and regret working through every song, even when it is a cover of a standard. I also think opening tracks are a decent place for artists to include spoken introductions – Cash reciting from the Book of Revelation on his deathbed, as it were, brings a shiver to the soul. The song is simplicity itself but because of the circumstances is dense with meaning.”
WHAT THEY SAID: ‘Brilliant. A golden voice raging against the arrival of death. Kicking against the pricks – or is it priests? Perhaps they’re one and the same thing…’

Bro Phillips recommended
Louis Jordan: Caldonia
“From a very early LP, recorded for the Mercury Label in 1956, as first track to Somebody Up There Digs Me. Louis Jordan recaptures a period on my corridor living in at Kent Uni. A saxophonist in our midst took to Jordan, the walls reverberating over weeks with Ain’t Nobody Here But Us Chickens, Choo Choo Ch’ Boogie and others. We all submitted to, then loved the mood Jordan provokes. It was a communal response. Many of the songs have you singing and jiving along, quite simply. The key is exuberance, and it is also that rough, pre-sellophane early sound, redolent of the jazz club, for which it is best appreciated on the You Tube recording (2 mins 54 secs). It’s endlessly hopeful stuff, in complete keeping with the spirit of the album as a whole: the world is still in a post-war, post-rationing bubble brimming with hope; the lyrics are affectionate, definitely without idealism. Musically, I like the double bass intro, and the skipping of Jordan’s sax.”
WHAT THEY SAID: ‘We love the walking bass intro. A happy song, in tune with the 40s. Buzzy. The youtube clips show how stereotypically black singers had to behave…’

Bro Attwell recommended
Metallica: Hit The Lights
“Hit the Lights is the first track on the album Kill ’em All. It was the first song that Hetfield and Ulrich worked on when forming Metallica. The song is about performing live, travelling on the road etc. It is very fast paced and the influence of Motorhead can clearly be heard. Its opening chords clearly state what the album is about and the fast, melodic guitar solos draw you into the rest of the album with a promise of greatness, a promise I am pleased to report is certainly kept. It firmly established Metallica as one of the best – actually the best, as time has proven – Thrash Metal bands. The debut album which this track opens had only 1500 copies initially printed; it has now been certified 3x Platinum.”
WHAT THEY SAID: ‘ Thrash, but melodic. It ends at the beginning. Wayne’s World… Spinal Tap… Norse mythology. Is there a Metallica Unplugged? Is such a thing theoretically possible?’

Bro Turner recommended
Pearl Jam: Once
“Quite simply because it is a “side 1 track 1” of a DEBUT album (Ten), which sadly cannot be said for my original track “Living is a problem because everything dies”, being the first track from Biffy Clyro’s outstanding but undeniably Fourth studio album, Puzzle.
I was instantly taken by Ten back in 1992, not caring for allegations that Pearl Jam were simply taking a free-ride on the grunge bandwagon. ONCE is such a happy tale of a man’s descent into madness which leads him into becoming a serial killer. It sets the scene for what I consider to be the band’s greatest album, although they themselves seem to think it to be over-produced with a preponderance of reverb. Never mind that: stand up, rock your head back and forth ungently, and enjoy.”
WHAT THEY SAID: ‘Too melodic to be called grunge. A well-paced, great start to the album. A John the Baptist track – good, but the best is yet to come…’

Bro Deller recommended
The Clash: Janie Jones
“I had a really hard (but fun) time honing down my choices (which started from a short list of 52). Oddly, most prominent in my choices were bands/albums from the late 70’s and early 80’s: The Specials – The Specials, Dexy’s Midnight Runners – Young Soul Rebels, The Cure – Three Imaginary Boys – because I wanted to choose a track that not only had some universal impact to musoes worldwide and defined some longevity of a mutually agreeably ‘important’ band but one that was also influential in shaping my thinking, ideals and aesthetics. Whilst I was really tempted by a great many tracks – especially ‘Burn It Down’ on the Dexy’s album which has a great intro – it was the The Clash who had to take precedence. They were the band that created an image that left the longest lasting impression on me – for most of my teens until I went to Art College really. They were the whole package for me at that time – very stylish, a bit of attitude, actually very listenable music (I never thought they were punks for long) and (being a non-lyrics man) I found their lyrics really struck a chord. Many an hour was spent perusing my favorite treasure; their photo-book The Clash: Before & After with photographs by Pennie Smith. The first tracks of most of their albums are all very good and set the tone for the respective album perfectly. I think they were very good at the choreography of their albums and obviously had good producers. My initial choice was London Calling but I thought for the sake of purity I would trace them back to their origins, thus Janie Jones, which does not do a bad job of encapsulating their lasting sound and sentiment.”
WHAT THEY SAID: ‘It tells you what’s coming, in this album and in the rest of The Clash’s work. In a nutshell, what The Clash are all about…’

Bro Mason recommended
Billy Bragg: The Milkman of Human Kindness
“As the working class, Durham undergraduate son of a TGWU shop steward who voted for Margaret Thatcher, I was understandably confused politically in the early eighties. Strangely, considering his views, what Billy Bragg said to me was that humanity is more important than politics and that sentiment comes across clearly in this first track of his first album. As does his love of playing with words and bringing something special out of the apparently mundane.”
WHAT THEY SAID: ‘Poetic wordplay. Billy Bragg always seems to be about soppy love songs, not political songs, in spite of the image and the Red Wedge thing. Pay no more than £2.99!’

Bro Newson recommended
Violent Femmes: Blister In The Sun
“Violent Femmes were pretty well known in the states on the college circuit and someone I was really into while at university. They still hold the honour of playing the best gig I have ever seen, the track I have picked being the opening track they played then. Were a very interesting band, at least during their peak of their first two albums, sufficiently eccentric and different to most things around at the time. I suspect the sound may be too low-fi for some in the group, lyrically this is also not the hi-point of Gano’s career. Still however something I like, possibly in part this is due to nostalgic reasons. Hopefully offers something slightly different to the other choices and if not, hey it’s very short!”
WHAT THEY SAID: ‘A good riff – sadly used in a Foster’s advert recently – the one with the men in their own shadows. The drum is not just keeping time but being used as an instrument.’

Bro Callas recommended
The Jimi Hendrix Experience: Foxy Lady
“Despite the rather dated Austin Powers, Shagadelic style lyrics this is a classic opening track. The opening with the flickering guitar raises the excitement and the anticipation builds. The feedback comes in and you are not sure what is going to happen next. Then it hits you. The changing guitar and Hendrix’s hugely distinctive, genuinely bluesy voice carry you into the main body of the track. From that point on it is an aural orgy of the main man’s superb musicianship and his powerful, expressive voice. You now know what the album has in store. Lie back and give your ears a treat. Yeah baby!!!!!!”
WHAT THEY SAID: ‘Feels like a forerunner of heavy metal, what with the Pete Townsend style feedback. Extremely foxy – back to Wayne’s World again…’

(Also recommended by the absent Bros Yates and Anderson were ‘Kid Loco’ and ‘Blue Suede Shoes’.)

In general the Bros felt that first tracks were often forgettable yet often still loved – like clothes that you would no longer dream of wearing, first tracks of first albums by favourite artists occupied a strangely irrational place of affection in one’s mind. A good first track allowed you to hear what was coming, not just in the individual album but also in the wider sphere of the artist’s work. A good first track was crucial to the design of the album, of course.

The vote for best track, conducted on an elaborate Single Transferable Vote System of which the Paddy Pantsdown’s SDP would have been proud, saw Bragg & Hendrix eliminated in the first round and Pearl Jam in the second. In the end Johnny Cash just outlasted the Violent Femmes. Best opening track therefore is THE MAN COMES AROUND.

FEMALE VOCALISTS

FEMALE VOCALISTS – A theme evening – 18th November 2009

The background:
The Audiofiles had reached a crisis – as all great artistic movements must.

A period of angst-ridden debate, held in dark corners of smoky bars in middle European cities, had created a mood of discontent.

Questions were being asked about the central tenets of the movement. These hushed-toned mutterings produced merely variations of the same one mantra – that the original freshness of the Audiophile format had faded.

A simple metaphor crystallised the dilemma – that of sexual relationships…

After all, the early Audiophile meetings were a love-affair in its first flush of hormonal rush, full of snatched, adulterous excitement at a variety of secret venues.

As time had gone on, however, the relationship had become a tired and repetitive ritual. Yes – the Audiophiles had become, in a slow and creeping way, somewhat marital.

The relationship had become tedious – choices of conversational subjects no-one really liked… increasingly long periods between meetings.. spiky badinage of a negative nature when the partners did spend time together…

Divorce – in the form of defections, breakaways, even alternative audiophile groupings – was being discussed.

Relate counsellors were summoned and advised the adoption of a new format… that the session should focus not on one single album but a set of unconnected tracks grouped by theme.

The comrade-brothers met in Cde Mason’s office to discuss
Cde Newson’s suggestion of a first theme, that of FEMALE VOCALISTS.

Preliminary discussion concerned the degree of female presence in collections or on our respective ipods.

Cdes Deller, Phillips and Walsh all confessed to having discovered a misogynistic bias in their collections but Cdes Callas and Mason were much more in touch with their female sides. (Cde Callas was to show this later in a tearful response to Tracy Chapman. For the moment speculation focused on whether there really was enough Kate Bush to fill half his collection. Genesis: The Female Years was mooted as a possibility.)

Cde Brothers then presented their choices. Given that female vocalists clearly have the capacity to affect redblooded males in many and various ways, it was not surprising that the relationship theme continued to surface throughout the discussions.

Our resident marraige counsellor observed the proceedings through one way glass and highlighted one sentence in each brother’s response to his selected track. These give some insight, he feels, into the sexual psyche of the individual and perhaps might help to understand their predilections, musical and other. Freudian analysis can be conducted at the reader’s discretion.

Choices were as follows:

1. Cde Deller: Unfinished Sympathy/ Massive Attack (1991/2)
Selected as the female vocal track played most over the years. A club sound, but a small club, not a big one. Much used as sound wallpaper for high-class ITV thrillers. ‘Some kind of submission thing’.

2. Cde Turner: Hedonism/ Skunk Anansie (1993?)
Superb singing, yes, but ultimately selected purely for its filth. ‘One of the filthiest songs I have ever heard’. Melancholic, but one for a dark night turned up loud in the car.

3. Cde Phillips: Hey Eugene/ Pink Martini (2007)
Selected for the quality of the voice, but also for its narrative element, its jazzy elements, its odd, sweet-bitter, stylishly transatlantic orchestration. ‘Something straight off Facebook.’

4. Cde Callas: Oh To Be In Love/ Kate Bush (date uncertain, but link to youtube clip given below.)
Chosen for its rough sound (it was some sort of bootleg/ demo early track). Not rock and roll, but stripped back from the overproductions of the later years. ‘She was thoroughly progged by Dave Gilmour later.’

5. Cde Walsh: Elvis Presley Blues/ Gilliam Welch (2001)
Picked for the purity of the voice in a basic, stripped back setting. Tapping into the simple folk-country-retro end of things. Basic, yet strangely mysterious.

6. Cde Yates: Brass In Pocket/ Pretenders (1981)
Selected on similar grounds to Cde Turner’s, though with the somewhat worrying realization that Cde Yates was only ten when the record emerged. ‘Pure dirt.’

7. Cde Mason: A Woman’s Worth/ Alicia Keyes (2001)
Just chill – if this was in a blues setting we’d be purring. Superb voice. Selected to include some women who sing the blues, even in the R&B medium. Emotional, but not overfilled’.

Those for whom absences were recorded were also represented:
8. Cde Newson: Turn Into/ Yeah Yeah Yeahs (2006) (‘Contemporary’)
9. Cde Attwell: Kids in America/ Kim Wilde (1982) (‘Cheesy’)
10. Cde Anderson: Good Fortune / P J Harvey (early 90s) (‘Siouxsie-ish’)
11. Cde Bawtree: Baby Can I Hold You Tonight/ Tracy Chapman (?) (Each morning, I wake up, forgive myself and go off to work.’)

General conclusions to be drawn from the theme…

1. Female vocalists were appreciated across a wide range of genres.
2. Female vocalists have a masturbatory role in young men’s lives. (Stevie Nicks needed to be mentioned.)
3. Men generally listen to more male vocalists than female, though we are strangely vulnerable to cheese (Carole King, Luka by Suzanne Vega).

Overall an artistic rinascimento had occurred. The movement had refreshed itself.

Favourite track plebiscite:
Skunk Anansie took four votes, Gillian Welch two, Massive Attack one.

Next meeting’s choice of theme: ‘First track of the album’. Any album (can be the first track of a first album if you want to be purist) but considering the way in which the opening track might have a particular impact.

BON IVER For Emma Forever Ago

BON IVER For Emma Forever Ago

Consideration of Bon Iver’s shed-recorded masterpiece required some shuffling of duties and location.

Cde Newson hosted, but in Cde Deller’s place of business. Cde Chairman took notes in place of the pink-pass-lacking Cde Secretary.

What follows is not therefore an eye witness account.

Initial thoughts as recorded…

Cde Turner – liked his chair, which had wheels.
Cde Attwell – struggled with the album & with boredom.
Cde Deller – found the music hard to categorize. Bon Iver had been excellent live.
Cde Turner – moshes to Counting Crows.
Cde Callas – likes a man and his guitar.
Cde Attwell – likes more than a man and his guitar.
Cde Phillips – likes Joan Armatrading.
Cde Anderson – thought it was atmospheric, a road movie soundtrack.
Cde Deller – thought is sounded independent.
Cde Newson – didn’t take to his voice.
Cde Phillips – didn’t think it sounded new.
Cde Deller – couldn’t work out where he was from.

On which note of coherence the album was seemingly put on.

Since it’s blindingly obvious who is responsible for which views, the remainder of the debate can be offered without comment or attribution.

In the interests of verisimilitude & recapturing the ding dong of a real meeting the minutes are written in real time as shed-man sings his way through his shed-songs.

1. FLUME

Isn’t there more than one instrument?/ There needn’t be!/ Crosby Stills and Nash – lovely chorus!/ Lyrics are crap!/ I’m not a lyrics man!/ Women like it I think. Perhaps it is girly. / Not man rock!/ It’s very emotional. An emotional sound./ The voice has a dream like quality./ Oooh! Who’s been to the Tate Modern today?/ When hearing it first I felt totally cold. When told about the lyrics I thought this is shit. Jean Michelle Jarre did it perfectly well ages ago./ Stop it!/ Where is Wisconsin anyway?

2 LUMP SUM

This is Radiohead doing Gregorian chant./ Guitar sounds like Inuit Month Music./ Guitar repetition is trancy./ Don’t like the voice across the whole album. You need a break by the end./ Knowing the lyrics tell me that he is an utter wanker!

SKINNY LOVE

It gets very Joan Armatrading here./ We succumbed to boredom./ Fischcake’s revenge!/ Tender. Angsty. Twee./ I actually like that track but it sounds like MTV unplugged. I’d like to hear the real thing with a band./ Are they better live? They are clearly a bedroom band!/ Perhaps playing live is what they do best.

WOLVES ACT 1 & 2

Maybe Tracy Chapman, not Joan Armatrading./ The voice is really annoying me now./ Some similarities with Fleet Foxes here. / Was there a small black hole in the recording studio slowing time right down? Trying to make the end sound like fireworks. I think they recorded the drums then played them backwards. / Started bad, the middle was good harmonies with the guitars, finished badly./ They weave a web of harmony./ Went new age prog at the end./ Background music for an elevator or reaturant./ It’s fine if JBC’s Mrs wants to slit her wrists./ He’s happy when he listens to wrist-slitting music – Nick Drake, Leonard Cohen, Neil Young.

BLINDSIDED

Sounds like John Martyn./ A part is played backwards at 3 mins 25 secs approx. Ending is a bit tarty./ Feels nostalgic. If you have something to feel nostalgic about you are a rich man./ Mesmerising./ The music?/ No I was looking at the artwork behind you. Hypnotic./ How about walking round the Tate Modern with headphones on? Would it make you see better?/

Interruption for a heated debate … How do members listen to music?
A struggle to sit down and listen to the music – needs to be doing something.
When we were fifteen or sixteen we could sit and listen to an album on our own and do nothing else. Not now.

I liked the interplay between the bass drum and the guitar allowing different parts of the band to drive the song forward. However – it seemed to go on for f***ing hours!

CREATIVE FEAR

Sounds like Laurel & Hardy – The Blue Ridge Mountains…/ A Fleet Foxes sound. Bluesy./ I hated it. It didn’t do anything./ Sigur Ros?/ Rubber Soul?/ He’s strumming his guitar harder like a bad busker about to be chased off./ He sounds like a beginner. He doesn’t know how to do rhythm./ It takes a good skier to pretend to be a bad skier. Like Les Dawson playing the piano./ That’s just poor strumming./ OK, I take it back./ It is arty./ It’s more earthy than arty.

TEAM

This was a mistake./ It’s experimental jazz without being jazz. There was a bass riff there./ Not very good whistling!/ Was that variation on the snare drum on purpose or are they just not very good on the snare drum? It made me feel uncomfortable. If it was on purpose it was good.

EMMA

Vanilla-flavoured music./ My favourite track. Abstract. Unrepeatable./ The best track. I liked the guitar./ It had the least emotional pull for me./ There was a spaghetti western feel on the brass. Not favourite track./ Listenable however.

RE: STACKS

I’ve changed my mind about this. I think it was really tender./ It reminded me of one of Simon and Garfunkel’s bad tracks. The sorts you skip over./ I thought it was lovely. He breaks up the rhythm and changes the midline./ A beautifully crafted track, I agree./ I want to hear how Bruce Springsteen would have sung that./ It’s not one to listen to with the boys. It’s too touching & emotional.

A ritual listen to Joan Armatrading followed. ‘I prefer Bon Iver to this…’

Favourite track result:
Re:stacks 3, Skinny Love 4, abstentions 1.

Next album: TV ON THE RADIO by Dear Science
Or perhaps DEAR SCIENCE by TV On The Radio?

THE HAZARDS OF LOVE The Decemberists

THE HAZARDS OF LOVE The Decemberists
Comrade Chairman’s prestige residence was the chosen milieu for cordial discussion of THE HAZARDS OF LOVE, the fifth album of Portland indie-rock-folksters The Decemberists.

In accordance with the high intellectual aims of the Audiophiles there was some discussion about the nature of indie-folk-rock. Should it have been named indie-rock-folk? A slash seemed called for – The Decemberists would surely be more accurately labelled indie-rock-folksters/ folk-rockers.

It was established that the Portland in question was Portland, Oregon not Portland Bill, and that on this occasion the Portland-Oregon-not-Portland-Bill-indie-rock-folksters/ folk-rockers had been inspired to create the album by the discovery of a 1960s folk EP by Anne Briggs.

This surely suggested they should be known as Portland-Oregon-not-Portland-Bill-indie-rock-retro-folksters/ retro-folk-rockers.

However, press coverage suggested the Decemberists had also wished to explore the heretofore obscure musical synergy that links Black Sabbath with retro-folk-rock/ rock-retro-folk, making a new definition (Portland-Oregon-not-Portland-Bill indie-heavy-rock-retro-folksters/ retro-folkster-heavy-rockers) necessary.

By definition, the prefix alt- also needs to be added regardless of musical content, as a custom of the present day (see alt-folk, alt-country, etc).
Ergo: Portland-Oregon-not-Portland-Bill-alt-indie-heavy-rock-retro-folksters/ retro-folkster-heavy-rockers.

Since the group was clearly in the business of retrieving old material and reviving it in new form, ‘neo-‘ was also appropriate & necessary to give the band its true dignity.

Neo-Portland-Oregon-not-Portland-Bill-alt-indie-heavy-rock-retro-folksters/ retro-folkster-heavy-rockers The Decemberists, anyone?

Pursuant to the last session’s discussions concerning the precise genre of Quadrophenia, some discussion followed about whether The Hazards of Love was a rock opera or a concept album.

Comrade Secretary delivered a short disquisition on the way narrative threads appeared in other Decemberists albums (the subject of his forthcoming PhD studies at Johnherbert College, Cambridge).

It was consequently agreed this was not so much a concept album, more of a rock opera, but by virtue of being folkie in style was in fact a folk-rock-opera with a strong conceptual base.

It was therefore crystal clear what we were dealing with in this month’s selection:

The Hazards of Love is a conceptual folk-rock-opera created by Portland-Oregon-not-Portland-Bill indie-heavy-rock-retro-folksters/ retro-folkster-heavy-rockers The Decemberists.

(With prog rock overtones.)

Comrade Chairman had, with impressive illegality, downloaded some of Anne Briggs’ work, providing the backdrop to these early discussions.

They appeared to have no prog rock overtones or Black Sabbath influences, in spite of Decemberists’ frontman Colin Meloy’s claims.

The ritual listening-to/ disembowellment procedure than followed.

Prelude
The opening hum had caused several members to check if their CD players were working and in one case pull the car over to the side of the road and call the RAC.
However it was ultimately approved of and the rising crescendo brought comparisons to Rick Wakeman playing The Six Wives of Henry VIII and to Beethoven (‘a Beethoven-like awakening’).
The arrival of the organ brought loud cries of delight from our host: THIS IS PROG! IT’S A MOOG MOMENT!

The Hazards of Love 1 (The Prettiest Whistles Won’t Wrestle the Thistles Undone)
According to Adam at firsttube.com ‘this song sets up the entire story. Our heroine Margaret goes horseriding out past the fields, far from home. She crosses into the forest, as she often does, and comes upon an injured and limping fawn which shifts shape into a man. She glances upon the man and falls immediately in love with him, and he with They have sex, right there, in the forest, upon the forest floor, flowers and leaf beds (the “thistles“) providing the only padding. Later, back in the grounds of the village, the ladies relax and chit-chat, worry-free and without care, except one: our Margaret, who is otherwise distracted and thinking of her William and their marvelous encounters in the forest.’
Apart from a quibble over faun and fawn – which one? The song was reasonably popular. The guitar phrase was good, the transition to the next track pretty.
However mention of ‘lyrically interesting’ prompted the old debate, viz:
Audiophile 1: ‘Better if you don’t listen to the lyrics.’
Audiophile 2: ‘I disagree. Better if you do listen to the lyrics.’
Audiophile 3: ‘Better if you listen to the lyrics of every album.’
Cde Yates had spoken and the room fell silent with respectful awe.

A Bower Song
Says Adam: ‘Margaret’s sister, or perhaps just another maiden, approaches and says to our heroine, “Don’t cry, Margaret! I know you’re pregnant, when are you going to give birth? And, by the way, who’s the daddy?’ As Margaret’s baby bump begins to show, rather than stay with the maidens and be exposed, she packs her things and heads back to the forest to find her William.’
Noone was mad on the faux-folk lyrics – the wilts and the thous.
The guitar work was at first described as ‘a Sabbath moment’, but was quickly downgraded through a cascading set of references until it ended in the middle of the road:
‘Sabbath!’
‘Pink Floyd!’
‘REM!’
‘Steve Winwood!’

Won’t Want For Love
Adam: ‘Our Margaret makes her way back to the forest in search of William, begging the forest as she goes to create a path to lead her to William and to alert him that she seeks him. As she grows tired, she makes a bed in the forest, just as she and William shared a leafy bed in moons past. Meanwhile, not so far away, William calls to Margaret, he pains to be with her.’
The imported female vocalist on this was described as ‘weedy’, though the instrumentation was good. The palm muted guitar brought pleasure to one audiophile, while Pink Floyd made another appearance.

The Hazards of Love 2 (Wager All)
According to Adam: ‘William finds Margaret and they declare their love for one another. William tenderly confesses that he feels more for her than just a need for sex, rather, he loves her. He lays her down in soft clovers and makes love to her beneath the sky. In post-coital bliss, he tells her that he wishes that they could lay together all night, naked, until the morning birds sing. We’ll later learn that he explains his predicament: his mother, the Queen of the Forest, she who rescued him from a clay cradle in the rough rivers, has cast a spell upon him. He will live the remainder of his days as a fawn by day, a man only by night. But he will risk everything for Margaret, he will face his mother, in due time…’
The track exposed another Audiophiles tradition – that even those who detest the music like the openings. (See Bauhaus, Friendly Fires etc.)
All agreed the contrast between the songs made the transitions interesting.
The Hazards of Love phrase, heard again and again during the piece, began to take on a haunting air, especially when one reached second listening, but
Audiophile 1: ‘There was somewhat gratuitous use of the tinkly-tinkly things.’
Audiophile 2: ‘Tinkly-dinkly?’
Audiophile 1: ‘No! Definitely a tinkly-tinkly.’
This is the sort of authoritative and knowledgeable exchange of information that makes our meetings stimulating.

The Queen’s Approach
‘Unbeknownst to our lovers,’ says Adam, ‘William’s adoptive mother, the Queen, approaches. Our lovers, in great haste, part ways once again.
With this track the first phase of our listening experience came to an end, since we had attempted to espouse the continuous presentation of the piece.
Cde Mason was markedly enthusiastic, Cde Walsh enthusiastic, the remainder not really enthusiastic at all. ‘Not offensive’ was the general feeling of the group.
The group had listened to this first phase as a continuous whole in an attempt to entrap the majesty of its conceptual folk-rock-operatic-ness. All were agreed that the central section of the album was a disappointment at that the album went down hill somewhat in its central phase, which began with:

Isn’t It a Lovely Night?
Adam: ‘Margaret soliloquizes from her perch in the forest, William sings from afar. Margaret remains, perhaps, in the bed of flowers and clovers referenced earlier that she and William had shared. She cherishes her baby-to-be, the child of William. William, retreating to his forest dwelling, smiles giddily remembering how the breeze bent the leaves which tickled him as he made love to Margaret in the brush.’ Oooh, er missus.
This track was on the whole not approved of.
‘Syrupy.’
‘Sickly.’
‘Too French.’
‘Like Cerys Matthews.’
‘Too Welsh.’
‘Utter bollocks.’

It seemed to one member that the girl voicing Margaret was trying to add a post coital dimension to her voice. A certain tinkly-dinkly quality had appeared in her vibrato it seemed.

The Wanting Comes in Waves/Repaid
According to Adam, ‘The Queen — William’s adoptive mother — finds William. She knows that he’s been out sleeping with a woman. In anger, he tells her that he heard her coming. He tells her that he wants this night to do as he pleases, for the need to be with Margaret is strong, and although he can suppress it from time to time, sometimes, he cannot. Hence the title. He bargains with her; he makes a foolish, pennywise offer: let me free for this one night, and I will return by dawn, and I will be yours forever. Of course, we already know, he’s planning to wager all on a runaway train with Margaret. The mother thinks this over and responds: “Ok, you can have tonight – total freedom. But here’s the catch, as you promised, come morning, you belong to me for all future nights…’
Again, not a track the audiophiles were unanimous on. ‘The middle was a big improvement’, with ‘a good riff,’ an ‘ostinato’ – the album got closest to Sabbath on the riff in this song, according to our resident sabbatarian.
‘Ace of Spades?’ ventured our host, displaying a surprising lack of heavy metal knowledge.
The drumming was 70s, with power-chords to match…

An InterludeAdam advises: ‘Relax and enjoy friends, we know the backstory, here’s where the adventure begins.’

The Rake’s Song
Still Adam: ‘Enter: The Rake. A vile man, married young, wife died, leaving the rake with three kids. He sets out to change his life: he poisons Charlotte by feeding her bad flowers. He drowns poor Dawn in the bathtub. And while his son Isiah struggles admirably, nonetheless, he kills him, and in response to the fighting, he burns the body.’
The audiophiles discussed the darkness induced by the minor key. All were agreed that the interlude had brought the writer freedom to define a new character, and that this was a successful track.

The Abduction of MargaretAdam: ‘The rake hides in the bushes, grabs Margaret, binds her hands, throws her over his shoulder then across his horse, galloping away. Then he comes to Annan Water, the uncrossable wild river…’
The big riff, like the one on Grounds for Divorce (see Elbow, The Seldom Seen Kid), ‘pleased’ Cde Turner.
Indeed, it seemed likely that Cde Turner’s farewell gift to the group might well be a choice of phrases such as ‘This pleases me.’
General agreement that the chords were satanic, with overtones of the White Stripes and a touch of Sparks.

The Queen’s Rebuke/The Crossing
Adam says: ‘Here we learn the back story: the Queen, she of the very fabric of the forest, found William in a clay cradle. She took the poor baby and gave him the form of a fawn by day. So, she says to the Rake, since you have kidnapped Margaret, the only thing that has ever tempted my poor boy to defy me, I will fly you over the uncrossable Annan Water, so that William will be unable to chase you. In exchange, you may keep young Margaret, to do with as you will, including raping and killing her, if you so desire.’
The riff here had a touch of Rainbow, and Cde Mason reflected on the Jethro Tull-like sound.

Annan Water
Adam: ‘Meanwhile, William discovers that Margaret is nowhere to found, and upon tracking her trail, soon learns that she has been abducted. He begins his quest to rescue her, but soon finds himself at the bank of Annan Water, the uncrossable river. William is close, and can hear poor Margaret’s screams. He is due to return to his mother for eternity and Margaret is captured by the Rake. Desperate, he beckons the river: Please, river, let me cross. As I cannot grow wings and fly across, calm your waters and let me save my love. If you do this, I will return, and if you desire, you can have my body then. I will willingly submit myself to you. Just let me pass to rescue my Margaret!’
Cde Mason a great fan of this track also, along with Cde Secretary. The organ and vocal harmony again had that Tull sound.

Margaret In Captivity
Adam says: ‘The Rake, in one of the particularly creepy moments of the tale, paces about the bound Margaret in a small, abandoned forest castle, leans in, and tells her pointedly, My swan, do not struggle, as you will only cause yourself rope burns or break your precious wrists and fingers. But she calls for William!’
‘A bit silly’, was the considered opinion of the group.

The Hazards of Love 3 (Revenge!)
‘The song begins with theme from “The Wanting Comes in Waves,” which we know, by now, is William’s theme. William comes for his Margaret! But is he in time? But wait! What is that sound? It’s the ghost of Charlotte, come to warn her father that his children have returned, she rises. Enter Dawn, chastising papa for keeping the water running, but fear not – she breathes again. And Isiah, the struggling son, has returned as well. In fact, the Rake is driven mad by the return of his vengeful children. The children have saved Margaret temporarily, but for long enough?’

This track brought the sky in on Colin Meloy, not least in the fact that the group began to list regrettable moments in rock history in which children’s voices have been exploited.
The following ‘TOP SEVEN WORST TRACKS WITH CHILDREN’S VOICES’ evolved:
1. Grandma, We Love You (St Winifred’s School Choir)
2. Grandad (Clive Dunn)
3. The Wall (Pink Floyd)
4. Michael Jackson ( though possibly not voices that were being exploited)
5. Matchstalk Men (Mike/ Ralph/ Dennis/ Gerry or two similar names)
6. Career Opportunities (The Clash)
7. Every Sperm is Sacred (Python)
(and of course, into this parade of glory comes The Hazards of Love 3, Revenge!)

The Wanting Comes in Waves (Reprise)
Adam says: ‘The lack of lyrics here leave much of the story up to us, so here is how I see it: as the Rake is struggling with the ghosts of his late children, William triumphantly bursts into the fortress, killing the Rake, and saving his Margaret! He pulls loose her binds and they leave the body of the Rake behind to be forgotten.’
No comment on this, just ribald comment on the virtues of Musical Youth.

The Hazards of Love 4 (The Drowned)
Adam is moved: ‘No Decemberists adventure is complete without a tragic ending. This one bothers me more than most. I wish it didn’t end this way, but I think it’s clear what happens. William and Margaret are now stuck on the far side of Annan Water. They attempt to cross, but the waters, obeying William’s one-time wish, attempt to claim his body, as he promised. He cannot escape Annan Water like he did his mother. So, as he and Margaret struggle to stay above water, William asks Margaret to marry him, with only the waves to witness their matrimony. William’s debt to the water exists, of course, only because he decided to rescue Margaret, and Margaret knows this. What is left for our star-crossed lovers? William can only be a man during the day and his nights are promised to his mother, who will stop at nothing to prevent Margaret and William from being together. Margaret cannot return home with child. William cannot stay in the forest, as he has crossed his mother, and she has sent the Rake after Margaret. It looks like there will be no happy ending for our hero and heroine. In their last moments, they swear eternal loyalty to one another and share a final and touching kiss as the air rushes from their lungs and, then, gently and willingly, they submit to the rough waters of Annan. And with that, our poor lovers break the surface and rest, entwined, at peace, undisturbed, in Annan Water, for eternity.’

Discussion focused on whether it was better or worse to know the whole story. Cde Mason endorsed knowing; Cde Deller the opposite.

Cde Secretary was not sure, reflecting a general lack of confidence in endorsing the record as a whole, in spite of some enthusiastic reviewing.

The Rake’s Song narrowly edged the best track award while Fish Cake Moment went to any number of archaic expressions.

Next session’s choice: BON IVER – FOR EMMA FOREVER AGO.