Back To The Futon (BOTS - 5)
British people do love an underdog, don't we? There's nothing nicer than rallying behind someone who is just starting out, and encouraging them to really GO FOR IT, and MAKE THE MOST OF WHAT GOD HAS GIVEN YOU and stuff like that, right? We also like to knock people who've become successful, and call them names, and tell the general public off for being foolish enough to have made them succesful in the first place. And ChartBlog is a very British institution (we are also, for example, dreadfully ham-strung by red tape and have very uneven teeth).
So it is in this spirit that we launch into the fifth installment of our fantastically successful Back Of The Sofa series. This is, you'll recall, where we look over a selection of songs which should really have been made more of than they were, or songs which should be made more of than they will be, depending on whether they are already out or not.
Ready to CHAMPION the UNDERDOG? Well alright then!
===============================
Wild Beasts - 'Assembly'
We've examined the strange world of these Wild Beasts before on ChartBlog, and in the months since their last single came out, it's become clear that this is a very special band indeed. Special in that they sound like no other band, special in that they create their own world for us to go and visit, special in that their songs are like delicate puzzles made out of twists of smoke, strong twigs, meat and thin glass, and special in that most people will probably have a very strong reaction to their music from the very first listen.
And here's their third single. Who could fail to love a song which proclaims the singer to be "a goose-pimpled god", a god who then brashly claims "upon my girth rests the Earth".
Frankly, that's the kind of false advertising 50 Cent would KILL to have thought of (hey, maybe he has!)...
===============================
Duffy - 'Rockferry'
This is Duffy, and if she doesn't have some kind of remix deal hammered out with Mark Ronson by the time we're all shouting "Happy New Year!" then there is no justice. She comes from North Wales, her debut single was produced by Bernard Butler (ex-Suede guitarist, and former Linertines producer), and stone me if it doesn't sound like a right '60s rave-up. Her peeps are claiming Dusty Springfield and Northern soul, I'm hearing Beth Gibbons singing 'Little Children' by Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas, but that's by the by.
===============================
Good Shoes- 'Small Town Girl'
God bless Good Shoes for releasing a song which contains shades of Blondie's immortal 'Union City Blue' and Jilted John's 'Jilted John', only with a man doing a kind of fey Alex Turner impression over the top in a non-Leeds accent, and manages to not only be NOT RUBBISH, but actually good enough a pop song to induce cuteyswoons among anyone within a four mile radius of this iPod in front of me here. Which, bearing in mind the fact that this has been written while sitting on a train, is a hell of a lot of people. Mind how you go, folks!
===============================
Frankmusik- 'Confusion Girl'
Imagine a Mika who hadn't broken through to global success, and who was as into electropop as much as he liked "a little Freddie". Or a Justin Hawkins who had never really taken to pomp rock. Now extract the massive air of punchability these two celebrated stars have about them (see what I mean about knocking people when they've made it? Churchill would be so proud!). Such a man is Frankmusik.
And if you still need convincing (which is entirely understandable, given such an underwhelming recommendation so far), take a look at these videos. You have GOT to love a man who releases this version of his song as the real, proper, finished arrangement...
...when he also knows that he is perfectly capable of doing THIS with the exact same song.
There's a fine line between genius and silliness, people, and Frankmusik doesn't seem to even realise it is there. THAT'S how special he is...
===============================
Lupe Fiasco - 'Dumb It Down'
Sadly I can't find a video of this which doesn't have swearing on it, which is kind of weird because the song is about how hip hop has been fenced in by the expectations of press, fans and record labels, and channelled into being a moronic, violent cuss-fest which seems to value guns and money over skill and talent. Having said that, the verses are so lyrically complicated that the swearing comes as a massive relief when you realise that he's deliberately trying to confuse anyone who has become over-used to years of gangsta excess.
===============================
Black Lips - 'Veni Vidi Vici'
The vibroslap is a much underused instrument in modern music. Largely seen as a comedy noise to add a rustic rural charm to songs about scarecrows, it's one of the least loved (and most effective) items in percussion's massive bag of tricks. Take this song, you play a vibroslap next to an asthmatic guitar, get a bit of a Mick Jagger sneer going in the singing department and spray liberally with burnt fuzz guitar, and you got yourselves some kind of voodoo skeleton dance. Which probably isn't that far removed from a scarecrow after all, thinking about it...
Anyway, is where you can hear the song...AND download a free remix of it. Whoohoo!
===============================
Santogold - 'Creator'
Santogold has managed to straddle the gulf between MIA and the kind of thing you'd expect Gwen Stefani to have put out if No Doubt had never been particularly successful, and she was attempting to strike out on her own, on a bit of a budget, and in a sulky mood. By which I mean she's good at pouty pop for sullen people who find the expression of large emotions to be frightfully vulgar, but who also take great pride in expressing themselves through their clothing. She's also good at sounding a lot like MIA. Which is no bad thing at all.
===============================
OperaHouse - 'Born A Boy'
Pigeon Detectives fans! Maccabees fans! Ever wondered what might happen if the music of your two indie faves were somehow combined? Ever been curious to find out if the heartfelt art-pop skronk of the Maccabees would benefit from some lairy Pigeon beer-fuelled energy? Well, probably not. But if you HAD, you might find the work of OperaHouse to be of interest.
===============================
Bumblebeez - 'Dr Love'
About as far removed from the uptight mimsiness of modern indie as it is possible to get without being the Dillinger Escape Plan, Bumblebeez, like Chromeo and Moloko before them, exist to put a retro glide in your stride and a dip in your hip. This has the spirit of George Clinton running through it like the words in a stick of seaside rock, and the playful nonsense of the Tom Tom Club wrapped around it (not unlike the pink outer skin of the rock, see). Don't worry if you don't know who these people are, but trust me, they're worth investigating if this tickles your funky bone.
===============================
AND FINALLY...who wants to hear Ian Brown singing his new single 'Sister Rosa' in Japanese?
===============================
Previous Rummages:
Back Of The Sofa IV
Back Of The Sofa III
Back Of The Sofa II
Back Of The Sofa I
Comments
DERE LORD, have we really reached the point in time where bernard butler is more likely to be known as a producer of the libertines than as the guitarist in suede?
i must be getting old...
[I know! I didn't even get to mention McAlmont & Butler, the Tears, his solo work, the Velvet Goldmine soundtrack, The James Gang soundtrack, and his production work for Aimee Mann, Sparks, Edwyn Collins, Neneh Cherry, Tim Booth, the Manics, Eddi Reader, Hopper, Bert Jansch, Heather Nova, The Veils, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, The Cribs, Pretenders, The On-Off's, 1990s, The Mescalitas, Cut Off Your Hands!, Cajun Dance Party, The View, Arkitekt and Sons and Daughters. AND is it just me, or are policemen getting younger? - Fraser]