So here's today's in all its on-time glory!
This song will be familiar to those not even into The Fall, it was on a Vauxhall Corsa advert a few years ago (I actually own a Corsa now, coincidence?) it has some incredible lines and Mark's vocals are as vital as they ever were, the refrain of "Hey Hey Hey Hey" gets me every time, love this one.
Song: Touch Sensitive
Album: The Marshall Suite
Year: 1999
So yeah, advert credentials aside, this is a pop song in the best sense, catchy and fun, as well as produced amazingly well, with some great group vocals over it, THAT chorus is one that will follow them around for years to come, can't quite believe it's over ten years old already, this would have been one of the first songs I heard by the band after some anonymous Fall fan sent me a bootleg of some gigs on a blank CD, with a simple note on the front saying "Not Appreciated!" there was a live version of this on it and it sounded so vital, I think that's where The Fall clicked with me.
Typical playful lyrics include: "And you're dying for a pee/So you go behind a tree/And a Star Wars police vehicle pulls up/I say gimme a taxi" which is just brilliant, I can just imagine a situation that inspired this, MES in a stupor doing his business only to be accosted by a futuristic cop car, brilliant. The lines about "if you smile you are a creep" could be a comment on how we are all a bit too reserved these days, I had the pleasure the other day of walking in a country park and people passing all said hello and smiled, in any other situation, I'd be freaked out, so why is it normal if you're wearing a fleece or avoiding sheep droppings? Very odd.
The video merits some mention here, really good, almost a call from the rooftops, MES with a handheld camera, and people on the wrong instruments (I presume on purpose?) which is hilarious, the drummer is beating a keyboard with drumsticks for gawd's sake! I'd like to know who the crowd are on here, I presume they are one of two groups, either Fall fans, hand-picked to enthusiastically jump about to their favourite band (yeah right) or a group of people Smith has had rounded up and paid a tenner each to look interested (more likely).
Thursday, 7 April 2011
Day 23: Late, but there's a new face in hell.
Apologies to anyone religiously following this blog (if such a person exists) I was too busy to publish yesterday, however, I'm doing two songs today, therefore stretching my skills that tiny bit further, enjoy.
So here's an astonishing performance from MES, frankly a machine-gun like vocal delivery with some incredible lyrics, which read more like a film noir gone mad.
Song: New Face In Hell
Album: Grotesque (After The Gramme)
Year: 1980
So this album is another important chapter in the history of The Fall, features some of their most angry and intense work ever, including this one and Container Drivers (one of their best early songs in my opinion), the reissue actually contains two Fall classics as well, How I Wrote Elastic Man and Totally Wired, why they don't appear on the album in the first place I have no idea, but such was the nature of releasing singles and LPs back then I suppose.
Back to this particular song, it's interesting that the cover of Grotesque has some hellish artwork on the front, it's what comes to mind every time I hear this song, but the lyrics as mentioned before, have a real film-like quality to them, all double crossing and rich description, although it is all delivered in such a rapid manner, you may have trouble following it, some choice lines include: "Wireless enthusiast intercepts government secret radio band and/Uncovers secrets and scandals of deceitful type proportions" now this sets the scene, a ham radio enthusiast (following MES's obsession with British eccentricities) stumbles upon something dark, you can almost imagine an overweight, balding man in a dark room, gasping as he hears some clandestine mutterings that he shouldn't have, the song continues this man's story in its brief, but concise and accurate diatribes.
Looking at the IMDB for the film that inspired the song (P.J at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063402/) the plot seems similar, jealousy, double-crossing and death, though the recommendations made are a bit dubious, Spiderman 3 and Eraser (starring Arnie?) I think something's gone amiss there.
Two things which stand out in this song are MES's vocals, not only his rattling-off of intricate verse (I'd like to hear him attempt something similar now), but the refrain of "A New Face In Hell" which he intones so fervently, he breaks his voice and it gives it a horrible, menacing quality, almost demonic, you don't hear this side of his voice much, but when you do, it's great. He uses it quite a lot on Hex Enduction Hour to great effect. The other thing worth mentioning is the use of kazoo (by Smith himself) which manages not to sound ridiculous (as kazoos generally are).
So here's an astonishing performance from MES, frankly a machine-gun like vocal delivery with some incredible lyrics, which read more like a film noir gone mad.
Song: New Face In Hell
Album: Grotesque (After The Gramme)
Year: 1980
So this album is another important chapter in the history of The Fall, features some of their most angry and intense work ever, including this one and Container Drivers (one of their best early songs in my opinion), the reissue actually contains two Fall classics as well, How I Wrote Elastic Man and Totally Wired, why they don't appear on the album in the first place I have no idea, but such was the nature of releasing singles and LPs back then I suppose.
Back to this particular song, it's interesting that the cover of Grotesque has some hellish artwork on the front, it's what comes to mind every time I hear this song, but the lyrics as mentioned before, have a real film-like quality to them, all double crossing and rich description, although it is all delivered in such a rapid manner, you may have trouble following it, some choice lines include: "Wireless enthusiast intercepts government secret radio band and/Uncovers secrets and scandals of deceitful type proportions" now this sets the scene, a ham radio enthusiast (following MES's obsession with British eccentricities) stumbles upon something dark, you can almost imagine an overweight, balding man in a dark room, gasping as he hears some clandestine mutterings that he shouldn't have, the song continues this man's story in its brief, but concise and accurate diatribes.
Looking at the IMDB for the film that inspired the song (P.J at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063402/) the plot seems similar, jealousy, double-crossing and death, though the recommendations made are a bit dubious, Spiderman 3 and Eraser (starring Arnie?) I think something's gone amiss there.
Two things which stand out in this song are MES's vocals, not only his rattling-off of intricate verse (I'd like to hear him attempt something similar now), but the refrain of "A New Face In Hell" which he intones so fervently, he breaks his voice and it gives it a horrible, menacing quality, almost demonic, you don't hear this side of his voice much, but when you do, it's great. He uses it quite a lot on Hex Enduction Hour to great effect. The other thing worth mentioning is the use of kazoo (by Smith himself) which manages not to sound ridiculous (as kazoos generally are).
Tuesday, 5 April 2011
Day 22: The whole world's a funny farm.
Another day, another Fall cover? Why not?
Thanks to everyone who has emailed me about the blog, your encouragement makes me want to carry it on for as long as I can, had quite a few views the last few days, so thanks if you've mentioned it anywhere, keep it up, it means I'm not speaking to myself!
For other Fall-related musings as well as some nice creative writing, check out this chap's site here: http://daaanlewis.com
Anyway, back to the task in hand, this is another cover from the 60s, and weirdly, both performances are very much of their time, The Fall's version crackles with 80s drum production, we're talking big, brash and impressive, a bit like the fashion at the time, whereas the 60s version is quirky and a bit Beatles-esque, but the lyrics are the main crux for me.
Song: Popcorn Double Feature
Album: Extricate
Year: 1990
Like a lot of 60s pop, the words sometimes get buried in the jaunty nature of the music, there was still a hangover of songs being background music for dances and the like, but if you look carefully, it's all a bit Orwellian.
Take the lines: "Coffee each mornin'/Don't park is the warnin'/ They'll tow your machine away/ There's so much confusion/That's built on illusion/What's makin' the music play?"
now to me that sounds a bit anti-capitalist, breaking free from the chains of oppression etc.
To be fair, the Fall version is pretty faithful to the original, apart from the strange line (which I get would be a big deal back in the 60s) "Black man is your teacher/Don't be alarmed" has been changed to what sounds like "Blind man is your teacher" no problem there, could be a comment on politicians or society there, but I like the fact a group in the 60s was saying "Hey, it's ok you know, the world is changing."
The chorus in the original actually has some semblance of melancholy, but the rest of the song is quite jerky and upbeat, the Fall version is (of course) a bit reserved and Mark's vocals sound a bit despondent, but they match the lyrics, so that's great. I should probably try and crowbar in that this is the first album recorded without Brix after their divorce, some people say her backing vocals and guitar parts are notably missing, but I'd disagree, this is obviously an album made by Mark alone and it sounds great in the way that every Fall album is different, if she had been in the band I can't imagine we'd have got an album so inventive as Extricate, its actually one of my favourites.
Interesting note, the Fall version features Mike Edwards of rockers Jesus Jones, you learn something new every day hmm?
Just a note to my readers, would you mind if I put ads on this blog? I hate them normally but if there's money to be made (in minuscule amounts) should I bother?
I've ranted enough, just enjoy the song, I've included the original below for comparison, enjoy.
Thanks to everyone who has emailed me about the blog, your encouragement makes me want to carry it on for as long as I can, had quite a few views the last few days, so thanks if you've mentioned it anywhere, keep it up, it means I'm not speaking to myself!
For other Fall-related musings as well as some nice creative writing, check out this chap's site here: http://daaanlewis.com
Anyway, back to the task in hand, this is another cover from the 60s, and weirdly, both performances are very much of their time, The Fall's version crackles with 80s drum production, we're talking big, brash and impressive, a bit like the fashion at the time, whereas the 60s version is quirky and a bit Beatles-esque, but the lyrics are the main crux for me.
Song: Popcorn Double Feature
Album: Extricate
Year: 1990
Like a lot of 60s pop, the words sometimes get buried in the jaunty nature of the music, there was still a hangover of songs being background music for dances and the like, but if you look carefully, it's all a bit Orwellian.
Take the lines: "Coffee each mornin'/Don't park is the warnin'/ They'll tow your machine away/ There's so much confusion/That's built on illusion/What's makin' the music play?"
now to me that sounds a bit anti-capitalist, breaking free from the chains of oppression etc.
To be fair, the Fall version is pretty faithful to the original, apart from the strange line (which I get would be a big deal back in the 60s) "Black man is your teacher/Don't be alarmed" has been changed to what sounds like "Blind man is your teacher" no problem there, could be a comment on politicians or society there, but I like the fact a group in the 60s was saying "Hey, it's ok you know, the world is changing."
The chorus in the original actually has some semblance of melancholy, but the rest of the song is quite jerky and upbeat, the Fall version is (of course) a bit reserved and Mark's vocals sound a bit despondent, but they match the lyrics, so that's great. I should probably try and crowbar in that this is the first album recorded without Brix after their divorce, some people say her backing vocals and guitar parts are notably missing, but I'd disagree, this is obviously an album made by Mark alone and it sounds great in the way that every Fall album is different, if she had been in the band I can't imagine we'd have got an album so inventive as Extricate, its actually one of my favourites.
Interesting note, the Fall version features Mike Edwards of rockers Jesus Jones, you learn something new every day hmm?
Just a note to my readers, would you mind if I put ads on this blog? I hate them normally but if there's money to be made (in minuscule amounts) should I bother?
I've ranted enough, just enjoy the song, I've included the original below for comparison, enjoy.
Monday, 4 April 2011
Day 21: Hey Mark, you're messing up the paintwork.
I love this one, a mish-mash of sounds, which comes off as an abstract collage of taped sounds, as well as being a nice laid-back Fall song. It has excerpts of conversation and what sounds like a dictaphone recording of the telly.
Song: Paintwork
Album: This Nation's Saving Grace
Year: 1985
So this appears on TNSG, which is becoming one of my favourites as this blog trundles along, this is an inventive yet disorienting track, not only do we have some lovely strummed acoustic passages with Mark delivering his vocals down what sounds like a phone, but constant shifts in volume and clarity, which makes it a little bit un-nerving. There are parts where it drops out completely to give way to a snatched piece of taped sound, whether studio conversation or samples of strange strings, but it remains entirely listenable. Even when Mark overdubs some vocals in parts and some of those seem to be unintelligible mumbles, its a menagerie of sounds that all come together.
The lyrics are something else, as so often is the case, his lyrics seem to be simplistic, the repetition of "Hey Mark, you're spoiling all the paintwork" being the obvious part here, but quite honestly, you can read so much into this, is this people's comments about his ability to keep a band together for very long (ruining his paintwork?) or could it be a lyrical take on how he doesn't care what impression he is leaving, so long as he is remembered. My view is that he is almost telling people who may be trying to give him advice that he doesn't need it, he doesn't care what people think, as so often is his wont, he rarely gives away any ideas or impressions of what his lyrics are about, similarly he has no time for journalists asking him about the music or where he sees it going, often laughing or being deliberately obtuse when he gives answers (see the liner notes to the live album In A Hole, where he gives about 1% of his attention to answering any questions at all).
Again, MES can confuse and charm with one hand, striking out with the other, don't think I'll ever understand him fully, but he's a fascinating person to be writing about.
Song: Paintwork
Album: This Nation's Saving Grace
Year: 1985
So this appears on TNSG, which is becoming one of my favourites as this blog trundles along, this is an inventive yet disorienting track, not only do we have some lovely strummed acoustic passages with Mark delivering his vocals down what sounds like a phone, but constant shifts in volume and clarity, which makes it a little bit un-nerving. There are parts where it drops out completely to give way to a snatched piece of taped sound, whether studio conversation or samples of strange strings, but it remains entirely listenable. Even when Mark overdubs some vocals in parts and some of those seem to be unintelligible mumbles, its a menagerie of sounds that all come together.
The lyrics are something else, as so often is the case, his lyrics seem to be simplistic, the repetition of "Hey Mark, you're spoiling all the paintwork" being the obvious part here, but quite honestly, you can read so much into this, is this people's comments about his ability to keep a band together for very long (ruining his paintwork?) or could it be a lyrical take on how he doesn't care what impression he is leaving, so long as he is remembered. My view is that he is almost telling people who may be trying to give him advice that he doesn't need it, he doesn't care what people think, as so often is his wont, he rarely gives away any ideas or impressions of what his lyrics are about, similarly he has no time for journalists asking him about the music or where he sees it going, often laughing or being deliberately obtuse when he gives answers (see the liner notes to the live album In A Hole, where he gives about 1% of his attention to answering any questions at all).
Again, MES can confuse and charm with one hand, striking out with the other, don't think I'll ever understand him fully, but he's a fascinating person to be writing about.
Sunday, 3 April 2011
Day 20: A kink in The Fall.
Here's a jaunty one for a Sunday night! A Kinks cover, which is glorious just for the faithful version, obviously MES nodding towards his musical roots once more, but he actually SINGS on it. I'd love to have heard him attempt this more, not sure what he'd sound like now (the grumbly man of Your Future Our Clutter sounds a million miles away from this admirable attempt at singing).
Song: Victoria
Album: The Frenz Experiment
Year: 1988
The video is great, MES dressed as what I presume is Napoleon and Brix has some crazy hair here, the kind of style you used to see in big framed photos in salons in the 80s/90s. The plot I have no idea about, a cake that's set on fire, Brix being fitted into a corset, a footballer who seems to have contracted a ballet-like condition meaning he can't kick the ball. All filmed really well for a Fall video, they are usually palpably cheap and rough-shod, but this looks great (I presume because of the popularity of the album The Frenz Experiment and the fact they were getting singles in the charts at the time).
The song itself, well you can't fault The Kinks, a band who not only penned lovely pop ditties like this cover proves, but also released off-the-wall madness like The Kinks Are The Village Preservation Society which is so quintessentially English, I'm not surprised MES is a fan.
I always wonder which band The Fall will cover next, there could be some fantastic ones.
The lyrics in this one are worthy of mention, full of jingoism, the lines about being 'poor but free' and the fact that 'Victoria loved them all' is a great little nod to old Queen Vic, but the slight eccentricity of the subject matter is buried under the 60s jangle of it all, something I feel MES does with a lot of his material, it's almost as if someone in his head is saying "Bloody hell Mark, these lyrics are a bit morbid, I hope you've got a chirpy melody to go over this..." see songs like I'm Going To Spain or The League Of Bald Headed Men for proof.
Song: Victoria
Album: The Frenz Experiment
Year: 1988
The video is great, MES dressed as what I presume is Napoleon and Brix has some crazy hair here, the kind of style you used to see in big framed photos in salons in the 80s/90s. The plot I have no idea about, a cake that's set on fire, Brix being fitted into a corset, a footballer who seems to have contracted a ballet-like condition meaning he can't kick the ball. All filmed really well for a Fall video, they are usually palpably cheap and rough-shod, but this looks great (I presume because of the popularity of the album The Frenz Experiment and the fact they were getting singles in the charts at the time).
The song itself, well you can't fault The Kinks, a band who not only penned lovely pop ditties like this cover proves, but also released off-the-wall madness like The Kinks Are The Village Preservation Society which is so quintessentially English, I'm not surprised MES is a fan.
I always wonder which band The Fall will cover next, there could be some fantastic ones.
The lyrics in this one are worthy of mention, full of jingoism, the lines about being 'poor but free' and the fact that 'Victoria loved them all' is a great little nod to old Queen Vic, but the slight eccentricity of the subject matter is buried under the 60s jangle of it all, something I feel MES does with a lot of his material, it's almost as if someone in his head is saying "Bloody hell Mark, these lyrics are a bit morbid, I hope you've got a chirpy melody to go over this..." see songs like I'm Going To Spain or The League Of Bald Headed Men for proof.
Saturday, 2 April 2011
Day 19: Veteran's Day Poppy.
This one is one of those meta-narratives that MES is so fond of, and here's another nod to his past and a hint of his listening habits (something I wonder about a lot actually, I wonder if he keeps up with any particular music, having collaborated with some brilliant bands over the years).
Song: Scenario
Album: Reformation Post-TLC
Year: 2007
Yeah, so its a nice laid back one this, with twangy guitars, a nice flourish of keyboard here and there and a bit of melancholy from Mr Smith. The lyrics constantly reference the Captain Beefheart classic 'Veterans Day Poppy' which is off their most-mentioned album Trout Mask Replica (if you haven't heard this, more fool you, its utterly manic despite it feeling like a marathon to listen to).
Here's the original:
Now I could cover a point here that's often been touched upon by other writers, MES runs the Fall a little like Beefheart did around this album. During its recording in 1968, Beefheart's Magic Band were living together in a communal house, were made to practice for 14 hours a day, were berated until they broke down or gave in to submission and were often not told what was happening on certain songs, as a result, the music sounds unhinged, with Beefhearts's lyrics being recorded almost out of time due to his insistence on not wearing headphones whilst recording. The songs sound like acid-trip blues, skittering and unpolished, sometimes simply a cacophony of noise. The album really is amazing, though you can feel mentally drained from just a few songs.
Now while MES has never kept his band hostage or induced breakdowns, he has certainly ruled The Fall with an iron fist, but as explained in various books on the guy, he kept people in line with bizarre outbursts, fining one drummer every time he hit a floor tom, proclaiming musicians 'fat bastards' if they ate a meal on tour (a lot of Fall tours were liquids-only) and even punching Mark Riley famously in New Zealand for dancing in a club (he soon left the band).
These songs may not have much in common musically, but perhaps the lyrical matching is Smith hinting at his reputation (this album is made up of members freshly picked up after an American tour resulted in three members leaving the group midway through). This is something I would bet on, Smith is so aware of his presence despite showing the air of someone not quite there, I think people forget he is incredibly intelligent sometimes.
This song is full of regret for lost childhood friends, or perhaps the sad fact we will never see our childhoods again, he sounds genuinely remorseful here, which taken at face value could relate again to the disastrous tour the previous year.
Song: Scenario
Album: Reformation Post-TLC
Year: 2007
Yeah, so its a nice laid back one this, with twangy guitars, a nice flourish of keyboard here and there and a bit of melancholy from Mr Smith. The lyrics constantly reference the Captain Beefheart classic 'Veterans Day Poppy' which is off their most-mentioned album Trout Mask Replica (if you haven't heard this, more fool you, its utterly manic despite it feeling like a marathon to listen to).
Here's the original:
Now I could cover a point here that's often been touched upon by other writers, MES runs the Fall a little like Beefheart did around this album. During its recording in 1968, Beefheart's Magic Band were living together in a communal house, were made to practice for 14 hours a day, were berated until they broke down or gave in to submission and were often not told what was happening on certain songs, as a result, the music sounds unhinged, with Beefhearts's lyrics being recorded almost out of time due to his insistence on not wearing headphones whilst recording. The songs sound like acid-trip blues, skittering and unpolished, sometimes simply a cacophony of noise. The album really is amazing, though you can feel mentally drained from just a few songs.
Now while MES has never kept his band hostage or induced breakdowns, he has certainly ruled The Fall with an iron fist, but as explained in various books on the guy, he kept people in line with bizarre outbursts, fining one drummer every time he hit a floor tom, proclaiming musicians 'fat bastards' if they ate a meal on tour (a lot of Fall tours were liquids-only) and even punching Mark Riley famously in New Zealand for dancing in a club (he soon left the band).
These songs may not have much in common musically, but perhaps the lyrical matching is Smith hinting at his reputation (this album is made up of members freshly picked up after an American tour resulted in three members leaving the group midway through). This is something I would bet on, Smith is so aware of his presence despite showing the air of someone not quite there, I think people forget he is incredibly intelligent sometimes.
This song is full of regret for lost childhood friends, or perhaps the sad fact we will never see our childhoods again, he sounds genuinely remorseful here, which taken at face value could relate again to the disastrous tour the previous year.
Friday, 1 April 2011
Day 18: I'm a printhead.
Always love the songs that reference reviews in them, this one's an early one with some great lines, being an editor by trade, I can see bits in there he's alluding to that are familiar.
Song: Printhead
Album: Dragnet
Year: 1979
This song clatters along (in a worthy tribute to its title) like a dot matrix going mental. On this one, they sound very 70s punk, snotty, angry-sounding and MES's vocals are pushed very high in the mix, which is good, as this one seriously has some golden lines in.
To boggle the mind further and to make it even more obvious, he reads out lines from a review: "There's a barrier between writer and singer/Uh-huh he's a good man/ Although an easy one/ The singer is a neurotic drinker/ The band little more than a big crashing beat/ Instruments collide and we all get drunk" he then follows this with "The last two lines/ Were a quote, yeah/ When we read them/ We went to pieces" whether they did I highly doubt, but its a great piece of self-referential post-modernism at work. Deconstructing a deconstruction within a song that in turn, I'm doing the same to now and presumably countless people have done before. It's like ever-folding space.
Elsewhere he talks about his head 'increasing" which could be a portent to what followed a few years later when they chucked Mark Riley out and wrote "The Man Whose Head Expanded" which is another amazing one I haven't written about yet, can't wait (it's a doozy).
He also closes the song with a passage open to interpretation (cheers Mark, makes writing a lot easier!) which is thus: "You could substitute an ear for an extra useless eye" which to me sounds like he is giving the reviewer some gip, almost asking him if he was there and paid attention, or did he just write what was expected.
That's a personal bugbear of mine, reviewers who go a to a show, watch the band, then come back and write a review that gives nothing of the performance or the atmosphere away, reviewers that do this are lazy beyond belief. Yes we know they are probably playing stuff off their latest album, yes we know where they are from, yes we know they've caused some outrage unconnected to their music and we probably know who is there to see them.
Tell me about the MUSIC, what HAPPENED on stage? Reviewers working for the Guardian are particularly persistent offenders, often giving just one par to the music and a million to past glories or their reputation in the press (see recent reviews of Beady Eye, Katy Perry, Justin Bieber, Kylie etc), these aren't reviews, they are conjecture and guff. Even worse are the people commenting on these 'reviews' who haven't been to a gig in years and spout banalities like anyone else gives a hoot what they think. Nobody does, rarely do people even acknowledge each other on there, so filled with hot air are the posters that I doubt they check the replies again, simply presuming they are right.
There was an article about fried breakfasts recently, some snob posted "Why do people who eat fried breakfasts always need tea? I suppose the tannin gets rid of the grease from your mouth" a perfect example of these chumps in action, nobody asked his opinion, nobody cared, he answered his own question, amazing.
This has turned into a rant, good.
Song: Printhead
Album: Dragnet
Year: 1979
This song clatters along (in a worthy tribute to its title) like a dot matrix going mental. On this one, they sound very 70s punk, snotty, angry-sounding and MES's vocals are pushed very high in the mix, which is good, as this one seriously has some golden lines in.
To boggle the mind further and to make it even more obvious, he reads out lines from a review: "There's a barrier between writer and singer/Uh-huh he's a good man/ Although an easy one/ The singer is a neurotic drinker/ The band little more than a big crashing beat/ Instruments collide and we all get drunk" he then follows this with "The last two lines/ Were a quote, yeah/ When we read them/ We went to pieces" whether they did I highly doubt, but its a great piece of self-referential post-modernism at work. Deconstructing a deconstruction within a song that in turn, I'm doing the same to now and presumably countless people have done before. It's like ever-folding space.
Elsewhere he talks about his head 'increasing" which could be a portent to what followed a few years later when they chucked Mark Riley out and wrote "The Man Whose Head Expanded" which is another amazing one I haven't written about yet, can't wait (it's a doozy).
He also closes the song with a passage open to interpretation (cheers Mark, makes writing a lot easier!) which is thus: "You could substitute an ear for an extra useless eye" which to me sounds like he is giving the reviewer some gip, almost asking him if he was there and paid attention, or did he just write what was expected.
That's a personal bugbear of mine, reviewers who go a to a show, watch the band, then come back and write a review that gives nothing of the performance or the atmosphere away, reviewers that do this are lazy beyond belief. Yes we know they are probably playing stuff off their latest album, yes we know where they are from, yes we know they've caused some outrage unconnected to their music and we probably know who is there to see them.
Tell me about the MUSIC, what HAPPENED on stage? Reviewers working for the Guardian are particularly persistent offenders, often giving just one par to the music and a million to past glories or their reputation in the press (see recent reviews of Beady Eye, Katy Perry, Justin Bieber, Kylie etc), these aren't reviews, they are conjecture and guff. Even worse are the people commenting on these 'reviews' who haven't been to a gig in years and spout banalities like anyone else gives a hoot what they think. Nobody does, rarely do people even acknowledge each other on there, so filled with hot air are the posters that I doubt they check the replies again, simply presuming they are right.
There was an article about fried breakfasts recently, some snob posted "Why do people who eat fried breakfasts always need tea? I suppose the tannin gets rid of the grease from your mouth" a perfect example of these chumps in action, nobody asked his opinion, nobody cared, he answered his own question, amazing.
This has turned into a rant, good.
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