Fluxblog #266: 1969 Survey Mix • Shudder to Think • Blur • Archers of Loaf
The 1968 survey mix is now available on Spotify. I've been working on the late '60s surveys for a few weeks and it's just sort of a coincidence that 1968 arrives during a week that echoes that year in many ways, but I suppose maybe it's good timing? I think this is one of the best surveys I've made, and I think you'll be blown away by the sheer volume of classics in this mix. (You can find the 1969 survey here.)
Also: I shifted gears and wrote some posts about some old favorite songs I'd never featured here before, mainly because I was feeling a little burned out on writing about new stuff. However, I only got through half of the songs I'd chosen for this and lost energy and enthusiasm after writing the third post because my attention has been focused on Black Lives Matters and efforts to defund/abolish the police. I hope this is true of you as well, and that you're doing what you can to help and protest. I'll get to those other songs another time.
May 31st, 2020
Spit Out Your Gum And Sing Along
Shudder to Think “Survival”
Shudder to Think’s 50,000 B.C. is technically the group’s final album but is nevertheless a transitional work that falls between the odd collision of post-punk and prog rock on their 1994 classic Pony Express Record and the genre-hopping pastiche found on their late ’90s soundtrack work and most of primary songwriter Craig Wedren’s subsequent work outside the band. The prog elements and Wedren’s fascination with fitting his melodies and lyrics into odd meters remain, but it’s all smoothed out into a bright, shiny tunes that foreground the glam rock that was previously buried beneath all the jagged edges of their music.
“Survival,” the most overtly glam song on the record, is built around a slinky melody that makes the most of Wedren’s glorious vocal range and wry attitude. The lyrics allude to his fairly recent experience of surviving cancer without directly announcing it or even necessarily being entirely about that topic. About a quarter of the lyrics are written in Wedren’s abstract absurdist style, but he sings lines like “grease the temple” and “balloons light the lawns” in a way that suggests he has a very precise personal meaning in mind that’s just not for us to know.
The rest of his words sketch out the mood of a man who feels some gratitude for his luck, but also a bewilderment when it comes to what to make of his life in the aftermath. He sounds like he’s attempting to weigh the significance of a lot of things – why he got spared, the value of particular relationships, the prospect of not doing all that much with his new lease on life – and all the scales are broken. I think when it comes down to it, this is a song about shrugging off all the heaviness of meaning and learning to just enjoy the simple pleasures of being alive and getting to write a song, and another one after that.
Buy it from Amazon.
June 1st, 2020
I’m Not That Good But I’m Not That Bad
Blur “On Your Own”
If Damon Albarn had written “On Your Own” for Parklife or The Great Escape it could have fit in just fine with the sort of fussy ultra-British arrangements he was using at the time: dial down the garage rock, dial up the music hall. But the arrangement Blur arrived at for the song on their self-titled album is far more inspired, particularly the odd guitar effects that Graham Coxon put on the main riff to make the end of the melodic phrase sound stuttered and broken. Everything in the song sounds like it’s been blasted out just beyond limits, like the band are kids playing too rough with their toys because they’re having too much fun in the moment to show any caution.
As with everything else on the record, it’s an expertly built tune dressed up in a carefully crafted simulation of carefree messiness. Coxon is going wild with his tone, but it’s all just-so, and the big shouty sing along chorus feels weirdly spontaneous despite being the crux of the song. The biggest reason this feels so loose and free isn’t entirely because Albarn and Coxon know how to make something sound this way, but mostly because the joy they’re bringing to this music isn’t something that can be faked. “On Your Own” describes tasteless scenes and embarrassing moments, but also expresses the pleasures of letting go of your ego and embracing stupid fun. When Albarn sings “my joy of life is on a roll, and we’ll all be the same in the end because then you’re on your own,” it’s just a more wordy way of saying “YOLO.”
Buy it from Amazon.
June 3rd, 2020
We’ll Watch Our Heroes Trip And Fall
Archers of Loaf “Nevermind the Enemy”
“Nevermind the Enemy” is a song of gleeful schadenfreude, and while that’s not necessarily the most admirable feeling in the world, it can certainly be valid. The context for this song is petty – at this point in his career Eric Bachmann was writing mostly about the record industry and scene politics from the perspective of someone who was both highly competitive and likely to opt out of participating in anything he thought was distasteful or corrupt. It’s extremely smug but in a very fun way, and because he’s so focused on repping for underdogs and losers it’s relatable and inclusive, and always comes across as punching up. In this song, he’s proudly declaring “I found a reason to quit” and is inviting the listener to opt out too. He makes it sound like watching sports – “we can watch their plans fall through,” “never mind your friends ’cause you can make a joke of them.” The music sounds scrappy and energetic, with Bachmann’s distorted riff punctuated by sharp tones that sound like a truck backing up. It’s always made me think of getting in on a joy ride.
Buy it from Bandcamp.