Friday 11 January 2008

I Am Produced

Taken from "Mag Earwig!" 1997

"I am pressed, printed, stomped
And strategically removed
I am everybody
Insane without innocence
I am trapped, tricked, packaged
And shipped out
I am produced
I am produced
Pressed, printed, stomped, tripped
Trapped, tricked, packaged, shipped..."

Is this Bobs song about the pressure of being on a major label? Or just mans place in society these days? A classic song with a great message. Quite dark but a belter when done Live especially.

Thursday 10 January 2008

The Fink Swan (Swims Away)

Taken from "In Shop We Build Electric Chairs: Professional Music By Nightwalker" 1999

Lyrics Unknown

I fight Nightwalker stuff hard to get into. Its scrappy, mostly tuneless, recorded terribly, fuzzy, freeform. To be honest this is one of the more focused songs on this album. The melody, if there is one, goes all over the place, whilst a guitar is strummed to death in the background. A song. Not one of my favourite Pollard offerings. Harsh but even Rock God Bob has off songs/albums.

Wednesday 9 January 2008

Cyclops

Taken from "Devil Between My Toes" 1987

"Tom the happy pretender
One eye on the mend
One eye on his watch
His parents told him
Don't worry, Tom, there's plenty o' jobs in the big
city but with one eye only
It gets so hard

No depth perception
Cyclops
No depth perception
Cyclops
No depth perception
Cyclops
No depth perception"

I wonder where Bob gets his musical ideas from? Did the Cyclops lead to the no depth perception just through riffing through his song? Or did he have a thought one day about Depth perception and wrote Cyclops? This song is from the very early days of GBV and has that brittle production sound but is quite a mature song. "Bom" as the packing singing goes.

Tuesday 8 January 2008

Where I Come From

Taken from "Suitcase 1" 2003

"No sense in arguing
about something you believe in
Can't hope for knowledge, someones good advice
Don't have much money to lay around and grieve in
Better off just keep your mouth shut
Come on boys be nice
You can't hurt me now
I don't know how to cry
But I'm still young

I see the outstretched arms that beckon me
But I can't come
I hear the spoken words that make no sense
Where I come from

Keep everyone happy with county recreation
work 50 hours a week, take out frustrations on the field
put bars and churches on every other corner
nice the working conditions with much better yield
You can't hurt me now
I don't know how to cry
But I'm still young

I feel the stinging truth
The slaps me hard
And makes me numb
I eat the bitter fruit that grows on trees
Where I come from"

Love the gently military drumbeat that pervades that starts this song. This is very early GBV. Where they sounded like early REM. Very tuneful and wistful. This is a gem of a song and any fan of REM would love it. Whatever happened to REM? I remember their last album being crushingly dull and bland.

Chance To Buy An Island

Taken from "Not In My Airforce" 1996

"Chance to buy an island - I'll sell it to you
It's not so bad
Check out the "For Sale" sign - It's for you
And hey, it's really nice

Can I offer you a find?
Can I oil your rusty mind?
If I tell you all I know
Can I pack it up and go?

And now you're ten years colder
At least you're alive
And that's not too bad
And you can't afford an island

Put it up for sale
And hey, don't think twice"

What mic does Bob use to get that sound? Like he is on the radio. It rocks. A quite slow moving but emotional sounding song from Mr Pollard here. The main riff reminds me of another more famous composition but I cant put my finger on it.

Sunday 6 January 2008

Picture Me Big Time

Taken from "Do The Collapse" 1999

Picture me big time
Up along the range
With this woman of mine
Driving me insane

"Parasites baby....
Don't you know
I can't lie to you

There was a band from Beantown
They drove the now sound
With a girl at the top of her lungs now
Yeah, a girl at the top of her lungs

She'd tell the people baby
The world will settle down for no one
I will deliver to you

To one another in every place
Who speak like brothers
And leave no trace
Of a world still divided by tongues
Yeah, the world's still divided by tongues

You want to keep it closer now,
don't you
But there are words that speak to everyone
Which I will deliver to you
I will deliver to you
I will deliver to you"

Quite a standard rock song from Bob and the Boys here. Perhaps this is one of those songs on "Do The Collapse" that have done with less production and would have sounded more edgy being a bit scratchy. Still not a bad song but a bit rock by the numbers.

Saturday 5 January 2008

Pattern Girl

Taken from "Sgt.Disco" 2007

Lyrics Unknown.

Circus Devils did an odd thing in 2007. They released a new album that wasn't permeated by dread and darkness. "Pattern Girl" is almost sweet song. Circus Devils Sweet, but still not as dark as many CD tracks. This is one of the stand out tracks from "Sgt.Disco" and good to see CD adding some light to their brooding skylines. Vocals go a bit weird at the end though.

Will You Show Me Your Gold?

Take from "Ask Them" 1999

"Outstretched and glazed
He politely insisted
An exact number of days
With no direct linkage
Will you show me your gold?
Are you in the direction?
Are you part of the salt?
Will you show me your gold?
No wonder boy
You fall through the floors
And you grow increasingly heavy
'Til you fall through the floors"

Some rate the Lexo and the Leapers album one of the best Pollard offshoot albums and it does has some fines tracks on it. Even the odd Classic. This is another slow and lumbering song with a powerful chorus. Good song.

Good For A Few Laughs

Taken from "Suitcase 1" 2003

"Driving northwards
Well-mapped cautious
All that we knew and ???
All night parties
Drinks and deliveries
Suddenly vanished
No more the explorer
Consider this
There was a dark side
Perhaps the real self
Never emerged
Gouge changed that (?)
All those powerful lines
Swim in a bottle
Now let's pay our last respects"

A delicate tap of cymbals begins this song in a mysterious manner before the guitar chimes in and Bob mumbles some hung over sounding and weary vocals. A song about the day after some drinking perhaps?

Girl From The Sun

Taken from "Tonics And Twisted Chasers" 1997

"Girl from the sun
The color red
She melted my gun
She melted my head
She's got me
Talking to myself
I sit in restaurants
Forever and talk to myself
She's a girl from the sun

And she sings like a parrot
I'm a very nice fellow
She's right for me
And the full-colored kingdom
Of trickery and chaos
I like her tremendously
And to turn those objections
Into (beer without directions?)
I'll fight for the free
And people who live in glass houses should get stoned
Like the girl from the sun and me"

A song of two tempos. Quite dull sounding but has quite a cool riff to it. Very Rolling Stones.

Cruise

Taken from "Suitcase 1" 2003

"It runs throughout
The place of fate
She can keep you up to date
And her ???? to intervene
Coming closer in between you now
Between you now

And so the plan is up to you
But no one tells you what to do
And if they do you'll make a scene
Nothing will get in between you now
Between you now"

The bass at the start of this sort of sits halfway between Joy Division and some Jazz improv. Quite a slow throbbing song but not too bad. Has the classic GBV sound to it and overall is quite good.