| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Carl |
Posted - 10/07/2005 : 17:28:55
From The Guardian's Film & Music section, Friday October 7 2005:
Reader's recommend
Songs named after women
By Dorian Lynskey
1 Allison The Pixies
2 Denise Randy And The Rainbows
3 Victoria The Fall
4 Rosa Parks Outcast
5 Bernadette The Four Tops
6 Eloise The Damned
7 Marian Sisters Of Mercy
8 Jolene Dolly Parton
9 Angie The Rolling Stones
10 Sara Bob Dylan
"The opening shot is the Pixies' Allison, a cryptic sci-fi love song that zips by in 77 exhilarating seconds."
 |
| 16 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| bflat |
Posted - 11/14/2006 : 11:38:40
No offense but the Guardian is renowned for having no clue about good music. |
| Homers_pet_monkey |
Posted - 08/21/2006 : 10:40:52
On the whole, that's a bit of a rubbish list.
 I'd walk her everyday, into a shady place
|
| mikaelp75 |
Posted - 08/20/2006 : 16:14:09
quote:
Stephin
Merritt's 69 Love Songs album does what it says on the tin.
Some are leisurely, some abrupt. Very Funny offers a painful
glimpse of infidelity. Merritt stops singing because he sounds
too forlorn to continue.
Except Merritt doesn't sing on that track. Sorry about my anality, but I'm sure Stephin would approve. |
| Carl |
Posted - 08/20/2006 : 10:23:56
http://arts.guardian.co.uk/readersrecommend/story/0,,1852135,00.html
Readers recommend: short
songs
Dorian Lynskey
Friday August 18, 2006
The Guardian
There is something primal about a song lasting fewer than two
minutes. The short song flourished when rock'n'roll was young
and in a hurry, like the people who made it. It resurfaces
whenever bands crave simplicity. No frills or fuss. Garage rock in
the 60s. Punk in the 70s. Hardcore in the 80s. Japanese noise-
rock in the 90s. Most recently, the White Stripes managed it
with Fell in Love With a Girl. Short songs tend to value velocity.
Some are jokes. The Dead Kennedys' Short Songs repeats the
line "I like short songs" 13 times. The world's briefest single, a
double A-side, contained Napalm Death's You Suffer and the
Electro Hippies' Mega Armageddon Death. Two tracks, one
second apiece. Ho ho. But a good short song isn't a gimmick. It
just doesn't waste any time. It's a test of discipline and
songwriting craft. It's also a kind of prison. Ambitious
songwriters need space. Even Wire and the Minutemen,
champions of brevity, couldn't stay hemmed in forever.
Short songs make good intros and outros. They're good for filling
pesky gaps on homemade compilations, too. Brian Wilson
wrote Our Prayer in 1967 to open Smile. Surfers singing like
Gregorian monks. Pop as sacrament. It's the album's
philosophy in a nutshell. Which 50s classic to choose? That's
All Right Mama? Rave On? How about Summertime Blues? It's
one second shy of two minutes. Teenage kicks, 1959 vintage.
Art-school punks Wire scorned needless repetition. "It was a
process of elimination," explained singer Colin Newman. Their
Pink Flag album contained 21 punk haikus. Field Day for the
Sundays is the briefest. A brisk attack on life-wrecking tabloid
exposés in 28 seconds. US hardcore bands worshipped Wire.
So did Elastica. They even "borrowed" their melodies. This one
is theirs alone, though. A quickie about quickies. The Pixies
made compact songs that writhed with ideas. I sort of wish they
were longer. Incest, mutilation and Frank Black's crazed yelp
whizz past on Broken Face.
Enough. It can't all be punk blurts. Here's a small interlude from
a big band. It comes from Duke Ellington's Shakespeare-
inspired Such Sweet Thunder album. (Hank Cinq is Henry V's
jazz name.) This is good for those who find that a little jazz goes
a long way. If you're sharp, you can tell a story in two minutes.
Take the Mountain Goats' Dance Music (divorce) or Syd
Barrett's Effervescing Elephant (an effervescing elephant). On
Frank's Wild Years, Tom Waits gives his character a past, a
future, a plot, a motive. He doesn't even sound rushed. He
makes Raymond Carver look like a windbag. Frank later got a
whole concept album to himself. It wasn't necessary.
Most punks made minimalism taut and punchy. Cardiff's Young
Marble Giants made it spacious and spooky. Final Day is a
nuclear lullaby. A pocket apocalypse. When it ends, it demands
to be played again. Immediately. At least five times. Stephin
Merritt's 69 Love Songs album does what it says on the tin.
Some are leisurely, some abrupt. Very Funny offers a painful
glimpse of infidelity. Merritt stops singing because he sounds
too forlorn to continue.
Dance music loathes economy. A decent groove needs time.
But away from the dancefloor, electronic interludes thrive. Try
Goon Gumpas from the Aphex Twin. Breezy pizzicato strings, a
gentle bass hum, a plangent keyboard melody. Pure bliss. So
there you go. Ten songs. Just under 15 minutes. All dispatched
in short sentences. Like this one.
This week's playlist
1 Our Prayer The Beach Boys
2 Summertime Blues Eddie Cochran
3 Field Day For the Sundays Wire
4 Vaseline Elastica
5 Broken Face Pixies
6 Sonnet to Hank Cinq Duke Ellington
7 Frank's Wild Years Tom Waits
8 Final Day Young Marble Giants
9 Very Funny The Magnetic Fields
10 Goon Gumpas Aphex Twin
· All songs available from iTunes except Broken Face, which is
on Surfer Rosa/Come On Pilgrim (4AD, 1993); Frank¹s Wild
Years, which is on Swordfishtrombones (Island, 1983); and Final
Day, which is on Colossal Youth (Crepuscule, 2000).
Next week: Having explored the advantages of concluding your
business in under two minutes, we now attend to those songs
that top the 10-minute mark, whether they be ambient
odysseys, afrobeat adventures, dance remixes, or just regular
songs that go on a bit.
· You've read the piece, now have your say. Email your
comments to film&music@guardian.co.uk |
| Cheeseman1000 |
Posted - 11/17/2005 : 04:03:55
quote:
Originally posted by therewererumours
"Hilary" by the Fall is great. Is Havalina a name? That would be my all time fav.
On the thirty-first floor your gold-plated door
Won't keep out the Lord's burning rain
The Fall's version of 'Victoria' by the Kinks is great as well.
 I have joined the Cult Of Frank/And I have dearly paid |
| CrackCrack |
Posted - 11/17/2005 : 03:58:21
alison is a cool song...but i think its a bit overrated...compared to other cryptic love songs by the pixies....like is she wierd.......Debaser...and letter to memphis are probly the pixies best love songs...oh and cactus.....unreplacable masterpieces...
***even in my dreams my words get blown away*** |
| Ronzilla |
Posted - 10/22/2005 : 12:41:27
Yeah, as already said, too bad Allison was written about and named after a guy. |
| pixie punk |
Posted - 10/22/2005 : 06:11:06
quote:
Originally posted by Carl
It's actually the mexican name for a wild boar, Barry!
Again another Spanish mispelling from Mr.Black Francis.The actual Spanish name for wild boar would be "JABALI" in any Spanish speaking country not just Mexico amigos!!! Your friend always,Carlos from Alec Eiffel. |
| Carl |
Posted - 10/21/2005 : 03:44:14
It's actually the mexican name for a wild boar, Barry! |
| therewererumours |
Posted - 10/20/2005 : 18:19:53
"Hilary" by the Fall is great. Is Havalina a name? That would be my all time fav.
On the thirty-first floor your gold-plated door
Won't keep out the Lord's burning rain |
| billgoodman |
Posted - 10/18/2005 : 14:38:34
I would have picked michelle by the beatles
---------------------------
God save the Noisies |
| Black_francis_ |
Posted - 10/18/2005 : 09:24:20
the pixies above the rolling stones, bob dylan and doly parton - I agree - but what the hell is going on!?!
'A wishing well of well wishing' |
| billgoodman |
Posted - 10/10/2005 : 03:10:12
what about 'ana', or 'adda lee', 'speedy marie', 'heloise', 'jane the queen of love','nadine'
---------------------------
God save the Noisies |
| Carl |
Posted - 10/08/2005 : 06:50:44
Yeah, true. |
| Zsolt G. |
Posted - 10/07/2005 : 20:28:56
Allison is about Mose Allison...a man. |
| kathryn |
Posted - 10/07/2005 : 17:38:33
Nice!
Sometimes, no matter how shitty things get, you have to just do a little dance. - Frank
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