Wednesday, May 07, 2008

This is your new number one

Wakey wakey everyone
Set the radio to stun
This is your new number one

I’ve had enough
I’m totally bored
Change the record
I can’t take anymore
I’ve resorted to listening to Radio 4

Change The Record - 4 0r 5 Magicians
How many of them are there?
4 or 5
Are they really magicians? Nope, but they do have a pretty special way with whooping great Pavement-pop-rock.
I fuckin’ love Pavement! You can also hear Built To Spill, Guided By Voices and the New Pornographers in there.
Are there any handclaps? Yes! There’s a glam band stomp replete with handclaps.
Is that all? No! The b-side “Ideal Man” has the rhymes “singer from Duran Duran” and “condoms in the garbage can”.

Strange Fruit For David - The Wave Pictures
Is this the best Wave Pictures single yet? Well spotted.
Does it sound like Jonathan Richman or The Go-Betweens? The Go-Betweens, particularly the maudlin strings of The Clarke Sisters, only put to the pure pop pace of Going Blind.
Is this Strange Fruit anything to do with racist lynchings in the Deep South? Not that I can tell.
So it's not a jazz song then? Of course not. It would be rubbish if that were the case.
Are there any handclaps? Of course there are. This is a great pop song.

Way Better Now - Speedmarket AvenueThey’re great live, aren’t they? Correct.
But not as good on record? Not until now. Way Better Now is exactly what it says it is. This power pop juggernaut wouldn’t have been out of place on a 1978 Blondie set list.
Tune!I’d love to hear an acoustic version sung on a boat. You're in luck. It just so happens there's one right here.
Are there any handclaps? No, but it’s still a great pop song.

2 comments:

Daniel Novakovic said...

The Wave Pictures has me believing in music once again.

(And if anyone wants to help arrange a gig with them in Malmö let me know)

Anonymous said...

You're right about Speedmarket Avenue being GREAT live. Their Glasgow gig with Saturday Looks Good To Me a few years back was a stormer! I thought they'd given up making music. Glad to hear that they're back and stronger than ever.