Thursday, May 28, 2020

north of the border







there is something about Scottish music at this particular point in time



thrilling, the sensation in this music - something unAmerican pushing against the guitar-bass-drums format, taking it outside rock'n' roll and into something else altogether - the jutting, against-the-groove riffs, the doubled chants, the skirling peals of pure-as-a-Highland-stream lead



never knew this video existed - playing on the "be seeing you" catchphrase in the Prisoner, which a year or so earlier would have been repeated for the first time since the original airings in the Sixties.  One of those videos that is a lot of fun but really goes against the actual emotional meaning of the song and distracts from its piercing beauty.






okay bit of a shite video really, at least when they start getting togged up in tribal wotnot

okay this isn't much of a tune but how cool to see the Fire Engines in their prime



"Gold" was something of a Scottish buzz term wasn't it?



"New gold dream" - "big gold dream" - "glittering prizes" - "18 Carat Love Affair" (okay that's not gold exactly but proximately in the zone of precious materials)

and then hark at this




Okay this is a bit wet, but a pretty song and a pretty boy




I also liked "Mattress of Wire"



there's plenty that would undermine the "Scots as master race of pop" argument -  Wet Wet Wet for starters, and most of the rest of that soul-aspiring Steely Dan-ish stuff .... some C86 dribbles too

the name "Bourgie Bourgie" itself is a crime

and even in the postpunk prime, it weren't all gold -  there's this ungainly attempt by former Positive Noise frontman to go New Pop



but why dwell on the negative?

















and how could i forget about these

6 comments:

Unknown said...

and Momus ? then later JAMC, Pastels, Belle & Seb

Ed said...

And Lloyd Cole and the Commotions! Cole was English, but got swept away by the sound of young Scotland at Glasgow University.
There were still Orange Juice aftershocks reverberating well into the eighties: Hipsway, Hue and Cry, Love and Money... All with diminishing returns, although I did have a soft spot for The Honeythief.

SIMON REYNOLDS said...

yes Lloyd was a Scottish-wannabe for sure.

i didn't like any of the mid-80s post-Postcard stuff (Del Amitri are scottish right)

Ed said...

Haha Del Amitri were the absolute worst! Lyrics about how drab and tedious the world is, set to music that did its best to prove their point. Their one saving grace was their unintentionally hilarious Scottish 1998 World Cup anthem: 'Don't Come Home Too Soon'. In other words: "Look, you know as well as we do that you're a bunch of no-hopers who will struggle against Norway, let alone Brazil. But can you at least not embarrass yourselves by getting knocked out in the first round like you usually do?"
I was once chatting to a Scottish entrepreneur who was obsessed with his country's supposed lack of confidence and low ambitions, and I had the pleasure of explaining to him the meaning of 'Don't Come Home Too Soon'. He was appalled.
Historical footnote: Scotland were indeed sent home after the first round of the 1998 World Cup, having failed to win a single game.

Anonymous said...

'twas one bunch of jeckies who took this sound further:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiywjYj2BEc

stefan said...

The mid 90's "Will I Ever Be Inside Of You" by Paul Quinn & The Independent Group, like a last breath of the original Postcard, is... fantastic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qasfAMW0IU

/Stefan