First listen of Idles (first time I've heard anything of theirs).  Well now.  Danny Nedelko is quite a thing, think I'll do that one again before carrying in.  Good choice everyone, wasn't expecting something so immediately likable.

Idles "Best album of The Year", according to 6Music.

x

It wouldn't be in my top ten, but it's a good album.

(Tranquility, not Joy)

The great KLF pyramid scheme.



g.man

Love it.

how many bands have you heard yoss

Am assuming they work better in context

I’ve never heard any band dealing with toxic masculinity in such a belligerent and unapologetic manner.

This fucking matters.

have you heard hard fi tho

No he hasn't heard them either.

Nobody should tbf

That song about needing money from the ATM like really spoke to me. Reminds me of staggering out of an Arab Strab gig at King Tuts in 2006 with my mate Andy and both of us unable to use the cash machine because of drunk. We both took out £200 instead of £20. And he did it despite watching me make the same mistake first. And we were poor students and that was it for the rest of the month, all in our hands. We went to the garage.


Lyrics that matter lads.

Yossarian wrote:

I’ve never heard any band dealing with toxic masculinity in such a belligerent and unapologetic manner.

This fucking matters.

Rid of Meee, PJ Harveeeey, 1993eeeeee.

Yup. Somebody actually likes something. I'm all for that.

Brooks wrote:

"This snowflake's an avalanche" man really? Countdown 'til these guys get milkshake ducked.

I'd agree that line's very obvious and cliched.  I'm not sure that remotely devalues Yoss's point that "lyrics matter" though.  Almost the reverse I guess, because the lyrics really only matter if you know what they're singing about.  (See all the idiots ringing romantic phone-ins saying "Every Breath You Take" is their song.)  I'm a fan of lyricists that favour a bit of poetry, that play with the words they sing to the degree of archness.  But the problem with such lyrics is half the people listening are immediately turned off by that, and the rest might think they're terribly clever, but they probably still don't know what the hell the song's about. 

The Idles stuff works because it's direct.  (Though Stendhal Syndrome still had people thinking it was a song about how art is shit, rather than the opposite).  It also works because what is sung is in stark contrast to what you might be expecting.  There aren't many people singing about toxic masculinity, and even fewer doing it in what might be considered such a masculine way.  Yeah, there are other records saying it's OK to be vulnerable, but few that might result in the listener thinking "well, if he can think it, so can I".

I'd also argue (I know, I should have stopped two paragraphs ago), that simplicity can still be damn powerful at times.  "A still born is still born.  I am a father,"  probably isn't going to be winning the TS Elliot poetry prize anytime soon, but as a statement on that particular experience, it pulls a lot into very few words, and you understand every bit of it.  (Even if the song resorts to utilising the well known, not-actually-written-by-Hemingway, "baby shoes, not worn" to ram it home.)

Equally, I know that "If someone talked to you, the way you do to you - I'd put their teeth through.  Love yourself" is clumsily written and only escapes Hallmark card status by the inclusion of violence, but it came on the radio the other day, and a huge smile cracked across my face and, for a brief moment, I allowed it.  That's worth something, if only to me. 

As for being milkshake ducked, well yeah, possibly, but that seems to be a risk with everyone these days.  Besides, they're pretty open about who they used to be, so I'll take who they are now at face value.

g.man wrote:

Yup. Somebody actually likes something. I'm all for that.

NEVER

actually me too

Gutted no one resonated with my sad tale