"It's seriously not funny when reedy-voiced dorks sing about beating you up. It's just not. And when those jokes take the form of a laundry-list of wrestling moves, some of which I'm pretty sure don't exist, it's somehow even more galling" -- yes, yes, YES. Breihan, testifying to what makes Hot Chip so goddamn annoying. Then again, The Warning confused me when I first heard it too -- this nebbish-soul is what so many friends were raving about? -- before it insinuated itself without much fuss, the sort of record whose twitchy, billowy songs torment you in the bath or while buying swordfish at the local market. Made in the Dark is even twitchier and more billowy, the nebbish-soul loud and proud. The highlight for me is "One Pure Thought," whose intro guitar upstrokes and chirpy synth interlude (with the sung "I won't be on my way" bit) are begging to be mauled by an enterprising DJ.
I haven't paid much attention to the Herculues & Love Affair, but I've carried "Blind" around on my iPod for a few weeks. Yes, it's the only sonic setting in which I want to hear the formerly loathesome Antony, but the track still sounds fusty, tentative; this one also needs an enterprising remix (like Frankie Knuckles, wouldn't ya know -- love how the foregrounded bass echoes Me'shell Ngedeocello's work on John Mellencamp's "Wild Nights" cover)
6 comments:
I know, I know, Breihan's a dork himself - but what on earth makes him (or you) think that "Wrestlers" is supposed to be funny?
Of course bands disappoint you when you're still trying to shoehorn them into the "jokey synth-pop" narrative that wasn't really true when it was created around Coming On Strong and which continues to become less and less relevant.
What makes me think it's funny? The music? The lyrics? The crinkle in his voice?
Bands disappoint me when their new albums aren't as good as their predecessors. I know nothing about shoehorns or narratives, but you're welcome to the jokey synth-pop moniker, as long as you let me use it too.
So is this a Nick Sylvester disco meme in the making? Just askin'. Honest.
Since I go to clubs a lot more often than most of my repondees, I guess the answer is, um, 'Yes'?
the formerly loathesome Antony
You could say 'formally' and there wouldn't be a lick of difference.
As someone else who finds Antony totally revolting, I have to warn you, Alfred, "Blind" is just the beginning. The album's great, and you have the testimonial of someone who hates both I Am a Bird Now and the distinction of "real" dance music.
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