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May 16, 2007
Retrohump Day - Retro Revisited
I'm revisiting the idea of revisitation. Like many things I say I'm going to do on this site and then completely forget about, I had intended to periodically go back to artists that have previously gotten the retro treatment to acknowledge the fact that the You Tube library is ever expanding. There's no way to be comprehensive, so we can at least follow up. Well, I did it once anyway.
Twice, now.
Tall Dwarfs - "All My Hollowness to You"
(New Zealand Television, 1983)
I prefer this song by New Zealand's Tall Dwarfs to the one included in my initial Kiwi rock edition, and most likely would have included it if it were available. Looking much more chubby and haggard than he would 14 years later, frontman Chris Knox coos out his then bitter world view with a lovely honey dipped Beatles-esque melody. Though it looks like he's reading the lyrics straight from a chronologically anachronistic Blackberry, he's actually rocking the very cool hand held Stylophone, invented in 1967 and popularized by its use on Bowie's "Space Oddity". What I love about these Kiwi songs is how devoted they can be to very immediate melody, while still keeping an extemporaneous feeling that never lets them feel slick. It's the perfect median.
The studio version is definitely better, mainly for the more emphatically odd hoof clopping percussion balancing the sweet tune. Here it is.
Tall Dwarfs - "All My Hollowness to You"
the Raincoats - "Don't Be Mean"
When I offered up the smidgen of Raincoats footage available, this late period gem was nowhere in site. Fans of the group's intial 70's line-up might be awfully confused if they've not acquainted with the group's 1996 comeback Looking in the Shadows. The post punk wobbliness of the ladies' initial output is gone in exchange for what could almost be described as a studio sheen, courtesy Sonic Youth's drummer Steve Shelley. The retreat from D.I.Y. doesn't eliminate the possibility of prickly charm, however. This deeply weird track suggests that singer Gina Birch might have smoked roughly three billion cigarettes in the decade between releases. Her airy, cracking innocence has hardened into gravel voiced authority. She's truly unsettling as she come unglued pleading for an ex-lover's attention. The best part though is when she ditches the low register grumbling for a genuinely pretty girl group emulation on the "If and when we're old and gre-hey-hey" portion. Then it's back to violin scrapes and general chaos. Though it bears little resemblence to the albums that earned them cult band status in the first place, it's still bizarely addictive.
The actual video doesn't lend itself to much interpretation. If you like scowling and the color yellow though, this is your lucky day.
the Raincoats - "Don't Be Mean"
Posted by Jeff Klingman at May 16, 2007 12:35 AM
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Comments
Thanks for the Raincoats song. An old girlfriend put that on a long-since-lost mix tape for me, and I have rather missed it.
Posted by: Matthew at May 16, 2007 05:57 PM
