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January 30, 2008
Retrohump Night: Credit in the Straight World
Young Marble Giants - "Credit in the Straight World"
(Live @ the Hurrah Club, New York City 1980)
Young Marble Giants - "Credit in the Straight World"
The 1980 performance immortalized on Young Marble Giants' Live at the Hurrah VHS tape is all over You Tube, and deserves a Retro with a more expansive view then I'm prepared to give at the moment. But I will focus on this sublime footage of my favorite song of theirs, "Credit in the Straight World." Aesthetically, this video fits the mysterious, minimal Welsh band perfectly, practically mimicking the under-lit cover of their cult classic Colossal Youth. From under shadow, the band glows with warm pink light. Alison Statton stands motionless, a visual parallel to her strangely detached singing. She lost a leg, she lost an eye, and neither seemed to faze her much. Guitarist Stuart Moxham paces around, channeling the nervousness of the strums that lend drama to her deadpan. It's still a beguiling mixture that no one has ever really gotten a hold of since. Including...
Hole - "Credit in the Straight World"
(Koln, Germany 1995)
Hole - "Credit in the Straight World"
This is worse in almost every way, but I find it oddly compelling anyway. Courtney was always a hot mess, and muscling this track up with grunge riffs is a bit like casting a snowflake in iron, but she still rocks pretty hard. The million dollar question is who do you think it was that stumbled across this then out of print record first; Court or Saint Kurt? Wait, you still have forty seconds left on the timer. Don't you want to think it over?
Posted by Jeff Klingman at January 30, 2008 09:25 PM
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Comments
It was definitely Court. She is fangirl supremo.
Posted by: d at January 31, 2008 12:21 PM
Are we both speculating based on sketchy biographical projections, or was it just me?
Posted by: Jeff K at January 31, 2008 12:57 PM
I would find it surprising if Kurt--who loved the Pastels, the Raincoats and other off-center bands embraced by people in the know--was not a YMG fan. Courtney was ahead of the curve in terms of style, not necessarily substance (except perhaps substance abuse).
Posted by: david at January 31, 2008 04:22 PM
