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October 01, 2008
Numerology Footnotes
Let no man claim that Dave Klein is less than thorough with his regular Numerology posts. I will not stand for it!
Buuuut on the occasional occasion that the Venn Diagram of Klein's record collection and mine have diverged, I have taken it upon myself to drop him a line--a duty which I have sporadically neglected. Note, I'm not claiming that Dave's picks for these numbers were wrong per se, or that these three tracks from the 00s are the rightful heirs to their respective numerical thrones, just that they exist and demand a reckoning.
Said reckoning follows below...
Life Without Buildings - "14 Days"
Dave claimed that there is only one truly great 14 song, and I'm not entirely sure Life Without Buildings proves him wrong, but it certainly belongs on the short list of good ones. The band's fruit fly life span at the turn of this century didn't last long enough to enjoy the neo-post-punk boomlet that would erupt a few years later, but it certainly used their influences to more original, gentle effect than most of their fashionable successors would. Sue Tompkins is less excited on "14 Days" than she is during the rest of the group's only studio album, 2000's swell Any Other City. She rationally informs her paramour that she's hitting the road in two weeks time. The tension comes from Robert Johnston's loosely coiled, and occasionally laser-emulating guitar. It's too modest to be a standout on a stellar LP and thus perhaps a bit meek to live on as a numeral torchbearer, but it's still a breezy delight.
Why it falls short: Because I love the Television Personalities, so, so much.
This track is from the second Memory Cassette EP I've been smitten by in as many weeks, the freely offered digital collection The Hiss We Missed. There was no way to include this in the original 50 essay, as it had not yet existed. Even if it had been, it's tough to just up and grant a newcomer a win over PJ Harvey's plain nasty "50 ft. Queenie." "50mph" is utterly gorgeous though, with those ambiguous vocals slightly disconcerting, even as the backing track is lulling us to a highway-inappropriate dream state.
Why it might actually be a contender: As legendary as PJ's fury may be, it seems just way too triumphant to be merely marking halfway. As used in her song, 50 is a towering height emblematic of a fearsome self esteem. It's a culmination, not a checkpoint. And in a set of 100, a ferocious climax seems premature. There's work to be done yet. In comparison, Memory Cassette's soft focus ode to cruising velocity might be more apt, solely for its steadiness. There are miles yet to cover, it says, but we'll get there soon enough.
Never were there surly Welshman as beloved as the late, lamented McLusky. (For the record, Tom Jones has to be considered more swarthy than surly.) "1956 and All That" a b-side that came to me via a 2003 Australian EP called Undress for Success has their trademark snarl. Any track that ends with its singer yelping that "your son looks like Michael Jackson" is definitively meaner than the recent 56 winner "Mean" Gene Vincent. I halfway considered bringing the track up pre-column, but I halfway thought Dave might pull another rabbit out of his hat, and the official number one thousand, nine hundred and fifty six would be rendered technically ineligible.
Why it falls short: You don't get to like McLusky without a high tolerance for extreme misanthropy and gallows humor, but this one may be a bridge too far. "Come out quick and count the corpse, I'm sure we killed a family..." isn't the first line in too many comedic successes. The thrash of their best tracks is there, especially in the buzz saw portion preceding minute two, but the wit isn't quite sharp enough.
Posted by Jeff Klingman at October 1, 2008 12:25 AM
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Comments
This kind of input truly makes a numerologist’s day, so thanks, and I dig the range of sounds: spiky, seductive, and assaultive. And while I agree that none have the giant-killing mettle to topple the songs I chose initially (Memory Cassette is lovely indeed) all of these will be duly noted and incorporated into the final compendium. (How about Compendium Numerologica as a title? Too goth?) As for 1956, I’m afraid it would not be eligible for the top spot, but it certainly would have garnered a lengthy and heartfelt digression in the original piece. I’ve always seen a number like 1999 as a four-digit thing; it just doesn’t look right on a list of songs with numerically arranged titles. (sorry, Prince) and have thus far managed to avoid having to go that route. This philosophy will make my life difficult at various points, e.g., at 84 (David Bowie’s “1984” would seem a natural) but I’m determined to be a strict-constructionist in this regard, so help me Zeus.
Posted by: David at October 1, 2008 11:11 AM
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