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October 15, 2008
Retrohump: Headlong into the Fall
This morning, I had one of those moments that I can only attribute to gentrified urban areas, full of very old walls, housing relatively new inhabitants. Bleeding through the ceiling were the unmistakably taunting lurches of the Fall's "Eat Y'self Fitter." In college, notes heard through osmosis were often a source of alienation. But here, in Williamsburg they are mostly culturally affirming, maybe a bit too much so. Because that is a track that almost demands cult confinement--15 pounds of crazy in a 5 pound sack. Or 15 minutes of crazy in a 7 minute song, as it were. As a rallying point for heart-warming connection, it just seems surreal.
the Fall - "Eat Y'self Fitter"
I scoured You Tube for Mark E. Smith's grim visage barking his immortal lines, "What's a computer? Eat yourself fitter!" As his initial question suggests, there were no easy to download digital hand cams at the time of its recording, and no live footage could be found. But, I flipped through the Fall pages anyway, and the clips below are what I snatched.
the Fall - "Totally Wired"
(live in New York, 1981)
The boys are super tight, poorly lit, and more than a little sassy in this early 80s performance. Perhaps it's the dimness but Mark looks almost collegiate, as opposed to actively decaying. The music moves along at a sustained pummel. While I certainly have no doubt that our singer is, in fact, totally wired, he's also pretty sarcastic, which is a nice mix.
the Fall - "I Am Damo Suzuki"
(live @ the Hacienda, Manchester, UK, 10.09.1985)
OK, so let's get reeeeaal dark for a sec. This tribute to Can's feral child singer aims toward that band's thicker psych moments. "I Am Damo Suzuki!" Mark squeals, without actually attempting imitation. They seem like kindred spirits, though disheveled in separate ways, and probably similarly unpleasant to share an elevator alone with.
the Fall - "Victoria"
(Kinks cover)
Having never actually made through the Fall catalog to The Frenz Experiment, I was unaware that the band had ever covered a favorite Kinks' song of mine. Surprisingly, Smith's throbbing bile duct doesn't leak too much into the Davies' sly lyric sheet. The video is completely ridiculous. Victorian activities such as opera watchin' and fancy cake eatin' are begrudgingly attended to by a costumed Mark (his dental hygiene is era accurate!). But the real action comes in a thrilling soccer break down sequence, featuring ball fakes the likes of which you've never seen!
Posted by Jeff Klingman at October 15, 2008 11:59 PM
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