The Afterword

Musings on the byways of popular culture

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Greater than the sum of their parts?

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TLDR: bands – better knowing who the members are or not?

Browsing through the RSS feeds tonight I came across this article on the Beach Boys and the song in the clip. It’s beautiful – a ghostly shimmering sound that makes it as fresh as the first time I heard it. That’s a long time ago – Beach Boys songs were some of the earliest music I can remember listening to – my parents had a Greatest Hits cassette and Loop John B and others are ingrained in my memories like inner rings of a tree – weirdly sweet interweaving harmonies over happy, jolly music. I never wondered then who was singing what, and to this day, though I know a little more about prodigy Brian with his cracked psyche, tragic womanizing surfer Dennis, cynical and self-centred Mike, and even third bro Carl and Richie Cunningham lookalike Al, I couldn’t tell you who sang what in any of their songs. I wouldn’t know where to go to google it (a big thank to anyone who can break down the track for me).

Then I got to thinking about something that has entertained me every now and then – bands where » Continue Reading.

Bubbles

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I watched as my mate’s sister’s boyfriend put the vial up his nostril and sniffed. His head went red from the neck up. “Bloody hell,” I thought, “Vicks is strong in London!” We were on the tube, heading to a Dr Feelgood gig. I’d never seen anyone take poppers before. I was 16, and either a little too naive or a little too obsessed with cold remedies.

The Feelgoods were one of a handful of groups we saw over and over at The Town & Country Club (the other regulars being The Pogues, Stiff Little Fingers, and Voice Of The Beehive, which seemed like a perfect mix and match to us). It was a little time-bubble of gig-going, which left these bands forever linked in my head, along with the image of my giggling, cider-sloshed mates, and puce-faced Steve.

Later, there was an even bubblier era. In the early 90s, when I was a young reporter on a local newspaper, I went to loads of gigs at Northampton’s Roadmender, scarcely believing my luck at scoring free press tickets. The bubble bands from this time were Super Furry Animals, Chumbawamba, and The Blue Aeroplanes, and once, memorably, Radiohead. Listening to » Continue Reading.