The Fall – 50,000 Fall Fans Can’t Be Wrong – Part 2

Walkman is fit and working again. So on to 1981. “Prole Art Threat” was the clear standout track from the patchy “Slates”: two minutes of sheer brilliance. 1981 was also the year The Fall discovered synthesisers (maybe they had been listening to Depeche Mode), heard on the surprisingly listener-friendly “Lie Dream Of A Casino Soul”.

We get two tracks from 1982’s “Hex Enduction Hour” – “The Classical”, which I’ve always liked, despite its rebarbative lyrics (which as far as I remember no-one mentioned at the time), and “Hip Priest” (of “Silence of the Lambs” fame), which I used to hate but now think of as one of their best songs. Subtle and slow.

Two great singles follow from 1983, “The Man Whose Head Expanded” and “Kicker Conspiracy”, the drums on the latter actually feeling like you’re being kicked. How flair is punished, indeed. Less said about the “Perverted By Language” version of “Eat Y’self Fitter” the better, though. It only annoys me.

“CREEP” shows a lighter, poppier side emerging under Brix’s influence. Not one of their best. “No Bulbs” is sheer weird magic though. “Spoilt Victorian Child”, from “This Nation’s Saving Grace” is Brix era Fall at its best. Finally, “Cruiser’s Creek”, a song I’ve never been able to make up my mind on – I didn’t like it the last time I played this collection, but I think I’m coming down in favour of it now.

That’s the end of disk 1. Scribblings on disk 2 to follow.

The Fall – 50,000 Fall Fans Can’t Be Wrong (39 Golden Greats) – Part 1

50,000? There are that many of us?! This, the mother of all Fall compilations (though if this is the mother, I suppose the daddy is the Peel sessions omnibus), was a much-wanted-and-cherished Christmas present. It’s a remarkable work, covering the first 25 years of their existence (1978-2003). I’ve managed to hold off playing this for a remarkable 18 months, but reading about The Fall elsewhere made me want to return to it, like scratching an old spot, or an alkie returning to the meths.

Inevitably (as the excellent sleeve notes invite you to do) you wonder if your 39 tracks would be the same (see below) but it’s hugely successful in terms of conveying the essence of The Fall. Some Christians carry a spare Bible at all times to give to potential converts: Fall fans might consider doing the same with this.

The long march through the past starts with “Repetition” (I’m saving talk about the selection of tracks for later, but I can’t help observing in passing that “Bingo Master’s Breakout” would have been nice). It must have taken guts, making their first record, not knowing if it might be the last, to include a long, intentionally monotonous track constantly repeating the word “repetition”, but it’s a great song, and surprisingly subtle. “Industrial Estate” is the specimen from “Live At The Witch Trials” (minus, strangely, the bit at the end where the keyboards and guitar restart for a few seconds). Great song, a punk classic (this is as near orthodox punk as they got). “Rowche Rumble” marks a change in sound to something more rough-edged, discordant and distinctive, with a headlong out-of-controlness.

Some people hail the trio of singles from 1980 – “Fiery Jack” (everyone knows Fiery Jack is stuff that you rub on your legs, but did you know it was also the nickname of a railway tunnel in Sheffield?), “How I Wrote Elastic Man” (what incidentally is “Elastic Man”? The song itself talks about “Plastic Man”, which was the title of songs by the Kinks – is MES comparing himself with Ray Davies? – and also the Temptations, but there was also a song by the (Detroit) Spinners called “Rubber Band Man”) and “Totally Wired” (sorry I’m not going to digress again) as the summit of The Fall’s work. I disagree, though they are all good songs. They were doing better things on album. It’s interesting how the claustrophobic, clangy sound on “Rowche Rumble” and the “Dragnet” LP was thinned out to something more accessible. But even better things were to come, in the shape of the “Grotesque” album, from which “New Face In Hell” appears here. It’s great, but the greatest thing about it isn’t MES’s insane vocals and lyrics but the low-key way it starts.

Anyway, the Walkman’s packed up so I’m going to have to leave it here for the time being. I’ll carry on soon when I’ve got the problem sorted out.

Beethoven – the last two quartets

String Quartets Nos 15 in A minor (op 132) and 16 in F major (op 135)

When I first fell in love with Beethoven’s late quartets someone asked me what it was about them I loved. I thought about it and I couldn’t say. Coming back to these two pieces over ten years after last hearing them, I still can’t, really, beyond a few scattered, incoherent impressions.

A feeling of breaking the boundaries of existing forms, a sort of sovereignty over music. Immense density, gravity. Transcendent serenity sometimes, but then again sometimes almost earthy robustness. Somehow managing to be tragic and radiant at the same time (eg the first and last movements of Op 132). This brings me to the point of thinking that it is pointless to write about it, the music has to speak for itself. To paraphrase Wittgenstein’s aphorism, if you can’t say it, STFU and don’t try.

So I’m not going to say much more. Except (because I can’t stop myself), towering above it all, is the Song of Thanksgiving from Op 132. Movement but perfect stillness at the same time. It makes me feel human.

Slang Tang Episode 6

This is the first of Stuart Buchanan’s podcasts I’ve listened to. Buchanan is a Scottish-born DJ working in Australia, playing international alternative/electro/urban music. I got to know his work via his Fat Planet blog, although seems to have suspended new posts there to concentrate on Slang Tang.

As you would expect, this is a very mixed bag. I didn’t go very much for the Swedish electronic skweee (sic – where do young people get these names from?) tracks but it got much better later on. The cumbia tracks were especially good, from Chancha Via Circuito (Argentina) and the Cumbia Cosmonauts (Australia (!)) . Also interesting was Benga & Coki / Rubi Dan / Heatwave’s “It’s On Tonight”.

Download / further information from http://www.slangtang.com/.

Berg – Music for piano and clarinet

I’ve got to be brief here, but then again, so was Berg. The Four Pieces for Clarinet and Piano (op 5, 1913) are small (all but one are under two minutes long) and gem-like, the perfect answer (along with the Violin Concerto and Schonberg’s Six Little Piano Pieces) to the charge that all atonal music is ugly.

Sorry, that sounds unduly confrontational. It’s just that whenever I try to say anything nice about any music which happens to be atonal I feel as if I am putting my head above the parapet.

Equally interesting is the single-movement Piano Sonata (op 1) which is tonal, but is so chromatic you can practically hear the tonality dissolving. I want to listen to this a lot more.

Oasis

I haven’t been listening to anything for the last few days because I’ve had flu and I’ve just (temporarily I hope) lost the taste for music. Yesterday, though, I happened to be in HMV and I heard a chunk of the new Oasis album. It may have been because I’m feeling post-viral, or it may have been because it was a miserable day, or both, but it sounded so dreary.