16th October 2000


Single of the Week

"Music Is My Radar" by Blur

Whilst the music press would have us believe a collection of half-baked and otherwise unremarkable "indie" bands constitute a new movement (Brassy? A Perfect Circle?? yeah, right), other bands have too recognised the lack of excitement in the scene at the moment. But instead of churning out same old same old heavy metal or attaching a drum beat to indie janglings, Blur and Radiohead have taken their muses by the jj72's and dragged them through hedges backwards. Whether or not you think Kid A is Klass A or Kid Arse, you can't deny Radiohead have at least had the courage of conviction to try something new. And Blur - with a tradition of reinventing themselves with every LP release - are similarly unafraid of alienating fans with the marvellously quirky "Music Is My Radar".

Half dance half (non-limp) biscuit, recognisably Blur due to both Damon's vocals and Graham Coxon's bit in the middle that sounds like a flatulent elephant in an echo chamber, "Music Is My Radar" is like nothing Blur have attempted before - a million miles away from baggy highs and lo-fi lows. And it's wonderful (although almost impossible to describe). Alternative nation, my arse - this is music to evolve to.

"Black Book" is cut from an altogether mellower cloth, Damon coming over all Nick Cave in an effective and affecting love hymn to some new flame. Closer to material on "13" than the a-side, it is goth-hued, eerily beautiful and strangely like the Divine Comedy (a good thing). "Headist / Into Another" sees the Blur boys reach to the back of their record rack for inspiration, with a tuneful and original take on Byrds territory, resulting in the sort of song that Travis stopped making years ago.

And if another bunch of hairy americans peddling Black Sabbath style nonsense turns up on my hi-fi's doorstep, I'm setting the dogs on them and sending them back to the drive-in. Bah.

Rating: 10/10

The Rest

"Roseability" by Idlewild

Whilst I must admit I liked them best when they sounded like an accident involving guitars in a slaughterhouse, Idlewild are still admirably capable of producing three-minute slices of melody cheesecake, now topped with REM-flavoured tune sauce. And yet, even in this more mature (by which I do not necessarily mean better) modus operandi, the little tousle-haired Woomble boy still can't resist yelping like a rottweiler with its nuts in a vice, and for that I dearly love him. "Roseability" is in a similar vein to "When I Argue I See Shapes", which is as good a vein to flow through as any - though the band have to be careful of coming down with Wedding Present Syndrome, whereby all their songs sound the same.

"Rusty (Poor soldier remix)" scratches up next, a dirty frugged-out beast of a track that leaves a trail of razor blades and broken glass behind it. Best played so loud that the windows fall out, this is the sound of apathy on fire (I'm on fire? I'll put it out later...). "Thousand" inhabits a different universe from "Rusty" and is actually closer to "Music Is My Radar" than anything else. Backwards-sampled strings, tinkling synths, Roddy's vocals drifting into the mix from another room: it's - gasp - innovation at work.

See? I've found my own movement. I'm going to love it and stroke it and call it George.

Rating: 8/10

"I Need Direction" by Teenage Fanclub

Time to mention The Byrds again. Teenage Fanclub inhabit a world filled with sunshine, beaches, flowers and nice things. But they live there without sounding like a bunch of fey whimsy fops, which they acheive by their mastery of tunesmithship and vocal harmonies that are so warm and mellow they can give you a tan. "I Need Direction" sounds like The Monkees in non-wacky mode, and would be nigh-on perfect were it not for a) the unnecessary "ba ba bas" and b) the fact it's October.

"I Lied" annoyed me a bit, mainly due to the main vocals which sounded as though they were sung by Steven Tin Tin Duffy whilst sitting on the toilet. Nice harmonies though. B-side of the week goes to "Here Comes Your Man", a Pixies cover. Adding trademark Fannies harmonies to an already fantastic song, it achieves that perfect cocktail recipe of success when it comes to covers - adding something to the original (and I never thought I'd hear myself type that about a Pixies song).

Rating: 7/10

"Sunset (Bird of Prey)" by Fatboy Slim

Mr Zoe Ball finally comes back from Ibiza and decides to inflict another gimmicky, accessible slab of dance upon us, based around a Jim Morrisson vocal sample and a trance / techno beat. This will be a hit because it will get played to death on the radio by his missus, it will no doubt have a very good video and - finally - is actually quite good (though a bit overlong).

"My Game" deserves mention if for nothing else not being a remix. And - I was right - for nothing else. It is the musical equivalent of a movie about lovable Cockney gangsters: painfully trendy, unoriginal and so far up its own backside it can see out its nostrils. A remix of "Sunset" follows, a pretty good one that makes things a bit scuzzier and hard-edged.

Rating: 7/10

"Stomp" by Steps

It had to happen some day, I suppose. I'm bored of Steps. Whether its because they are so ubiquitous, popping up on practically every kids tv show every 5 minutes, grinning and gurning like a bunch of pop pokemon (especially bloody H); or whether it's due to the fact their songs are pretty poor now, no longer shining like the fake nuggets of old and instead sounding like karaoke disco for beginners. Not even Lisa can drag them away from the production line pop they're churning out.

Now is the time for Steps to split up. Whilst they will no doubt all go on to become tv presenters and semi-successful solo artists, I would instead like them to do things like drop their trousers on SMTV, take loads of drugs and join Slipknot. Ah, a boy can dream...

The by now wearily traditional "W.I.P" remixes strut their stuff on the b-sides, one of "Stomp" which makes hardly any difference and one of "Tragedy" which is actually quite good. But not good enough to talk about much.

Steps. Stomp. Stop.

Rating: 3/10

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