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#604: Jakobínarína – I’ve Got a Date with My Television

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The song next up on my phone is ‘I’ve Got a Date with My Television’ by Jakobínarína, the eighth track on the band’s only album The First Crusade. They were an Icelandic group who split up just as things were on the rise for them; that was eleven years ago. They’ve been lost in time as a result. They made good stuff though in the short time the band members were together. Some of which I’ve written about in the past.

‘My Television’ is somewhat of a commentary on the fixation on celebrity culture and the tendency to put too much trust into what famous people are doing with their lives instead of thinking about ourselves. The way this commentary is done is very simple. I may have even put too much thought into it. References to Oprah Winfrey advice on ideal body weight and David Beckham’s looks are made. The song’s chorus lyric ‘TV friends don’t stab you in the back/Keeping me on the right track’ sum up the song’s message. There is a strong sarcastic sense that is meant to be provided by the lyrics but you wouldn’t be able to tell with the almost glitzy sheen of the instrumental. Especially that (keyboard?) jingle in the introduction and the strings that arrive during the coda.

I own The First Crusade in CD format and unfortunately the lyrics for the tracks weren’t included in the liner notes. A bit of a shame really, seeing as the song’s lyrics in the bridge are in a completely different language. Or a mix of a various languages. All I can make out is ‘Guten abend’ and ‘Guten tag’, the rest I can make the sounds of… but I don’t know what he’s saying. Generally I think it’s just to show that television fascination is a something that happens all around the world. At least in the countries that speak the languages vocalist Gunnar Bergmann Ragnarsson sings during that part.

#596: Blur – I’m Just a Killer for Your Love

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‘I’m Just a Killer for Your Love’ is the tenth track on Blur’s self-titled album, released in 1997. For anyone who owns that album and holds it in particular high regard, it’s not hard to notice the slight quality difference in terms of production between this track and all the other 13 songs it’s placed alongside. It has an almost monoaural mix compared to the somewhat expansive sounds in ‘Beetlebum‘ or ‘Death of a Party‘, it sounds like the recording was accidentally started after Dave Rowntree starts drumming, there’s a Beatles ‘Yer Blues‘ feel to it in that it sounds like the band are just in this one room close together busting this thing out.

Well, there’s a reason for this. It’s the only song on there not to be produced by Stephen Street. Apparently, it was the very last track that the band worked on for the album and something the four members knocked out whilst working in Damon Albarn’s then new ‘Studio 13’. The track is very loose, rough around the edges, very slack in its execution but oddly seductive too.

This song predates Gorillaz’s first album by a few years but there are a number of things about it that remind me of what would appear on that project’s 2001 debut. The lyrics are a number of surreal images that when put together appear to make a coherent story, Albarn’s played up (or toned down, however you see it) vocal delivery is something he would go on to develop and play with more with the project, and just in general it’s almost experimental in its weird way.

Pay attention to Alex James really forcing that wah-wah effect on his bass, that’s some good stuff.

#592: Jakobínarína – I’m a Villain

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I’ve written about Jakobínarína once before; to save me the time of writing about who they were and what happened to them, I refer you to the previous blog that has all the details.

‘I’m a Villain’ is the tenth track on the band’s one and only album The First Crusade. The song is about exactly what it says in the title. Being a ‘villain’ and having pride in doing so. The track is all tongue-in-cheek though. The narrator takes great joy in petty thefts, but sees it as this kind of mission or ‘fighting test’ they have to endure. It’s a fun little composition. Quite repetitive but not to the point of being annoying.

Older players of the FIFA series may recognise it as being one of the tunes on the FIFA 09 soundtrack. For obvious reasons, EA usually censor the tracks if they have swear words in them. Sometimes they can be a bit excessive. The word ‘hell’ in this song is muted in the game which I can see as acceptable for some, though any mention of ‘shoplifting’ is edited in a strange way which I think is pushing it just a bit. There was a lot of good music on that edition.

#591: The Cribs – I’m a Realist

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I think the first song I’d ever heard by The Cribs was ‘You’re Gonna Lose Us‘. The video showed up on MTV2 a few times some time in 2005/06 (I don’t know just a guess) and I reckoned it was an all right one. First thing I noticed about the band was that their two singers (bassist Gary Jarman and guitarist Ryan Jarman) looked very much alike. For obvious reasons too. They are identical twins. Further research showed that the drummer (Ross Jarman) was their younger brother. So that was cool…. A literal band of brothers. So the video had a bit of circulation and then it died down. Didn’t hear from The Cribs on TV for quite some time.

That was until 2007. That was the band’s big year. They came back with ‘Men’s Needs‘ which was repeated endlessly and to a point where I couldn’t really stand it anymore. Unfortunately, that feeling still lasts to this very day. A lot of people love it though so who am I to say anything.

So to the actual song that today’s post is based on. ‘I’m a Realist’ is the fifth song on The Cribs’ third album Men’s Need’s, Women’s Needs, Whatever, produced by Franz Ferdinand frontman Alex Kapranos and released in 2007. The track was released as the album’s last single in early 2008. To be honest, I’ve never thought too deep into what this song is about. Listening loosely I will say it is a self-deprecating take on dating and relationships. Gary and Ryan’s vocals are on point, with each brother alternate lines before singing in unison for the chorus. Strong harmonies abound throughout. It’s pretty much their trademark. They pull it off very well. The guitar riffs are really catchy too. Helps that they almost match the vocal melodies for the majority of the track.

How NME/UK indie 2007 is that music video as well? Could never be pulled off today. Those were good times.

#590: The Beatles – I’m a Loser

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So on the day that couples are loving it up, surely to go on a date somewhere or other to look in each other’s eyes and display how much they care with an act of affection, the song that follows the last post is The Beatles’ “I’m a Loser”. Mainly written by John Lennon, the track is about the end of a relationship and maintaining a happy appearance whilst feeling like you’re dying inside. This one is for the lonely people. The irony hasn’t been lost here.

Appearing as the second number on Beatles for Sale, an album where the band started incorporating more introspective elements into their repertoire, “I’m a Loser” is just one of the tracks that were to be influenced by Lennon’s meeting with Bob Dylan in the summer of 1964. The track is carried by its prominent acoustic rhythm and folk elements that The Beatles were to further develop down the line.