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#1093: Pavement – Rattled by the Rush

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This song does have an official music video, but because it uses its radio edit, the guitar solo is cut out entirely. It’s only right that I have the album version up here first. I’ll embed the video after the final paragraph, though. Now that that’s out of the way, let’s get into this properly. ‘Rattled by the Rush’ is the second track on Pavement’s Wowee Zowee, the band’s third album, released just over a year after Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain. Story goes that critics couldn’t wait for Wowee Zowee to arrive because Crooked Rain… was just that good, but when it came around they were somewhat disappointed in its sprawling, eclectic direction, coming to the conclusion that Pavement were trying to sabotage their careers and were afraid of success. Stephen Malkmus replied to these notions, stating that it was mainly the marijuana usage that steered things along. It was also the marijuana that made ‘Rattled…’ sound like a smash hit to him, which resulted in it being released as the album’s first single.

If I tried to explain on here what I think ‘Rattled by the Rush’ is about, it’d probably be a waste of your time and mine. And no matter what Genius might have to say about it, I think this song is one of those occasions where the lyrics are just what they are and don’t have to be interpreted to any length or depth. There’s a clear stream of consciousness technique to them, the second verse in particular is a favourite of mine in terms of the rhyming and the words used in general, with ideas of one line running into a different idea in another (“cross your t’s, shirt smell”), and the words are accompanied by this stop-starting rhythm that makes it all sound very awkward, like it’s struggling to get going, before cascading into these heavy guitar breakdowns after the choruses. It’s a strange, strange song for sure. Especially one to choose for a first single. ‘Grounded’ was right there. But you’ve got to give it to Pavement for sticking to their principles.

The music video for the song caused some controversy back in the day. The band chose the guy who directed their former drummer’s ‘Plant Man’ music video to do the same job with ‘Rattled…’ (If you have questions about that linked song, don’t ask.) Band members mentioned that it wasn’t the greatest experience filming the video, and when it was shown on MTV2, it was banned for making people too dizzy because of the constantly spinning/zooming in and out camera work. An additional music video was made to make it more “pleasant” to watch, where the original video is shown on a bathroom tile next to a grotty bathtub. Fair to say, the track deserved better in terms of visuals.

#997: They Might Be Giants – Operators Are Standing By

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This one’s for the phone operators out there. Written and sung by John Flansburgh of They Might Be Giants, ‘Operators Are Standing By’ is the seventh track on the band’s 1999 album Long Tall Weekend. Like ‘Minumum Wage’ nine years earlier, ‘Operators…’ is an upbeat track dedicated to those who work in crappy office jobs on a low income and loathe each day that comes. It’s much more specific than ‘Wage’ however, just because there are actual employees of a specific role involved in the lyrics, rather than the grand statement that ‘Wage’ presents in its bluntness.

The track paints a picture of these phone operators, all assumed to be women if we’re to also go by what the lyrics say, who are doing almost everything except the job they’re supposed to be doing. In order of mention, they smoke cigarettes, drink coffee, bounce their shoes off the end of their feet, wish they could go home, poke holes in the ceiling tiles, make jokes about their old boyfriends and days gone by, talk about their portrayal on the TV, and pass round a picture of a Möbius strip. This is all brought to a halt when the boss comes in with a “That’s enough talking, ladies” warning. Only for a moment though as they resume not working and wishing to be anywhere else.

The song’s a short one, only about a minute and 20 seconds in length, but there’s a lot on here to latch onto. I particularly enjoy Flansburgh’s vocal take. The tone of it and the sort of tape-echo effect on there. The low end throughout sounds massive. Whoever’s decision that was to make it so should get some props. Whenever the kick drum and bass guitar come into, there’s a very booming tone that occurs. Maybe there’s some extra percussion hidden in the mix somewhere that adds to that. And it’s all delivered with this swinging tempo. Can’t help but sway and click my fingers to the beat with this one. Won’t be the first song TMBG fans would recommend to you. But I’m here saying right now that it’s worth a shot.

#752: Radiohead – Little by Little

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A while ago when going through the Radiohead subreddit, I came across a thread which was based on the topic of the best/worst songs from the band’s album The King of Limbs. There seemed to be a consensus that today’s song, ‘Little by Little’, was considered to be one of the worst ones on there.

I went back to the album at some point last year, and when it got to the track I didn’t think it was bad. The climbing guitar hook was catchy instantly, its drop D tuning automatically gave this dark vibe, and Thom Yorke does his thing of singing words but bot really enunciating. It’s a very decent track.

There is a live performance of it that is considered by many to be much better than the version that appeared on the album. I have come to agree with that opinion. Their live take of the track, which you will see below, just edges it out. I like that it’s a bit slower and it feels a lot less busier than the studio version. You can actually hear the bass too. In the end, there are two versions of this song that everyone can get into so I feel like we’re all winners here.

My iPod #407: Blur – Gene by Gene

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The first time I heard “Think Tank“, Blur’s last album to date, was a few years ago when I listened to the band’s discography in chronological order a few years back. When “13” was over and it was time to listen to “Tank”, I held a few factors that were to affect how much I would like it. It was the band’s first album of the 21st century, four years after 1999’s “13”. But Graham Coxon had left the year before. And Damon Albarn had started his work on Gorillaz in 2001. Would this affect how Blur and their songs would sound?

Well, yeah it did. Guitars don’t have as much of a presence in “Think Tank” tracks as they did in all the albums preceding it. And recording the album in Morocco must have had an affect on Albarn’s visions of his track as there is a wide variety of instrumentation utilising instruments from around that region, and resulting in general experimentation along the whole album.

In my opinion, “Think Tank” is okay. You can’t be blamed if you hear it and think of it as almost being a Gorillaz album or Damon Albarn solo record if it wasn’t for the word “BLUR” on the front cover, and Alex James and Dave Rowntree being credited in the liner notes. That’s enough about that, though. Let’s talk about the song.

“Gene by Gene” is the penultimate track on “Think Tank”. This was the one I remember listening to and simultaneously thinking, “Hey….. this song’s quite good!” I dug it. It’s a feel-good song-for-the-summer track featuring sweet “oooooh” gospel backing vocals, a very prominent bass, and a twangy high string guitar lick that is repeated throughout. It’s big beat sound is also definitely the result of the production by a certain Norman Cook. Or Fatboy Slim, as he is more commonly known as.

Despite the track’s positive vibes, it is a bit strange too. The lyrics are quite random. Even though the lyric is “I’ll never forget”, I am still very sure that Damon Albarn sings “I never doggy” in the chorus. And those panning mechanical noises at the beginning, and jolting squeaks near the end are supposedly the band members hitting metal and jumping on top of a car. (Certain I’ve read that somewhere, but I can’t find the link).

In terms of the album it’s the last time there’s a sense of positivity and optimism, because “Battery in Your Leg” follows afterwards and a bunch of feels comes along with it.

My iPod #170: Supergrass – Caught by the Fuzz

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Supergrass’ first official single as a band. Sounding like it was recorded in a few minutes in cramped and compact room, “Caught by the Fuzz” is an autobiographical account of lead singer Gaz Coombe’s first time of being arrested by the police when he was only 15.

The song is very quick. Quite punk-esque, with a semi-talking verse and a belter of a chorus which all end with the word ‘tonight’. Well, it’s not really a chorus. But if you listen to it, you will understand what I mean.

The film “Hot Fuzz” has this track playing during the credits, so if you wanted to know what that song was called…. here it is.

It is the second song on the band’s first album “I Should Coco“, a bit of Cockney rhyming slang for those of you who aren’t familiar.