Tag Archives: i should coco

#1217: Supergrass – Sitting Up Straight

Just over a month ago I was writing about a Supergrass song from I Should Coco, and now I find myself in the same situation. ‘Sitting Up Straight’ is another tune from the LP that I remember liking very much immediately. Coming right after preceding track ‘Strange Ones’, which alternates between upbeat, in-your-face pop rock for the choruses and bluesy-waltz timing for its verses, ‘Sitting Up Straight’ fixes the listener with the former all throughout its duration. It does start slowly to begin with, a loungy performance of what later makes itself known as the song’s chorus lulls you in, before things properly get underway after 20 seconds.

“Sitting up straight on the back of the bus / Mimicking time as evening turns to dusk” is the first lyric, it’s one that bass guitarist Mick Quinn admits to not knowing what it means. But it firmly places any listener in the scene. A narrator’s sitting at the back of a bus and listing the things they see and do. They make note of a boy with his “face on the floor” – a British saying, meaning he’s looking glum – before empathising with them in the joyous choruses where the guitars really come into life among some rapturous harmonies. That first chorus comes in with an entire different key to what the song initially set off with, begins in G before switching up to D I think, and remains in that until it all finishes.

I enjoy this one quite a bit actually. I see YouTube comments that read along the lines of “Yeah, the song’s good, but the chorus could be better”. Which… I can maybe kind of see. But I consider them to be the best part. As choruses usually are wont to be. But in general, the song’s very easy to get into. The previous track throws you in a few different directions. But with ‘Sitting Up’ you know where you stand. That is, at least, after 20 seconds of waiting. It’s like an “Enough of that, we know you want to hear more of this” kind of thing. That’s how I sort of see it. Plus, if you get the words down for the first verse and the chorus, no more work has to be done on your part because the second verse is the exact same. All in all, a fantastic punkish package of Britpop.

#1198: Supergrass – She’s So Loose

Leave a reply

Looking back on the previous two songs I’ve written about from I Should Coco, I make a note on how I got the album for a birthday and how initially I thought it was stellar on the first listen, but as time’s gone on there are a few moments are there which are a bit of its time. In a way, I’ve done the same again here. But I guess that means I’ve just run out of different things to say about the album. I think it’s many people’s favourite by Supergrass, released in the midst of Britpop and giving us the summer jam of ‘Alright’. I wouldn’t say it’s mine, but that’s not to say ’cause it’s bad. You won’t go wrong with any Supergrass record you choose to listen to. Usually I think they were the best Britpop band all this time.

‘She’s So Loose’ is the ninth song on Coco. Very, very sure I liked this one on that first run-through on the album however many years ago. The track consists of mainly choruses, three in total, respectively preceded by two short verses and the final instrumental break. Those choruses appear to describe a sexual encounter between two people, in ways that you don’t really have to thoroughly examine to understand, but also not in a way that’s graphic or distasteful. More like a, “this happened, then this, overall, a good time was had” kind of way. Very matter-of-fact. And the activity is celebrated via the rousing melody the track’s title is sung with as the chorus’s last line.

I’ve always thought of this as an example of a perfect three-minute pop number, you know. There’s nothing too complicated to get your head around, though the guitar chord choices in here aren’t the usual G-D-E (or whatever) types of progressions. The changes throughout add a little mystique to the whole affair. And I’m very much a fan of Gaz Coombes’s vocals on there too. Delivered with a youthful exuberance that you can only when you’re in your teens and feeling good making an album. And that little reverb production trick that lingers after the “awaaaaay” in the verses is a minor thing that I appreciate. All in all, the song’s a short introduction, a little verse, a bigger chorus, repeat, and throw a breakdown in there for good measure. Easy to singalong to and very memorable as a result. I don’t have much else to say about it, to be honest. I’ve never found much reason to dislike it.

#807: Supergrass – Mansize Rooster

1 Reply

I received I Should Coco for what I think was my 14th birthday. Might have even been my 13th. But by the end of that first full listen, I was sure it was another 10/10 by the group. As time’s gone on, I do think some songs on there do sound a bit dated. ‘Mansize Rooster’ falls under that category. Everything from the jaunty piano, the walking bassline, and those horns that come in the chorus. Those are just a few things. But it’s just so darn catchy, still.

The track is about a young man who is well-endowed for his age. The narrator’s strapped for cash and things aren’t looking too great in life, but with his package he might just be able to turn things around. It took me a while to get the joke in the song’s title. What’s another name for a rooster? There you go. And although the music sounds dated, I think it definitely works to give off this strange childish and horny tone of the lyrics. It’s a swinging number from the beginning before switching to a frenetic, fast-paced freakout for the choruses. It alternates between those tempos every time. It’s a crazy ride of a listen.

As you can see, Supergrass were very, very young in this music video. The members were practically children, it’s quite surreal to see. Some strange things happen in it. The three guys share a bathtub, guitarist Gaz Coombes appears in women’s clothing for a brief moment. It’s all a bit campy. It’s a good time for all.

#768: Supergrass – Lose It

1 Reply

Wondering where to start with this one. I was given Supergrass’ debut album I Should Coco as a gift for, I think, my fourteenth birthday and I remember taking to it immediately on the first listen. ‘Lose It’ has always been a high point from the album for me even if it may be a song of Supergrass’ that a lot of people might not know so much about.

I think what made me appreciate it at first was how mean it sounded compared to the track that comes before it on the album. It was like ‘Alright’ was just a brief moment where everything’s fun and sunny before things get heavy again. Like a lot of other songs on Coco, ‘Lose It’ possesses very high energy and a bit of claustrophobic atmosphere that makes it feel like the band are just thrashing this performance in a tight room somewhere. It’s a bit intense. There aren’t many lyrics in this track either. If it wasn’t for the short “I don’t want anybody…” verse/(bridge?) – the song would just consist of its chorus. The repetitive nature just makes it all the more memorable.

The song was released as a very limited single in ’95, packaged only in the United States in the form of 2,500 copies of vinyl. Still managed to chart in the UK somehow.

My iPod #170: Supergrass – Caught by the Fuzz

M	T	W	T	F	S	S
1	2	3	4	5	6	7
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
29	30	31

The Music in My Ears

A blog about music (and sometimes other things).