"And Guess What I Found..." Part 7: 21-30
Surprise bone of contention from last week was 'Get Up And Go', which I'd placed just above mid-table. Several people were outraged that it wasn't top ten; a few others felt it was far too high. This sort of thing happened in many of the TWP posts, so that in itself wasn't surprising - I just wasn't expecting GU&G to be one of those songs.
We're getting into the top third this week, so expect some quality tunes...
30 You Turn Me On
It's somewhat fitting that 'You Turn Me On' is exactly three minutes long, as it's a perfectly concise little pop song. Driven by a predictable but infectious arpeggio, it's undoubtedly a light and frothy confection, but the song's simple, direct melodicism is deftly winning. Its sequencing on Va Va Voom also works well, its vibrant energy wedged between the more laid-back 'Barefoot In The Park' and 'Ears'.
The lyric is in general as straightforward as the title suggests, although 'she needed to be adored and I didn’t feel inclined' is a nicely dismissive touch and 'if you asked me to make love to you, I might' is archly cute. 'You left your hirsute presence hanging in the air' is a little perplexing, however.
29 Don't Touch That Dial
(Single, 2003)
The ultimate TWP-Cinerama crossover song, being released under both names. It's a very strong song that only narrowly missed out on a top 20 place in Suddenly It's Tuesday.
Good as it is, the Cinerama take suffers in comparison to the glorious 'Pacific Northwest Version' that appeared on Take Fountain.
(Va Va Voom, 1998)
One thing that Cinerama tended to do rather well was intertwined male/female vocals, and 'Ears' is a lovely example. The female part here is provided by The Delgados' Emma Pollock, who also appeared on 'Love'. There's a live version of her performing the song here, recorded by my good friend and veteran of well over a hundred DLG gigs, John Marshall.
The song is gloriously hazy and melancholy, the understated organ being an especially effective feature. The contrast between the dreamy music and the sharpness of some of the language ('I've gone as far as I can go with this crap'; 'when you started to screw') works particularly well. The aching jealousy of the narrator is captured beautifully by the darkly haunting line, 'but I won't forget / those sounds that you made / behind that door with him'.
If I had a criticism, it's that possibly not quite enough use is made of the delicious combination of David and Emma's vocals, and it feels like the whole thing fades out far too quickly (despite the fact that it's nearly four minutes long).
A quirky electronica/lounge jazz remix of the track by Italian outfit Valvola appeared on a compilation called Harpsichord 2000 (released only in Italy); it also featured on This Is Cinerama.
27 Film
(B-side of Manhattan, 2000)
Movie soundtracks (especially of a 60s flavour) were always an important Cinerama touchstone, and this is arguably the song that captures this influence the most evocatively. Taut and urgent, somewhere between a spy caper and an epic western, this sounds like an amalgamation of several of the coolest movie themes.
The lyric ties into this theme nicely, the object of the narrator's desire starring 'in this film every single night and every single matinee'. David sometimes pushes his luck with the rhyming couplets, but you can hardly argue with the sultry panache of 'you swing your hips and then you wave me over... I stroke your lips, you call me Casanova'.
The video below (clearly not an official one) is rather intriguing. It looks like the footage was lifted from a film or TV show, but I'm yet to discover from where it came...
26 Comedienne
(Va Va Voom, 1998)
David's lyrics often go for the 'you're too good for me' angle, but they occasionally - as is the case here - take the 'he's not good enough for you' approach ('that creep made you weep / don't laugh it off again').
It's not, perhaps, his strongest lyric (it's a little obvious, although 'forget the things he said / and get into bed' is winningly direct) but that hardly matters as the song is an energetic, melodic romp driven by clattering drums, spirited acoustic strumming and insistent arpeggios.
25 Careless
(Torino, 2002)
After its crisp opening arpeggio, 'Careless' launches into a taut, focused riff that is embellished with breathy backing vocals, splashes of Hammond organ and some nicely grinding guitar distortion.
The narrator ostensibly wants to explain that he accepts the break-up and wants to remain on good terms with his ex ('I just lost a lover; I don’t want to lose a friend'), but the lyric subtly communicates that there's an ulterior motive - 'just to see you wearing that dress / you know I’ll be here when you’re through with him'. The lyrical highlight is the casually cutting 'I’m sorry for calling you loose... but look who you chose to seduce'.
The song's weak spot is its rather blunt and obvious chorus, but overall it's an effective piece that crackles with tense energy.
24 The One That Got Away
(B-side of Don't Touch That Dial, 2003)
An often overlooked obscurity that appeared as a b-side right at the tail-end of the Cinerama era - which is a shame, as in many ways it's a quintessential Cinerama-TWP transformation song.
After an intense opening that sounds like 'Paint It Black' reimagined for a Western soundtrack, it launches into an expansive, epic tour de force. The way that Simon Cleave's intricate guitar part complements Gedge's keening vocal in the verses is particularly effective.
23 Two Girls
(Torino, 2002)
Simplistic but effective. Driven by a frantic, thunderous four-chord riff, there's a breathless, exciting quality to the song. The primal urges of the narrator are emphasised by the blunt, repetitive rhymes that have - not for the first time on this album - a hint of S&M about them ('she bites me, excites me...'; 'she chokes me, provokes me'). 'She wears disgusting clothes / and she chews her hair in ways I loathe' is a notable moment in an altogether intriguing lyric.
The appearance of Terry's ghostly, disjointed vocal at 1:44 is lovingly spooky touch. Other than that, it's a bit of a heads-down thrash, and a very well done one at that.
22 Kerry Kerry
(Single, 1998)
Cinerama's debut single wasn't quite the radical departure of, for example, 'Let's Pretend' or 'Barefoot In The Park', but it was still a clear marker of how different (to begin with, at least) Cinerama were going to be to TWP.
The sparing use of electric guitar, the sweeping strings and the ethereal backing vocals soon became Cinerama trademarks, but just as notable was the memorably gorgeous melody, especially in the middle eight ('lying in my bed...'). It's not an especially remarkable lyric, although 'it looks like Romeo has found / a nervous Juliet' is a neat turn of phrase.
It was the only Cinerama single to trouble the charts, reaching number 71.
21 See Thru
(B-side of Lollobrigida, 2000)
Driven by a twangy guitar riff but sweetened by a spot of harpsichord and strings, this is a yet another tale of infidelity. It's far from stale, however: the lyric deals with uncomfortable detail ('I tore off all the bed clothes... then I found this hair') and captures an atmosphere of sexual awkwardness ('they made you feel indecent / such flimsy lingerie / that only men like me like').
A fabulous combination of uplifting melody, energetic guitar and darkly sordid words.
Hard to argue ... but I *need* to find something to disagree about each week so ... yeah, Two Girls would be Top 15 for me ... great work as always, a pleasure to read, and I am listening to Cinerama again now ...
ReplyDeleteNo doubt someone else will tell me that Two Girls is too high!
DeleteGlad you're enjoying them :)
The one that got away is deserving of a much higher placing. Didn't Mr Gedge recently say it was his favourite Cinerama song?
ReplyDeleteMy daughter used to think Careless was called pink carrots. She was v young at the time though but I still sing pink carrots whenever i hear it