446 - Suicide - (eponymous)/The First Album

Before listening to the album yesterday, I hadn't heard Suicide's music. I had seen them mentioned in print and have read about their music, but not actually listened. I was braced for the worst. Suicide's first album starts with "Ghost Rider." There are essentially three elements to Suicide's music: 1) vocals 2) a very low, but fast "beat" provided by synth 3) and a bed of music set by synths with an occasional flourish or change during the course of a song. Atop the din of synth sounds, Alan Vega essentially recites the lyrics (his singing is along the same lines as Laurie Anderson's "singing"). As the first song ends and I go into "Rocket USA," the beat remains barely there in the background. Not a rhythm as much as the sound coffee beans would make if trapped inside a hubcap while speeding down the highway. That, my friends, is the Suicide formula for songcraft for most of their songs.

I wouldn't call Alan's delivery as monotone as much as dispassionate. There are occasional yelps and moments where he has fun with echo at the end of stanzas or verses. Alan's not a rock singer, he's a performance artist. Other than the "beat," the keyboards do change character from song to song. On "Cheree" and "Johnny" the keyboard phrasings are almost cute.

And then come the two exceptions to my comments above. When "Girl" starts off, it's basically along the same lines. But then the vocals get...creepy. The dispassionate delivery saying "Girl, turn me on," "You know how," and similar statements is a bit unnerving. Alan then starts moaning. It builds. Forget my comments about sex in "Three Days" or the "love grunts" that are on Fleetwood Mac's "Big Love." Alan's orgasmic groans, moans, and shouts are about as much of a turn-on as the scene in Silence of the Lambs where Buffalo Bill is putting on make-up and tucking his penis between his legs.

If "Girl" didn't cause your skin to completely shiver off your body, along comes "Frankie Teardrop." Bruce Springsteen may have discussed the struggles of Vietnam Vets in his songs, but none of his stories are told in such a scary manner as this...let alone for 10 minutes. Frankie is struggling with life, his job, and paying rent. After getting evicted, Alan tells us, he goes to kills his family...telling us how Frankie picked up a gun, went to his six month old's crib, and killed his wife and kid in their sleep. If the lyrics are creepy enough, Alan's burst of blood-curdling screams between statements and then a prolonged scream when Frankie commits suicide should do the trick. And at this point, we're only at the halfway point in the song. There are about 3 minutes of the synths maintaining their repetition with faint sounds of music boxes occasionally. Alan states that Frankie is now in hell and releases screams one would expect from a soul being tormented. And, yet, for some reason, I kinda like the song. Not that I really want to hear it again.

After that, the songs follow the same formula as the first few on the album.

Songs I knew I liked: None

Songs I didn't know but now like: None

Songs I can go the rest of my life without hearing again: I'll just say that I'm more disinterested in the album than I dislike it.

445 - The Pogues - Rum, Sodomy, & the Lash

Yeah, critics call The Pogues a mix of traditional Irish folk and punk. Personally, I think they just sound like the most fun, irreverent Irish party band on the planet. If you are under 50 and don't listen to this album on St. Patrick's Day, no amount of green can convince me you have Irish blood of any amount.

Musically, there are really only three songs that wander much from traditional Celtic music, IMO - "Wild Cats of Kilkenny," "A Pistol For Paddy Garcia," and "Jesse James." The first song has a bass line and mandolin (?) riff that sounds quite a bit like the theme for Doctor Who. The other two songs have some country & Western influences in there such as slide guitar and harmonica along with the traditional Irish sound. No, really, it works.

Lyrically, Shane MacGowan is rough, bawdy, and frank. His language can be coarse and explores such things as male prostitution and popping pills in "The Old Main Drag" as well as odes to bar brawls elsewhere. The originals are not songs you'll likely see sung by elderly Irish men with hair coming out of their ears.

Besides the two instrumentals ("A Pistol For Paddy Garcia" and "Wildcats of Kilkenny"), another song that separates itself from the others is "I'm a Man You Don't Meet Everyday"...which is sung by the female bassist.

Songs I knew I liked: None

Songs I didn't know but now like: "The Old Main Drag," "I'm a Man You Don't Meet Everyday," and "Dirty Old Town"

Songs I can go the rest of my life without hearing again: I wouldn't mind pulling this out each year on March 17th.