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liathach

Sheffield

Member Since 2008

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Wednesday Oct 21, 2009

Oct 20, 2009
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Okay, we have a game today!

Please click and continue reading...



Right, this is prompted by an article I read a while ago in New Musical Express. The writer stated that the four greatest pop bands were British, and they were...

The Beatles
The Rolling Stones
The Clash
The Smiths

I'm not sure why he chose four, rather than five or ten. Seems a little arbitrary. But I'm going to be all Anglophilic now (as is my right), and say I agree. The Beatles are a no-brainer, really. I'm not going to brook any argument over The Clash either - they were pioneers, not just of punk, but instrumental in the promotion and development of reggae and hip-hop, and produced a host of amazing singles.

People either love or hate The Smiths, but Morrissey's lyrics and Johnny Marr's melodies take a whole lot of beating. 'Punctured bicycle on a hillside desolate/Will nature make a man of me yet?' Just sheer brilliance. And insecure lonely young men in bedsits need a voice too. I remember seeing them on their first tour in '83, when they played the Students Union at North Staffs Polytechnic. Morrissey spinning his gladioli manically around his head, and the table we were dancing on collapsing under the strain!

But if I was going to amend the list, I'd remove the Stones, and replace them with The Small Faces. I saw the Stones in '82, and they were fantastic. But....what we're after here is pop innovation; breaking new ground. And (I can sense the mouths open in horror) I feel that the Stones have just not been innovative enough over their career. I also note that Mick Jagger refused to have Steve Marriott in the Stones when Mick Taylor left in '75, despite Keith Richards' enthusiasm, as he knew Marriott would upstage him.

I think Tin Soldier is one of the most magnificent pop singles ever written, especially with PP Arnold's wonderful voice on the backing. Marriott is arguably the greatest white soul singer in history. I also think Steve Marriott embodies something that only a few men are privileged to be; he was genuinely beautiful; he encapsulated that rare fragile beauty that occurs between boyhood and adulthood, like Donatello's 'David'. The beauty that Germaine Greer celebrates in her art book 'The Boy'.

So. To the game! My premise is that the greatest four pop bands in the world have been British. I want you to be completely indignant, and write incandescent answers telling me that this is patently not the case, and who you would put on the list instead. I want pop, mind you. We want top ten singles - three or four at least. I've been tempted to drift into indie, but restrained myself, so I've excluded Joy Division, and the Pixies (no matter how tempting they both are). And no single album wonders, so I've left out The Stone Roses (their second album doesn't count). No country, no rock. You know the score.

kmk started the ball rolling with The Cars yesterday. Which is pretty damn good, although I'm not sure they break into my list. I will have to listen over their tracks again.

So come on. Blow me away with your suggestions!

In the meantime, in case Tin Soldier didn't convince you, here is my favourite Small Faces track, Autumn Stone, which is pure beauty and makes my heart melt...



See? Wasn't he beautiful? I had my hair like that once. That's what happened to you when you got your hair cut at the Vidal Sassoon school!!!

And, I know people don't usually get as far as listening to the third track (I don't anyway), but I don't care. This is Marriott's favourite track, recorded on a tape deck in his back garden. The Universal...



And just because I love these old grainy films with bands larking about, as opposed to all the drivelly modern videos with their 'high production values', here's 'Hey Girl'....



That's enough. Rest in peace, Steve you beautiful genius.

Lists please!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

And rest in peace Ludovic Kennedy, one of the greatest investigative journalists of his generation. Thank you for the tireless work you did in righting judicial wrongs, and ensuring we abolished capital punishment in our country. You are a saint.
VIEW 6 of 6 COMMENTS
grayb:
Ogden's Nut Gone Flake was one of my favorite albums of all time. All of my original vinyl (along with my turntable) is long lost and I never purchased it on CD. Hmmmm...

I loved The Cars - one of them lives just over the state line in New Fairfield. I've always been partial to Ric's wife as well.

I have had so many favorite bands. I'll need to think and reflect a bit on this.

I got a major chuckle out of your previous blog and it brought back several memories of my own herd's youthful (mis)adventures. We never shut down an entire shopping mall, however. Well done. I'm glad to see that in spite of it all one of us has turned out alright. I'm not claiming that it's me...
Oct 22, 2009
grayb:
I am looking forward to watching Wings of Desire again this November 3. Why on that precise date? The DVD has been out of print in the region for some time now - I've arranged my rental queue so that I'll recieve it on the day of its release. Wim Winders is wonderful. Some of the other favorites of his currently in my queue include Paris, Texas, The Beuna Vista Social Club, The American Friend and, of course, now I'll have to watch Faraway, So Close! again as well. He was responsible for one of the most memorable scenes in Beyond The Clouds, the wonderful film he collaborated on with Michelangelo Antonioni. I've wanted to (re)watch that one for a couple of years now - it's out of print in this country as well. I wish I'd bought it when it was still available.

I'm pleased to hear, but not at all surprised that you are such great appreciator of Kieslowski (and Winders).
Oct 22, 2009

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