Listening Post: Dance in the neon rain · Apr 4, 05:38 PM by Don
Taking a cue from The Onion’s Random Rules feature, I selected the songs for this Listening Post after “Coat of Armor” by My Dad is Dead caught my ear when it popped up in iTunes. I then let shuffle mode shuffle…
mp3: My Dad is Dead – Coat of Armor :: from For Richer, For Poorer (1995)
This caught my ear because the vocal sounds so much like Chi Pig of SNFU. In the song, Mark Edwards plays the role of “Dad,” which, of course, hearkens back to the band name. Edwards’ nom de musique and the songs on the first album, My Dad Is Dead … and He’s Not Gonna Take It Anymore, were (according to Trouser Press) inspired by the death of Edwards’ father. Is Edwards mocking the cliches fathers tend to spout when he sings, “I swear to God that no son of mine is going to make a joke out of this family”? Or is this some sort of tribute to his deceased father? He also sings, “Never ever forget who you are.” You decide. If you like what you hear, there are tons o’ mp3’s at the official MDID site.
mp3: The Smiths – Girlfriend in a Coma :: from Strangeways, Here We Come (1987)
Ah, a spritely tune about alternately worrying about your, er, girlfriend in a coma, and reminiscing about the times you wanted to kill her.
mp3: The Magnetic Fields – The Saddest Story Ever Told :: from The Wayward Bus (1992)
Things did not get any happier when a third downer was coughed up by my computerized jukebox. Don’t let the gentle instrumentation and do-do-do-do-do’s fool you. This song is a soul crusher. Maybe this is what Morrissey’s comatose girlfriend is thinking.
mp3: Papas Fritas – Hey Hey You Say :: from Helioself (1997)
Finally! Relief from the gloomy vibes courtesy o’ Papas Fritas. Try not to love this bouncing bit of summer-ready pop, especially when it climaxes with Shivika Asthana’s undulating glossolalia.
mp3: The Church – Leave Your Clothes On :: from Somewhere Else (Sometime Anywhere Bonus Disc) (2000)
This is not my favorite Church song. Far from it. There’s a reason this was relegated to a bonus disc. The song, an invitation to engage in astral projection, like all Church songs, is not funny in the least. However, the title/chorus-capping line reminds me of the Mr. Show sketch about dueling streakers (Coco Robbins: “Put your clothes on!” Jimmy Montello: “NO!”).
“Put your clothes on!” @ 3:21
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Girlfriend in a coma is one of the funniest songs ever recorded. Genius.
— Ctel Apr 5, 01:34 AM #
Papas Fritas! I love those guys. I’m guessing Shivika and Keith are out of graduate school by now. Tony’s now in a Boston band called the Rudds who are pretty good.
— Robert Apr 7, 11:34 PM #