For a while it was forever

[alexsarll]

The New Royal Family were preceded las night by Subliminal Girls, one of those bands I've seen on a hundred listings but never actually seen. And they were pretty good, in a London scene sort of way - all songs about Hoxton and "Let's burn Koko to the ground". No idea whether this makes any sense outside Zone 2 but hey! Nor do I care. And then again, I loved Menswear when I lived in the provinces. Just a pity their lead doesn't seem to quite have the voice or presence to do his lyrics and band justice.
The NRF themselves were Scotted-up tonight, opening with a Caledonian take on 'It's Grim Up North' (and thedavidx does a pretty good Bill Drummond voice - or am I just being a racialist and thinking all Scots sound the same?). I also particularly enjoyed the song which tries to rip off as many other songs as possible within one song, whose name now escapes me.

Then up to Gloomy, where Triggerbox fascinated me not by being fascinating (they're not), but by being totally indistinguishable from the sort of pre-Britpop indie bands I used to see in Derby. Seriously, they could have supported Scubamaid at the Wherehouse with no anachronism or risk of time-rifts (not that it would be an especially productive use of a time machine...). The similarly named but vastly better Picturebox were hampered by sound problems, never quite seeming as startling as when I discovered them at the first Live Gloom - but then perhaps part of that was me trying to recapture a first high that you can never replicate. Still bloody good, though, and I've remembered who they remind me of (see Current Music).
Oh, and Sean demonstrated that 'You Could Have Both' does work as a dancefloor song, even if said floor has people other than me on it!
Also tried pdw's tactic of going to Fromage because the bar is less crowded. Which much is true, but the crowd are more likely to jog your elbow, countering some of the benefit.

Jared Leto is a very sexy man, and a fairly good actor, but dear heavens his band are awful. And I say this not through any actor's band prejudice, because when I tried to listen to the CD I had no idea who they were. Unlike most actor's bands, though, they're actually selling records. Not that surprising, I suppose - there was always going to be a market for Fall Out Boy with a prettier frontman, even if they don't have the great song titles.

Today's political gaffes in brief: Japanese minister describes women as "birth-giving machines and "John Reid, you idiot, you've lost the rapists! You're standing in a rapist grave!". Oh, and doubtless Segolene Royal has said something else idiotic, but I can't be bothered to go looking for it.

Incidentally, this is my first post from my own broadband. Notice any difference?

Comments

[peacockpunk.livejournal.com]

(from the subliminal girls website)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mirror


I got my epiphone dot coz im so fucking indie
I got my pork pie hat to cover up my lack of thought
I got fanzine by numbers and babyshambles vinyl
we love pete, hes so fucking deep and mars volta well they are the new pink floyd

I was considering a night in Shoreditch
Then considering a night in Camden
I'm considering a night on myspace
Now im considering a move to New Cross


I got my top shop mop top coz Im so fucking chic
I got my skinny jeans coz im, like, part of the scene
I got my addidas top because im so top
Shockwaves nme you know what it means to me
Like gang of four having a fight with the smiths in MC5s dressing room

I was considering a night in Shoreditch
Then considering a night in Camden
I'm considering a night on myspace
Now im considering a move to New Cross

(The plagerism, if you can spot it, is intentional)

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Godawful lyrics!!! And they look appalling. Please say it ain't so, Baz!

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

On paper, not great. But from a band at the bottom of a London bill, hilarious.

[peacockpunk.livejournal.com]

Well I suppose you had to be there.

or am I just being a racialist and thinking all Scots sound the same?

Just noticed this! Yes, if you can't distinguish between, say Glasgow and Dundee, then you're clearly not paying attention. Or you're some kind of howling racialist. Is the inability to distinguish between accents a racial act? Or merely bad hearing?

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

(It was a fairly lame riff on 'all members of race X look the same to me'; I can distinguish between some of the Scottish accents, and furthermore am part-Scot myself)

[peacockpunk.livejournal.com]

Don't call us...

am part-Scot myself

Excellent use of the Jo O'Meara defence there.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Oh, she didn't go that far - she was just "One of my cousins is married to an Indian", wasn't she? Carefully not mentioning that the rest of the family no longer speak to that cousin.

[peacockpunk.livejournal.com]

Oh, I don't cowing know, do I?

How 'part-Scot' are you anyway?

Nevertheless despite their sins, bless my kith and bless my kin

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

1/8

Re: Nevertheless despite their sins, bless my kith and bless my kin

[peacockpunk.livejournal.com]

That's lame. Great-grandparents???

Re: Nevertheless despite their sins, bless my kith and bless my kin

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Yes, my gran's mother. Apparently I am entitled to wear the Buchanan tartan, which sounds pretty Scottish to me.

Re: Nevertheless despite their sins, bless my kith and bless my kin

[peacockpunk.livejournal.com]

Aren't modern tartans a 19th century English garrison affectation? And not that Scottish at all?* Perfect for you then, Bazza!

Using your crazy greatgrandparent system, I'm 3/8 Welsh to 5/8 Merseyside which ain't so exotic. I really don't think I've got any Scottish or Irish relatives. So, no tartan for me. Unless there's some ancient Birkenhead tartan I'm unaware of.

*according to QI affiliated Book Of General Ignorance, which to be fair does seem to ignore great swathes of facts in lieu of making a point.

Re: Nevertheless despite their sins, bless my kith and bless my kin

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

I think it was more that, having been prohibited for a time, and then just old hat, they were revived then and thus.

Re: Nevertheless despite their sins, bless my kith and bless my kin

[peacockpunk.livejournal.com]

Well yes.

Fancy a fitba, wee mon?

Re: Nevertheless despite their sins, bless my kith and bless my kin

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Fvcking football, took me twice as long as it should have to reach Camden today from all the peon traffic...

[angelv.livejournal.com]

I kind of like those lyrics. What does that make me?!

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

I think we're mainly proving my point about them being a band unlikely to appeal to provincials.

[peacockpunk.livejournal.com]

Some adherence to rhyme/metre or wit might help. Plus the reference points are at least a year late. Knocking Art Brut in 2007 seems a bit pointless.

I'll shut up now and return to chewing on my blade of hay.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Agreed, in general taking digs at Art Brut is pointless. But if you play at the sort of gigs where (ex-)members of Art Brut tend to be in the audience, as was the case last night, the context makes it funny. It's the same with the lines about the Horrors and the Holloways - those are only good when sung to an audience who have mostly seen said chancers, and last night's crowd clearly had.

[peacockpunk.livejournal.com]

Meh, I like The Horrors.

And it sounds like you were in the ninth circle of Indie Hell.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Ah but the New Royal Family, while between them they have been in approximately 60 indie bands, are PROPER ACE rather than an amusing injoke like Subliminal Girls.

[peacockpunk.livejournal.com]

Cor, look who's playing bass!

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Poor icecoldinalex is the NRF's Richard Oakes - last night they were back to the original line-up, with Richard Adderley (ex-Jack) on bass.

[peacockpunk.livejournal.com]

Ah, must have been an old photo I was looking at.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Well, only a month or two old and in the same venue, so an easy enough mistake!