Every so often and maybe more often than not, I plan to call your attention to some of my “guilty pleasures” – recordings that strike such a resounding nerve in my psyche that I find myself listening to them again and again, often several times in a row. Often it’s a particularly fine melodic hook that snares me first and keeps me coming back, but for really lasting power, the lyrics come into play — as smile-inducingly silly, or “I just don’t get it no matter how many times I listen,” or as emotional heart-grabbers.
Here are three of my all-star guilty pleasures from the realm of indie rock/pop:
The Replacements: “We’ll Inherit The Earth” from the album, Don’t Tell A Soul, 1990
Ah, The Replacements — Minneapolis bad-boys of the 80s and early 90s, punks and drunks and rowdy entertainers, legends of First Avenue, the famous Minneapolis music space.
“We’ll Inherit The Earth” is the ersatz title song from the band’s second to last album, 1990’s Don’t Tell A Soul. (The title is whispered near the end of the song.) This album was softer and more pop than earlier albums, especially the raucous early albums. By this time the harder core punk members of the band had already left or had been fired. (Of the four original Replacements, the brothers Bob and Tommy Stinson were gone and only lead Paul Westerberg and Chris Mars remained.) Why this song? The spacey production, the cool pop melody, the occasional rough spots, and the lyrics that still have some of the punk brio:
We’ll inherit the earth, but we don’t want it
It’s been ours since birth, so whatcha doin’ on it
Yeah, whatcha doing’ on it, eh? The song makes little sense to me but it sure is great to listen to.
Radiohead, “Fake Plastic Trees” from the album, The Bends, 1995
Oh, how incredibly sweet this melody! I listened to the song three or four times in a row on several occasions after it first came out. For those of you who weren’t tuned into Radiohead in the early days, this song appeared on their second album, The Bends, in 1995. The Bends is an album of almost classic pop ballads, really. OK Computer came out next in 1997 and from that point on, Radiohead’s sonic personality (abstract, distracted, futurist, mind-mucking, incredibly complex) was established. But even on this, their pop album masterpiece, “Fake Plastic Trees” was largely overlooked on the airwaves but it’s the song I keep coming back to. The melody may be pop but the lyrics are not at all sweet:
She looks like the real thing
She tastes like the real thing
My fake plastic love
But I can’t help the feeling
I could blow through the ceiling
If I just turn and run
And that’s what makes this song a great one for me.
Steve Mason, “Boys Outside” from the album, Boys Outside, 2010
I’ll bet that almost no one reading this has ever heard of the Scottish musician/songwriter/vocalist, Steve Mason. He was a member of The Beta Band and recorded solo albums as King Biscuit Time and Black Affair. Boys Outside is the first album he recorded under his own name, but he largely remains under the radar. The title track hooks me with a gorgeous melody, an infectious, insistent beat, and a dark, sad, emotional story:
I was with those boys who turned you round
Showed you yourself and then we knocked you down
If you come outside with us I’ll show you why
Because the things I’ve seen in my life would make you cry
Spare instrumentation – piano, acoustic guitar, bass, light drum-tapping, and a light electronic touch make the story stronger and more effective (and affecting). When I listen to this song, if I’m moving, I stop; if I’m standing, I sit down; if my eyes are open, I close them. It’s hard to let this go.
So there you have it for today, and of course I don’t feel at all guilty about these pleasures. For around three bucks you could download these three tracks (from amazon.com or other sources) as see if you’re hooked as strongly as I am. I’d love to hear what you think and to hear your guilty pleasure suggestions. Use the Reply box below to respond.
Will Sibbald
KWMV 95.9 FM
NOTE: These songs and many more by The Replacements, Radiohead, and Steve Mason can be heard in rotation on the Alternative Universe show.
