Words fail us
Listening to Sigur Rós can be a frustrating experience if, like me, you like to sing along. Until you realise that you don’t need words. On the band’s third album (second outside Iceland), Jónsi sings entirely in nonce words – vocalisations that would be prelyrics if he had gone on to write lyrics. You can moan along to your heart’s content without worrying whether you’re getting the words right. You’d scare the neighbourhood kids, and attract dogs though. Jónsi captures the aching wild of Iceland, but Tooting is a warmer place.
Most people will never hear Sigur Rós (although they had a song in Vanilla sky apparently). Often a great talent avoids public notice. Another who I’ve been listening to recently is Dave Gedge, singer and songwriter of the Wedding Present. In the mid eighties, the indie movement struck back at the overblown pomposity of pop with jangling guitars and piquant observations of the everyday in postmodern towns. This is nearly twenty years before the Streets. Here’s an example:
I'm not sure and I'm not asking
But I thought I heard you say
"I just walked past him"
But why can I never do anything before you go
I don't know
And outside the streets are empty
There was no time then
And now there's plenty
Oh why do I never get the chance to say a word
When you're on your own
If there's nothing that I want more
Why do my steps get this small
When I reach your front door
And I wait outside for you to come back out
And your light goes out
You don't know me but I'm still here
And God the last time I saw you
You were, oh, this near
And there's a thousand things I wished I'd said and done
But the moment's goneBewitched – lyrics by David Gedge
I wonder sometimes how a guy who can so precisely capture how it feels to break your heart over a woman (which one of us has not lacked the guts to go up to someone and just say whatever?. “Why do my steps get this small?” That’s it for me, the nail banged right on the head) can find success so elusive. The Wedding Present had their moment, a few days in the sun, but Gedge won’t be a millionaire. Meanwhile, Elton John lives in a mansion. Go figure, innit.
posted by Dr Zen @ 4:57 am
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