Wtorek 13 Paź 2009, 22:04
"The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing."
It's not only true of philosophers and historians, it's true of musicians too. Some bands are hedgehogs: they have one big idea that informs everything they do. Other bands are foxes, who successfully try out a variety of ideas, often (though not always) within the same song. If you need more than one hyphen to describe a band, it's probably a fox: The Velvet Underground, TV on the Radio, David Bowie.
I suspect most of us would say it's better to be a fox, but it's hard to imagine the world without hedgehogs. Chuck Berry was a hedgehog. The Ramones were quintessential hedgehogs, as are most punk bands. Most pure genre performers are by definition hedgehogs: blues, surf, punk, country, etc. Even The Beatles, who in some ways are the Platonic ideal of the fox, started out as hedgehogs.
Of course, it's not a classic binary; there's a continuum with hedgehog on one end and fox on the other, and almost every band has at least a little bit of the thing it isn't. More important than being one or the other is deciding where the sweet spot is for your art to reach its fullest expression–because watching a true hedgehog try to be foxy can be embarrassing, and a fox that masquerades as a hedgehog will soon become frustrated by the constraints of that creative mode.
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Hey! It's one year since I started this series, and this is the 28th list. So many more to go I still can't imagine finishing, but as long as it's still fun I'll keep going.
What a tough group of songs this is! My original "short list" was 32 songs long, so a lot of things I left out would have made a different list. All the more reason to celebrate the ones that made it.
The Top Thirteen Songs at 3:12
1) Holland, 1945–Neutral Milk Hotel
The centerpiece of a monumental album, in which Jeff Mangum's universalist, omniscient perspective combines with close-up raw emotions in a way that would seem impossible in theory. Yes, it's about Anne Frank, but that's only one facet; it's also about all of us, and what we're doing here.
2) Ticket to Ride–The Beatles
The inundation of advertising for the Beatles edition of Rockband has sent me over a tipping point, where it's even harder to hear The Beatles anymore past the encrustation of culture obscuring the original thing that got everyone so excited. But I still try. Last week, my iPod shuffled up the "basic tracks" version of "I Am the Walrus" (no overdubs, no strings, no backing vocals), and I have to admit it was kind of thrilling, because it sounded tough, and new, and a little bit like Wolf Parade.
3) The Guns of Brixton–The Clash
Paul Simonon (who rarely wrote) knocks one out of the park. I'm a little surprised this song hasn't become a libertarian/anarchist anthem, but then the money quote ("when they kick at your front door, how you gonna come" and so on) is too long to fit on a bumper sticker.
The Clash were by far the foxiest of the original punk bands; London Calling and Sandinista! seem like fox manifestos.
4) Gloomy Sunday–Billie Holiday
I didn't know until recently that this used to be nicknamed "The Hungarian Suicide Song." As such things go, it beats Judas Priest by a LOT.
5) It's a Curse–Wolf Parade
The mechanical guitar figure sounds like Frankenstein, the singer's gruff howl sounds like a werewolf, and the lyrics suggest zombies. Happy Halloween! Note: the version on last.fm is NOT the one I'm talking about; it's a lesser/earlier take.
6) The All Girl Team–Blitzen Trapper
Last time I mentioned that this foxy band hadn’t scored much on these lists; I admit I picked this time to accommodate them. What a tough group to compete against, though! Here's a hard R&B foundation, decorated with twangy flourishes, struggling towards poptopia.
7) Ziggy Stardust–David Bowie
An iconic moment from a performer so iconic that he had to invent multiple iconic personas. The Pavement line, “I’ve got style, miles and miles, so much style that it's wasted” comes to mind.
8) Men With Broken Hearts–Hank Williams
It might be Hank’s best lyric, almost poetry on its own, describing the homeless broken skid row alcoholics and condemning those of us who would look down on them. It's hard to excerpt, but let's try:
"Some lose faith in love and life when sorrow shoots her darts
And with hope all gone, they walk alone, these men with broken hearts."
9) The Cold Hard Facts of Life–Porter Wagoner
Tagged "violent cuckold stories." Wish there were enough songs in that genre to make a compilation album. Please do suggest others, if you know any.
10) Everybody's Happy Nowadays–Buzzcocks
“But wouldn't you like to be free to be happy in some other way, Lenina? In your own way, for example; not in everybody else's way.” Almost annoyingly irresistible falsetto chorus.
11) My Back Pages–The Byrds
The Byrds made Dylan’s lyrics almost not matter, rolled up in that jingle jangle guitar and sweet harmony. They were foxes overall, but really they were just doing different hedgehog things sequentially, an artistic strategy that also applies to Bowie.
12) Sheela-Na-Gig–PJ Harvey
PJ Harvey comes at the blues from inside it, rather than employing the more common method of copying the sounds and hoping to reach the emotional core of it that way. It can be done, but when it fails, it sounds washed-out and fake, as if the musicians have failed the Blues Turing test. Anyway: PJ is not constrained by the curatorial impulse to preserve original blues sounds, which is why most people probably would not consider this as authentic blues music, but it beats mere copyists by a long shot.
13) Sam–Meat Puppets
Curt Kirkwood proves he could have been an auctioneer. Not deep, but 100% fun; possibly someone has a different opinion.
Foxiest track not to make the list: Oh! You Pretty Things–David Bowie
Most hedgehoggy track not to make the list: Shove–L7