Searching for more songs I discover a top10 list of Indie Tunes that feature whistling. There are in this list the obvious like Peter, Bjorn and John (here), Edward Shape (here) and The Drums (here), but there are novelty too. Glory by Radical Face (or Radical Face by Glory, I don't know!), which I will post in the next day, and Everyone Thinks He Looks Daft! by The Wedding Present.
So who are The Wedding Present? They are from Leeds, England and way back in 80s they would start, with bands like Primal Scream, Mighty Mighty, The Soup Dragons, etc. a new genre in UK mainly inspired by the Smiths, REM, Happy Mondays, My Bloody Valentine: the indie rock.¹ ² Now they by their own words:
The Wedding Present rose from the ashes of The Lost Pandas, a band formed in Leeds in the early 1980s by David Gedge [vocals, guitar] and Jaz Rigby [drums]. Keith Gregory [bass] and, later, Michael Duane [guitar] completed the line-up. The Lost Pandas became The Wedding Present when Rigby and Duane moved to New York and were replaced by Peter Solowka [guitar] and Shaun Charman [drums, backing vocals]. This line-up lasted until after the first album, George Best.
After George Best a lot of replacement happened. But we are going to stay in George Best. To start with, let's explain that George Best was a football player. In his native land, people used to say the maxim: "Maradona good; Pelé better; George Best." What heresy! Everyone knows Pelé is undefeatable!*
So who are The Wedding Present? They are from Leeds, England and way back in 80s they would start, with bands like Primal Scream, Mighty Mighty, The Soup Dragons, etc. a new genre in UK mainly inspired by the Smiths, REM, Happy Mondays, My Bloody Valentine: the indie rock.¹ ² Now they by their own words:
The Wedding Present rose from the ashes of The Lost Pandas, a band formed in Leeds in the early 1980s by David Gedge [vocals, guitar] and Jaz Rigby [drums]. Keith Gregory [bass] and, later, Michael Duane [guitar] completed the line-up. The Lost Pandas became The Wedding Present when Rigby and Duane moved to New York and were replaced by Peter Solowka [guitar] and Shaun Charman [drums, backing vocals]. This line-up lasted until after the first album, George Best.
After George Best a lot of replacement happened. But we are going to stay in George Best. To start with, let's explain that George Best was a football player. In his native land, people used to say the maxim: "Maradona good; Pelé better; George Best." What heresy! Everyone knows Pelé is undefeatable!*
 |
| Best and Pelé |
* In spite of Pelé himself has said that Best was the greatest footballer in the world!
Anyways, Best stamps the cover of TWP's 1987 debut album. According to All Music, "George Best is easily the best possible introduction to the Wedding Present's work; it's also a fine introduction to the entire C-86 scene that had such an impact on British rock." All Music also made a perfect review of this whistling song and I had to post it here:
In the Wedding Present's early days, David Gedge was a master of presenting real-world emotional conflicts in a way that most pop-song lyricists never think of. Instead of the usual boy/girl clichés, Gedge focuses on small moments of anger, pettiness or confusion, set to his indie-jangle tunes in an appealingly conversational way. The opening track of the Wedding Present's debut album, 1987's George Best, is a perfect example: there have been plenty of pop songs about cheating girlfriends over the decades, but few are as needling as "Everyone Thinks He Looks Daft." Gedge is unafraid to come across as a petty jerk here, and as the verses skirt around the real topic at hand (at one point, he asks to borrow a book, and at another, he inquires about the quality of the film his girl and her new friend were spotted at), the chorus gets right to the point, both admonishing her to stop trying to explain herself and passive-aggressively sulking with the key line "Everyone thinks he looks daft but you can have your dream." It's a remarkably unpleasant set of lyrics, made more so by the fact that most listeners have probably behaved this badly to a significant other at some point. Musically, the song is less manic than most of the Wedding Present's early tracks, an uncharacteristically midtempo stroll that features a particularly great staccato lead guitar riff from Peter Solowka.
Anyways, Best stamps the cover of TWP's 1987 debut album. According to All Music, "George Best is easily the best possible introduction to the Wedding Present's work; it's also a fine introduction to the entire C-86 scene that had such an impact on British rock." All Music also made a perfect review of this whistling song and I had to post it here:
In the Wedding Present's early days, David Gedge was a master of presenting real-world emotional conflicts in a way that most pop-song lyricists never think of. Instead of the usual boy/girl clichés, Gedge focuses on small moments of anger, pettiness or confusion, set to his indie-jangle tunes in an appealingly conversational way. The opening track of the Wedding Present's debut album, 1987's George Best, is a perfect example: there have been plenty of pop songs about cheating girlfriends over the decades, but few are as needling as "Everyone Thinks He Looks Daft." Gedge is unafraid to come across as a petty jerk here, and as the verses skirt around the real topic at hand (at one point, he asks to borrow a book, and at another, he inquires about the quality of the film his girl and her new friend were spotted at), the chorus gets right to the point, both admonishing her to stop trying to explain herself and passive-aggressively sulking with the key line "Everyone thinks he looks daft but you can have your dream." It's a remarkably unpleasant set of lyrics, made more so by the fact that most listeners have probably behaved this badly to a significant other at some point. Musically, the song is less manic than most of the Wedding Present's early tracks, an uncharacteristically midtempo stroll that features a particularly great staccato lead guitar riff from Peter Solowka.
Oh why do you catch my eye, then turn away?
I thought we said all the things we had to say
Shaun said he saw you holding hands with your new friend
How does it feel to know you've just won again?
Don't give me that! Because you were seen!
Everyone thinks he looks daft but you can have your dream
Can I keep that book of yours and maybe this one too?
Oh sure, I'll bring them round tomorrow if that will do
Was it really full? They must have queued there since half past three
Oh I didn't go, was it a good film? Well that's just me!
Don't give me that! Because you were seen!
Everyone thinks he looks daft but you can have your dream
Guess who I saw by your old house just the other day
That kid we used to think was mad, but now he looks okay
I think someone's here, look out the window, I can't make out who
Oh I'd love to stay but I've really got so many things to do
Don't give me that! Because you were seen!
Everyone thinks he looks daft but you can have your dream
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a tá, entendi safado...
ReplyDeleteentão é um ANÔNIMO que segue essa porra de blogue né? seu piranha!
estou aqui ouvindo Milton Nascimento e Lô Borges e ele resolve assobiar... pode isso?
anota aí mais uma canção sugerida pelo ANÔNIMO...
"Cravo e Canela" de Milton Nascimento e Lô Borges, do disco "Clube da Esquina" do lindo ano de 1972.