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'Crooked
Mile' saw Microdisney finally entering the big time with their first release
on a major label. The LP is a very strong collection of songs with much
more specific subject matter than had previously been the case. Unfortunately,
whether due to the producer, too little pressure, or the boys unable to
resist playing with their new toys, the LP is crucified by its production.
Songs which sung live had been full of emotion and feeling were damaged
as unnecessary twiddles were added. The vocals too felt toned down as
passion lost out to a focus on harmony and melody, trying too hard to
blend in with the crafted tunes.
The LP was more overtly political than the earlier releases with targets
ranging from the Blue Rinse Brigade ('People Just Want To Dream') to attitudes
to sex ('Rack' and 'Big Sleeping House'),
corrupt dictatorships ('Bullwhip Road') and war ('Armadillo
Man', 'Hey Hey Sam', 'Town To Town') . Even so the songs still have that
uniquely Microdisney trait of always seeing the personal angle just as
much as the political issue.
In 'Town To Town' we see the
aftermath of a nuclear war where Cathal decides to get back with his ex.
why don't you
call me-
i've got no body
me and my ex-lover
will accept each other
help reap the dead harvest
A society still unable to see beyond the end of it's prick, as unfulfilment
goes arm in arm with the nuclear age and Reagan's finger on the button.
A 'make do' attitude that comments as much on the pre-nuclear state of
affairs as it does on the fallout (boom boom) afterwards.
Rack is a hugely passionate
song about the AIDS virus at a time when there was a great deal of stigma
attached to the subject and where you couldn't even get ten 16 year-olds
to go to an Elton John benefit. As always with Microdisney it goes well
beyond the subject matter with the sleevenotes commenting 'do not have
sex ever, do not remember that things didn't need to be this way'. It's
an attack on those who used the issue for their own moral crusade, a return
to 'Victorian values' and on those who simply didn't want to get involved
in any 'unpleasantness'.
i
must not do this thing, i'll wreck my social life
they'll disinfect my chair and claim some uncivil rights
they'll say 'you sun of a gun'
old lovers pleading- why?
go and ask your friend the hack
he's putting straight the record track
here comes the sun, 'til black is black
ask him why he turns his back
on the innocents upon the rack
and saves his sympathy for the rats
the doctor is a fool
he's just a callous snob
he had fifteen years in the jesuit school
and now he's not fit for any job
he just sneers and drives a big car
is this my saviour?
go and ask your friend the hack
he's putting straight the record track
'let's spend the night' becomes 'get back'
there's nothing wrong with me
i am just wondeful
i've got pop songs to keep me calm
and faithful friends like you
so if you ever need a few
have my barbed wire rainbow
go and ask your friend the hack
he's dancing to his record track
you're paranoid, you're paranoid
this is what we call the rack
you're just a straight and you ask for it.
Right click ('Save target as') on the lyrics
for a live MP3.
Sex and morality also feature on 'Mrs Simpson', where Cathal makes a visit
to see Mrs Simpson to find her gone- maybe back to her husband ('but
I don't really care').
what
we did and said in this place
no-one will ever know so what's your disgrace
It's again a difficult song to interpret- Casual sex? The abdication crisis?
A life without meaning? The choice of name ('Mrs Simpson') and references
to her 'nazi' husband in live performances suggests using the theme of
the abdication crisis to highlight the ludicrous moral attitudes associated
with sex. A similar story unfolds in 'Big Sleeping House', where a casual
fling 'did for us and for public scorn, in the dying town where we
were born'.
'Bullwhip Road' is a strong contender for 'best Microdisney song ever'.
For once an unusually straightforward song with South Africa the inspiration
if not the entire subject matter. It's the story of a security services
imprisonment, torture and killing and the lyrics are strong yet still
manage to be original. It starts with an almost 'once upon a time' introduction
as Cathal sings 'I am no good for you I can do no right, I've written
you this song'. Hugely passionate and heartfelt, the song is summed
up by the last line:
i
hate the world
i hate my life and this song
now run along
It was suggested in one review that the song was being ironically sung
from the oppressor's viewpoint, but it seems more likely that it's about
the feeling of helplessness to change the situation. The start and end
aimed at a 'why don't you stop moaning and get on with your life' audience
(whether political or personal in nature).
'Hey
Hey Sam' follows the warmongers back to their homes. A General wages war
and worse on innocent civilians and then, trying to block out the memory
of his actions, goes back to making kids with his pleasant wife in their
pleasant surroundings. 'Armadillo Man', makes a more jokey contribution
to the militaristic theme as a Commando single-handedly takes on the Russians.
Ending with 'at least he went to see the other side, while other people
never even tried', it's mocking the readiness of people to fight a
war against anyone they don't like.
While war and sex may be time-honoured subjects for a pop song, Microdisney
were also delving into areas which were generally ignored by even the
political bands. Fashion and trends were reaching new heights of obnoxiousness.
What had previously been a relatively harmless outlet for kids to get
through adolescence, by giving them identity, was now threatening quality
and substance as big business invented expensive consumer lifestyles for
people to invest in. If there was one thing that hindered Microdisney's
ability to reach a wider audience it was this refusal to sell their souls
and the desire to tell people a few home truths. It was too much to write
songs about these issues and then fit into the fashionable world that
journalists and record labels had dreamed up. 'And He Descended Into Hell'
has a dig at the 'Frankiegoes To Hoolywood' trend towards making protest
and rebellion a sexy thing- 'when screaming in the street you use a
disco beat, or your audience will flee'. 'Give Me All Of Your Clothes'
pokes fun at the art student mentality, art and fashion as a means to
a shag.
The LP ends with 'People Just Want To Dream', a story of fashionable capitalist
consumption. The song went through several lyric changes before arriving
at the LP version, with the original version containing a 'Habitat
Lounging Chair' (live mp3)). Sadly this was removed from the LP either
through artistic balance or cold feet from the record label. At a time
when lifestyle and branding was gripping the nation, it was a welcome
rebuff to those placing material possessions and lifestyle image above
all other things.
the high
street used to be such a slum
'til we prized it away from the welfare scum
we used to play around until we found that
money is everything
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