Generally, I have an opinion on things. You might have noticed this.
This is in marked contrast to how I was in my younger days, when I would over analyse and not be able to make my mind up. When I was on the Student’s Union Executive, I was known for being the one person in the room who, when asked to vote on a matter, would say “But, I can see both sides of the argument…” before abstaining.
I mention this because I was listening to a record the other day – which I shan’t name here, because it will probably feature later on in this undoubtedly short-lived series – where the singer delivered a few lines in spoken word rather than doing what their supposed to do: sing.
And I wasn’t quite sure how I felt about it. In a way, I felt slightly cheated by it: why haven’t they sung that bit? Was it because they couldn’t find a good rhyme, or get it to scan properly? In which case, that’s an unfinished song you’ve got there.
Or perhaps, it occurred to me, there was an important message contained within the spoken passage, and the singer had delivered it in this way to make it standout. I decided, and you can call it the benefit of the doubt if you like, that this must be the case, even though on a second listen I wasn’t able to identify anything particularly profound therein.
No matter, it got me thinking about other songs which contained spoken rather than sung words, and this one sprang to mind. When you listen to it – and you will because it’s by Neon Neon, a collaboration between producer Boom Bip and Super Furry Animals’ frontman Gruff Rhys and is therefore ace – you will notice that this is a bouncy bit of 80s-esque pop with a Star Wars reference thrown in for good measure, but you might not notice the spoken part in question.
But focus in on the start of the second verse and there you should here some dialogue. Dialogue which just makes me grin whenever I hear this record.
More soon.
A History of Dubious Taste 