Defend The Indefensible: The Beautiful South

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I think that the Beautiful South are worse - degrees worse, even - than any of the awful bands who've had threads like this so far, YES EVEN Richard Ashcroft. They were pretty bad when they were just midtempo pop with 'wry' lyrics, but when Paul Heaton decided that his singing voice would be modelled on a weasel doing an Elvis impression, and when he further decided that every single would feature one of an identikit parade of unglamorous assistants, recruited straight from the Committments pub-soul slush pile, they crossed some kind of quality event horizon and became perhaps the worst band the UK has ever produced, a scar on the conscience of pop.

Or maybe you think different?

(This thread inspired by the truly pestilential 'Perfect Ten' coming on a pub TV)

― Tom (Groke), Sunday, 17 August 2003 21:25 (twenty-two years ago)

I don't mind 'em. In fact, I think the hate I have encountered for them has to be to a large extent contextual, sorta like the Dave Matthews Band over here. I dunno, a song like "We Are Each Other" is very sprightly and all (and I know Dan likes at least a number of their songs, so the conspiracy theory that we're each other can continue).

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 17 August 2003 21:35 (twenty-two years ago)

i loved perfect 10! that lyric was worthy of jarvis cocker at his wittiest. and what a charming pop song, too! i also enjoyed that "you keep it all in" song, and the "don't marry her" one. now i come to think of it, they had quite a few good singles, and may be underrated. you are a fool, tom

― weasel diesel (K1l14n), Sunday, 17 August 2003 21:37 (twenty-two years ago)

they are one of the worst bands in history and firmly in the top-ten of my own personal anticanon... hey, we're agreeing again, tom!

― Dave Stelfox (Dave Stelfox), Sunday, 17 August 2003 21:39 (twenty-two years ago)

one of an identikit parade of unglamorous assistants

Two, to be precise.

The Beautiful South were the first I ever really, really loved. And I still reckon that a lot of the stuff off Carry On Up The Charts is very good. Am aware of smugness/gitlike nature of Heaton man. Thought Brianna Corrigan (unglamorous assistant #1) and Jacqui Abbott (ungalmorous assistant #2) both had very nice voices.

And I love Song For Whoever and Bell Bottomed Tear and particularly Old Red Eyes Is Back, though you may have a point about Perfect Ten.

― William Bloody Swygart (mrswygart), Sunday, 17 August 2003 21:39 (twenty-two years ago)

Kilian I am genuinely horrified.

I do think part of the reason I hate them so much is that their supposed strengths - wordplay, wit, social observation etc (all of which I think they are catastrophic at) - are things I like quite a lot in other bands.

It's also just that the sound of the two voices is so stupendously ugly.

― Tom (Groke), Sunday, 17 August 2003 21:41 (twenty-two years ago)

They have competent voices in a kind of belt-it-out how-to-be-soulful way I suppose.

― Tom (Groke), Sunday, 17 August 2003 21:43 (twenty-two years ago)

But, you know, I can't think of a single reason anyone who likes them wouldn't also like Simply Red (whose video came on a few minutes later and sounded much better).

― Tom (Groke), Sunday, 17 August 2003 21:44 (twenty-two years ago)

"I do think part of the reason I hate them so much is that their supposed strengths - wordplay, wit, social observation etc (all of which I think they are catastrophic at) - are things I like quite a lot in other bands."

i would cite the divine comedy as a far better example of this problem. what's the name of the female singer in BS? her cheeky delivery of the line "you should see the smile on my face!" never fails to make me chuckle. pure gold.

― weasel diesel (K1l14n), Sunday, 17 August 2003 21:46 (twenty-two years ago)

Hey, I don't mind "Holding Back the Years," that's an instant nostalgia bit from my Callow Youth. Beyond that I am savagely indifferent, though Hucknall himself seems like someone I would actively avoid be trapped in an elevator with.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 17 August 2003 21:46 (twenty-two years ago)

(I think Simply Red are about 20x better than the Beautiful South, Hucknall's obvious horribleness notwithstanding)

― Tom (Groke), Sunday, 17 August 2003 21:48 (twenty-two years ago)

there's this irish radio dj called pat kenny who basically IS alan partridge, and he had a boring radio show for grannies that played boring music for grannies. he played that "don't marry her" song, but he mistakenly put on the album version, where the chorus says "don't marry her, FUCK me" not "don't marry her, have me". SUBVERSIVE OR WHAT?!

classic

― weasel diesel (K1l14n), Sunday, 17 August 2003 21:50 (twenty-two years ago)

They're the British Rage Against The Machine!

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Sunday, 17 August 2003 21:55 (twenty-two years ago)

Yer all bonkers, or most of yez. The Beautiful South's best stuff is fine pop music. I like a good tune, me. And I don't mind melancholy snideness either. Heaton's frumpy and bitchy and all, it's true, but there's a place for frumpy, bitchy pop -- in my collection, anyway.

― JesseFox (JesseFox), Sunday, 17 August 2003 22:18 (twenty-two years ago)

But, you know, I can't think of a single reason anyone who likes them wouldn't also like Simply Red (whose video came on a few minutes later and sounded much better).

I quite like the idea of Simply Red fans humming along without ever really taking lyrics like "don't marry her, fuck me" in.

The Beautiful South are OK, I don't think they're as bad at the subversive-wit-and-wordplay thing as Tom clearly does (bloody better than The Divine Comedy, anyway, and not everyone can be a Luke Haines), and they've written some genuinely likeable ditties... 'A Little Time' is amusing enough, 'Song For Whoever' and 'Don't Marry Her' also pretty good. I mean... Beautiful South : Black Box Recorder :: Sheryl Crow : Lucinda Williams, and I don't mind Sheryl either. Populist versions of good things aren't necessarily bad.

― The Lex (The Lex), Sunday, 17 August 2003 22:23 (twenty-two years ago)

The assumption there is that Black Box Recorder are good - but yes granted they're better than the Beautiful South. (Luke Haines is a talented bloke but BBR seem trite to me, a banal conceptual trick stretched over 3 albums and counting, though they're never horrid and they have made one wonderful song that I've heard).

― Tom (Groke), Sunday, 17 August 2003 22:30 (twenty-two years ago)

(It's a good connection though The Lex - I can imagine somebody saying in a pub, "Yeah BBR are just The Beautiful South with cred" and people who liked them wincing. I will try it sometime!)

― Tom (Groke), Sunday, 17 August 2003 22:32 (twenty-two years ago)

Hmm, but the thing with BBR is that they've turned in a completely different slant on that conceptual trick with each album - certainly England Made Me and Passionoia use their quintessentially English cynicism in very different ways (I've only ever heard The Facts Of Life once).

― The Lex (The Lex), Sunday, 17 August 2003 23:09 (twenty-two years ago)

The Beautiful South with cred

not really a problem - and to touch on kilian's earlier point, that's almost Pulp anyway - almost

very few bands annoyed me in the 90s as much as The Beautiful South however

― stevem (blueski), Sunday, 17 August 2003 23:22 (twenty-two years ago)

Never quite understood why people loathe the Beautiful South (and, for that matter, the Housemartins). I mean, they're not terribly exciting, but they're ultimately inoffensive. Why waste your ire on them when there are countless other guiltier culprits?

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Sunday, 17 August 2003 23:28 (twenty-two years ago)

I mean, they're not terribly exciting, but they're ultimately inoffensive. Why waste your ire on them when there are countless other guiltier culprits?

who is guiltier? its all relative surely

― stevem (blueski), Sunday, 17 August 2003 23:34 (twenty-two years ago)

It's interesting to me that the biggest haters all seem to be British. That could be from overexposure, I suppose. The B.S. (ha) were never more than a blip in the U.S. Some of their albums never had an American release at all. But given how sort of stereotypically British they are, the level of ire directed at them from the U.K. contingent might mean something. Or maybe not.

― JesseFox (JesseFox), Monday, 18 August 2003 00:21 (twenty-two years ago)

Let's put it this way, they're not as irritating as Oasis.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 18 August 2003 00:22 (twenty-two years ago)

i think the first half of their greatest hits is outstandingly good. i wouldn't have thought they were indie enough to be hated round here, but there you go. "let love speak up itself" is heart-stoppingly good.

― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Monday, 18 August 2003 00:42 (twenty-two years ago)

this is an offshoot of sorts for my "defend the indefensible: the housemartins" thread, innit? as i said on that thread, i liked the housemartins well enough.

anyway, whoever compared them to the dave matthews band was pretty spot-on. i think i've maybe heard one beautiful south song, thought it was OK (but not spectacularly good, and nowhere near as good as the housemartins were). long way of saying -- i've no opinion re this!

― Tad (llamasfur), Monday, 18 August 2003 01:06 (twenty-two years ago)

oh yeah, anyone wanna hear my "tad meets mack hucknall" story?

― Tad (llamasfur), Monday, 18 August 2003 01:08 (twenty-two years ago)

To quote an older post of mine from ILE:

a duck fucking Mick Hucknall

I want to read this as 'a fuck ducking Mick Hucknall' or 'a Huck duckfucking Muck Fucknuts.'

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 18 August 2003 01:14 (twenty-two years ago)

beautiful south or fatboy slim? two sides of the same demographic, at least

― Donna Brown (Donna Brown), Monday, 18 August 2003 02:33 (twenty-two years ago)

I liked "Rotterdam" by them. That is all. Hardly mitigates when you consider how bad everything else was.

― edward o (edwardo), Monday, 18 August 2003 06:26 (twenty-two years ago)

fatboy slim can choke down my wad

― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Monday, 18 August 2003 06:26 (twenty-two years ago)

Defend, hmmm...um errr...they're sexists?

― dave q, Monday, 18 August 2003 06:59 (twenty-two years ago)

I agree with Tom E about the nasty sound of the voices. However, he thinks that lots of other voices that I think sound nasty sound good. So on the whole I am not ready to be too convinced by his judgements on voices.

I think that many of the BS's songs failed to do what they seemed to be trying to do. For instance, the 'argument' of 'Perfect Ten' never becomes remotely 'convincing'. It says 'I like people who are fat and ugly by conventional standards', but doesn't make you feel: yes, I understand - that makes sense.

The thing I most like about the Beautiful South is that in May 1989 I was on a coach through the yellow and green English countryside, on an evening that will and can never be recovered, and I was reading the NME with the anon. Liverpool player on the cover, and the BS were giving what seemed like their first-ever interview, which I read as the country and the sky sped on past and above and below. They were talking about 'Song For Whoever' and I thought: well, no-one's going to buy that. But somebody did.

― the pinefox, Monday, 18 August 2003 08:34 (twenty-two years ago)

I think Heaton is quite an interesting character, and for a year or two in the mid-80s I was quite a fan of the Housemartins. I still quite like things like 'Flag Day' or 'Build' and I think he was a touching singer once upon a time. I suppose the bloozy Radio 2 sound of the BS is the sound of Heaton forgetting Marx and forgetting Jesus and forgetting Hope and discovering beer and boredom and bitterness. He seemed to despise everything about pop music and life, but somehow became incredibly successful from doing so. You would think this would make for an interesting tension in the music, but it doesn't seem to have done.

The BS vs Simply Red as a post-socialist, pre-Blairite battle for the suburban car stereo of Mondeo Man is a topic worthy of Robin Carmody, though.

― Jerry the Nipper (Jerrynipper), Monday, 18 August 2003 08:52 (twenty-two years ago)

Even at his best - that acoustic version of 'Think For A Minute'? - I am not a big fan of the voice. Perhaps that means I am not a big fan of 'soul music' or 'soul singing'.

It is good that people who liked the Housemartins for a year or two in the mid-80s should try to remember why, and what things it, or that, or they, fitted in with.

I guess it's all that rootsy socialist folk thing that Steve Redhead used to talk about. I also see an associated (pre-?)geezer aspect: real ale, Hull City, fourth division Britain.

― the pinefox, Monday, 18 August 2003 08:57 (twenty-two years ago)

Recent material from them has been almost unique in its crapulence. However, Most (if not all) of the songs on Carry On Up The Charts are great though. I wouldn't say I loved them, but I did really like them, and only got rid of COUTC in a fit of spasticated indieboy guilt when I was about 16. I'd buy it again but I never thing too.

Tom, you are a fule. I kiss you.

― Nick Southall (Nick Southall), Monday, 18 August 2003 09:04 (twenty-two years ago)

I never think too neither.

It's funny how much your act of guilt parallels the Nipper's act of rage with the Housemartins.

― the southfox, Monday, 18 August 2003 09:06 (twenty-two years ago)

Musically they seem to be entirely without character, entirely without influences, and have spawned nothing. Usually this might suggest that such an artist might be at least interesting or maybe even good. In TBS's case nothing could be further from the truth. Who buys their records? In what circumstances do they listen to them? Why?

― Dr. C (Dr. C), Monday, 18 August 2003 09:13 (twenty-two years ago)

I suppose that people who buy BS records are people that think they like the BS, like people who buy Public Enemy records think that they like that band's records.

Probably people buy their records because they think they quite like the band, as they probably do with Destiny's Child records.

Perhaps they listen to them in their homes or in their cars, as people probably do with Jennifer Lopez records that they have bought.

― the answers, Monday, 18 August 2003 09:16 (twenty-two years ago)

i agree with tom that the beautiful south are the worst band ever produced by britain. they're the aural equivalent of that time travelling sitcom that starred nicholas lyndhurst and the fat guy from 'bread'. or 'my hero'.

― pulpo, Monday, 18 August 2003 09:24 (twenty-two years ago)

Thanks for clearing that up for me PF! It had been bothering me.

― Dr. C (Dr. C), Monday, 18 August 2003 09:29 (twenty-two years ago)

The geezerish thing is important to my particular fearful dislike of them, because the whole 'populism plus pubgoing' ethos of The South is like a too-close relative of my own - so I hate them all the more for my fear that Freaky Trigger might be the Beautiful South of webzines.

― Tom (Groke), Monday, 18 August 2003 09:31 (twenty-two years ago)

Freaky Trigger might be the Beautiful South of webzines.

AHA! Tom is revealed as an indie-snob of webzines! I'm sure Ryan'd love to have you writing for PFM, Tom... ;o)

― Nick Southall (Nick Southall), Monday, 18 August 2003 09:37 (twenty-two years ago)

The South were mildly subversive but to an absolutely huge audience, which might well make them more subversive than Fugazi or somesuch, I don't know.
At a certain point in the 90's they fulfilled exactly the same function as Simply Red, but had that added element of not quite playing the industry game. Admittedly, to a cynical eye this could be construed as having profitable by-products.
But the music is what matters and I like a lot of it - they did go to Dullwich somewhat in later years - and Heaton is more than just merely a competent voice.
Also, I like the way the trumpet player gets the same money as Heaton, and I like the way he bought his local pub (or something like that). And I don't think their drinking culture has geezerish connotations - I think they just like drinking in pubs with their mates like us Ordinaries. It's better than Oasis cosying up to Cat Deeley in the Met Bar.

― John Jarvis, Monday, 18 August 2003 11:35 (twenty-two years ago)

'The South were mildly subversive but to an absolutely huge audience, which might well make them more subversive than Fugazi or somesuch, I don't know'

An interesting point. Actually the South and their audience have been around long enough now that we can see if 'subversion' actually 'works'. I'll leave the answer to actual English ppl.

― dave q, Monday, 18 August 2003 11:40 (twenty-two years ago)

I'd rather cosy up to Cat Deeley.

― Dr. C (Dr. C), Monday, 18 August 2003 11:54 (twenty-two years ago)

I'd rather fuck her.

― Nick Southall (Nick Southall), Monday, 18 August 2003 12:22 (twenty-two years ago)

i like her accent, shame about the 'tash

'A Little Time' is probably the best Beautiful South song - a marital tiff on record is at least entertaining in theory.

― stevem (blueski), Monday, 18 August 2003 12:31 (twenty-two years ago)

[Black Box Recorder:] The Beautiful South with cred

Does that make The Beautiful South the Black Box Recorder with decent tunes??!?! :) I dunno exactly what's "indefensible" about the South, as opposed to, say, Savage Garden or some other vaguely innoffensive middle of the road popuplar beat combo!!!!! I wouldn't exactly want to buy their albums, but I have to admit, they're a pretty decent singles band!!!!! In fact they're probably one of those band who in future will sell their "Ultimate Greatest Hits!!!!" type album with adverts that go "You may know more of their songs than you think you do!!!!" type voiceovers like they did with Crowded House compils and so on. I mean anyone remember:

Song For Whoever?!?!
Old Red Eyes Is Back?!??!?!
A Little Time!??!?! (Which I think is pretty underrated, you know!!!! Espcially since it inched all the way to the top of the brit hit parade!!!!)
Rotterdam!??!?!
Don't Marry Her?!?!?!
Even 'Perfect 10' is not too bad either!!!!!!

OK, they're not exactly the Jesus and Mary Chain, but their acheivement in the singles department certainly beats that of the Nolan Sisters, and I don't see no Nolan-haters on ILM, so "DOn't Make Waves" with the South!!!!!!!!

― Old Fart!!! (oldfart_sd), Monday, 18 August 2003 12:49 (twenty-two years ago)

'Don't Marry Her' is a good example of the point I tried to make earlier, re. their songs mysteriously failing to do what they seem to promise to do. It's unbelievably repetitive - no bridge - and the chorus manages to be obscene, incoherent and half-cocked together.

Suddenly you realize the whole song has just come off the road and overturned with its wheels spinning, after travelling a few feet.

Q's point about subversion is marvellous as usual.

― the pinefox, Monday, 18 August 2003 13:55 (twenty-two years ago)

A favourite trick of mine used to be annoying tweekids by repeatedly comparing the Beautiful South to Belle and Sebastian, which seems like a far more obvious parallel than BBR, which I don't really get.

This is probably due to only hearing a few BBR records, though.

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Monday, 18 August 2003 14:45 (twenty-two years ago)

Skipping 31 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

The Beautiful South invented indie.

― Dom Passantino, Wednesday, 23 May 2007 14:03 (eighteen years ago)

Or at least what we nowadays see as "indie" in the top 40, Diet Coke Zero-drinking, Tim Lovejoy-quoting ViewPigeonDetectivesKaiserChiefsRazorlightMilburn bands. Britpop as influencing modern indie is the biggest music critic red herring ever invented. 80s indie influnces + "I am soooooo drunk" lyrics + hoolie appreciation = both.

― Dom Passantino, Wednesday, 23 May 2007 14:04 (eighteen years ago)

i remember quite liking paul heaton's solo album thing he did in 2001.

― CharlieNo4, Wednesday, 23 May 2007 14:09 (eighteen years ago)

Something about biscuits and asylum seekers, yes?

― Dom Passantino, Wednesday, 23 May 2007 14:09 (eighteen years ago)

that makes them sound like the second best band ever thou. the best band ever would sound like "the piglet files".

― acrobat, Wednesday, 23 May 2007 14:11 (eighteen years ago)

The Beautiful South invented Belle & Sebastian but that's about it. Unfortunately.

― DavidM, Wednesday, 23 May 2007 14:13 (eighteen years ago)

There was that letter into the NME in about 1998 that was just a list of Beautiful South/B&S similarities. They lost me about the same time they claimed that "A Perfect 10" and "String Bean Jen" were basically the same song.

― Dom Passantino, Wednesday, 23 May 2007 14:14 (eighteen years ago)

That's pretty small.

― Mark G, Wednesday, 23 May 2007 14:18 (eighteen years ago)

"Song for Whoever" may be the smuggest song ever as well. Not sure if that's "in a good way".

― Dom Passantino, Wednesday, 23 May 2007 14:21 (eighteen years ago)

They were great when Brianna was there ("Would you still love me if I lost my legs?"= classic!) but after that I totz stopped paying attention...I hate that new chick.

― django, Wednesday, 23 May 2007 16:41 (eighteen years ago)

Indefensible? C'mon, the first four albums are full of gems. I loved the whole iron fist in a velvet glove thing. Lyrical bile presented in a public-friendly muzak style. And it sold! I just bought the BBC Sessions, lots of their best tracks. They lost me after -Miaow- though.

― Mr. Odd, Wednesday, 23 May 2007 17:26 (eighteen years ago)

Paul Heaton's, Dave Rotheray's and Sean Welch's audio commentary on the Munch DVD is one of the most entertaining I've ever heard (the videos themselves though are almost all complete shite, which kind of helped).

― DavidM, Wednesday, 23 May 2007 19:01 (eighteen years ago)

This is definitely a question that means something different in the US than in the UK. In the US they've just been another British indie band that never sold very well, but that a few Anglophiliac college kids dug. (I was one of in the early 1990s.) The voices aren't remarkably bad...I'd even say they're great compared to the competition at that level of UK import at the time (e.g. Charlatans, Soup Dragons). I still love the first record, esp. "From Under the Covers", which inexplicably utterly destroyed me when I moved far from home to college. "36D", "We Are Each Other", the cover of "Girlfriend" on the first record...these are catchy, bouncy pop. From what I'm seeing on the thread the band comes with a lot of cultural baggage in the UK, but I don't think this ever translated over here (thankfully).

― Euler, Wednesday, 23 May 2007 19:03 (eighteen years ago)

two years pass...

"Song for Whoever" may be the smuggest song ever as well. In a great way.

― "too worldly to compete on /b/" (King Boy Pato), Wednesday, 24 June 2009 10:23 (sixteen years ago)

By the way, if you thought Heaton or anyone who wrote songs was the problem: http://www.newbeautifulsouth.co.uk/

― "too worldly to compete on /b/" (King Boy Pato), Wednesday, 24 June 2009 10:26 (sixteen years ago)

nine months pass...

I'd kind of forgotten how great "My Book" and "We Are Each Other" are.

― HI DERE, Friday, 23 April 2010 17:57 (fifteen years ago)

My mind is kinda blown at noting Lex talking about how he doesn't mind them way upthread!

― Ned Raggett, Friday, 23 April 2010 17:59 (fifteen years ago)

this revive was spawned by a coworker IMing me "What was that song that started 'I love you from the bottom of my pencil case'?" and me going on a Youtube binge shortly thereafter

― HI DERE, Friday, 23 April 2010 18:00 (fifteen years ago)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welcome_to_the_Beautiful_South

also I'd never seen the alternate album cover, lololol

― HI DERE, Friday, 23 April 2010 18:01 (fifteen years ago)

"prevent the hoards of impressionable young fans from blowing their heads off in a gun-gobbling frenzy, or taking up smoking"

Indeed.

― Ned Raggett, Friday, 23 April 2010 18:03 (fifteen years ago)

I am hoping that isn't a US/UK spelling thing and that they really do mean hoards of fans

― HI DERE, Friday, 23 April 2010 18:07 (fifteen years ago)

The New Beautiful South have changed their name to 'The South'.
You can find The South at www.thesouth.uk.com
Its all about the songs!
Thank you

― Blecch Generation (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 23 April 2010 18:16 (fifteen years ago)

one month passes...

first album is still a monster

"Sail This Ship Alone" and "Woman in the Wall" are just... yeah I dig shit like that.

― Damn these skinny jeans' pockets. (HI DERE), Wednesday, 16 June 2010 15:10 (fifteen years ago)

This is a band that I ought to have loved, but I am largely indifferent. A bit too pastoral maybe, but some of their songs are ace. "Song For Whoever" is still a classic.

― Tied Up In Geir (Geir Hongro), Thursday, 17 June 2010 08:23 (fifteen years ago)

The singles compilation is all anyone needs IMO, but that contains some of the finest pop songs I've ever heard. The two extra tracks slung on the end to ensnare the completists, "Prettiest Eyes" and "One Last Love Song", are very moving. I love the swell, grit and movement of this band.

― anagram, Thursday, 17 June 2010 08:26 (fifteen years ago)

edit: one extra track. "Prettiest Eyes" was not new.

― anagram, Thursday, 17 June 2010 08:29 (fifteen years ago)

one year passes...

I must be getting old but Beautiful South are starting to sound really good to me! I remember hating them along with everyone else but now the smoke has cleared I'm not sure why...

From the bottom of my pencil case,
AdamRL

― Hollis Frampton Comes Alive! (admrl), Saturday, 5 November 2011 20:21 (fourteen years ago)

Try listening to 'Amsterdam' all the way through without getting the urge to break something.

― asked Dermot O'Leary, but he couldn't help me either. They call me the (snoball), Saturday, 5 November 2011 20:23 (fourteen years ago)

OK I'll try that now

― Hollis Frampton Comes Alive! (admrl), Saturday, 5 November 2011 20:24 (fourteen years ago)

Rotterdam?

― Hollis Frampton Comes Alive! (admrl), Saturday, 5 November 2011 20:24 (fourteen years ago)

OK. So the lyrics are TERRIBLE, the singing is mawkish, but the guitar is kind of cheery and inoffensive. Some OK canned strings too. Catchy chorus you have to say.

Some problems but I don't feel like breaking anything but a world record for AWESOMENESS

― Hollis Frampton Comes Alive! (admrl), Saturday, 5 November 2011 20:26 (fourteen years ago)

Lyrics sometimes read like Larkin without the talent.

― Miss Piggy and Frodo in Hull (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 6 November 2011 19:56 (fourteen years ago)

But of course picking on song lyrics for not being poetry is unfair. I started listening to them because Xgau told us to, before I knew they were uncool. Still like them, although always kind of hated the cover art. Went to see them once, they came out on stage and Paul said "Jacqui's gone missing" - she had just quit- and our hearts sank. The show was alright, but it was kind of like listening to the stereo with only one of the channels working.

― Miss Piggy and Frodo in Hull (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 6 November 2011 20:02 (fourteen years ago)

they probly went on too long but the first 3 or 4 albums are uniformly great. am i biased? probably but fuck it.

― Bond 23: Skyrim (Noodle Vague), Sunday, 6 November 2011 20:06 (fourteen years ago)

covers album near the end is also great.

― ٩(̾●̮̮̃̾•̃̾)۶ (sic), Monday, 7 November 2011 01:01 (fourteen years ago)

Jacqui finally returned
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60s47twOm2I&feature=related

― Miss Piggy and Frodo in Hull (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 7 November 2011 01:28 (fourteen years ago)

I just listened to "Rotterdam" and I have absolutely no need to break something.

If I need to break something, should I listen to some Captain Beefheart or James Brown instead then?

― Hongroe (Geir Hongro), Monday, 7 November 2011 01:31 (fourteen years ago)

six years pass...

I think back on my days when I started buying Beautiful South albums. I did so for two reasons: 1) I kind of liked the Housemartins second album and figured it would be a more fleshed out idea of that record and 2) They were absurdly cheap used. Think I had the first three or four albums at one point. I actually listened to them a lot. This was about a decade ago, maybe?

Anyway, I remember nothing about them except for two things (both presumably from the first album, if I recall): 1) Their surprisingly convincing cover of Pebbles' 'Girlfriend' and 2) That one song about, "6am and even Big Ben is trying to put his head down"; that one was decent.

Other than that, the only thing I really remember is how aggressively middle of the road the actual music sounded. It's like he was trying to do the music boring, overproduced pop music he could, in order to get away with some occasionally "controversial" lyrics. I honestly have no clue what I was doing by forcing the band on myself the way I did for nearly a year.

Just dreadfully vapid music.

― (V) (°,,,,°) (V) (Austin), Monday, 30 July 2018 22:28 (seven years ago)

I like "Song for Whoever" a lot.

― No purposes. Sounds. (Sund4r), Monday, 30 July 2018 22:40 (seven years ago)

The first album is great IMO

― GDPR vs GAPDY (DJP), Monday, 30 July 2018 23:26 (seven years ago)

It's like he was trying to do the music boring, overproduced pop music he could, in order to get away with some occasionally "controversial" lyrics.

I think it's basically this, except that the two of them really seriously liked a) pleasing-sounding MOR pop music, and b) other pleasing-sounding MOR pop music that also had dark or vicious lyrics

― 16, 35, DCP, Go! (sic), Monday, 30 July 2018 23:36 (seven years ago)

Wasn't the point of the band to create pleasant-sounding pop songs with evil lyrics? I think the joke was on the record-buying public.

― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Monday, 30 July 2018 23:51 (seven years ago)

You mean like Microdisney but actually popular?

― Father Ted in Forkhandles (Tom D.), Tuesday, 31 July 2018 00:01 (seven years ago)

loved Microdisney + Fatima Mansions

saw BS a number of times, incl when they had a big horn section doing "You Should Be Dancing"

― a Mets fan who gave up on everything in the mid '80s (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 31 July 2018 00:56 (seven years ago)

two years pass...

We had the Roundhouse booked for two nights for the Q Awards next week. We didn’t have talent sorted when we had to Covid cancel in April, but Nadine Shah was presenting and the two gigs were Liam Gallagher one night, Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbott the other.
— Ted Kessler (@TedKessler1) October 9, 2020

― xyzzzz__, Friday, 9 October 2020 12:11 (five years ago)

^ You have to follow the thread but this was really decent of Heaton.

― djh, Friday, 9 October 2020 16:59 (five years ago)

Yeah sorry - follow the thread.

― xyzzzz__, Friday, 9 October 2020 17:00 (five years ago)

I don't think "my jam" is really appropriate in terms of the musicial elements, but I have feelings and fondness for "I'll Sail This Ship Alone" and "I've Come for My Award"

― sarahell, Friday, 9 October 2020 17:15 (five years ago)

I think a Beautiful South jukebox musical could kill

― shout-out to his family (DJP), Friday, 9 October 2020 19:09 (five years ago)

Saw both Paul Heaton and Jaffa Cakes were both trending earlier and thought perhaps he'd finally overdosed

― PaulTMA, Friday, 9 October 2020 19:22 (five years ago)

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