Music on Basil Labib

31 Years of 'Heaven or Las Vegas'

gs454236@gmail.com (Basil Labib) — Fri, 17 Sep 2021 10:18:49 +0530

Most CT fans agree (and frankly, there ain’t many) that Heaven or Las Vegas is their definitive production: ephemeral and sublime, cocky song titles and discernable vocals, sweet sounds and fragments of bitter lyrics, it is a very Twins album in spirit. Garlands (1982), their debut, was too much on the punk and goth style, a desperate searching phase for their identity which was fulfilled by Treasure (1984), a commendable opus in itself. But it is Heaven or Las Vegas or a song therein, that the CT are most remembered for.

Heaven or Las Vegas, Cocteau Twins, 1990

Like each of their album, HOLV has a balanced mix of slow and swift music. “Pitch the Baby” is a fast moving song with very understandable lyrics sung by Liz. In fact, many songs on HOLV such as “Iceblink Luck”, chorus of “Fotzepolitic” and of course, “Heaven or Las Vegas” can be understood in the sense that certain phrases and fragments of words can be deciphered which is a lot to ask for considering the band’s previous output.

The last track, “Frou-frou Foxes in Midsummer Fires”, aside from being a signature CT track, has one of the most curious and bizarre song title I have come across in recent memory. Leave it to the Cocteaus for enigmatic and funny song titles; “High Monkey Monk”, “Sugar Hiccup”, “The Spangle Maker”, “The Itchy Glowbo Blow”, “Ella Megalast Blurs Forever” and some that conjure happy, ethereal images like “A Kissed out Red Float Boat”, “Spooning Good Singing Gum”. Most of these quirky titles belong to HOLV’s predecessor, “Blue Bell Knoll” of 1988.

It is quite a task to decipher the meaning of the lyrics. Most of what Liz wrote was just random words and phrases that “sounded” right (which she further distorted as she sang). But that is not to say, all CT songs are gibberish. There are strong undertones of gender disparity, struggles of bad marriage, adultery, motherhood, feminity in much of her songs. “Summerhead” (“Are you the right man for me? Are you my friend?”) is a strong woman vocalizing her doubts, “Pitch the Baby” and “For Phoebe Still a Baby” (BBK) talks of motherhood, “I Wear Your Ring” certainly highlights the hopes and desolation of a newly wed. There are novel experiments too such as “Melonella” (Echoes in a Shallow Bay) which is literally a list of various species of butterflies sung as a song.

First song, favorite album and such things

I remember my very first CT song was “Fotzepolitic” (Ok, it was “Perly Dewdrops-drop” technically but shhh…) and I still relive that moment everytime I listen to the song. The shimmering guitars, rhythm, the unusual melody and Liz’s angelic vocals almost made it an auditory painting — not to be seen, but listened. I remember going like, “What on earth is this?!” because it was so different from the rock that I had expected.

My dreams are alone,
They’re sick and must be dross.
They’re young girls dreams…
~verse 1, Fotzepolitic

and then the refrain which she loops over and over again in the outro,

See and saw bounce me back to you.

To say HOLV is my favorite CT album is not a outrageous thing to say but it is certainly not accurate. I love HOLV (I even have their CDs bought with the first money I earned!). I also love Treasure and some of BBK, Milk and Kises, Four Calendar which is nothing to say of their large and equally magnificent EP produce (Check out “The Spangle Maker” or “Domino”).

Today HOLV turns 31 which is almost twice my age! I abhor that I was born in the 21st century which is just war, diseases, repulsive music and capitalism. It is my most sincere (and perhaps most daft) wish to be reborn in 80s Britain – to be surrounded by all these punk, rock, progressive artists. Ah.

Listen

'Please myself': An interpretation 30 years later

gs454236@gmail.com (Basil Labib) — Sat, 11 Sep 2021 08:02:53 +0530

Polly, a common American girl name, quickly rose to fame as the 6th songtrack on Nirvana’s second album, Nevermind, one of the best-selling albums of all time, having sold over 30 million copies since its release in 1991.

Polly became a conversation starter, an ice-breaker, a household catalyst for people everywhere to talk about woman abuse. Polly is a protest song, a song born out of the anguish that Kurt felt for the condition and treatment of woman in the society. It has often been dubbed as Nirvana’s “darkest” song – which, in my opinion, is a fairly glorified sobriquet because most of Nirvana’s songs are dark and ghastly.

Polly is striking from the moment the first two lines of the verse are sung. The simple chord progression that Kurt repeats over and over again throughout the song draws the audience in to suspend the job at hand and listen which is what he wants the audience to do. Unlike, the other songs on Nevermind which are loud and choked of wailing guitars and pounding drums, making it a task for the brain to process the lyrics, Polly is eerily antithetical.

Structure of the song

Let me spare a few lines to talk about the simple structure of Polly. Most of Nirvana songs are simple in structure, generally following the rock song structure with minimal lyrics, often the same phrase repeated over and over again for chorus as seen in “Lithium”, “Breed”, “Smells like Teen Spirit” and “Stay Away”.

4 bars of a simple Em-G-D-C progression repeated twice forms the intro followed by the first verse and chorus. A 8 bar break followed by the second verse and the chorus. Then, interestingly there is a little interludic bass solo by presumably Krist Novoselic. The outro is marked by the third verse and the chorus. That’s it. Drums are non-existent, the over-driven electric guitar is traded for an acoustic and the progression is the same throughout.

The lyrics

“Polly wants a cracker
I think I should get off her first”

Kurt puts us straight into the shoes of the rapist. This choice of perspective is a genius of Cobain who crafts a song that is chilling and introspective at the same time. Not only do we get a glimpse of what goes on in his mind, it compels us to ask ourselves how we would have reacted in such a situation. Kurt sings, in a disconnected, nonchalant tone expressing the casual mindset of the rapist, harsh and striking words and never in complete sentences which is almost a signature of the band. But those phrases give us enough clue to pieces together everything we need, a ghastly portrayal of an outrageous and vicious crime.

“I think she wants some water
To put out the blow torch”

The lyrics get extremely vivid and explicit, the imagery are very disturbing as it goes on to describe everything that happens to the girl as the rapist sees it. A 14-year old girl was kidnapped from a local rock concert in Tacoma, Washington in the August of 1987 by a man with a history of such crimes. She was raped and tortured with a blow torch while hanging upside down.

“Isn’t me, have a seed
Let me clip your dirty wings”

We can listen to the rapist’s mind screaming in a state of confusion and delusion, asking itself what to do next. He is in a deliberation with himself if he should bring the girl some water or whether he should untie her.

“Want some help, please myself”

Perhaps, the most disconcerting is the last line of the chorus. It bares before us the motive of the crime. The criminal isn’t capable of sustaining himself. From his perspective, he is in need of help. And believes that the girl can help him. What do we understand about the psychology of this feeble man? He is vicious and self-imposing and yet his malices are motivated by a desire to be pleased. Though, there is nothing wrong with wanting to be please yet the path that this man takes is evil and that is the underlying conflict between the criminal and the victim.

When and how I was introduced to Nirvana

I was born more than a decade after Nevermind first hit the shelves of record stores. Moreover, I was born into the era of online streaming. I haven’t seen a record player, let alone held a vinyl record in my hands! (Not very happy about it, though) I was introduced to Nirvana quite late in my music exploration journey. I was mostly into rock those days and tried “Lithium” for the first time. The “Yeah” chorus sent me into a semi trance-like state. It was the embodiment of nonchalance, angst and everything teenager. The quirky lyrics and the instantly recognizable riff. I liked it. However, it was much later that I actually listened to “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and didn’t like it that much at first. On a second revisit, it became one of my favourite songs. And that’s how I listened to Nevermind. PS: I am still yet to listen to their entire discography which I have constantly procrastinated telling myself that I’m waiting for that perfect moment to listen to them!

Nirvana was a feminist band and why that’s important

Nirvana. From left: Krist Novoselic (bass), Dave Grohl (drums) and Kurt Cobain (guitar and vocals)

As you stroll through Nirvana’s song palace, one feature is consistently recurrent. Kurt, the principal songwriter for the band, cared about women. He was a feminist and pro-LGBTQ+ before these became mainstream and vocal which is a pretty cool thing. Most of his songs are marred by such lyrics:

“Never met a wise man, if so, it’s a woman”
~Territorial Pissings, Nevermind (1991)

“God is Gay”
~Stay Away, Nevermind (1991)

“Polly says her back hurts”
~Polly, Nevermind (1991)

“I don’t mean to stare, we don’t have to breed”
~Breed, Nevermind (1991)

So, when he heard about the crime, it was inevitable that he would leverage his position to get people talking. He often combined the freedom and expertise of his art with the prevailing social conditions and norms. Bob Dylan once remarked after listening to Polly, “The kid has got a heart”. Dylan was a folk singer-songwriter and widely acclaimed for his protest songs (“Times They Are A’ Changing”) of the 50s-60s and his role in shaping American history and minds.

There is a sweet parallel as Nirvana were seen as the spokesmen for the 90s generation to whom the squaling guitars and deafening sounds bore testimony to their inner angst and anger. Though, Kurt pioneered a completely different music genre called “Grunge Rock”, he was praised by a folk singer which goes on to say that art is ultimately a unified form.

In fact, art supercedes musics, generations and even other disciplines. I cringe when teachers and educators profess and segregate students. What is a microprocessor’s cricuit diagram if not art? Or the traverse section of a human heart? Anyone bold enough to express himself is an artist.

Notes, Footnotes and Credits

Nevermind was released on September 24th, 1991. In a couple of weeks, the album will turn 30 (Oh boy, it’s almost twice my age!). This post is my tribute to the band who spoke for a generation I have never known.
Footnote 1: Umm, Basil, why are there no weird he/she, him/her in this artice? Are the girls not represented? Good question. Please read this to understand the inherent limitation of the language I an working under .
I would like to thank Nerdwriter1 on YouTube. Check out his video for an audio visual experience. Also, I’d like to thank Micheal Azerrad for his book, “Come as you are: The story of Nirvana”.

My Music Order Arrived

gs454236@gmail.com (Basil Labib) — Sun, 20 Dec 2020 00:00:00 +0000

A rather crazy self-imposed project which I had the faintest of ideas will become all-devouring and pose countless hurdles for me to dodge. But yeah, did it. Don’t blame me for the CT making ethereal noises!

From left to right: Treasure, Stars and Topsoil and Heaven or Las Vegas (all CDs)

Why do I have to buy music?

In a nutshell, because I want to. But seriously, why in a world of Spotify and pirated downloadable songs would I have the brilliant idea to buy music?

As I said, because I wanted to. And really can you ever aspire to reason with a human who is blinded by desire? So that’s that. I wanted to pay my tribute to the most fascinating thing I have discovered this year. I wanted to pay my respect to the band which gave me my first ever taste of stardom. And let’s be frank, somewhere deep down I wanted to believe I’m cool (cause human vanity after all).

Moreover, I wanted to prove myself. To whom? Myself? Nah. To my parents. I wanted to show them that I am capable of earning money and spending it on stuff I desire. I wanted them to know that I can be free. I wanted to make a statement. I want them to let me be myself.

A Disturbing Bug in my head

The culmination of so many days’ of hardwork, research and passion finally paid off. Acquiring these CDs had become more than an obsession/desire for me. It became my emotion.

I have absolutely no idea how I ended up being so ignorant as to what my target is and what I’m doing. But then I guess, this is what being a human is like. Imagine all those big shots and important people failing their responsibilities and then eventually who suffers?

Apart from that side rant that was disturbing me for sometime now, I feel accomplished in a small way.

I financed the whole endeavor on my own from the compensation I got for my gig work for Topcoder.

What did I buy?

To be extremely honest, the idea to buy a CT CD came to me after I listened to HOLV. And it was just one CD. What could eventually go wrong? I thought to myself. But with some contribution from human desire coupled with marketing techniques exercised by Norman and my own vanity, I ended up ordering 3 CDs - Heaven or Las Vegas(1990), Treasure(1984) and Stars and Topsoil (Compilation). All three CDs are, of course, masterpieces. And I love them!

Is one click ever enough?

Inside of Treasure

Where did I buy from?

Norman Records .

I wasted quite sometime in vain during the initial days of the undertaking to convince myself that I can find a CT album here in the music shops of Kolkata. My supposition may have been correct say 20 years ago but today only remnants remain of this bizarre craze I have happened to nurture. For second, Music World burned down in an accident in 2010. I regret that. I ordered my CDs on October 26, 2020 and they arrived on November 27th, 2020.

My learning out of this experience was this: If you want something, spend money for it. There is absolutely no compromise for authenticity and quality.

What next?

I haven’t torn the seals of HOLV and Stars yet. I think they are too precious and are thus better off being untouched and pure. (😅 Weird) So, yea, anything we desire remains an obsession only until we haven’t owned it. Strange, this human nature really.

I plan to buy Blue Bell Knoll and am eyeing the 4 CD Treasure Hiding boxset for next year.

It sure has been a hell of a ride and I enjoyed every bit of it!