FIELD NOTES
We’re diving into Part II today of my monthly March playlist (you can read all about it in yesterday’s edition). One of the bands I talked about was Racey, a short-lived glam band whose 1979 song ‘Kitty’ was repurposed a few years after its release for Tony Basil’s ‘Mickey’ in 1981 (and then again in 1983 for ‘Ricky’ by “Weird Al” Yankovic). It got me thinking about another new wave novelty, the horn- and fist-pumping Belgian classic ‘Ça Plane Pour Moi’ by Plastic Bertrand. His version of the song with essentially nonsense lyrics (“She drank my beer in a large rubber glass / like an Indian in their igloo.”) was cut in 1977, almost simultaneously as UK singer Elton Motello’s ‘Jet Boy Jet Girl’ rendition. One was not a cover of the other, both artists used the same instrumental track composed by various session musicians from the punk scene at the time. The lyrics to ‘Jet Boy Jet Girl’ are just as off-kilter, but far more unclean (“Jet boy jet girl, gonna take you ‘round the world. Jet boy I’m gonna make ‘em penetrate, I’m gonna make you be a girl”). Both versions are killer fun and classic punk of the time, but the TV performance linked above for ‘Jet Boy Jet Girl’ puts Elton’s recording over the edge for me. Continuing now with the best songs I listened to in March:
The Dare - ‘Good Time’ (2023)
I am certain that there is not music more fun than this being made by any new artist. The Dare is Harrison Patrick Smith, formerly of the indie project Turtlenecked who’s now gone full dance-punk. Channeling the most raucous cuts from Fischerspooner, LCD Soundsystem, and Peaches, The Dare’s two songs to their name are a refreshing lot in modern electronic music. Last year’s ‘Girls’ felt like it could have been a Mindless Self Indulgence b-side, with its fully ridiculous lyrics (“I like the girls that do drugs, girls with cigarettes in the back of the club, girls that hate cops and buy guns”) and talk-rock vocal delivery. ‘Good Time’ is exactly that, going for a more electroclash throwback in the production but just as energetic in the lyrics. “I’m in the club while you’re online, I hope my set sounds good outside.” Smith absolutely kills these tracks with sleaze and swagger, and I’m desperately waiting for a full LP this year.
Sleaford Mods - ‘So Trendy’ Feat. Perry Farrell (2023)
The electro-post-punk duo Sleaford Mods have been consistently putting out some of the most biting underground music for over a decade now. In recent years, they’ve been able to lock in some pretty notable collaborations with Amy Taylor (Amyl And The Sniffers), Orbital, and The Prodigy. ‘So Trendy’ is one of the lead singles from their newest LP UK Grim (Rough Trade) and features vocals from none other than Perry Farrell of Jane’s Addiction / Porno For Pyros / Lollapalooza fame. The track is one of their most quirky in some time, with the oddball production from Andrew Fearn blipping underneath lyrics from Jason Williamson and Farrell about “the jetpack man” who has “Top Gun glasses upside-down.” Farrell sounds great, fake British accent in tow, and is the highlight of UK Grim, an already packed album of banger tunes.
Billy Nomates - ‘spite’ (2023)
One of the Mods’ best collaborations is with singer-songwriter Billy Nomates on 2021’s ‘Mork N Mindy’ from Spare Ribs. I liked that track quite a bit, and always kept Billy’s name in the back of my mind. She also has a new album out this year entitled CACTI (Invada) that’s full of indie dance cuts topped with sharp lyrics. ‘spite’ is the standout, with some strongly performed harmonies that seem to be all Billy in the chorus. “Don’t you act like I ain’t the fuckin’ man, I’m only here, I’m only here ‘cause I can” struts Billy throughout the track. Fans of Bully, Dude York, and Speedy Ortiz should take note on this record this year.
Nicole Dollanganger - ‘Bad Man’ (2023)
One more new song in this section of the playlist from one of the year’s 10 best albums so far. Nicole Dollanganger is an instantly recognizable musician from Stouffville, Canada who makes haunting, enveloping, sometimes shocking indie recordings. Her soft and high-tone voice over swirling, reverbed-out instrumentation is what makes records like 2014’s Observatory Mansions and 2015’s Natural Born Losers so intoxicating to listen to. This year’s Married In Mount Airy is a concept album, the pieces of which I’m still putting together even after listening so many times. Dollanganger portrays a North Carolina newlywed, who throughout the course of the album is subjected to a myriad of difficult situations. ‘Bad Man’ is the apex, one of the most gutting tracks I’ve heard this year. “I wish he didn’t have to die, but he was a bad man.” / “I could tell you that I don’t love him, but you know it’d be a lie. Doesn’t mean I don’t condemn him, and goddamn him, he knows why.” Trouble in paradise would suggest there was any paradise on the album to begin with. A truly dizzying experience of an album, especially as the ending of the final track leads into the beginning of the first. Highly, highly recommended.
Farin Urlaub Racing Team - ‘Karten’ (2008)
I don’t quite remember how Farin Urlaub entered my musical orbit, but I know it was shortly after 2008’s Die Wahrheit Übers Lügen was released. Urlaub is the leader of German pop-punk icons Die Ärzte, whose only US notoriety I can observe is covering ‘Unholy’ for the 1994 compilation KISS My Ass: Classic KISS Regrooved. As a longtime Rammstein fan and two-year high school German student, the country’s alternative music scene hasn’t been terribly unfamiliar to me and is a definite point of interest. Die Wahrheit… is full of pumped-up, catchy guitar anthems that I would absolutely sing along to if I knew how. The immediacy of songs like ‘Nichimgriff’ and ‘Unscharf’ remind me a little of Canada’s finest pop-punk exports Billy Talent, while ‘Krieg’ and last month’s pick ‘Karten’ heads toward a bit of ska-punk like The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. Even without fully understanding the songs, I find this record so enjoyable to listen to all these years. Urlaub has not released anything under his own name isnce 2017, but Die Ärzte had a three-album run from 2020-2022 that I need to check out and will hopefully hear again from him soon.
Petal - ‘Sooner’ (2015)
Run For Cover Records has such a vast catalogue, like most punk and alternative labels it’s easy for some great releases to be lost under what has the most popular legacy. One of their most underrated releases is the debut LP Shame from Philadelphia indie/emo group Petal, led by singer-songwriter Kylie Lotz. That album and 2018’s follow-up Magic Gone are full of wonderful, laid-back songs that range from emotionally vulnerable to beautifully observant. ‘Sooner’ is one of Lotz’s strongest performances on either LP, who urges on the chorus, “It’s your decision to change but I’d rather make it for you. I’ve got a sneaking suspicion, please don’t leave sooner than you have to.” I always thought the two Petal albums did not get enough recognition in the RFC zeitgeist so I hope people discover them again, and it seems like Lotz is increasing activity which will hopefully lead to some new music.