I can't believe it's still California Month, tremor #54:
Bethany Curve - "Long Beach"
(Unit Circle Rekkids, 2001)
This band is so California that their name and this song's name are actual places in Cali, though their sound is strictly England ca. 1990-93. This album is called You Brought Us Here, which is the best retort that a weary parent can make after their kids ask "Are we there yet?"
The vocal harmonizing starting at 3:05 is one of the most perfect things ever, and the guitar symphony near the end is a winner too. The krautrock-y drum beat and undulating bassline round the recipe out perfectly. This is arguably BC's best-known song, so I wanted to post a different one, but I didn't want to be a dumbass. I have their two previous CDs, but those tend more towards gothy pouting, while this one is more melodic and shoegazey. Richard Millang's vocals are beautiful, but are not exactly easy to make out; for a hilariously inaccurate stab at the lyrics, click here. I'm pretty sure "You will need something stronger still" is an actual lyric, but maybe not.
I interviewed Bethany Curve for my zine in 2002, and I remember Millang telling me how Black Francis (Frank Black) is/was his all-time lyrical idol, something that you would surely never guess from his lyrics or delivery. But that's preferable to someone simply aping his or her idol. I remember jokingly accusing the band of stealing the inspiration for their name from Catherine Wheel (female name + word related to circles), and he told me he hated them. (CW's album Ferment is my #2 favorite album ever.) They were the first band that ever did an interview with me, so I have to give them big ups. (Read my review of this album by clicking here and scrolling down to Cold Comfort. Read all the other reviews on that page too, of course.) BC never played in New Orleans as far as I know, so I never got to see them, but they might still be together.
I wore my Barry Sanders jersey today, but the Lions still got whupped; tomorrow is #1 LSU vs. #3 Arkansas. A song about a beach is the only reason I need to post this TV still:
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| Lara Goodison on U.K. TV show Shipwrecked, 2008 |
3 comments:
Could you post that interview you had with them by any chance? I'd love to see it. There's no other interviews with them on the net at all.
BC are my favorite band of all time, though. They're still together; their drummer runs their Facebook page. He's said that "Muder!" might get finished this year.
If they did ever play in New Orleans, I'd definitely try to make it to the show. I don't care if I'd have to walk there, as I do live a few hours away anyway, lol.
Yeah, if I ever post another song by them (probably "The Automatic") I'll add the interview. I was actually thinking about doing interviews of newer bands too, if only to drive up traffic from its current trickle. But I usually prefer to just let the music do the talking.
-CPR
Sounds good. I'll keep watch over this blog, seems like it'll keep me from being bored for a while.
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