the facts of life

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the black box recorder album from 2000

― weasel diesel (K1l14n), Wednesday, 18 August 2004 14:18 (twenty-one years ago)

Oddly enough, I was listening to this the other day thanks to sometime ILX poster Mel. Sorta trying for a Gainsbourg/Birkin thing I guess -- it was actually the first thing I've heard from Haines that I liked.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 18 August 2004 14:20 (twenty-one years ago)

melissa w, ned?

― weasel diesel (K1l14n), Wednesday, 18 August 2004 14:22 (twenty-one years ago)

Melinda Mess-Injure

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 18 August 2004 14:24 (twenty-one years ago)

one great song, "the art of driving," followed by a bunch of drivel.

― fact checking cuz (fcc), Wednesday, 18 August 2004 14:33 (twenty-one years ago)

alternate album title: the art of driveling

― fact checking cuz (fcc), Wednesday, 18 August 2004 14:34 (twenty-one years ago)

"The Art of Driving" was definitely the standout.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 18 August 2004 14:38 (twenty-one years ago)

Yeah, that was a cute song, but if it's the standout I'm not sure I need to hear the rest. Unless it would help my love life.

― briania (briania), Wednesday, 18 August 2004 14:42 (twenty-one years ago)

> one great song, "the art of driving," followed by a bunch of drivel.

*head explodes* (yet again)

What absolute twaddle. The album's shot through with pop genius from beginning to end.
The Art of Driving is sensationally good, it's true, but I would personally cite The English Motorway System as the highlight - so gorgeously chilly and melancholic... there's also French Rock 'n' Roll, a suitably breathy tribute to the life-affirming joys of throwaway pop music... the title track, witty and hummable, but, like May Queen, brimming over with an almost painfully bittersweet nostalgia for adolescence... and the splendidly spooky faux-folk of The Deverell Twins, which could fit very comfortably onto the soundtrack of The Wicker Man.
Okay, not all of the tracks are first-class, but they're never less than interesting; the record's eclecticism is probably its only real weakness, denying it the kind of "flow" that would make for an entirely satisfactory listen. Nevertheless, the brilliance of much of its songwriting makes The Art of Driving, in my book, a must-have album.

― Palomino (Palomino), Wednesday, 18 August 2004 20:14 (twenty-one years ago)

i´m quite fond of the first album. this is a bit patchy

― heroes + villains, Wednesday, 18 August 2004 20:16 (twenty-one years ago)

C in my book, if no-one else's. Sarah Nixey and my hormones coincided far too conveniently.

― William Bloody Swygart (mrswygart), Wednesday, 18 August 2004 20:17 (twenty-one years ago)

I heart this album! Every song is a standout to me. The pinnacle of Haines' genius, definitely his best work. The other BBR albums don't quite measure up.

― kyle (akmonday), Wednesday, 18 August 2004 20:18 (twenty-one years ago)

I still think BBR's best album is the B-Side collection, though.

― William Bloody Swygart (mrswygart), Wednesday, 18 August 2004 20:20 (twenty-one years ago)

i heart this album big time! people seem to complain about how the coldness and cynicism are contrived or forced or whatever - but herein lies the appeal for me. the world-weary sarcasm is *deliberate* - it seems sung from the perspective of a child taking on the world-view of a hardened cynic - and sarah nixey's child-prodigy vocals really hit this vibe perfectly - rather than actually coming direct from an adult. this sneery cynicism *is* contrived and deliberate - it's a well thought-out reaction for sure. i also love the conversation between the boy and his potential teenage sweetheart in the tital track. i like the core msg - these happenings being the *real* facts of life wot an adolescent must learn, as opposed to some biological details which would come naturally to him / be graphically laid out to him by a peer in the schoolyard.

― weasel diesel (K1l14n), Wednesday, 18 August 2004 22:30 (twenty-one years ago)

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the facts of life - c/d