original pirate material. #11. "the irony of it all"

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Taking the baton from Jeff...

This is potentially the most divisive track on OPM, the one most open to novelty-accusations and probably the one I'll get bored of first. It's the split-narrative Terry and Tim one. The argument's a caricature but it's very funny and some of the observations ("We didn't order chicken. That's OK, we'll pick it off.") make me grin eye to eye. What does anyone else make of it?

― Tom, Wednesday, 3 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

i think it's brilliant, top to bottom. i don't wanna give all my cards away for my forthcoming Freaky Trigger Streets Spectacular (TM), but since i dont talk a lot about the songs directly, why not. i think the alternating backing tracks, even though kind of cheaply edited (and cheaply thought up) works pretty well despite. the narratives are good, although tim (the pot smoker, right?) is a bit funnier because not as broad. as usual, skinner's more on form when observing the small details.

― jess, Wednesday, 3 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

The chicken line is great, one of my favourite moments on the album. Also "Bada-BING!"

― Tim, Wednesday, 3 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

What can I say, I'm a sucker for a honky tonk pianner.

― Sarah, Wednesday, 3 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

yes it does grate quite quickly despite the light-hearted intention. It's no Guilty Conscience is it?

― Alan Trewartha, Wednesday, 3 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

And here was me thinking it was the most astonishingly hamfisted and embarrassing attempts of social commentary I've ever heard in a pop song.

― Matt DC, Wednesday, 3 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Is it a social commentary track? I don't think so really. I do think though that a willingness to risk being hamfisted or embarrassing is part of what makes the album as a whole exciting.

― Tom, Wednesday, 3 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

But the whole point of the Streets album IS that life can be hamfisted and embarassing - his stance on The Irony of it All is that Tim is a bit of a twat and he knows it ('I design my own bongs using my engineering degree, dear leaders please legalise weed for these reasons' made me LARFF)!

― Sarah, Wednesday, 3 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

So out of curiosity, what is everyone listening to this album for, the lyrics or the music?

― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 3 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

little of both, ned. at least in my case.

i don't think the streets are "social commentary" any more than eminem is, and certainly not in some lame crass way.

i compare them to the fall in my piece, but more and more i realize they're like the uk garage maxinquaye divided by benny hill.

― jess, Wednesday, 3 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

I think its inevitable that we're highlighting the words in these threads, there's not much to say about the music, which is very, erm straightforward. Not that simplicity is a bad thing. Even so, there's nearly always one little 'sound' per track to cherish.

As for "The Irony...", it stands out on first listen but I agree with Tom that it going to get tiresome real quick. "Clever" as opposed to the rest of the LP's cleverness?

I got to #12 today btw. Wow.

― Jeff W, Wednesday, 3 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

little of both

I like this as opposed to 'a little of both,' actually.

― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 3 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

http://members.aol.com/dubplatestyle/mase.jpg

― oh shut up., Wednesday, 3 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Ma$e $peak$!

― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 3 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Why, sure he speaks- doesn't everybody?!?!?

― Old Fart!!!!, Thursday, 4 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

"I think its inevitable that we're highlighting the words in these threads, there's not much to say about the music, which is very, erm straightforward. Not that simplicity is a bad thing. Even so, there's nearly always one little 'sound' per track to cherish."

I don't know about anyone else, but I could easily write an article or three about the album's music alone. It bugs me when I hear it dismissed as half-arsed, tossed-off, low-rent, cheap etc. - you rarely hear such complaints leveled at RZA, and his stuff sounds much less purposeful than Skinner's IMHO.

― Tim, Thursday, 4 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

I could easily write an article or three about the album's music alone

Go on then :)

― Tom, Thursday, 4 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Well of course I'm gonna cover both sides when I do inevitably discuss it (Tom you should have a Streets week). On an only semi-related note, I lost about the three-quarters of the MCs in garage article I had so far written when my computer died a couple of days ago and I had to reformat my hard drive completely (also the reason for no Skykicking updates). So (sigh) must start again.

― Tim, Thursday, 4 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

STREETS WEEK! Yeah it shall be done. He can get the Tarkus treatment too. Who's in?

― Tom, Thursday, 4 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

yay, tim can discuss the music and i can discuss the words, etc. (or not. actually the crux of the piece is why american's should give a fuck about this record. and they should.)

― jess, Thursday, 4 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

um, in other words, i am. but you knew that already, you cad.

― jess, Thursday, 4 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Hey no fair! I never said I didn't *want* to discuss the lyrics!

― Tim, Thursday, 4 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

too late!

― jess, Friday, 5 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

For the record, my "straightforward" description upthread was NOT a criticism (and certainly not a euphemism for half-assed(!) - altho' I'm sure Tim wasn't implying this when he quoted me). Oh, and if you hadn't already figured this out, count me in for Streetsweek.

― Jeff W, Friday, 5 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Whoever discusses the words has to *not* listen to the album and just read the lyric sheet. Ha.

― Ned Raggett, Friday, 5 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

and you ned, have to then walk around for a whole week issuing nothing but gutteral grunts and growls and/or high-pitched liz c.- style melismia.

― jess, Friday, 5 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Like I don't do that already.

― Ned Raggett, Friday, 5 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

As I said to Ronan on MSN: "Irony Of It All = Al Murray (Time Gentleman Please) vs Smug Public Schoolboy in The Hole (w/Thora Birch)"

― powertonevolume, Saturday, 6 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

"I don't know about anyone else, but I could easily write an article or three about the album's music alone. It bugs me when I hear it dismissed as half-arsed, tossed-off, low-rent, cheap etc. - you rarely hear such complaints leveled at RZA, and his stuff sounds much less purposeful than Skinner's IMHO."

You the man!

― powertonevolume, Saturday, 6 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

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